Face Shields Give More Protection, but . . .

Distancing and Soap and Water to Cleanse Hands is the Best Approach

Excellent responses below, to a (parve) article on wearing face masks, “Four Potential Consequences of Wearing Face Masks We Need to Be Wary Of.”

Here’s more info: This is from someone at OSHA
I am OSHA 1030 certified. I know some of you are too. I don’t really know WHY OSHA hasn’t come forward and stopped the nonsense BUT
I wanna cover 3 things
• N95 masks and masks with exhale ports
• surgical masks
• filter or cloth masks

Okay so upon further inspection OSHA says some masks are okay and not okay in certain situations.
If you’re working with fumes and aerosol chemicals and you give your employees the wrong masks and they get sick you can be sued.

• N95 masks: are designed for CONTAMINATED environments. That means when you exhale through N95 the design is that you are exhaling into contamination. The exhale from N95 masks are vented to breath straight out without filtration. They don’t filter the air on the way out. They don’t need to.
Conclusion: if you’re in Stewart’s and the guy with Covid has N95 mask his covid breath is unfiltered being exhaled into Stewart’s (because it was designed for already contaminated environments, it’s not filtering your air on the way out)

• Surgical Mask: these masks were designed and approved for STERILE environments. The amount of particles and contaminants in the outside and indoor environments where people are CLOGG these masks very Very quickly. The moisture from your breath combined with the clogged mask with render it “useless” IF you come in contact with Covid and your mask traps it You become a walking virus dispenser. Everytime you put your mask on you are breathing the germs from EVERYWHERE you went. They should be changed or thrown out every “20-30 minutes in a non sterile environment”
Cloth masks: today three people pointed to their masks as the walked by me entering Lowe’s. They said “ya gotta wear your mask BRO” I said very clearly “those masks don’t work bro, in fact they MAKE you sicker” the “pshh’d” me.

By now hopefully you all know CLOTH masks do not filter anything. You mean the American flag one my aunt made? Yes. The one with sunflowers that looks so cute? Yes. The bandanna, the cut up t-shirt, the scarf ALL of them offer NO FILTERING whatsoever. As you exhale you are ridding your lungs of contaminants and carbon dioxide. Cloth masks trap this carbon dioxide the best. It actually risks health. The moisture caught in these masks can become mildew ridden over night. Dry coughing, enhanced allergies, sore throat are all symptoms of a micro-mold in your mask.
Ultimate Answer: N95 blows the virus into the air from a contaminated person.
The surgical mask is not designed for the outside world and will not filter the virus upon inhaling through it. It’s filtration works on the exhale. (Like a vacuum bag it only works one way)

Cloth masks are WORSE than none.
The CDC wants us to keep wearing masks. The masks don’t work.
*Occupational Safety and Health Administration sited.
The top American organization for safety.
They regulate and educate asbestos workers, surgical rooms, you name it.
If your mask gives you security wear it, just know it is a false sense of security.
If stores stopped enforcing it no one would continue this nonsense.
==============================
If work requires you to wear a mask, OSHA requires that your employer verifies you are receiving the minimum of 19.5% oxygen level by law! Are your oxygen levels being monitored while at work? Are you experiencing dizziness and headaches? This is a written law NOT a recommendation! I guarantee if employees started citing law and demanding their employers follow the law then the masks would go away!

***********

I do not wear any masks and will not comply as I have invested 4 months researching this scam and found overwhelming evidence how this so-called virus is not the monster the media wants us to believe. With a survival rate of around 98.5% it is the media pushing the death rates (0.03%) to be much bigger than they really are. Anyone with critical thinking skills will see through this veil of hype and choose for themselves and not be forced into anything. I have several clinical studies found in peer-reviewed medical journals stating how masks do not protect one from influenza and other respiratory diseases. Want a comparison? The Influenza virus is as large as a sun while the coronavirus is the size of the earth. If you can picture this you know masks will not protect you, if in fact this new virus causes anything.

No one has conducted Koch’s Postulates to prove whether or not this virus actually causes any disease. Koch’s Postulates have been the standard in proving any micro-organism is the causative agent since the late 1800’s. Yet not one laboratory, clinic or hospital have carried this out.

Until Koch’s Postulates PROVE without any reasonable doubt the “virus” causes disease, I will not wear a mask.

********

Another issue getting some discussion is that mask wearing for extended periods creates a hypoxic (low oxygen) state in the wearer–they aren’t getting enough oxygen. We require oxygen for life. Depending on the health of the wearer, this causes degrees of fatigue, headaches, fuzzy thinking (which can lead to unsafe behaviors on the job), and increase in heart rate (tachycardia) as the body seeks to compensate for low available oxygen. Hypoxia will worsen the effects of pre-existing cardiopulmonary diseases, and is also a major contributing factor to cancer.

How much can you restrict oxygen to someone before you have created a new problem?

Mask wearing has become a magic talisman, and now is becoming a divisive symbol with people shaming non-mask wearers, yet as medical device there is not universal agreement about the benefits. Several studies conducted prior to the era of COVID show that even surgeons and surgical nurses, who know how to use them, aren’t protected from passing germs to each other.

At the bottom of all this is our fearful embrace of external barriers as substitutes for a heathy immune system. It’s like a feudal town that surrounds itself with a wall, but posts no sentries and has no weapons with which to defend itself. A healthy immune system provides sentries and weapons. Boosting immune strength should be getting more play than masks, not shoved into a dark corner like a stepchild in a Dickens novel.

**********

I’m an RN and appreciate the info included in this article. Has anyone else considered that a mask of any type restricts our ability to breath and changes normal gas flow dynamics as it relates to the need to exhale CO2 and water vapor and the need to inhale O2?

Something tells me that restricting our ability to exhale carbon dioxide as well as restricting the ease at which we inhale oxygen, may be causing issues for those with various lung conditions.

I see 60-85 year old seniors walking down the sidewalk with no one else nearby in 90 degree heat and I wonder if this is not actually INCREASING their risk for various adverse events. ??? Fear causes folks to lose what common sense they might actually possess. 🙂

*************

You didn’t even touch on my main concern. What does wearing the mask do to the health , especially immune response, of the person wearing the mask? After wearing it for hours, am I more likely to catch the virus because my immune system is compromised due to lack of oxygen when wearing it?

***********

And Pelosi just stated she wants the CDC to mandate everyone wear masks. Time for a revolution. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/28/nancy-pelosi-calls-for-cdc-to-mandate-americans-wear-masks-amid-surge-in-coronavirus-cases.html>CNBC
[me: if Pelosi wants everyone to do anything, it’s not good for anyone]
**********

technocracy lists Hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) and Hypercapnia (increased carbon dioxide intake) as side effects of the prolonged use face masks. These conditions WILL make you sick

Rabbi Anava 40 Days: Day 9 Perek Shira and Recipe for Success

Day 9 - Perek Shira



A Recipe for Success

Rav Shmuel Eliyahu – Acknowleldge the Hidden as well as the Visible Miracles (Ivrit)

Acknowledge the hidden miracles as well as the visible miracles
by Rav Shmuel Eliyahu Halacha Daily 7 Tammuz 5765




תיקון הנפילות של המנצחים, פנחס הוא אליהו | הרב שמואל אליהו | הלכה יומית ו' תמוז תש”פ
Correct the fallen of the vanquished – Pinchas is Eliyahu (approx translation)
[is he saying Eliyahu is Pinchas?:-)]



מודים על הניסים בכל יום. לא להתרגל, קריסת ציר הרשע | הרב שמואל אליהו | הלכה יומית ד' תמוז תש”פ
Be thankful for the everyday miracles, don’t get used to the maneuvers of the Evil One
[my best of (google) trans.]

WHO MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY HERE?

NOW, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??
US officials say Israel will not be given a green light to apply sovereignty over 30% of Judea and Samaria, according to report.

YOU MUST BE KIDDING??
Jordan Valley not included in sovereignty plan?
Its OFF THE MAP??

LOOK WHO IS PULLING THE STRINGS?
And Israel is on the other end!!

I THINK THIS MEANS ANOTHER ELECTION and THE GOVERNMENT DISSOLUION!
_____________________________________

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinian Authority to enter negotiations based on US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, saying he and his government were prepared for talks, days before he is expected to annex parts of the West Bank with Washington’s approval.”

“I encourage the Palestinians not to lose another opportunity, not to waste another century trying to destroy Israel,”

“Israel is prepared for such negotiations. I am prepared for such a negotiation. And I’m sure that many Arab states in our region are hoping we enter such negotiations with the Palestinians,”

“HE and his government”? Is this His country? It's not His private property. The country belongs to the people of Israel. What about the people of Israel, were they asked what they want?
And the falshi-tinians, they may even want to live under Israel’s annexation because it means a better life for them.

“Washington’s approval”? Not according to the above.

JUST IN: Annexation will not happen on July 1 - US sources JUNE 29, 2020 12:35

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Here is the Map of the Judah (Yehuda) and Israel (Shomron), much of which has been in our recent Parshiot Edom, Moab, Ammon and the Philistines. Notice where Edom is, and Petra within (not in Jordan):


And here is the map of modern Jordan (and the Jordanian ‘King’ wants to steal the Jordan Valley from us! 

WHAT WILL BE OF LITTLE ISRAEL HANGING ONTO A TINY STRIP NEAR THE MEDITERRANEAN??

Sources: arutzsheva and timesofisrael and JPost

In The Medical City of Chelm

The Medical City of Chelm

How can anyone blame an entire country of mismanagement of their citizens’ medical health and preservation of life?

Well . . .

IF FACTUAL: When an "estimated 40 out of 400” over the age of 60 catch the coronavirus and the doctors do not prescribe hydroxychloraquine to reduce, eliminate and save their lives, can they be lumped together with New York And California in their “nursing home death debacle” by not prescribing life-saving treatment with a few HCQ pills that practically erase the virus in the first week of treatment?

Confusion reigns because of “directives” from the CDC changing from week to week, leaving one to doubt their own decision-making. This see-sawing of cautions may be deliberate or careless, and could be considered malpractice.

AND THE DELIBERATE COORDINATED ATTACK AGAINST HCQ PROVEN TO CURE YOUNG AND OLD OF CORONAVIRUSES IN RECORD-TIME IS TANTAMOUNT TO MURDER ALL BECAUSE THERE IS NO FINANCIAL GAIN, AND TO CAUSE INJURY TO PROMOTE A QUESTIONABLE VACCINE.

Lockdowns create a lull in the viruses’ activity and are only to aid the hospitals in case of a flood of patients. The virus must come to a peak and thereafter will go into decline. This is the pattern or ALL VIRUSES.

Concerning all “lockdowns”:

• "A more sustained, evidence-based, measured approach to the battle ahead is what is required now, not a reactionary, knee-jerk reaction with a myopic goal. The Tamil Nadu government has taken the right step by rubbishing rumours of any lockdown, but it needs to persevere towards ensuring better conformity in what are essentially very simple regulations.” TheHindu

Masks DO NOT prevent infection. Face Shields are better than the masks, because they protect up to 96% and cover eyes, nose and mouth:


Air conditioning is not proper circulation of fresh air; A/C only recirculates the enclosure’s air., it is not much needed OSYGEN from fresh healing air.


WHY NOT JUST –
BAN large gatherings, such as protests, marches, large weddings, beach-goers, park outings in groups, and concerts and cultural events.

Shielding and “protecting” the vulnerable, the elderly, infirm, those with known health weaknesses, and anyone over 60 should be the first step in any isolation protocol. Isolating the vulnerable saves lives.

Oh, another thing,

https://youtu.be/phMV48okQHg
So, the best to use old fashioned SOAP and WATER.

Rabbi Mizrachi – In Memory of Amit ben Yigal (Ivrit)

Evening in Memory of the murdered Staff. Sgt. Amit ben Yigal, by the Erev Rav Government

(if this is the correct title, this may be the first time the Rabbi uses this term in public)



IDF soldier Staff Sgt. Amit Ben Yigal of the Golani Brigade was killed when a rock was thrown at his head while on a mission yesterday morning. He was 21 years old. This is his story.
Video by Honest Reporting 

Rabbi Anava 40 Days: Day 8 - P'gam Habrit and Guard Your Eyes

Day 8 - P'gam Habrit




Guard Your Eyes

Rabbi Anava 40 Days: Day 7 - The power of prayer and Tikun Haklali

Day 7 - The power of prayer




Tikun HaKlali

UPDATE – UNTIL WHEN !?

Definitive?

Country losing control of virus, Israel Society for Infectious Diseases warns
timesofisrael

Number of active carriers of coronavirus in Israel: 6,160
Since midnight last night, 40 more have been diagnosed. 45 are in serious condition, 24 on respiration. 219 are hospitalized. arutzsheva

Corona Cabinet to discuss tightening of coronavirus restrictions



WHY IS THE VIRUS STILL INFECTING:

Streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to be blocked for 'pride' marches
In Jerusalem, traffic will be blocked from 17:00 on the streets of Agron and Menashe Ben-Israel until the "Pride" march ends. There may be traffic on the following streets: Hillel, Biancini, Shamai, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Avida and Meir Shaham. These streets are expected to be intermittently blocked according to traffic.

In Tel Aviv, the following streets will be blocked from 5 pm: Ibn Gvirol, from King Saul Boulevard to Arlozorov in both directions. Frishman, from Masrik Square to Ibn Gvirol in both directions. King David Blvd., Weizman to Ibn Gvirol. Gordon St., from King Solomon to the Malkei Yisrael. Malkei Yisrael Street from Ben Gurion to Chen Avenue in both directions. Chen Avenue, Netzach Yisrael until Frishman. Ben Gurion Blvd., Shlomo Hamelech to Ibn Gvirol in both directions. Hadassah St., Shlomo Hamelech to Ibn Gvirol. Bloch St., from Arlozorov to Ibn Gvirol in both directions.

They will also be blocked to traffic on nearby streets leading to the event venue.

Rabbi Anava 40 Days: Day 6 Shir HaShirim and A State of Confusion

Shir HaShirim

A state of confusion

Closures Will NOT STOP Coronavirus in Israel

Closures will not stop coronavirus in Israel – health experts

“We have to take steps to lower the infection all over Israel or we are just going to have more areas like this,” said former Health Ministry director-general Prof. Gabi Barbash.
JPost

Designating cities as coronavirus “restricted zones” is an extreme measure with little effectiveness, senior health experts told The Jerusalem Post.

“Even a limited closure has a huge economic and mental price [on society],” explained Hadar Marom, deputy director of Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital. “We should not and do not want to go there.”

Yet, in the last week, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb, the government has started to designate many communities as red zones, restricting entry and exit from these areas in most cases.

Restricted zones won’t work this time around because the outbreak is much more widespread, former Health Ministry director-general Prof. Gabi Barbash told the Post. “We have to take steps to lower the infection all over Israel, or we are just going to have more areas like this,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry shared a report that showed 107 cities had at least one resident diagnosed with coronavirus in the last three days. Marom called restrictive zones “extreme” and seconded Barbash, explaining that while it might help reduce virus in the area, it will not help slow down the spread of the disease across Israel.

Hadassah Medical Center’s director-general Zeev Rotstein warned further that these closures could actually increase the number of sick people in the country. “If you shut down a community, you could triple the number of sick patients there” by leaving them locked down in close and crowded quarters. “They infect each other.”

That is what happened during the first peak in many haredi (ultra-Orthodox) communities, when the government shut down the country and large families tried to quarantine in small apartments.

In April, the Health Ministry released a study that showed a high percentage of haredi coronavirus patients infected their family members and that many of the cases in the country’s centers of infection were concentrated within a few families.

This happened in Brooklyn to families I know 

and they were better off because of it. 

No one hospitalized, none died.

Bnei Brak, for example, had 1,881 cases of coronavirus on April 13 – the date the data for the report was collected. Some 1,039 of them (55%) were cases in which at least two people from the same family were infected. In total, 353 families had more than one infected family member.

Similarly, Jerusalem, which on April 13 had 2,105 cases of the novel virus, 993 or 47% were incidents of multiple cases in one family. In total, 358 families had multiple infections. In contrast, Tel Aviv had only 39 families infected; only 22% of sick people had infected another person in their nuclear family.

“There is currently no available coronavirus hotel for ultra-Orthodox patients,” MK Ya’akov Asher, a haredi rabbi, argued Wednesday at the Knesset in response to the closures placed the night before on Elad and some haredi neighborhoods in Tiberius. “As long as the patients do not go to hotels, we will not be able to stop the infection chain.”

He called on the government to test the community, relocate the sick and reopen the cities. Rotstein said that when a community is shut down, the Health Ministry should ensure that all of its residents are tested, and then it should create red and green zones within the community itself. Finally, he said that shutting down a community because of the number of people infected and not the number of people over a certain age “is mistaken and misleading the people.” Older people are at much higher risk for complications or even death from COVID-19.

An IDF Intelligence Corp. report published on Wednesday showed that 96% of Elad’s most recently diagnosed patients were under the age of 50.

Calling someone a patient when they are just experiencing a virus

 is misleading. If truly “patients” they should be labeled “hospitalized.” 

Otherwise this is mainly inciting fear and misleading the public.

Marom said that the country needs to look toward the future and “understand that we need to learn how to live alongside the virus for a long period of time.” She said the first factor is self-discipline, which means the public following the Health Ministry’s regulations: wearing masks, social distancing and maintaining good hygiene. She said keeping these regulations can reduce the rate of infection by as much as 85%.

What is the science behind this? 

The mask mfg states on the mask pkg that 

these masks do not protect from infection.

Then, she called on the government to immediately launch concurrent information and enforcement campaigns.

“Remember we started to use seat belts while driving our cars?” she asked. “It was not easy to implement and people did not understand that they needed to use them.” She said that the government ran a robust advertising campaign targeted toward the country’s different sectors and police would pull over cars and fine drivers who were not buckled up.

“Now we get inside our car and put on our seat belt,” she said. “It has to happen with masks, too.”
Coronavirus is “not a black and white situation – black: we have the virus and we lock down everything, or white: we don’t have the virus and we can open up and go back to routine.”

But Barash said he does not believe that the government will take the right steps to stop the coronavirus. He accused the government of lack of leadership and acting out of weakness. “The government is trying to appease a public that is tired of listening to stories about coronavirus,” he said. “The steps the government is taking will not stop the spread.”

Parshat Chukat – A Perfectly Red Unblemished Cow

"A perfectly red unblemished cow"

(Numbers 19:2)
Tammuz 4, 5780/June 26, 2020

"This is the statute of the Torah which HaShem commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for yourself a perfectly red unblemished cow, upon which no yoke was laid." (Numbers 19:2)

Welcome to the mystery and the beauty of the commandment of the red heifer - the innocent, unknowing beast that Torah tells us possesses the power to purify our souls from the contamination of the illusion of the finality of death. Why a red heifer? And how does this work? Torah teaches us in the opening verses of this week's Torah reading, Chukat - The statute (of the red heifer) - many details about the necessary components for making the ashes of the red heifer, (the heifer itself, a branch of hyssop, a piece of cedar wood, wool dyed scarlet and pure, living waters), how and where the kohanim are to slaughter the heifer and prepare its ashes, how the ashes are to be applied in order to achieve purity, and the inexplicable conundrum of why the kohen preparing the purifying ashes, as a result himself becomes impure. But the question as to how this exotic mixture of organic elements prepared under these unique conditions actually achieves what it does - lifting man above the realm of death - Torah is silent upon.

The mystery remains to this day. For four thousand years the finest minds have concerned themselves with this question, and the sages of Israel have shared tremendous insights into the meaning and significance of the ashes of the red heifer, but, ultimately, the inner workings of the red heifer, the reason why, remains opaque, beyond the reach of our human intellect. Even King Solomon, the wisest of the wise, confessed his bafflement: "'All this I tested with wisdom; I said, 'I will become wise,' but it was far from me." (Ecclesiastes 7:23)

Torah defines the red heifer as a chok - a statute - a specific classification of Torah commandment to which logic does not apply. Similar to the dietary laws concerning the clean and unclean animals, we observe these commandments, not because we understand their rationale, their rhyme or their reason, but simply because HaShem, our G-d, has commanded us to do so. To perform these unexplainable Torah statutes, just because, is the highest expression of love for HaShem that can be expressed.

But there is more to the mysterious nature of the red heifer than simply its status as being beyond the reach of the human intellect. In life, the ultimate mystery is death. The seeming finality of death, and what lays beyond death, if anything at all, are mysteries that have been pondered on and talked about and hypothesized on from the moment Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. And yet... what do we really know for certain?

The ashes of the red heifer come along to put death in its rightful place: mysterious? Yes, but not as mysterious as life, itself. Final? Yes, to the body, but not to the soul. Death is an inevitable point on the timeline of our souls' existence, but just that, and nothing more. The red heifer, by purifying our beings of the impurity imparted by contact with a dead corpse, dissipates the ominous burden of death in our lives. It grants us the ability to live beyond death in this life with a comforting wink and a nod to the life to come. Spiritual purification via the sprinkling of the ashes of the red heifer grant us entry into the inner courtyards of the Holy Temple, where G-d's presence is supreme and uncontested, where life, and life only, exists. Within the courtyards of the Holy Temple we experience, in our finite time on this earth, eternal life, and take with us the knowledge of the transcendence of life throughout all of creation and beyond.

But why a heifer, unyoked and unblemished? And why red? Parah adumah - red heifer, in Hebrew - shares the same root - adumah -red - as the Hebrew word for earth - adamah - and the Hebrew word for man - adam - named after the earth from which he was created. In short, for all man's accomplishments, we are of the same substance of all creation, ultimately no better and no worse, as the leveling effect of death teaches us. Our father Avraham said, "Behold now I have commenced to speak to HaShem, although I am dust and ashes." (Genesis 18:27) Death is nothing, if not humbling. This is why our sages tell us that G-d said to Moshe, "take for yourself a perfectly red unblemished cow." For yourself - Moshe - of whom G-d called the most humble man on earth, for only Moshe, in the depth of his unparalleled humility, could grasp the mystery of the red heifer.

The ashes of the red heifer is a lesson in humility, teaching us that the secret of the preeminence of life over death is in our recognition of G-d as our Creator and appreciation for the precious gift of life with which He has blessed us all.

Reb Neuberger on the Parsha and the Situation – Approaching July 5, 2020

APPROACHING JULY 5, 2020

by Roy Neuberger

Dear Friends, please pardon the strong words in this article. They represent my assessment of the current situation. I feel it is my responsibility to be forthright.

 ________________________________________________________

On July 5, 2020, the story begins in my book “2020 Vision.”

As we near that date, conditions in the United States have deteriorated to a point at which, in my humble opinion, it is no longer a safe place to live.

In this week’s Parsha,[1] Korach rebels against Moshe Rabbeinu. In truth, it is absurd to rebel against someone who is clearly chosen by Hashem to lead the Nation, but ego blinds a person to the truth, and so Korach creates a fabrication through which he tries to justify his mission. He is so overwhelmed by his desire that he speaks with conviction. Complaints often find a ready audience. National hysteria takes over, as it had during the incident of the Golden Calf. Brilliant and exalted people lose their sanity.

A similar phenomenon is now occurring, lehavdil, in the United States and the Western World in general. Hysteria is taking over. I believe that we could be close to an explosion which will shake the entire world to its foundations.

Our Rabbis explain that the two principal causes of the Mabul, the Great Flood in the days of Noah, were immorality and theft. These deviant behaviors reached a level of magnitude at which “Hashem saw that the wickedness of Man was great upon the earth and that every product of the thoughts of his heart was but evil always, and Hashem reconsidered having made Man on earth …. And Hashem said, ‘I will blot out Man whom I created from the face of the earth….”[2]

We tend to look back at such events as having taken place in a primitive society, but in fact, in our present era, we should not fool ourselves into thinking that we are exempt from such catastrophic punishment.

What tilted the scales in our world?

Rampant immorality and theft are bad enough, but when immorality and theft are justified, when the culture comes to believe that evil behaviors are normal, when that which is unlawful becomes the law, then the gates close to repentance and there is almost no chance to escape the fatal consequences.

The Gemara tells us that one reason the world continues to exist is that mankind does not “write a marriage contract” for relations between males,[3] meaning that, even if such behavior exists in the world, at least it is not legalized or legitimized.

Now that has changed.

In the United States, the culture of theft is being justified. To understand this, all you have to do is read the headlines. Under these conditions, my friends, how can this country escape the most catastrophic consequences?

I am sorry to say that the rest of the world is not far behind.

Why would the Creator and Master of the Universe not apply the same standards He applied at the time of the Great Flood? Hashem stated that the world would not be destroyed by water, but I do not have to explain that there are other methods of wiping out rampant lawlessness, G-d forbid. One shudders to think about the implications of this.

Is it possible to save ourselves?

Here are some thoughts.

First, we should all immediately recognize the dire situation and attempt to do teshuva, altering our behavior with the understanding that the entire world is in danger of suffering a cosmic shock. As the Gemara tells us, “Rabbi Elazar was asked by his students: What can a person do to be spared the travails of Moshiach? [And he responded], One should occupy himself in [the study of] Torah and in acts of kindness.”[4] 

Second, I would humbly advise every Jew to attempt to move to Israel at the soonest possible time. No place is safe, but Eretz Yisroel is at least, “a Land that Hashem, your G-d, seeks out. The eyes of Hashem, your G-d, are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to year’s end.”[5] Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky Shlita”h has been urging Jews to return for years.

There is hope, my friends.

As we say on Tisha B’Av, “Let him put his mouth to the dust. There may yet be hope.”[6]

The Chofetz Chaim is reported to have said, that, in the war directly before the coming of Moshiach, the Angel of Death will not have power to harm those who cling with all their strength to Hashem and His Torah, and who reject the culture of the surrounding nations. Those who stick like glue to Hashem and His Torah will survive and go on to live in the Days of Moshiach![7]

I read a similar statement in the name of Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein zt”l, who said, “In the final war before the coming of Moshiach, all the Jews who fear Hashem will survive. Hashem will say to them, ‘All those who are removed from the secular, worldly culture … you are Mine!’”[8]

My new book, “Hold On: Surviving the Days Before Moshiach,”[9] as well as my book, “2020 Vision,”[10] deal with the current situation and offer suggestions for survival.

Our Prophets have told us that there will be Jews and non-Jews who will merit to see the Final Redemption. My book, 2020 Vision, begins on July 5, 2020, with a massive terrorist attack and the collapse of the U. S. infrastructure. It ends with Shofar Gadol and Moshiach. Let us hope that soon we will see the glorious ending with our own eyes when Hashem brings all His children together in peace to our home

---

[1] This week, Parshas Korach is read outside Israel; Parshas Chukas is read in Israel

[2] Beraishis/Genesis 6:5

[3] Chullin 92b

[4] Sanhedrin 98b

[5] Dvarim/Deuteronomy 11:12

[6] Eichah 3:29

[7] Heard from Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon Shlita”h

[8] Leket Rishimos, as quoted in Redemption Unfolding.

[9] Published by Mosaica Press. It can be ordered through my website, www.2020vision.co.il or at www.Feldheim.com.

[10] Published by Feldheim. Also available through my website or Feldheim.com.

© Copyright 2020 by Roy S. Neuberger
__________________________________________________________

Keep up with Roy on Facebook by giving us a "like!"
com/RoySNeuberger/https://www.facebook.

Reb Neuberger: VIDEO: This Time of World Chaos

BS"D

THOUGHTS FOR OUR NON-JEWISH FRIENDS
AT THIS TIME OF WORLD CHAOS

Dear Friends:

I have just posted a new 15-minute video on my website, entitled  Thoughts for Non Jews at this Chaotic Moment

Visit our website at: 2020vision.co.il.

Blessings and best wishes, Roy Neuberger

© Copyright 2020 by Roy S. Neuberger
__________________________________________________________

Keep up with Roy on Facebook by giving us a "like!"
com/RoySNeuberger/https://www.facebook.

Rabbi Winston – Chukat – The Soul and Rectification

Dedicated in loving memory of my father, Yisroel Ya’akov ben Tzvi, z”l (Jack Winston). May his soul have aliyah after aliyah, and always be a meilitz yoshar for Klal Yisroel.

The people quarreled with Moshe, and they said, "If only we had died with the death of our brothers before G–D!” (Bamidbar 20:3)

THEY COULD NICKNAME Sefer Bamidbar, the “Book of Complaints.” Parsha after parsha the Jewish people complain to Moshe about one thing or another. True, in real life the events themselves didn’t follow one day after the other. But the Torah presents them this way to make a point about what underlies them all: a sense of entitlement.

We have all felt a sense of entitlement at some time or another, that feeling that something “belongs” to us. If we happen to get what we want, then we feel justice has been served. If we don’t, then we feel as if the entire universe has been wronged.

It is obvious that such a feeling flies in the face of being happy with one’s portion. You cannot be happy with your portion if you think someone else has illicitly taken a part of it. And you certainly can’t feel love of G–D if you feel that He hasn’t protected your portion, and saved you from loss and injustice.

The more entitled a person feels, the more this is going to be true. A person will constantly be upset over perceived losses and injustices. Or they will try to take what they believe is theirs, which will not leave them on favorable terms either with G–D or with the people they are robbing.

Obviously, a person has to protect what they truly own. We’re not obligated to take injustices lying down. There are laws in “Choshen Mishpat” that specifically instruct a person to protect what is legally theirs, and how to go about doing so. Taking one’s property for granted is also a grave mistake.

This is not about that. This is about the things in life that WE believe should belong to us, and G–D disagrees. If He didn’t disagree, we’d have the things already. Never confuse the means for the end. People and things may stand in our way of success, but all of them only work for G–D in the end, and as mentioned in the previous chapter, for OUR own good.

From where does this belief come, that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment? 

An entitled person has a higher sense of belief in their own importance than the equality of all individuals involved or society as a whole. Their focus is not on what is fair to everyone, just on what is not fair to them. 

The operating term here is “self-belief.” What one thinks about themself determines whether they will feel entitled in a given situation or not. Humble people do not feel entitled. Arrogant people do. The rest of us may lean in the direction of one or the other, depending upon what we think about ourselves, and the situation we are in at the time.

For example, someone who considers themself smart might be offended and feel left out if their opinion is not sought when among people they deem to be equals or inferiors. But the same person will happily go unnoticed when among people they view as geniuses and superiors.

It is every human’s struggle. Too much self-belief leads to arrogance and often embarrassing, if not dangerous results. Too little self-belief leads to insecurity and debilitation. A meaningful and productive life lies somewhere between these two extremes, and life is the process of finding that point, even creating it. Historically, there have not been a lot of people who have successfully done so. 

Everyone is “entitled” to self-belief; it says so right here:

G–D said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Bereishis 1:26)

The “our,” as Rashi explains, is really “mine,” as in G–D’s image and likeness. This means that EVERY human EVER created, no matter how handsome or how ugly, how talented or how inept, has been made in the “image of G–D.” And though there is a lot of discussion as to exactly what this means, one thing is for certain: every human being bears some aspect of divine perfection. 

Once Rebi Elazar, son of Rebi Shimon was coming from Migdal Gedor, from the house of his teacher. He rode along the riverside on his donkey, and was feeling happy and elated because he had studied much Torah. He happened to meet a very ugly man, who greeted him, “Peace be upon you, my master!” 

Rebi Elazar did not return his greeting but instead said to him, “How ugly this person is! Are all the people of your city as ugly as you?”

“I do not know,” the man said. “But go to the craftsman who made me, and tell him: ‘How ugly is the vessel which you have made!’”

Realizing that he had been wrong, Rebi Elazar dismounted from his donkey, prostrated himself before the man, and said to him, "You are right. Forgive me!” (Ta’anis 20a)

How easy it is to forget that every living creature, especially a person, is G–D’s handiwork. Even a great Torah scholar such as Rebi Elazar ben Rebi Shimon did so, and treated the man he encountered virtually as a sub-human. But the man wisely rebuked him by reminding him of his divine origin, and within seconds, Rebi Elazar was instead humbled before him, begging for forgiveness.

There is a similar story that gets to the soul of the matter:

The daughter of the emperor said to Rebi Yehoshua ben Chananya, “Too bad that glorious wisdom [like yours is] in [such] an ugly vessel!” 

So he asked her, “Does your father keep his wine in simple clay vessels?”

She answered: “In what then should he keep it?”

He said, “Important people like you should put it in gold and silver containers!”

She went and told this to her father. He put the wine in vessels of gold and silver and it turned sour. [When his advisors] came and told the emperor [that the wine had turned sour], he asked [his daughter], “Who told you to do this?” 

She told him: “Rebi Yehoshua be Chananya!”

[So the emperor] summoned him and asked him: “Why did you say this to her?” 

[Rebi Yehoshua ben Chananya] told him: “As she spoke to me, so I spoke to her [to show her that fine material is best preserved in the least of vessels].” 

[But the emperor asked him:] “But there are handsome people who are learned?”

[Rebi Yehoshua replied:] “Had they been ugly, they would have been even more learned.” (Ta’anis 7a)

Rebi Yehoshua and the emperor’s daughter had been discussing wisdom, but it could have just as easily been a discussion about the soul. In fact, they really are one and the same thing, wisdom and the soul, the former flowing from the latter. The soul tends to be better in a simpler “vessel.”

It is no coincidence that the more “beautiful” the generation becomes, the more entitled people seem to become as well. No one is saying that there is anything wrong with being attractive, or wealthy, or being careful to dress nicely. Judging by the natural beauty of the world, there is something G–Dly about that too. We’re just saying that those specific physical attributes often complicate matters when it comes to the ability of the soul to do what it was sent here to do: tikun—rectification. 

This is why we are impressed when we meet someone who is both handsome, beautiful, rich, etc., AND humble. We know that they are not a likely combination. People are drawn to success because they want it for themselves, and tend idolize those people who appear to have achieved it. This makes it hard for them to keep their own egos at bay. 

In a yetzer hara run society, it is the only way. Emphasis on material success and pleasures makes it difficult for spiritual values to have much of a say. All attention is shifted towards Society’s idea of success. 

The only problem is that physically we’re not all equal. In fact, there are HUGE discrepancies when it comes to physical attributes such appearance and wealth, making life very cliquey, and jealousy incredibly likely. Equality is demanded where it cannot exist, resulting in a tremendous sense of entitlement but few ways to achieve it. 

There can only be backlash in the end.

Some people, because of their material “shortcomings,” have either left the system or never had a chance to enter it. It may not have been their intention, and perhaps they were envious at first of others who had the “credentials” they lacked. But they nevertheless chose instead to go against the flow of Society.

And while going that way, they tend to find other traits and values that, lo and behold, are FAR more valuable. Values like humility, wisdom, kindness, modesty, etc. Perhaps they notice, perhaps they don’t, but in the process they tend to become really fine people. They develop a great sense of appreciation and little sense of entitlement. They are the builders of society, not the ones who destroy it.

I have dedicated this week’s “Perceptions” in honor of the eighth yarzheit of my father, Yisroel Ya’akov ben Tzvi, z”l (Jack Winston). He was my mentor in so many wonderful ways, and one of the most important was to never feel a sense of entitlement, but to work hard for what I wanted in life. He certainly did. I certainly try. May the learning of these pages of Torah be a great merit for his Neshamah, which should constantly ascend.

Rabbi Anava 40 Days - Day 5 - Tikun Habrit **** Why are you so Judgmental

Tikum HaBrit


Why Are You So Judgmental?

Rabbi Kahana – Chukat: What is the Rationale?

BS”D Parashat Chukat 5780

Rabbi Nachman Kahana

What is the Rationale?

The classic example of a Torah Chok (a mitzva whose rationale was not disclosed) is Para Aduma – the red heifer whose ashes are critical to restoring ritual purity to one who has come into contact with a corpse.

Notwithstanding the importance of every chok, this one is insignificant when compared to the ultimate one regarding the creation of the world and people in the first place.

One thing we Jews can be sure of.  HaShem is goal orientated and unceasingly active for our benefit, as stated by David Hamelech (Tehilim 121):

הנה לא ינום ולא יישן שומר ישראל:

Indeed, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps

It’s a Chok!

The universe, in its entirety, comprises space and time and their contents.  It includes two trillion galaxies consisting of planets, stars, black holes, and all forms of matter and energy. The actual size of the spatial universe is unknown, but the size of the observable universe is currently estimated at 93 billion light-years in diameter. The distance of a light-year is about 9.46 trillion kilometers (5.88 trillion miles).  Therefore, the size of the observable universe is 9.46 trillion kilometers times 93 billion. There are theories hypothesizing that our universe is only one of many disconnected universes belonging to a larger multi-universe, which comprises all of space and time and its contents.

So, the question under consideration is why did HaShem create such a huge and complex entity? We know next to nothing about the inner workings of the Creator.  We can only conclude that the functional result of what we see is that we must think big when dealing with HaShem and spiritual ideas.  HaShem has little patience for small talk and small thoughts.

Let’s return to our tiny and comfortable planet Earth and to Am Yisrael – its most respected resident. Our great and multi-faceted nation can be divided into many different categories, but the one I am referring to is the range of its spiritual world outlook.

Most Chareidi people cannot – or choose not to – see further than their immediate shtiebel or bet midrash, with the shtiebel next door light years away.

Most Chassidim escape into the warm and comfortable surroundings of their rebbe.  They view all other Chassidic groups as irrelevant and not even potential marriage partners for their children.

There are others who are capable of contemplating a larger Jewish community, such as the Jews of England or France. However, very few can view the entire nation of Yisrael as a unified, indivisible nation under HaShem.  To do so, one must intellectually and emotionally include every Jew – even the unrepentant heretic.

The master of this treatise is HaShem Himself, when He commanded Moshe to declare in His name (Shemot 4,22):

ואמרת אל פרעה כה אמר ה’ בני בכרי ישראל:

And you shall say to Pharoah, ‘Thus says HaShem my first born (nation of) Yisrael’

In our time, it was the venerable Harav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of the yishuv, who taught us how to think in terms of Am Yisrael as comprising all who are born to a Jewish mother or underwent halachic conversion. He was close to the non-observant and even to the anti-Halacha chalutzim (pioneers).  He encouraged them to continue their challenging efforts to restore life to the parched earth of Eretz Yisrael.

In terms of Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael in the last 72 years since the establishment of the Medina, we have witnessed some of the most miraculous feats a nation can perform. Unbelievable military victories, the July 4th  3276 kilometer surprise incursion on the airport in Entebbe, Uganda to rescue kidnapped Jews, the liberation of the Temple Mount and our sovereignty over all of Yerushalayim for the first time in over 2000 years, and so much more.

Am Yisrael is prepared for the next stage as HaShem guides us to the geula shelayma (total redemption). If until now the thrust of HaShem’s miracles was the survival of the Jewish nation and settling the land, the next miraculous acts will deal with the people who presently reside in the land. There will be a major population exchange of immense proportions.  Millions of gentiles will leave and will be replaced by millions of Jews.

There are close to 400,000 gentiles from the former Soviet Union who arrived here by virtue of having at least one Jewish grandparent.  Their purpose was to find a better life than what they had had in the Soviet Union. They have no inherent feelings to the land and no desire nor inclination to convert to Judaism, which requires total acceptance of the Halacha.

There are over 80,000 illegal Africans who infiltrated by way of Egypt. They have taken over southern Tel Aviv and drive away the Israelis. They bring many children into the world, assuming that these children will be the gateway to obtaining permanent residence.

Arabs in Israel number about 1.9 million or 21% of the population. There are another 2 million in Yehuda and Shomron and 2 million in the Gaza area.  These 6 million Arabs demonstrate their hostility in varying degrees from putting a knife in a Jew’s back to plotting a full-scale uprising against the Medina.

They will all have to go.

The Medina, with its limited resources and precarious international standing, will not expel these people. Therefore, it is up to HaShem to do as He did at the time of Yehoshua bin Nun.

The miracle will continue when HaShem brings about the conditions that will force the Jews in galut to come here.

When will it happen and how will it happen?

That is a CHOK!

So, remember the three Bs

B careful, B healthy and B here

Shabbat Shalom,

Nachman Kahana

Copyright © 5780/2020 Nachman Kahana

Why is everyone wearing masks when the science doesn't prove effectiveness?

New Study on Face Mask Effectiveness

A newly released meta-analysis on the use of face masks for reducing the transmission of viral respiratory infections within community settings shows the evidence for their effectiveness is equivocal at best.

Titled, “Face masks to prevent community transmission of viral respiratory infections: A rapid evidence review using Bayesian analysis,” the study analyzed eleven randomized, controlled trials and 10 observational studies, concluding:

“Available evidence from RCTs is equivocal as to whether or not wearing face masks in community settings results in a reduction in clinically- or laboratory-confirmed viral respiratory infections. No relevant studies concerned SARS-CoV-2 or were undertaken in community settings in the UK.”

Here is an example they provided of the highly equivocal nature of their study findings:

“One study found lower rates of self-reported symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI) in the intervention compared with the control arm; however, in secondary analyses with laboratory-confirmed ILI, the rate of infection was less in the control arm than the intervention arm.”

The researchers pointed out that there is considerable controversy on the topic of the effectiveness of mask wearing, and proper risk/benefit analyses should be conducted given their implications to health policy.

They noted that while face masks filter droplets believed to contain viruses like SARS-CoV-2, they also have a number of drawbacks. For instance, if not used correctly, they:

“...may even increase transmission if they act as fomites [objects or materials which are likely to carry infection] or prompt other behaviours that transmit the virus such as face touching. For example, a face mask that has been worn for several hours becomes moist and acts as a potential source of contamination. Studies show that people touch their faces 15-23 times per hour on average (9,10), and this may mean that eyes and contaminated face masks are touched, spreading the virus."

The researchers commented on the implications of their findings for policy and practice:

"While the potentially biased self-reported outcomes from RCTs suggest a small benefit of face mask wearing, findings on clinically- and laboratory-confirmed infection remain equivocal. In addition, none of the studies concerned SARS-CoV-2 and none were conducted in the UK. All were in community settings that were different in many respects from the situation pertaining to SARS-CoV-2 in the UK. In light of this, judgements about the benefits or harms of wearing face masks will have to be made using a priori arguments rather than the data reviewed here: the scientific evidence should be considered equivocal. Such arguments should pay special attention to specific settings where the risk of infection is high and the opportunity for physical distancing is low (e.g. on crowded public transport), and to the need for education and training to maximise the potential benefits of wearing masks and mitigate the risk that they will transmit infection by acting as fomites."

This study was the subject of a recent article titled, "Four potential consequences of wearing face masks we need to be wary of" published on www.theconversation.com, and which is well worth reading.

Clearly, in a time and age when mandatory medical interventions, including so-called non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, hand-washing, and mask wearing, are increasingly being implemented and institutionalized under the auspices of the public safety, we need to let the evidence itself (and not simply fear and a desire to control) guide these public health decisions and policies. When the evidence of safety and effectiveness is lacking, or worse, when there is evidence of unsafety and ineffectiveness, it is our job to inform ourselves and others, and not consent to unethical, unlawful, or unconstitutional orders that violate our health and bodily sovereignty. Join the non-profit, health freedom advocacy project www.Standforhealthfreedom.com to learn more about your rights and what you can do to protect them.

Read full article at GreenMedinfo
...................

Millions of Israelis are wearing masks but it doesn’t lower the infection rate, in fact the more infected the weaker the illness (virus).

COVID-19 is weakening, could die out without vaccine, specialist claims
"It was like an aggressive tiger in March and April, but now it's like a wild cat." Even elderly patients – who a few months ago would have died – "are sitting up in bed, and breathing without help." JPost

Closures will not stop coronavirus in Israel – health experts
“We have to take steps to lower the infection all over Israel or we are just going to have more areas like this,” said former Health Ministry director-general Prof. Gabi Barbash.JPost


Four potential consequences of wearing face masks we need to be wary of

If healthcare workers wear surgical masks, there is good evidence that it limits the spread of respiratory viral infections in hospitals. But there is no clear evidence that surgical masks protect members of the public from getting or passing on these sorts of infections – most likely because of incorrect use. For cloth masks worn by the public, the picture is even murkier.

Surgical masks are made up of several layers of non-woven plastic and can effectively filter very small particles, such as droplets of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). The masks typically contain an external waterproof layer and an internal absorbent layer.

Although masks made from scarves, T-shirts or other fabrics can’t provide the same level of protection and durability as surgical masks, they can block some of the large droplets exhaled by the wearer, hence protecting others from viral exposure. But their ability to filter droplets depends on their construction. Multi-layered cloth masks are better at filtering but harder to breathe through. And they become wetter quicker than single-layer masks.

The question we need to ask is not so much whether cloth masks offer as good a protection as surgical masks (we know that they don’t, and perhaps that’s fine), but whether there are serious unintended consequences of recommending their widespread use by members of the public.

When deciding if a safety measure is worth introducing at scale, it’s important to balance any benefits against potential harms. Here are four potential consequences that, unless mitigated against, could make things worse. Forewarned is forearmed.

Phenomenal Analysis

Starting at -28 a Phenomenal Analysis by Dell Bigtree of the course (at -20.57 it gets really unique) of Covid-19 and the Medical Authorities simply messing up (making mistake after mistake) with their protocol, induced by “back’n’forth Fauci” who couldn’t make up his mind about how to treat this highly contagious virus, driving countries and medical personnel bananas!



The devisor is the weakening of the virus and the steep drop in deaths.

Thanks to the Medical Mistakes, Ventilators starting killing patients
The Medical Establishment has failed humanity when most needed.