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31 July 2020

Yearning for Mashiach and Yearning for the Rebuilt Temple

The Sages taught,

 "Any generation in which the Temple is not built, it is as if it had been destroyed in their times" (Yerushalmi, Yoma 1a).

The same lack of merit resulting in its destruction has resulted in its not being rebuilt. In fact, the Midrash states a frightening outcome of not yearning for the rebuilding of the Temple, "All the communities that fell, it is only because they didn't inquire after and demand the Beit HaMikdash" (Midrash Socher Tov, Shmuel 31). https://ohr.edu/holidays/tisha_bav/mourning/1088

We can add to the following list the over 70 years we have been allowed back on our Land and the Temple has not been rebuilt. B”H Yerushalayim is being beautified.  And B”H the City of David is being exposed, with its connection to Har HaBayit. We can follow the underground pathways to historical moments in time, 



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Prophecies of the End Times – Just as Predicted (ivrit)

The fulfillment of the prophecies of the end times: 
"Just as the sages predicted thousands of years ago”


Rabbi Doron Lasri in his weekly program "Taste and See" (every Sunday at 12:00, on Channel 2000) referred to what is happening in the people of Israel these days and proves according to Sages sources the fulfillment of the end-time prophecies in our generation step by step: "Truth will be absent "Later, the rabbi asked what would have happened if Pinchas had existed in our generation?" The prime minister would have shouted a criminal! “


רוצים להיות הראשונים שמתעדכנים בדברים הכי מעניינים? הצטרפו לערוץ 2000 בוואטסאפ (קבוצה שקטה) »»» http://bit.ly/radio-2000
השידור מוקדש לזכות כל התורמים והמסייעים לערוץ 2000 ◄ רוצים גם אתם להקדיש שיעור תורה לזכותכם? לפרנסה, לרפואה, לזיווג או להבדיל לעילוי נשמת הקרובים או כל ישועה אחרת לחצו כאן »»» https://www.radio2000.co.il/contact

Rabbi Winston – Parashas VaEschanan-Nachamu

This week’s Perceptions is dedicated in loving memory of Leah Bat Tzvi, a”h, (niftar Tisha B’Av, 5744), my mother and Teacher. She never stopped giving. She never gave up but accepted whatever came her way. “Shema Yisrael” was dear to her. May this dedication by aliyah for her dear Neshamah, and may her memory be for a brachah. 

Chana Kedar and Family


"Console, console My people," says your G–D.… (Yeshaya 40:1)


IN THE PAST when Shabbos Nachamu came around it felt right because it was great to be past Tisha B’Av and the Three Weeks. We had done our time by reducing our pleasure, and had persevered the fasting and saying of Kinos. While the rest of the world was having a summer blast, we live restrained and withdrawn. It was now time to join the fun.


Granted, it did not lead to 100 percent abandon. After all, mourning or no mourning, the Temple had not returned. In fact, nothing had really changed about the Jewish people, so where was the consolation, really? Nevertheless, if the rabbis felt it was okay to sidestep the issue for the time being, who were we to argue and continue on with the sadness really due because of the lack of redemption?


The blessing of the previous years was the issue. The world had problems, but it still seemed relatively calm, basically normal. If wars were being fought, they were not ours. The economy still made it possible to make a living, and we went to work or school as we had for decades already. We were free to roam, locally or abroad, and we didn’t have to think twice about where we went or who we passed. People wore masks, but they were foreigners who we thought were paranoid about becoming ill from the environment. We never imagined having to do the same thing.


What a difference a year can make, or even just a couple of months. It’s no longer just the foreigners who wear the masks, but the locals as well. If we go to shul, it is to pray among plastic barriers that would have looked ridiculous just months earlier. The economy is struggling, and businesses are failing. Weddings are not the simcha they once were since there are far fewer attendees and the affair is far less fancy. It’s a different world.


For some, that is welcome news. People are revolting against the system with impunity. We see an increase in looting  and crime without arrests. The conservative approach to life which seemed to dominate for so long is under attack and intimidated. Leftism and Liberalism have grown in power and seem to be taking over. For those on the right, the world is a scarier place.


Perhaps even scarier is how so many Jews have embraced the revolution. They seem to accept or overlook all the dangers of what is happening, and instead stand behind the changes. In the words of one rabbi, “I used to think a Holocaust could not happen in America. It terrifies me to say that given the direction of American society, and knowing history from the past, that has changed. And once again, no one else seems to see it!”


What does he see? Well, aside from the anarchy, changing laws. Until now, it has been the American Constitution that has protected the Jews there, allowing them to prosper. It is far from a perfect, but one of the best set of social rules the Western world has ever produced. While it ran the country, civility ran the country. 


Racism exists, but not because of the Constitution. It has more to do with attitudes of people, both on the part of the white and black populations, and these won’t change because the laws do. What is going on in the States is not really in the name of equality. It is in the name of “hefkeres,” a far more open society unbridled by Torah-like values, and THAT always leads to anti-Semitism, somehow, down the road. Jews who support it today will end up running from it tomorrow. It’s a historical fact. 


But try and tell them today. No way. Try and show people how history is repeating itself, and they laugh at you, call you a religious fanatic or something. You become an enemy of their state. You want to save them, but they accuse you of the opposite, leaving you with that sinking feeling of, “Those who forget are doomed to repeat,” G–D forbid.


This has certainly made it easy to feel the reality of Tisha B’Av like it hasn’t been so possible in recent years. But, it also makes it difficult to leave Tisha B’Av behind as we head into Shabbos Nachamu. Some will always be able to ignore the problems of the world as long as they don’t affect them personally. The rest of us can’t, as much as we’d really like to.


Maybe this will all blow over eventually. Not all revolutions lead to bad conclusions. Some have changed society for the better, though the transition was difficult. Maybe this time, the Jews of the Diaspora will not fare as poorly as they have so many times in the past, instead keeping their wealth and living in safety. Maybe the redemption will come peacefully, even if we don’t seem to deserve it.


That’s a lot of maybes. The only things we know for sure is that one day, all Jews have to end up in Eretz Yisroel. The Torah says so. The world has to stop moving away from G–D, and move towards G–D. The prophets said so. People have to stop oppressing people, and selfishness with all the other negative vices of man have to become things of the past. The Talmud says so. Right now, we are far away from all of this. 


Where’s the consolation in THAT? 


Where it has always been. It’s in the knowledge that, no matter how “hefker” the world seems to become, it is not, because G–D is in control and never relinquishes that control. And everything HE does He does for the GOOD, even if in the meantime it still looks pretty bad.


Just imagine how Moshe Rabbeinu felt. He hadn’t wanted to free the Jewish people in the first place, once he found out that they would go into other exiles later on. G–D made him do it anyhow. From that point onward, he put everything he had into the mission, despite the fact that he would not be able to complete it. 

Even worse, he says in this week’s parsha:


When you have children and children's children, and you will be long established in the land, and you become corrupt and make a graven image, the likeness of anything, and do evil in the eyes of G–D your G–D, to provoke Him to anger… (Devarim 4:25)


That’s even worse than telling hard-working college students that yes, they will graduate, but no, they will not be able to find jobs after they do. “Yes, you will take and settle the land,“ Moshe told them on the east side of the Jordan, “but no, you will not keep it. You will blow it, and be exiled.”


But Moshe knew they would also be redeemed. True, they would be exiled again, but they will be redeemed from that exile too…only to go into another exile. But after that one, Moshe Rabbeinu knew, there would come one last final redemption, and would stay henceforth. It would take a lot of time, and a lot of suffering, but eventually his job would be done, and he would even reincarnate to complete it.


It would certainly be nice to be part of THAT generation, the one to be redeemed once and for all. The truth is, we are so close to the end that we may be. It would be wonderful to personally witness the fulfillment of the final prophecies for Jewish history and, in fact, we are witnessing them. The world may be out of control now, but there is something very controlling going on all the way through it. We just have to work hard to focus on it, and not all the distracting things happening around it.


To think that Moshiach is not only in the world right now, but just moments away from revealing himself maybe outside of the box for many today. But for those who can and for those who do, this is tremendous consolation, even as the sky remains gray for now.



Four Unique Characteristics of the THIRD TEMPLE

By Yehuda Shurpin Chabad.org

In the 25th year of the Babylonian exile, G‑d showed a vision of the future Temple to the prophet Ezekiel.1 Yet the Second Temple was built only partially based on the description in the book of Ezekiel, as this prophetic description was reserved for the Third and final Temple.2

The Midrash tells us that when G‑d commanded Ezekiel to describe the dimensions of the Temple to the Jewish people, Ezekiel asked, “Master of the Universe, why are You telling me to go and tell Israel the form of the House; they are now in exile in the land of our enemies—is there anything they can do about it? Let them be, until they return from the exile. Then I will go and inform them.”

G‑d answered: “Should the construction of My House be ignored because My children are in exile? The study of the design of the Holy Temple as detailed in the Torah can be equated to its actual construction. Go tell them to study the form of the Holy Temple. As a reward for their study and their occupation with it, I will consider it as if they actually built the Holy Temple.”3

Based on the above Midrash, the Lubavitcher Rebbe strongly promoted learning about the building of the Temple, especially during the time of year in which we mourn its destruction.4

Thus, we present an outline of some distinct characteristics of the Third Temple. (Note, however, that Maimonides writes that the design of the Messianic Temple, though mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel, “is not explicit or explained.”5)

It Will Be Big
The Third Temple will be many times larger than the previous two Temples. For example, the area set aside for the Second Temple complex, or what is known as the Temple Mount, was 500 by 500 cubits (each cubit being approximately 18.9 inches). In the Third Temple, it will be 3,000 by 3,000 cubits—i.e., it will be 36 times larger, or 9,000,000 square cubits (approx. 22,325,625 square feet or 512.5 acres)!6

It Will Be Square
The basic division of the Temple into different sections, such as the Kodesh (Holy) and the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), will be the same as in the previous Temples. However, the section called the ezrat nashim in the Second Temple (and “outer courtyard” in Ezekiel’s prophecy) will have a very different layout in the Third Temple. Whereas in the Second Temple this section was a 135-square-cubit area in front of the azarah (the latter is equivalent to the “inner courtyard” in Ezekiel’s prophecy), in the Third Temple this area will be 312 by 317 cubits, and completely surround, almost like a square, the azarah.7

Iron Is In
Iron was not used in the building of the first two Temples, as the verse states: “The House, when it was in building, was built of stone finished at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe (nor) any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.”8 Why? Because iron is used in the fashioning of weapons used to shorten life, and the purpose of the Temple was to “make peace” between man and G‑d, thereby lengthening one’s life. Thus, it is improper to build a life-sustaining structure with a material that is its very antithesis.
However, the Lubavitcher Rebbe explains at length that in the messianic era, when “swords will be beaten into plowshares” and iron will be used only for the positive, this prohibition of using metal in the structure of the Temple will no longer apply.
The use of iron in the Third Temple will not just be a symptom of the peace that will reign, but it is symbolic of the messianic era in general.9
The Hebrew word for iron is ברזל, which the Arizal explains is an acronym for the four wives of Jacob, from whom the Jewish nation is descended: בלהה רחל זלפה לאה.10 This corresponds to the mystics’ explanation that in the era of redemption, women will be on a higher level than men.

We’ll Go There Often
The verse at the end of Isaiah states, “‘It shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath that all flesh shall come to prostrate themselves before Me,’ says the L‑rd.”11 The Midrash explains that although during the eras of the first two Temples the Jews made a pilgrimage to the Temple only three times a year, in the messianic era we will do so every first of the new month. The Midrash goes on to explain that this was impossible to do during the first two Temples, but that in the era of the Third Temple we will have “clouds” that will transport us to Jerusalem and the Temple, enabling us to visit the Holy Temple on a much more frequent basis.12

May the merit of learning about the building of the Temple stand us in good stead, and may we merit the rebuilding of the Third Holy Temple speedily in our days!

FOOTNOTES
1.See Ezekiel, chs. 40–48.
2.For more on that, see Did the Jews Disregard Ezekiel’s Prophecy of the Temple?
3.Midrash Tanchuma, Tzav 14; Yalkut Shimoni on Ezekiel 43:10–11 (382).
4.See Likkutei Sichot, vol. 18, p. 411.
5.Mishneh Torah, Hil. Beit HaBechirah 1:4.
6.Rashi, Ezekiel 42:20.
7.See Ezekiel ch. 40 with commentaries.
8.I Kings 6:7.
9.See Sefer HaSichot 5752, p. 233.
10.
11.Isaiah 66:23.
12.See Yalkut Shimoni, end of Isaiah.

Rabbi Chaim Sabato – If We Were worthy

Our world has taken a hit. A pauper’s crown.


Would we be worthy, all public health experts would convene, discuss, resolve and recommend.


Not being worthy, the experts go each in their own direction, blaspheming the other, accusing, defaming.


Would we be worthy, pharmaceutical companies and scientists would unite to discover vaccines and drugs.


Not being worthy, each drug company races forward to beat rivals by a few days and fill its own coffers with millions.


Would we be worthy, those forced into isolation and quarantine would be thankful and acknowledge a debt to those who are protecting their health.


Not being worthy, each camp believes it is being hounded and locked down to humiliate it, batter it, and pierce its heart.


Would we be worthy, those who pray in synagogues and study in yeshivas would recall the Torah commandment to live by Torah maxim, “to live by them and not die by them.”


Not being worthy, they deem the closing of synagogues to be Antiochus-style decrees or the diktats of czars and inquisitioners.


Would we be worthy, those who earned in recent years significant sums of money would have saved-up for times of trouble.


Not being worthy, the wealthy leveraged their income to spend double their worth on luxury cars and palatial homes and extravagant travel, yet now are begging for handouts.


Would we be worthy, artists would be raising the spirits of our nation with their God-given talents.


Not being worthy, they furiously stalk street demonstrations.


Would we be worthy, aid would be directed to the weak, to strengthen and encourage them.


Not being worthy, each sector grabs what it can; gyms and pools and restaurants and banquet halls look out for themselves.


Would we be worthy, this moment of crisis and global pandemic could be the finest hour of our people, whose eternal values have shepherded it for generations; love your neighbor as yourself, [sustain] your brother that he may live aside you; do the righteous and good – [these teachings] would heal the hurt with overwhelming love.


Not being worthy, the Land of Israel is desolation and destruction; some demonstrate and others strike, some shout and others yank at the squawker’s beard; hatred and hostility pervade the atmosphere.


Alas, there was a precedent in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago; zealots burning with baseless hatred for one another torched food storehouses which could have sustained the city for three years. Will we today also set fire to the treasure troves of our country?


On whose neck does responsibility hang? Not only on the necks of our political shepherds, many of whom attend to themselves and not to their flock, as Ezekiel prophesied, but on the intelligentsia and the literati, cultural leaders, and religious scholars.


Had they educated toward neighborly love, modest lifestyle, altruism and eternal and spiritual values, and not to the pursuit of riches, fame, perks of power and authority, and the persecution of one another – we would not have descended so. The spoiled fruits of today stem from seeds of devastation that were sown over decades.


“I planted you like a noble vine, all with choicest seed; how have you turned yourself into a degenerate, alien vine?” (Jeremiah 2:21).


Just maybe, the heart hoards hope. Concealed currents of untainted water bubble under the rubble and will surge to the surface and form pure wellsprings and purify our land.


Perhaps. Would we be worthy.

30 July 2020

Tisha B’Av – The Shattered Vase

BS”D
THE SHTTERED VASE
By Roy Neuberger 
 
Erev Shabbos, just before candle-lighting, a crystal vase was accidentally knocked over and shattered. It happened because I was agitated, which increased my anguish. I felt it was my fault and I was very upset. I left the house and walked to minyan
 
How could I begin Shabboslike this? But I couldn’t shake it. 
 
On the way to mincha, I suddenly realized ….
 
What! It’s a few days before Tisha B’Av!This is Shabbos Chazon, the darkest week of the year! And you are upset about a crystal vase? 
 
What about the Bais Hamikdosh!
 
You’re not upset about the Bais Hamikdosh?
 
You are crying about a vase and you’re not crying for the Bais Hamikdosh
 
What’s wrong with you? 
 
Suddenly, I knew that Hashem had sent me a message! Get your head together! Get your priorities straight! You only get upset when a vase is smashed, but meanwhile your whole world was smashed! 
 
What happened to, “If I forget you, Oh Yerushalayim, let my right hand forget its skill. Let my tongue adhere to my palate if fail to recall you, if I fail to elevate Yerushalayim above my foremost joy….”? [1]
 
Suddenly, my brain cleared. I knew exactly why that vase had shattered.
 
“So remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come …. before the silver cord snaps and the golden bowl is shattered, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel is smashed at the pit. Thus, the dust returns to the ground as it was, and the spirit returns to G-d Who gave it. Futility of futilities, said Koheles, all is futility.”[2]
 
My friends, it is tempting to shield ourselves from truth, but the truth is that “all those who mourn for Yerushalayim will merit to witness her joy …..”[3]Unless we mourn for Yerushalayim, we are in danger of missing her redemption, G-d forbid. 
 
One way to feel the seriousness of the moment is to focus on our current troubles, and the world is now in the midst of unprecedented troubles. Biblical Mitzraimwas brought down by plagues; today the entire world is in the midst of a great plague. 
 
Several months ago, I quoted Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits, who wrote about the Corona virus, “Nobody in this world knows if, when and how this is going to end.” Every word of atalmid chachamis measured, and it is significant that Rabbi Berkovits used the word “if” when referring to the end of Corona. 
 
We have to be prepared. This may end very differently from the way many people want and expect. Rabbi Refoel Rosenstein, a distinguished friend and kollel administrator, provided me recently with a powerful insight into our current situation. 
 
Rabbi Rosenstein showed me several midrashim, which all make the same point. 
 
“Sof davar … the end of the matter … fear G-d and keep His commandments ….”[4]The Midrashapparently interprets the word “davar” at the end of Sefer Kohelesin two ways: as if it meant “matter” or“subject,”and also asif it meant “dever… plague.”The Midrash continues: “Rabbi Levi said: Why is pestilence called ‘dever’….?” Here the Midrash is hinting that there will be a plague at the “end.”[5]
 
Pesikta Rabbatiis more explicit, and states, in the name of the same Rabbi Levi, “Near the days of Moshiach a great plague (‘dever gadol’) will come to the world.”[6]
 
Shir ha Shirim Rabbahstates, “Rabbi Chiya bar Abba said: Samuch limos hamashiach … shortly before the days of Moshiach (the same language as the Pesikta) a great plague will come to the world ….”[7]
 
My friends, this is real, tangible, palpable, like the shattering of a crystal vase. 
 
Our present world appears to be shattering and breaking. The same way Mitzraimwas shattered, our world is being shattered. 
 
But what is this shattering? 
 
“The Rabbis taught in a Baraisa: [If there is] a plague in the city, take your feet in [to your house to avoid becoming infected), as it says,‘And as for you, you shall not leave the entrance of the house until morning,’, and it also says,[9]‘Go, My people enter your rooms and close your door behind you [hide for a brief moment until the wrath has passed],’ and it also says,[10]‘On the outside the sword [of the Angel of Death] will bereave, while indoors there will be dread.’”[11]
 
Mitzraimwas shattered in order that our Fathers could go out to Har Sinaiand receive the Torah. We should know that, provided that we hold tightly to the Torah, all shattering is only to build. 
 
“The Holy One, Blessed is He, said: [It is incumbent] upon Me to pay for the blaze that I kindled. I lit the fire in Tzion, as it says:[12]‘He lit a fire in Tzion which consumed its foundations.’ And I [will in the] future build it [again] with fire, as it says[13]: ‘And I will be for it … a wall of fire all around and for glory will I be in its midst.’”[14]
 
There are grounds for rational hope on this Tisha B’Avthat we will soon see the end of our long Golus. We seem to be almost there, my friends. 
 
“Remember the exhausted [nation] that won [Your favor], and return her to Your soil. Eternally will I laud You, saying ‘Ashrei … praiseworthy are those who dwell in Your House.’”[15]
 

[1] Psalm 137
[2] Koheles 12:1-8
[3] Taanis 30b
[4] Koheles 12:13
[5] Midrash Koheles Parashah 12:14
[6] Pesikta Rabbati near the end of Perek Aleph
[7] Shir ha Shirim Rabbah 2:29
[8] Shemos 12:22
[9] Yeshiah 26:20
[10] Dvarim 32:25
[11] Bava Kamma 60b
[12] Eichah 4:11
[13] Zechariah 2:9
[14] Bava Kamma 60b
[15] Keil keli

 
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The Temple Mount as the “Truma” of Eretz Yisrael – Parashat Va’et’chanan and Tish’a Be’Av

BS”D 

Parashat Va’et’chanan Week of Tish’a Be’Av 5780

Rabbi Nachman Kahana

 

The Temple Mount as the “Truma” of Eretz Yisrael

 

This Wednesday night is the 9th of Menachem Av (the 9th day of the 11th month of our calendar year Menachem Av, counting from the previous month of Tishrei [Rosh HaShana]- that is our 9-11).  For the 1950th time, we will mourn – in that exquisite unity that binds all Jews – the death of the 600,000 Jews in the desert who turned their backs on Eretz Yisrael and will feel the fresh anguish at the destruction of our two temples and subsequent expulsions into galut.

Notwithstanding the depths of our sorrow, there exists an ongoing reminder that the third Temple will be built and that HaShem will restore our nation to the grandeur that was once Am Yisrael. That reminder is Har Habayit – the Temple Mount – in Yerushalayim.

What makes Har Habayit the eternal repository of sanctity?

The Midrash (Devarim Raba 11,10) teaches that Moshe beseeched HaShem 515 times to be allowed to enter Eretz Yisrael.  This equals the gematria (number equivalent) of the word Va’et’chanan. Moshe did not request a homestead of lush rolling land, nor did he request a palatial home befitting the first king of Israel. He desired to enter the land for one sole purpose, as the Gemara (Sota 14a) says: “Was it to eat of its fruit or find pleasures of the Land that Moshe wished to enter? No! It was for one reason. Moshe prayed for the opportunity to keep mitzvot in Eretz Yisrael.”

It would appear that the Gemara is at odds with the Midrash in describing Moshe’s prayer to HaShem.

The Midrash relates that when HaShem denied Moshe the privilege of entering the Land, Moshe pleaded: “If I cannot enter in a living state, let my body be brought into the land.” HaShem’s answer was no! “Let me enter in the form of an animal so I can tread on the Land.” No! “Then let me enter as a bird without touching the Land.” No”!

Now, if according to the Gemara, Moshe wanted to enter the Land to keep its mitzvot, why would it satisfy him to enter as an animal or a bird?

We must, therefore, conclude that there is a spiritual experience that even an animal or a bird can experience – and that is fulfilling the mitzva of just being present in the land.

If the Land is so holy that even its air space is sanctified (the Zohar says that Eretz Yisrael is directly under the kisay ha’kavod – the Heavenly Throne – and the earthly Yerushalayim is directly under the heavenly Yerushalayim, influencing the spirit of all who are present there), the question arises: How can we live as “normal” human beings, doing the things people must do in order to maintain their personal and national lives? How do we get up in the morning and go to work, deal in commerce and industry, fix our cars when they break, eat, sleep, and attend to our bodily needs? The whole Land should be as the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) of the Temple, if even an animal is stirred by the sanctity of the Land.

I suggest:

Newly grown crops of wheat, grapes, and olives in Eretz Yisrael are designated in the Torah as “tevel,” and no part may be eaten because of their sanctity (all other fruit and vegetables are “tevel” by rabbinic decree). The resultant punishment for this transgression is the termination of one’s life prior to the time allotted to him at birth. The prohibition is annulled by separating the required tithes as stated in the Torah. One of the tithes is “teruma gedola,” which is given to a kohen. The amount of teruma from the Torah is one grain of wheat (or grape or olive) from an entire crop. Not being a farmer, I would give a wild guess that there are millions of grains in a decent-sized wheat crop, which would make the teruma gedola totally insignificant in terms of quantity. Nevertheless, this tithe and the others are the factors determining one’s life expectancy.

We can conclude that this one single grain concentrates in itself the sanctity of the entire crop; because the spiritual world has a different set of physics and chemistry where size, space and numbers are irrelevant.

Thus, I suggest we live normally and function in Eretz Yisrael despite its inherent sanctity.  This is feasible because HaShem has separated a piece of teruma that contains in it the necessary amount of kedusha, rendering the rest of the country kadosh – but less than the status of the Holy of Holies.

That “piece” of teruma is Har Habayit.

The Rambam states that, even in the period when the halachic status of Eretz Yisrael in terms of the agricultural laws was changed by the destruction of the first Temple, the halachic status of the Temple Mount was never altered since the time of King Solomon.  Hence, we may offer up sacrifices even in our times (if we could overcome several halachic obstacles, such as the exact place of the altar and who is an authentic kohen).

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in the Jewish world, and proof of this is what the great Ramban wrote to his son after arriving in Yerushalayim, “Whatever is more holy is more desecrated – Yehuda is more desecrated than the Galil, and Yerushalayim is the most desecrated of all.”

If you are shuddering at the thought of how many “karet” transgressions one performs when ascending the Mount, permit me to fill you in on a little halachic geography.

The Temple Mount is made up of two distinct areas. In the center is solid bedrock, which is surrounded by landfill made by Hordus (Herod) when he turned the Temple Mount from a square into a rectangle. His Bet Hamikdash was 100 amot high (50 meters) – equivalent to a 25-story building. Hordus built it with huge stones, like those in the Kotel.  The sheer weight of the Bet Hamikdash was much too heavy to be held up by landfill. This means that even though we do not know where the exact site is, we do know where it is not; and, therefore, we tread only on the landfill. Indeed, the Kotel is no more than a supporting wall for the landfill to prevent slippage. The only area where karet is punishable is on bedrock in the area of the Temple.  There is no punishment of karet for entering the surrounding Mount even for the most severe types of tuma.

[On a personal note: Were it in my power, I would close off the Kotel and hang a big sign on it saying, “All this because of sin’at chinam (unjustified hatred),” and then direct the people to Har Habayit.]

In the reality of our contemporary religious, geopolitical and military situation, whoever controls the Temple Mount controls Eretz Yisrael emotionally and religiously – and his G-d is victorious. It is clear that religious emotions are the dominant factors here in the Middle East.

On the human, practical level, the reality on the Temple Mount will be decided by numbers. If in the past very few Jews ascended the Mount in a year, the numbers are now in the tens of thousands. Things will change when the numbers will be in the hundreds of thousands. At that time, the pressure from the population will force the changes necessary to remove the abominations which are presently there.

The Haredi segment will join and even lead the great numbers, as they are beginning to see that the halachic decisions of the Dati-Leumi rabbis are the ones which are pertinent for our generation.

The most important mitzva in our time is the one that Jews “tread on with their heels” (Parashat Aikev) – to ascend the Temple Mount and declare that here we will build the third Bet Hamikdash.

It is enlightening to recall the words of our leaders at the time the second Bet Hamikdash was being built, as recorded in the book of Ezra chapter 4:

)א) וישמעו צרי יהודה ובנימן כי בני הגולה בונים היכל לה’ אלהי ישראל:

(ב) ויגשו אל זרבבל ואל ראשי האבות ויאמרו להם נבנה עמכם כי ככם נדרוש לאלהיכם ולא ולו אנחנו זבחים מימי אסר חדן מלך אשור המעלה אתנו פה:

(ג) ויאמר להם זרבבל וישוע ושאר ראשי האבות לישראל לא לכם ולנו לבנות בית לאלהינו כי אנחנו יחד נבנה לה’ אלהי ישראל כאשר צונו המלך כורש מלך פרס:

 

1: When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin (Samaritans and others) heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the G-d of Israel,

 2: they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your G-d and have been sacrificing to Him since the time of Esarhaddon King of Assyria, who brought us here.”

3: But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the other heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our G-d. We alone will build it for the Lord, the G-d of Israel…

 

When the time comes (may it be soon) for us to rebuild the Bet Hamikdash, the nations will offer the Medina “foreign aid” to be partners in HaShem’s new world. And we shall say to them, as did our fathers, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our G-d. We alone will build it for the Lord, the G-d of Israel.”

This Tish’a be’Av will mark the 1950th year since the destruction of the Second Temple, by the cursed Romans in the year 70 C.E.

Look around.  Do you see any descendants of the ancient Romans, or for that matter, a descendant of any of our long-lost enemies? And with just a little patience, we will not be able to find a descendant of any of our latter-day enemies.

So, for now, we will have to weep for what was and contend with our increasing anxieties stemming from the realities of our present-day challenges, but never taking our eyes off the three Bs:

B careful  B healthy  B here

…and its corollary JLMM – Jewish Lives Mean More

 

Have a meaningful fast and Shabbat Shalom,

Nachman Kahana

Copyright © 5780/2020 Nachman Kahana

29 July 2020

Frontline Doctors On Censorship

Frontline Doctors On Censorship: We’re Coming After You Big Tech – We Will Not Be Silenced!

Less than 24 hours after the Frontline Doctors first press conference in Washington D.C. was censored and removed from Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, and after having their own website knocked offline in an attempt to silence them, the doctors were back in front of the steps of the Supreme Court building today (Tuesday, July 28, 2020) for their second press conference, at great risk to their lives, their families, and their jobs, as they remained determined to bring the truth directly to the American people that a cure for COVID exists, and that the public does not need to cower in fear anymore.

While the corporate media continues to blacklist the group of doctors and refuses to cover their press conferences, some hecklers showed up to try and drown out the speakers.

See: The Lost Book of Remedies

The fact that these doctors are seeing a 100% cure rate for COVID patients is a message Big Pharma, Big Tech, and their political leaders do not want the public to hear. Because it would mean that their drugs and their coming vaccines are worthless and unnecessary.

They do not want healthy Americans. They want sick Americans cowering in fear so they can control us for their own purposes.

Dr. Simone Gold was the first doctor to speak today, and she said:

We are finally coming forward, at great personal and professional costs to ourselves.

We’re tired of seeing patients die in front of us, and we’re even more upset to see the spider web of fear that is enveloping the American public.

When there’s a treatment, there’s a cure. People have been afraid to say that.

But what else do you call it if you give somebody the medication early, and it aborts the disease process?

We’re coming after you Big Tech. We’re coming after you.

We won’t be silenced. The First Amendment is first for a reason. There’s thousands of us.

Dr. Richard Urso was another doctor who spoke today:

We cannot let our patients die without treatment. And that’s the major thing that’s happened.

We’ve been told to hide in our houses, wear a mask, and wait for a vaccine.

That’s not a strategy. We have a strategy.

Hydroxychloroquine works. Withholding it from patients is shameful.

Watch the full press conference as filmed by Breitbart News (let us know if it disappears link below).


This video is of a press conference that took place in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, held by the group America’s Frontline Doctors and organized and sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots Foundation. The press conference featured frontline doctors sharing their views and opinions on the novel coronavirus, the medical response to the pandemic, and the censorship they have experienced from Big Tech.
____________________________________
The only cure for this censorship and cruelty is for more people to stand tall and speak out.
Brian Shilavy is the Editor of Health Impact News, where this article first appeared. Image: Dr. Richard Urso speaking at today’s Press Conference with Frontline Doctors. www.naturalblaze.com/

Aish Kodesh Worldwide Tisha B'Av Event

I just came across this event today, and it may not be too late to join up
see link for signing up I guess on Zoom below


Tisha B'Av Program for 7/29 and 7/30

Wednesday July 29

Tisha B'Av Night

8:35 PM

 Rav Weinberger’s

Pre-Eicha Drosha

___________________________

Thursday July 30

Tisha B'Av Morning

8:50 AM - 1:00 PM

Kinnos with Rav Weinberger


________________________

Thursday July 30

6:40 PM - 7:40 PM

8:15 PM - 8:45 PM

Afternoon Shiurim by

Rav Weinberger



his Livestream Event is provided free of charge for your benefit so that all members of our kehilla and Jews worldwide can experience meaningful Tisha B'Av programming.  

The costs to produce this year's Tisha B'Av Program and Livestream are increased
due to our inability to host our usual expanded program at Aish Kodesh.

This year we are relying on your generosity.  We ask that you please consider contributing below to support this event.

Any and all donations are greatly appreciated.

____________________

Go to https://www.aishkodesh.org/tishabav

to log in and register for the series

הרב יוסף מזרחי - עם ישראל בסכנת קיום! נבואת אחרית הימים!

The people of Israel are in danger of existence! The prophecy of the end times


What Went Wrong? OR RIGHT!

Donald Trump Defends Censored Doctors for Recommending Hydroxychloroquine 

President Donald Trump defended Tuesday a group of doctors who spoke about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine on Monday at a press conference. 

Trump said he was aware that Facebook, Twitter, and Google had removed videos of the group America’s Frontline Doctors at their Capitol Hill press conference on Monday. The video of the doctors published by Breitbart News on Facebook was wildly popular online before the platform removed it. 

 “I don’t know why, I think they are very respected doctors,” Trump said, questioning the social media companies for deciding to remove the videos. Trump spoke about the videos during a press conference on Tuesday on the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the United States. 

 The president said that he knew of many doctors who believed hydroxychloroquine was “extremely successful,” especially when combined with zinc and azithromycin. “Many doctors think its extremely good and some people don’t. 

Some people, I think, it’s become very political,” he said. “I happen to believe in it.” Trump reminded reporters that he took the drug for 14 days with no side effects. “It’s safe. It doesn’t cause problems. I had no problem. I had absolutely no problem,” Trump said and added, “It didn’t get me and it’s not going to hopefully hurt anybody.” 

 Trump also cited studies on the effectiveness of the drug, despite other health experts warning against it. “I’ve read a lot about hydroxy,” Trump said, citing a study from the Henry Ford Health System and support for the effectiveness of the drug from Yale School of Public Health Dr. Harvey Risch

 Trump said that the opposition to the drug was based entirely on politics. “I think it could have a very positive impact in the early stages, and I don’t think you lose anything by doing it, other than politically, 

it doesn’t seem to be too popular, you know why? Because I recommend it.” 

Source:  breitbart.com



 

What’s New?

GOOGLE BLOGGER HAS CONVERTED ALL POSTS TO THEIR NEW LAYOUT SO EXPECT SOME CONFUSION AND ERRORS IN PUBLISHING POSTS UNTIL ONE CAN MASTER THE NEW DESIGN ***also expect censoring***

All of social media, google et al have SCRUBBED ANYTHING RELATING TO HCQ AS A TREATMENT because “they” don’t want to lose $$$$$$$$$ on “their” highly suspect and dangerous VACCINES.

There is/was a Twitter war between Trump and the vaccine mafeeeia and this is when ALL and ANY videos, articles, etc, were SCRUBBED. I hate to see what they do to Dr Imannuel. She is courageous and need protection from physical attack et al.

I was an early bird and viewed all the videos and links. I’m sure the video will pop up on a protected site soon. 

Trump is in high alert danger from the medical mafeeeia who are a big portion of u no hu!

Censorship in action

28 July 2020

White Coat Summit in DC – The Facts Speak, The Truth is Heard

DC American Doctors set up a Summit 
and are calling out the establishment - the pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, doctors and MSM
We don’t need masks and lockdowns
We already have a cure HCQ
Why did pharmacists assn block HCQ
Why did governors block the distribution of HCQ
We are going to see many class action lawsuits – hospitals, doctors etc. are involved
Common Sense and actual Science - Masks don’t work AAPS

Courageous Dr Stella Immanuel – Her initial video was blocked by UT 
but preserved at below link on DRive.

This is a Redirect Video Link https://bit.ly/2CW57Pb and DRIVE.google

PragerU

@prageru

American doctors are holding a “White Coat Summit” in Washington, D.C. to address “a massive disinformation campaign” by the media about coronavirus.

Watch as Dr. Stella Immanuel tackles the media's narrative about hydroxychloroquine
twitter/prageru

_______________________




_______________________

Dr. Simone Gold, MD, JD, FABEM
FACTS LEAD. OPINIONS FOLLOW
thegoldopinion



________________________
Dr. Simone Gold and Dr. Dan Wohlgelernter discuss the demonization and politicization of Hydroxychloroquine. 
Studies set up to fail, murder investigations, and more!


_______________________

America’s Frontline Doctors White Coat Summit
American doctors are holding a “White Coat Summit” on Capitol Hill TODAY and tomorrow (July 27-28) to address what they call “a massive disinformation campaign” surrounding the Chinese coronavirus to which “American life has fallen casualty.” “If Americans continue to let so-called experts and media personalities make their decisions, the great American experiment of a Constitutional Republic with Representative Democracy, will cease,” reads the event’s information page.”

You really need to watch Dr Stella Immanuel, a West African born and trained Doctor, who now practices in Houston. She has had 100% success on over 350 patients with HCQ + AZT + Zinc. See her impassioned speech during the summit press conference held on the SCOTUS front steps (Watch the video from 5 min to 11 min):  breitbart.com/health: dispel disinformation campaign.

This group is doing an excellent job presenting the science and studies behind HCQ and (more importantly) sharing their frontline success treating COVID-19. A lot of this information will not be new to the PP Tribe, but it is awesome to see this many Doctors organizing together in a summit to share this message in incontrovertible form in Washington, DC. It is so inspiring to see DOCTORS standing up for their patients. They are calling us to action. I will be phoning my Governor, both Senators, my Congressman and local hospital directors to tell them I want my doctors to be able to prescribe HCQ now.

You can get more information from their website at americasfrontlinedoctors


LIVE from the steps of the US Supreme Court. America’s Frontline Doctors - Physicians from around the country address the American people about Covid-19 and the importance of reopening schools and our society. Schedule at https://www.americasfrontlinedoctors…

THE WHITE PAPERS:

White Paper on Hydroxychloroquine

View the PDF

This is the culmination of months-long research from all sources. It explains how Americans have come to be in the grip of fear. All the myths and all the misconceptions about a safe, generic drug that has been FDA approved for 65 years, given to pregnant women, breastfeeding women, children, the elderly and the immune-compromised for years and decades without complication, are finally put in the trash heap where they belong. You will have the indisputable proof that you have been massively lied to, often very intentionally. At first you will first be heartbroken. And then you will be furious. Good. Because then you will demand change.

Compendium of HCQ Studies

View the PDF

The safety of HCQ is irrefutable. The evidence supporting HCQ efficacy against Covid-19 is also overwhelming. All negative HCQ studies have used either: too much, used it alone (it needs Zinc), or used it late (it should be early.) The treatment dose is 200 mg HCQ twice a day for five days + Zinc 50 (elemental) daily. The prophylactic dose is 400 mg HCQ weekly + Zinc 50 (elemental) daily.

(There are studies right now to see if HCQ 200 mg. weekly is sufficient.) This is very low dose. (The usual dose of HCQ in Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis is 400 mg. daily for years.) There are telemedicine physicians who are aware of the facts and if you are concerned about this, please see one. It is also over the counter in many places in the world including Indonesia and most of South America.

PURIM – A VERY HOLY DAY — WE SERVE HASHEM

RABBI DAVID YOSEF: Charedim Should Refrain from Public Purim Celebrations  to Avoid Chillul Hashem https://vinnews.com/2024/03/17/rabbi-davi...