tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-766925156923031072024-03-19T10:48:48.837+02:00going home ... to yerushalayimבן יהודה ירושליםNeshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.comBlogger9608125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-69497738333230482432024-03-19T08:50:00.000+02:002024-03-19T08:56:07.034+02:00PURIM – A VERY HOLY DAY — WE SERVE HASHEM<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e0e0e; font-family: helvetica;">RABBI DAVID YOSEF: Charedim Should Refrain from Public Purim Celebrations </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e0e0e; font-family: helvetica;">to Avoid Chillul Hashem</span></p><div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-weight: 400; line-height: 50px; margin: 0px 0px 7px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: black; font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/76692515692303107/6949773833323048243#">https://vinnews.com/2024/03/17/rabbi-david-yosef-charedim-should-refrain-from-public-purim-celebrations-to-avoid-chillul-hashem/</a></p></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span><i style="color: #666666;">don’t think that is proper </i><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody;">- </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times;"><i>don’t think one can “cancel public simcha, let alone simcha shel mitzvah. The churban itself doesn't cancel Purim.”</i></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Sounds like a 2020 edict, “don’t go to Shul on Yom Kippur”</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We obey only HaShem</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We Go To Shul on Yom Kippur</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We Celebrate Simchas Purim</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">And </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: times; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><i>na'aseh ve-nishma</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Google Sans", arial, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-size: 20px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-19198516834792140812024-03-19T08:24:00.003+02:002024-03-19T08:24:59.421+02:00Reb Neuberger – TREACHERY ON THE SENATE FLOOR<p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">AIYEKAH … WHERE ARE YOU?</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></strong></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">TREACHERY ON THE SENATE FLOOR<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Greetings Friends:</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here is this week’s video:</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TkFNRaRKqRg?si=kVTxvZHOnIgEyFgU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 11.5pt;">May we see the Final Redemption soon in our days! – Roy Neuberger</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><b><span face=""Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-49513660464398505242024-03-19T08:24:00.001+02:002024-03-19T08:24:37.947+02:00Reb Neuberger: VAYIKRA! AIYEKAH … WHERE ARE YOU?<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">AIYEKAH … WHERE ARE YOU?<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">I remember Charles Schumer as a young New York State Assemblyman. I was then Executive Director of Yeshiva Ateres Yisroel in Canarsie, Brooklyn, the <i>cheder</i> established by Rabbi Avraham ha Levi Jungreis zt”l, father of the late and renowned Rebbetzin Esther. Every year Mr. Schumer would come to address the graduates, exhorting them to achieve greatness in Torah. He was burning with energy and ambition. One year, with a broken leg, he climbed the long staircase with his crutches and hobbled up on stage. Energy and ambition have carried him far, and now he is Majority Leader of the United States Senate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">OY! I weep for our nation!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Aiyekah!”</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Where are you, Charles Schumer! You have swallowed the poison! And now, from your lips flows the lies of our enemies, treachery before the Master of the Universe, hatred of your brethren. The world witnesses a Yid licking the dirt before the idols of fame and power.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">There is another United States Senator whose name is Mitch McConnell. He is of Scotch-Irish descent (Wikipedia), not a child of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. He will be blessed by the Master of the Universe. He is not afraid to call evil “evil” and good “good.” He has no reason to stand up for the Nation of Torah … no reason except that his heart is good. He refuses to grovel in the filth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">There was a Jewish woman in Shushan ha Bira to whom Hashem gave<i>“chein”</i> in the eyes of the king. She did not want to live in the royal palace; she abhorred impurity with all her heart, but Hashem called upon her to save her people. And she arose. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Do you know how she saved <i>Am Yisroel</i>? I would say it is because she said three words: <i>“U’k’asher avad’ti avad’ti … [I will come to the king, although it is unlawful] and, if I perish, I perish!”</i><i> (Megillas Esther 4:16) </i>She was not afraid to die for her people! She was not afraid to die for her G-d! She was not afraid to die for her Torah! So she bequeathed life to us forever! As the <i>possuk</i> says, <i>“v’atem hadvaikim … you who cling to Hashem, your G-d, you are all alive today!” (Dvarim 4:4)<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Last week, there was a demonstration in Teaneck, New Jersey. It took place outside an event at which land in Israel was being offered for sale. The haters’ slogans alleged that “stolen land” was being offered for sale. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">About one thousand years ago, a rabbi was born in France who was named Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, known to us today as “Rashi.” He illuminated the Written and Oral Torah. Rashi has held our hand throughout the millennia. He is the father of uncounted millions of <i>Bnai Torah</i>. Perhaps he had <i>ruach hakodesh.</i> His wisdom came from beyond this world. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Rashi’s first commentary on <i>Chumash</i> is known to every yeshiva boy and Bais Yaakov girl: <i>“[Why does the Torah begin with the creation of the world? It should have begun with the commandment concerning Rosh Chodesh, which is the first commandment directed toward the Jewish People as a whole. But Hashem chose to begin the Torah with the creation of the universe] so that, if the nations of the world will say to Israel, ‘You are thieves, for you conquered the lands of the seven nations [who had inhabited the Land of Canaan]. Israel will say to them, ‘The entire earth belongs to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. He created it and He gave it to the one found proper in His eyes. By His wish He gave it to them and by His wish He took it from them and gave it to us!’” (Rashi on Beraishis 1:1)<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Nations of the world, listen to the words of Rashi. Listen to the words of Torah.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Hashem made this world and He apportioned it to those who are deemed proper in His eyes. His Book is laid out before you. You all know what it says -- you – including the Children of Yishmoel and the Children of Esav! You all know what the Book says. You all know that Hashem gave this Land to the Children of Avraham, the Children of Yitzchak, the Children of Yaakov and their descendants forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">The evil ones resemble Adam after the <i>cheit</i>, who <i>“knew he was naked and he hid from Hashem.”</i> Evil ones, you cannot hide from the Master of the Universe! Hashem sees you. He will call out, <i>“Aiyeka … Where are you?”</i> He will humble you. All evil will perish from the earth and the glory of G-d will shine upon us. On that day the world will be cleansed. As it says, <i>“The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor.” (Megillah <a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://2" style="text-decoration-color: rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.38);" x-apple-data-detectors-result="2" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">8:16</a>)</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">May we soon see the day when the world is filled with light and evil is banished forever!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGRV39Z9TlFEVkLU71KIGnE5fZ4vayWAHB3DdlL-zliZ748aCeYAh91kxMJVsgj8iAPlwQYxAW4VHvT2CZna59WN6X80HfLIkw-O3DZMxwtYLPe3e16IMlVqxwMK2b7Mauc_LS1KyZ-EZ9vq3h945lSRglFRLxFguERZODT1FvpNb2TbnYpQ7jyTLuuU/s1280/U.%20S.%20Senator%20Mitch%20McConnell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1245" data-original-width="1280" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGRV39Z9TlFEVkLU71KIGnE5fZ4vayWAHB3DdlL-zliZ748aCeYAh91kxMJVsgj8iAPlwQYxAW4VHvT2CZna59WN6X80HfLIkw-O3DZMxwtYLPe3e16IMlVqxwMK2b7Mauc_LS1KyZ-EZ9vq3h945lSRglFRLxFguERZODT1FvpNb2TbnYpQ7jyTLuuU/w200-h194/U.%20S.%20Senator%20Mitch%20McConnell.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">U S Senator Mitch McConnell</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrSMmOobVny4jaSUUmXjlWJ7P4t4aPDmeHK1jZMDdCig_iCspLTk3hD81sBjzJp2scVS7bFe1uF2_xyxMs9bllVNBlUnMmfYbiFLbKdqsBqWht2YVKohSVhuql8qJTPIAx2SIXUNYkMNKo9JlzlarcQ-gz4kDK733iRyplw6fwpG-A0XmX_S2QAzXQ3YI/s4791/Susa%20in%20Iran;%20reputedly%20the%20Ancient%20Shushan%20ha%20Bira.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1799" data-original-width="4791" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrSMmOobVny4jaSUUmXjlWJ7P4t4aPDmeHK1jZMDdCig_iCspLTk3hD81sBjzJp2scVS7bFe1uF2_xyxMs9bllVNBlUnMmfYbiFLbKdqsBqWht2YVKohSVhuql8qJTPIAx2SIXUNYkMNKo9JlzlarcQ-gz4kDK733iRyplw6fwpG-A0XmX_S2QAzXQ3YI/w400-h150/Susa%20in%20Iran;%20reputedly%20the%20Ancient%20Shushan%20ha%20Bira.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Susa in Iran, reputed to be the site of the ancient Shushan ha Bira</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMv799BPwqi5ifRxKEJN1_Z015ho6iUdIy_8iKdTuezDhTLQtV5rb9LNWJdlHPH_5ZsveqxnBcjxP4bv-2SzUYdiwLP6D8jpj5w_8R_AppyHahraEbUn0EVsxx8XIY0tT8-qrQK6KUIyYYKk0vUI_tiWuRJhPp3L_ttl3McmbJoWNkB2nj2OQBydlS0p0/s1425/Worms,%20Germany,%20where%20Rashi%20studied.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="1425" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMv799BPwqi5ifRxKEJN1_Z015ho6iUdIy_8iKdTuezDhTLQtV5rb9LNWJdlHPH_5ZsveqxnBcjxP4bv-2SzUYdiwLP6D8jpj5w_8R_AppyHahraEbUn0EVsxx8XIY0tT8-qrQK6KUIyYYKk0vUI_tiWuRJhPp3L_ttl3McmbJoWNkB2nj2OQBydlS0p0/s320/Worms,%20Germany,%20where%20Rashi%20studied.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The City of Worms, where Rashi studied</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><u><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"> </span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><u><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">GLOSSARY<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Bnai Eisav: Children of Esav, the Western Nations descended from Rome, Western culture<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Bnai Yishmoel: Children of Yishmael, the Moslem Nations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Cheder: Elementary level yeshiva<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Chein: The quality of being honorable and virtuous in others’ eyes<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Cheit: Sin (in Adam’s case, eating the forbidden fruit)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Hakadosh Baruch Hu: The Holy One May He be Blessed<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Lehavdil: To be distinguished from …, as opposed to …<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Ruach ha Kodesh: Inspiration from Heaven<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Medium", sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;">Shushan ha Bira: Ancient city in today’s Iran, where the Purim story took place</span></p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-49633366744961730442024-03-18T20:13:00.005+02:002024-03-19T08:25:10.406+02:00JUST LOOK UP TO THE SKIES<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LesqMp-PK4E?si=85JhMeW8-NU8O2XE" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <div><br /></div><div>"Blocking out the Sun will save us" It's getting SERIOUS!! </div><div><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><i>Main stream Articles now admitting to spraying the skies and blocking out the sun with CHEMICALS. How does that set with you? </i></span></div><div><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><i>For the non-believers; go out at night away from any lights and shine a flashlight. You won’t believe what is floating around. </i></span></div><div><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><i>The QUESTION IS HOW DO WE GET THEM TO STOP!!!! I wrote our Attorney General years ago. He denied any of it was going on. We're in a world of hurts! Evil no good corrupt <strike>SOB</strike>s. God help us. </i></span></div><div><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;"><i>Remember in the 70's that aerosol was bad for the environment and causing a hole in our ozone layer so they banned aerosol.
</i></span></div>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-55369184929926104452024-03-18T19:50:00.001+02:002024-03-18T19:53:08.982+02:00Some Questions That Need Answers<p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #202020;">About this </span><a href="https://habayitah.blogspot.com/2024/03/rabbi-weissman-oct-7-jews-fighting-like.html" style="color: #202020;">"fake war"</a><a><span style="color: #202020;">, it seems as soon as the soldiers get rid of some of the terrorists, Surprise! more pop up trying to re-infiltrate the so-called cleaned out areas?? </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><i>[will the soldiers themselves come to this realization?]</i></span></a></span></span></p><span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Are they being recruited from Yehuda and Shomron? </span></span><div><span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Are they maybe coming in from Egypt? </span></span></div><div><span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Or elsewhere, to replenish those "killed or rounded up". </span></span></div><div><span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">And BTW where are all those "captured" terrorists being held?</span></span></div><div><span>Will there ever be an end to the influx of terrorists? After all, there <i>are</i> millions of Arabs in the world.<br style="background-color: white; color: #202020;" /><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202020;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Who can we ask these questions of???</span></span></div><div><span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">Who has any answers?</span></span></div><div><span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202020;">And will they give them to us?</span></span></div>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-90170545847150268892024-03-18T16:35:00.001+02:002024-03-18T17:43:56.778+02:00The Rabbi and Yehonatan — God Gave the Jews the Land of Israel<p> </p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tNe_6Q7fFio?si=KKazFaXoU8Ab6_Ea" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-50831680400026747932024-03-18T13:36:00.000+02:002024-03-18T17:43:44.166+02:00Rabbi Weissman: Oct 7 — Jews fighting like lions against all odds while the IDF stood down<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Here are several more videos from October 7, courtesy of South First Responders.</span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><a href="https://rumble.com/v4jrllr-oct-7-jews-fighting-like-lions-against-all-odds.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; outline: none !important;" target="_blank">Oct 7 — Jews fighting like lions against all odds</a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; outline: none !important;"><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">In the first clip, a <i style="outline: none !important;">pereh adam</i> hunting Jews is shot dead by an unknown shooter before he is able to finish his murderous rampage. He calls out religious prayers as he appears to bleed to death.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">In the second clip, we see the terrorist holding the GoPro flee incoming fire from the community guards until he is killed. Israeli media reports say this battle at Kerem Shalom lasted for over six hours, These community guards, with help only from Hashem and not the IDF, held off a significantly larger terrorist force and prevented an even bigger massacre, surely to the chagrin of those who allowed this invasion to occur.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">The Jewish guards lost two of their own in this firefight, to a terrorist grenade.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">In the final clip, we see a new angle of the Gazan invaders' brutality, this time toward their own people.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">During the attack, a small force of community guards (unseen in the clip) begins engaging the Arab death squad. One of the terrorists is injured (in what the terrorists themselves describe as friendly fire) and reaches out for help.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">Rather than come to the aid of their wounded comrade, the savages apathetically take his ammunition and weapons, and leave him to die.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">Credit: South First Responders<br style="outline: none !important;" />Main Telegram channel: <a href="https://t.me/s/southfirstresponders" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; outline: none !important;" target="_blank">https://t.me/s/southfirstresponders</a></p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">No credit: The last responders who allowed this to happen and continue to give orders to our people.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important; text-align: center;">*</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><a href="https://rumble.com/v4jy2rx-oct-7-jewish-women-fighting-for-their-lives-while-the-idf-is-absent.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; outline: none !important;" target="_blank">Jewish Women Fighting For Their Lives While the IDF Is Absent</a></p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"></p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">Amit Soussana is a 40 year old lawyer from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, on the northern Gaza border. Amit lived by herself, and was kidnapped while hiding – with a fever – in the shelter of her home.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">Despite being sick, confused, and scared, this footage shows Amit's extraordinary bravery as she fought for her life, battling seven Hamas terrorists as they beat her and dragged her across the Kibbutz fields to captivity in Gaza.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">This disturbing footage was taken from the Kibbutz CCTV cameras.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">At the beginning of the clip, we can see that it takes no less than five terrorists to attempt to drag Amit to Gaza.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">At 00:41, we see her continuing in her heroic struggle, refusing to cooperate as she drops to her knees. For several moments she resists with all of her body weight as the terrorists continue to violently drag her.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">At 01:01, as they forcefully rip her shirt, one of them hoists her onto his back. Even so, she still fights back, kicking everyone in sight. Eventually, at 01:10, she causes the terrorist carrying her to collapse on the ground. At 01:16, the terrorists start beating her, and call others to come and assist them.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">Amit continues to fight for the duration of the video. Eventually it takes at least seven monsters to subdue her, before shoving her into a vehicle that takes her deep inside Gaza.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">55 days of hell later, Amit was released.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">All this happened in wide open land in broad daylight, over many hours, but Amit was abandoned to struggle on her own. Unfortunately for Amit and so many others, the IDF was standing down, and the WEF/American-owned puppets who knew about this all along were pretending to be surprised.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important; text-align: center;">*</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">In the second clip, taken from the gate of Kibbutz Mefalsim (near Sderot) on the morning of October 7th, we can see a woman being led away to a Hamas Toyota by terrorists on the main road.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">She eventually breaks free from her Arab captors and begins to run for her life, and is shot in the back in cold blood by the side of the road.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">What would happen if a Jewish soldier shot a captured terrorist in the back, let alone a civilian?</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">Credit: South First Responders<br style="outline: none !important;" />No credit: The last responders who deliberately allowed this to happen to justify an ongoing “war” and advance their agenda of <i style="outline: none !important;">shmad</i> against the Jewish people.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important; text-align: center;">*</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">I wrote the following on May 21, 2021. Unfortunately most people decided to continue talking themselves out of reality, because reality is too difficult for them to accept. </p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><b style="outline: none !important;">The reality is that it's all theatre, the "leaders" on both sides are all actors following a script...and the citizens who keep going along with the narrative are all extras.<br style="outline: none !important;" /></b></p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><b style="outline: none !important;">Stop being such easy prey.</b></p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><br style="outline: none !important;" /></p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"><a href="https://chananyaweissman.com/article.php?id=303" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; outline: none !important;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium; outline: none !important;">The Fake War with Hamas</span></a></p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;">What, you gullible sheep really thought Israel meant business this time and was going to defeat Hamas once and for all?<br style="outline: none !important;" /><br style="outline: none !important;" />Why would they suddenly grow a spine now and decide enough is enough? Why would they suddenly be outraged at the murder of Jewish civilians and decide their blood needed to be avenged?<br style="outline: none !important;" /><br style="outline: none !important;" />Oh, let's not forget that while rockets were raining down on Israel, Arabs were rampaging in Lod, Jerusalem, and across Israel, and the Erev Rav thugs in police uniforms were arresting JEWS who defended themselves.<br style="outline: none !important;" /><br style="outline: none !important;" />The same people who gave these orders were simultaneously not going to tolerate Jewish blood being spilled by Hamas? You really believed that?<br style="outline: none !important;" /><br style="outline: none !important;" />Meanwhile, everyone forgot about the state-sponsored mass murder at Meron, coalition talks to dethrone King Bibi were conveniently scuttled, no one noticed that the Erev Rav government plans to extend its "emergency corona powers" indefinitely, and they intend to forcibly inject our children with crap.<br style="outline: none !important;" /><br style="outline: none !important;" />Yeah, you were too busy trying to explain to hopeless Jew-haters that Hamas really are the bad guys. Because, among other things, they endanger children.<br style="outline: none !important;" /><br style="outline: none !important;" />Now, to your great surprise (why?), Israel was pressured into a cease-fire. They really, really wanted to move in for the kill and bring Hamas down, but they were held back.<br style="outline: none !important;" /><br style="outline: none !important;" />Like the guy in a bar who shoots off his mouth against a much bigger guy and his friend holds him back, otherwise of course he'd be up for a fight.<br style="outline: none !important;" /><br style="outline: none !important;" />When this fake, manufactured "war" started I said that it would amount only to some Jews killed for nothing, there would be a cease-fire in a few days, and I never cared so little about a war in Gaza.<br style="outline: none !important;" /><br style="outline: none !important;" />If I want to see fiction I can find a better movie, with better acting and a less predictable script.</p><p style="font-size: 13px; outline: none !important;"></p><p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0in; outline: none !important;">__________________________</p><div style="line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0in; outline: none !important; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://chananyaweissman.com/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; outline: none !important;" target="_blank"><span lang="en-US" style="outline: none !important;">chananyaweissman.com/<br /></span></a><a href="http://rumble.com/c/c-782463" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; outline: none !important;" target="_blank"><span lang="en-US" style="outline: none !important;">rumble.com/c/c-782463<br /></span></a><span lang="en-US" style="outline: none !important;"><span style="outline: none !important;"><b style="outline: none !important;">Buy my books on Amazon </b></span></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Chananya-Weissman/author/B00J58BOKS" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; outline: none !important;" target="_blank"><b style="outline: none !important;">here</b></a><span lang="en-US" style="outline: none !important;"><span style="outline: none !important;"><b style="outline: none !important;"> or contact me to purchase in Israel.<br /></b></span></span><a href="https://kodeshpress.com/product/tovim-ha-shenayim/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; outline: none !important;" target="_blank"><span lang="en-US" style="outline: none !important;">Download Tovim Ha-Shenayim as a PDF for free!<br /></span></a><span lang="en-US" style="outline: none !important;"><span style="outline: none !important;"><b style="outline: none !important;">If you received this from someone else and want to receive future articles directly, please send a request to </b></span></span><a href="mailto:endthemadness@gmail.com" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="color: #196ad4; outline: none !important;" target="_blank" ymailto="mailto:endthemadness@gmail.com"><b style="outline: none !important;">endthemadness@gmail.com</b></a><span lang="en-US" style="outline: none !important;"><span style="outline: none !important;"><b style="outline: none !important;">.</b></span></span></span></div></div>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-79481296966305766932024-03-18T13:29:00.003+02:002024-03-18T13:29:58.132+02:00The Month of Adar & The Days of The Messiah - Rabbi Daniel Glatstein<p> </p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xJzy_4tR-Fg?si=gnKF-TjI5I_qyfwv" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div>Journey to London 2024: PURIM ETERNAL (Edgware)
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<div><br /><br />Purim: The True Tale of Vashti's Tail & Much More - Beis Yeshaya Melava Malka<br /><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FtwxtdYTSz8?si=1RokMFf_cPDTp0BI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /></div>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-65324850999468975892024-03-18T13:29:00.001+02:002024-03-18T13:29:40.390+02:00Rabbi Glatstein: Recent Journey to London 2024Journey to London 2024: The Legacy of Sefardic Leaders From Ramban to Rav Ovadiah (Hendon BBM)<div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EGsbzaBvJR0?si=-lx35HnSkMlkSSl1" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
</div><div><br /></div>
Journey to London 2024: The Vilna Gaon Inflames Your Soul For Purim - Edgware Kollel<div><br /><div> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ws6CiHyWRw?si=pqZJ_Wixv6HH3Xi_" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
Journey to London 2024: Legends of the Ibn Ezra in London at the Wall of London - The Barbican<div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JeIq7r3Z_dM?si=e4y6tNORF63JAx4f" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>
Journey to London: Goldens Green Kollel – The Machlokes Rambam & Tosfos Regarding She'hechiyanu on the Day Reading of the Megillah </div><div><br />
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</div><br />Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-6502168514726286422024-03-17T20:37:00.002+02:002024-03-18T08:39:02.317+02:00The Dichotomy of Israel's Situation<p style="text-align: center;"><i>As I read the following very upsetting article, inbetween the lines I hear Rabbi Weissman's razor sharp criticism. </i></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">(JNS) Amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas, the country’s Defense Ministry has signaled a looming challenge, with its Rehabilitation Department preparing for the admission of about 20,000 new disabled veterans by the end of 2024. This anticipated surge underscores the devastating human cost of the war and has sparked a critical discussion about the support systems in place for those wounded during their military service.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">A spokesperson for the Rehabilitation Department told JNS that the Department has already seen an influx of nearly 6,000 newly certified disabled soldiers, and is bracing for some additional 14,000 by the end of 2024, bringing the total to 20,000 by the end of the calendar year.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #242424; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Surge of Disabled Vets Exposes Cracks </b></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #242424; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>in Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Dept.</b></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #242424; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">According to a public statement made by the Defense Ministry toward the end of February, “The majority of the injured IDF soldiers (95%) are men. Specifically, 46% of the casualties are aged 21-30, 36% are aged 31-40, and 18% are over 40. Seventy percent of the casualties admitted to the Rehabilitation Department were reservists, 7% were active-duty, 10% were soldiers discharged due to injury, and 13% were police and security forces.”</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Most of the injured being treated today are dealing with physical injuries, but we anticipate that some of them will also face psychological injuries,” the spokesperson said. “Therefore, the focus in the first year is on rehabilitation and recovery while providing all the necessary responses—medical, psychological and economic.”</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">However, the Rehabilitation Department’s ability to effectively deliver on the promise of support is now being called into serious question. A recent State Comptroller’s report excoriated the department for providing substandard care that left most disabled veterans dissatisfied—citing lack of proper treatment, humiliation and distrust in how cases are handled.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">In a recent hearing of the Knesset’s State Control Committee, Knesset member Miki Levy (Yesh Atid), who heads the committee, declared that this issue will require long-term planning.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“War casualties will require long-term accompaniment and rehabilitation—a five-year plan is needed that will significantly enhance the Rehabilitation Department and the civilian health system that provide treatment for IDF disabled veterans, as their accompaniment will likely be for a very long period,” said Levy.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Attorney Idan Klaiman, who serves as the chairman of the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization, explained what the current issues are that have hindered effective rehabilitation.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“The future is not good. Before the war, there was a severe shortage of services. The current ratio of [caregivers to recipients] after the outbreak of the war is 1 to 4,000. In [civilian] healthcare, it’s no more than 1 to 1,500, where most of the recipients are healthy people. We’re talking about injured [soldiers] needing constant, chronic care. The injured feel it in terms of medical errors,” he said.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Klaiman added that a lot of the problem stems from inadequate compensation for practitioners.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“In the ’90s, doctors’ salaries [for rehabilitation] were double that of doctors in healthcare, but the situation today is reversed and there’s no chance of recruiting more doctors. They do not receive bonuses and are not part of the labor union salary agreements. I see a lack of concern from the department’s bureaucracy. The stingy and rigid hand regarding this sensitive issue will lead them in the future to indifference; there will be victims in body and soul,” he said.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Dr. Zeev Feldman, the chairman of the State Doctors Association, pointed out during the committee meeting that, “Availability is the core of the discussion. There’s no budget issue, the pressure needs to be on the bureaucracy which rejects every solution. Over the years, we’ve been trying to find solutions, and there are always excuses and threats. There are currently discussions about a collective agreement, I hope there will be a solution soon that will provide the right leverage. There are 22 positions but they are not staffed—all doctors who want to join should be allowed to. Given the existing and expected crisis, we need to provide significant salary incentives to solve the problem.”</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Health representative in the Treasury Asaf Galperin responded: “The salaries of doctors in the Defense Ministry are subject to collective wage agreements. A few years ago, we approached the Medical Association to apply for a specific agreement, but it was rejected. Since there was no cooperation, we independently provided significant grants to the rehabilitation department to recruit staff. Currently, negotiations are underway with the Medical Association in various contexts. There is a widespread shortage of doctors in Israel, but particularly in rehabilitation.”</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">As Israel grapples with the implications of the war, those who bear its scars have been thrust into the spotlight. The stories of these injured soldiers, coupled with the inadequate rehabilitation services outlined by experts such as attorney Klaiman and MK Levy, paint a bleak picture of the looming crisis as the numbers of those requiring services continue to climb, and the need for comprehensive support within the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Dept. only increases.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">As the nation faces the prospect of 14,000 additional disabled veterans this year, the call for action is clear. If Israel can hope to provide its injured veterans with the support and dignity they deserve, the shortage of doctors and proper staff in the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Dept. must be solved. This moment serves as a critical juncture, one that will likely define the nation’s commitment to its injured veterans and heroes in the years to come.</p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-24408100757229908792024-03-17T20:07:00.005+02:002024-03-17T20:18:24.193+02:00THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON<p> </p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hIesnbCMDmI?si=YQ8qIgBF965JDoNF" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(15, 15, 15); color: #0f0f0f; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The title track of Ari Goldwag’s latest album, a duet with Zevi Kaufman, speaks of the secret weapon of our soldiers which is in our spiritual power, as represented by the power of tefillin, which so many soldiers are using in their battle, and our sages say causes the nations to fear us. Zevi brought this concept to Ari and it forms the core of the song.
Ari composed the intro section of the song ״בעזרת ה׳ ננצח״ at the request of the soldier Elisha Loewenstern 3 weeks into the war of חרבות ברזל. He asked for a song which would help strengthen the soldiers in their עבודת ה׳ as it manifests in their battle in Gaza. 6 weeks later Elisha Hy'd fell in battle. We decided to connect this theme with the tefillin battle song, and to dedicate the song in Elisha’s memory. Elisha’s son Eitan Loewenstern features in the music video.
Join the Israel Select Tefillin Revolution here! </span><a class="yt-core-attributed-string__link yt-core-attributed-string__link--display-type yt-core-attributed-string__link--call-to-action-color" force-new-state="true" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1VFN0l2YlVTWV81NXFtNmdnbjB0ckhWMWdqZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttNzU3elV2YmI5V2ZkVXZCeGtmOWFiM1hKY1dxcTVJcWIzT3lBQmdZZTUzOHducG9vT1lUaVEzckUtQ3I1YzRWcXE4d1BKV1ltZ25vdktzUjVXMWd4S3JqbmhZeUl1dGFxTUxzVS03WF8tMUJMamxHSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fthechesedfund.com%2Fisraelselect%2Ftefillin%3Faff%3DAGYTC&v=hIesnbCMDmI" rel="nofollow" style="color: #065fd4; display: inline; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://thechesedfund.com/israelselec...</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(15, 15, 15); color: #0f0f0f; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div><div>_____________________</div><div><br /></div><div>I expect there will be some ‘comments' on presenting this</div><div><br /></div><div>But just remember these:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://habayitah.blogspot.com/2024/03/mayim-achronim-pekudei-tefillin-past.html">Tefillin, Past. Present and Future</a> AND <a href="https://habayitah.blogspot.com/2024/03/mayim-achronim-pineal-gland-and-tefillin.html">Tefillin and the Pineal Gland</a></div><div><a></a></div>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-47948560278292004392024-03-17T12:41:00.000+02:002024-03-17T12:41:27.566+02:00MY SUPPORT OF THE EXAULTED POSITION OF TORAH LEARNERS<p> </p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>[From A Drusha by Rav Avigdor Miller zt”l on Parshas Pekudei</p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><b></b><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>The King’s Scroll-Room and The Great Mesivtos of Bavel</b></p><p class="p4" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>– And it was on the</b></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">f</span>irst day of the first month of the second year in the wilderness and the</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Mishkan was erected (Shemos 40:17). The greatest day in the history of the</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">world had finally arrived. On the first day of Nissan the dwelling place for</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Hashem was established and the Presence of Hashem would now rest</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">among His chosen people. The Mishkan was now going to be the place for</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the revelation of Hashem in this world, the fulfillment of Hashem’s</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">promise: “And I will dwell among them” (ibid. 25:8).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And what was the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">first thing that Moshe did after spreading the roof over the Mishkan?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">He set up the kodesh kodoshim, the holiest space on the face of this earth,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the room where the Presence of Hashem would dwell most intensely.</p><p class="p4" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p6" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">[…]<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="s3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">Hashem commanded </span>that into this holiest part of the Mishkan,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">the room that symbolized His place in this world, should be placed<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">the two stone tablets engraved by the Hand of Hashem, and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">afterward the Torah itself was put alongside the luchos<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">(Devarim 31:26).</span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>A Mountain In The Little Room</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And that’s what Dovid Hamelech said in Tehillim (68:18):</p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">“Hashem has settled among the Am Yisroel.” And how did He do that?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">“Because Har Sinai is now in the Mishkan.” That great day of the</p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Giving of the Torah at Har Sinai is now found in the kodesh kodoshim.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Sanctuary was the heart of the nation, and it was the Word of Hashem,</p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the stone luchos and the Torah, that were at the heart of the Mishkan.</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What we’re learning here is that preparing a home for Hashem to live</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">among us, really meant preparing a home for the Torah to reside among</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">us. And the Mishkan in its entirety was actually an altar of devotion to the</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Word of Hashem. And so instead of a throne for Hashem to rest His</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Presence on, the revelation of Hashem in this world came by means of His</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Torah. And the Am Yisroel in the midbar lived according to that revelation.</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>What Did They Do All Day?</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">I’ll explain that. Because really we have to ask ourselves: What was</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">the Am Yisroel doing in the midbar for forty years after all? They ate what</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">fell from the clouds; they didn’t have to go to the factory to <span class="s1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">get a paycheck</span>.</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">And so we have to understand that for forty years they had nothing to do</span></p><p class="p4" style="color: #313131; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s2" style="color: black;">except to study Torah. </span>The entire nation actually became one big yeshivah<span class="s2" style="color: black;">.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">And it was a yeshivah </span>where they studied day and night; they didn’t</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">have newspapers to read, or radio to listen to. And even if they would</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">have been able to get their hands on something – let’s say a <span class="s3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">ben Yisroel</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">would try to pick up a newspaper from a neighboring tribe, from Midian</p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">– you couldn’t get away with such a thing in the</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> <span class="s3" style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">machneh Yisroel. You</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">were in a kollel, and every kollel has a mashgiach. And this kollel in the</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">midbar had more supervision that any kollel since then! Every nine men</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">had a mashgiach who watched them, the sar asarah, and so they had to</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">behave. And every forty nine men had a super mashgiach, the sar</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">chamishim. Every ninety nine men had a super super mashgiach, the sar</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">mei’ah. And every nine hundred and ninety nine had a super super super</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">mashgiach, that was the </span>sarei alafim. You couldn’t sneak anything past</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">this army of mashgichim. And Moshe Rabbeinu with his watchful eye was</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">overseeing the whole thing, the whole Yeshivas Hamidbar.</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But the<span class="s5" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">mashgichim </span>didn’t have a very difficult job, because they</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">were serious yungerleit </span>in that yeshivah. Never, in any subsequent era,</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">was the Torah so supreme and so studied as under the forty year rule of</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Moshe Rabbeinu, the Torah teacher par excellence.<span class="s5" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">“You should speak in</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the words of Torah when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">road, and when you lie down and when you arise”<span class="s3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span class="s6" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">(Devarim 6:7) wasn’t</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">merely a possuk, a mitzvah, or even an aspiration to yearn for – it was</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">their way of life! The sole occupation for the Dor Hamidbar was Torah</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">study. The midbar was actually a forty year kollel, a Torah Academy.</p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And it was that kollel that would define what the Am Yisroel would be</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">forever. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (92a) says:… that the word sarid,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">“leftover” or “the one who remains” refers to a talmid chochom.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Now that’s a puzzle, why is a talmid chochom called a “leftover”?</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">He’s not the leftover; he’s the main dish after all!</p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There are various pshatim, but the simple pshat is that originally the</p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">whole Klal Yisroel were chachomim; the entire Dor Hamidbar was a big</p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">kollel of talmidei chachomim. And therefore, anyone who studies the</p><p class="p4" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Torah today is a ‘leftover’ from those days in the</span><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span class="s2" style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">midbar</span><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">. </span><span style="font-family: times;">Because it was</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">then that the Am Yisroel in its entirety recognized the truth that the goal</p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">of every Jew is to be a talmid chochom.</p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And from then on, the study of Torah became the national vocation</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">and pastime. Never did the Am Yisroel, in all its subsequent history, ever</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">use their leisure time for anything else but Torah. There was no telling</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">stories of adventure and war, and no playing sports. There were no</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">theaters or stadiums and no amusement parks either. We found everything</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">we wanted and everything we needed in the study of Torah and in the</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">raising of families to be ohavei Torah. The word entertainment doesn’t</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">exist in the lexicon of our people.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Why Are We Still Here?</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And that’s what Rav Saadia Gaon meant when he said (Sefer Emunos</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">V’deios 3:7) […] , that we are a nation only as a Torah nation.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It means the following: We have no right to exist. We should have</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">long ago disappeared. Where is Edom? They disappeared! Where is</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Amon? They disappeared! It’s all gone! Where is Ancient Mitzrayim? All</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">gone! Ancient Greece is all gone, everything is underground. You’re going</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">to need a lot of shovels and you’ll have to sweat a lot before you can see</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">all the ancient nations of the world.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So why are we still here? We’re also one of the ancient nations, so</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">why didn’t we also disappear along with all the others? And the answer is</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">that we are only here because of the Torah. We are a Torah-nation and</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">that’s the cause of our existence. It’s the study of Torah that defines the</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Am Yisroel; it’s our life-breath, our way of life. We are a nation of Torah</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">learners and that’s why we are forever. Hashem is forever, His Torah is</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">forever, and we who study His Torah will be forever.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">THIS IS THE EXPERIENCE THAT SHOULD BE REPEATED IN OUR DAY TO UPLIFT THOSE IN LEARNING AND IMPROVE THE RESPECT GIVEN BY THE REST OF AM YISROEL AND THE NATIONS.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>The Pageant In The Mesivta</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">You know that in Bavel there were great Mesivtos, great yeshivos</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">where the chachomim gathered to study and to teach. There was a Mesivta</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">in Sura where Rav was, and there was another Mesivta in Naharda’eh</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">where Shmuel lived; two big Mesivtos that were the center of the Am</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Yisroel. And there were other Mesivtos too that functioned in Bavel.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But the Mesivta wasn’t a place where you just learned Torah and</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">heard shiurim. It was a very interesting experience, the Mesivta.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Everything was done with a procedure. They used to march into the beis</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">medrash at the beginning of the session; the chachomim marched in first,</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">and then the talmidim marched in behind them, and everyone took his</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">place; each one of the chachomim had his particular place. And there</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">were designated people who would make the announcement, “The</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">chachomim are coming in now; they’re entering into the Mesivta.” It was</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">mamish like a pageant; that’s how they opened up the Mesivta<span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Babylonian State Of The Union</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And not only in the beginning of the zman; every day was like that. It</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">was done with a certain panoply, like in a royal tribunal, with certain</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">procedures, formalities and announcements. Like in the Congress l’havdil</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">or in a king’s palace; it was done with the greatest kind of ceremony. And</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">we should ask ourselves: What was this for? Why all the fanfare?! Why</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">couldn’t they just get busy with learning already? Isn’t that what they</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">came for? It wasn’t the State of the Union address after all; it was a</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">yeshivah! And they didn’t do this once a year; it was every day!</p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">And the answer is that this pomp and the ceremony was vital for an</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">understanding of the place of the Torah in the Am Yisroel.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">In the </span>midbar, where they all saw the Mishkan, and they all knew that</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">hidden inside, in the room that Hashem chose to reside in, was the luchos</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">and the Torah, so the entire nation lived with a tangible understanding</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">that it was the study of the Torah that was the core function of our people</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">– everybody was learning in kollel, and there was no question in anyone’s</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">mind that limud Torah was the function of our people. But in order to</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">keep that fire of kavod haTorah alive forever and to understand the</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">centrality of the Torah to our nation, the nation had to see with their own</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">eyes the glory of Torah. And so the Mesivta functioned with the</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">prominence it deserved and the Am Yisroel learned that the aristocracy</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">of our people were the ones who were studying the Toras Hashem in the</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">beis medrash.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>The Great Kiddush Hashem</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In Bavel they also established the Yarchei Kallah together with the</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Mesivta. Twice a year there was a yarchei kallah, a kiddush Hashem of</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">remarkable proportions. You know they were almost all farmers in Bavel,</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">so when the farming season was over, two months a year, tens of</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">thousands of people came to the Mesivta. The town was overflowing with</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Jews. They slept on the streets, on the roofs, and in cellars, and they were</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">learning all the time. The entire month they were learning Torah. And the</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">chachmei haTorah were there to test them, to see if they knew it!</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Everybody was learning the same thing – it was a scene to behold – they</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">were all learning the same mesichta and the chachomim farherred them.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And it wasn’t little children we’re talking about; these were adults,</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">men in their forties and fifties, older than that too, men with families.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">From where did this fire of dedication to Torah come? How could a nation</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">of so many different personalities: workers, wise men, simple folk,</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">intellectuals, rich and poor alike all humbly submit themselves before the</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">chachmei haTorah?</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444;">And the answer is that it wasn’t something that began in Bavel;<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444;">it was already engraved on our souls from the Dor Hamidbar.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444;">The same way the Dor Hamidbar submitted themselves before<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444;">Moshe Rabbeinu, the Am Yisroel continued that practice always.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444;">And therefore there was always a tremendous outpouring of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444;">Torah learning, a tremendous demonstration that Torah is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444;">everything for the Am Yisroel. We are always a nation of</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444;">Torah learners</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Nothing But Torah</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Once upon a time Jewish men didn’t stay home at night. They weren’t</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">at the movies either; they were in the study halls, in the shuls. When</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">fathers and sons would return home at night from the beis medrash they</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">would bring all their baggage of Torah with them. Mothers and sisters</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">would hear nothing but Torah. And therefore the Jewish street used to be</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">a street of Torah.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Even a certain writer, an enemy of the Torah – I won’t honor him by</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">saying his name here – when describing Cracow in the times of the Rama</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">he said that the children in the street “babbled Torah.” And the truth is</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">that it wasn’t only Cracow. That’s how it was in every Jewish community;</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">every town was a yeshivah town.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I remember when I was a little boy in Baltimore, when the new</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">immigrants arrived, they used to laugh when they saw that the shuls were</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">locked during the day. Locked?! “Aren’t there people learning all day in</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the shuls?” And it wasn’t the talmidei chachomim who laughed; it was the</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">peddler, the poor working man trying to eke out a living. It was something</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">impossible to them! Because in Europe, even a hundred years ago, they</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">were still emulating the Dor Hamidbar, and still learning the lessons of</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the Mishkan. Some were there all day, some would come in for an hour</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">here and there, but to close the shul?!</p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>No Seats Available In Shul!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When I was in Lithuania I once visited a shul in a small town and an</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">old melamed, a remnant from the old generation, said to me, “Before</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">World War I there was a time when if you came a little bit late to this shul</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">on Thursday night you couldn’t find a seat. It was filled with people</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">learning late into the night. Every night the shul was filled with people</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">learning.”</p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In Slabodka, a bachur whom I learned with b’chavrusa once told me</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">that in Beers, his hometown in Lithuania, there used to be a chevrah</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">mishmarim. This was a group of people who were peddlers all week; it</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">was their bitter lot in life to put a pack of merchandise on their backs and</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">trudge through the gentile hamlets and villages to peddle merchandise</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">among non-Jews. Now in those days a Jew still looked like a Jew, so the</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">gentiles would set their dogs on the Jews as they passed through the</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">town. It was a hard life, a wearisome week of work. And where did they go</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">when they finally returned home? They gathered in the shul in Beers</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">where they would spend all Thursday night learning to make up for the</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">time they missed during the week. That was the chevra mishmarim!</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And as a young man in New York, I saw echoes of those great days. I</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">once tried spending the whole night learning in a chassidishe shtiebel on</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the Lower East Side on Montgomery street. I tried staying awake, but I</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">kept dozing over the Gemara. But I couldn’t sleep anyhow because the</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Poilisheh chassidim started coming in while it was still dark. They put on</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">their gartels, took down their Gemaras, and started learning before the</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">morning came. Early in the morning when it was still dark, the shtiebel</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">was packed with Jews sitting and learning. And in the Gerrer shtiebel I</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">used to watch a Litvishe Jew standing and learning Mishnayos by heart all</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">night. Once in a while he would look into the open Mishna to refresh his</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">memory. That’s a remnant of the older generation; once upon a time the</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Jewish nation studied Torah.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>The Greatest Mitzvah</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There are two pesukim in Mishlei: One says […] “All of the things<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">that you desire cannot equal to the Torah” (Mishlei 3:15). All</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the things that people love in this world – people love wealth, they love</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">honor, they love food and all types of pleasure – it’s nothing compared to</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the Torah. Everybody desires things in this world, all good things; health</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">and happiness, nachas, long years, and wealth. But nothing compares to</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">one word of the Torah.</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But there’s another possuk,<span class="s1" style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span class="s2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">[…] </span><span class="s1" style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">(ibid. 8:11). Here it </span>doesn’t say<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">chafatzecha, your desires; it says chafatzim, all desirable</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">things, even the things that Hashem desires, […]<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>cannot compare to</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the Torah. What does that mean? It means that even all the mitzvos of the</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Torah cannot compare to the mitzvah of studying Torah (Moed Kattan 9b).</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Of course if you have to do a mitzvah, and there’s no one else who</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">can do it, you have to stop learning and do the mitzvah; but the mitzvos</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">of the Torah are not as great a privilege as the one mitzvah of studying</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Torah. […], all the things that you consider important, […]</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">and even all the things that Hashem considers important, all the mitzvos,</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">[…], they don’t equal one thing of the Torah.</p><p class="p5" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">One line of Torah is more important than all the mitzvos put together.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">How can that be?! It’s astonishing! All the mitzvos together, the tefillin and</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">mezuzos and tzitzis and matzah and korban pesach, all the obligations of</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the Torah cannot compare to one thing of the Torah. You sit down, open</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">a Gemara and learn one line, it’s such a tremendous happiness, such a</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">great achievement, that it eclipses, it far outdoes all the good things</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">together. If you can open the Gemara for one line, you should know what</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">you’re doing for yourself in this world. I’m not saying you’re a talmid</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">chochom already; that takes work after all. But you’re already joining the</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">aristocracy of the Am Yisroel; you’re emulating the upper class, the elite</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">of our nation. You’re becoming a Torah Jew; because that’s the function of</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">a Jew in this world.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In Europe, before World War l, there were a lot of Jews who moved</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">into the shul in the morning, and they didn’t move out till late at night.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There was a whole population like that all over Eastern Europe. It stopped</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">with World War l, it began to disintegrate little by little. But way back,</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">throughout our history, all the shuls had a big populace of learners. Many</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">men were driven away to the shuls by their wives. These dedicated</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">women, the noshim tzidkoniyos, said “Don’t work; you sit and learn and I’ll</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">take care of the parnassah.” All over Eastern Europe it was a frequent</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">thing. Even when I came to Europe in 1932, when it was already ruined, I</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">saw it. The wife stood in the store and her husband sat in the beis medrash.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">[…]</p><p class="p2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>That’s what the Gemara says:</b> <span class="s1" style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">–<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">[…] </span>“The young men of Israel will in the future emit a fragrance like the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">forest of Levanon” (Brachos 43b). The time will come when the young talmidei</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">chachomim, the yeshivah men who spend their days and nights learning,</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">will issue a sweet fragrance like the cedar trees of the Levanon. It means</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">that one day the world will recognize the truth; the whole world will learn</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">to look through the Eyes of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. And everyone will see</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">that it is the Torah learners who smell pleasant, that they are the ones</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">who give off the sweetest of fragrances in this world.</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But we are expected to recognize that truth even today. When you</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">see a yeshivah man, you should imagine that he smells like sweet smelling</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">roses. Let’s say you see a group of yeshivah boys walking in the street.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Now, there is nothing especially attractive about them. They’re all wearing</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the same uniform, white shirts, and black pants; nothing special. So what</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">about it? What’s so important?</p><p class="p4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But if you understand this lesson of Parshas Pekudei, you understand</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">that these yeshivah men are the aristocrats of our nation. Because it was</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">in the midbar that the Am Yisroel learned that our nation is only a Torah</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">nation. That’s the lifeblood of our people; it’s what we are.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">[…] <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">“<u>Our nation is a nation only because of the Torah</u>.”<span class="s1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>And it’s those who keep pumping the blood of Torah through the veins of our </b><b>nation, who are keeping us alive. And therefore it’s the Torah learners who </b><b>are the aristocrats of our nation, the ones whom we admire and emulate.</b></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Once you understand this, you have gained a new perspective on the Am </b><b>Yisroel, and you’ve learned to see our nation the way Hashem sees them!</b></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">MAIN SOURCE: https://torasavigdor.org/</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">BASED ON: https://torasavigdor.org/parshah-booklets/pekudei-5784/</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">(some omissions, and some of the Hebrew due to the font)</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-41926945807379398722024-03-16T19:19:00.000+02:002024-03-16T19:19:40.760+02:00Rabbi Weissman – Looking for an excuse to stay in exile<div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">In this week's Torah class we learned about</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="s1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">*The need for even Moshe Rabbeinu to be transparent and give an audit to the people<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">*The deep yetzer hara for Jews to find any excuse to stay in Egypt (or America, etc.)<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">*When it's appropriate, praiseworthy, and even required to go beyond the obligations of the Torah and take </span><i style="color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">chumros</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">...and when it isn't</span></div><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The class is available <a href="https://rumble.com/v4j1pu0-r-and-b-torah-fellowship-98-looking-for-an-excuse-to-stay-in-exile.html"><span class="s2" style="color: #1652ca;">here</span></a>.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">* * *</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On this month's Amalek and Erev Rav program I was joined once again by Mordechai Sones. Mordechai previously worked at Arutz Sheva, and resigned in protest of their editorial policies during the Covid era. The resignation letter is attached to this email. (I first shared it in 2021 along with an article called Stop Serving Your Country, available <a href="https://chananyaweissman.com/article.php?id=389"><span class="s2" style="color: #1652ca;">here,</span></a> which is quite apropo, and will continue to be apropo until people finally learn. I copied the article below as well.)</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Mordechai proceeded to become the director of Frontline News, part of America's Frontline Doctors. </p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Last night on the program he officially launched Jewish Home News (<a href="http://jewishhome.news/"><span class="s2" style="color: #1652ca;">jewishhome.news</span></a>). We discussed Mordechai's journey over the last few years, why he created Jewish Home News, what makes it different, his vision for the site, how he will ensure it doesn't go down the dark path of other media we used to trust, and more.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The program is available <a href="https://rumble.com/v4j9co8-r-and-b-amalek-and-erev-rav-69-official-launch-of-jewishhome.news.html"><span class="s2" style="color: #1652ca;">here</span></a>.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">* * *</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">December 9, 2021</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 19.5px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7.7px; text-align: center;"><b>Stop Serving Your Country</b></p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I have a little customs officer inside my head. Whenever a message tries to enter my brain, the customs officer stops it and does a two-part check. Does it fit with the Torah? Does it make sense? If not, the message is rejected.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">If the source is already known to be antithetical to the Torah or otherwise untrustworthy, the message is treated with utmost suspicion. At most, a kernel of truth will be carefully extracted, and even that will remain flagged.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Everyone should have their own customs officer and consult with others as needed before assimilating questionable ideas. This system has proved invaluable in navigating the virus/vaccine scam, but it is essential in all times, at all times.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">One of the most pernicious messages from impure sources that most people have nevertheless assimilated is that the highest ideal is “serving your country”. It is the fundamental tenet of the military and the basis for which people are willing to sacrifice their lives. The “best” citizens will do literally anything to serve their country.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Their reward for this is praise, honor, medals, and, if they are lucky, a pension. If they were rewarded in more substantial ways, it could hardly be called service, after all.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">It is easy to understand how convincing the citizens that giving up everything for what is in reality just the government's agenda, in exchange for so little in return, is a good bargain for the people in power. Every leader in the world claims to serve the people, while they coerce the people to serve <i>them</i> in the name of serving the country.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The idealization and idolization of servitude is deeply ingrained in our societal messaging. We have, for example, the notion of “serving the customer”. Have you ever thought about that one? Today's large corporations get away with trampling on people, and of course that is reprehensible. In principle, though, why should a company – or, more likely, a small business owner or an overworked, underpaid employee – serve anyone?</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">In every business transaction, in every exchange, both sides should treat one another honestly and fairly. The customer is not always right, nor should the customer have to jump through hoops for assistance if there is a problem. Neither side should serve the other. We shouldn't submit to servitude, even to make a sale, nor expect others to serve us like royalty merely for making a purchase.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">These phrases have become so common that we no longer think about the deeper implications behind them. We need to examine where our values really come from. Do they fit with the Torah? Do they make sense?</p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;">*</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">For a few days this past summer there was a severe heat wave in Israel. On one of these days a group of soldiers went on a hike as part of a training exercise. They did not bring adequate water with them, despite the conditions. Seven of the soldiers fainted and had to be rescued.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">This was a short news item that came and went without making any waves. If people even noticed it, they considered it an unfortunate accident, and perhaps negligence on the part of the commanding officer for not ensuring the soldiers had more water with them. Nothing more than that.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The little customs officer in my head held up his hand. Hold on. How could it be that seven soldiers would faint on a single hike due to heatstroke? Did they all faint at exactly the same time? Why was the hike not stopped immediately after the first soldier collapsed, until it could be ascertained that the other soldiers were not susceptible to the same calamity?</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">How could it be that six soldiers could see one of their own collapse from dehydration, feel the same thing happening to them, and just keep marching? How could it be that even one soldier would keep marching when he felt his body was about to give out?</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The commanding officer had ordered them to continue marching. So what? This wasn't a training exercise, it was a death march. To hell with the commanding officer.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Ah, but they were serving their country. When one is in servitude, he follows orders, even if that means destroying himself for absolutely nothing.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">This is how all armies work. Of course, there must be organization. There must be leaders and people who follow them – but to what extent? What else will people do to themselves and others for the sake of “serving their country”?</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Our leaders condition us to be dogs who fetch their sticks. We fetch the stick. Good dog! Then they immediately throw it away again, and tell us to fetch it. It is an intentionally pointless ritual designed to entertain the masters and demonstrate control. If the dog had any intelligence, after at least the second throw he would say, “I'm outta here. Go fetch your own stick.”</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">That is how a group of soldiers could march in the desert without water and collapse one by one, without any of them revolting. The real training exercise is not to prepare them physically for harsh conditions. It is to prepare them mentally to do whatever they are told, no matter what.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">This is why I didn't join the army. I would have taken off my uniform and quit on the spot.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">This is why I won't allow them to inject me with crap or fetch their stick, no matter what it takes.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I don't serve my country. I serve God.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Who do you serve?</p><p class="p8" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; min-height: 15px;">__________________________</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://chananyaweissman.com/">chananyaweissman.com/</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="http://rumble.com/c/c-782463">rumble.com/c/c-782463</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Buy my books on Amazon </b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Chananya-Weissman/author/B00J58BOKS"><span class="s1"><b>here</b></span></a><b> or contact me to purchase in Israel.</b></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://kodeshpress.com/product/tovim-ha-shenayim/">Download Tovim Ha-Shenayim as a PDF for free!</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>If you received this from someone else and want to receive future articles directly, please send a request to </b><a href="mailto:endthemadness@gmail.com"><span class="s1"><b>endthemadness@gmail.com</b></span></a><b>.</b></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a class="D_F" data-test-id="attachment-download" href="https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-U5PdnjDXxy_BqxxIDEkmutKaeT228G0lYuPaZXY-ifssiCvZxeGTBlyDM_Lf21kQ4QS589m2ULn4HOf3kMCF_g/messages/@.id==APEux-pYVYYlZfPpZwgCyKN-thc/content/parts/@.id==2/refresh?appid=YMailNorrin&ymreqid=af515b16-f62c-838e-1c94-e10003016c00" style="color: #1d2228; display: flex; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; outline: none !important; text-decoration-line: none; text-wrap: nowrap;"><span class="D_F ek_BB o_h J_x C_Z29WjXl Q_67SN W_3mS2U" style="color: #0f69ff; display: flex; flex-direction: column; margin-left: -1px; outline: none !important; overflow: hidden; width: 100px;" title="arutz-sheva-resignation.pdf"></span></a></p><div class="D_F u_e69" style="display: flex; font-weight: 500; outline: none !important;"><span class="G_e o_h" style="outline: none !important; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;"><br /></span></div>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-57112617254845827532024-03-16T19:18:00.001+02:002024-03-16T19:19:34.320+02:00Highly Recommended Reading: LEARN MORE ABOUT THE "CIVILIANS" IN GAZA<div class="paragraph" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0.5em 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #535353; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Between Assumption and Perception</b> "The general assumption of billions of people is that the reality we perceive is exactly the reality that exists, when in fact, that can't be true since so many people look at the same reality and perceive different versions of it." Rabbi Winston, <span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">On The Same Page: Ancient Roots of Modern Nations and Conflicts</span>, pp 15-16 (<a href="http://thirtysix.org"><span class="s1">thirtysix.org</span></a>)</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #535353; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: black; font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #404040; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW OR UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT THE CULTURE, VALUES, EDUCATION, AND BIRTH NATIONALITY OF THE GAZA ARAB CIVILIANS. </p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #404040; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #404040; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Here are choice words from an article that appears on <a href="http://myrtlerising.weebly.com/blog/here-are-your-civilians-in-gaza-according-to-clan-and-location-plus-a-quote-from-a-survivor-of-the-kfar-aza-attack">MyrtleRIsing</a> (a Quote from a Survivor of the Kfar Aza Attack):</p><p class="p6" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p7" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>“Toward the end of an interview with Moran Corse, Elai stated:</i></p><p class="p8" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #404040; font-family: Verdana; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p9" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>“Another thought grew stronger within me — and it's a thought I feel very sad about.</i></p><p class="p9" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>For I always believed the people on the other side of the fence — at least the majority of them — were victims. They exist within a regime that controls them and doesn't allow them so much right to choose. </i></p><p class="p9" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>But after the seventh of October, I...I no longer have any faith in them.</i></p><p class="p9" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Those who tried to murder us or kidnap us — they were civilians. They're civilians. Ultimately, we realized it was civilians.</i></p><p class="p9" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>For every Israeli they brought to the Strip, they received money. And I know those standing guard over the hostages were teachers and veterinarians — professions about which you say, "A teacher! A teacher does this?"</i></p><p class="p9" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>And so who do you have to make peace with</i>?</p><p class="p9" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>This is a thought that I very much — it's a little bit hopeless, but I hope there will be a solution for us because I don't know how it's possible to make peace if everyone — even civilians — try to kill you.”</i></p><p class="p10" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p11" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">THIS FASCINATING ARTICLE ALSO IDENTIFIES THE DIFFERENT GROUPS:</p><p class="p10" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Here are Your "Civilians" in Gaza, according to Clan and Location</p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">The Main Clans of Beit Hanoun</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Kafara</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Za'anin</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Abu Jarad<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">The Main Clans of Gaza City</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Zaitoun neighborhood — Dachduch (associated with Islamic Jihad)</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Shuja'iyeh neighborhood — Hilas (associated with Fatah)</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Sabra neighborhood (these clans established terror organizations of their own):</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Dughmush — founder of Jaysh al Islam (the Army of Islam, who kidnapped Gilad Shalit)</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Abu Sharia — founder of Kateib al-Mujadin (Mujadin Troops, who abducted and still hold hostage Shiri Bibas along with her young son Ariel and her baby Kefir).</p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">The Main Clans of Deir al-Balah</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Here, Bedouin clans take the reins. Of the many, two stand out:</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Chanajreh</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Suarka</p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">The Main Clans of Khan Yunis</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">El Ara</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Kadech</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Al-Fara</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Al-Kara</p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">(Each consists of thousands of members.)</p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">The Main Clans of Rafah</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Sha'ar</p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Kashatah</p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">(Located smack on the border with Egypt, these clans function as criminal organizations who specialize in smuggling — both contraband and people.)</p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So there are your "civilians" and "innocent bystanders.”</p><p class="p14" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p14" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;">________________________________</p><p class="p14" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p12" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">SO PLEASE READ AND LEARN A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THESE CLANS, THE SO-CALLED CIVILIANS IN GAZA. VISIT <a href="http://myrtlerising.weebly.com/blog/here-are-your-civilians-in-gaza-according-to-clan-and-location-plus-a-quote-from-a-survivor-of-the-kfar-aza-attack">MyrtleRIsing</a> AND BE BETTER INFORMED (She is a talented writer, and gives us well-researched and unique topics.</p><p class="p12" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p12" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">* * * * *</p><p class="p12" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p12" style="-webkit-font-kerning: auto; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">JUST IN 3/14: </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 20px !important; margin: 20px 0px 0px; max-width: 960px; text-align: left; width: 823px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-weight: normal;"><i>Gazan women, teens took part in Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel - report<br />"Those currently detained are teenagers aged 17 or 16. Some women assisted in the</i></span><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: normal;"> kidnappings,</i><i style="color: #444444; font-weight: normal;"> guarded the hostages, and helped the terrorists." </i><span style="color: #444444;"><i>https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-792023</i></span></span></p></div>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-14675521691091672342024-03-15T16:34:00.001+02:002024-03-15T16:34:07.766+02:00Reb Ginsbourg: Pekudei – Moshe could not enter the Tent of Assemby<p> </p><p class="p2" style="color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><b>At the end of the Book of Shmot, Moshe cannot enter the Tent of Assembly and the shechina has not yet spoken with him!</b></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Pekudei, the final parasha in Sefer Shemot, concludes by relating ( 40:31-38 ): ‘So Moshe completed the work’ of the Mishkan.’The cloud covered the Tent of Assembly and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan. Moshe could not enter the Tent of Meeting, for the cloud rested upon it, and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan. When the cloud was raised up from upon the Mishkan, Bnei Israel would embark on all their journeys. If the cloud did not rise up, they would not embark, until the day it rose up. The cloud of Hashem would be on the Mishkan by day, and fire would be on it at night, before the eyes of all of the House of Israel throughout their journeys.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Ramban comments:’The cloud covered the Tent of Assembly’: Meaning that the cloud covered the Tent from all sides, and it was covered and concealed in it, and the glory of Hashem filled the Tent, as the glory dwelled within the cloud; and later, the cloud moved from the tent and dwelled on the Ark, as it is written:(25:22)’There I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from atop the Ark cover from between the two cherubim..all that I will command you unto Bnei Israel.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘And it says:’Moshe could not enter the Tent of Assembly, even to its entrance because the cloud covered it, and he was not permitted to come into the cloud, and also because the Mishkan was filled with the glory of Hashem, so how could he enter it?</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘The reason was that he should not come there without permission, but Hashem would call to him, and he would come within the cloud, as occurred at Har Sinai.’</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><b>Our Sages - in Petichta deRut Rabba- bring the teaching of Rav Chama bar Chanina:’</b>Does it come to your mind that Moshe was afraid of the cloud? Indeed we already read :(24:18) that Moshe entered into the cloud - this teaches that the cloud parted for him, and he walked in it like a man walks along a path; but when we read that ‘Moshe could not enter’, it teaches that he gave proper respect to the shechina and did not enter, until Hashem called to him.’</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><b>Rav Shimon Schwab</b>, on this Midrash, comments: ‘When the Torah writes ‘could not enter’, the plain meaning is that it was not possible for him to enter.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘We need to say that, in regard to midot, habit becomes nature; Moshe Rabbeinu’s exemplary humility, elevated it to be part of him, and, since he was exceptional in his subservience to Hashem, this became part of him, and he therefore truly ‘could not enter’ without permission - literally, as the Torah writes.’</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><b>Rav Zalman Sorotzkin</b> adds:’’Moshe could not enter’: there is ‘could not’, meaning: is not permitted; and this is the meaning here, as our Sages say, that Moshe Rabbeinu did not enter until he was called to do so.’</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><b>Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl </b>first notes that the Ramban, at the conclusion of his commentary to Sefer Shemot, calls it: Sefer Hageula’: the Book of Redemption, and expounds:’’What distinguishes the redemption? Not the exodus from Egypt, nor Matan Torah, but the erection of the Mishkah, because only when it was erected, and the shechina returned to reside, did Bnei Israel return to the level of their forefathers before the galut.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘But there is a difficulty in saying so, as already at Matan Torah the shechina dwelled on Bnei Israel! True - but that was on a once-only basis, an ephemeral wondrous event. The erection of the Mishkan, on the other hand, paved the way for the shechina to permanently reside in Israel, though, to our great distress, we did not merit this for some two thousand years - still, the objective of the erection of the Mishkan was:’And I shall dwell amongst you’, and that the honor of Hashem’s Kingship would appear in our midst, for eternity.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Therefore - says Ramban - the Book of Redemption concludes with the erection of the Mishkan, in the assembly where the cloud of Hashem rests, because only then did Bnei Israel return to the level of our forefathers, when the cloud of Hashem resided on their tents in a permanent manner.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘However, if this is the ‘apex’ of Sefer Shemot, it ends in a manner that arouses wonder, raising a question-mark as to the erection of the Mishkan.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘This arises from two of our concluding psukim: The first describes, that ‘the cloud covered the Tent of Assembly’ - on first thought, this was the desired outcome, that all were yearning for: the residing of the shechina in the Mishkan; but in the next pasuk, there is an unexpected development:’Moshe could not enter the Tent of Assembly, for the cloud rested upon it, and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan’.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘After all the labors of all of the people over months, and after the people in their heart-of-hearts, hoped that the residence of the shechina in the Mishkan was the proof of forgiveness of the transgression of the golden calf - and, alas, Moshe Rabbeinu, their leader, cannot enter the Tent of Assembly!</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><i>‘Could this be an ominous message from Above?</i></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘True, that we have an answer to this: now, at the conclusion of Sefer Shemot, Moshe cannot enter - but at the very start of Sefer Vayikra, the Torah relates that immediately theresfter: .’Hashem calls to Moshe, and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Assembly’, and the cloud that filled the Tent reduced itself, to residing above the Ark in the Kodesh haKodashim, so that Moshe could then enter the Tent.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Nevertheless, if the objective of the Mishkan was - amongst other things - ‘There I will meet with you, and speak with you..’, surely it would have been more apt to conclude the Book of Redemption by Moshe entering the Tent, by Hashem calling him and speaking to him, that in that moment the choicest in Israel enters the Tent, and the shechina talks to him face-to-face; then truly - in the words of the Ramban - can it be said that the return to the level of the forefathers has been achieved.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Instead, the Sefer concludes with a sense of some distancing, on the part of Hashem; Moshe cannot enter the Tent of Assembly and the shechina has not yet spoken with him!</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Perhaps we can explain in the following manner: True, the purpose of the Mishkan was to show the closeness of Hashem, His love for Israel, the ‘I shall dwell amongst them’, that the Kohanim, by their service in it, would draw the people closer to Hashem - but this was all from the aspect of love that was in the Mishkan; from it being the place of the greatest love between Hashem and kneset Israel.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘But this love also needs <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">יראה</span>: fear - just as man needs to seek closeness to Hashem - indeed this is his purpose, to be beloved by Hashem, whose Mitzvot he fulfills out of love - in the same measure, this love has to be accompanied by fear of Hashem, which serves as the foundation - within the closeness to, and the love of the Creator, man needs to also know the distance; not to draw nearer than is proper.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Proof of this: the stand at which the Torah was given - though it was an event steeped in love, it was preceded by by <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">יראה</span>, by the separation from family for three days, and the restriction on approaching the mountain - because, with all the love of matan Torah, there was equally a need for fear - fear to come too close to the shechina, because love without fear - will not endure.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘This very same consideration was also required at the consecration of the Mishkan, as a basis for the great love it represented; there had to be a foundation of fear, that all should know the infinite distance between man and the shechina, his Creator.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Therefore, when the Torah chose to conclude Sefer Shemot with Moshe Rabbeinu being unable to enter the Mishkan, this emphasized the complete redemption of</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Israel! This confirmed their return to the level of their forefathers, because only when we see, that even a man as great as Moshe Rabbeinu cannot enter; that there is a place that is even out of bounds to him - THIS expresses the residence of the shechina in Israel; this is faithful testimony, that the shechins dwells in Israel in its full force.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘To make this clearer: to enter, is possible in every mundane place, whenever one wishes - this, in itself, is proof that the shechina does not dwell there.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘Where is the greatest revelation of the shechina? In the place where one may not enter. If one may not enter the Mishkan, it means that ‘And I shall dwell amongst you’ has occurred; precisely if ‘Moshe could not enter the Tent of Assembly’ - that is the greatest proof that Hashem is in our midst, and that Bnei Israel returned to the level of our forefathers.’</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><b>Rav Shimon Sofe</b>r finds an allusion to this, in our psukim, from the repetition of words:’’The cloud covered the Tent of Assembly and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan’, and this is repeated later in the pasuk:’the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan’- interrupted by the words ‘Moshe could not enter’.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">‘We need to expound that this repetition, comes to say, that ‘the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan, and Moshe could not enter the Tent of Assembly’: even the great Moshe in all his sanctity could not enter, proving the greatness of the glory of the Tent of Assembly, that the glory of Hashem truly filled the Mishkan.’</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/386724</p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-45757696560004741012024-03-15T12:21:00.000+02:002024-03-15T16:34:49.121+02:00E.M. SAIDEL: Pekudei – Send in The Clowns<p><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The Torah reveals very little about the physical appearance of those who feature in it, with a few exceptions – Rivka and Rachel are said to be very pretty. If so, a question may seem strange: “Was Moshe obese?”</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">No, this is not an excerpt from a diet program; it is a reference to a Midrash (<i>Rabba</i>, <i>Pekudei</i> 51:6; <i>Tanchuma</i>, <i>Pekudei</i>).</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The Midrash says there was a group of people termed <i>leitzanei Yisrael</i>, clowns of Israel, who mocked Moshe Rabbeinu. There are two different opinions on what they said. According to R’ Yochanan, they said “<i>Ashrei yoladeto</i> – Blessed is his birth,” and according to R’ Chama, they would look at Moshe’s neck and thighs from behind and comment that they were fat.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The first opinion, that of R’ Yochanan, does not seem like mocking but like praise. In truth, what they were saying was “Happy is the mother who gave birth to Ben Amram,” (and whenever there is a reference to Moshe as Ben Amram, it is in a derogatory context).</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Look how he has given jobs to all of his family – he made his brother the <i>Kohen Gadol</i>, he made Betzalel, the grandson (great-grandson?) of Miriam, chief builder of the <i>Mishkan</i>, he made Itamar, son of Aharon, chief accountant – his mother can be proud of him – he abused his power of office to dish out jobs to all his family.”</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">According to R’ Chama, they said how “fat” Moshe was getting. “Moshe is in charge of such a vast fortune – all the gold, silver, precious gems, etc., from the <i>Mishkan</i>. It is not possible that some of that is not finding its way to his pocket!”</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">When Moshe heard these mocking comments behind his back, he responded “Just wait, after the completion of the <i>Mishkan</i> I will give a full accounting.” Hashem did not tell Moshe to make an accounting, but when Moshe resolved to do so, Hashem did not object, and we have this entire Torah portion dedicated to this – simply due to the mocking comments of these “clowns”!</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Who were these “clowns of Israel?” What was their reason to mock Moshe? What exactly is it about this mocking that makes it unacceptable?</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">To understand this, we need to skip forward to <i>parshat Korach</i>. Both the Midrash (<i>Rabba Korach</i> 4; <i>Tanchuma Korach</i> 3) and the Gemara (<i>Sanhedrin</i> 109b) say that Korach was typical of this kind of “clown.”</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Korach gathered his followers and put on a “stand-up comedy” show for them.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Korach told the story of a poor widow who had two orphan daughters and a solitary field. When she wanted to plow the field, Moshe said to her, “You cannot plow with an ox and a donkey together.”</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">She tried to sow and Moshe said, “You cannot sow different species in the field.” When the harvest arrived, Moshe told her, “You have to give tithes and leave gifts for the poor.” The desolate widow could not take it any longer, so she sold the field and bought two sheep to enjoy the wool and the offspring. When the first lambs were born, Aharon said to her, “The firstborn belong to me.”</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">When shearing time arrived, Aharon again said, “The first wool of the shearing belongs to me.” The poor widow said, “I cannot stand up to these two,” so she slaughtered the sheep, hoping to at least enjoy the meat, but up pops Aharon again and says, “Give me the <i>pulke</i>, the cheekbone and the <i>kishke</i>.”</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“Even after I slaughter the sheep, I cannot get away from them,” cried the poor, defeated widow, who was left penniless!</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">On the surface, it seems that all the facts are true. Everything that Moshe and Aharon supposedly said, according to Korach, is <i>true</i> – they are all <i>mitzvot</i> in the Torah! So, what is the problem?</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The problem is that this story never took place, it was a total <i>fabrication</i>. In the <i>midbar</i> there were no fields. All the <i>mitzvot</i> mentioned in the story only applied after <i>Am Yisrael</i> entered Eretz Yisrael. Korach took truths from the Torah and fabricated this make believe story in such a way that it twisted the true purpose of these <i>mitzvot</i>. Korach engineered the story, applying dramatic effect in exactly the right places to get the required response from the audience and thus made a mockery of Moshe and Aharon.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Our Midrash in <i>Pekudei</i> is the same: “Moshe is skimming the gold and the silver <i>we</i> donated for the <i>Mishkan</i>! Moshe is getting fat!” It was all lies. Even if Moshe was theoretically embezzling, which he wasn’t, what could he possibly do with it in the <i>midbar</i>?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">What could a billionaire with tons of gold and precious stones do with them in the middle of a desert? If you say that he was keeping it for when they enter Eretz Yisrael, our Sages tell us that when <i>Am Yisrael</i> entered Eretz Yisrael, they came to a fully built and equipped land. The homes, buildings, bridges, roads, parks, etc., were all there for them. When they went into the already-built homes, Hashem revealed all the riches hidden under the floorboards and in the walls.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The riches they took out of Egypt and added to at the Red Sea were nothing in comparison to these new riches. Hashem intended that the riches from Egypt would be used to build the <i>Mishkan</i>, not to be taken into Eretz Yisrael.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">It was all lies, taking truths, using them out of context, twisting them and, by their very presence, camouflaging them and making them believable.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Those who heard Korach’s performance could not help but be drawn in and believe it to be true, and even if upon closer inspection it was obvious that it could not be true, it cast into doubt the sincerity and authority of Moshe and Aharon.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">“OK, perhaps they didn’t steal the field (there was no field), but do they have the right to ‘steal’ all a poor widow’s possessions in theory? Do Moshe and Aharon have the right to such monopolization?”</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">This is the destructive power of mockery; like <i>lashon hara</i>, it plants a seed and casts aspersion on even the greatest, most impeccable of people.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The response to such destructive innuendo is that it must be silenced decisively – which Moshe did by giving a full accounting in <i>Pekudei</i>. Hashem regarded this mockery as so destructive that He completely altered the structure of the Torah, to include this extra <i>parsha</i> about the accounting, just to silence the mockers.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"> </p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><b><i>Parshat HaShavua</i> Trivia Question</b>: The verse (<i>Shemot</i> 40:2) says that the <i>Mishkan</i> should be erected on the first of Nisan. When was the actual work completed?</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><b>Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question</b>: When asking for donations for the <i>Mishkan</i> in <i>parshat Trumah</i>, the verse addresses “<i>Bnei Yisrael</i>.” However, here in <i>Vayakhel</i>, the verse addresses “<i>Adat Bnei Yisrael</i>.” Why the difference? The Sages say that “<i>Bnei Yisrael</i>” includes the <i>erev rav</i>, but “<i>Adat Bnei Yisrael</i>” does not. <i>Vayakhel</i> informs us that all the donations used for the <i>Mishkan</i> came from the pure <i>Am Yisrael</i>, not the <i>erev rav</i>.</p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-78113958669621868022024-03-15T08:51:00.001+02:002024-03-15T12:16:57.519+02:00The Rabbi and Yehonatan — Jordan<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Jonathan Pollard: Israel Will Annex Jordan</span><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O60hEttZwPk?si=aD4U44TrXN1HwOQc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> </div><div><br /></div><div> <span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">commentary</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The minute British started messing up with the Holy Land the British Empire ceased and dissolved. This is what happens to anyone who divides God's Land. Blessings from Poland
</span></div><div><br /></div><div><ytd-expander class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" collapsed="" id="expander" max-number-of-lines="4" should-use-number-of-lines="" style="--ytd-expander-button-margin: 4px 0 0 0; --ytd-expander-max-lines: 4; display: block; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: var(--ytd-expander-max-lines,4); border: 0px; color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); display: -webkit-box; margin: 0px; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" id="content-text" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeremiah 49:1 - belongs to tribe of Gad and so does most of the northern parts east of the Jordan, north of Moab</span></yt-attributed-string></div><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: var(--ytd-expander-max-lines,4); border: 0px; color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); display: -webkit-box; margin: 0px; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></div><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: var(--ytd-expander-max-lines,4); border: 0px; color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); display: -webkit-box; margin: 0px; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><ytd-expander class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" collapsed="" id="expander" max-number-of-lines="4" should-use-number-of-lines="" style="--ytd-expander-button-margin: 4px 0 0 0; --ytd-expander-max-lines: 4; display: block; white-space: normal;"><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: var(--ytd-expander-max-lines,4); border: 0px; color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); display: -webkit-box; margin: 0px; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" id="content-text" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">LoN was founded by Rockefeller (Standard Oil). So were the UN, the WHO, CFR, Trilateral, Tavistock, Johns Hopkins, & WEF (through David Rockefeller's friend Kissinger's protege Klaus Schwab). They also funded Otmar von Verschuer's Twin Studies (which Mengele continued</span></yt-attributed-string></div><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: var(--ytd-expander-max-lines,4); border: 0px; color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); display: -webkit-box; margin: 0px; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></yt-attributed-string></div><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: var(--ytd-expander-max-lines,4); border: 0px; color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); display: -webkit-box; margin: 0px; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 15, 15); color: #0f0f0f;">Correction. The Golan Heights was part of the French mandate as was Lebanon and Syria.</span></span></yt-attributed-string></div><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: var(--ytd-expander-max-lines,4); border: 0px; color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); display: -webkit-box; margin: 0px; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 15, 15); color: #0f0f0f;"><br /></span></span></yt-attributed-string></div><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: var(--ytd-expander-max-lines,4); border: 0px; color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); display: -webkit-box; margin: 0px; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" id="header" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px; white-space: normal;"><div class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" id="header-author" style="align-items: baseline; border: 0px; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><h3 class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="yt-simple-endpoint style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" href="https://www.youtube.com/@robyngrieve5495" id="author-text" style="color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); cursor: pointer; display: block; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.8rem; margin-right: 4px; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 2px; text-decoration: none; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">@robyngrieve5495</span></span></a></h3><span class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" color="var(--yt-spec-text-secondary)" dir="auto" id="published-time-text" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-text-secondary); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-text-secondary); border: 0px; line-height: 1.8rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap;"><a class="yt-simple-endpoint style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O60hEttZwPk&lc=UgzoCabBsKP4Eb0Xiqx4AaABAg" style="color: var(--yt-endpoint-color,var(--yt-spec-text-primary)); cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; text-decoration: none;">46 minutes ago</a></span></div></div><ytd-expander class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" id="expander" max-number-of-lines="4" should-use-number-of-lines="" style="--ytd-expander-button-margin: 4px 0 0 0; --ytd-expander-max-lines: 4; display: block; white-space: normal;"><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" id="content-text" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nomadic tribes are not nations. Nations can only arise from settled populations who produce surpluses and are able to to exchange goods with other settled populations. Banditry and pillage only produce anarchy, destruction and enslavement. Jordan didn't want the landless peasants left over from the Ottoman days, most of whom were shipped into the eastern Med coastline from surrounding regions only when the Ottomans wanted them to work the land so they(the Ottomans) could extract some profits. The actual landholders were Turks living in places like Istanbul, Cairo and Ankyra</span></yt-attributed-string></div><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></div><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><ytd-expander class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" id="expander" max-number-of-lines="4" should-use-number-of-lines="" style="--ytd-expander-button-margin: 4px 0 0 0; --ytd-expander-max-lines: 4; display: block; white-space: normal;"><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" id="content-text" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jordan existed under the name of Sham, part of historical Sham, long before the 5th century BC. - <span dir="auto" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Al-Sham or Shām (شام), is the Arabic term for the Greater Syria region, that is called in English the Levant or the eastern Mediterranean, including the modern countries of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus and Turkey's Hatay Province.</span> <span dir="auto" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Other synonyms of Sham or Al-Sham are Greater Syria or Syria-Palestine.[2] The region boundaries have changed throughout history. In modern times, the term "Syria" alone is used to refer to the Syrian Arab Republic</span></span></yt-attributed-string></div><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="border: 0px; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><yt-attributed-string class="style-scope ytd-comment-view-model" slot="content" style="--yt-endpoint-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-hover-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); --yt-endpoint-visited-color: var(--yt-spec-call-to-action); color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); font-size: 1.4rem; line-height: 2rem;" user-input=""><span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap" dir="auto" role="text" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span dir="auto" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><h1 class="style-scope ytd-watch-metadata" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: 2; border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(15, 15, 15); color: #0f0f0f; display: -webkit-box; font-size: 2rem; line-height: 2.8rem; margin: 0px; max-height: 5.6rem; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: normal; word-break: break-word;"><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-watch-metadata" force-default-style=""><br /></yt-formatted-string></h1><h1 class="style-scope ytd-watch-metadata" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: 2; border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(15, 15, 15); color: #0f0f0f; display: -webkit-box; font-size: 2rem; line-height: 2.8rem; margin: 0px; max-height: 5.6rem; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: normal; word-break: break-word;"><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-watch-metadata" force-default-style="">The Total Rejection of Idolatry</yt-formatted-string></h1></span></span></yt-attributed-string></div></ytd-expander></span></yt-attributed-string></div></ytd-expander></span></yt-attributed-string></div></ytd-expander></span></yt-attributed-string></div></ytd-expander></div><div><br /></div>
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Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-71573011749682032092024-03-15T07:52:00.002+02:002024-03-15T16:33:42.734+02:00Mayim Achronim: The Pineal Gland and Tefillin<p> </p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="s1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>THE PINEAL GLAND</b></span> </span></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">[…]<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The deeper mystical meaning is referring to an inner, spiritual eye. <i>Aderet Eliyahu</i> (the commentary of the <a href="https://www.jewoftheweek.net/2011/10/19/jew-of-the-week-the-vilna-gaon/"><span class="s3">Vilna Gaon</span></a>, Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilnius, 1720-1797) states that this refers to seeing with divine inspiration. The Torah is alluding to an eye that is covered up, not visible on the face of a person. This eye is often referred to as the “third eye”.</span></p><p class="p5" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayWhWR8Ojpqu-wMSln_mOzmq55T6vploqS006LY6w1EX3p1yuAtXIChxBAT6fY6I8U75gbC1WjgIIA-_Nf8sGTW28d4JSiiJhFaYuYG1nmcU2DAJUkeQHy9xYZcbHRM_cStT9yBXcXiLVwlZn-EoyXcJCLl2XZKReSKtgmlu-OLH2m9SDEeMPNUASXsU/s319/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-14%20at%2012.37.55.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="280" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayWhWR8Ojpqu-wMSln_mOzmq55T6vploqS006LY6w1EX3p1yuAtXIChxBAT6fY6I8U75gbC1WjgIIA-_Nf8sGTW28d4JSiiJhFaYuYG1nmcU2DAJUkeQHy9xYZcbHRM_cStT9yBXcXiLVwlZn-EoyXcJCLl2XZKReSKtgmlu-OLH2m9SDEeMPNUASXsU/w176-h200/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-14%20at%2012.37.55.png" width="176" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;">When worn properly, the head tefillin points directly to the pineal gland inside the brain.</span></div><p></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">In Kabbalah, the third eye is associated with the head <i>tefillin</i>, which the Torah commands be placed “between your eyes”. Despite this, we do not put the tefillin between our eyes, but atop the head, above the hairline. This alludes to the fact that the head tefillin is about opening up our third eye, buried deeper in our brains. Science has shed some incredible light on this subject.</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">Deep in our brains is a small organ called the pineal gland. It releases the sleep hormone melatonin, and has also been found to contain DMT (dimethyltryptamine), a chemical that causes hallucinations and visions. Some say this chemical generates our dreams, or at least plays some role in dreaming. In South American shamanic rituals, a special tea (called <i>Ayahuasca</i>) with a high concentration of DMT is brewed and drunk in a religious ceremony to open one’s eyes to spiritual visions (and apparently works extremely well).</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">If we can point to any part of the brain as being a “receiver” for prophecy, it would certainly be the mysterious pineal gland. Most intriguingly, scientists have found that the pineal gland contains photoreceptor cells similar to those in our eyes! (In some animals, it rests higher in the brain and appears to respond to light, and may even be involved in processes like bird migration.) For these reasons, many have identified the pineal gland with the mystical third eye described in ancient mystical texts.</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">One of these ancient texts is the <i>Zohar</i>, on this week’s parasha. The section on <i>Balak</i> is among the longest in the entire Zohar. It includes what some identify as a separate mystical text that was only later incorporated into the Zohar, called the <i>Yenuka</i>, or “Child”. It describes a dialogue that Rabbi Yitzchak and Rabbi Yehuda had with a particularly precocious child. The child reveals some incredible mystical secrets, and one of these is regarding the inner eye. (For more on these secrets, and to the identity of this mysterious child, see the second edition of <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/http:/www.lulu.com/shop/efraim-palvanov/secrets-of-the-last-waters-mayim-achronim-chova/paperback/product-23486538.html"><span class="s3"><i>Mayim Achronim Chova – Secrets of the Last Waters.</i></span></a>) The Zohar (III, 187a) reads:</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">[The Child] opened the discussion with the verse: “The wise man, his eyes are in his head, while the fool walks in darkness…” [Ecclesiastes 2:14] Why does it say the eyes are in his head? Are the eyes of a man in any other place? …Rather, the meaning of the verse is this: it has been taught that a man should not walk four cubits with an uncovered head. What is the reason? Since the <i>Shekhinah </i>rests upon the head, and a wise man’s thoughts and visions are in his head…</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">King Solomon alluded to the third eye when he said a wise man’s eyes are <i>in</i> his head and show him the light. The meaning of his words are quite clear, for he didn’t mean that a fool is <i>literally</i> blind, rather that he is lacking spiritual vision, which a wise man has. The Zohar comments by first stating that it is obvious the eyes are in (or on) the head. What one should understand is that contained within our heads are all of our holy thoughts and spiritual visions, imbued by God, and thus God’s divine presence, the <i>Shekhinah</i>, hovers over the head.</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">The Child goes on to state that a spiritual light emanates from the head of a righteous person, and he sees that light glowing upon the heads of Rabbi Yitzchak and Rabbi Yehuda. The Kabbalists associate that light with the two highest souls of a person, the <i>Chayah</i> and <i>Yechidah</i>. While the three lower souls (<i>Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah</i>) reside in the body, the higher souls exude outwards and hover over the body. (For more on this, see<i> </i><a href="https://www.mayimachronim.com/a-mystical-map-of-your-soul/"><span class="s3"><i>A Mystical Map of Your Soul</i></span></a>.) This is why it is common to wear <i>two</i> head-coverings, for example a kippah and a hat, which is meant to “cover” the two higher souls. These souls are particularly roused during prayer, which is the deeper reason for having a kippah and a tallit over one’s head.</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">The Child alludes to a Talmudic teaching of Rav Huna, who said he never walked four cubits with an uncovered head because the Shekhinah hovered over it (<i>Kiddushin</i> 31a). Elsewhere in the Talmud, we learn that an astrologer told the mother of Rav Nahman bar Yitzchak that he would become a thief, so his mother made him wear a head-covering his whole life to ensure “the fear of Heaven should always be upon him” (<i>Shabbat</i> 156b). It worked, and Rav Nahman became a great rabbi instead. Some cite this as the source for calling a kippah a <i>yarmulke</i>, meaning “fear of the King”. A kippah should remind a person at all times Who is above them.</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">Despite such teachings, wearing a kippah at all times was not a halachic requirement in those days. This was especially the case for an unmarried man, as we learn from another passage in the Talmud (<i>Kiddushin </i>29b):</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">Rav Ḥisda would praise Rav Hamnuna to Rav Huna by saying that he is a great man. Rav Huna said to him: “When he comes to you, send him to me.” When Rav Hamnuna came before him, Rav Huna saw that he did not wear a head-covering. Rav Huna said to him: “What is the reason that you do not wear a head-covering?” Rav Hamnuna said to him: “The reason is that I am not married.” Rav Huna turned his face away from him, and he said to him: “See to it that you do not see my face until you marry.”</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">The story comes full circle with Rav Hamnuna. The Zohar states that the mysterious Child—who taught the secret of the inner eye and the kippah—is none other than the son of Rav Hamnuna Saba (“the Elder”). Although it isn’t entirely certain if these are the same Rav Hamnunas, it appears that this is indeed the case. Rav Huna (who was so careful with a head-covering) was the one who taught and made sure that Rav Hamnuna would get married and cover his head. The child that resulted from that marriage was the angelic child, who went on to reveal the secret of the head-covering.</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">It was Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488-1575), a great mystic in his own right, who incorporated this practice as law in the <i>Shulchan Arukh</i>, stating that one should not walk four cubits with his head uncovered (Orach Chaim 2:6). In previous centuries, wearing a kippah or head-covering was only mandatory during prayer (<i>Mishneh Torah</i>, Sefer Ahava, Hilkhot Tefilah 5:5). Even in the centuries following Rabbi Karo, there were those that maintained wearing a kippah at all times was not a strict requirement but a <i>middat hassidut</i>, an extra measure of piety. (Such was the view of the <a href="https://www.jewoftheweek.net/2013/04/23/jew-of-the-week-the-chida/"><span class="s3">Chida</span></a>, Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azzulai, 1724-1806; as well as the <a href="https://www.jewoftheweek.net/2011/10/19/jew-of-the-week-the-vilna-gaon/"><span class="s3">Vilna Gaon</span></a>, and Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, 1808-1888).</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #444444;">Today, it has become accepted for a Jewish man to wear a kippah all the time, and for good reason. It is a mark of modesty, and a symbol of one’s Jewishness. It reminds a person of the Heavens above, and saves them from sin. It (hopefully) motivates a person to do <i>Kiddush Hashem</i>. It reminds a person of their higher souls, and the holy Shekhinah resting upon them. And it serves to stimulate and guard one’s “third eye”, one’s inner vision, and those holy Torah thoughts residing in the mind.</span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: xx-small;">Source:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The Kabbalah of Kippah, <a href="https://www.mayimachronim.com/the-kabbalah-of-kippah/" style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="s2">https://www.mayimachronim.com/the-kabbalah-of-kippah/</span></a></span></p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-6820928302992155542024-03-15T07:52:00.001+02:002024-03-15T16:33:37.806+02:00Mayim Achronim: Pekudei – Tefillin: Past Present & Future<p> </p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Tefillin: Past, Present, and Future</b></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjngWO5yCiJ_l11sONL1_9LL4GrWVXDWnpBUwV8zqSQe47hEhZ4R1uwfbYBVWoRfyI687xRu9gmQAM-het9GpgLh4EM1ptfOW4_V9-ZdVjdv7eXh3mcPMhbG6eAnyKlhawBhF4mhYJ3BpkRCWdHD-wLUyN_sv59c-yWIUiFATFLvbwhTGzQ1K4_o2YCY/s300/mail-3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="300" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjngWO5yCiJ_l11sONL1_9LL4GrWVXDWnpBUwV8zqSQe47hEhZ4R1uwfbYBVWoRfyI687xRu9gmQAM-het9GpgLh4EM1ptfOW4_V9-ZdVjdv7eXh3mcPMhbG6eAnyKlhawBhF4mhYJ3BpkRCWdHD-wLUyN_sv59c-yWIUiFATFLvbwhTGzQ1K4_o2YCY/w200-h164/mail-3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>This week’s parasha, <i>Pekudei</i>, summarizes all the components and items of the Mishkan. In the second <i>aliyah</i>, we read about the special <i>ephod</i> and <i>choshen</i>, the apron and breastplate of the <i>kohen gadol</i>. The choshen was studded with precious stones engraved with the names of the Tribes of Israel. Behind the choshen were placed the mysterious <i>urim v’tumim</i>. Through these, the Israelites were able to communicate with G–D. According to one understanding, the Israelites could ask questions, and G–D would respond by making the letters engraved on the stones light up.<p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Zohar (II, 230a-b) on this week’s parasha connects the ephod, choshen, and urim v’tumim with tefillin. This is the secret of when G–D showed Moses “His back” but not “His face” (Exodus 33:23). On this, the Sages metaphorically state that G–D showed Moses the knot on the back of His tefillin (<i>Berakhot</i> 7a). Obviously, G–D does not literally wear tefillin, so the Zohar explains that it really serves to teach us the power of tefillin: Like the ephod, choshen, and urim v’tumim through which the Israelites could divine both past and future, tefillin can give a Jew the same power. </p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The tefillin box that is on the front of the head is likened to the choshen on the front of the kohen, and represents looking ahead into the future. Meanwhile, the knot of the tefillin at the back (in the shape of a letter <i>dalet</i>) corresponds to the ephod covering the back of the kohen, representing the ability to understand the past. (The Zohar adds that the box on the front represents <i>aspaklaria nahara</i>, a “clear lens”, whereas the knot on the back is a murky lens.)</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">One explanation from our Sages about Moses being shown G–D’s “back” is that <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>G–D showed him all of human history up to that point, so that Moses could see how G–D acted justly and righteously throughout. Everything that happened was brought about by G–D for a good reason, measure-for-measure. However, the reasons for future events, G–D’s “face”, were not revealed to Moses. This ties in to another teaching where Moses asked to see Rabbi Akiva and, while G–D granted him this request and transported Moses into Rabbi Akiva’s classroom, G–D did <i>not</i> reveal why Rabbi Akiva had to suffer a gruesome death (see ‘<a href="https://mayimachronim.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d790062f7c03fa7913baea421&id=1ff17e9aec&e=cefe32e8fb"><span class="s1">Time Travel in the Torah</span></a>’).</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1rofG1xuRRdE-5Hx43GjfcgIyPJFZHJHPDfGyWaFBW_LJ4Uf_TQMnXT_HgQM_yAkEKJtS6OAboaotdseNNgZrBaMutBjQbSgCcrZXS9bERzGzDcmdeF9_aI9TlMScxYTc8i-n2Fo1Nn0UhH_P8Yk8kBICk95Dd4Tjr1lm9QoU0cqviSyJlzHwPwghUc/s300/mail-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="300" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1rofG1xuRRdE-5Hx43GjfcgIyPJFZHJHPDfGyWaFBW_LJ4Uf_TQMnXT_HgQM_yAkEKJtS6OAboaotdseNNgZrBaMutBjQbSgCcrZXS9bERzGzDcmdeF9_aI9TlMScxYTc8i-n2Fo1Nn0UhH_P8Yk8kBICk95Dd4Tjr1lm9QoU0cqviSyJlzHwPwghUc/w200-h142/mail-1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table>A different explanation is that showing His “back” meant that G–D revealed to Moses everything from Creation forward (see Malbim on Exodus 33:23). What happened <i>before</i> Creation, G–D’s “face”, could not be revealed, for no human mind could possibly grasp this and live (Exodus 33:20). This implies that only after death, when the soul is no longer hindered by the body, could it grasp what happened before Creation. <div><br /></div><div>Our Sages taught that Moses attained 49 of the 50 Gates of Understanding, <i>Nun Sha’arei Binah</i>, while alive (see <i>Rosh Hashanah</i> 21b or<i> Nedarim </i>38a). Only following death could he reach the 50<span class="s2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span> Gate. This is why Moses died on Mount Nebo (<span class="s3" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">נבו</span>), <i>nun-bo</i>, hinting that he finally had all <i>nun</i> levels of understanding “within him”, <i>bo</i>.<p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Putting it all together, we can see how the head tefillin gives us access to all Fifty Gates of <i>Binah</i>. There is a nice allusion to this in the two letters <i>shin</i> embossed on the box, one mysteriously having four prongs instead of three. The three prongs of a regular shin correspond to the Sefirot of <i>Chessed, Gevurah</i>, and <i>Tiferet</i> (see <i>Sha’ar haPesukim</i> on <i>Shemot</i>). </p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The four prongs of the special shin are the remaining <i>Netzach, Hod, Yesod,</i> and <i>Malkhut</i>. This gives us all seven lower Sefirot from which the 50 Gates are derived: seven times seven (as we do during <i>Sefirat haOmer</i>), plus the fiftieth being <i>Binah</i> above. It is worth noting that elsewhere (III, 254a-b), the Zohar connects the seven prongs of the two tefillin shins—which are shaped like fire—to the seven branches of the Menorah.</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We see that the head tefillin is associated specifically with <i>vision</i>. Fittingly, the knot on the back aligns right with the occipital lobe of the brain, which is the visual processing centre. Meanwhile, the box of the tefillin “between the eyes” alludes to the inner “third eye” of the brain, the pineal gland, which bizarrely has photoreceptors like our eyes despite being deep inside the brain. </p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The pineal gland regulates our sleep cycle and makes us dream, releasing a neurotransmitter called DMT which opens the mind up to all kinds of spiritual visions. (DMT is the active ingredient in Ayahuasca and used as both a therapeutic plant medicine and psychedelic drug. For more on the inner third eye in Judaism, <a href="https://mayimachronim.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d790062f7c03fa7913baea421&id=3a117780de&e=cefe32e8fb"><span class="s1">see here</span></a>.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMngkmXhtnpJNg081E-DTA79rPaGNulupkueau0StNqNtO34nPuI6ngcD5lYASlCrjJO_Cc0NYcKOPZz3I6j21AR6TFOGPpCuZUlf6iyAZsC-OrcR40LjDbKN3ZQGDUIap0hp0YdztcnAHVZdBEIQ_Gd1JEc-fhK5QrrYbrvGBG5jRa9CGSvqvjatr5w/s890/mail-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="890" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMngkmXhtnpJNg081E-DTA79rPaGNulupkueau0StNqNtO34nPuI6ngcD5lYASlCrjJO_Cc0NYcKOPZz3I6j21AR6TFOGPpCuZUlf6iyAZsC-OrcR40LjDbKN3ZQGDUIap0hp0YdztcnAHVZdBEIQ_Gd1JEc-fhK5QrrYbrvGBG5jRa9CGSvqvjatr5w/w400-h217/mail-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Based on the above, we can further understand why the Zohar says the box of the head tefillin represents clear vision while the knot at the back represents murky vision: the box (aligning with the pineal) is for tuning in to higher vision and prophecy, for spiritual vision; the knot at the back (aligning with the occipital lobe) is for regular physical vision. And this helps to explain why the box is associated with the <i>future</i>, while the knot is associated with the <i>past</i>. To get glimpses of what’s to come, we have to tap into our inner prophetic eye. But using our physical eyes we have the ability to look back in history and see G–D’s fingerprints all over the place. </p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As Moses himself advised the people, if you want to find G–D, just “Remember the days of old, understand past generations…” (Deuteronomy 32:7) Jewish history—millennia of survival against all odds, and inexplicable success, influence, and prosperity at the same time—is perhaps the greatest proof for G–D’s existence. “Inquire now to the earliest days that came before you, from the day G–D created man on Earth, and from one end of Heaven to the other, has there ever been such a great thing? Or has anything like this ever been known?” (Deuteronomy 4:32)</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So, the head tefillin takes care of past and future. And what of the present? For that we have the arm tefillin, bound specifically to the arm as a sign of action in the here and now, in this world of <i>Asiyah</i>. The arm tefillin is the present. In this way, our tefillin contain past, present, and future. Recall that the knot on the arm tefillin is in the shape of a letter<i> yud</i>, so altogether we have the <i>shin</i> on the head box, the <i>dalet</i> on the head knot, and the <i>yud</i> on the arm knot, spelling “Shaddai”. </p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This is perfect because the divine name Shaddai embodies G–D’s presence throughout cyclical time—past, present, and future—and the value of “Shaddai” (<span class="s3" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">שדי</span>) is precisely 314, equal to the 3.14 of cyclical π (see here for more on ‘<a href="https://mayimachronim.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d790062f7c03fa7913baea421&id=1808ca9548&e=cefe32e8fb"><span class="s1">Secrets of Pi</span></a>’). With this we come full circle, and get another reason for wrapping tefillin in circular fashion, around our heads, down our arms, hands, and fingers—the “Eternal Jew” binding past, present, and future into one.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">https://www.mayimachronim.com/</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">See Also: THE PINEAL GLAND</p></div>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-76675234447122952822024-03-15T07:52:00.000+02:002024-03-15T07:52:02.564+02:00Eliezer Meir Saidel: Upside Down – Pekudei<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 14px;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> </p><p class="p3" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;">אֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת אֲשֶׁר פֻּקַּד עַל פִּי מֹשֶׁה עֲבֹדַת הַלְוִיִּם בְּיַד אִיתָמָר בֶּן אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן (שמות לח, כא).</p><p class="p3" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">The Mefarshim ask why it is necessary to repeat the word <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">מִשְׁכַּן</span> twice in the first passuk of our parsha? R' Bachyei on that passuk says –</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p3" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;">לָמָּה שְׁנֵי פְּעָמִים מִשְׁכָּן? אֶלָּא לְלַמֵּד שֶׁהֵיכַל שֶׁל מַטָּה מְכֻוָּן כְּנֶגֶד הֵיכַל שֶׁל מַעֲלָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות טו) מָכוֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ פָּעַלְתָּ ה' וְגוֹ' אַל תִּקְרִי מָכוֹן אֶלָּא מְכֻוָּן.</p><p class="p3" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Everyone thinks there are three Batei Mikdash. The first built by Shlomo HaMelech that was destroyed because of <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, שְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים וְגִלּוּי עֲרָיוֹת</span>. The second rebuilt by Ezra (and later Herod) that was destroyed by <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם</span>. The third that we are desperately waiting for, to be rebuilt <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">בבי"א</span>.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">In fact, there are <i>five</i> Batei Mikdash in total. First is the Mikdash up in Heaven, the <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">מִקְדָּשׁ שֶׁל מַעֲלָה</span>, which Shlomo HaMelech called <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">אֲפַרְסְמוֹן</span>. Next are the three "earthly" Batei Mikdash above (1<span class="s2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 8.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>st</sup></span>, 2<span class="s2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 8.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>nd</sup></span>, 3<span class="s2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 8.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>rd</sup></span>) which Shlomo HaMelech called <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">אַפִּרְיוֹן</span> (see <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">הסולם על ספר הזהר, תרומה כ״א</span>). The fifth and final Beit Mikdash is the Beit Mikdash within each and every one of us <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם</span>.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">When the Beit HaMikdash exists here on earth, it is connected umbilically to the Beit HaMikdash up in Heaven, as David HaMelech says <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">כְּעִיר שֶׁחֻבְּרָה לָּהּ יַחְדָּו (תהילים קכב, ג)</span>.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">In this shiur we will try to explore the Heavenly Beit HaMikdash (as much as is humanly possible), described to us by Chazal.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">The Gemara (Chagiga 12b) says that Heaven is divided into seven layers (that is where the expression "seventh heaven" originates). The 4<span class="s2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 8.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span> layer in Heaven is called <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">זְבוּל</span>. In this layer the Gemara says –</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p3" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;">שֶׁבּוֹ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שֶׁל מַעְלָה, וּבֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ שֶׁל מַעְלָה, וּמִזְבֵּחַ שֶׁל מַעְלָה בָּנוּי, וְהַמַּלְאָךְ מִיכָאֵל, הַשַּׂר הַגָּדוֹל, עוֹמֵד וּמַקְרִיב עָלָיו קָרְבָּן.</p><p class="p3" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Just like we have Yerushalayim down here, there is a Yerushalayim up in Heaven, inside which is a Beit HaMikdash and a Mizbeach and the angel Michael, the guardian angel of Am Yisrael, stands and offers Korbanot on the Mizbeach.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">In a previous shiur on <a href="https://www.showbreadinstitute.org/devarim2021"><span class="s3">Devarim 2021</span></a> we discussed the Divine blueprint with which HKB"H created everything, spheres within spheres. The <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">מִּקְדָּשׁ שֶׁל מַעְלָה</span> follows the same blueprint – Heaven, seven layers, in the fourth <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שֶׁל מַעְלָה</span>, within that the <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">מִּקְדָּשׁ שֶׁל מַעְלָה</span>, within that the Mizbeach, etc. Spheres within spheres.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Chazal does not tell us what <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שֶׁל מַעְלָה</span> looks like nor the Mikdash nor the Mizbeach. What we do know is that Michael in Heaven parallels the Kohen HaGadol down here on earth, except that Michael is not wearing <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">בִּגְדֵי כְּהֻנָּה</span>. Angels have no clothes, just three sets of wings <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">שֵׁשׁ כְּנָפַיִם לְאֶחָד בִּשְׁתַּיִם יְכַסֶּה פָנָיו וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְכַסֶּה רַגְלָיו וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְעוֹפֵף (ישעיהו ו, ב)</span>.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">What Korbanot is Michael offering on the Mizbeach? Tosfot on the Gemara (Zevachim 62a) brings two Midrashim with different opinions - <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">נִשְׁמוֹתֵיהֶם שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים</span>, or <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">כְּבָשִׂים שֶׁל אֵשׁ</span>. What these Korbanot are exactly, is the subject of a different shiur (bli neder).</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Chazal tell us that everything in Heaven is upside down from the way it is here on earth.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">We read about Rivka meeting Yitzchak for the first time. The Mefarshim say that Yitzchak was up in Heaven after the Akeida and was just returning. Since everything in Heaven is upside down, Yitzchak was descending back to earth upside down. When Rivka saw this strange sight, she fell off the camel (<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">בראשית כד, סד</span>). </p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">The Gemara (Bava Batra 10b) says –</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p3" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;">כִּי הָא דְּיוֹסֵף בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ חֲלַשׁ אִינְּגִיד אֲמַר לֵיהּ אֲבוּהּ מַאי חָזֵית אֲמַר לֵיהּ עוֹלָם הָפוּךְ רָאִיתִי עֶלְיוֹנִים לְמַטָּה וְתַחְתּוֹנִים לְמַעְלָה אֲמַר לֵיהּ עוֹלָם בָּרוּר רָאִיתָ.</p><p class="p3" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Yosef, the son of R' Yehoshua became seriously ill and fell into a coma, teetering between this world and the next. <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">בְּחַסְדֵי שָׁמַיִם</span> he recovered and his father R' Yehoshua asked him "What did you see while you were up there in Heaven?"</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Yosef replied "Don't ask! Everything in Heaven is upside down. All the neshamot are seated around HKB"H and basking in the light of the Shechina. You remember Shmulik the poor blacksmith who we all thought was an <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">עָם הָאָרֶץ</span>? Well, he is sitting in the front row seats. And you remember Berel the billionaire, who we all thought was such a philanthropist – he was in row 117. You will not believe what I saw – everything was <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">הָפוּךְ עַל הָפוּךְ</span>. What should have been up was down and what should have been down was up".</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">R' Yehoshua said to Yosef "Don't worry son. What you saw was a clear world – you saw things as they truly are".</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">R' Yehoshua continued "Was anything in Heaven the same as it is here on earth?" to which Yosef replied "The talmidei chachamim and tzaddikim are the same up there as they are down here!"</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Chazal tell us that every component in the earthly Beit HaMikdash is paralleled by a "twin component" in the Heavenly Beit HaMikdash. Just as there is a Menorah down here, there is a Menorah up there. Just like there is a Shulchan down here, there is a Shulchan up there, etc.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">This does not simply mean that the Heavenly Shulchan is identical to the earthly one, just "upside down", flipped 180 degrees, it also means that the <i>form</i> of the Heavenly Shulchan is different to that of the earthly Shulchan.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">When Rivka saw Yitzchak, it was not just that he was feet-up and head-down, he was also radiating a residual Heavenly light (like Moshe descending from Har Sinai), which dissipated after Yitzchak "landed".</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Sefer Meir Panim says that this is why there are two opinions regarding the shape of the Lechem Hapanim – R' Chanina says it was a Teiva Prutza (a rectangular box without a lid) and R' Yochanan says it was a Sfina Rokedet (a dancing ship with a curved U-shape hull). So, which is the correct shape?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">The answer is – there is no correct opinion,<i> they are both right</i>! The fact is that neither Rashi nor the Rambam rule decisively on this machloket. The Sfina Rokedet is the shape of the Lechem Hapanim in the earthly Beit HaMikdash and the Teiva Prutza is the shape of the Lechem Hapanim in the Heavenly Beit HaMikdash. Each reflects a different reality.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">The straight Teiva Prutza reflects a reality of calm stability and truth while the curved/bent Sfina Rokedet reflects a reality of tumultuous turmoil (ships only "dance" in stormy seas).</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">This probably also applies to the machloket regarding the shape of the candelabra of the Menorah. One opinion says that they are curved (like the etching on Titus' Arch <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">ימ"ש</span>) and the other (Rambam) says they are straight (the Chabad Channukiya is modelled on this opinion of the Rambam).</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Similarly for the other <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">כֵּלִים</span>.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Regardless of the different nuances in appearance and orientation, the <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">כֵּלִים</span> in both the Heavenly and earthly Batei HaMikdash are <i>connected</i> to each other. <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">בְּסִיַּעְתָּא דַּשְׁמִיא</span> in my new book (currently in the writing phase), which explores how the blueprint of the Beit HaMikdash is reflected in the human body both on the gross anatomical and also the cellular level, we see this for example, in the process of mitosis (cell division) which resembles two Menorahs connected to each other.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Right now, that connection is masked – it is there, we just can't see it. Although the eternal Heavenly Mikdash remains intact as it always has been and always will be, we are currently living in a reality where there is no earthly Mikdash in its originally intended form.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Despite this, the connection remains <i>even at this moment</i> – the Heavenly and earthly Shulchan and Menorah, etc. The earthly <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">כֵּלִים</span> still exist and are intact, either hidden under Har Habayit in the catacombs created by Shlomo HaMelech, or in the Vatican.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">R' Dessler in Michtav Me'Eliyahu holds of the opinion that they are in Rome and that the Mashiach will first travel to Rome, the seat of power of Edom, retrieve the stolen <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">כֵּלִים</span> and restore them to the third Beit HaMikdash in Yerushalayim.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">However, even when the 3<span class="s2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 8.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>rd</sup></span> Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt, the upper and lower components will not be identical, they will still have differences of appearance and orientation, because they reflect different worlds, each with a different purpose. The purpose of this world, the earthly Beit HaMikdash, is to do tikkun so that we can elevate ourselves in spirituality and strive to reach the ultimate level of the upper world.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Down here the Lechem Hapanim and the candelabra of the Menorah are "bent". Our job is to aspire to achieve the level of these <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">כֵּלִים </span>in Heaven, where they are straight, in the <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">עוֹלַם הָאֱמֶת</span>.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">As the Geulah is speedily approaching, this world is incrementally being "straightened out" so that it can once again be umbilically connected to the Heavenly Beit HaMikdash via the 3<span class="s2" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 8.7px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>rd</sup></span> Beit HaMikdash here on earth. In this process, our world is acquiring increasingly clarity and parity, facilitating the required connection with Heaven.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Since everything in Heaven, the world of truth and clarity, is upside down to here on earth, as this process proceeds, things here on earth are increasingly going to appear upside down to what we are familiar with. This is a symptom of Geulah.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">It is a total reversal of the downward spiral that began with the sin of Adam and Chava. It is a process of stripping away all the illusions we human beings have created, masquerading as "reality". It will culminate in a bursting forth of the <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">אוֹר הַגָּנוּז</span> which will banish all darkness and reset the world to its original state when HKB"H created it. </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">We just celebrated Rosh Chodesh Adar II. The month of Adar is so called because it is the month <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">א-דר</span>, when HKB"H resides amongst us. It is a month when we <i>celebrate</i> everything that is upside down, <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">וְנַהֲפֹךְ הוּא</span>. The more surreal things seem, the closer HKB"H is to stepping out of the <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">נִסְתָּר</span> into the <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">נִגְלֶה</span>.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Am Yisrael have no fear, rejoice! This is a culmination of the prophecies. HKB"H loves us, ALL of us. He simply asks that we have faith in Him.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">You may ask, "How is it possible to rejoice? How many new widows and orphans have been added to the list in the last 5 months <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">רַחֲמָנָא לִצְּלַן</span>. How can we rejoice when babies, sons, daughters, old men and women are in the clutches of pure evil, experiencing hell on earth? How can we rejoice and celebrate knowing that?"</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">This is Purim in a nutshell. Everyone thinks that Purim is a happy festival where the Simcha radiates from within. It is not.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Sukkot is a festival that radiates Simcha from within. Sukkot is called <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">זְמַן שִׂמְחָתֵנוּ</span> because the Simcha emanates from within. We have all done tshuva, have all been forgiven of all our sins on Yom Kippur and are starting the new year with a clean slate. Our storehouses are overflowing with grains and fruit, the rain has just started to fall. We are happy inside and this radiates outwards.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">On Purim, or at least just before Purim, there is no Simcha, quite the opposite. One minute before Purim we are teetering on the brink of oblivion, the brink of a Holocaust.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"><span class="s4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">Haman says to Achashveirosh - </span>יֶשְׁנוֹ עַם אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד בֵּין הָעַמִּים בְּכֹל מְדִינוֹת מַלְכוּתֶךָ וְדָתֵיהֶם שֹׁנוֹת מִכָּל עָם וְאֶת דָּתֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵינָם עֹשִׂים וְלַמֶּלֶךְ אֵין שֹׁוֶה לְהַנִּיחָם<span class="s4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">. "Where else can you find such a nation that is so fragmented, self-hating and rebellious as the Jews?"<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">It is not so much an appeal to Achashveirosh as it is a <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">קִטְרוּג </span>to the real <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">מֶלֶךְ </span>– to HKB"H. "Look how they hate each other, how they are fighting all the time with each other, how they rebel against Your Torah! This is your Chosen People?"</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">When Esther sends Hatach to ask Mordechai <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">לָדַעַת מַה זֶּה וְעַל מַה זֶּה</span>, what she is actually asking is "Which <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">זֶּה</span> is this? Which cardinal sin? The sin of selling Yosef (<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">הִנֵּה בַּעַל הַחֲלֹמוֹת הַלָּזֶה בָּא</span>), or the sin of the egel (<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">כִּי זֶה מֹשֶׁה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלָנוּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֹא יָדַעְנוּ מֶה הָיָה לוֹ</span>)?"<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Mordechai sends a reply "Look what I am wearing - <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">שַׂק וְאֵפֶר</span>. It is the sin of selling Yosef, the sin of <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם</span> (<span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">וַיִּקְרַע יַעֲקֹב שִׂמְלֹתָיו וַיָּשֶׂם שַׂק בְּמָתְנָיו</span>)".</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">If that is the case, Esther's response - <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">לֵךְ כְּנוֹס אֶת כָּל הַיְּהוּדִים</span>. To remedy the sin of <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם</span> you have to make Shalom between the <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">יְּהוּדִים</span>, do tshuva (fast and daven for three days) for rebelling against HKB"H and pray HKB"H forgives the sin.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">A few short hours later there is salvation, a <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">נַהֲפֹךְ הוּא</span>. However, imagine the state of Am Yisrael at that very moment of redemption. The best way to describe it is to compare it to a trainload of Polish Jews on a cattle car en-route to Auschwitz.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">For three days they have been starved of food and water. How do you feel after fasting 24hrs on Yom Kippur? Multiply that by three. The train trundles into the Auschwitz station and suddenly the door of the cattle car opens and to everyone's surprise, instead of Nazi soldiers greeting them it is American soldiers who have just liberated the camp.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">"OK, everyone off the train. We are now going to celebrate, have an enormous feast and drink wine till we pass out! But first we are going to dress up in costumes and read the Megillah for 45 minutes and make a big noise every time Hitler's <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">ימ"ש</span> name is mentioned!"</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">What is the response of everyone on the train? They are elated, they have been spared. "There are no words to describe our joy, but before we get to the hamantaschen and Emerald Reisling, we all need to stop off at the local hospital emergency ward for infusions and defibrillating! Maybe later with the mishloach manot hopping and the barbeque!"</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">HKB"H says "No, I want you to stuff your face and drink until you cannot tell the difference between <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">אָרוּר מָרְדְּכַי וּבָרוּךְ הָמָן </span>and sing Charvona until you can no longer breathe".</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Purim is not a <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">חַג</span> in which Simcha emanates from within. It is a <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">חַג</span> in which we need to force ourselves to have Simcha, by feasting, by drinking, dressing up in costumes, etc. The Simcha of Purim does not emanate from within, it penetrates from without.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">We botched the <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">חַג</span> of Simcha that emanates from within. First, we botched Yom Kippur, when instead of doing tshuva for the <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם</span> fest that raged prior to it, we deteriorated on Yom Kippur to depths that nobody had ever seen before. We all got a serious wakeup call a few days later, from which we are still reeling.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">How is it possible to rejoice this Purim? We all feel like instead of feasting that we need an infusion and a defibrillator.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">First, we need to <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">לֵךְ כְּנוֹס אֶת כָּל הַיְּהוּדִים</span>, make Shalom between the Jews. Then we need to fast and daven and do tshuva to make Shalom between the Jews and HKB"H. <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד. אֵ-לִי אֵ-לִי לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי</span>.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Then we need to <i>force</i> ourselves to rejoice. That is what Purim is all about. That way Purim actually ends up as a celebration after all, it turns everything upside down, a <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">נַהֲפֹךְ הוּא</span>, from despair to redemption - and the result of this is the first of Nisan and our Geulah, the day the Mishkan was inaugurated.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Parshat Pekudei ends with the cloud of HKB"H's Shechina returning to earth and resting on the Ohel Moed. R' Bachyei says on this passuk (Shmot 40, 38) –</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p3" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;">אָמַר הקב"ה בעוה"ז הִשְׁרֵיתִי שֶׁכִנָּתִי בֵּינֵיכֶם בבמ"ק וּבִשְׁבִיל עֲוֹנֹתֵיכֶם נִסְתַּלְּקָה מִכֶּם, אֲבָל לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא אֵינָהּ זָזָה מִכֶּם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (וַיִּקְרָא כו) וְנָתַתִּי מִשְׁכָּנִי בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְלֹא תִגְעַל נַפְשִׁי אֶתְכֶם וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים ע"כ, וּבֵאוּר הַדָּבָר כִּי לֶעָתִיד תַּחֲזֹר הַנְּבוּאָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּקַדְמוּתָהּ, וְהַשְּׁכִינָה עַל מְכוֹנָתָהּ וִיסוּדָתָהּ, יִלְמְדוּ הַכֹּל דַּעַת אֶת ה' בְּשֶׁפַע חָכְמָה, וְלֹא יִלְמְדוּן עוֹד מִלְחָמָה, לֵב חָדָשׁ יִבָּרֵא וְלֵב אֶבֶן יוּסַר וְיִקְרַע, אֵין שָׂטָן וְאֵין יֵצֶר הָרַע, וְזֹאת נֶחָמָתֵנוּ בִּגְאֻלָּתֵנוּ זוֹ הָאַחֲרוֹנָה, לָשׁוּב בְּקֶרֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל הַתִּפְאֶרֶת וְהַכָּבוֹד כְּמִבְראשׁוֹנֶה, כִּי כֵן הִבְטִיחַ ישעיה ע"ה בַּחֲתִימַת סִפְרוֹ בְּמִבְחַר חֶזְיוֹנוֹ בְּמִלּוֹת (ישעיה ס) כִּי בָא אוֹרֵךְ וּכְבוֹד ה', וְאִם בִּגְאֻלָּה רִאשׁוֹנָה אָהַבְנוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ אֲשֶׁר טוֹב דּוֹדָיו מיַיִן, וְנִרְאֶה לָנוּ בִּכְבוֹדוֹ בְּחוּשׁ הָעַיִן, מִתּוֹךְ מְחִצַּת עָנָן בְּאֶרֶץ עֲרָבָה וְצִיָּה, וה' שָׁם הָיָה, כְּעִנְיָן שֶׁכָּתוּב (במדבר יד) אֲשֶׁר עַיִן בְּעַיִן נִרְאָה אַתָּה ה', הֲלֹא לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא תִּרְבֶּה הַשָּׂגָתֵנוּ יוֹתֵר וְהַכָּבוֹד עַיִן בְּעַיִן נִרְאֶה מִבְּלִי מְחִצָּה נִבְדֶּלֶת וּמִבְּלִי עָנָן מִתְרָאָה, כְּהַבְטָחַת הַנָּבִיא ע"ה (ישעיה נב) קוֹל צֹפַיִךְ נָשְׂאוּ קוֹל יַחְדָּו יְרַנֵּנוּ כִּי עַיִן בְּעַיִן יִרְאוּ בְּשׁוּב ה' צִיּוֹן<span class="s4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">.</span></p><p class="p6" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;"><br /><br /></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">HKB"H says "In this world My Shechina rested in the Beit HaMikdash, but because of your sins it departed. But as it says (Vayikra 26), in the future My Shechina will never move from you ever again. In the future, prophecy will return to Israel as of old and the Shechina to its foundation, the Beit HaMikdash. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">All will learn to know Hashem with prosperity of wisdom. You will no longer experience war. A new heart will be created and your heart of stone will be removed and shattered. The satan and yetzer harah will have no hold over you".<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">This is our comfort, in this, the last Geulah – the glory and the honor will return to Israel's midst like in the beginning, as promised in the prophecies of Yishayahu (60, 52).</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;"><span class="s4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">Thus ends sefer Shmot, </span>סֵפֶר הַגָּלוּת וְהַגְּאֻלָּה<span class="s4" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">.</span></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Am Yisrael, take heart <span class="s1" style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">חֲזַק חֲזַק וְנִתְחַזֵּק</span>.</p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13.3px; text-indent: 48px;"> </p><p class="p8" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Shabbat Shalom</p><p class="p9" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">Eliezer Meir Saidel</p><p class="p8" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 48px;">Machon Lechem Hapanim</p><p class="p10" style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;"><span class="s3" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="http://www.machonlechemhapanim.org/">www.machonlechemhapanim.org<span class="s5" style="color: blue; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></a></span></p><p class="p11" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;">To subscribe to this weekly Parshat Hashavua, send an email with the subject Subscribe to <a href="mailto:machonlechemhapanim@gmail.com"><span class="s6" style="color: blue;">machonlechemhapanim@gmail.com</span></a></p><p class="p11" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;">To unsubscribe, send an email with the subject Unsubscribe to <a href="mailto:machonlechemhapanim@gmail.com"><span class="s6" style="color: blue;">machonlechemhapanim@gmail.com</span></a></p><p class="p10" style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;"><span class="s7" style="color: #161a1e;">To view previous shiurim, go to - <a href="http://www.showbreadinstitute.org/Parshat-Hashavua"><span class="s6" style="color: blue;">www.showbreadinstitute.org/Parshat-Hashavua</span></a></span></p><p class="p11" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right; text-indent: 48px;">If you would like to dedicate a shiur in someone’s memory or for refuah, etc., please email <a href="mailto:machonlechemhapanim@gmail.com"><span class="s6" style="color: blue;">machonlechemhapanim@gmail.com</span></a> with the details.</p><p class="p12" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13.3px;"> </p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-82280974220154617952024-03-15T07:51:00.001+02:002024-03-15T07:51:21.284+02:00Rabbi Kahana: Pekukei – The King's Scepter<div style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">BS”D Parashat Pekudai 5784<br /></span>by <a href="https://nachmankahana.com/author/nkahana/"><span class="s1">Rabbi Nachman Kahana</span></a> | Mar 13, 2024</div><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The King’s Scepter</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">PART ONE</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">A. Book of Esther 4,10-11:</p><p class="p5" dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;">ותאמר אסתר להתך ותצוהו אל מרדכי<br />כל עבדי המלך ועם מדינות המלך יודעים אשר כל איש ואשה אשר יבוא אל המלך אל החצר הפנימית אשר לא יקרא אחת דתו להמית לבד מאשר יושיט לו המלך את שרביט הזהב וחיה ואני לא נקראתי לבוא אל המלך זה שלושים יום</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;">10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai: 11All the King’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the King in the inner court without being summoned, the King has but one law: that they be put to death, unless the King extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">And conversely, the King decides when an audience is over and only then may the guest leave.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">There are commentators of the Megillah that claim that in many places that have the word melech (king), the literal reference is to Achashverosh and the implied reference is to the King of the Universe – HaShem).</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">What does it mean in the context of this verse? We shall see later.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">B: Once I delivered a shiur (lecture) on the parallel between the three rabbinic enactments of Chanuka, Purim and Tish’a B’Av, and the three Torah festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. It was an interesting shiur with practical conclusions for our own times.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">But for me, the most meaningful part of the evening occurred at the end, when I opened the floor for questions and comments.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The first to speak was an elderly very alert woman. She asked me with tears in her eyes:</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><i>“Ich bin ah poilishe,” (I am from Poland) from a little shtetel (town). Before the German invasion, my father went to our Rav and asked for his blessings because my parents had decided to leave for Eretz Yisrael. But instead of his blessings, the rabbi tried to convince my father not to go to Eretz Yisrael. The following day we left Poland. We are the only survivors of our shtetel. Rav Kahana, explain to me, why did the rabbi tell my father not to go to Eretz Yisrael?”</i></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The tears in her eyes suggested the many relatives and friends who could have come to Eretz Yisrael but stayed in the shtetl, only to be murdered by the Germans.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I answered that, unfortunately, I cannot take away her pain, because I myself do not understand it.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The next speaker was a gentleman whose face was familiar, but I was not able to recall when we last met.</p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><i>He said that years ago he was in a quandary regarding himself, and I was able to help him resolve the problem. He related: “I was very far from anything that related to Eretz Yisrael or Judaism. I was an American and had no wish to even visit Israel.</i></p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><i>One year my wife nagged me to death (his words) that we should spend Pesach in Eretz Yisrael. I agreed on the condition that after the trip, Israel would be a no-subject in our home. We arrived, and after alighting from the plane and walking several steps a feeling came over me that I never wanted to leave Eretz Yisrael; and very soon after we came on aliya.</i></p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><i>I asked several rabbis: what happened to me at that moment? But none were able to give a satisfactory answer until I asked Rav Kahana (me) and he made it very clear. He said that the Hebrew word for coming to Eretz Yisrael is aliya (to ascend), and that word is also used when called to the Torah – to get an aliya</i><span class="s2" style="font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>.</b></span></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><b>What is the parallel?</b></p><p class="p7" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><i>When one is called to the Torah it is not a “free for all”, but rather, the gabbai calls you up by your personal name. Likewise, no one comes on aliya until his or her name is called out by HaShem in the Shamayim. Rav Kahana explained to me that HaShem invites people to His palace (the Holy Land) by name, according to the neshama of the person. HaShem knew that my neshama would awaken the moment I walked on the soil of Eretz Yisrael.</i></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I thanked him for reminding me of the incident. I then turned to the woman “from Poland” who had so tearfully asked about her rabbi and said, “Here is the answer to your question. It is clear that HaShem wanted your family here in Eretz Yisrael and called out their names; the others were not invited.”</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The principle is that HaShem, as the King of the universe, invites by name those who He wishes to be in His presence, as we saw in the Megillah above. Conversely, one who is invited to a royal audience in Eretz Yisrael does not leave at will but is dismissed or expelled by the King.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"> </p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">C:<b> Harav Hagaon Yitzchak Yosef, the Sephardic Chief Rabbi</b>, said in his Motzei Shabbat lecture this week that if the Knesset passes a law that even serious yeshiva students could be arrested and sentenced to jail for refusing to serve in the military, the students should leave Eretz Yisrael.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">My understanding is that the Chief Rabbi did not intend to issue a Halachic decision binding on his adherents, but rather a recommended option until the government changed its policy.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Who am I to get into a debate with the Chief Rabbi and his decisions? But I do have a message for the young men who would exercise the option of leaving the holy land when faced with a draft notice.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">In the spirit of what we learned above from the accepted manner that Kings act, take into consideration that no one enters the holy land nor leaves even temporarily on a voluntary basis. One is invited to ascend to it or to be expelled from it by name, which is called out in the Shamayim.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">One can relocate to Lakewood etc. and learn Torah in relative tranquility; but your conscience will resonate in a never-ending cadence (rhythm) “you were expelled”.</p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">PART TWO</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The Chief Rabbi’s recommendation for serious learners to leave the country if threatened with a military draft, left an uncomfortable feeling within many people.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">But one suggestion was a third alternative – that members of the Knesset’s Chareidi parties meet with Arab members to approach Abu Mazzan, head of the PA in Judea and Samaria with a great public relations plan, good for Jews and Arabs alike, and could even pave the way for an Arab state alongside Israel.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">That the Arab PA invite young Chareidi kollel couples to cross over to the areas under the PA authority.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The PA would construct a town designed for their needs: large apartments, no city arnona taxes, shuls, mikva’ot, yeshivot and most important, no military draft. There will be kindergartens, elementary schools (chaiderim), and fully paid kollels as long as one wants to learn full time. This way they will be in Eretz Yisrael, not in galut, and enjoy the best of both worlds, including the most modern maternity hospitals.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">My reply to this suggestion was:</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Let’s think how this would play out in reality.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">A “kosher” town named “Avraham” after the father of Yitzchak and Yishmael, in the heartland of Eretz Yisrael, 10 kilometers north of Ramallah; a 10-15 minute drive to Yerushalayim.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Five hundred Bnei Torah families with thousands of happy frum children. The PA would be delighted to exhibit that Torah people – not Zionists – can live together in harmony with Moslems, with each free to serve the demands of his faith; proving that the Arabs deserve an independent state between the ocean and the river.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">And it came to pass in the fifth year of the town of Avraham, at the close of the Succot festival, that the men, women and children were gathered at night in the various Chassidic and Lithuanian shuls and yeshivot. They came to celebrate the close of the Succot holiday and usher in the holiday of Shemini Atzeret.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Torah Scrolls were removed from the holy arks and distributed in seven waves of dancing and singing.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">At 9:00 PM, the assembled dispersed to partake in the festive meals and rest in preparation for the next morning’s song and joy-filled prayers, including another round of seven waves of dancing.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">At 6:30 AM, men were on their way to the mikveh, when several noticed large groups of Arabs gathered to the east and west of the town. They were joined with more Arabs on motorcycles, and small trucks. Some were seen arriving on airborne gliders and all were carrying weapons. The hired guards of the town summoned the army; but before it could arrive thousands of Arabs had already invaded the town.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">They began decapitating and burning and raping.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">By the time Tzahal appeared there was a deathly silence in all that had been the holy town of Avraham, with the stench of death pervading every meter.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The few survivors told interrogators that before coming to Avraham they were informed by army intelligence that it would be safe, because what occurred in Azza could not happen in Avraham because the Arabs are panicked and intimidated by the strength of Tzahal.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">At this time, the situation in the major cities of Europe and the US was unprecedented. Wherever there were substantial numbers of Moslems, shuls and yeshivot were desecrated with many burned to the ground.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">So, if Israel does decide to draft able bodied yeshiva and kollel people, the alternatives would fall by the wayside. And the best of all choices would be to thank HaShem for returning us to Eretz Yisrael, a holy home that we can love and defend in all circumstances.</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Shabbat Shalom</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Nachman Kahana</p><p class="p8" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Copyright © 5784/2024 Nachman Kahana</p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-71037727278669778592024-03-15T07:50:00.003+02:002024-03-15T07:50:49.729+02:00Conference on Effective Treatments<p> From </p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">BS”D</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Back by request! People asked for another talk by Dr. Richard Urso on cancer treatment, and he graciously agreed. I am very excited for this opportunity for more doctors, patients, and family members/friends to be able to hear straight from Dr. Urso about the safe treatments that are WORKING for his patients, and hopefully get a chance to ask their questions.</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">G-d willing, Dr. Urso will be speaking <a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://2" style="text-decoration-color: rgba(126, 129, 129, 0.38);" x-apple-data-detectors-result="2" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">on Sunday March 17, starting at 2 PM Eastern </a><strong><a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://2" style="text-decoration-color: rgba(126, 129, 129, 0.38);" x-apple-data-detectors-result="2" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">Daylight</a></strong><a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://2" style="text-decoration-color: rgba(126, 129, 129, 0.38);" x-apple-data-detectors-result="2" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true"> Time</a>. </p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">(Please note that here in NY, we already changed our clocks, so if you’re somewhere in the world that has NOT yet changed your clocks, remember that the difference between us is an hour different than it usually is. For example, England is only 4 hours ahead of NY right now.)</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Link below flyer:</p><div class="captioned-image-container-static" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 32px auto;"><figure style="margin: 0px auto; width: 550px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image-wrapper" data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic" style="width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td align="left" class="content" style="text-align: center;" width="1159"><a class="image-link" href="https://substack.com/redirect/c88ef6ec-455d-469f-93c5-b8fcb7e6c130?j=eyJ1IjoiY2N0ZmwifQ.gQp-h0kGhfAA2kdXzeW2NifdbUw1yMJPCwsuMapmuzY" rel="" style="align-items: center; border: none; display: block; flex-direction: column; height: auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="wide-image" data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d077f98d-cac7-4acc-9e22-7120a24f3774_1159x1500.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":1500,"width":1159,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":227683,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/jpeg","href":null,"belowTheFold":false,"topImage":true,"internalRedirect":null}" height="711.8205349439172" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_2318,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd077f98d-cac7-4acc-9e22-7120a24f3774_1159x1500.jpeg" style="border: none; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="550" /></a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table></figure></div><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Join Zoom Meeting<br /><a dir="ltr" href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9521753151?pwd=QnhXdmJ3Q2FFV202K1RvSGpkK0ZvQT09&omn=84106112267" x-apple-data-detectors-result="3" x-apple-data-detectors-type="link" x-apple-data-detectors="true">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9521753151?pwd=QnhXdmJ3Q2FFV202K1RvSGpkK0ZvQT09&omn=84106112267</a></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Meeting ID: 952 175 3151</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Passcode: 1818</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Shortcut link: <a dir="ltr" href="http://tinyurl.com/TruthSavesLives" x-apple-data-detectors-result="5" x-apple-data-detectors-type="link" x-apple-data-detectors="true">Tinyurl.com/TruthSavesLives</a>.</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">If you don’t have internet access, you can still join by calling <a dir="ltr" href="tel:929-205-6099" x-apple-data-detectors-result="6" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors="true">929-205-6099</a>and then entering the above meeting ID and passcode.</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>May it be G-d’s will that this event will result in lives saved!</strong></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong><br /></strong></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>From Bracha Weisberger </strong><em> </em><a href="https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly90cnV0aDYxMy5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20_dXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPWVtYWlsLWhvbWUmcj1jY3RmbCIsInAiOjE0MjYzMjUzNCwicyI6NjkxMzk1LCJmIjp0cnVlLCJ1IjoyMDc1MzQwOSwiaWF0IjoxNzEwNDc1MzkzLCJleHAiOjE3MTMwNjczOTMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0wIiwic3ViIjoibGluay1yZWRpcmVjdCJ9.uk57TqyggehezIsAJabG7vJ3bAL4c_B7yAbwqtGo3Tk?" rel="" style="color: #363737;">In G-d’s Army There’s Only Truth</a><em>. </em></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>BS”D</strong></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>Our mission: Doing whatever we can to save lives</strong></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>What we do: </strong>By the grace of G-d, we have created dozens of educational events with leading expert medical doctors, scientists, rabbis, journalists, and political activists in order to bring the <strong>truth to humanity.</strong> </p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Thank G-d, have reached tens of thousands through our projects aimed at educating and protecting communities. You can see our events on our sites, <a dir="ltr" href="http://macabim.org/" x-apple-data-detectors-result="7" x-apple-data-detectors-type="link" x-apple-data-detectors="true">Macabim.org</a> and <a dir="ltr" href="http://rofiminternational.org/" x-apple-data-detectors-result="8" x-apple-data-detectors-type="link" x-apple-data-detectors="true">RofimInternational.org</a>. We also create, print, and distribute educational materials, run advertisements, maintain a hotline, work to assist covid vaccine injured individuals, and more.</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">The side of evil has massive and seemingly unlimited resources, <strong>but we have G-d and the truth on our side. </strong>We are a grassroots organization with no financial conflicts of interest. We are here to give you unbiased facts to the best of our ability. </p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>We cannot stand by and watch our brothers and sisters be injured and killed. </strong>We need your help! <em><strong>Please become a partner in our mission to save humanity. </strong></em><strong>You can donate DIRECTLY for the cause at <a href="https://substack.com/redirect/e43c5c3c-06c6-451a-af6e-6faef58911ea?j=eyJ1IjoiY2N0ZmwifQ.gQp-h0kGhfAA2kdXzeW2NifdbUw1yMJPCwsuMapmuzY" rel="" style="color: #363737;">tinyurl.com/DonateUJCC</a>. </strong>This is a non-profit organization - all donations are fully tax deductible, and every penny goes towards the expenses of educational events, lifesaving ads, and the like.<em><strong> I do not draw any salary from the donations.</strong></em></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong>Your </strong><em><strong>paid subscriptions</strong></em><strong> help me support my family, as I devote myself to this cause full time. Please subscribe for $8 a month, or better yet, become a founding member for $613. Thank you!</strong></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">G-d bless you!</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #363737; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><strong><br /></strong></p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-12311557972724776512024-03-14T12:27:00.002+02:002024-03-14T18:20:24.249+02:00Aliyah & Israeli Real Estate WEBINARS – 3/17 and 3/31US NEW YORK Israel real estate event cancelled due to anti-Israel pressure Arutz Sheva has been informed that immense pressure had been put on the NY Police Dept. to cancel the event, because the event and the hosting community have been targeted by violent protest groups.<div><br /></div><div>WEBINARS<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBd36CGNJznDKGBHSjOeoVqyh7mUteSriB5Bhdu5K6JJPKve7aGuDvFz5jLWRrz4suW4UA637ERP-kob_SQcZjuX4651240UitPoiYaWicBrG7AMm3zBgwFEu2yDzChHgSdhBltcCuqdEP2GUKFFhNlHPSmMql46VkDAp6rzxNcn5W-SeVgJilX9bTChs/s1502/mail.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1502" data-original-width="850" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBd36CGNJznDKGBHSjOeoVqyh7mUteSriB5Bhdu5K6JJPKve7aGuDvFz5jLWRrz4suW4UA637ERP-kob_SQcZjuX4651240UitPoiYaWicBrG7AMm3zBgwFEu2yDzChHgSdhBltcCuqdEP2GUKFFhNlHPSmMql46VkDAp6rzxNcn5W-SeVgJilX9bTChs/w362-h640/mail.webp" width="362" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #800180;">TO REGISTER TYPE LINK INTO SEARCH </span></p><p><span style="color: #800180;">https://www.olimadvisors.com/webinarJP/</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiei5ZFAowouRw16oK9oCHDYRSyepHQfif3Csnu6IgbtVHLE_YKJeeJXe6epn3hr4Vwv3DGqOPFUGY2PYBrGj0MnFvVVwwr3W040-acu9OlQt_Ddfo3SVbk0OEpV6eebsWyG0Pxn3k6wgDXAdZ-UQqkpMKOZQ-m8wcTGyxY37SU52rNoF6iidWiF3wqrSw/s781/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-13%20at%2020.14.17.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="781" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiei5ZFAowouRw16oK9oCHDYRSyepHQfif3Csnu6IgbtVHLE_YKJeeJXe6epn3hr4Vwv3DGqOPFUGY2PYBrGj0MnFvVVwwr3W040-acu9OlQt_Ddfo3SVbk0OEpV6eebsWyG0Pxn3k6wgDXAdZ-UQqkpMKOZQ-m8wcTGyxY37SU52rNoF6iidWiF3wqrSw/w400-h196/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-13%20at%2020.14.17.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><br /></div>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-65578830620866044482024-03-14T12:25:00.000+02:002024-03-14T18:20:20.470+02:00Rabbi Weissman – A Convenient Controversy Over the Draft<p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #6c6c6c;">Tomorrow, Thursday at 7 PM Israel time will be my month's Amalek and Erev Rav program. I will be joined once again by </span><span style="color: #444444;">Mordechai Sones</span><span style="color: #6c6c6c;">, who will be launching Jewish Home News live during the program. We will discuss why there is a need for another news site, what makes Jewish Home News different, and related matters. The link to register for the live program is </span><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrc-qgrDgoHdHtrv1Azmn0L9BWwwr4OGmx#/registration"><span class="s1"><span style="color: #444444;">https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrc-qgrDgoHdHtrv1Azmn0L9BWwwr4OGmx#/registratio</span><span style="color: #6c6c6c;">n</span></span></a><span style="color: #6c6c6c;">.</span></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #6c6c6c; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #6c6c6c;">TODAY at 7 PM Israel time is my weekly Torah class. The link to register for the live classes is </span><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvcO-oqz8pG9PDvcL87wmJfsoMAnMqGHTn"><span class="s1"><span style="color: #444444;">https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvcO-oqz8pG9PDvcL87wmJfsoMAnMqGHT</span><span style="color: #6c6c6c;">n</span></span></a><span style="color: #6c6c6c;">.</span></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #6c6c6c; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="background-color: white; color: #6c6c6c; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I believe the article below is extremely important. If you agree, please share it widely.</p><p class="p4" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 19.5px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;"><b>A Convenient Controversy Over the Draft</b></p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The latest communist diversion to incite Jews against each other, instead of unifying against our common enemies from within, is to make a brouhaha about drafting yeshiva students into the army. This is one of the Erev Rav's go-to pressure points to exploit in times of great need – such as when too many people are no longer buying the lies and deflections about October 7, and when enthusiasm to continue sending our finest people into the Gaza meat grinder to be maimed under dubious pretenses is finally starting to wane.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The questions are becoming louder. The doubts are becoming stronger. The fear of following orders is becoming almost as great as the fear of resisting them.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">In the past, it would be enough for a “wave” of terrorist attacks or some rockets from Gaza to distract the people from the bigger picture and rally around their “leaders”. Spilled Jewish blood, funerals, and ceremonies are wonderful props to turn people's attention away from inconvenient matters and manipulate their emotions.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">But sometimes even that is not enough. After all, too much bloodletting will eventually bring a backlash. The anger of the people must be channeled away from our internal enemies, the ones who are most responsible for our suffering.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The anger of the people must be channeled against each other.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The October 7 bloodletting and hostage taking was no accident, intelligence failure, or far-fetched political maneuver (if you still believe that, just board a train to Auschwitz already and be done with it). For five months Jews have been getting maimed and killed in Gaza under the pretense of “bringing the hostages home NOW” and “destroying Hamas”, while the WEF sellouts who rule our land have continued to advance their agenda.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The brainwashed masses have continued to support their own <i>shmad</i> in all sorts of ways, buying into every propaganda campaign that makes them feel good (Buy underwear for the soldiers!), bad (Empty chairs for the hostages!), strong (With unity we will win!), and weak (More surveillance, less freedom, evacuate our border communities!) all at once. How they pull those emotional strings!</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">But even that is not enough. Too many people refuse to “not ask questions until the war is over”. So they must be distracted. Too many people are angry. So their anger must be released and channeled.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yitzchak Yosef, recently made a statement that was widely publicized, as it was intended to be. This is not because it was an inspiring Torah teaching; those don't receive such widespread attention, of course. It's because it was an inflammatory, extremely divisive bit of rhetoric phrased in just the right way to ensure maximum corrosive effect.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Before we dissect the actual rhetoric, a bit more background is needed.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The Chief Rabbi of Israel is a most impressive-sounding title. It evokes a fantasy that the one who bears this title is the most prestigious and important rabbi in the world, or at least one of the most. Since many people reflexively buy into this fantasy – titles and pomp are powerful devices, after all – this individual achieves a measure of actual prestige and importance by mere virtue of the title. </p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">His actual worthiness or lack thereof, however, is a separate matter entirely. The Chief Rabbi is not appointed based on merit, as determined by the greatest rabbis of the generation, who themselves achieved their stature through an organic process, or by the people themselves, whose leaders must be acceptable to them according to the Torah.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The Chief Rabbi is a political appointee. His office is a branch of the Israeli government. He is selected by a board of 150 people who work for the Israeli government. This board consists of state-employed rabbis, mayors, ministers, members of the Knesset, and other political figures.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Not exactly how Moshe Rabbeinu set it up. Not exactly how one becomes a judge on the Sanhedrin. More like how the Kohen Gadol was appointed during Bayis Sheni.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Naturally, candidates for the position engage in all sorts of horse-trading to earn favor with their political colleagues and stave off their rivals. The Torah-hating media has a field day with this every few years when longtime state-employed rabbinic politicians jockey for the prestigious position. This circus brings great scorn for the Torah and rabbis – just as the Erev Rav designed it.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">We should also note that Israel has both an Ashkenazic and Sephardic Chief Rabbi, because making things about race and ethnicity is one of the best ways to divide the Jewish people under the guise of catering to those from both divisions. With unity we will win, except when disunity better serves the agenda.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The Chief Rabbi must also declare his allegiance to the State of Israel. He does not declare his allegiance to the Torah and the Jewish people, because it is not the Torah and the Jewish people for whom he actually works; it is the State of Israel.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">If there is a conflict between the position of the Torah and those who pay his salary, the Chief Rabbi is expected to reconcile the former with the latter, not the reverse. Whatever Torah knowledge he might actually possess is to be used for this purpose.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef dutifully declared that the Covid poison shots are mandatory according to Jewish law (<a href="https://www.jpost.com/judaism/rabbi-yitzhak-yosef-covid-19-vaccine-mandatory-according-to-halacha-653361"><span class="s1">source</span></a>), that cellphone use was obligated on Shabbos so the Health Ministry could send “lifesaving information” (<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/chief-rabbi-allows-cellphones-on-shabbat-for-lifesaving-virus-message/"><span class="s1">source</span></a>), that synagogues and public prayer must be shut down based on edicts from the health overlords (<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2020-03-25/ty-article/synagogues-to-close-under-new-coronavirus-regulations/0000017f-e154-d568-ad7f-f37fe6d60000"><span class="s1">source</span></a>), that Jews should avoid the Western Wall (<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/chief-rabbis-call-off-large-prayer-gatherings-at-western-wall/"><span class="s1">source</span></a>), writing that “No halachic instruction exists that would overrule the instructions of the Health Ministry. The halachic instruction is to obey absolutely all the instructions of the Health Ministry without exception, and every order produced by them is a halachic order for all intents and purposes.”</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Yosef concurrently made a habit of publicly flouting these same instructions (<a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rJ8f10KCw"><span class="s1">source</span></a>), which is exactly what a Chief Rabbi would do if the actual purpose of this figure, who works for the Erev Rav state, is intended to both mislead Jews who observe the Torah and bring hatred upon them from those who don't.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">When we understand this, much of the behavior of Chief Rabbis that seems confounding and hypocritical actually makes perfect sense.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">With all this in mind, we can now address Yosef's most recent provocative remarks.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">In recent weeks, the same Erev Rav and WEF snakes who presided over the October 7 <i>shmad</i> and subsequent meat grinder in Gaza began heatedly calling for yeshiva students to be drafted into the army. As noted in the beginning, this is one of their go-to ways to turn the people's anger away from them and against each other.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">With one fork of the tongue the snakes warn us that the IDF is suffering from a “manpower shortage”.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">This is a dubious claim. First of all, this is the same IDF that failed so spectacularly on October 7 and stood down for many hours; more draftees would not have prevented that. Second of all, sending soldiers into death traps on highly questionable grounds is the best way to create a manpower shortage, and forcing more people to enter the meat grinder is not the best way to alleviate it.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">But we're not supposed to think about that. We're supposed to hate yeshiva students.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">With another fork of the tongue they wail about how everyone needs to “contribute”, and how “unfair” it is that some segments of society are going into booby-trapped tunnels while others are sitting in yeshiva studying Torah.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">THIS is the bait everyone can't resist. The Dati Leumi cultists, who made a religion out of serving the state, a holy of holies out of the IDF, and the greatest act of worship to die on their behalf like an offering to Molech, react with fury against the so-called “charedim”. We're dying to protect you! You think you're better than us! You don't even care about us!</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The only thing that will satisfy the Dati Leumi cultists is an equal number of “charedim” having their legs blown off or worse in the meat grinder. It's only fair.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The secular citizens, who don't take the Dati Leumi seriously anyway but loathe the “charedim”, also take the bait. Their virtue-signaling about unity, fairness, and dying to protect ungrateful religious people quickly segues into vicious tropes about Torah-observant Jews that Goebells couldn't have said better himself.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">All of this is encouraged by the Erev Rav media and useful idiots who parrot the propaganda from their soapboxes and deem themselves clever.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Then, to make the controversy and infighting really boil over, Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef took the mic. “If they force us to go to the army, we'll all go to Chutz La'aretz [leave the country]”. (Interestingly, Yosef also scoffed at the IDF for failing on October 7, though this did not receive attention.)</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I cannot claim to know what is in this man's heart. But if Rabbis Yosef's desired outcome was to generate the maximum amount of controversy, bring as much hatred upon yeshiva students as possible, and validate the negative stereotypes against them, he couldn't have done any better.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">This is hardly approach the Chief Rabbi of Israel would be expected to take – especially when the Chief Rabbi of Israel is employed by the State and must declare his allegiance to the State – unless this is an unwritten part of his job description: misleading those who observe the Torah while bringing hatred upon them from those who don't.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">You can be certain Chief Rabbi Yosef will not lose his job for contradicting his declaration to be loyal to the state, for there is in fact no contradiction.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">You can be certain Yosef will not personally leave the country and his prestigious government position – but the <i>kofrim</i> for whom he works would be delighted if Torah-observant Jews did just that, while those who remain are hated even more by the rest of society. All the easier to deal with the greatest threat to the Erev Rav agenda.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">For their part, many Roshei Yeshiva and others who deign to represent the “charedi” position are also taking the wrong approach. They make sweeping statements about Torah study protecting in lieu of participating in physical fighting. This is true to a certain extent, but it's a highly nuanced matter, and by no means grounds for all who study Torah full-time, part-time, or any amount of time to be exempt from participating in a Jewish army. That was simply never the case.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">They claim that “the tribe of Levi” – which they generously redefine to include all who assume the artificial label of “charedi” – is exempt from military service. This is not only untrue according to Jewish law, but historically untrue, dating back to Moshe Rabbeinu, who actually brought the Torah down from Sinai, then fought in wars (he personally killed Og). Moshe was from the actual tribe of Levi and the greatest “learner”, too.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">They argue apologetically that “charedim” contribute to society in many ways; they volunteer for Zaka, and Hatzalah, and produce the greatest Torah scholars, and teach Torah far and wide, and run charitable organizations that serve everyone. This is all true – “charedim” excel in these areas like no other segment of society – but it is a poor response to those whose loved ones were maimed and killed.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I would have advised these rabbis to explain calmly and reasonably why much of the religious population (myself included, and I'm certainly not “charedi”) wants nothing to do with the IDF. It's for many of the same reasons Jews wanted nothing to do with the Russian army during the cantonist decree, only with Western Amalekite influences and Erev Rav betrayal of Jewish life thrown in for good measure.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">And I would have advised them to explain that these same reasons apply to ALL Jews, “charedi” or otherwise. The only solution is a truly Jewish army that is run by Torah-observant, G–D-fearing people according to Torah law.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">That needs to be the goal. That needs to be the discussion.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I would also have advised them to explain that NO ONE should be drafted into the army – not yeshiva students, not secular people, or anyone in between. Drafting people is essentially a form of kidnapping, human trafficking, and slavery – generally for the benefit of the rich and powerful who profit from wars. Other nations take people against their will and force them into wars. We don't do that.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">According to the Torah, there is certainly a religious obligation to engage in war at times, but this is not upheld by forcing people to join the army. Jews historically volunteered to fight for the sake of their land and their people; we don't need to be forced. But we do need leaders who are worthy of our trust, not <i>kofrim</i> and WEF snakes.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">In addition, Jewish law provides so many exemptions to fighting in wars – including to one who is afraid (either of war itself or his sins, depending on different opinions) – that much of the bickering over yeshiva students is rendered moot.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Furthermore, even if some people who <i>should</i> fight choose not to for inappropriate reasons, we should not concern ourselves with a potential “manpower shortage”. The Torah makes it abundantly clear that our success in wars depends not on the number of soldiers, but on the spiritual standing of the nation. We have an obligation to take certain worldly measures, of course, but as long as this obligation is minimally fulfilled, the outcome will be determined by other factors. Hashem will hold accountable those who shirk their obligations, but the war will not be won or lost because of them, nor may we force anyone to fight.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">If we are going to discuss who fights in the army and under what conditions, this needs to be the approach. It is truly fair and truly unifying, unlike the hate-mongering from Erev Rav snakes.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">I urge everyone to stop taking their bait and join together in building a truly Jewish state that runs according to Torah law – with an army that does the same.</p><p class="p5" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Such an army I will be honored to join, and I have no doubt that Hashem would grant us victory beyond anything we could imagine.</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">__________________________</p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://chananyaweissman.com/">chananyaweissman.com/<span class="s2" style="color: #313131;"></span></a></span></p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="http://rumble.com/c/c-782463">rumble.com/c/c-782463<span class="s2" style="color: #313131;"></span></a></span></p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Buy my books on Amazon </b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Chananya-Weissman/author/B00J58BOKS"><span class="s1"><b>here</b></span></a><b> or contact me to purchase in Israel.</b></p><p class="p6" style="background-color: white; color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://kodeshpress.com/product/tovim-ha-shenayim/">Download Tovim Ha-Shenayim as a PDF for free!<span class="s2" style="color: #313131;"></span></a></span></p><p><b style="color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">If you received this from someone else and want to receive future articles directly, please send a request to </b><a href="mailto:endthemadness@gmail.com" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;"><span class="s1"><b>endthemadness@gmail.com</b></span></a><b style="color: #313131; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">.</b> </p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76692515692303107.post-20021612424044961522024-03-14T12:23:00.005+02:002024-03-14T18:20:17.211+02:00Rabbi Winston – Pekuday-Chazak!<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px;">THE WAR HERE in Israel is ongoing and I know that many have made a point of helping out financially as much as they can. I would never take away from that, which is why I have held off until now, but ask at this time that you still consider contributing to Thirtysix.org, or its Israeli counterpart, Shaarnun Productions.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px;"> </span></div><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Judging by the feedback, Perceptions and other essays have helped many to deal with the difficulties of our time. Contributing keeps the material flowing. </p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">For a US contribution, use this link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/my/profile. For a NIS contribution, use this one: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/my/profile. If you prefer an alternative, please write me at pinchasw@thirtysix.org. Thank you in advance and wishing only good news. Pinchas Winston</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">SOME OF YOU might have wondered at some point if it is the <i>parsha</i> that inspires me to write what I do about the current world situation or, the opposite. The answer is that it depends upon the week, and sometimes it is both at the same time. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">For example, I have something to say about the direction of history, and my <i>parsha</i> sheet is one of my main venues to do that. But built into this week’s <i>parsha</i> is something that needs to be addressed, and it has much to say about the current world situation. Hence, my answer.</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Rashi</i> says:</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>“‘These are the numbers of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony…’</i> (<i>Shemos</i> 38:21): [The word <i>Mishkan</i> is written] twice. This alludes to the Temple, which was taken as security (<i>mashkon</i>) by the two destructions because of the sins of the Jewish people.”</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The real root of the word <i>Mishkan</i> is <i>lishchon</i>, which means <i>to dwell, </i>because that is what the <i>Mishkan</i> was, a dwelling place for the <i>Shechinah</i>. The word <i>mashkon</i>, which is a surety, has nothing to do with the word <i>Mishkan. </i>The <i>Midrash</i> that <i>Rashi</i> quotes is just making a play on words, a very <i>gloomy</i> play on words. It reminds me of the following comment at the very happy moment when Yosef and Binyomin were finally reunited after he revealed himself to his brothers. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Rashi</i> says there:</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>“‘And he fell on his brother Binyomin’s neck and wept, and Binyomin wept on his neck’ </i>(<i>Bereishis</i> 45:14): <i>And he fell on his brother Binyomin’s neck and wept</i>: for the two temples which were destined to be in <i>Binyomin’s</i> territory and would ultimately be destroyed. <i>And Binyomin wept on his neck</i>: for the <i>Mishkan</i> of Shiloh, which was destined to be in Yosef’s territory and would also ultimately be destroyed.</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Can’t we enjoy a happy moment in Jewish history without alluding to destructive ones? I know people like that. They’re called Pessimists. No matter how good a situation looks they downplay it, or worry about the worst. It’s as if they are forbidden by some unwritten law to enjoy a moment and revel in the good that G–D has given them. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">With examples like the ones just mentioned, can anyone really blame the pessimists? If the Torah can’t cope with happy moments without finding allusions to future bad ones, why should we? After all, for all the <i>Purim</i> and <i>Chanukah</i> happy endings we have known and celebrate, have there not been so many more tragic endings to anti-Semitism? After 3,296 years of Jewish history since entering the Land, how much joy have we known as a people, especially over the last 2,000 years? </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">MAYBE THAT IS why we Jews tend to wish one another, “Much <i>nachas</i>!” whenever we can. We know how easy it is <i>not</i> to have <i>nachas</i> in life, or how quickly it can vanish. In fact, “negative” <i>Hashgochah Pratis </i>(Divine Providence) has made more than just a few Jews jump ship over the ages. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It was extreme poverty in places like Russia that helped to fuel the <i>Haskalah</i> Movement there at the beginning of the 20th century. Many secular Jews since then seem to have done quite well for themselves, especially in recent times. And even though some <i>Charedim</i> (Orthodox Jews) have also done well financially, the Torah world remains poor and struggling to this very day. Not very enticing when it comes to trying to do outreach and reconnect unaffiliated Jews with their Torah roots.</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This has given rise to statements such as, “It’s hard to be a Jew.” Aside from the many <i>mitzvos</i> we have to perform on a daily basis, circumstances often make it difficult to do so. Just ask a Jewish businessman who, watching the sun sink toward the horizon out a boardroom window, has to start thinking about finding a <i>minyan</i> in time so he can say <i>Kaddish.</i> In the meantime, his secular and gentile colleagues go about their business as usual with far less pressure. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Personally, I am always ecstatic when my flight somewhere does not necessitate <i>dovening</i> on an airplane. It is uncomfortable for so many reasons, including not being able to pray at breakneck speed. At least we no longer have to <i>doven</i> at the back of the plane, next to the bathrooms and with all the smokers. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Then there is the matter of all the outward manifestations of Torah life that make a person stand out. Not only does it call unwanted attention, but it also increases the need to be at your best behavior, even when you feel too tired and worn out to be so. A <i>Chillul Hashem</i> is a really, <i>really</i> serious sin, and to be avoided at all cost.</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Obviously, Judaism is not without its happy moments. On the contrary, we have it quite good today,<i> thank G–D</i>. We have so much more than our ancestors ever did over the last couple of millennia. Not everyone, but a lot of people. But one has to wonder…again…as the situation around Israel and the world worsens, for how much longer?</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In fact, unlike about 20 years ago, so many people today talk about the War of Gog and Magog. They feel it coming. They feel a very uncomfortable level of pressure being heaped upon the Jewish people while watching the nations around them prepare for a larger conflict. Allies who were once loyal are becoming less so. “For how much longer” seems to be answering itself, raising another question that has often been asked, <i>“Why must history always turn against the Jewish people at some point?”</i></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">THE 27TH DAY of <i>Adar Sheni </i>will be the 98th <i>yahrzeit</i> of th<i>e Leshem, </i>Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv,<i> zt”l, </i>who I have quote often in my <i>parsha</i> sheets. Over the last few years, I have also published a couple of volumes of translations of some of his writings so others can benefit from his amazing insights into life and history. Regarding the latter, he says:</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">“This is why so much time must transpire from Creation until the time of the <i>tikun:</i> all the forces of <i>Gevuros</i> are rooted in the six <i>sefiros</i>—<i>Chesed, Gevurah, Tifferes, Netzach, Hod, </i>and<i> Yesod</i>—which are the six days of Creation, and the 6,000 years of history. Within them are the roots of all that will happen from the six days of Creation until the final <i>tikun</i>…We find that all that transpires is the result of the sparks from the time of <i>tohu</i>…”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">(<i>Drushei Olam HaTohu,</i> <i>Chelek</i> 2, <i>Drush</i> 4, <i>Anaf</i> 18, <i>Siman</i> 6)</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This is a translation that needs a “translation.” A full explanation would take a couple of Perceptions. The gist of the idea is that, even though we have been taught that history does not have to play out until the end, it seems likely to. History is not some river of events randomly meandering through time. It is a program from start to finish with immutable goals, goals that most people, seemingly, have little or no idea about.</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">If people knew about the goals, they could work together to accomplish them faster. Not knowing about them, Heaven has to work it out through history over time, and that has translated into far less desirable approaches to <i>tikun</i> than we would choose for ourselves, like the Holocaust, for example. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Why? What kind of goals necessitate that kind of <i>tikun</i>? The rectification of the forces of <i>Gevuros</i>. They’re responsible for the constriction of G–D’s light so that man can use his free will to reveal G–D. Making choices like that rectifies the <i>Gevuros</i> and brings Creation closer to completion.</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The problem is when too many <i>Gevuros</i> remain unrectified given the timeline of history. Then history has to play catch-up to keep up with the Divine schedule for Creation. That’s when Jewish history tends to go south…like it seems to be doing again now. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">THE WHOLE POINT of exile is to rectify the <i>Gevuros</i>, which basically can be done in one of two ways. We can harness them, which we do by disciplining ourselves to live spiritually meaningful lives, learning Torah and performing <i>mitzvos</i>. Or, we can fall victim to them through evil, in particular all the anti-Semitism they can potentially “inspire.”</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">You know those “golden eras” we’ve enjoyed in different exiles? Those weren’t G–D saying, “I’m going on a break, so have a blast.” They were G–D saying, “Now’s your chance to rectify the <i>Gevuros</i> in a pleasant way. Do a good job and you’ll keep Creation on schedule. Keep Creation on schedule, and exile can end smoothly, what the <i>Gemora</i> calls “<i>Achishenah</i>,” hastened. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It’s never happened, at least not for the entire nation at one time. We can bring redemption earlier, we are told, and we have to anticipate that <i>Moshiach</i> can come at any moment. And he <i>can</i>. We weren’t lied to. He just hasn’t, so far. Something about elevating every last spark out of the <i>Klipos, just</i> and fixing up the vessels that “broke” before Creation. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But that doesn’t mean that <i>Moshiach</i> isn’t here right now in the world. Perhaps he is quietly learning Torah in some out-of-the-way <i>Bais Midrash</i>, just waiting for G–D to tell him, “<i>Shalom</i>. You’re <i>Moshiach</i>. Now go save the Jewish people and the world! This program called human history has reached its intended conclusion.”</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">More than likely, the War of Gog and Magog will be just to use up the remaining <i>Gevuros</i> to end history. That’s why every Jewish exile ends the way it does. We won’t know how it will impact the masses until after it is over. But individuals will recognize the opportunity, read the writing on the wall, and act on it while there is still time. They certainly won’t sink back into the world of those who remain oblivious to the bigger picture of Jewish history. That’s what <i>Mishkan-Mishkan</i> tells us to avoid. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Chazak</i>!</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Good <i>Shabbos</i>,</p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Pinchas Winston</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">For essays on the current situation, go to <i>www.shaarnunproductions.org</i>. </p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #161a1e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><i></i><br /></p>Neshamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326762185596512130noreply@blogger.com0