Loss of Life and the Meltdown of a People and a Nation

Sunday was covered in a cloud of sadness

Inhuman, barbaric, cannibalistic, are words that come to mind about the murders in Itamar, of the Fogel family resting after the Shabbat meal, parents, children and baby Hadas a"h. This horrific evil reminds me of the murders in Mumbai, leaving the same inhuman and barbaric footprints of insane murder. This is all the work of Amalek.

There was no shaking this from me. Thoughts of the recent tragedies accompanied me throughout the hours. My only solice, if that, was to look forward to sleep in the evening. Inside our sleeping we transmit and receive thought currents, and a rearranging of that day's events. What can we learn from these tragedies? What can we as a people living in one corner of the world take from these tragedies and apply to our own lives? What do we do now? Go on living as nothing happened?

Impossible.

But how long will this feeling last, unless we put into action some responses. What results came from the destruction of Gush Katif? From Haiti? From World War II?

From Itamar comes, "They kill, we build," as PM Netanyahu said? Have we as a Nation come to the "red line" of "enough is enough, we shout to the world."

But also, dear yidden, we need to look inwardly to our own deeds and to feel remorse, and try to look kindly upon each other. Have patience, do not judge one another, share the values we were given through our Holy Torah with one another in a non-threatening way. It hurts to see innocent peoples suffer, even if this is decreed. We are on an island in this world and need to care for one another, to keep HaShem's Mitzvos that He commanded us to keep. The imbalance in our own lives is contributing to the imbalance in the world. Please yidden, take hold of yourselves and straighten the crooked.

Our Holy Torah calls the Jewish People a "Light unto the Nations." Perhaps, because of the nature of the tragedies coming upon our small planet Earth, we Jewish People have a responsibility to shine that light unto the nations of the world.

Before the people of the world (thousands of years ago) became agnostics and believers in other paths of worshipping over thousands of years ago, they actually believed in the Creator of the World. The whole world witnessed the events at Har Sinai. We Jews call the Creator HaShem, "the name." Nature is a creation also, a veil between HaShem and His creations, the inhabitants of the world.

When nature veers from its natural pathways, it signals that something is wrong on planet earth. What can we possibly learn from a servant of HaShem rebelling? Something in the natural working order of the world is askew. An earthquake or a dagger, what is the difference of its effect? Destruction and death lie in its path.

One difference.

The dagger is premeditated!

It is held by a (supposedly) human being.

For 60 years, the Jewish People have tried to get along with the "holders of daggers." They come from the "planet death." They do not understand the preciousness and sanctity of life. There has been NO change in the attitude, behavior or purpose of the "holders of daggers." In fact, they teach their little children to wear bombs and wield daggers, to grow up to kill little Jewish babies. There has been NO change in the language, mentality, intelligence and purpose of the "holders of daggers" since they once roamed the desert in gangs of uncivilized warring gangs.

Because of the false pride and hatred of the desert tribes

they have not advanced into a civilized nation

able to provide for its people,

who are still living in deprivation,

physical and mental poverty.

Japan was once a war-like nation. After their horrific defeat in 1941, they turned their intelligence and might creatively developing into "the third largest national economy in the world, after the United States and China". Technologically and scientifically advanced, they developed their tiny island into a beautiful modern country. But look what the 'natural' force of an earthquake and tsunami did to this tiny compact island.

275 new tremors ... Quake riddled Japan

Nuclear explosions

Meltdown of a Nation

The islands of Japan are located in a volcanic zone on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

From Wikipedia: Japan has a total of 6,852 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. Together they are often known as the Japanese Archipelago. About 70 to 80 percent of Japan is forested, mountainous, and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use. As a result, the habitable zones, mainly located in coastal areas, have extremely high population densities. Japan is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. As of 2010, Japan is the third largest national economy in the world, after the United States and China, in terms of both nominal GDP and purchasing power parity. Japan is a leading nation in scientific research, particularly technology, machinery and biomedical research. Nearly 700,000 researchers share a US$130 billion research and development budget, the third largest in the world. Japan is a world leader in fundamental scientific research, having produced fifteen Nobel laureates in either physics, chemistry or medicine, three Fields medalists, and one Gauss Prize laureate.

But what has this technological advance accomplished for these poor people? What actions did their government take to precipate this nuclear mess? For decisions has a nation been held accountable . . . for decisions will the world be held accountable.

We cannot prevent earthquakes.

But we are obligated to address the "holders of daggers".

There is accountability in the world

The Jewish Nation needs to shine the Light of the Holy Torah onto the peoples and nations of the world. There are 7 laws that the G-d of the Universe gave to His creations, the people of the world. And these seven laws bring about harmony on the earth. These basic seven laws are the beginning of civilization and a civilized people.

I suggest that PM Netanyahu start telling the nations of the world that they will be held accountable for their hatred and actions against the People of Yisrael, the Jewish People. That they need to keep the Seven Laws given to Noah after the Great Flood if they want to be spared the retribution coming upon the world's nations. There must be an end to killing and thievery, an end to hatred and war. The time has come to be accountable for one's actions.

These laws are known as the "7 Laws of Noah":

The Seven Laws of Noah (Hebrew: שבע מצוות בני נח‎ Sheva mitzvot B'nei Noach) form the major part of the Noachide Laws, or Noahide Code. This code is a set of moral imperatives ... given by G-d as a binding set of laws for the "children of Noah" - that is, all of humankind.

The holy seven laws are:

Prohibition of Idolatry
Prohibition of Murder
Prohibition of Theft
Prohibition of Sexual immorality
Prohibition of Blasphemy
Prohibition of eating flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive
Establishment of law courts

According to Judaism, any non-Jew who lives according to these laws is regarded as a Righteous Gentile, and is assured of a place in the world to come (Olam Haba), the final reward of the righteous.

If one transgresses these Noahide Code, one will be held accountable.

As told in the Passover Haggadah, the Children of HaShem witnessed at Yam Suf the destruction of their enemies, who had kept them in slavery, tortured them, and killed their children. This very same situation is happening in our times, Jews incarcerated for being Jewish, kept in prison beyond a rational timeframe, and the killing of innocent Jewish children.

I needed to do something with this cloud of sadness and the grief inside me for all the suffering that the Jewish People have gone through, propelled by the recent tragedies. With each horrific act of those "holders of daggers" the disgust and repellence grows and grows. I await another Yam Suf.

The nations of the world and the enemies of the Jewish People will be held accountable. Just as the Jewish slaves were redeemed from Egypt by Moshe Rabbeinu, we await the final redemption.

Moshe Rabbeinu,

we the Jewish People,

HaShem's children await your return

Analysis and Exposure

Dov Bar-Lieb of End of Days blog give us much to think about in his analysis, The Dizzying Speed of it All. Especially his analysis of the letters in "tsunami" The Tsunami and the Sweet Letters of Judgment.

The Sultan exposes the hypocrisy and deceit of an American Muslim politician in Crying Crocodile Tears.

And Lemon speaks from the heart about the traits of Amalek and his war on the Jews Amalek ..., ending with Tehillim 83.

. . . and the dollar continues its spiralling downward

.

We Learn Who Our Friends Are .... Eventually

JAPAN'S FATAL INDISCRETION

Yesterday Fayyad Lays First Brick for New UN Joint Program Funded by Japan in Jericho Date : (March 10, 2011) Fayyad praised the United Nations organizations’ efforts and support. He also thanked Japan for their outstanding support which helps our people to strengthen their steadfastness on their land, as well as contributes to the PA’s efforts in building its Institutions which enables them to provide better services to residents and helps us to establish our independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.

source

Japan Donates 32.5 mln USD for PNA Projects (March 3, 2011) "The agreement is so vital, strategic and important to help the PNA finalize building the institutions of the future Palestinian state," Fayyad said after he signed the agreement. He noted that since 1993 Japan had aided the PNA with more than 1 billion dollars, including 40 million dollars in developing the Jordan Valley area in the West Bank

source

This and other Full revelations on Japan can be read at Israel Truth Times

Japanese Bloggers Speak of Disaster Fallout

The bloggers’ response: 'I hope I won't witness a Japanese Chernobyl'

"I am in Ichinoseki. The ground continues to shake quite strongly. The shops are all shut, there are no traffic lights working. However, people are moving slowly and taking it in turns to cross roads, which is very impressive! Our grandparents re-built Japan after the war and the growth was considered a miracle. We will work to re-build Japan in the same way again. Don't give up Japan! Don't give up Tohoku!"

Blog from a "Japanese celebrity":

http://ameblo.jp/mikio-date/entry-10828418807.html

"I have bought enough bottled water ... to last for three or four days before I need to start drinking urine .... The ATM is working again so I've got enough money. We are expecting the tectonic plates to go mental again any time soon. Indeed, we have had many aftershocks over the last day – about 30, as of three hours ago. In short, us Tokyoites are doing quite well compared to poor old Sendai. All the dodgy little fishing boats that give the city its character have either been destroyed or just vanished. I'm sad to say all the people in them won't be seen alive again."

http://remarkabletravels.com/

"As I write this the shaking comes and goes a bit, but so small compared to the ones yesterday that I hardly even pay attention. On the whole, it was a quite good "wake up call" for me to start stocking up on supplies and get some safety plans in order for the family in case the next time, the epicentre is closer to Tokyo."

http://foreignsalaryman. blogspot.com/

"There were people queueing outside the supermarket hours before it opened. I managed to buy a box of water but batteries and portable stoves are sold out. The shelves that would normally hold bread and instant noodles are empty. It is only one day since the earthquake but already the way people think is changing. In the supermarket you see people in their twenties with a list in hand buying supplies like water and batteries. Then you see people in their forties buying cup noodles, tins and toilet paper. There are more men in the supermarket than normal."

Blogger Mirairara (A woman in her twenties)

http://blog.livedoor.jp/mirairara/ archives/2573712.html

"My host mother just informed me that they're probably going to be turning off all power and water in the Tokyo area to help out the north east so she's filled the bath tub and brought out extra blankets in preparation of a cold night. I hope I'm not going to be witness to a Japanese Chernobyl. Chiba's oil refineries caught on fire and now they're saying that if you go outside, bring an umbrella and raincoat and to cover all your skin in case it rains because the rain will bring over the shit from the refineries and it'll be trouble if it touches your skin."

http://weloveme07.blogspot.com/

How Long?... How Long!

How long do the terrorists think we are going to take this brutality and murder?

What does one do with the inner rage that comes after the slaughter of precious neshomas, especially an infant?

There is only one answer to those that come to kill you, as the Torah instructs it's adherents:
Strike before they do!

This situation is demanding nekama.

Message in Tragedy

One tragedy before Shabbat, one on Shabbat.

Could the connection be that we all have to improve our Shabbat observance, with more Yidden being brought into Shabbos Kodesh?

We need to increase the awareness that "keeping" and "doing" Shabbos are paramount to our survival as a nation.

Our Sympathies go out to the Japanese People

A disciplined happy people, technologically advanced, that has already suffered much loss. Innocent people and children affected. Thousands feared lost, tremendous graphic images.

We must learn humility in the face of such tremendous unrestrained earthly power. The earth revolted and the waters fled. A lesson of powerlessness in the face of Superior strength for all nations of the world, especially the arrogant ones.

Images released by NASA show Japan's northeast coast before, left, and after flooding from the quake-induced tsunami. Photo from CNN link with article.

Major Major catastrophe of nuclear proportions. Six reactors fail, meltdown occurring, radiation spreading.


(CNN) -- The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.

"At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters).
Full article here

The Very Wise Are Always Misunderstood

Please visit a very new and inviting oasis on the Internet Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh. Sample follows:

The Creation of Misunderstanding

“Wisdom” (חכמה, 73), is equal to “misunderstanding” (אי-הבנה). The world was created with wisdom that gives rise to misunderstanding.

The Torah begins, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The numerical value of the entire verse is 2701, the triangle of 73 (the sum of all numbers from 1 to 73). In one of the traditional Aramaic translations of the Bible, the very first word, “In the beginning,” is translated as “With wisdom” (based on the verse in Psalms, “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God”). Wisdom, חכמה, equals 73, but so does misunderstanding, אי הבנה.

The two intellectual faculties of wisdom and understanding (חכמה ובינה) are referred to in the Zohar as “two companions that never part.” But there is a hidden dimension of wisdom that does not unite with understanding. That is the wisdom of “In the beginning…” and that is the wisdom that creates misunderstanding.

Very wise people are always misunderstood. How much the more so with regard to the Creator. He, the epitome of wisdom, is the most misunderstood. But He knows what He’s doing when He creates a world of misunderstanding.

In all of the misunderstanding, in all of the chaos, He plants a seed of understanding, the Divine soul within man, the innate affinity of the consciousness of man to receive God’s Torah.

God wants us to begin our journey in life in a state of misunderstanding, but through the Torah and its ways reach understanding. Even of Moses it says, “Moses merited to understanding.” He didn’t have it from birth.

Don't Ask Why, Just Get Ready to Laugh

Could some crazy guy going around to every nation, dancing and praising HaShem, getting the 'natives' to join in create peace?

NPR, Who Would've Guessed

Senior Executives at NPR meet with Muslim Brotherhood Front Group to solicit $5mm and discuss their federal funding, Fanatical Christians, Zionists in the media, Tea Partiers, Republicans, Uneducated Americans and Juan Williams.

A little bad mouthing, with a little anti-Zionism, and

here.

UPDATE: Well, whadaya know, NPR cans Exec! No more lavish meals for him.

PURIM Greetings

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran and India need to help spread justice in the world as the duo share humane perspectives on international affairs.

[three guesses whO's missing from this cozy meeting]

Goliath and David

As war US and Iranian ships enter the Mediterranean Seas, with all of north africa in shreds, and the remainder of the arab world rumbling, Sir Farrakhan blames the Jews for everything, and calls Qadhafi his friend, but does he realize that it's his Jewish friend he's professing friendship and support? He thinks Muaamar is a fellow africaner, but no, even as King of Africa, he's the Jewish King of Africa, the black island of poverty and discord, that none of its leaders do good for their people.

You're wrong Farrakhan

You're as wrong as Bilaam.

I smell a war coming (chv's),

US war ships entering the Med.

Iran's warships up near Syria,

Arabs oppose US intervention

Iran, Turkey, Syria, Iraq - a new coalition

US asks Saudis to supply weapons to Libyan rebels

tensions continue to rise throughout the Arab regions

The NWO and the NGO's want to control the Mediterranean region

They want to encircle Israel

And cause her to lose her individuality

her status as a Jewish Nation

Because this is anathema to

a New World Monarchy

Get all the nations under one umbrella

The New World Order

Erase Nationalism

Erase Nations

Control by a select few

Too many people in the world

Too many starving in the world

Control the world

Control who gets food

Who gets energy

Who has the money

But little Eretz Yisrael is defiant

It wants to remain a Jewish Nation

Israel is G-d's chosen

She will not acquiesce

She will await her mighty redemption

Albeit amidst turmoil and anguish

And the World's conversion

Some Great Reading ...

The Forest is the Politics, the Trees are our Children, West Bank Mama

Oh, No, Not Again, Tamar Yonah

Activists at Work, Israel Truth Times

Grassroots Protests, deja vu at Muquata. They are supposed to protect us ... not attack innocent children and youth



Japanese Air Base in Africa, Stephen Collins, who has an interesting take on Japan's Role in the Gog UMagog alliance.

Ignoring Sudan's Evil, World Threats

*************US getting drawn into the ME war zone. It only takes one act of aggression to start a World War, US hit-and-run raids to disable Qaddafi's ...*******************

Meanwhile, in the Far East: North Korea threatens to attack South Korea, US (as in United States) .

One Person's Paranoia

The following [companion piece to Invasion ... ] is one person's reflection [not mine]on how things have changed in America. When you really think carefully, it should remind one of the Sci-Fi films and books that were

Genetic Patdown: Department of Homeland security begins testing DNA scanners this summer.

I remember in 2008 when President Bush signed into law, a bill that would allow the Federal Government to begin screening the DNA of all newborn babies in the U.S. Now nearly three years later we are seeing the testing of DNA scanners. Is this connected or just a coincidence? What will America look like in 5 years? How can we reverse this police state? Where are the Shepard’s for the sheep?

One of my many observations and stories…

When I was a kid growing up in sunny Florida, I remember watching Space Launches from my front lawn. We were so close to the cape that we would hear the occasional sonic boom at dinner. I remember friendly police and deep blue skies. I remember going to the grocery store and filling up two carts of food for less then 150 bucks. I lived the dream and felt the freedom of America.

As time progressed I noticed camera looking things being placed at all the intersections and I remember asking my father, “What are those dad?” He said, “Son, those are just there to make the light change faster.” I soon began noticing the cops on every street corner and again asked my father, “Why are there so many cops everywhere dad?” he replied, “Son, they are just there to make you safe.” As I began driving, I noticed I would get pulled over by police and get bullied around, what are you doing? Where are you going? Step out of the car, Sit on the curb, lets have a look through your car. It got so bad that if I left my house after 9pm I was almost surely going to get stopped and harassed. I soon learned to drive in the rain because I wouldn’t get stopped as much and thankfully it rained a lot in Florida. Since then I moved to the country and haven’t had the same experiences with being stopped and harassed but I have noticed the same signs it’s leading that way, the same signs I saw before.

There are cameras either installed or being installed on every major intersection, clusters of cameras every 1 to 5 miles on the highway, side streets are loaded with police, they have predator drones flying over Miami. The police don’t even say hi when I say hello, they look beefed up and ready for war, almost as if they have dissociated themselves from the citizens. The once deep blue skies don’t seem too blue anymore; they seem to be loaded with contrails that last all day. I have witnessed the closing of NASA and the recycling of the Launchpad. A little green basket at the grocery store cost almost 100 bucks now. The tap water taste like pool water and is loaded with fluoride and other chemicals. The constitution protections are slowly being removed and our privacy and freedoms are being lost. The dollar is being devalued and everything is made in china. The country is debt and the people we elect, republican or democrat move forward with the same agenda. How can we restore what America was? How can we fix our problems? Is it too little to late?

Genetic patdown, come on, this is crazy, what’s next…

Invasion ... of the body snatchers

Well, not quite, but close enough in the USofA.

TSA mandates a government x-ray of your body
TSA then institutes touching in search for weapons
TSA now needs to view your DNA


They'll yet think of a way to get into your head with a machine-brain connection.

Genetic Patdown is the new approach of Big Brother Govenment for further intrusion into your life, all in the name of providing security.

If one puts all the pieces of this security puzzle together, the whole looks very different than it's disparate parts. Computer chips in passports, under the skin, X-ray scanners, body searches, DNA files on citizens, mandatory computerized medical records of all patients, IRS scrutiny into your personal lifestyle, mandatory intrusionary census data.

Who can one complain to?

What government official can return America's former dignity to it's citizens. If anyone dares to address this and other intrusion issues, something happens to them. I'm afraid that it is too late. There is no hope for "the land of the free and the home of the brave..."

Egypt Overturned ...

Egypt Overturned, But Israel’s Existence Still Questioned

A story of an Island and a Whale

Shabbat Parsha Shiur by Rabbi Y.Y. Jacobson

The Whale

The latest developments in Egypt have become a source of concern in Israel. The Jewish State is in doubt whether the new emerging powers in Egypt will honor the cold peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, signed three decades ago. This only underscores yet one again the vulnerable position of Israel, and how its very existence is still questioned. A revolution so inspiring and uplifting in the land of the Pharaohs, but Israel’s right of existence is still not a simple matter.

Let us reflect a bit on this.

One of the great Talmudic sages related the following episode:

Once, while on a ship, we came to what we assumed was a large island, since we saw on it sand and growing grass. We disembarked the ship, went on to the island, built a fire, and cooked our meal. Yet what we assumed to be an island was really a fish. When the fish felt the heat, he rolled over and we were plunged into the water. Had the ship not been nearby, we would have drowned.
-- Talmud Bava Basra 73b.

What is the meaning behind this absurd Talmudic tale, related by one of its great sages, Rabba the son of Bar Chana?

According to some of the great Talmudic commentators, this tale captures, in intriguing metaphor, one of the most essential truths about Jewish history, particularly one relating to the holiday of Purim, which will be celebrated in a few weeks.
The Journey
From the moment they stood at Mt. Sinai more than three millennia ago, the Jewish people have been traveling on a lone and long journey. Their destination is a world healed, redeemed and reunified with its Creator; a society cleansed from ego-centricity, hatred and bloodshed; a universe permeated with moral and spiritual awareness, filled with “the knowledge of the Divine as the waters cover the sea” (in the words of the prophet Isaiah chapter 11). The Torah and its Mitzvos serve as their blueprint for this courageous voyage in a vast and seemingly endless sea.

Yet the waters have often become increasingly tumultuous and the voyage discouraging, if not apparently futile. So when in the midst of their journey they observed what seemed to be an island of serenity, an oasis of tranquility, a respite from a miserable fate, many of them abandoned the “ship” of Jewish consciousness and commitment for the perceived blessings of freedom and happiness.

The era in which the Purim story occurred was a classical example of this pattern. The king was married to a Jewish woman; large segments of Jewish society assimilated into Persian culture; the Jewish establishment played a pivotal role in the economical and political structures of the Persian Empire. The community had been invited to the royal feast and given status as equal citizens. In reciprocity, the Jews learned how to “behave;” how to become integrated and law abiding citizens. They did not demand kosher food or kosher wine at the feast, nor did they create any other waves that would disturb the equilibrium and make them stand out as Jews.

Seventy years after being expelled from their ancient homeland, their Temple being burnt to the ground, many of them had abandoned the old ship, secure in their belief that they have reached an island of serenity; they finally “made it.”

Identity Crisis

Throughout history, the struggle of Jewish identity and our relationships with the world around us has become so challenging, that it often caused us to redefine ourselves from within. Jean-Paul Sartre claimed in his Sur le Question Juif that the only thing Jews had in common was that they were the victims of hate. It is not Jews who create anti-Semitism, he said, but anti-Semitism that creates Jews. Arthur Koestler wrote: "Self-hatred is the Jews patriotism." Franz Kafka said: "What do I have in common with the Jews? I don't even have anything in common with myself."

Time and time again we have been lured into the faith that if we abandon the “ship” of Judaism—of Torah and Mitzvos—we would gain acceptance among the brotherhood of mankind. "Be a man in the street and a Jew at home," was the 19th century slogan by the Enlightened Jews in Western Europe. If only Jews weren’t so Jewish we would have less anti-Semitism, so went the theory.

The past three centuries have produced a dazzling variety of movements, ideals and solutions to the age-old “Jewish problem,” offering islands of hope for a people tormented by persecution and targeted for abuse. The Enlightenment (Haskalah) came to “civilize” us and allow us free entry into European society; the Marxists and Socialists promised to create a utopia for us and all of mankind; Zionism’s goal was to grant us a State, a national identity, and thus cure anti-Semitism once and for all; Reform came to make us acceptable to the non-Jewish society and to inculcate us with humanistic values; secularism came to free us from the burdens of tradition which have supposedly hindered our progress and happiness.

All of these attempts have been brilliantly captured in that ancient Talmudic tale: Once, while on a ship, we came to what we assumed was a large island, since we saw on it sand and growing grass. We disembarked the ship, went on to the island, built a fire, and cooked our meal.

Disillusionment

Yet, ironically, the end of the Talmudic tale also came to be:

What we assumed to be an island was really a fish. When the fish felt the heat, he rolled over and we were plunged into the water. Had the ship not been nearby, we would have drowned.

Each time we came to feel comfortable on the island, and we began at last to live out our latent dreams, the “fish” turned over and threw us back into the raging waters. In the days of Purim, when the Jews felt that they had successfully integrated into mainstream culture, under the very nose of a Jewish queen—the king was persuaded to issue forth a plan of genocide for the Jewish people.

Assimilation never cured prejudice. Not in the days of Purim, nor at any time in the future. It didn’t even in 15th century Spain, where Jews converted to Christianity and yet still suffered from persecution under the vicious doctrine of limpieza de sangre ("purity of blood"), the forerunner of modern racial anti-Semitism. It didn’t in 20th century Germany where Jews were often “more German” than the Germans. It didn’t in the Modern State of Israel constructed as a secular democracy.

The historical truth remains that none of the above movements achieved their stated goals. The Holocaust made mockery of Jewish integration in the general humanistic world; Zionism created the State of Israel, which we cherish deeply, but only exacerbated the problems of anti-Semitism and still struggles to provide security for its citizens. Israel still needs to fight for its “right” to exist. Stalin “cured” us of the “paradise” of Marxism and Socialism; the Enlightenment apparently did not sufficiently civilize us; secularism has deprived generations of direction and meaning, leaving our youth thirsty for identity and purpose (1).

Our Hope

"Had the ship not been nearby, we would have drowned," is how the Talmudic sage concludes the episode. What saved us during the time of Purim – and what has guaranteed our existence throughout our long and difficult history – was not forfeiting our identity and surrendering our truth; it was our animated relationship with the living G-d, the creator of heaven and earth, and our dedication to His Torah and Mitzvos that has allowed us to survive and thrive, till we reach the culmination of the voyage, speedily in our days (2).

1) Interestingly, the metaphor employed in the Talmudic tale is the fish. What the travelers felt was an island was really a fish waiting to plunge them into the waters. The zodiac sign for the month of Adar is Pisces, fish (mazal dogim.) As the book of Esther relates, the Persian Minister Haman chose a day in the month of Adar (the 13th) to exterminate the Jewish people (Maharsah to Bava Basra 73b). Conversely, what is unique about fish? They must remain submerged in their natural element of water to survive. So too, the Jewish people must remain in their habitat of Torah and Mitzvos for their continued existence (see Talmud Berechos 61a).
2) This essay is based on the commentary of the Maharsah (Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer Eidels) to Talmud Bava Basra 73b and on other sources.

A Little Fun

for a change

And a little Purim warmup (oldie but goodie)

Solar Katrina?

This is straight from the Financial Times

"“Predict and prepare should be the watchwords,” agreed Jane Lubchenco, head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “So much more of our technology is vulnerable than it was 10 years ago.”

A solar storm starts with an eruption of super-hot gas travelling out from the sun at speeds of up to 5m miles an hour. Electrically charged particles hit earth’s atmosphere 20 to 30 hours later, causing electromagnetic havoc.

Last week’s solar storm may have been the biggest since 2007, but it was relatively small in historical terms.

It caused some radio communications problems and minor disruption of civil aviation as airlines routed flights away from the polar regions, said Dr Lubchenco.

A more extreme storm can shut down communications satellites for many hours – or even cause permanent damage to their components. On the ground, the intense magnetic fluctuations can induce surges in power lines, leading to grid failures such as the one that blacked out the whole of Quebec in 1989...."



To read entire article, go to link above

Israel's Battle of the Little Bighorn

Imagine having an Iran on your southern border? Angry Gaza would become too close for comfort. Hissbulla on the other end of your country, with Yehuda and the Shomron carved out from the center by a hostile people.

This scenario is not appealing to me.

Maybe that is why Syria is inching closer to America ... In desperation. At this rate, Syria with Lebanon is in trouble.

Libya's Gadhfi is gunning down everyone, "with bodies piling up in a hospital and doctors collapsing in grief at the sight of dead relatives."

AP now reports a crackdown on another "Jasmine" revolution, in China. This might end up the biggest and bloodiest of all attempts.

What about Iraq?

And we haven't seen the Saudi Prince for a while, only his family members (Prince Talal) making statements to the press about the neighborhood changing!

We're having a small Monsoon here in Yerushalayim. Winds, rain, lightening, more wild winds and lots of rain. Such Bracha, we must be doing something right.

Egypt (and Iran conspire) allows Iranian warships into the Suez.Israel, instead of giving Egypt's military (4,000 soldiers?) more and more access to the Sinai, maybe Israel should take back the Sinai, as a self-defense mechanism. Then we'd have a buffer between the radicalization of the New Egypt, with Gaza as the tip of the Missile. We'd have some much needed space to breathe, and the Air Force could have a strategic base, not to mention the oil and uranium.

Debka says the Iranian ship was a ploy to stall and get Egyptian military into the Sinai. We also learn that the real "real" purpose of this ploy is that An Iranian Naval Base is Planned in Beirut!

What are we looking at here?

What in the world are the Israelis thinking?

How did this get past them?

Is Barak and Netanyahu using Amir Peretz's binoculars?

Barry Rubin* added this addendum to the American Thinker article Egypt Gets its Khomeini:

• Yusuf al-Qaradawi Returns in Triumph. He is The Best Known Muslim Brotherhood Cleric in the World and one of the most famous Islamist thinkers: "One of Qaradawi's initiatives has been urging Muslims to settle in the West, of which he said, “that powerful West, which has come to rule the world, should not be left to the influence of the Jews alone.” He contends that the three major threats Muslims face are Zionism, internal integration, and globalization. To survive, he argues, Muslims must fight the Zionists, Crusaders, idolators, and Communists."

It's starting to look like the natives circling the wagons [borders] for Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

And our ONE friend in the West seems to be encouraging the Muslim world toward their goal. And all these sparing words between Ahmad... and ...Hussein Obama are they for show and of no real meaning?

Have they been talking in code riddles all this time, starting with that speech in, of all places, Cairo. Too coincidental for me.

In Judaism there are no coincidences.





*Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal.

Harvard's Professor Niall Ferguson

On Egypt and Muslim Brotherhood

USA May Collapse like Soviet Union:

Niall on the (no such thing as the) Future

short but cute

Niall Campbell Douglas Ferguson and his website.
He attended the Herzilya Conference just recently.

What's Happening in Paris?

Bahrain is where the US Fifth Fleet is stationed!

It's amazing how leader after leader is being taken out via stroke or coma!
Now the Tunisian guy is gone. Who's next? They're all quivering now.
"hyper-dermic needle will travel!?"

Straight from the John Batchelor Show: (link in title)

"Farnaz Fassihi, WSJ, reporting from Beirut on the turmoil in Manama, Bahrain. The House of Saud endorses a crack-down of limitless violence against the Shia underclass, and the Sunni monarchy in the tiny island state obliges. Again, POTUS and the NSC are acting cauty unawares, which is peculiar, given that Bahrain is the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet in the Gulf. The protesters in Bahrain are run by the IRGC out of Tehran, and this is a black operation, and the monarchy is marked for death.

Does POTUS know that Bahrain is a Tehran target? Am told that there is nothing negative to say of POTUS Obama than has not already been said in all the Arab capitals. The Arabs disdain POTUS and no longer look to him for credible choices. There will be more blood. Trouble in Yemen; trouble in Jordan; trouble in Lebanon; trouble in Sinai.

Now there is trouble for the Fifth Fleet: is there an evacuation plan? Am told that the opinion in Egypt is that if Mubarak had used violence in the first days, then he would still be in Cairo. Am told that Egypt has a long way down, and, like all revolutions, anarchy is the next phase, and then after that the most violent political party will be Rewarded"

The Come Back Nations or a Prelude to Gog UMagog

Do you see what is really happening:

National Revivalism

It's being cloaked as striving for work, food and 'respect' sweeping across the global map?

After the return of the tiny Jewish remnant nation to it's biblical lands:

We are witnessing the revival of Islamic dominance and its "picking up from where it left off" (which has been the palestinian starting point of all the negotiations with Israel) in the 6th or 7th Century. That was their unfinished attempt at world domination.

Now the world Islamists aspirations of regaining world dominance have been reawakened. We are actually watching country after country under the guise of western style Muslim democracy rising from the "peoples".

Turkey declared it wants to revive the Ottoman empire (albeit as Hummus King of the world).

Dare we even imagine that "our new friend" Germany wants to revive a leadership of Europe and then the World? (Shhh!! This is only conjecture.)

Two very interesting pieces seem to hint that there is more to the "helpful hand" of Germany in the US and Egypt (and all over the world): "Israel and America need to WAKE UP and FAST!" here and the "Federal Republic of Germany"
here.

This brings to mind the prophetic warning about "Germania" from the Talmud that says:

Beware of Amalek, who comes to destroy you (the Jews) There is a discussion of where this germania is located. This land either refers to parts of Iran or Germany, or maybe the discussion is to alert us that it is BOTH. Read here about Girmanya and Gog Umagog.

Does anyone dare to believe this?

Again?

Well, we need to read this.

Yesterday I saw a video about the familial connection between Germany and Iran, on the Tamar Yonah blog, "Mubarak in Coma and Saudi King Dead? A commenter to YerenanYaakov blog wrote in about the Zohar Vayera 119a, it says in part, "...wars will be awakened in the world on the North side, and TWO KINGS WILL FALL in these wars, and the entire world will come together against Bas Yaakov...". Something to think about:


Who wants to lead Europe?

When the Kaiser Wilhem cane to visit the old Yishuv everyone came out to visit him except for the Chief Rabbi, who said: "I have a kabala from my Rebbe, the Brisker Rov, that the Germans come from Amalek."

How so? Amalek was a grandson of Eisav, born from his son Elifaz and a concubine. This concubine who before this, had wanted to convert to Judaism, but was denied, and to make a long story short, she became a concubine in retaliation, and it was her hatred that entered the child named Amalek (from a Midrash I read and don't have a source and hope I got it right)

"Eisav hates Yaakov" is a Halacha (a Jewish law for all time).

Who wants control of the Suez?

As the video above indicates, Iran also dominated much of the world at one time. And so the taste of reviving dead ideologies is in the air.

Iran wants free access to the Suez, Sinai oil and Sinai Uranian!

Guess who's sailing up/down the Suez tonite.

Who will come to open the Suez if Europe, Israel, America are denied entry?

The pieces as I see it point to various countries getting into a third war over their various aspirations. And little Israel will be blamed simply because they started it! ... by their own re-emergence into history!

I had alot of time to do some reading, as you can see from this collection of ideas, while a bit under the weather. No, not snow, just the flu. And, No, I wasn't taking any mind altering drugs while ill, just my 'natural home remedies."

The Masterful plan of the Concealor and Controller of the world.

Plan to Ignite the United States with Sharia Law

World Net Daily on a MEMRI video: Shortly before massive riots backed by the Muslim Brotherhood broke out in Egypt, journalist 'Ata Abd Al-Aal told his interviewer in a video translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute that he had even heard a sheik in America declare that "the most important place for the future of Islam, after Mecca and Medina, was the U.S."

The presence of Islam in the America, Abd Al-Aal insisted, has grown so rapidly that it has become "of great alarm to the Zionist circles in the U.S."



To listen to more of what the Islamists are saying, visit MEMRI: Middle East Media Research Institute

Yeshiva Yid Visits Family's Roots ... and Happens to Witness the Egyptian Uprising

There have been many amazing stories about the Egyptian Uprising and Revolution, but mostly from a journalist or reporter's personal experience. Here is a Jewish descendant from the original Exodus from Egypt, tracing his 'roots' and witnessing the demise of a present day Pharaoh

"... Born and raised in Brooklyn, Setton may be a native New Yorker but his roots are Egyptian. “While Egypt’s history with Judaism has been long and often turbulent,” said Setton, “a lot of people might not realize the presence and the value Egypt had for the Jewish nations throughout history. Egypt has housed many sages, from Maimonides to Rabbi Yosef Azoulay, known as the Hida, and even Rabbi Ovadia Yosef for several years. There are many synagogues to see and a rich history to learn from.” And so for winter break, he decided to travel from Israel to Egypt to take what he likes to call a “family heritage trip.” ..."

Full interview at YU University News

The "Grandfathers" Revolutions

The storms in the rest of the world are pushing blessings into Eretz HaKodesh

The proliferation of the concept of truth and transparency flooding the media is sending blessings into Eretz HaKodesh

This Blessing is the Rain that has been raining for several days ...

no shuttles, no meetings

The Grandfather Rulers:

Like dominos, one by one, middle east cities are lighting up the skies. Their entrenched rulers, grandfather regimes (Mubarek, Quadaffi, Asad, Abdullah, Saud). Social eruptions political turmoil, people in need of expression or a calculated takeover?

Reuters reports: " ... As in many other countries across the Middle East, Egyptians are frustrated over surging prices, unemployment and an authoritarian government that tolerates little dissent." Is this a cry for democracy, or the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood?

But who are the "Brotherhood" we hear are behind this uprising of the youth, demanding a democratic society? In Tuesday's Jerusalem Post print edition, a headline read "Muslim Brotherhood leader: 'Prepare Egyptians for war with Israel.' " Now, that doesn't sound democratic to me. Read Smooth Stone's analysis.

Edwin Black, reporter par excellence: Egypt Protests - Mideast House of Cards Brought Down in Days by Twitter and the Arab Street.

Jordan in Upheaval. 70% are Palestinians, not allowed to vote because their identity cards have been retrieved by King Abdullah II. So, now we have the Jordan Brotherhood!

And in Tunisia, they are burning Torah Scrolls in the El Ghriba Synagogue. We were told that the Jews of Tunisia were not a target, that this was a "Jasmine" revolution to rid them of a repressive regime. Is this more of the Middle East brand of democracy?

Ever so quietly, Iranian warships are heading for the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal.

The Upheaval Continues

Fire, Ash and Lightning Exploding ... Snowbound in Artic Blizzards

"Nature" is angry. Volcanic Eruptions tumultuous floods, blinding blizzards wildlife suicides are not global warming. The latest in a long explosion of disruptions in the natural world is an Icelandic eruption in Japan. A small beautiful island in the far east. What might be their nemesis? Tremendous lightning and fire at Shinmoedake. Japan on alert after volcano's biggest eruption in 50 years. (These pictures are awe inspiring.)

But " Nature" is more than day and night,

the abundant air, wind, sunshine,

tides and routine changing seasons.

It's the rustling impatience of the Creator of the Universe.

Yes, there are some that understand.

Then others who, in their 'anti' frame of mind cannot conceive that there is a Creator and that He is still in control of everything.

We are definitely not alone.

There is accountability after all.

Chicago: 3 Inches an Hour Gliding over to Detroit

To our dear bloggers in Chicago, prepare yourselves, stock up on chips and dips, make a giant pot of soup, get out the emergency generators, and watch it all from inside your warm comfy homes.

A Time to Remember ... 1-2 February 2011

The Ice Storm Cometh

Freezing Ice

Extreme Cold

Gusty Winds

up to 50 mph

Whipping Snow into Huge Drifts

3 to 5 feet

ICE

Freezing Power Lines

The Worst Storm

Paralyzing Blizzard

Chicago to Detroit

In New York and the Northeast

Accuweather: "The bottom line is a historic storm impacting not only people in the Midwest and in the Plains, but the Northeast where the worst of the storm will strike on Groundhog Day. A severe weather outbreak could also spawn tornadoes in the South."

I know the New York Chassidim in Boro Park and Williamsburg are not daunted by a little snow and ice. We will see them heading to Shomer Shabbos to daven 3 times a day, then gather in 'Super Miller's 13' and 'Mega 53' to discuss the latest earth shattering events, plus a sharp bit of Torah, and then bring home the bread and spread to the kinderlach.

check here and here and here for the latest on the snow

just your average day of global warming

In Honor of

The Rebbetzen, Chaya Mushka,

Yarzeit 22 Shevat

Regality and Simplicity

Rabbi Butman's Tribute to Chaya Mushka

with special stories of the Rebbetzen

and the Greatness of Jewish Daughters and Women

Prophecies of Great Biblical Women