The first photo is from ArutzSheva showing the immense crowd, and the rest are my feeble attempt to take photos while being crushed by the joyous Israelis (with backpacks and strollers too):
19 October 2016
At The Kotel 5777 for the Blessing of the Cohanim
I was at the Kotel today for the Blessing by the Cohanim and was it ever crowded! This is our statement to UNESCO about Har HaBayit and the Kotel, irreversibly belonging to Am Yisrael, Yaakov Avinu’s descendants.
The first photo is from ArutzSheva showing the immense crowd, and the rest are my feeble attempt to take photos while being crushed by the joyous Israelis (with backpacks and strollers too):
The first photo is from ArutzSheva showing the immense crowd, and the rest are my feeble attempt to take photos while being crushed by the joyous Israelis (with backpacks and strollers too):
METEOROLOGICAL TSUNAMI HITS BRAZIL
METEOROLOGICAL TSUNAMI HITS BRAZIL
Heavy storms and strong winds killed a child and left a trail of destruction across 20 cities
By plus55 on Oct 17, 2016
Nibiru is coming closer and closer
Video analysis by Wayne Steiger
This is the second time in seven years that a meteotsunami has hit the region. In 2009, Florianópolis was also affected by a tsunami-like wave.
Advert climatic conditions created a rare weather phenomenon in Southern Brazil: a meteorological tsunami, or more simply, a meteotsunami. It consists of a tsunami-like wave event related to air pressure conditions. At least 20 cities were hit by the storms, which destroyed thousands of homes and killed one child.
In the municipality of Balneário Rincão (located 186km from Florianópolis, the state capital of Santa Catarina), a giant wave hurt dozens of people and destroyed cars and buildings along the coast. Civil defense officials were sent to rescue people dragged to the sea. Wind speed hit the 100km/h mark.
The coastal city of Tubarão was affected the most. A falling tree killed a 7-year-old child, and two men who were sailing on Sunday afternoon were reported missing. In low-income neighborhoods, 90 percent of the houses had their roofs destroyed.
According to local officials, more than 140,000 homes had their energy supply interrupted.
ALSO
Brazil Is Suffering An Almost Biblical Tidal Wave Of Plagues Right Now
DailyCaller
Brazil has had one of the worst years ever when it comes to diseases, as the politically unstable country has dealt with the Zika virus, dengue fever, and now swine flu.
14 October 2016
Stay in the SUKKAH!
STAY IN THE SUKKAH
By Roy S. Neuberger
“Achas shoalti … one thing I asked of Hashem, that shall I seek: to dwell in the House of Hashem all the days of my life, to behold the sweetness of Hashem and to contemplate in His Sanctuary.” (Tehillim 27)
In this world, are we really able to dwell in His Sanctuary? I believe the answer is “yes,” especially during this season. When we sit in the sukkah, we are enveloped by His Presence.
I could never understand why, during Chol Hamoed, people pile in their cars and suffer endless traffic jams to stand on line at crowded “attractions” when they could be sitting in peace in the House of Hashem … which is anyway what we are supposed to do during Sukkos!
Don’t think I’m so naïve. I understand why families do this. I understand that the children are restless and cannot sit in the sukkah the entire day. But, my friends, I am sorry. In my humble opinion there is something wrong here. Despite all the understandable reasons, the fact is that, when we flee the sukkah for the amusement park or a chol ha moed “event,” we are missing the main point of the mitzvah of Sukkos. And this is not theoretical. We need this sukkah! We need to dwell in the House of Hashem!
Have you contemplated the Haftaras of Sukkos? Have you contemplated today’s world?
Sukkos is standing at the end of a year and the beginning of a new year.
Sukkos is standing at the end of Golus and the beginning of the Geulah Shelemah.
Sukkos is standing at the end of one world and the beginning of another.
This is a very dangerous moment in history, my friends, probably the most dangerous ever. When Dovid Hamelech says “achas shoalti … one thing I asked,” I do not think that I am being unrealistic to suggest that he is also referring to the end of history and the final destruction of those who have sought our demise since the days of Avraham Avinu. We must remember that Dovid Hamelech is also the father of Moshiach ben Dovid. (See Berachos 4a, where Chazal state that Dovid Hamelech is referring to Olam Haba)
Just as we needed protection when the Malach Hamovess raged across Mitzraim – and we were commanded to stay within our houses – so now, when the malach is preparing to rage across the entire world, how much more so must we seek refuge in the House of Hashem, the sukkah which He has commanded us to prepare for our safety and protection.
“Indeed, He will hide me in His shelter on the day of evil …” Dovid Hamelech chooses the word “sukkah” to describe the shelter which will protect us on the day of evil. And what “day of evil” is this? I believe it refers to the day, “burning like an oven, when all the evildoers will be like straw and that coming day will burn them up.” (Malachi 3:19)
We read these words on the First Day of Sukkos: “Behold, G-d’s awaited day is coming … I shall gather all the nations to Jerusalem to wage war… Then Hashem shall wage war against those nations.” (Zecharia 14:1ff) This is the Final Battle of history, during which Hashem will “stand astride Har Hazaisim,” and the “awaited” Redemption will come to the world.
On Shabbos Chol Hamoed we read, “It shall be on that day [when] Gog comes on the soil of Israel … My raging anger shall flare … I will dispatch a fire against Gog and those who dwell confidently in the islands, and they shall know that I am Hashem.” (Yechezkel 38:18ff)
Who is in danger here? Those who dwell “confidently,” those who say “My strength and the might of my hand made me all this wealth,” (Dvarim 8:17) No one can say that about the sukkah! It is the flimsiest of all structures. No man can pride himself on the strength of his sukkah. Great bridges and skyscrapers, perhaps. A castle surrounded by a moat, perhaps. A rocket to the moon, perhaps, but not – lehavdil – a sukkah, which offers only the protection which comes from Shomayim. In order to merit this protection, we must subordinate ourselves to the King of Kings. Those who dwell “confidently” are finished, and this includes entire civilizations which have ruled the world for millennia. Where is the Roman Empire today? Where is the “Thousand-Year Reich?” Gone! Buried in the dust pile of history.
“The Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greeks and the Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind… What is the secret of his immortality?” (Mark Twain, Harper’s Magazine, September 1899)
Indeed, what is the secret of our immortality?
My friends, when we dwell in the sukkah we dwell in the House of Hashem. This is our immortality. Today, when Hashem is preparing to destroy our worldwide enemies – His worldwide enemies! – on a scale which is beyond imagination, so today we must also stay “indoors.” When the Angel of Destruction passes through, we had better be in a secure place. This is a Day for which one can prepare only if he listens to the words of the One Who will bring it about. The sukkah, which is open to Shomayim, will protect us on That Day!
“Save now, please G-d! Please bring salvation now! Save now! Forgive now! Bring success now, and save us, G-d, our fortress!” (Hoshana Rabbah)
* * * *
Roy Neuberger, author and public speaker, can be reached at roy@2020vision.co.il.
© Copyright 2016 by Roy S. Neuberger
13 October 2016
Interesting Videos about Jupiter – and Our Moon
Motzei Yom Kippur, when some say Kiddush Levana, I noticed that the Moon was rather large and very Brilliant, with a haze surrounding it. Below is an article about the Moon.
An Interesting Video, Part 2:
Part 3
And Reb Menachem (absolute truth) writes about the Debris Field around the Moon.
SUKKOT-FEAST OF TABERNACLES Join in the March
SUKKOT-FEAST OF TABERNACLES
17 TISHREI, 5777, OCTOBER 19, 2016
DURING A VERY CRITICAL TIME, THE TEMPLE MOUNT FAITHFUL MOVEMENT WILL MARCH AND MAKE A PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY TEMPLE MOUNT STARTING FROM JAFFA GATE THROUGH THE STREETS OF BIBLICAL JERUSALEM TO MOUNT MORIAH.
THE SECURITY FORCES OF ISRAEL PREPARE THEMSELVES TO PREVENT ANY THREATS OF ARAB VIOLENCE AGAINST THE FAITHFUL MARCHERS
AND PILGRIMS.
On Sukkot-Feast of Tabernacles, 17 Tishrei, 5777, Wednesday, October 19th, 2016, during a very critical time, the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement will march and make a pilgrimage to the Holy Temple Mount starting from Jaffa Gate through the streets of biblical Jerusalem to Mount Moriah. The security forces of Israel prepare themselves to prevent any Arab violence against the faithful marchers and pilgrims.
Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, is one of the three pilgrimage festivals that the G-D of Israel ordained as a blessing upon Israel. The main commandment of G-D to Israel is to make a pilgrimage to His Holy Mountain where He will share His love and blessings with His people Israel.
Sukkot is also the festival of the anniversary of the dedication of the First Holy Temple by King Solomon. During our pilgrimage the Faithful Movement will celebrate this exciting biblical event and will call the government of Israel to follow the example originally set by King Solomon with no fear from human powers and with great trust in the G-D of Israel alone to fulfill His call to build His Holy Temple with no delay. The Faithful Movement will also call to stop pilgrimages and the traditional priestly blessings that are given near the Western Wall including any kind of worship ceremonies but rather to do all of these at the correct place that G-D chose for these exciting activities which is only on the Holy Temple Mount in Jerusalem. These holy activities ordained for Israel alone to accomplish must be conducted in the appropriate place with no fear from any human power and with complete trust in the One True Living G-D of Israel. The Faithful Movement will also petition to allow her to bring a model of the Third Holy Temple in order to share it with the great crowds who will attend the priestly blessing on this special morning near the Western Wall.
This pilgrimage will be an exciting event just like in biblical times. Everyone is invited to take part in this major endeavor of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement. Come with us! Sukkot is the time to rejoice!!
Ha’Azeinu – Messianic Mitzvos and Succos
Ha’Azeinu – and the Messianic Era
Rabbi Pinchas Winston Shlit”a
The Talmud says that after history as we know it is said-and-done, the gentile nations of the past will complain to G-d that they were short-shrifted (Avodah Zarah 3a). They will argue that they lost their chance to go to the World-to-Come because they were not given Torah and mitzvos. Had they received Torah like the Jewish people, they will say, they too would have upheld it and earned their own portions in the World-to-Come.
Right.
“Why did you not clamor for Torah while you were still in the previous world?” G-d could ask them.
“We would have,” they might say, “had we known what it was leading to.”
“Why did you not check and find out while you still could? Why didn’t you investigate Torah and see why Jews believed in it?”
“Well, ah . . .” they will be forced to say.
In any case, the Talmud continues, G-d will humor them nonetheless. He will tell them: “Fools! Only one who prepared from before Shabbos will have what to eat on Shabbos!” (Avodah Zarah 3a)
In other words, G-d will tell them, just as a Jew had to prepare before Shabbos in order to have cooked food on Shabbos, likewise you had to have to perform mitzvos in the previous world to enjoy their benefit now.
“Nevertheless, I will give to you an easy mitzvah called ‘Succah.’ Go perform it!” (Avodah Zarah 3a)
This statement causes bells to go off in the Talmud. Mitzvos in the World-to-Come? Not possible, as Rebi Yehoshua explains. The Torah, at the end of Parashas VaEschanan, says that mitzvos can only only be performed in this world, not in the World-to-Come. Was G-d merely playing a joke on them?
The Talmud says no. G-d doesn’t play jokes on His creations. In any case, the Talmud continues:
Immediately, all the gentiles build succos on their roofs. G-d however makes the sun beat on them like it does in the heat of summer. [When the heat becomes too intense] the gentiles kick their succos and leave. (Avodah Zarah 3a)
If G-d does not play tricks on His creations, then why did He make it impossible to fulfill the mitzvah He gave them as a test? As the Talmud points out, even a Jew is allowed to leave the succah in such extreme and uncomfortable conditions. What did G-d prove?
The Talmud answers:
[A Jew] would leave, but they would not kick the succah [in frustration]. (Avodah Zarah 3a)
The difference between a Jew and a gentile, the Talmud says, is not the mitzvah per se, but each relates to it. What does kicking something in anger reveal? That the person feels betrayed, taken advantage of, cheated. If a Jew is forced out of the succah for reasons beyond his control, he does not feel slighted by G-d, but reprimanded. He does not see himself as the abused, but as the abuser.
The verse says:
Fortunate is the man whom You, G-d, chastise, and from Your Torah You teach him. (Tehillim 94:12)
G-d did not play a trick on the gentiles. He set them straight about Torah and mitzvos. He told them it wasn’t the mitzvah itself that counted most, but how the person doing the mitzvah relates to it. This is what Moshe Rabbeinu tried to teach the Jewish people prior to his death when he said:
Now, Israel, what does G-d, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear G-d, your G-d . . . (Devarim 10:12)
Isn’t fear of G-d only ONE of 613 mitzvos? What about the other 612 mitzvos?
That was the whole point, Moshe Rabbeinu was teaching. Once a person masters fear of G-d, the rest of the mitzvos for him become far more “natural.” For the person who truly fears G-d, performing mitzvos becomes second nature, as they will actually become in the Messianic Era when there really will be no yetzer hara anymore (Succah 52a).
A major part of reaching the ultimate level of fear of G-d is Divine chastisement. We do not know ourselves as well as G-d does, and only He can set us on the straight path and keep us there. If we don’t heed His “advice,” how can we possibly achieve personal spiritual perfection?
Kicking the succah on the way out proved to the gentiles that even if they had mitzvos to perform in this world, they would never have achieved the fear of G-d they are meant to promote. They would not have developed the proper relationship to them, and therefore the mitzvos would not have accomplished what they were meant to develop in the person performing them.
It is one’s relationship to mitzvos that really counts the most, as the Talmud may also be alluding to on a different level. This however is only perceivable after first explaining a concept the Maharal revealed. It is a mind-blowing idea to say the least, and it helps to answer the question the Talmud raises about mitzvos in the World-to-Come.
The halachah of Eruv Tavshillin was created by the rabbis to allow a person to prepare for Shabbos on Yom Tov. In general, one is not allowed to prepare for another day on Yom Tov, only for the day itself. However, sometimes Yom Tom is on Friday, and preparing for Shabbos on Thursday is not always the ideal thing.
Therefore, by preparing an Eruv Tavshillin on Thursday when it is still permissible to cook for Shabbos, a person has essentially begun cooking for Shabbos before Yom Tov. The Eruv is a legal device designed to extend the Shabbos preparation process into Yom Tov so that the cooking can be completed on Friday.
Eruv Tavshillin is an interesting halachah to discuss, but not here. What is important is the idea it teaches, and how it pertains to this discussion, including the mitzvah of Succah. For, just as the walls of the succah enclose that which is within in, likewise does the Eruv Tavshillin enclose Yom Tov within it. One’s relationship to mitzvos in this world, it will turn out, will act similarly with respect to the Messianic Era as well.
The halachah says that an Eruv Tavshillin allows cooking for Shabbos at a time when it is not otherwise permissible because of what was performed before Yom Tov. Similarly, the Maharal explains that a person who correctly performed mitzvos beyond the Messianic Era when there was a yetzer hara will be able to perform them in the Messianic Era when there won’t be one. Since he performed mitzvos when he had to fight the yetzer hara, he will be allowed to perform mitzvos even when there is no yetzer hara to fight.
To what end? All the reward for performing mitzvos is from overcoming the yetzer hara who tried to interfere with doing them. No yetzer hara, no resistance. No resistance, no reward, right?
Wrong, says the Maharal. Part of the reward for properly performing mitzvos while we have a yetzer hara is the opportunity to perform them when we will no longer have one—as if we still do. Just as mastering fear of G-d makes the other 612 mitzvos easier to perform, but does not reduce the reward for doing them, likewise properly performing mitzvos in this world gives us the reward of Messianic mitzvos without any loss of benefit. This is the deeper meaning of,
“The reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah” (Pirkei Avos 4:2).
The reward of a mitzvah performed in this yetzer hara-oriented world is the opportunity to perform a mitzvah in the yetzer hara-less world, and continue to receive reward for it. The interest accrued from the proper use of free will in this world pays dividends long after free will becomes a concept of the past.
According to the Talmud, this is true not just of the Messianic Era, but even into Olam HaBa—the World-to-Come. This is what G-d will tell the gentiles at that time when they complain about their lack of mitzvos in this world. “Mitzvos still exist,” He will tell them, “but only for the person who performed them in the previous world and developed the proper relationship to them. Only the person who prepared on ‘Erev Shabbos’ can eat on ‘Shabbos.’ Your complaint,” He will prove to them, “is far too little, and far too late.”
Knowing this, one is now ready to better appreciate this week’s parsha, and the holiday of Succos that follows.
11 October 2016
May We All Be Forgiven and Blessed With a Full Life This Yom Kippur
May All Jews Return in Teshuva and Be Forgiven and Blessed With a Full Life This Yom Kippur and Welcome Moshiach Tzidkeinu and Enter the World of the Seventh in Splendor
10 October 2016
צפו: חוגגים את שחרורו של מאיר אטינגר
פרסום ראשון - מאיר אטינגר נעצר בביתו: "התנכלות מכוונת"
מערכת הקול היהודי
ימים לאחר שסיים צו הגבלה מנהלי: שוטרים פשטו על ביתו וערכו חיפוש ללא הצגת צו
שוטרים ובלשים פשטו לפנות בוקר (שני) על ביתו של מאיר אטינגר ועצרו אותו.
"הגיעו שוטרים בלבוש אזרחי שלא הסכימו להציג תעודת שוטר וצו חיפוש או מעצר", סיפר אחד ממקורביו שנכח במקום. השוטרים ביצעו חיפוש בביתו של אטינגר, ולבסוף כבלו אותו באזיקים ועצרו אותו.
> הירשם עכשיו ותקבל את הכותרות החשובות למייל האישי! <
מקרוביו של אטינגר אומרים, כי ככל הנראה מדובר במעצר שכל מטרתו היא נקמנות בלבד והוא ישוחרר עוד בשעות הקרובות. רק לפני ימים ספורים פג תוקפו של אחד מצווי ההגבלה המנהליים שהוטלו עליו בחתימתם של אלופי פיקוד בצה"ל. כעת, אטינגר מורחק משטחי יהודה ושומרון, ירושלים והישוב יד בנימין.
"יום אחרי פיגוע קשה שבו נרצחים שני יהודים המשטרה מאבדת את עשתונותיה, לא יודעת כיצד לפעול מול הטרור הערבי ולכן היא מגיעה ופוגעת ביהודים. זו לא הפעם הראשונה שאנחנו רואים את המדיניות הזו", אמרו.
לפני כשלושה חודשים שוחרר אטינגר ממעצר מנהלי, ללא משפט, על פי הוראתו של שר הבטחון דאז בוגי יעלון. אטינגר היה עצור במשך עשרה חודשים עד לשחרורו.
לפני כשבועיים, נבחר אטינגר למועצת תנועת דרך חיים.
Lessons from Azazel
Lessons from Azazel
The goat which is sent to Azazel (Vayikra 16:8) on Yom Kippur is one of the queerest phenomena in Torah. This is a form of offering and one of the Kadashim, yet it has almost none of the aspects of the offerings. But it has such efficacy that it achieves what no offerings can. All the atonement sacrifices can atone only
for sins committed unwittingly (Shogeg) but not for sins that were intentionally committed. Even unintentional sins require repentance as a condition of atonement. But the goat of Azazel atones for everything:1) even for willful sins (unless punishable by Karas) and
2) even if the sinner failed to repent (Rambam, Teshuvah 1:2).
Why does the goat of Azazel possess such potency?
There is another anomaly. All offerings require slaughtering, the blood is sprinkled on the altar, and some of the offering is burned on the altar. But the goat of Azazel
1) is not slaughtered, and
2) nothing of it comes upon the altar.
The sole form of service, after the casting of lots (Vayikra 16:8) and the confession of sins which the Cohen Gadol makes over the goat of Azazel (ibid. 16:21), is to lead it away and to hurl it off a mountaintop so that it is dashed to pieces, and yet it achieves a greater atonement than any offering:
“The he-goat will carry away all their sins.”
(Vayikra 16:22)
(Vayikra 16:22)
Why?
A key to this riddle is found in Yalkut Shimoni (ibid.):
“The he-goat is Esav.” Esav is symbolised by the Sair (he-goat). He was born with a hairy body (Ish Sair—Breshis 27:11), and the land which he subsequently settled was called Seir (ibid.36:8). Thus the Torah declares: “The he-goat (Sair) will carry away all their sins (Avo’notam)” which hints: Avonos Tam, the sins of Jacob, “the perfect man” (Ish Tam— Breshis 25:27). Esav bears the sins of Jacob. This signifies: the sins of the Jews, whatever they are, are due
1) to the pernicious example provided by Esav, and
2) to the persecutions in- flicted by him.
If one studies our history he will perceive that Esav’s influence was the chief cause of any misdeeds among us (although Israel never was guilty of so many and so heinous sins as those of the nations). Besides idolatry, the nations have pioneered in bloodshed, immorality, frivolous pastimes and literature, atheism, false religions, and corruption of the truth in many ways.
Further, it was due to the persecution by Esav that so many Jews forsook their homes and wandered off to mingle with the nations everywhere. When we become rid of Esav’s influence and persecutions, we are a perfect nation.
Therefore we are shown the solution: to be rid of the influence of Esav, as is symbolised by the procedure of the Sair of Azazel. When it is hurled from the cliff and is dashed to pieces, then all the sins of the perfect Jacob are wiped out. Which signifies:
Be freed from the influence of the nations in every way. The road to atonement is solely in this direction.
What's Your Mission in Life?
The mission of man in this world is to pursue the closeness to Hashem. The learning of Torah is for the purpose of coming closer. (Everybody is included; the ladies and the girls should feel that I am speaking directly to them even though they are not going to study gemara.)... But whatever it is, it’s the coming closer that I want to emphasize, not merely the words of studying Torah. — Adam's Ordeal (#28)
What Is Special about Teshuva?
Realize what a great miracle teshuva (repentance) is: To undo the past, to wipe out what happened before, is something we cannot understand. It is a miracle that teshuva helps, and for this miracle we’re expected to be grateful to Hashem.
What Kindliness Is There in Gehinnom (purgatory)?
"Without the Gehinnom, this world would not be a world of Kindliness. Should the tyrant who murdered millions of innocent men be permitted to swallow a perfumed poison and escape painlessly? Kindliness to the victims requires that the blood of each one should be fully avenged. The Gehinnom is thus essential in a world of Kindliness, Purpose and Wisdom.
What Can You Accomplish on Yom Kippur?
On Yom Kippur, we’re speaking only to Hashem. We’re asking Him to give us all these things. You’re educating yourself in bitachon, trusting only in Him. The more you think on Yom Kippur of this great principle that all you want comes only from Him, the more He’ll reward your trust.
Source: Words of Wisdom from Rabbi Avigdor Miller zt”l
09 October 2016
Recent Photos of Nibiru and Others
UPDATE: “...will this be the fulfillment
of Zechariah 13:8 and the end of Malachi?
of Zechariah 13:8 and the end of Malachi?
Go to: Debris Field Around Moon
THESE NEXT SEVERAL PHOTOS ARE OF AN ORB DANCING AROUND IN THE SKY (which is very apparent in the video)
THESE NEXT PHOTOS ARE OF THE ORB WITH A (seeming) HOLE
THE DANCING ORB WITH WINGS
“With My Sword and with My Bow”
“With My Sword and with My Bow”: The Power of Prayer
The Gemara says that during the Aseres Yimai Teshuvah (Ten Days of Repentance) the gates of prayer are open, and that’s the time to ask for our heart’s desire. Whether we want to succeed in learning Shas (Talmud study) or we want to succeed in business, or we want both, Aseres Yimai Teshuvah is the time. Of course the more we ask, the more we’re going to succeed.
It’s important to understand how our forefathers considered this subject of praying. When Yaakov Avinu was talking to his children about the land of Canaan, he said,
“Asher lakachti m’yad haEmori b’charvi u’b’kashti — The land that I took from the hand of the Emori with my sword and with my bow” (Beraishis 48:22).
It sounds like Yaakov had been carrying on a military campaign, only the Chumash doesn’t speak about it. It could have been that Yaakov didn’t have to take anything by battle, but like one of our former presidents said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” So Yaakov took the land by his sword and bow. He didn’t use them, but wherever he went he was well armed. When he needed something, he took it by negotiation, he paid for it, but no one attempted to wrong him because they respected his military preparations.
This could have been the case, but the Gemara says that the word u’b’kashti should be read bakashasi, which means “my request,” “my prayers.” Yaakov Avinu took the land “b’tzilusi u’meusi — by my prayers.” “Charbi zu tefilah, kashti zu bakashasi — ‘My sword’ is prayer, ‘my bow’ is my entreaties.” When we stand before Hashem on Rosh Hashanah, we’re well armed with a lot of intention, and we pray from the bottom of our hearts, that’s how we’re going to win out against all the vicissitudes that may face us in the ensuing year.
Making entreaties means we are persistent. We ask for something, are not hesitant, and repeat our requests. We shouldn’t begrudge the hours that we spent in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah because those hours, if spent properly, will have effects that we’re going to witness during the entire ensuing year.
Source: Rabbi Avigdor Miller zt”l
05 October 2016
Shaked’s Democracy
Ayelet Shaked for Prime Minister – when the time comes – unless Moshiach arrives first IY”H
“The Knesset is attempting to legislate away our lives and the High Court is invading territory to which it is not entitled,” declares Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Habayit Hayehudi), in a lengthy but exciting essay in the inaugural issue of Hashiloach, an Israeli Journal on thought and policy. The essay, titled “Tracks toward Governing” (the Hebrew title is a play on words between Mesilot-tracks and Meshilut-governance), suggests that the behavior of some of Israel’s branches of government is threatening individual freedoms as well as the ability of elected officials to govern. Shaked is urging a return, as soon as possible, to the proper governing on the proper tracks, from within Israel’s definition as a Jewish and democratic state.
“Good governance is not a blind force, certainly not a strong but silent engine,” writes Shaked, stressing that “the ability to carry out goals in the way they have been defined is a prerequisite condition for good governance, but is far from being sufficient in itself: good governance is measured above anything else by the ability of government ministers to establish their own goals.”
“A politician who knows how to bring the train to its destination, but is unable to set the destination, as senior as he may be — is not governing but merely subcontracting; he may have been appointed Minister, and he may get to cut ribbons in the end, but he is nothing more than a contractor,” Shaked argues. “To move down a track laid down by others does not require leaders; any driver could do it just fine. The essence of governance is always setting down directions and posting goals. This requires of elected officials to lay down new tracks only after they had decided for themselves where they would like to take the train.”
Shaked asserts that every time the Knesset votes in favor of any given law, it is also voting against the freedom of individuals to take care of their issues on their own. She calls it a vote of no confidence in the autonomy of communities and individuals. Indeed, as Chair of the Ministerial Legislative Committee, Shaked laments that she has processed more than 1,500 legislative proposals, from amendments to existing laws to fully realized, new bills. Suggesting the Knesset is by far the most prolific parliament in the entire Western world, Shaked describes this abundance of new laws as a hospital that’s being built underneath a broken bridge to care for the people who fall off.
Referring to economist Milton Friedman’s impressions following his visit to Israel in the 1960s, when he predicted that the historic spirit of Jewish freedom would eventually overcome the newly bred spirit of Socialist bureaucracy in Israel, Shaked admits she’s not so sure Friedman was right. “Without our firm push on the brake pedal of this locomotive, week in and week out, those legislative proposals would have created for us an alternative reality, in which government controls the citizens through the regulation of more and more economic sectors, with the individual being left with precious little freedom to manage his own affairs.”
Shaked provides several examples whereby proposed legislation would have, for instance, created a world in which a landlord would be forbidden to raise the rent for several years. Of course, rents would soar on the eve of this new law going into effect, followed by a loss of interest on the part of investors in creating new rental stock, leading to a drop in available apartments and, of course, another rise in rents. It would also be a world in which employers must comply with pensions set by the legislator, until, of course, they go bankrupt. And a world in which police would be bound by a two-strike law that compels them to arrest any individual against whom someone has filed two complaints. Running down some of these “bizarre” proposals, as she calls them, Shaked eventually describes a proposal to compel the state to solve terrorism by distributing bulletproof vests to every citizen against knife attacks, as well as a proposal to eliminate the reference in the law to “Beit Av,” which is the Biblical term for Household, because it has a reference to a father rather than to a mother.
Shaked reports that she requested, for the 2017-18 budget, that the ministerial committee would no longer consider bills that add new criminal offenses to the law books, without a thorough investigation of similar legislation in other countries, of the ramifications of the new criminal law on the books in Israel’s society, and, most important — of existing, non-criminal alternatives.
Alongside the need to restrain the legislator, Shaked sees a dire need to restrain Israel’s expansionist Judiciary. She notes an ongoing war between the Supreme Court and the executive branch, which necessitates the passing of a new constitutional-level legislation (Foundation Laws in Israel’s system) to regulate once and for all this combative relationship. She cites several cases in which government was blocked by the high court in areas that are clearly the executive’s domain, such as the law regulating the treatment of illegal infiltrators from Africa, and the government contract with natural gas companies to exploit Israel’s rich deposits.
Shaked laments the fact that the Supreme Court so often usurps the right to kill an entire legislation, as if it had appointed itself the 121st Knesset Member (or more than that, since it so frequently joins with the opposition parties to defeat a majority coalition). She has no problem with individuals seeking remedy in the lower courts to damages they claim to have suffered from, say, the new gas contract. That’s a legitimate use of the court system. But how can the unelected high court delete an entire legislation passed by elected officials? Who, after all is said and done, is the sovereign, the people or their appointed judges?
As a result, the art of politics in Israel is practiced as follows, according to Shaked: first the different parties vie for the voter’s trust; then, in the Knesset, the coalition negotiates with and fights against the opposition over a proposed bill; finally, after the bill was passed, the opposition parties appeal it before the Supreme Court, which reverses it. That, in a nutshell, was the story of the natural gas bill earlier this year.
haked cites Alexander Hamilton’s essay on the power of the judiciary, where he claimed that the High Court was by far the weakest of the three branches. It did not, he said, have the “sword” of the executive, who is commander-in-chief of the nation’s armed forces, nor the “purse” of the legislature, which approves all the tax and spending measures of the national government. It had, according to Hamilton, “neither force nor will but merely judgment.”
Shaked essentially blames the High Court for usurping power without the responsibility that must accompany it, and this way also usurping the sword of the prime minister and the purse of the legislature, without being entitled to either. “Which purse pays the reparations the court set for Palestinians hurt during the intifada?” she asks. “And who will repair the public purse that was poked full of holes from the revoking of the gas deal?”
Finally, Shaked offers her own version of the often misunderstood concept of Israel as a Jewish and Democratic state. Rather than view Israel as the scene of a centuries old battle between secular and religious Jews, she proposes a return to the Biblical values that, in fact, served as the spiritual wellspring and inspiration for the forefathers of modern liberalism and of the American Constitution. Where did Thomas Jefferson get the idea that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness?” Shaked asks, and goes on to rediscover the concepts of separation of the branches of government, majority rule, the human right to self governance, the right to criticize a criminal king.
Astonishingly, Shaked relates how she discovered a wonderfully instructive text that deals clearly and accurately with the idea of a Jewish and Democratic state, and was written — get ready for this — by Chief Justice Aharon Barak, the man credited more than anyone else with the High Court’s usurping of powers to which it was not entitled.
Barak wrote, quite brilliantly:
“A Jewish State is the state of the Jewish people. It is the natural right of the Jewish nation to be like all other nations, living on its own in its sovereign state — a state to which every Jew has the right to immigrate where the Ingathering of the exiles is a fundamental value.
“A Jewish State is a state whose history is intertwined with the history of the Jewish nation, whose language is Hebrew and whose main holidays reflect its national revival.
“A Jewish State is a state whose main concern is Jewish settlement in its fields, cities and villages.
“A Jewish State is a state that cultivates Jewish culture, Jewish education and love for the Jewish people.
“A Jewish State is the realization of the aspiration of generations for the redemption of Israel.
“A Jewish State is a state whose values are drawn from the religious tradition, whose most fundamental text is the Bible, and the foundation of its morality are the prophets of Israel.
“A Jewish State is a state where Jewish Law plays a vital role and marriages and divorces of Jews are decided according to Torah Law.
“A Jewish State is a state whose fundamental values are comprised of the values of the Torah of Israel, the values of Jewish Tradition, and the values of Jewish Halakha.”
Indeed, argues Shaked, the effort to deepen Israel’s democratic values must take us through a deepening of our Jewish values, just as prescribed by the most influential Chief Justice in Israel’s Supreme Court’s history.
Concluding with a citation from President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (1863), Shaked stresses that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Source: The Jewish Press
Amazing Phenomenon in Jerusalem
Did Anyone See This on Sunday October 2?
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Also see the videos on this page: http://strangesounds.org
A VERY NICE commenter sent us this Video of HaRav Yuval Ovadia (in Hebrew) discussing the Shofar heard in Yerushalayim:
בעולם! מומלץ מאוד הרב יובל עובדיה - סיכום השנה, עידכונים בכל המתרחש
02 October 2016
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