NO DEAL IF EITHER PARTY DISAGREED

YESHA COUNCIL CHAIR: 

'Shocked that PM agreed to Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria'
Yesha leaders, now in Washington, demand PM refuse deal entailing establishment of Palestinian state - even at the expense of sovereignty.

Yesha Council Speaker David Elhayani said, "We are very disturbed. We cannot agree to a plan that would include the establishment of a Palestinian state that would pose a threat to the State of Israel and a great danger to the future.”

"We declare that we will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state even at the cost of giving up on sovereignty in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. We demand that the prime minister, ministers and Knesset members not accept a comprehensive agreement within which a Palestinian state is established in any way. "

Gush Etzion Regional Council Head Shlomo Ne’eman said after the meeting in Washington with Prime Minister Netanyahu alongside Yesha leaders: “Last night we completed our meeting with the Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister Levin. I arrived here at the White House with fellow Yesha leaders Yisrael Gantz, Oded Revivi, and David Elhayani represent Judea and Samaria so that during negotiations at his historic and exciting juncture, the Prime Minister would hear what our red lines are.” arutzsheva


NIKKI HALEY

Former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley spoke on Monday at the Israel Center on Addictions event in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. In her remarks, Haley addressed US President Donald Trump's peace plan, the “Deal of the Century”, which will be unveiled on Tuesday.

"The number one priority" of the deal is "the national security of Israel," she said.

“We knew we would not do anything to compromise security, and there would be no deal if either party disagreed," Haley added, according to a report in Israel Hayom. 

"The goal is to get to a place where we can help the Palestinians be in better condition - without harming Israel. The Palestinians have said they are not going to come to the table, but the key is how Arab states respond to the plan. The US will not try to push either side. At the end of the day, it should be a decision between Israel and the Palestinians,” she stressed.

“It is a plan that is doable and I hope everyone will keep an open mind. You deserve peace and this is the time to take a brave step forward. My hope is that Arab society will want to push the matter forward. I think we'll see a direction of openness, and that may signal to the Palestinians that this is perhaps their last chance.”

Haley noted that President Trump “keeps his promises. In every area – the restriction of Iran, the move of the US embassy’ to Jerusalem and the elimination of [Qassem] Soleimani, without whom the world is a safer place without.” arutzsheva

MK SHAKED — NO PA STATE

MK Shaked: We will NOT Recognize a PA state

Member of Knesset Ayelet Shaked (Yamina) said, Tuesday morning, that her party will not recognize a Palestinian Authority state under any circumstances.

Interviewed by public radio in the wake of a report that the United States peace plan to be unveiled later in the day will include a PA state and annexation of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, Shaked said, "Israeli law can be applied without recognizing such a state."
ArutzSheva

WE ARE COMING TO 

A POINT OF NO RETURN

WHAT WILL THEY DO?

[emphasis mine]

B”H The Kinneret Is Very Close to FULL

But this IY”H will change with more Blessed Rain on the way.

Boruch Hashem, the Kinneret rose about five (5) cm over Shabbos and is now 1.64 meters below the upper red line.

If as expected, the Kinneret reaches the red line indicating full capacity, the Degania Dam, which regulates the Kinneret and flows into the Jordan River, will be opened.

Degania Dam

In 1969, the Kinneret reached its highest recorded level (208.20 meters below sea level) and despite the opening of the Degania Dam, nearby yishuvim were flooded, causing 90,000 lirot worth of damage. YWN


Jerusalem Post:
Kinneret rises to near full capacity

Water Authority spokesman says encouraging water levels doesn't "mean we can splurge."

With stormy weather on the horizon for the next few days, the country’s water basins have crept to promising levels already this rainy winter – the Kinneret now lacking less than 2 meters of water from full capacity.

By Monday morning, the Kinneret reached 210.78 meters below sea level, just 1.98 meters from the “upper red line,” or the line that indicates full capacity, data from the Water Authority’s Hydrological Services said. This represented a rise of 2 centimeters from the previous morning’s readings, when the lake lacked 2 meters exactly following a stormy Saturday night. JPost

bacteriophages

The Virus That Kills Drug-Resistant Superbugs



Antibiotic-resistant bacteria kill 23,000 people every year in the United States, and the United Nations estimates that by 2050, more people will die from antibiotic-resistant infections than currently die from cancer.

Discovered 100 years ago, bacteriophages—viruses that eat bacteria—might provide an answer. But phage therapy has only been approved for use on humans in the former Soviet Union. Motherboard travels to Georgia to meet the doctors using phage therapy today, and meets with the American scientists trying to normalize phage therapy in the United States.


TED TALK: How a long-forgotten virus could help us solve the antibiotics crisis | Alexander Belcredi



Viruses have a bad reputation -- but some of them could one day save your life, says biotech entrepreneur Alexander Belcredi. In this fascinating talk, he introduces us to phages, naturally-occurring viruses that hunt and kill harmful bacteria with deadly precision, and shows how these once-forgotten organisms could provide new hope against the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

WUHAN CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC UPDATE

Emergency updates regarding the coronavirus outbreak that's now rapidly accelerating:

The Lancet science journal just published a bombshell study revealing coronavirus has hit a 15 percent fatality rate and a jaw-dropping 83 percent infection rate among those exposed.

These numbers will cause epidemiologists to panic. It also means if this infection is not immediately brought under control, it's going to go global and easily kill hundreds of millions of people if these numbers hold true. Let's hope they're wrong...

See the breaking news from The Lancet here.

Exclusive to Natural News: We now have confirmation from our investigators on the ground in Taiwan that hundreds of thousands fled Wuhan before the quarantine was carried out on railways and airports. This means potentially thousands of coronavirus carriers got out and spread the pandemic to others.

See the full details here.

Coronavirus is now confirmed in California and Seattle.

See the full story here.

And if you haven't seen this yet, a computer simulation funded in part by the Bill Gates organization found that 65 million people would diein a global pandemic. However, that simulation used far lower estimates of fatalities and transmission of the virus.

Based on current numbers from The Lancet (see link above), if this virus is not contained, it will likely kill hundreds of millions globally, mostly concentrated in warmer, more humid regions that are closer to the equator.

See the full story here.

Note: N95 masks are useless. We are about to publish another breaking story revealing that coronavirus can infect you through your eyeballs, which means you need full face respirators to be safe, yet almost no one is buying full face respirators.

[Think: DS Bio-Coronovirus vs. Senate Impeachment]

WUHAN – China Under Attack – BioWarfare Program

WHAT IS WUHAN KNOWN FOR?
WHAT IS DONE IN WUHAN?

[Think: DS Bio-Coronovirus vs. Senate Impeachment]

The city, with a history of 3,500 years, holds an important place in the country's military, economic and political development. It is also a major transportation hub in central China. For centuries, this city has been the center of trade and transportation in central China It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city and connecting to other major cities. Because of its key role in domestic transportation, Wuhan is sometimes referred to as "the Chicago of China" by foreign sources.

ALSO: The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is housed at the Chinese military facility Wuhan Institute of Virology linked to China’s Biological Warfare Program. It was the first ever lab in the country designed to meet biosafety-level-4 (BSL-4) standards – the highest biohazard level, meaning that it would be qualified to handle the most dangerous pathogens.
(must read zerohedge and business insider articles, link below)

Inside the Chinese lab
poised to study world's most dangerous pathogens nature.com

WHY IS CHINA UNDER ATTACK?



"With the most recent headlines scaring people over the coronavirus, i felt it would be good to drop some basic background info. Coronavirus can range from the common cold to a mutated form of SARS. It seems they have patents already lined up in this department. This is a list from 2015. So the new “nCov" Isnt listed. But you can see who has the patents on the other forms of it. And i would say it will be the same folks that will end up with the patent for this new version! (see video below) 

ANCILLARY INFORMATION:

PATENT FOR CORONA VIRUS FUNDED
BY BILL and MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION
Learn More: https://patents.justia.com/patent/101..."







CANADA link
Last year a mysterious shipment was caught smuggling Coronavirus from Canada. It was traced to Chinese agents working at a Canadian lab. Subsequent investigation by GreatGameIndia linked the agents to Chinese Biological Warfare Program from where the virus is suspected to have leaked causing the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. zero hedge

The SAUDI SARS Sample
On June 13, 2012 a 60-year-old Saudi man was admitted to a private hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a 7-day history of fever, cough, expectoration, and shortness of breath. He had no history of cardiopulmonary or renal disease, was receiving no long-term medications, and did not smoke. Egyptian virologist Dr. Ali Mohamed Zaki isolated and identified a previously unknown coronavirus from his lungs. After routine diagnostics failed to identify the causative agent, Zaki contacted Ron Fouchier, a leading virologist at the Erasmus Medical Center (EMC) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for advice. zero hedge

Chinese Biological Espionage
In March 2019, in mysterious event a shipment of exceptionally virulent viruses from Canada’s NML ended up in China. The event caused a major scandal with Bio-warfare experts questioning why Canada was sending lethal viruses to China. Scientists from NML said the highly lethal viruses were a potential bio-weapon.

Following investigation, the incident was traced to Chinese agents working at NML. Four months later in July 2019, a group of Chinese virologists were forcibly dispatched from the Canadian National Microbiology Laboratory (NML). The NML is Canada’s only level-4 facility and one of only a few in North America equipped to handle the world’s deadliest diseases, including Ebola, SARS, Coronavirus, etc.

zero hedge

____________________________

Learn More:
ZEROHEDGE
BUSINESS INSIDER

January 27 – אלף ראש חודש שבט – Holocaust Remembrance Day

In Remembrance Yom HaShoah

Begins with Memorial Siren in Israel
Warning: graphic images throughout video clip





No One Wanted Us - The Tragic Voyage of the SS St. Louis


If you’re interested in viewing more videos, extensive coverage and interesting viewing, visit
jr.co.il

Bennett on Trump Plan

We won't allow 
even a centimeter of land 
to be surrendered

Defense Minister Bennett says he will back Trump peace plan if it includes annexation, but won't support establishment of Palestinian state.

ArutzSheva

INCREASED INCIDENTS – NEW YORK and ISRAEL

Security Incident at Bais Yaakov of Boro Park
Boro Park – A woman who tried luring a girl to her car with promises of candy has prompted a Boro Park school to issue a warning to parents. boropark

2 Men Attempt Robbery Inside Baltimore Synagogue
vosizneias  According to police, 2 men entered the Khal Chassidim Synagogue in the 6000 block of Park Heights Avenue, at around 7 PM on Friday night. After gaining entry, one of the suspects pulled out a handgun and pointed it at a man inside the synagogue. He then tried to rob him. The victim struggled with the suspects, but thankfully was not injured. The 2 suspects left the synagogue after the unsuccessful robbery.

Fire Destroys New Building of Fallsburg Yeshiva Girls School
On the morning of Thursday, January 23, the dreams of a new building went up in smoke – very literally. A massive blaze broke out at the construction site of Bnos Devorah Raizel’s building, completely destroying the structure, leaving behind nothing more than a pile of rubble.
It was a scene that was hard to watch for the South Fallsburg stalwarts who had invested heart and soul into making the dream of a new building into a reality. Students were heartbroken, teachers left speechless. vosizneis

Dozens of Arabs RIOTED and Try To Enter Neve Ya’akov On Friday Night After 8-Year-Old Disappears
Arabs rioted next to the Neve Ya’akov neighborhood of Jerusalem on Friday night following the disappearance of an Arab boy from the nearby neighborhood of Beit Chaninah.
Eight-year-old Qais Abu Ramila was sent by his mother to the grocery store about 4 p.m. on Friday and never returned. Later that night, police began searching near a deep pool of rainwater which had formed in the neighborhood after search dogs picked up the boy’s scent nearby. YWN

The rescue was carried out under difficult conditions of cold, mud and murky water and continued [throughout the night]. At about 7.40 a.m, rescue services found the boy, who was unfortunately lifeless, at the bottom [of the reservoir].”
Police believe that the boy slipped and fell inside the reservoir.

Bus With Skverer Bochrim Overturns Just Off Route 17 At Exit 114 Near Wurtsboro
YWN Catskills Hatzolah along with multiple ambulances from MobilMedics responded to the scene at around 1:30PM, just off Route 17 at Exit 114 by Bloomingburg Road and Mamakating Road. [. . .] At least 13 victims were transported to hospitals. Three of them are potentially unstable, with 2 at Orange Regional Hospital, and one going to Westchester Trauma Center. Most transports were by Hatzolah, with some via MobileMedics.

Serial Burglar Arrested in Massive Police, Shomrim Operation
Boro Park – A massive police and Shomrim operation in Boro Park yielded the capture of a suspect wanted in multiple home invasions. [. . .] Perez made his way down 60th Street, breaking into two homes by the time he reached 8th Ave. He was then picked up by the NYPD.

The Sound of Prophecy

I Hear Prophecy in These Words

This is not a time for pessimism

This a time for optimism

Fear and doubt is not a good thought process

Because this is a time for tremendous hope and joy

Optimism and action

[We]  reject the perennial profits of doom

and their predictions of the apocalypse 

They are the heirs of yesterday’s fortune tellers

And I have them and You have them

and We all have them

And they want to see us do badly

But we don’t let it happen

These alarmists always demand the same thing

Absolute power to dominate

Transform every aspect of our lives

Everything is about to change

We will never let radical socialists destroy our economy

Wreck our country or eradicate our liberty

In America we understand what the pessimists refuse to see

That a growing vibrant economy focused on the future

Lifts the human spirit and excites creativity

Strong enough to overcome challenge, 

Any challenge by far

This is all about to change

This is going to be a world without a CB controlling us

A world without the DS pushing events

like 911 and the rest on us

Scare us into giving up our rights

Everything is about to change

Future is for the people trying to do good

A future the people are going to grow in

They are going to wake up and see 

What has been done to them all these years

And once that happens 

Those individuals that have been pushing their agendas

They are doomed

The people once again

They are ready to rise up

Everything is about to change

@Donald J Trump, at Davos


PS The beginning of this part of his speech is where I hear prophecy

Who Would Have Believed . . .

Who would have believed it possible that an international meeting of world leaders would converge on Jerusalem to condemn the very anti-Semitism many of their countries perpetrated just decades ago?

THE GATES ARE OPEN
By Rabbi Moshe Grylak

colorful and rare assembly of some 40 world leaders, accompanied by 500 journalists, are converging on Jerusalem this week for the fifth World Holocaust Forum, entitled “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism,” which will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945.

The visiting crowd includes kings and princes, presidents and prime ministers. When, if ever, has there been a convocation like this of rulers and top-tier officials from all over the world — and even a representative from the Vatican — for the purpose of fighting anti-Semitism, of all things, and in Jerusalem, of all places? And equally amazing is that the attendees were not deterred by fear of pushback from Israel’s enemies in the Arab world or from the propagandists whose hatred of the Jewish People is thinly masked behind “human rights” organizations.

The Polish government had initially wanted the forum to convene on its soil, somewhere near Auschwitz (and, miffed at the decision not to hold the forum there, Poland declined to participate), but apparently the organizing committee found it more meaningful to bring the world leaders together in Jerusalem. Perhaps the enthusiasm for this choice stemmed from a subconscious need on the part of the world nations to seek forgiveness and reconciliation after having stood by in silence, at best, while the Jewish People were being led to the slaughter (or at worst, gleefully lending a hand to the Nazis and profiting from the plunder).

But I believe there is much more to this pilgrimage than just a guilty conscience. Jerusalem has a halo, a mystical allure, a symbol of something transcendent, and even if these modern nations have lost most of the fervor of the pilgrims and Crusaders of the past and have largely disconnected from their faith, the image of Jerusalem as the Holy City is still alive in their collective memory. And of course, a grand meeting in Jerusalem excites their imagination much more than a grim meeting in Auschwitz.

Surely cynics will say that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pulled off another successful public relations feat by maneuvering to have the forum in his capital, as proof that his regime has brought about a dramatic change for the better in Israel’s relations with the rest of the world.

But to focus on such petty, tangential issues is to miss the point. How can we ignore the fact that this is a rare historical moment? There are many prophecies that shed light on what is occurring in these days. For example, the Navi says, “And it shall be at the end of the days, that the mount of Hashem’s house shall be established on the mountaintops… and all the nations shall stream to it. And they shall say, ‘Come, let us go up to mount of Hashem, to the house of the G‑d of Yaakov, and let Him teach us of His ways, and we shall walk in His paths,’ for from Tzion shall Torah come forth, and the word of Hashem from Yerushalayim” (Yeshayahu 2:2-3).

We await the Final Redemption, when all the nations will converge on Jerusalem, as we read in Tzefaniah (3:9): “For then I shall turn about to the peoples a pure language, to call, all of them, on the Name of Hashem, to serve Him as a united force.”

These pesukim paint a picture for us of how humanity will look in Messianic times, how they will all come to Yerushalayim to be close to Hashem and to worship Him. Of course, even four dozen world leaders convening in Jerusalem doesn’t come near to fulfilling those glorious prophecies, but at the same time, it’s a bit like a sneak preview, a small taste of the wonderful things we will eventually witness.

It’s almost as if we can visualize the prophecy of Yeshayahu, that “nations shall go by your light and kings by the brilliance of your shine… Lift up your eyes and see, they all have gathered, they have come to you… Your sons shall come from afar” (Yeshayahu 60:3-5). This prophecy of the return of the exiles continues to be fulfilled today, when over half the world’s Jews live in Israel, which — despite its many problems, and the fact that there isn’t even a government today — is, in material terms, one of the wealthiest, most technologically advanced and sophisticated countries in the world, and the wealth of many nations flows into Israel in the form of imports, investments, and tourism.

And, as the Navi continues (verse 8), “Who are these that fly like a cloud as doves to their windows?” Does this not conjure up the planeloads of people who come to Israel by air every day, just like flocks of doves? And, the Navi goes on, “Your gates shall be open always by day and by night” — doesn’t this already describe Ben-Gurion Airport, open 24 hours for these droves of visitors?

And so, we have this preview to cling to, to give us hope. Just a few decades ago, who would have believed it possible that there would be an international meeting of world leaders like this in Jerusalem, come to stand together against the very anti-Semitism many of their countries perpetrated?

Let us hope [to HaShem] that this shadowy preview will explode into the full, expanded prophecy heralding in the geulah sheleimah!

As read in the Mishpacha Magazine

UPDATE on the Macron Faux Pas

What does Macron’s Faux Pas tell us?

ArutzSheva writer Jack Engelhard tells us:

Israeli officers were on the job, to protect visitors, dignitaries especially at this time of heightened awareness, but Macron preferred no Jews, only French “security forces.”

Like the security forces who surrendered to the Germans after six weeks? No wonder the Israelis were worried.

Macron, among the world leaders in Israel for Holocaust Remembrance, was only doing what comes naturally, and historically…pushing Jews around.

Shoving Israelis aside, and making a scene of it, gives the appearance of a man who intends to show who’s boss.

The cameras were clicking. The world was watching. He took the moment to make a point.

Like it was Once Upon a Time in Europe, and there was no Israel to rescue the remnants whose fate was left to the tender mercies of, say, the gendarmes, who normally rounded up, for deportation, twice the number of Jews, including children, roused from their sleep, that the Gestapo had requested.

Fortunately, times have changed. When it’s all over, he goes. Israel stays.

New York-based bestselling American novelist Jack Engelhard writes regularly for Arutz Sheva.
Read the entire well written biting article, A lapse of French etiquette,  at ArutzSheva

Parsha Potpourri – Parshas Vaeira

Parsha Potpourri

Parshas Vaeira – Vol. 7, Issue 14

Compiled by Ozer Alport

ושרץ היאר צפרדעים ועלו ובאו בביתך ... ובתנוריך ובמשארותיך (7:28)

The Gemora in Pesachim (53b) relates that the righteous Chananya, Mishael, and Azaryah allowed themselves to be thrown into a fiery oven rather than flee or bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s idolatrous statues. The Gemora explains that they derived the propriety of their conduct from the frogs in Egypt. They reasoned that if the frogs, which didn’t have a mitzvah to die in sanctification of Hashem’s name, nevertheless willing entered the Egyptians’ hot ovens, they, who had such a mitzvah, should certainly be willing to perform it by being thrown into the burning furnace rather than transgress or flee. 

The Shaagas Aryeh questioned their calculation. Although it is true that the frogs didn’t have a mitzvah to sanctify Hashem’s name, they did have a separate obligation to enter all of the places enumerated in our verse, which include the ovens. If so, how could Chananya, Mishael, and Azaryah derive a source for their actions from the frogs when they didn’t have instructions to enter the fiery oven? 

At the age of seven, the Vilna Gaon answered that our verse simply states that there must be some frogs in each of these locations. However, no individual frog was commanded to enter any specific place. Therefore, every single frog could have exempted itself from entering the ovens with the claim that it would infest a more comfortable location and leave the ovens for the other frogs. 

From the fact that we nevertheless find that individual frogs were willing to enter the ovens even though they weren’t explicitly commanded to do so, Chananya, Mishael, and Azaryah were able to derive the propriety of their actions. Upon hearing this clever answer, the excited Shaagas Aryeh picked up the young Vilna Gaon and kissed him on the forehead. 

Applying this brilliant insight on a practical level, the Darkei Mussar notes that many times a teacher, parent, or communal organization asks for volunteers to assist with a project or act of kindness. Not a single hand goes up as each person excuses himself with the thought that somebody else can do it. The Vilna Gaon teaches that we must learn from the frogs that “the buck stops here” and take responsibility to personally see to it that the job gets done properly.

ויאמר ד' אל משה אמר אל אהרן נטה את מטך והך את עפר הארץ והיה לכנם בכל ארץ מצרים (8:12)

Although we typically associate Moshe with bringing the 10 plagues upon Egypt, a careful examination of the verses reveals that Hashem actually commanded Moshe to have Aharon bring about the first three plagues. Rashi explains that because Moshe had gratitude to the river which had protected him when he was placed there as an infant, it was inappropriate for him to strike the water for the first two plagues (blood and frogs). This sense of appreciation is understandable, as the water sheltered him, and it was there that Pharaoh’s daughter discovered and rescued him. 

However, regarding the third plague – lice – Rashi’s explanation that it was inappropriate for Moshe to strike the same ground which protected him by hiding the body of the Egyptian that he slew is difficult to understand. Although Moshe thought that nobody saw the killing, in reality Dasan and Aviram witnessed the murder. They informed on him to Pharaoh, who would have killed Moshe if not for a miracle that saved his life (Rashi 2:14-15). Practically speaking, the ground did absolutely nothing to benefit or assist Moshe in any way. If so, why did he feel gratitude toward it, and why couldn’t he strike it himself to bring about the plague of lice?

One commentator on the Medrash (Shemos Rabbah 10:7) suggests that the ground provided Moshe temporary peace-of-mind by allowing him to think for at least one day that his killing would go unnoticed. I would like to alternately suggest that the Torah is teaching us the fallacy of a common English expression. If we give of our precious time, energy, and heart in an earnest attempt to help somebody out, only to have our efforts fail, the average American will tell us, “Thanks, but no thanks.” This expression indicates that he owes us no debt of gratitude for our efforts and not-so-subtly suggests that next time we should just mind our own business. However, the Torah teaches that because the ground was willing to help and tried to be of assistance in doing its best to cover up the taskmaster’s corpse, Moshe was obligated to show his appreciation for its good-faith efforts and was unable to strike it to bring about the plague of lice.

I once shared this thought in a Torah class that I taught. Later that week, a woman called to say that her husband had offered to help her clean the house. Unfortunately, although his intentions were good, his cleaning skills left something to be desired. She explained that when he finished, not only was the house still a mess, but it would take her considerable work just to get it back to where he started! She was about to tell him, “Thanks, but no thanks,” when she remembered the lesson she had just been taught.

So many times a relative, a co-worker, or a shadchan will volunteer to try to help us out. Unfortunately, these efforts don’t always lead to the results we were hoping for. The next time it happens, instead of rubbing the failure in to somebody who already feels badly enough, let us remember the lesson of Moshe and the ground and express our sincere appreciation for their time and good intentions.

ותהי הכנם באדם ובבהמה כל עפר הארץ היה כנים בכל ארץ מצרים (8:13)

A number of our greatest Rabbis (Rambam, Rabbeinu Yonah, Meiri, Vilna Gaon) write in their commentaries on Pirkei Avos (5:4) that although nine of the ten plagues in Egypt didn’t affect the Jews in any way, the lice which afflicted Egypt during the third plague also infested the land of Goshen where the Jews lived. However, the lice didn’t cause the Jews any suffering as they did the Egyptians. Where is this astonishing fact alluded to, and what was the reason for it?

The Mishmeres Ariel brings a strikingly simple proof to this claim. Rashi writes (Bereishis 47:29) that one of Yaakov’s reasons for requesting that Yosef not bury him in Egypt was to avoid the lice which would be swarming in the ground. However, if the lice were not present in the land of Goshen, Yaakov could have simply made Yosef swear to bury him there instead of burdening him to carry his body all the way to the land of Israel. From the fact that Yaakov made him do so, we can deduce that he knew that this option wouldn’t be sufficient to alleviate his concern because the lice would also be present in Goshen. 

Rav Chaim Kanievsky suggests the reason for this peculiarity was that in the first two plagues, Pharaoh’s magicians were able to duplicate the actual plague. As such, the only proof that Moshe and Aharon’s plagues were caused by Hashem and not through sorcery was the fact that they miraculously stopped at the borders of the Jewish land of Goshen. During the plague of lice, on the other hand, Pharaoh’s magicians were unable to copy the plague. They freely admitted that it must have been performed by Hashem, and there was therefore no need for the additional miracle of preventing the lice from entering the land of Goshen.

Parsha Points to Ponder (and sources which discuss them):

1. At the time of Moshe’s birth, his parents are referred to generically as a man and a woman from the tribe of Levi (2:1-2). Their names are only mentioned for the first time in this week’s parsha (6:20), after Moshe had already been chosen to redeem the Jewish people. As his parents obviously possessed great holiness in order to merit giving birth to such a special child, why are their names omitted until much later? (Kehillas Yitzchok, Darash Moshe)
2. The Torah records (6:25) that Elozar the son of Aharon took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as a wife for himself, and she bore for him Pinchas. Why does the Torah stress three times in one verse that Elozar’s wife and her actions were “for him?” (HaEmek Davar)
3. After Moshe and Aharon caused all of the water in Egypt to turn to blood, Pharaoh’s magicians duplicated the feat and therefore he wasn’t impressed (7:22). If all of the water had turned to blood, from where did they obtain water to turn into blood? (Targum Yonason ben Uziel, Rabbeinu Bechaye, Paneiach Raza, Tosefos Rid)
4. As Moshe was preparing to leave the city to pray for the end of the hail, he informed Pharaoh (9:30) that he recognized that Pharaoh still didn’t fear “Hashem Elokim.” This is the first time since Parshas Bereishis (3:23) that these two names of Hashem are used in conjunction. What is the significance of this? (Shu”t Maharshdam Orach Chaim 3, Aleinu L’shabeiach)

Answers to Points to Ponder:

1) The Kehillas Yitzchok explains that although Moshe was the leader and redeemer of the Jewish people, who ascended to Heaven to receive the Torah and performed unprecedented miracles, the Torah wants to prevent the false ideas which would be promulgated by other religions in the future by stressing that the man who saved the Jewish people, was just that, a man. He was a human who was born to regular human parents, as opposed to those who would believe that holy men must be descended directly from Hashem. Alternatively, Rav Moshe Feinstein explains that the Torah doesn’t give Moshe’s parents any praise for merely bringing such a special child into the world. Only in next week’s parsha, when Moshe had grown up and matured to a level where Hashem selected him to be the redeemer of the Jewish people and receiver of the Torah, did the Torah mention (6:20) the names of his parents to extol them for taking his tremendous raw potential and raising him in a manner which allowed it to be translated into action.

2) The Netziv explains that Elozar’s wife was descended from Yisro, which wasn’t considered nearly as respected a lineage as he came from. Still, she had such a great desire to be a helpmate to him in his spiritual growth that she was willing to completely negate her personal feelings and desires to assist him. Recognizing this, he was willing to overlook her lack of prestigious ancestry and marry her. Because of her dedication to him, she merited to give birth to him the righteous Pinchas. This may be contrasted with Moshe’s wife Tzipporah, who although she was quite righteous in her own right, did nothing to actually further her husband’s spiritual development and therefore didn’t merit to bear to him exceptional sons.

3) The Targum Yonason ben Uziel writes that the magicians took water from Goshen, where the Jews lived, which wasn’t affected by the plague. Rabbeinu Bechaye and the Tosefos Rid answer that they dug holes in the ground to find underground water sources, as the plague only affected exposed water. Alternatively, Rabbeinu Bechaye suggests that when the magicians heard that the plague was about to begin, they traveled to areas which hadn’t yet been stricken and announced that they would turn the water to blood, which happened moments later due not to their actions, but to the plague. The Paneiach Raza explains that the water only turned to blood for a moment in order to kill the fish (7:21). It became foul and undrinkable due to the dead fish, and immediately changed back from blood to water.

4) The Maharshdam (1505-1589) explains that Hashem executed the plagues through His attribute of strict justice, connoted by the name Elokim. However, during the plague of hail, He also combined an element of mercy, represented by the name Hashem. Even in the midst of the great destruction caused by the hail, the Torah records (9:32) that the wheat and spelt were spared from the plague. Because food was necessary for their survival, Hashem had mercy even on the wicked Egyptians. Although earlier plagues also struck at critical supplies (such as turning the water into blood), Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein writes that some suggest that in the plague of hail, the Egyptians who feared Hashem brought their animals into their homes when they heard of the impending plague (9:20). Because they demonstrated some fear of Hashem, they merited His mercy.

© 2012 by Ozer Alport. To subscribe, send comments, or sponsor an issue, email oalport@optonline.net

God and Israel – The Coming of Mashiach

God and Israel, The Original Family Feud
Kabbalistic Insights . . .
by Ariel Bar Tzadok
Copyright © 2013 by Ariel Bar Tzadok. All rights reserved.

Both husband and wife are totally pissed off at one another! Each have turned their face from the other, and want to go their separate ways.

Such breakups happen all the time here on Earth. After all, we are only human beings, and there is just so much that mere mortals can tolerate. Yet, what happens when the breakup in question involves not just mere mortals, but also involves the Supreme Being? What happens when the family feud is between God and Israel?

Throughout the Bible and later literature, the relationship between God and Israel is symbolically described as a marriage, two partners that come together for the benefit of both parties. Equally, throughout the Bible and later literature, Israel is often portrayed as being an unfaithful partner, leading God to take disciplinary measures to bring His “wayward” wife back into the proper fold.

Even before the people entered the Holy Land, Moses, prior to his death warned the nation of the consequences of breaking faith with God.

“Because you did not serve the Lord, your God, with happiness and with gladness of heart, when [you had an] abundance of everything. Therefore, you will serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, [when you are] in famine, thirst, destitution, and lacking everything, and he will place an iron yoke upon your neck, until he has destroyed you.” (Deut 28:47-48)

“If you do not observe to fulfill all the words of this Torah, which are written in this scroll, to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord, your God, then the Lord [will bring upon] you and your offspring uniquely [horrible] plagues, terrible and unyielding plagues, and evil and unyielding sicknesses. And He will bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt which you dreaded, and they will cling to you. Also, the Lord will bring upon you every disease and plague which is not written in this Torah scroll, to destroy you.” (Deut. 28:58-61)

The later prophets of the First Temple period, specifically Hosea prolifically uses the husband/wife metaphor to describe Israel's breach of faith with God, and warns of impending doom because of it. If indeed these metaphors were in any sense literal, then we would understand this relationship in human terms, and we could apply to this marriage human approaches to making peace and finding amicable solutions. However, we should never delude ourselves into thinking that metaphor is indeed literal, for poetry is not prose, and neither is a parable a rendition of history.

With the destruction of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem in 586 b.c.e., the exile of Israel began. This was not just an exile of the people from its ancestral land, but also an exile of the people from their ancestral God, YHWH. While the people have returned to the land, too this day, the people have never returned to their God, and neither has their God returned to His people. This needs to be understood.

Theologically speaking, God is omnipresent, so technically God cannot go away. However, using the metaphorical terminology of the Kabbalah, God can and does turn, or hides, His “Face.” While God's omniscient power is ever present, nevertheless, His overt supernatural involvement in the daily lives of His people is concealed within the natural order.

When the Ark stood in the Temple, (and before that in the Tabernacle), YHWH would intervene directly in human affairs, often overriding the natural order. With the removal of the Ark, the supernatural manifestations of Divine power also left.

Too this day, religion thrives. Yet, too this day, religious hypocrisy, as it existed in the days of Solomon's Temple has not dissipated, or been reduced. That which drove God to hide His Face, in the first place, continues to this very day.

The people in the days of the destruction of Solomon's Temple were practical in minding their own needs. Their faith to their ancestral God, YHWH, was bound with YHWH providing for them their daily needs. With the destruction of the Temple, the people of the day did not blame themselves, or their sins. On the contrary, they blamed YHWH directly, and held Him personally responsible for their misfortune.

The peoples of that day would embrace whatever religion that they believed would bring them success in their worldly endeavors. When YHWH punishes His people for their transgressions, the people had enough of YHWH and pretty much gave Him a “divorce.” This is how it appears from the scripture recorded in Jeremiah. Responding to Jeremiah's prophecy from YHWH, the struggling band of First Temple survivors say (Jer. 44:16-18):

"The word that you spoke to us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken to you. But we will do everything that has emanated from our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour libations to her, as we did, we, our forefathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and we were sated with bread, and we were well, and we saw no evil. But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring libations to her, we lack everything, and we have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” And so these people passed on into history. Since those days, even with the building and destruction of the Second Temple, the relationship between YHWH and His people has been contentious. YHWH continues to hide His Face and many of the people continue to turn their faces to YHWH.

It seems like a lose-lose situation, like a stalemate in a spoiled marriage, where both partners may want reconciliation, but neither is willing to take the first move. Yet, remember, while we use the metaphor of marriage, we are not talking about a human couple here, and therefore human values and solutions do not apply.

How to turn the people of Israel back to their ancestral God is easily known and understood. All one has to do is turn to scripture for guidance and insight. Indeed, the final prophecy that God gave to Israel speaks about this return. In the early days of the Second Temple period, YHWH spoke through his prophet Malakhi (3:22-24) and said:

“Remember the Torah of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel, [its] rules and laws. Behold, I am sending to you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of YHWH, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers back to their sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers.”

Elijah is to come and inspire the people to reconnect to their roots, symbolized here as the hearts of the sons turning to their fathers. Yet, how are we supposed to get YHWH to turn His Face back upon Israel, and restore the glory of the lost, forgotten past? This is what the prophecy means when it says that the hearts of the fathers will also be turned back to their sons. While all this sounds so very nice and poetic, it still does not explain anything practical or pragmatic.

The Kabbalists, using their classical language of abstract metaphors, offer us insights as to how the overt Divine Presence is to be restored in the presence of the people. The metaphor says that during this time, when our relationship with God is symbolically “back-to-back,” the process of return begins with a metaphorical act of surgery of sorts.

The Kabbalists associate the relationship of God and Israel to Adam and Eve, and use them as metaphors to explain a profound process. Originally, (symbolically speaking, of course), Adam and Eve were created as one being, standing back to back, facing in opposite directions. In such a position they could never see each other face to face, and certainly had no hope or opportunity to intimately couple.

In order to rectify this state of affairs, using the symbolic language in Genesis, God puts Adam to sleep, and then removes Eve from his side and brings her to him as a now separate, detached and independent human being.

In this series of symbolic expressions, Adam represents God. Eve represents Israel, and the highest, concealed element of the Divine represents here God, whereas the symbol of Adam refers to God as He is revealed here in creation.

Adam being put to sleep symbolizes the removal of the Divine Presence. Adam's sleep symbolized the present state of human disconnection from the “Face of God.” During this period, while Adam is asleep, Eve, on the other hand, is wide awake.

During this period while Adam is asleep, God deals directly with Eve, building her into a complete individual. Therefore, this sleep period, this “exile” serves a double good, in that it builds Eve into her completion, and then allows Adam to have his proper mate.

Understand these metaphors as the Kabbalists intend them, and we receive a profound insight, and understanding about human history and secrets about the nature of the Divine.

Stripping away the metaphors, the Kabbalists are teaching us that the family feud between God and Israel was, and is, serves an ultimate good purpose. For Israel/Eve is wide awake during the time that God/Adam is asleep. During Adam's sleep, God communes directly with Eve, building her, and making her a complete, whole individual. During the period of exile, Israel no longer relies upon miraculous Divine interventions to get itself out of dangerous predicaments. Rather, Israel/Eve learns to stand upon its own two feet, to grab destiny by its horns, and forge its own path, and way in the world, without God having to hold the nation's hand, as He had to during the days of the First Temple.

Israel choses to listen to, or not to listen to God, without fear of Divine retribution, or expectations of Divine rewards for obedience. Israel takes its place as a nation among nations, and learns its place, and thus fulfills its destiny of being a light and an inspiration, all the while standing upon its own. In this way, acting independently, Israel acquires true merit before God by acting righteously on its own, and not just because of Divine coercion. True, God is always watching and helping, but the level of Divine revelation, and presence in First Temple times, is not only gone, it is also no longer needed.

Once Israel learns to stand upon its own feet, then God escorts Eve back to Adam, who is awakened to gaze upon his new bride. Before this, sharing a single back, Adam and Eve fought like proverbial cats and dogs. To end this fighting, God put Adam to sleep, and separated Eve from him, built her to be independent and whole, and then reunited her with her husband, now to live happily ever after.

This metaphor means that in the future, when the nation of Israel is independent and strong, faithful to itself, it will then be reintroduced to God, by Divine design. At such a time, both husband and wife will rejoice in their reunion. The family feud will be over, and an eternity of peace will have begun. We call this future time, the coming of Mashiah.

There really is a plan and a purpose to the crazy history of the nation of Israel. Although Kabbalistic metaphors are extremely difficult to understand, nevertheless the Kabbalist's message of hope, strength and vision is rather easy to both see and embrace.

Copyright © 2013 by Ariel Bar Tzadok. All rights reserved.

Parshas Vaeira – A Flaming Dawn

FLAMING DAWN

By Roy S. Neuberger

“I … have heard the wail of the children of Israel whom Egypt enslaves and I have remembered My covenant.” (Shemos 6:5) When we are suffering and cry out to Hashem, He will rescue us.

My friends, the fires of hatred are being stoked. A fire is not easy to start; you have to light the kindling; then, as the flames strengthen, you add increasingly bigger logs. But once the fire becomes strong, it can easily spread. This is clearly demonstrated in Australia, where numerous deadly fires are out of control.

We are still in the early stages, but the fires of hatred are beginning to get out of control.

We may think that the world will listen to rational arguments for peaceful coexistence, but “Esav sone l’Yaakov … It is halacha … that Esav hates Yaakov.” (Rashi on Beraishis 33:4). Hatred is controllable only if Hashem saves us. That is why we have to cry out to Him. In Australia, the flames are spreading from treetop to treetop, where no one can reach them. 

I recently spoke a beloved and respected member of the Lakewood community, Dr. Howard Leibowitz, who called to my attention an amazing comment by the Ramban on Parshas Vayigash. The Torah describes how, after Yosef reveals himself to his brothers, the family descends to Mitzraim. “And Hashem spoke to Yisroel in visions of the night, and said [to him] ‘Yaakov, Yaakov,’ and [Yaakov] answered ‘Hineni.’” (Beraishis 46:2)

The Ramban wants to understand: is our Patriarch’s name “Yisroel” or “Yaakov?” The malach has already said, “No longer will … your name [be] Yaakov, but [rather] Yisroel, for you have striven with the Divine and with man and you have overcome.” (Beraishis 32:29)

Why now does Hashem address him as “Yaakov?”

My friends, when we descend into Golus, we are not “Yisroel!” 

When we descend into Golus we are “Yaakov!” 

The Ramban is teaching us that, in the future, when Yaakov’s descendants emerge from Mitzraim, they will able to “strive with the Divine and with man and overcome,” but now, when Yaakov is descending into Exile, “he [is] only Yaakov,” not “Yisroel.”

“Yisroel” is the name applied to us in our strength and glory; “Yaakov” is our name when we are weak and surrounded by enemies.

It is dangerous to pretend that we are strong when we are weak, to believe that we dominate when we are subjugated, or that we are at home when we are among the nations. If we fool ourselves, then we will not “wail” to Hashem, and we need to cry out in order to be saved!

“Favor me, Hashem, for I am feeble. Heal me, Hashem for my bones shudder. My soul is utterly confounded and You, Hashem, how long? …. Every night, I drench my bed, with my tears I soak my couch. My eye is aged … by my tormentors….” (Tehillim 6) 

Only when, with a broken soul, we implore Hashem for mercy, will we understand that the flames around us are the harbingers of dawn!

Dawn lights up the East

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Roy Neuberger, author and public speaker, can be reached at roy@2020vision.co.il.

© Copyright 2020 by Roy S. Neuberger

Parshas Va'eira – GOLUS AND REDEMPTION

GOLUS AND REDEMPTION

By Roy S. Neuberger

The Torah goes at great length into Golus Mitzraim because we have to understand the reality of Golus. The Torah goes at great length into the Redemption through Moshe Rabbeinu because we have to understand the reality of Redemption.

It is vital to understand how Golus and Redemption are connected. 

They both arrive “b’keref ayin … in the blink of an eye.” Yosef was sold and suddenly the world darkened. Yosef was whisked from prison and suddenly light appeared.

The prerequisite to Redemption: we have to feel the pain of Golus. If we don’t feel it, then we will not cry out to Hashem to free us. That pain causes us to beg Hashem to take us out. “The Children of Israel groaned because of the work and they cried out. Their outcry because of the work went up to G-d. G-d heard their moaning and G-d remembered His covenant with Avraham, with Yitzchak and with Yaakov. G-d saw the Children of Israel and G-d knew.” (Shemos 2:23-25) Thesepossukim immediately precede the passage in which Moshe Rabbeinu is summoned to return to Mitzraim: “An angel of Hashem appeared to him in a blaze of fire from amid the bush.” (Shemos 3:2)

Our Redeemer is waiting, but we need to cry out to Hashem.

We are dangerously in love with Golus. I am afraid that we just don’t understand our condition. Several weeks ago, “out of nowhere,” a decree was issued by the New York State Department of Education which, in one blow, threatened the future of our entire yeshiva system. The specter of enemies prowling through our holy institutions of Torah with the power to control them was astonishing to us who have enjoyed this “medina of chessed” for so long. 

“If the Jewish People repent, they will be redeemed .… If they do not repent, they will not be redeemed? …. Rather, the Holy One, Blessed is He, will appoint a king over them whose decrees will be as harsh [as those of] Haman, and the Jewish People will repent and [in this way G-d] will bring them back to the right [path].” (Sanhedrin 97b)

My friends, we have to know, “Halacha hi … It is a law. It is known that Esav hates Yaakov ….” (Rashi on Bereishis 33:4)What has changed? Has this law been repealed? HHaHNothing has changed, except that we have been lulled by the acceptance we have enjoyed in the lands of the West into thinking that we are at home here.

It is Mitzraim all over again. We are in terrible danger. At any moment a king as cruel as Haman could appear, G-d forbid, and our entire world could be turned upside down. All it takes is the blink of an eye for Haman to appear … or Moshiach to come. We have to cry out to Hashem!

Remember a few weeks ago when we read, “Ani Yosef … I am Yosef?” Redemption dawned in an instant! That’s how Moshiach will come. May we see him soon in our days!

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Roy Neuberger, author and public speaker, can be reached at roy@2020vision.co.il.

© Copyright 2019 by Roy S. Neuberger