Rebbetzin Esther Ovadia, רבנית אסתר עבדיה

An inspiring story from a beautiful geyores (female convert to Judaism) about her life and the Hasgacha Pratis behind it.

Born in Ukraine, Rebbetzin Esther Ovadia, raised Xian, adopted by a secular Jewish grandmother, somehow ended up in Charedi circles, learning in seminary, without revealing her Xian identity. A very interesting life that ends up with a happy ending.

Rebbetzin Esther Ovadia

Chickens for Shabbos, עוף לכבוד שבת

A worthwhile charity to help the poor (mostly religious Jews) in Eretz Yisrael.

 

Read where the tzedakah is going to all over Israel, the highest receipients being Netivot, Bet Shemesh and Jerusalem, based on the statistics in 2009. Visit http://chickensforshabbos.com/ to help.

Related readings: Poverty in Israel,

Shabbat Shalom, Phones! שבת שלום טלפונים!

Anne Wojcicki, holding her hand held devices, is the co-founder of "23andme" and also is a board member of the National Day of Unplugging from Technology. An upcoming event will encourage people to disconnect from their social networks and smart phones and engage with the world and people directly around them.

Did you know that a revolution took place on March 4-5, 2011?  Well, since I'm not as plugged in to the current world events as I once used to, except through the rabbis who gave shiurim (Yes!, I heard about this from Rabbi Benzion Klatzko during his shiur on "Life After Death"), the revolutionary "National Day of Unplugging (your phones! and everything Internet) came and went by, affecting mostly the secular world (Jewish and Gentile). This day was Shabbos and religious Jews continue to unplug as they have been for millenium. But for the secular world, this is revolutionary!

An organization called the "Sabbath Manifesto" whose board members include Google Founder, Sergei Brin's wife, Anne Wojcicki, and other Jewish members (B"H!), is slowly but surely influencing the world with a day of rest once a week, starting with their cell phones. I can see Hashem smiling at the world on this.

Related articles: Sabbath Manifesto, National Day of Unplugging, Comments from the Community, Sergey Brin's Wife Wants You to Unplug Your Phone, YouTube Channel for the Sabbath Manifesto

So Hashem will rejoice over you to annihilate you and to destroy you, כֵּן יָשִׂישׂ ה' עֲלֵיכֶם לְהַאֲבִיד אֶתְכֶם וּלְהַשְׁמִיד אֶתְכֶם

Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, zt"l, wrote in Michtav Mi'Eliyahu that Hashem often reveals His providence in such a way that any sensible person must realize that these events could not be coincidental. This may apply to things that we perceive as good and also as bad. Hashem may choose to show His providence by providing miracles for our enemies, c"v.

As Hashem your G-d once rejoiced over you to do good to you ... so will Hashem rejoice over you to annihilate you and to destroy you.  And you will be uprooted from the land which you enter therein, to possess it. (Devarim 28:63)

"Rejoicing" in this context means "going beyond all limits."  When referring to good, it means loving kindness without bounds. When it refers to destruction, it means that Hashem helps our enemies without limit and does miracles for them to our detriment, c"v.

For example, Hashem brought Hitler, y"s, to fame overnight, as well as the current president of the U.S. whose goal is to destroy Israel. Hashem has also brought back the gilgulim of all the evil people in history for the sake of Israel, to bring us back to teshuva.

Rav Dessler also wrote that this is what we may expect in the days of "the birth-pangs of Moshiach." However, since there are people, including great men of prior faith, who refuse to recognize the Hashgacha Pratis in all of this, and fall prey to doubts and deny the existence of Divine Justice, especially in situations of extreme suffering (e.g. Holocaust, and c'v the coming reign of Bney Yishmael over Israel), several Sages of the Talmud noted their desire that they would rather not be alive at the time of "the birth-pangs of Moshiach."

If a person truly and sincerely recognizes Hashem's providence, his way of life must change radically. ... if he then makes a radical change in his actions, he will find that the direction of the miracles will immediately change from being miracles for bad to miracles for good.

If we want to know how much we have taken to heart the providential nature of the sufferings of our time, all we have to do is to see how much we have changed our behavior through living in the era of the birth-pangs of Moshiach.

-- Rav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, zt"l, (1892 - 30 December 1953)

The Resurrection of the Dead, תחיית המתים

Everything is a miracle. Even nature is a miracle. It's just that we have gotten used to nature and forget sometimes that Hashem is behind nature, and willing everything to existence every single time. The resurrection of the dead which we think hasn't yet happened, has been happening throughout nature every time. It's only that Hashem has chosen to resurrect seeds at this time and not humans.

Let us imagine that we saw a dead person laid to rest in his grave. The body decomposes and turns to dust. Then slowly, from the depths of the grave, something begins to grow. We see something like a human body forming and protruding above the ground. Eventually, the earth is thrust aside and a complete, living human being shakes himself free of the earth and emerges from the grave.

Why do we not see the same miracle in the growth of a seed? The only difference is that we are used to the resurrection of seeds but not yet to the resurrection of humans. If the situation were reversed, we would call germination a miracle and resurrection of people nature -- The Miracle of Resurrection, Rav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, Michtav Mi'Eliyahu

I have always identified myself and our post-Holocaust generations with the great imagery of the scene described by the prophet Yechezkel. The prophet views a large valley covered by bleached scattered human bones. The Midrash teaches us that these were the remains of the tens of thousands of the tribe of Joseph who attempted to escape Egyptian bondage before the actual redemption from Egypt by Moses took place.

They had fallen victim to the ravages of the desert and the enmity of the pagan tribes that persecuted them. The prophet sees no hope for their revival. After all, by his time they have already been dead for millennium. And the prophet also senses that they have never properly been mourned and commemorated.

The Lord informs the prophet that these bones are symbolic of “the entire household of Israel.” The household of Israel is itself overwhelmed with its anonymous dead who have no graves or monuments to somehow mark the fact that they once lived on this earth. The prophet despairs of their revival or continuity.

But the Lord tells him to prophesy over the dry bones and restore them to their physical human form. Then the spirit of the Lord enters them and they come back life and arise on the valley floor as a mighty host.

The prophet does not tell us what the end of this story was. What happened to this mighty host of newly and miraculously revived Jews? The Talmud offers two different insights on this matter. One is that the revival was only a temporary phenomenon and that they all reverted immediately to being dry dead bones.

This opinion was contradicted by the sage Rabbi Yehuada ben Beteira. He rose in the study hall and stated: “God forbid that we should advance such a pessimistic opinion. Rather, they married, raised children and lived a full life thereafter. And I am a descendant of theirs and as a proof of the matter I hold in my hand the tefilin of my ancestors [that they themselves wore.]”

I feel that the only closure that can reach our soul regarding Jewish tragedy is the recognition of the continuity of generations and tradition that binds the Jewish people together. Our past, those that are gone and even those who are unknown to us whose ashes and bones litter the landscape of a cursed continent, live on through us - through our achievements and struggles on behalf of Torah and Israel. -- Rabbi Berel Wein on the Holocaust Memorial this Sunday, May 1, 2011

The following is a 2008 video posted by Nava Klein, of Dreaming Of Moshiach on an animated version of the resurrection.

Baruch Dayan HaEmes on the Viflic Family, ברוך דין האמת על משפחת ויפליך

It is with much sorrow to report that Daniel Viflic, ע"ה, (Rafael Daniel Ariel ben Yitzchak v'Tamar) was niftar on Sunday, April 17, 2011 (יג ניסן). May his memory be for a blessing to Klal Yisrael. To Yitzchak and Tamar:

 המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים

May Hashem comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Yerushalayim

דניאל למד בישיבת "היכל התורה" במושב מחסיה. ישיבה שבה לומדים רק לימודי קודש. נחשב "עילוי". מאיר פנים, אדיב, עדין וטוב לב. ילד של אמא. בפורים האחרון הזמין אחד הרבנים בישיבה את בני הזוג ויפליך לשיחה. "נשמה שלא רואים בעולם", מצטטת תמר את דברי הרב על דניאל, "יותר מדי נשמה. טוב מדי בשביל העולם הזה".

"הוא אמר לי,'הבן שלכם לא שייך לדור הזה'", מספר איציק, "'הוא מיוחד גם בין ילדי הישיבה. אתה מדבר אליו, תמיד הוא הולך עם העיניים למטה'. בגלל זה, גם בישיבה כולם המומים. דניאל, הם אומרים, זה האחרון האחרון שמגיע לו דבר כזה".

Daniel studied at Yeshiva "Heichal HaTorah" in Moshav Machseyah, a yeshiva learning only Limudei Kodesh. He was considered brilliant. Welcoming, courteous, gentle and kind. Mama's boy. In the last Purim, one of the Rabbis of the Yeshiva invited the Viflic couple for conversation. "A soul that is not seen in this world!" Tamar quotes the words of Daniel's Rabbi.

"He said to me, 'Your son does not belong in this generation', tells Yitzik (short for Yitzchak, Daniel's, a"h, father). He is also unique, among the boys of the yeshivah. You speak to him, he always walks with his eyes down.' Because of this, also in the yeshivah, everyone was astonished. Daniel, they say, this is the last, last thing to come to him like this (tragedy). -- Maariv (Hebrew) (I apologize if the translation is bad!)

Daniel Viflic, (Raphael Daniel Aryeh ben Tamar) the 16-year-old boy injured in the anti-tank missile attack on a school bus in the Negev on last week, was unfortunately just Niftar.

He had been hospitalized in Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center since the terror attack, and his condition slowly deteriorated until his Petira just a few minutes ago.

Viflic suffered severe head trauma and was artificially respirated while unconscious after an anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip struck his school bus in the Negev two weeks ago.

The missile, which was fired by Hamas terrorists, hit the bus moments after most of the children got off, while it was driving near Kibbutz Saad, about 2.5 k.m. from Gaza. Only two people were on the bus when it was hit – the driver, who was lightly injured in the leg, and Viflic, who was en route to visit his grandmother. The bus driver is a friend of the family.

(Dov Gordon – YWN Israel)

Daniel's health deteriorated during his stay in intensive care. His father Yitzchak said Tuesday that the situation was “very critical,” and “There is nothing we can do now but pray.”

His mother Tamar told the Hebrew-language daily Ma'ariv, “I talk to him. I tell him, 'My child, be strong. Be strong, Daniel. Soon you will come home, in a few days. Everything will be fine.'”

Supporters have spent the past several days praying for Daniel's welfare and raising money for his family, which closed the family business temporarily in order to be at his side. -- IsraelNationalNews.com

You Shall Not Lie Down with a Male, As With a Woman, וְאֶת זָכָר לֹא תִשְׁכַּב מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה

22. You shall not lie down with a male, as with a woman: this is an abomination.		כב. וְאֶת זָכָר לֹא תִשְׁכַּב מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה תּוֹעֵבָה הִוא:
23. And with no animal shall you cohabit, to become defiled by it. And a woman shall not stand in front of an animal to cohabit with it; this is depravity.		כג. וּבְכָל בְּהֵמָה לֹא תִתֵּן שְׁכָבְתְּךָ לְטָמְאָה בָהּ וְאִשָּׁה לֹא תַעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי בְהֵמָה לְרִבְעָהּ תֶּבֶל הוּא:
24. You shall not defile yourselves by any of these things, for the nations, whom I am sending away from before you, have defiled themselves with all these things.		כד. אַל תִּטַּמְּאוּ בְּכָל אֵלֶּה כִּי בְכָל אֵלֶּה נִטְמְאוּ הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי מְשַׁלֵּחַ מִפְּנֵיכֶם:
25. And the land became defiled, and I visited its sin upon it, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.		כה. וַתִּטְמָא הָאָרֶץ וָאֶפְקֹד עֲוֹנָהּ עָלֶיהָ וַתָּקִא הָאָרֶץ אֶת יֹשְׁבֶיהָ:

How sad it is to hear that the abominations of the nations have taken their toll on Jewish souls. With news like "Coming out of closet in classroom", our Israeli brethren are copying the same acts you will find in American schools, promoting these abominations in schools as early as kindergarten, in Israeli schools.

The Hoshen organization, the education center of the LGBT community in Israel, is an organization of volunteers which holds hundreds of meetings with high school students throughout the year with the aim of introducing them to the life of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and presenting them as real people. -- Coming out of closet in classroom

"Certain elements of the Muslim international community have been waiting to be able to point fingers at the relationship between Israel and America to be able to state that America has exported the worst part of Western culture to Israel as a portal to this section of the world - the Middle East."

"Consequently, I am fearful," he continued, "that at some point they will be able to defend their use of terrorism against American citizens throughout the world by saying that the ugly American has now exported their ugliness into the Middle East." -- Rabbi Yehuda Levin

Is there hope in Medinat Israel? There is. Read this article, "Israeli rabbi match-marries religious gay-lesbian partnerships."  How about the non-religious confused brethren of ours? Well, may Hashem help them. Maybe they too, would do teshuva before it's too late.

From the Tallest Mountain to the Deepest Ocean Trench, מן ההר הגבוה ביותר על התעלה האוקיינוס ​​העמוק ביותר

יג מַשְׁקֶה הָרִים מֵֽעֲלִיּוֹתָיו מִפְּרִי מַֽעֲשֶׂיךָ תִּשְׂבַּע הָאָֽרֶץ
13. He waters the mountains from his high abode; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your works!
כה זֶה | הַיָּם גָּדוֹל וּרְחַב יָדָיִם שָׁם רֶמֶשׂ וְאֵין מִסְפָּר חַיּוֹת קְטַנּוֹת עִם־גְּדֹלֽוֹת
25. So is this great and wide sea, where there are innumerable creeping things, living things, both small and great!
(Tehilim 104)

Source OurAmazingPlanet.com, Exploring the wonder and beauty of planet Earth through exclusive news, features and images.

The Significance of Four, חשיבותה של ארבע

Free clipart from Bitsela

Based on Naaleh.com shiur by Rabbi Hershel Reichman

The Significance of Four

The number four plays a paramount role at the seder. There are four questions, four cups of wine, four expressions of geulah, four sons, and four letters in Hashem's name, yud keh vav keh. The Shem Mishmuel explains that this corresponds to the four levels of the soul, nefesh, ruach, neshama, and chayah-the biological, emotional, intellectual, and divine aspects of the self.

Our sages say that the Jewish people are characterized by three traits - rachmanim, bayshanim, v'gomlei chasadim, (mercifulness, bashfulness, and generosity). These attributes stem from our forefathers. Avraham signified chesed. Yitzchak, the pillar of yirat Hashem represented bayshanut-humbleness and bashfulness. Yaakov was merciful, a combination of din and chesed. These three middot were passed down to the Jewish people.

The positive side of any spiritual entity has a reverse negative aspect. The evil side of the three middot of the Avot are the three cardinal sins, idol worsip, adultery, and murder. All the sins of the world fall within these three categories. The root of these sins are, jealousy, desire, and honor. Desire is the source of adultery, honor is the root of idol worship as one gives honor to something other than Hashem, and jealousy is the cause of murder. Adultery was counterbalanced by the chesed of Avraham. Yitzchak, with his constant fear of Hashem rectified idol worship. Yaakov, the paragon of mercy, corrected the sin of murder. Moshe, who had the closest relationship with Hashem, symbolizes the divinity in man as represented by chayah. He is the fourth model. The divine image is the key to uniting all the conflicting parts of a person's soul in order to serve Hashem.

The Jewish people went through four subjugations: Bavel, Paras, Yavan, and Edom. Bavel represents idol worship. Paras symbolizes immorality. Yaven signifies murder-a division between Hashem and the world. Edom personifies loshon hara which encompasses all three sins. Egypt was the archetype of all exiles. It was the birthplace of the Jewish nation and it was there that they were tested on all four levels of the soul. Pharaoh issued four decrees. Avodah kasha which affected the nefesh-physical level, killing the male babies before they born which affected the ruach-emotional level, throwing the babies in the river which affected the neshama level. The final decree to collect the straw was meant to wear them out and destroy their divinity. The Shem Mishmuel says that the first two decrees which focused on the physical and emotional level were implemented by the Egyptian people. The last two decrees which were aimed at the Jewish people's higher self- their intellect and divine spirit, were devised by Pharoah. This represents the physical observable world versus the hidden world.

Chazal tell us that the Jewish people merited to leave Egypt in the merit of not altering their garb, language, or name. This was their nefesh, ruach, and neshama expressing itself. Name is nefesh, language is sechel-neshama, and garb is ruach. There was a unity, a wholesomeness, and a tikun at the chaya level. On Pesach we rectify each of the four aspects of our soul. Pesach is the nefesh, marror is the ruach, and matzah is the neshama. Chametz is falsity, a distortion, a lot of hot air. Refraining from consuming chametz rectifies the fourth level, chaya-our divine image.

As explained by the Shem Mishmuel, the number four is important on every level of tikun and the development of the perfect personality. The challenge of Pesach is to achieve sh'leimut. May we merit to experience the tikun klali-the final fixing on all four levels of the soul.

End of Time of Galus, קץ שעה הגלות

Rabbi Mordechai Swiatycki's shiur series of "End of Time of Galus" at TorahAnytime.com is worth listening to. In the latest shiur uploaded, Part 18, Rabbi Swiatycki stresses that we are still in galus, both in Israel and outside. He particularly mentions our brethren settling in Yehuda and Shomron and comparing their situation with the story about the Jews landing on an island which turned out to be a whale which tossed them over and had Moshiach not been close by, the Jews would not have been saved. The Rabbi is saying that we cannot force ourselves upon settling Israel when the time is not yet ripe. Moshiach hasn't yet come.  It's a mistake to assert ourselves in the land. According to the Rabbi, there's an illusion of power, safety, security and control in Eretz Yisrael.  This of course is in contrast to those religious Zionists who claim otherwise. To them, the Zionists, the State of Israel has everything. The Rabbi continues that the ruchnius (spirituality) of Am Yisrael cannot strive in a place based on arrogance and vulgarity, referring to the State of Israel today.

 

End of Galus Part 18

Rebbetzin Ivy Kalazan's shiur, also on TorahAnytime.com, on the 10th bracha of Shemoneh Esrei, "Teka b'shofar gadol l'cherosaynu...," mentions three steps in which kibutz galiyos (the ingathering of the exiles) will take place after Moshiach. She quotes the Gra (Vilna Gaon) that the first step is for Hashem to remove our repression (from our enemies), parallel to our Geulah in Mitzrayim. The Jews were freed from their oppresion during the Ten Plagues. Now, by this time Moshiach would already have arrived. The second step is Jews will have a mini-gathering in one location before they return to Eretz Yisrael, parallel to our Geulah in Mitzrayim where Jews were gathered in Goshen to do the Korban Pesach together before they left altogether. The third step is the final exodus from chutz la'aretz, like the exodus of Egypt.

 

10th Bracha of Shemoneh Esrei

Have a Chag Kasher v'Sameach!

Rafael Daniel Ariel ben Tamar, רפאל דניאל אריאל בן תמר

Daniel Viflic, ע"ה, was niftar on Sunday, April 17, 2011 (13 Nisan). Thank you for your tefillos. May his memory be for a blessing.

The name of Daniel is Raphael Daniel Ariel ben Tamar (update, not Aryeh, but Ariel) as seen in this video from this article.

According to Vosizneais, Daniel's condition has worsened.

Israel - Sixteen year old Daniel Wipliech, who was seriously injured in last week’s rocket attack on an Israeli school bus in southern Israel, has taken a turn for the worse. The Soroka Medical Center said he is now in critical condition.

The teen is hospitalized at Soroka’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where he was transferred to after last week’s attack. “The situation is very serious, his brain most likely sustained severe injury and we see no evidence of any brain activity,” Professor Shaul Sofer, Chief of Pediatric ICU said.

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He added that “the injury is mortal and we don’t use that term often, Daniel is in “a deep coma and is completely unresponsive. We are very concerned with his condition.

May Hakadosh Baruch Hu have mercy on Daniel, and may we increase in our mitzvos to bring a b'soros tovos for Am Yisrael. Amen.

Related Posts: Tehillim for Boy Injured by Gaza Missile Today (up..., Help the Viflic Family, עזרו משפחת ויפליק

Tehillim for Boy Injured by Gaza Missile Today (update), תהלים בשביל נער שנפגע ע"י טילים מעזה היום

UPDATE: Daniel Viflic was niftar on April 17, 2011 (13 Nisan). May his memory be for a blessing.

The name of Daniel is Raphael Daniel Ariel ben Tamar (update, not Aryeh, but Ariel) as seen in this video from this article.

Another terrorist attack against Jewish children in the State of Israel occurred today, April 7, 2011, ג' ניסן 5771. Sorry that this news didn't get out sooner. Please daven for Rafael Daniel Aryeh ben Tamar. Update is that he is in ICU and fighting for his life, the boy who is critically injured from the Gaza Missile attack against a school bus in the Negev (South of Israel). This is another victim hailing from Bet Shemesh. There were about three or four also from B.S. injured  in the last Jerusalem bus bombing.  It can be Hashem's will that He placed me outside Eretz Yisrael at this time, but Eretz Yisrael cannot be taken out of me. This is how I feel. I feel very close to this community.  This is the least I can do for this community at this time.

At 1:30 pm, the Viflics asked me to post that they have added a name to their son's name and all davening from this point forward should be done under this name:

Raphael Daniel Ariel ben Tamar (update, not Aryeh, but Ariel)

He desparately needs your tefillos for a refuah shelma. Please daven long and hard this Shabbat with him in mind.

The Viflics (Itzik and Tamar) live in RBSA and are owners of the Oriental Chinese Takeout. Their son, 16-year-old Daniel, was critically wounded in an attack on a bus and they are calling on the public to pray. Daniel Viflic remains in intensive care, and is fighting for his life.

A 16-year boy was critically injured after a bus driving near the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council was hit, apparently by an anti-tank missile, fired from the Gaza Strip on Thursday. He is currently being treated for severe trauma to the head, after sustaining shrapnel injuries.

If video shows Israeli advertisement on the front, click on "פעם אחרת" (another time) to dismiss the ad. There will also be another Israeli ad at the end.

Hashem is clearly sending us a message as he's allowing the Yishmaelites to harm our children. We  must cry out to Hashem, in teshuva, tefillah and tzedakah.
 
In the meantime, Vosizneias reports that Hamas has announced an agreement to a cease-fire after the IDF retaliated against continuous terrorism against Israel with an Israeli airstrike east of Gaza City, striking a Hamas training camp.  May Hashem have rachmanus! ה' ירחם!

Passover, Blood Libels and Brotherly Love

There’s a reason why we have yet to overcome the plague of sinat hinam for two millennia. We feel very passionately about our religious beliefs, and often fail in our attempt to defend them without launching personal attacks against our ideological opponents. Pesach, the season of redemption, is the ideal opportunity to correct this mistake. It is both the holiday of Jewish faith and the holiday of Jewish unity. And it is therefore the time to commit ourselves to defending our faith without destroying our unity, and this will help ensure that we will observe both the night of Pesach and the night of Tisha B’Av as occasions celebrating our final redemption, speedily and in our days, amen.

by Rabbi Eli Mansour

What is the connection between karpas, the story of Yosef and his brothers, and blood libels? The answer will change the way we look at the Pesah seder… and the way we look at our fellow Jew.

It happens every year; a seemingly serendipitous coincidence that places Tisha B’Av – the saddest day of the Jewish year – on the same day of the week as the first day of Pesah – one of the happiest days. But of course, there are no coincidences in the Jewish calendar. There must be a reason for the festival of freedom to be inescapably connected to the Jewish national day of mourning.

The Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles of Cracow, 1525-1572) found an allusion to this intriguing temporal feature in a verse in Eicha (3:15), “Hisbi’ani ba’merorim hirvani la’ana– He has satiated me with bitter foods, and has filled me with wormwood.” The “bitter foods” spoken of in this verse are the marror, the bitter herbs eaten on Pesah, whereas the “wormwood” refers to the anguish and sorrow of Tisha B’Av. In a seemingly odd association the prophet combines these two diametrically opposite occasions into a single verse. On the night of Pesah, we eat a lavish, regal feast, whereas exactly sixteen weeks later on the night of Tisha B’Av we sit on the floor, cry, and fast. How are these two occasions related?

The month of Nissan is the season of redemption. Our sages famously taught, “On Nissan we were redeemed, and in Nissan we will, in the future, be redeemed.” The occasions on the Jewish calendar are not simply commemorative, but also bring with them certain spiritual powers associated with the historical events that they celebrate. In the season of Nissan, the power and potential of ge’ula(redemption) exist with greater potency than at other times during the year. Just as this was the season of the Exodus from Egypt, this will be the season of our future redemption.

To continue reading this article, go here.

Sandstorm and Darkness, סופת חול וחושך

A sandstorm occurred in northern Germany on April 8, 2011, across a highway, causing darkness and a multi-vehicle pile-up, leaving eight people dead and dozens injured. Listen to an eyewitness statement:

All of a sudden, there was a black wall of sand and then I couldn't see anything any more and I was pushed into another car. I have never seen anything like it before and it's difficult to describe. (Steffen)

Could this be the beginning of a taste for the plague of darkness, חושך?

The worst pileup in the last 20 years in Germany, on the motorway Berlin-Rostock. About 110 people were directly involved in the accident. Many of them were injured. About 20 cars caught fire, including a vehicle carrying dangerous goods. The fire took several hours to extinguish the flames. 15 people lost their lives.

Help the Viflic Family,עזרו משפחת ויפליך

From the Le'ma'an Achai (For the sake of my brethren) mailing in Bet Shemesh:

The Viflic family run a small catering business, and right now (coming up to Pessach) was planned to be their peak season.

Due to the horrific circumstances the Viflic's are now suffering, the business will be non-existent during this period. Unfortunately, there is no cash reserve to fall back on.

In order to float the business and the family until after Pessach, $10,000 is immediately needed.

This is a definite and immediate need. Depending on Daniel's progress, there will likely be other financial impact also.

A special Emergency Fund has therefore been established for the Viflics, by Lema'an Achai.

Please

a. *After* you have given your regular kimche depischa/maot chitim donation,
please ALSO donate generously to the "Terror Victim Fund - Viflic"
https://lemaanachai.org/donations.aspx

b. Please, add your personal recommendation to the top of this email, and send this emergency appeal to your close friends, family, shul lists, and others who may be interested to help the Viflic family (but please don't spam).

More Details How to Donate:

* Checks * - clearly marked "Terror Victim Fund - Viflic": Mail to...

USA Tax Deductible: Payable to "US Friends of Lema'an Achai", PO Box 532,
Oceanside, NY 11572-0532, USA.

UK Tax Deductible: Payable to "British Friends of Lema'an Achai", c/o Nava
Kestenbaum, 96 Rigby Street, Salford, Manchester, M7 4BQ, ENGLAND.

Canadian Tax Deductible: Payable to "Gates of Mercy Charity Fund", C/O
Murray Shore, 31 Marwill Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3H 3L2, CANADA.

Israel Tax Deductible: Payable to "Lema'an Achai", The Lema'an Achai Center,
40/7 Nahal Lachish, Ramat Bet Shemesh, 99093, Israel.

* By Phone*:
24/6 Donations Hotline (Hebrew): 02 99.999.33

* Securely On-Line *
https://lemaanachai.org/donations.aspx
(Use the drop-down, or comments section to designate "Terror Victim -Viflic"

--
Besorot Tovot,
David & Avrohom

Small Print: This is an emergency situation; in the event that more donations are received for the Viflics than their needs, any remaining funds will solely be used for helping similar families in crisis.

Tizku l'Mitzvos and may Am Yisrael's response via teshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah overturn any pending negative decrees headed our way all over the world. Amen.

Why do Snakes Bite and Why does Am Yisrael Suffer? מדוע נחשים נושכים, ומדוע עם ישראל סובל?

Snake fang of a Gaboon Viper, by Brimac the 2nd (Wikimedia.org)

Rabbi Duvi BenSoussan continues to deliver powerful shiurim, this time, he talks about the cause of our sufferings today, inflicted upon Am Yisrael, all over the world. It has to do with the first sin that entered the world. Can you guess what the first sin is? It's not Chava eating from the עז הדעת טוב ורע (Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil); it's the sin of speaking לשון הרע (slander). The first sin is not committed by man, but by the snake. 

Rabbi BenSoussan continues with why the snake likes to bite, even though everything it bites into tastes the same, like dust. That was one of the punishments inflicted upon the nachash at Gan Eden, besides being brought down way low to crawl upon its belly on the ground. 

Find out why the snake likes to bite and what  has loshon hora got to do with Am Yisrael's sufferings today, by watching and learning from this shiur, "Snake: Why Do You Bite?"

שבת שלום.

Make your Passover Meaningful, להפוך את הפסח שלכם יהיו בעלי משמעות

Seder Plate by Yoninah (Wikimedia.org)

Here are some tips about how you can make your Passover meaningful, thanks to Partners in Torah.

MAKE IT MEANINGFUL

If Passover this year is just like all the others in past years, it will not have the same meaning. Here are six suggestions for how you can make this Passover even more meaningful than all the others:

• Money well spent: Don’t settle for the free Haggadah that comes with the coffee. Purchase one that features inspiring insights and explanations with which you can spice up the discussion at the Seder. There are hundreds to choose from.
• Prepare in advance: Take some time prior to the Seder to read up on the events and their meaning so that you can share inspiring and meaningful content with the participants.
• All kidding aside: As important as it is to get the kids involved, the adults must be engaged as well. Ask each participant ahead of time to prepare something short to share with the others so the conversation revolves around Passover, not politics.
• Read the book: This year, skip the movie and read the book instead. “Let My Nation Go” by Yosef Deutch details the events of the Exodus in a gripping and suspense — filled narrative that remains loyal to traditional sources.
• Take your time: Passover comes only once a year. Make it count by prolonging the Seder instead of ending it in time to get home before dark.
• Think of others: A Seder can be a powerful spiritual experience. Yet, it is best when celebrated with others. Think of the less fortunate among us who may need an invitation and invite them to grace your Seder with their presence.

POINTS TO PONDER

• Is it really so hard to refrain from Chametz for the full holiday of Passover?
• What is the definition of “freedom,” and how can we apply it to make our lives more meaningful?
• Why are we considered to still be in exile when we enjoy religious freedom to such a great extent? Why do so many Jews celebrate a Seder, even the unaffiliated?
• Why was it necessary for an outsider like Moses to lead us to freedom?
• Why couldn’t we accomplish it on our own?
• Are we proud to be the Almighty’s Chosen People? Do we live up to that designation as we should?
• Why can’t someone other than Aunt Bertha make the Matzoh-Ball soup for a change?
• If there’s one lesson to take from the Passover experience, what would it be?

Acting with Malchus, לפעול כמו מלכות

Passover Seder Table, by Pastel (flickr)

This is another piece of gem to share from the Jerusalem Ahavas Yisrael Group.

Don’t you wonder why so many of us feel compelled (and often drive ourselves and our family crazy in the process) to make our homes sparkle and shine in places no chometz could possibly hide? While knowing what is halachically necessary to clean and focusing on that is of primary importance to keep us emotionally balanced, Rav Yitzchok Berkovits says this urge for extra cleaning actually has a positive source and he shares the secret with us.

On Pesach, when we wear our best new clothing, set the table with our finest china and serving ware, lean on cushions as we sip good wine from sparkling crystal, we are not only celebrating our freedom, but that Hashem raised us from the status of lowly slaves to a people of nobility.

The Jewish People are aristocracy, mamleches kohanim v’goy kodesh. To fulfill the mitzvah of celebrating our freedom, we have to actually feel our aristocracy. When we are inexplicably driven to make our home into a sparkling palace in time for Pesach, it is because we want this royal atmosphere to permeate our homes the Seder night. Nobles live in a palace. We are the inhabitants of the palace, let’s act with Malchus.

How does a Melech act? With patience, compassion, a sense of calm and warmth. Let the crown we wear Seder night be won with weeks of smiles, soft speech, easy forgiveness and accessible love. This is the essence of Ahavas Yisrael, and the true fulfillment of Jewish aristocracy.

May Hashem bring you to the seder table crowned in serenity.

While Sitting on the Bus, כאשר יושבים באוטובוס

An Egged bus in Afula, Israel (Attribution to RickP of wikimedia.org)

Traveling on a bus is not a very common thing in Chutz La'Aretz, especially when every household needs a car. In a third-world country like Israel, having a car is a luxury. All the taxes and insurance imposed on Israeli citizens is just mind-boggling. Car-pooling and more commonly, buses and trains, are the most popular modes of transportation. 

This story, by Rebbetzin Bayla Berger, is forwarded to me by the Jerusalem Ahavas Yisrael Group. May we all learn from it.

When the news of the recent terror attack near Binyonei HaUma hit our ears, I was riding safely through Jerusalem on another Egged bus. I turned to ask my seatmate, an elderly be-sheiteled Israeli lady, “What teshuva is HaKadosh Baruch Hu seeking from us?”

“First of all,” she responded with certainty, “every person needs to look honestly at herself and identify where she is falling short. Secondly, there is too much blaming others! We should not be blaming other people or other groups. We should look only at ourselves.”

Not missing a beat and with a twinkle in her eye, this wonderful lady continued, “I have reflected that when men get together they talk about the Daf HaYomi. What should we women talk about when we get together? The weekly Parsha!”

She related to me from Parshas Shemini that when Aharon was initiated into service as the Kohen Gadol, Rashi (VaYikra 9:7) says that Aaron was ashamed to approach the Mizbayach because he recognized his part in the sin of the Golden Calf. It was this very midda, his shame, that made him worthy of being Kohen Gadol, as Hashem despises the haughty (Degel Machaneh Ephraim). We should be like Aharon, concerned with our own shortcomings rather than finding fault in others.

Just before arriving at her stop, my new friend shared one more point. “Chazal say, ‘If I am present, then everything is present.’ What does this mean? It means that if I do real teshuva, then it affects everyone around me and all of Klal Yisrael.”

We live among amazing Jews - people we pass on the street or sit next to on the bus. My insightful seatmate’s message: that by working on ourselves we can lift the entire Jewish nation, is the underpinning of the Ahavas Yisrael Project.

חג כשר ושמח!

Current Events Shiur by Rav Mizrachi, שיעור אירועים ידי הרב מזרחי

Rav Yossi Mizrachi talks about the current events as it relates to Purim. Bad times are coming ahead, we all already know that.  But we can still change our destiny and bring a geulah b'rachamim. Rav Mizrachi having grown up in Eretz Yisrael and migrated to USA, has lived both worlds and understand both worlds. He's in agreement with the autistics as he's personally visited the autistic children in Jerusalem and was informed by them about troubled times way before the first intifada. His prior experience in the financial district in Wall Street also makes him knowledgeable in the financial crisis the world is facing, particularly the USA. And, the financial crisis will affect the whole world, even Israel. Many Jews living in Israel can only do that because of their American jobs. The financial crisis will affect Israeli Jews! 

Listen to the whole shiur if you can, it's about 2 hours long. At the 1st hour there is a technical problem with lost audio, but it returns after 20 minutes. Watch and listen about the current events at 1 hr 32 mins. The most important thing we can do now is to start trusting in Hashem now, and relying on Hashem NOW.

Don't count on the Rabbis to save you, .... don't count on your education to save you. Only when everyone will start crying out to Hashem, ....

 

Rabbi Yossi Mizrachi: Purim and Current Events

The Modern Ten Plagues, עשר מכות המודרני

יח. וַיַּסֵּב אֱ־לֹקים אֶת הָעָם דֶּרֶךְ הַמִּדְבָּר יַם סוּף וַחֲמֻשִׁים עָלוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם

18. So God led the people around [by] way of the desert [to] the Red Sea, and the children of Israel were armed when they went up out of Egypt. (Shemos 13:18)

Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis elaborates the modern ten plagues occurring today. She says that the way we left Egypt, will be the way we leave chutz la'aretz.  Rashi says regarding the word חֲמֻשִׁים that only 1/5th of Jewry made it out of Egypt because the 4/5ths simply refused to. So, they perished in the 9th plague, the plague of darkness. Some say because because they lack faith in Hashem, some say because they were too comfortable in Egypt. Remember that after the plagues started, the Egyptians did leave Bney Yisrael a "lighter" load and a "better" life.  This Rashi has been used by many Israeli Rabbis to advocate aliyah for the past decade and counting. Rebbetzin Jungreis did not do this. She does stress that when Moshiach comes, will we be ready to leave? This is in stark contrast with the late Lubavitcher Rebbe's message that all Jews will be saved. 

2. And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord of Hosts: I will cut off the names of the idols from the earth, and they shall no longer be mentioned. And also the prophets and the spirit of contamination I will remove from the earth. (Zechariah 13:2)

The plague of דם (blood) was all about idol worship since the Nile River was worshiped as one of the major gods of Egypt. Today, our two gods are money and science. The Wall Street collapse and the collapse of the American dollar and other global currencies will follow suit. It is part of the master plan to diminish the value of money, hence to eradicate a god of today. As for science, mankind has misused technology to a great extent, such as building nuclear weapons and using the Internet for evil. In fact,  mankind has also attributed the strange weather patterns not to Hashem, but to some scientific reason, be it "global warming", "global cooling", "ice-age", "solar flares", etc. Japan, being the global leader in consumer electronics, is on its way towards destruction. China too, being a current technology leader in some areas,  IMHO, has suffered devastating earthquakes in the past few years. The US is a military leader and if it continues on its path of ga'avah, it too will collapse. The current destruction of Japan, according to Rebbetzin Jungreis, is not because of the two Jewish boys being captured, but because of its being hailed as a leader in science and technology. Israel too, who has been boasting about its various high-tech advancements (drone technology, solar energy, fiber optics to name a few), has to watch out less it becomes arrogant.

כינים (lice) is similar to the infestation of bed bugs in hotels, dormitories and homes in the US.

דבר (pestilence) is similar to all the dead animals (birds, fish, livestock, etc) we have encountered in the past  years.  And scientists have no valid explanation to the cause of deaths of these animals.

Watch live streaming video from rebbetzinjungreis at livestream.com

8. And it shall come to pass throughout all the land, says the Lord, two parts of it shall be cut off. They shall perish, and the third shall remain therein. (Zechariah 13:8)

Listen/watch Rabbi Yossi Mizrachi describes this prophecy above and how the remaining one-third will survive the world, as money will no longer be a concern. There will be too much money left from the two-thirds who perished. You can forward to the time 1 hr 21 mins of the video to listen.

Regarding the plague of darkness, the Vilna Gaon writes:

 About this it says, "Behold, I will persuade her and take her out into the wilderness' (Hoshea 2:16), and there all the wicked of Israel will be picked out during three days of pitch-black darkness. There they will suffer great troubles" (Even Sheleima 11:5)

Who are these wicked of Israel? Rashi explains:

They do not believe that the religion of Moshe comes from Hashem!

The Zohar says (according to Rabbi Mizrachi) that 15 days before Moshiach comes, the entire world will go through a period of darkness, and whoever survives after this period, will be the ones who will greet Moshiach. This plague of darkness is somewhat consistent with the prophecy of Zechariah below:

6. And it shall come to pass on that day that there shall be no light, only disappearing light and thick darkness.
7. And it shall be one day that shall be known to the Lord, neither day nor night; and it shall come to pass that at eventide it shall be light.
8. And it shall come to pass on that day that spring water shall come forth from Jerusalem; half of it to the eastern sea, and half of it to the western sea; in summer and in winter it shall be.
9. And the Lord shall become King over all the earth; on that day shall the Lord be one, and His name one. (Zechariah 14)

 The prophet Amos's words regarding the wicked of Israel:

 By the sword all the sinners of My people will die, those who say, 'Evil shall not approach or come ahead of us' ... On that day I will stand up the fallen shelter of David ... and rebuilt it as in days of old. (Amos 9:9-11)

On the above verse, the Zohar comments:

What is meant by 'on that day'? On the day that the Holy One, blessed is He, carries out judgment in the world and repays the wicked for their deeds.  For Knesses Yisrael has no enduring existence while the wicked of Israel continue to exist in the world. What is written before this verse? "By the sword all the sinners of My people will die, those who say, 'Evil shall not approach or come ahead of us." What is written after that? "On that day, I will stand up the fallen shelter of David." (Zohar, Parashas Pekudei 240).