As stated in our previous blog, the prophet Joel informs us that despite the perils that await the Jewish Nation, as well as the rest of the world right before the Great Day of Hashem, there is a path to safety. We are informed in 3(5) that anyone who calls in the Name of Hashem will escape. The Hebrew words for this is והיה כּל אשׁר יקרא בּשׁם יקוק ימלט. But what does it mean to call in the name of G-d?
If we examine these 7 words a little closer we see a great hint. For the gematria of the first letter of these 7 words add up to 59. This number 59 is the same value as the word אחן, which means I will be gracious and show favor. G-d tells this to Moses in Exodus 33(19) after Moses requests of G-d that He show him His glory, that is, His ways. The entire verse states that Hashem shall show favor when He chooses to show favor, and shall show mercy when He chooses to show mercy. But how does Hashem choose? He doesn't treat us based on some pre-determined fate that we have. Everything that occurs in our lives is based on our individual actions. So many think that we don't have any free will if G-d knows what our actions and thus our ultimate fate will be. Nothing can be further from the truth. We have total free will to act in a pure, truthful, faithful manner to the G-d of the Universe and to our fellow man and woman. We can love and fear G-d with total free will and thus grow closer to Hashem. But remember, the closer we are to G-d, the greater responsibility we will have for our actions. And G-d knows exactly what our actions, decisions, words, sincerity and true committment will be. He knows the future. He know what we will choose to do. That is not an obstacle to our actions. He simply knows every single act that we will choose in our lifetimes. If two teams have to play a game, G-d knows who will win and who will lose. No one else does. And so the game still has to be played and both teams must try with all their skills to be victorious. G-d observes and weighs each of our deeds, good and bad. So often we are not aware of our misdeeds and wrong and hurtful words to each other. We say to ourselves so often, "Oh that was just a joke. I tried to be funny."
If someone receives a gift from someone, we automically thank the donor either in writing or orally. So wouldn't it be logical that when G-d grants us a great day, a new job, nachas and joy from our children, and simply a day totally free of pain, discomfort and troubles that we should seek Hashem, and thank Him. Say more to Him than just "Baruch Hashem, or thanks G-d." Thank Him like you would thank a donor for his gift. If you thank G-d and call on Him when things go well, then He will listen to you when you call on G-d when things are not going well. A child away from his parents can keep calling on them when they need money and things. But do they call their parents awhile later when this money and things lead to success and happiness? Hashem wants to hear from His children more than, "Give me, give me or help me now." He wants to hear how thankful we are for all the good He has already given us. He wants us to tell Him "good news." If we can do this then G-d will indeed be gracious to us and show favor when we call.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
16 Drops Of Wine
In the Passover Haggadah there is a section where one dips their finger into their cup of wine and dabs a bit of wine onto their plate. They do this 16 times. The process begins after the words "I will do miracles in heaven and on earth." We then say the words דם ואשׁ ותימרות עשׁן, "Blood and Fire and Pillars of Smoke." Everything we recite from the Haggadah until we wash and eat deals with our exodus from Egypt (our first redemption). Everything that is, except for this one verse. "Blood and Fire and Pillars of Smoke" do not deal with the happenings in Egypt. It is a verse from the prophet Joel 3(3)and deals with events that will occur (or have occurred already) at the end of days. Sure it can be argued that Blood was prevalent in Egypt. Blood was indeed the first plague. And fire was part of the hail that contained both water and fire in a miraculous fashion. But most commentators agree that this verse, strangely included here, deals with our final redemption. But why here? Perhaps its inclusion hints that just as our first redemption was filled with plagues upon our enemies in a miraculous manner, Hashem will do the same at the time of our final redemption.
Or it can be argued that these events might have already happened and simply signal a timeline. For instance, the Holocaust surely had Blood, and Fire with Pillars of Smoke in their destructive ovens of death. When the darkness cleared, the world learned what really happened in the camps and across the villages in Europe. For just a brief moment of time the nations felt sorry for the Jews, allowing The State of Israel to be reborn. This was the start of the redemption process, for how can you have a redemption without an Israel? And then on 9/11 there was plenty of Blood, Fire and Pillars of Smoke that rose for weeks after. This signaled the beginning of the end of days. The 9/11 events resulted in the unexplained, strange response by President Bush. Despite the fact that 15 of the 19 terrorists responsible for the attack came from Saudi Arabia, no action against that nation was even thought of. After all the Bush family had a close relationship with the Saudi ruling family. So Bush went after an easy target. He decided to invade Iraq declaring that Saddam Hussein was evil and that he had weapons of mass destruction. Saddam's family had no involvement with the 9/11 attacks and either never possessed or hid the suspected weapons. Meanwhile the mastermind of the attacks Osama bin Laden was never close to being killed or captured. The world grew tired of the war in Iraq and when Bush's term was over the international approval rating for his foreign policies was less than 20%. This massive disappoval and distrust of Bush resulted in the unlikely election of an anti-Semitic Demi God named Barack Hussein Obama as America's 44th President. Bush indirectly opened the White House doors for Obama.
So many Jews have wondered and cried about the lateness of the coming of Mashiach. But not until an enemy of the Jewish People, the most powerful man in the world, an Obama, would arise and oppose the Jews, could our Mashiach reveal himself and oppose this force of evil. That time is now. It's no surprise that 80% of the Jews remained in Egypt and did not believe in redemption, and 80% of the current American Jews think Obama is doing a wonderful job as President and truly support him. The verse from Joel 3(3) referred to above is indeed a timeline. But it's more than that. It's a statement from G-d through His prophet as to who will be the focus of his wrath and the subject of His punishing miracles. Let's take a closer look at this entire section of the Haggadah. If you take the values of the first letters of each of the 4 words in דם ואשׁ ותימרות עשׁן, you get 86 which is the value of Hashem's Elokim name. This indicates that just like in Egypt, Hashem will Himself inflict the punishing blows. Then the Haggadah continues with several lines stating that "Another explanation is thus: with a mighty hand, denotes 2 plagues, and with an outstretched arm, 2 more, and with great terror, 2 more, and with instructive signs, 2 more, and with punishing miracles 2 more. These are the 10 plagues which the Holy One Blessed Be He, brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt, and they are as follows." These very words in Hebrew contain 112 letters. This indicates when this will occur, and what will occur, for the atbash of משׁיח, our redeemer, שׁלום, the peace that will follow, and כּושׁ, Cush, the land holding and protecting the Ark of the Covenant, all have an atbash of 112. In addition, as stated in a previous blog, 112 represents the time value of Daniel's famous Time, Times and a half of Time, the angel's response to his inquiry as to when all this will happen. Then the Haggadah lists the 10 plagues that were inflicted on the Egyptians. The value of the first letters of the 11 words making up the 10 plagues add up to 541 and tells us where Hashem's future actions will take place. For 541 is the value of ישׂראל, Israel. Next the Haggadah states that Rabbi Yehuda formed a mnemonic of the Hebrew initials of the 10 plagues. The first letters of the 6 Hebrew words making up this verse equals the value of 327. This tells us who will witness and understand the actions of Hashem. For 327 is the value of העברים, the Hebrews. The Jewish People will see the Hand of G-d close up. Finally, the actual mnemonic of the 10 plagues reveals who will be responsible for these plagues. This will be a person similiar to Pharaoh who witnessed the power of G-d but failed to recognize the severity of these actions. By the time he understood the truth his entire army was destroyed. The gematria of the mnemonic דצך עדשׁ בּאחב is 501, the same value as Barack Hussein Obama in Hebrew. Will he also fail to recognize and acknowlege the power of G-d and risk the safety of his armies and his people? Shemos Rabbah 8(3) states that this mnemonic was inscribed on the staff of Moses. In fact if we take the atbash of the first letters: daled from דם, and the aleph from אשׁ, and the taf from תימרות, we arrive at the same 501 value.
Several verses after the one that states, "blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke," the prophet Joel relays a message from Hashem. "It will be that anyone who calls in the Name of Hashem will escape (these plagues and dangers), for on the mountain of Zion and in Jerusalem there will be refuge." In the next chapter, Joel repeats that, "Hashem will be a shelter for His people." And right near the end of his prophecy, Joel states that "Edom will become a desolate wilderness." American Jews may not like to hear it, but WE live in Edom. America is Edom. When most people read that in the future there will be "blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke," most people imagine a nuclear explosion. That scary thought combined with the prophet's statement that Edom or America will become a desolate wilderness should be enough to give everyone, Jew or non-Jew, religous or non-religous, black or white, republican or democrat, liberal or conservative, a reason to stop and pause and reflect and think about the direction of this once great and blessed nation. It might not be obvious yet, but people are naive not to project our President's attention towards the State of Israel. The innocent lambs appear to be an easy target for the wolf. When Obama takes that first step attacking Israel with his mouth and troops, and attacks G-d in his heart, there will be blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. Indeed, there will be wonders in the heavens and on earth. And then, each Jew remaining in Edom will have the most important decision to make in their lives. Do they side with Obama and America or with Hashem and Israel? There will be no room for hesitation or a middle ground.
Or it can be argued that these events might have already happened and simply signal a timeline. For instance, the Holocaust surely had Blood, and Fire with Pillars of Smoke in their destructive ovens of death. When the darkness cleared, the world learned what really happened in the camps and across the villages in Europe. For just a brief moment of time the nations felt sorry for the Jews, allowing The State of Israel to be reborn. This was the start of the redemption process, for how can you have a redemption without an Israel? And then on 9/11 there was plenty of Blood, Fire and Pillars of Smoke that rose for weeks after. This signaled the beginning of the end of days. The 9/11 events resulted in the unexplained, strange response by President Bush. Despite the fact that 15 of the 19 terrorists responsible for the attack came from Saudi Arabia, no action against that nation was even thought of. After all the Bush family had a close relationship with the Saudi ruling family. So Bush went after an easy target. He decided to invade Iraq declaring that Saddam Hussein was evil and that he had weapons of mass destruction. Saddam's family had no involvement with the 9/11 attacks and either never possessed or hid the suspected weapons. Meanwhile the mastermind of the attacks Osama bin Laden was never close to being killed or captured. The world grew tired of the war in Iraq and when Bush's term was over the international approval rating for his foreign policies was less than 20%. This massive disappoval and distrust of Bush resulted in the unlikely election of an anti-Semitic Demi God named Barack Hussein Obama as America's 44th President. Bush indirectly opened the White House doors for Obama.
So many Jews have wondered and cried about the lateness of the coming of Mashiach. But not until an enemy of the Jewish People, the most powerful man in the world, an Obama, would arise and oppose the Jews, could our Mashiach reveal himself and oppose this force of evil. That time is now. It's no surprise that 80% of the Jews remained in Egypt and did not believe in redemption, and 80% of the current American Jews think Obama is doing a wonderful job as President and truly support him. The verse from Joel 3(3) referred to above is indeed a timeline. But it's more than that. It's a statement from G-d through His prophet as to who will be the focus of his wrath and the subject of His punishing miracles. Let's take a closer look at this entire section of the Haggadah. If you take the values of the first letters of each of the 4 words in דם ואשׁ ותימרות עשׁן, you get 86 which is the value of Hashem's Elokim name. This indicates that just like in Egypt, Hashem will Himself inflict the punishing blows. Then the Haggadah continues with several lines stating that "Another explanation is thus: with a mighty hand, denotes 2 plagues, and with an outstretched arm, 2 more, and with great terror, 2 more, and with instructive signs, 2 more, and with punishing miracles 2 more. These are the 10 plagues which the Holy One Blessed Be He, brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt, and they are as follows." These very words in Hebrew contain 112 letters. This indicates when this will occur, and what will occur, for the atbash of משׁיח, our redeemer, שׁלום, the peace that will follow, and כּושׁ, Cush, the land holding and protecting the Ark of the Covenant, all have an atbash of 112. In addition, as stated in a previous blog, 112 represents the time value of Daniel's famous Time, Times and a half of Time, the angel's response to his inquiry as to when all this will happen. Then the Haggadah lists the 10 plagues that were inflicted on the Egyptians. The value of the first letters of the 11 words making up the 10 plagues add up to 541 and tells us where Hashem's future actions will take place. For 541 is the value of ישׂראל, Israel. Next the Haggadah states that Rabbi Yehuda formed a mnemonic of the Hebrew initials of the 10 plagues. The first letters of the 6 Hebrew words making up this verse equals the value of 327. This tells us who will witness and understand the actions of Hashem. For 327 is the value of העברים, the Hebrews. The Jewish People will see the Hand of G-d close up. Finally, the actual mnemonic of the 10 plagues reveals who will be responsible for these plagues. This will be a person similiar to Pharaoh who witnessed the power of G-d but failed to recognize the severity of these actions. By the time he understood the truth his entire army was destroyed. The gematria of the mnemonic דצך עדשׁ בּאחב is 501, the same value as Barack Hussein Obama in Hebrew. Will he also fail to recognize and acknowlege the power of G-d and risk the safety of his armies and his people? Shemos Rabbah 8(3) states that this mnemonic was inscribed on the staff of Moses. In fact if we take the atbash of the first letters: daled from דם, and the aleph from אשׁ, and the taf from תימרות, we arrive at the same 501 value.
Several verses after the one that states, "blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke," the prophet Joel relays a message from Hashem. "It will be that anyone who calls in the Name of Hashem will escape (these plagues and dangers), for on the mountain of Zion and in Jerusalem there will be refuge." In the next chapter, Joel repeats that, "Hashem will be a shelter for His people." And right near the end of his prophecy, Joel states that "Edom will become a desolate wilderness." American Jews may not like to hear it, but WE live in Edom. America is Edom. When most people read that in the future there will be "blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke," most people imagine a nuclear explosion. That scary thought combined with the prophet's statement that Edom or America will become a desolate wilderness should be enough to give everyone, Jew or non-Jew, religous or non-religous, black or white, republican or democrat, liberal or conservative, a reason to stop and pause and reflect and think about the direction of this once great and blessed nation. It might not be obvious yet, but people are naive not to project our President's attention towards the State of Israel. The innocent lambs appear to be an easy target for the wolf. When Obama takes that first step attacking Israel with his mouth and troops, and attacks G-d in his heart, there will be blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. Indeed, there will be wonders in the heavens and on earth. And then, each Jew remaining in Edom will have the most important decision to make in their lives. Do they side with Obama and America or with Hashem and Israel? There will be no room for hesitation or a middle ground.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
America Is Dying
"America is dying, what a shame for she's so young,
Though no one will admit it, it shows when our song is sung.
Our throats all lack the passion, our fathers had long ago,
Their voices were like thunder, but ours sound like falling snow.
We mumble our great anthem, and glance at our flag's brisk wave,
The words, the land of the free, precede the home of the brave.
How true it is that our land's as free as a breath of air,
Free to rob, mug, loot, and kill, protest and live on welfare.
Free to steal a sweet apple, then smile at the employee,
Tell me why I can't take it? Isn't America free?"
These are the opening lines of a poem that I wrote over 40 years ago when I was in college. I actually wrote the entire poem on the day that Robert F. Kennedy was murdered. It was turbulent times filled with war, civil unrest, distrust of government, and a desire for our voices to be heard. The Vietnam War was raging in full force. It was a war based upon a theory, the Domino Theory. We believed that if we allowed South Vietnam to be taken over by Communist North Vietnam, then the neighboring countries Thailand and Laos would then fall and also become Communist, to be followed by others. One after another they would fall, just like dominoes, and become Communist. We were worried and concerned that this would happen even though we were thousands of miles away. The theory proved to be false and the war resulted in over 55,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of severe injuries. It also had a great mental impact on every brave soldier that was there. And when these soldiers came home they were shown very little respect, couldn't find jobs, and were looked upon as if they, somehow, were responsible for the war. Many avoided the military draft by fleeing to Canada, sitting in jail, or staying in college as long as they could. Some escaped by becoming very religious suddenly and were deferred as divinity students. But the brave men and women who saw action loved America and risked their very lives and futures for a "cause." The cause was that we must fight Communism even at the risk of giving up our lives. We must do whatever it takes to prevent it from invading and spreading in our nation.
Forty years later, despite lessons from the Vietnam War, as well as the Cold War with Russia, we have placed an unknown man in the White House with close ties to people who are Communists, or who have studied and written about the virtues of Communism and Marxism. Obama has stated on various occassions that America should have a "redistribution of wealth." That is, take from the rich and give it over to the poor. Take from those who have worked and struggled their whole lives and paid huge taxes on the income that they earned and give it over to those who can't work or can't find work or simply don't want to work and have paid little if any taxes in their years. Obama keeps insisting that that is the "moral thing to do." When I was young, the book, "Robin Hood" was banned from the New York City school system because it contained "Communist overtures." That is, it dealt with a small band of thieves who robbed the rich and gave it over to the poor.
Capitalism is the reason America has been the greatest, strongest, richest and most successful country in world history. To replace it with Socialist and Communist ideas would be the "death blow" to America. Communism is not just an "economic system." It is a way of life (and sometimes death). In theory, Communism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of a classless society based upon common ownership. It seems like we just described a large, modern day "commune." So what could be bad? Historically, Communism has been run by ruthless, coercive governments concerned with the preservation of their own power. In this type of environment, all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single tyrant or his political party. In the past, it has left behind a trail of blood of those that dared to oppose this ideology. In the United States the very fear of Communism entering our borders has caused aggressive investigations, blacklisting, and the deportation of people suspected of following these ideas. Many famous Americans were put on a blacklist in the early 1950's preventing them from finding employment. Communism creeps up on a nation very quietly as the size of government grows.
We really don't know why our President believes so much in Communism. He is indeed a man of mystery. His college records are frozen so we don't know the courses he took in school. But concern is in order when you see the people that he has surrounded himself with. How could he not be influenced by this "garbage?" These people truly hate America and Capitalism. Was this Obama's secret plan cultivated over the last years? Or is he just ignorant and incompetent? Why does he want to change the total complexion of America so fast? Because he anticipates that his popularity and support will fade and he wants to pass as many bills (filled with unbelievable, destructive laws buried within) while the Democrats have a majority voice. America (pre-Obama) was an indestructible nation. But his fingerprints are all over the very foundation of our dear nation, causing it to begin to crumble. America is indeed dying and it needs your help and support in a last ditch effort to save it. We must put pressure on our representatives in Congress. After all, in theory they are supposed to represent the peoples' wishes not their own. We must vote out of office any Democrat that does not have the guts to oppose Obama's extreme policies. Obama's weakness is that he cannot handle criticsm. He wants to hear everyone tell him what a great job he is doing. That is what he only heard growing up. If we are like passive sheep, the wolf will do whatever he wants. Soon we will wake up one morning and will not recognize America. Band together, speak out, write to your media before Obama controls all media outlets. And most important of all, pray with all your might to Hashem that He protects us from this radical President so that all the efforts of the previous 43 Presidents and 233 years of the hard work of good Americans, like you, are not in vain.
Though no one will admit it, it shows when our song is sung.
Our throats all lack the passion, our fathers had long ago,
Their voices were like thunder, but ours sound like falling snow.
We mumble our great anthem, and glance at our flag's brisk wave,
The words, the land of the free, precede the home of the brave.
How true it is that our land's as free as a breath of air,
Free to rob, mug, loot, and kill, protest and live on welfare.
Free to steal a sweet apple, then smile at the employee,
Tell me why I can't take it? Isn't America free?"
These are the opening lines of a poem that I wrote over 40 years ago when I was in college. I actually wrote the entire poem on the day that Robert F. Kennedy was murdered. It was turbulent times filled with war, civil unrest, distrust of government, and a desire for our voices to be heard. The Vietnam War was raging in full force. It was a war based upon a theory, the Domino Theory. We believed that if we allowed South Vietnam to be taken over by Communist North Vietnam, then the neighboring countries Thailand and Laos would then fall and also become Communist, to be followed by others. One after another they would fall, just like dominoes, and become Communist. We were worried and concerned that this would happen even though we were thousands of miles away. The theory proved to be false and the war resulted in over 55,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of severe injuries. It also had a great mental impact on every brave soldier that was there. And when these soldiers came home they were shown very little respect, couldn't find jobs, and were looked upon as if they, somehow, were responsible for the war. Many avoided the military draft by fleeing to Canada, sitting in jail, or staying in college as long as they could. Some escaped by becoming very religious suddenly and were deferred as divinity students. But the brave men and women who saw action loved America and risked their very lives and futures for a "cause." The cause was that we must fight Communism even at the risk of giving up our lives. We must do whatever it takes to prevent it from invading and spreading in our nation.
Forty years later, despite lessons from the Vietnam War, as well as the Cold War with Russia, we have placed an unknown man in the White House with close ties to people who are Communists, or who have studied and written about the virtues of Communism and Marxism. Obama has stated on various occassions that America should have a "redistribution of wealth." That is, take from the rich and give it over to the poor. Take from those who have worked and struggled their whole lives and paid huge taxes on the income that they earned and give it over to those who can't work or can't find work or simply don't want to work and have paid little if any taxes in their years. Obama keeps insisting that that is the "moral thing to do." When I was young, the book, "Robin Hood" was banned from the New York City school system because it contained "Communist overtures." That is, it dealt with a small band of thieves who robbed the rich and gave it over to the poor.
Capitalism is the reason America has been the greatest, strongest, richest and most successful country in world history. To replace it with Socialist and Communist ideas would be the "death blow" to America. Communism is not just an "economic system." It is a way of life (and sometimes death). In theory, Communism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of a classless society based upon common ownership. It seems like we just described a large, modern day "commune." So what could be bad? Historically, Communism has been run by ruthless, coercive governments concerned with the preservation of their own power. In this type of environment, all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single tyrant or his political party. In the past, it has left behind a trail of blood of those that dared to oppose this ideology. In the United States the very fear of Communism entering our borders has caused aggressive investigations, blacklisting, and the deportation of people suspected of following these ideas. Many famous Americans were put on a blacklist in the early 1950's preventing them from finding employment. Communism creeps up on a nation very quietly as the size of government grows.
We really don't know why our President believes so much in Communism. He is indeed a man of mystery. His college records are frozen so we don't know the courses he took in school. But concern is in order when you see the people that he has surrounded himself with. How could he not be influenced by this "garbage?" These people truly hate America and Capitalism. Was this Obama's secret plan cultivated over the last years? Or is he just ignorant and incompetent? Why does he want to change the total complexion of America so fast? Because he anticipates that his popularity and support will fade and he wants to pass as many bills (filled with unbelievable, destructive laws buried within) while the Democrats have a majority voice. America (pre-Obama) was an indestructible nation. But his fingerprints are all over the very foundation of our dear nation, causing it to begin to crumble. America is indeed dying and it needs your help and support in a last ditch effort to save it. We must put pressure on our representatives in Congress. After all, in theory they are supposed to represent the peoples' wishes not their own. We must vote out of office any Democrat that does not have the guts to oppose Obama's extreme policies. Obama's weakness is that he cannot handle criticsm. He wants to hear everyone tell him what a great job he is doing. That is what he only heard growing up. If we are like passive sheep, the wolf will do whatever he wants. Soon we will wake up one morning and will not recognize America. Band together, speak out, write to your media before Obama controls all media outlets. And most important of all, pray with all your might to Hashem that He protects us from this radical President so that all the efforts of the previous 43 Presidents and 233 years of the hard work of good Americans, like you, are not in vain.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Our King, Our Ruler
The gematria of Rosh Hashanah ראשׁ השׁנה is 861, the same value as בּית המקדשׁ, Bais Hamikdosh (the Temple). And considering that the atbash, or reverse gematria of Rosh Hashanah is 596, the same value as ירושׁלים, Jerusalem, there appears to be an important connection between Rosh Hashanah and our Holy Temple, soon to be rebuilt by G-d Himself in Jerusalem, and thus, last forever.
The main focus of Rosh Hashanah is the sovereignty of Hashem. For two days our service is filled with references to G-d as King. Without the subjects of a kingdom voluntarily proclaiming their king, as their king, there is no real recognition of his sovereignty. Before the creation of man, G-d had no one with free will to proclaim Him as the King of the Universe. The angels who were created before man, have no evil inclination and are pure agents of G-d's will. They see the truth and only the truth of G-d's existence and ways, and are not capable of any doubt. But because of this lack of choice, the angels see G-d not as their King, but as their Ruler. G-d wants the people of His Kingdom to proclaim Him their King not because He needs the recognition. By accepting Him as the King of the Universe we would be benefiting G-d by showing Him how we have elevated ourselves. With free will G-d is our King. With no free will G-d is our ruler. Obviously, because there are forces attempting to pull us off the path of the truth, it is much greater for us to proclaim G-d as our King rather than as our Ruler. But time is running short. When Mashiach comes and chases the Soton away, we too will resemble the angels and only see the ways of truth, and will also proclaim G-d as our Ruler. In fact the atbash of the word for Ruler מושׁל has the same atbash as Mashiach.
On Rosh Hashanah the shofar is sounded both before and during Mussaf. We have been taught that it is done this way in order to confuse and trick the Soton. But the confusion caused by all our different customs (how many times we blow, when do we blow during Mussaf and at the end of Mussaf) actually gives the Soton ammunition. This provides evidence against us as to the total lack of unity that we have. We trick the Soton not because of the number of blows or when we blow. We trick the Soton because of what the prophet Amos states in 3(6), "Is the shofar ever sounded in a city and the people not tremble?" When the Soton sees the intensity of the Jewish People as they prepare to listen, when he hears the total silence during the blowing, when he feels our souls trembling, the Soton temporarily loses his power and goes into hiding. Our trembling neutralizes the Soton. He is tricked into believing that this time it's for real. This time the Jewish People have totally repented. This time it will last and we won't revert back. The Soton knows that the gematria of Amos' words, עם לא יחרדו, "the people not tremble," is 369, the same as ונשׁובה, "And we shall return."
On Yom Kippur, we resemble an angel. We don't eat, we don't drink, we dress in white, we stand with our feet together (this resembles angels which appear to have one foot), and we say בּרוך שׁם aloud instead of in a whisper. But we are greater than angels for we have free will to choose. We can grow to greater heights. We can turn our lives completely around. The connection between Rosh Hashanah and our redemption period, when we will all be in Jerusalem together and witness the Temple with our own eyes, is that at that time, Hashem will be our ruler. We will finally be free of the Soton and will only see the path of truth. We won't need the shofar blasts to cause our souls to tremble for we will all follow Hashem's ways as the knowledge of His words fill the air. And then we will learn to Love Hashem, and when we do, He will finally be our King, not as before for just a few days, but forever and ever.
The main focus of Rosh Hashanah is the sovereignty of Hashem. For two days our service is filled with references to G-d as King. Without the subjects of a kingdom voluntarily proclaiming their king, as their king, there is no real recognition of his sovereignty. Before the creation of man, G-d had no one with free will to proclaim Him as the King of the Universe. The angels who were created before man, have no evil inclination and are pure agents of G-d's will. They see the truth and only the truth of G-d's existence and ways, and are not capable of any doubt. But because of this lack of choice, the angels see G-d not as their King, but as their Ruler. G-d wants the people of His Kingdom to proclaim Him their King not because He needs the recognition. By accepting Him as the King of the Universe we would be benefiting G-d by showing Him how we have elevated ourselves. With free will G-d is our King. With no free will G-d is our ruler. Obviously, because there are forces attempting to pull us off the path of the truth, it is much greater for us to proclaim G-d as our King rather than as our Ruler. But time is running short. When Mashiach comes and chases the Soton away, we too will resemble the angels and only see the ways of truth, and will also proclaim G-d as our Ruler. In fact the atbash of the word for Ruler מושׁל has the same atbash as Mashiach.
On Rosh Hashanah the shofar is sounded both before and during Mussaf. We have been taught that it is done this way in order to confuse and trick the Soton. But the confusion caused by all our different customs (how many times we blow, when do we blow during Mussaf and at the end of Mussaf) actually gives the Soton ammunition. This provides evidence against us as to the total lack of unity that we have. We trick the Soton not because of the number of blows or when we blow. We trick the Soton because of what the prophet Amos states in 3(6), "Is the shofar ever sounded in a city and the people not tremble?" When the Soton sees the intensity of the Jewish People as they prepare to listen, when he hears the total silence during the blowing, when he feels our souls trembling, the Soton temporarily loses his power and goes into hiding. Our trembling neutralizes the Soton. He is tricked into believing that this time it's for real. This time the Jewish People have totally repented. This time it will last and we won't revert back. The Soton knows that the gematria of Amos' words, עם לא יחרדו, "the people not tremble," is 369, the same as ונשׁובה, "And we shall return."
On Yom Kippur, we resemble an angel. We don't eat, we don't drink, we dress in white, we stand with our feet together (this resembles angels which appear to have one foot), and we say בּרוך שׁם aloud instead of in a whisper. But we are greater than angels for we have free will to choose. We can grow to greater heights. We can turn our lives completely around. The connection between Rosh Hashanah and our redemption period, when we will all be in Jerusalem together and witness the Temple with our own eyes, is that at that time, Hashem will be our ruler. We will finally be free of the Soton and will only see the path of truth. We won't need the shofar blasts to cause our souls to tremble for we will all follow Hashem's ways as the knowledge of His words fill the air. And then we will learn to Love Hashem, and when we do, He will finally be our King, not as before for just a few days, but forever and ever.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The Soton Never Sleeps
On behalf of Dr. Wolf and myself we apologize for postponing our interview with Tamar Yonah of Israel National Radio. We understand that many of our followers, as well as a large audience of Tamar Yonah, had anticipated our interview dealing with the real possibility that the missing Ark of the Covenant has been hidden in front of our eyes for thousands of years. I must undergo an additional medical procedure shortly, and then with renewed strength that Hashem will hopefully bless me with, I will continue my personal battle with the Soton. We each have our own personal war with the Soton who influences each of our evil inclinations within us. But for me personally my battle is extreme and intense. When you deal with bringing many Jews closer to G-d, when you teach and explain the concepts of the Messianic Era, when you open people's eyes to the hidden secrets of Torah, when you encourage so many to begin to do Tshuvah now and not wait for your local Rabbis to tell you to, when you warn the world that Barack Hussein Obama is the evil the Jewish People and most Americans will be exposed to at the End of Days, when you tell Jews in America that they should have an exit plan if they suddenly have to run to Israel, when you explain that Hashem loves each and every Jew and all the righteous non-Jews, when you suggest that we are really entering a Jewish year much later than 5770 because of missing years from the Jewish calendar, when you warn people not to be fooled by the tricks of the Soton, this Soton, realizing that its days are numbered, fights for its very survival. I will be fine with Hashems's loving kindness. I urge you all to fight from within, and counter any plot or deception that he brings into your lives. Recognize it, when you meet it, and be strong, faithful, and courageous, so that you will overcome its power.
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Gift Of Wisdom Is The Gift Of Fear
When King Solomon succeeded his father as King at a very young age, Hashem asked him to request what He should give him. Imagine having such a wish! King Solomon requested an understanding heart, the ability to judge the Jewish People, and to be able to distinguish between good and evil. In other words, the request was for wisdom, חכמה. But what King Solomon was really wishing for was "the fear of G-d." He remembered what his father, King David had said in Tehillim 111(10), that "the beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem." And so at the beginning of Proverbs, King Solomon repeats this teaching of his father by saying in 1(7) that "the fear of Hashem is the beginning of knowledge." But he goes further by adding that "foolish ones scorn wisdom (that is the fear of G-d) and discipline." They don't follow G-d's guidelines for a good life and use their own twisted logic to justify their inappropriate actions.
How interesting it is that one of the first blessings we make every day, a blessing that we say every time we leave the bathroom, begins with words blessing G-d for fashioning man with wisdom, חכמה. While fools never have G-d on their mind, righteous people think about, and thank G-d constantly. And that includes routine trips to relieve ourselves. We thank Hashem for giving us an understanding that He created us with a body so perfected in its function. We realize that if just one small opening would be ruptured we could not survive and continue to serve Him. With wisdom we can understand and appreciate Hashem's care in creating our bodies and maintaining and healing them when needed. Knowing this can indeed cause us to fear G-d because of His constant watch of our thoughts and actions. It certainly is not difficult to fear G-d when we are ill, or suffering or exposed to dangers. That is a natural human emotion. We can actually sense the might of G-d touching us. But a higher level of the fear of G-d is when things are going well in our lives. When Hashem has granted us the fulfillment of our prayers, when happiness and satisfaction has surrounded us, when love and contentment and sufficient wealth has filled our moments, that is the time to experience true wisdom and fear G-d. When we understand that G-d has focused His attention upon us and has given us what we desired, we should be in awe of Him and try our utmost not to disappoint Him. Like a child who does not want to disappoint his parents after they have rewarded him with a gift, we too should not disappoint Hashem after He has fulfilled our lives with goodness. We should fear that we might lose the good that we were gifted, or that we did not deserve this kindness in the first place. We should be flattered that G-d has demonstrated that there is a connection between Him and our lives. We should fear that someday we might cause this union to be severed.
When we have true wisdom through the fear of G-d we have a feeling that we can call on Hashem whenever we need Him. And we have the confidence that He will grant us what we request of Him. We will call upon Him constantly, just like a friend. We will talk to Him constantly and will establish a close relationship with Him. That is true wisdom. That is true חכמה. Indeed, the atbash gematria of חכמה is 190, the same value as יענני, "He will answer me."
May we all establish a close relationship to G-d, call on Him constantly, and may He always answer us when we call.
How interesting it is that one of the first blessings we make every day, a blessing that we say every time we leave the bathroom, begins with words blessing G-d for fashioning man with wisdom, חכמה. While fools never have G-d on their mind, righteous people think about, and thank G-d constantly. And that includes routine trips to relieve ourselves. We thank Hashem for giving us an understanding that He created us with a body so perfected in its function. We realize that if just one small opening would be ruptured we could not survive and continue to serve Him. With wisdom we can understand and appreciate Hashem's care in creating our bodies and maintaining and healing them when needed. Knowing this can indeed cause us to fear G-d because of His constant watch of our thoughts and actions. It certainly is not difficult to fear G-d when we are ill, or suffering or exposed to dangers. That is a natural human emotion. We can actually sense the might of G-d touching us. But a higher level of the fear of G-d is when things are going well in our lives. When Hashem has granted us the fulfillment of our prayers, when happiness and satisfaction has surrounded us, when love and contentment and sufficient wealth has filled our moments, that is the time to experience true wisdom and fear G-d. When we understand that G-d has focused His attention upon us and has given us what we desired, we should be in awe of Him and try our utmost not to disappoint Him. Like a child who does not want to disappoint his parents after they have rewarded him with a gift, we too should not disappoint Hashem after He has fulfilled our lives with goodness. We should fear that we might lose the good that we were gifted, or that we did not deserve this kindness in the first place. We should be flattered that G-d has demonstrated that there is a connection between Him and our lives. We should fear that someday we might cause this union to be severed.
When we have true wisdom through the fear of G-d we have a feeling that we can call on Hashem whenever we need Him. And we have the confidence that He will grant us what we request of Him. We will call upon Him constantly, just like a friend. We will talk to Him constantly and will establish a close relationship with Him. That is true wisdom. That is true חכמה. Indeed, the atbash gematria of חכמה is 190, the same value as יענני, "He will answer me."
May we all establish a close relationship to G-d, call on Him constantly, and may He always answer us when we call.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Emulating The Keepers Of The Ark
Our recent blog article dealing with the Ark of the Covenant being in Axum, Ethiopia has raised not only a renewed interest in this great mystery, but has also brought out other theories as to the whereabouts of this extremely holy artifact. Tamar Yonah of Israel National Radio will be interviewing us about this subject at midnight on August 31st (NY time). Our theories and proofs have been just as shocking to our listeners as the statements we made previously about Obama's sure win as President when he was a longshot to win. The issue is not so much where the Ark is located. It's about how a group of men have dedicated their lives, by serving G-d with honor, dedication and sacrifice. Though many have laughed at them, they simply go forward fulfilling their days and hours with faith and love of G-d and his holy Ark. We should not look down on them in any way. Instead we should learn a valuable lesson at such committment.
The Ark contains tablets inscribed by the finger of G-d. And yet we, ourselves, contain a more holy substance than the Ark. It's our holy soul which is a very part of G-d's essense. Our souls might be darkened by our sins but they still contain the powerful light of G-d's presence. So many of us have turned their backs on the Jewish religion for various, personal reasons. Some have explored other religions not knowing that many of their underlying concepts originated from Judaism. Our bodies are the Arks that contain our holy souls. As we approach the New Year 5770 we must try and maintain a level of purity as if our own bodies were surrounded by the waters of Gan Eden. What we view with our eyes, what our ears hear, the words that come out of our mouths, the places our feet take us to, and the foods our tongues taste, should be of a nature that emulates someone watching and guarding their bodies 24/7 protecting its inner contents.
The Ark contains tablets inscribed by the finger of G-d. And yet we, ourselves, contain a more holy substance than the Ark. It's our holy soul which is a very part of G-d's essense. Our souls might be darkened by our sins but they still contain the powerful light of G-d's presence. So many of us have turned their backs on the Jewish religion for various, personal reasons. Some have explored other religions not knowing that many of their underlying concepts originated from Judaism. Our bodies are the Arks that contain our holy souls. As we approach the New Year 5770 we must try and maintain a level of purity as if our own bodies were surrounded by the waters of Gan Eden. What we view with our eyes, what our ears hear, the words that come out of our mouths, the places our feet take us to, and the foods our tongues taste, should be of a nature that emulates someone watching and guarding their bodies 24/7 protecting its inner contents.
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