Three Weeks for Who?

When the "Three Weeks" comes along, I often find that we all dread it. Nobody looks forward to a time in the middle of the summer, where we are supposed to limit our summer "fun", stop listening to music, try to stay as safe as possible, etc...We often just want it to be over- and after Tisha B'av is over we find ourselves relieved of a "burden".

I believe we have it all backwards. Are we "suffering" by limiting our enjoyment? Is that suffering? Did we think about Hashem? Hashem's Shechina is suffering. It's in Exile with us too. Hashem promises that His Shechina did not ascend to its "home" as long as we are in Exile. I'm pretty sure we've got it all wrong. For a mere three weeks a year we feel a little less excitement and fun - as if those are the most important things in life. Then we go about our merry way and forget about it all.

Hashem is the one suffering here. We may forget that, especially when times are good. But Hashem is constantly suffering that we are in Exile. He wants us to beg and plead for it to be over. Even if we'll lose our own free choice in the process (once Mashiach comes) - we still need to beg Hashem to end this Exile for HIS sake. We need to stop being selfish and thinking of ourselves. These three weeks are a perfect time for self-introspection...Shabbat Shalom

Statue of Liberty Beheaded...

According to the NY Post, a replica of the Statue of Liberty was beheaded after being stolen from a Brooklyn NY coffee shop.

This eerily reminds me of a previous post - Stimulus and Loss of Liberty, where we discussed the Statue of Liberty being destroyed right before Mashiach arrives. Being that nothing is a coincidence, I feel that Hashem is clearly sending us a message to foreshadow and remind us of what's up ahead....

As we begin the Three Weeks of mourning for our Bet Hamikdash and exile, we should realize that the cause of this exile was baseless hatred amongst Jews. Until this is rectified, we will remain in exile. Unfortunately for us, Hashem will have His way regardless. So when the time comes, we will either have rectified it or will be Chas VeShalom forced into a predicament where it comes somewhat automatically. It's not Elul yet, but it's definitely time to start waking up before we cross the point of no return.

Signals of what's coming?

Seeing what happened today in London, as the G20 summit commenced, should make us all shake with dread. When crowds are completely out of control and police can do little to stop them, therein lies a terrible danger.

Our history is ridden with stories of out-of-control mobs. We all know what they did to us over the years. Jews have always borne the brunt of angry mobs. If the past mobs in London, Sweden and other cities around the world were not enough, today's London mob was a clear warning from Hashem.

The Jews of the diaspora need to all wake up. Hashem is calling us in more than one way. It's up to us to listen to His call and get out. There still may be some time. We all know what happened just a few decades ago to the ones who just didn't make it out in time - who didn't heed the call of the signs Hashem was sending them. But they didn't have a homeland to go to.

Today, Hashem has given us back Eretz Yisrael. Not that the government is on our side or the side of Emet - I honestly believe they are the Erev Rav, but the Land is still ours and it's still Kadosh (holy). If we understand the significance of our return to the land and even it's bearing of fruit once again, we would realize that they are giant miracles that Hashem is showing us.

It is clear from our Nevi'im that we would return to the land prior to Mashiach's arrival. It is spelled out by them explicitly and expounded upon by the commentators. It's part of the Geulah.

I've mentioned before, that the Ari za"l says that the generation that will greet Mashiach is the reincarnation of the Dor Hamidbar (generation that left Egypt). We are those people and we need to fix what was done by the Meraglim (spies), chiefly not loving the Land of Israel and not appreciating its spiritual value.

Whether a person chooses to come to the Holy Land for spiritual reasons or practical safety concerns, there is no doubt that it is the safest place to be. The Nevi'im describe how Hashem will save and protect those on "Har Zion". Others will need strong merit to be saved. I hope that we will make Teshuva now and not need any shots to ring out (or missles to be fired) to act as a catalyst. Our history, however proves otherwise. But we know that in the end, we will be saved. Why is any business, parnassa, family, house, car, whatever reason enough to hold us back from the Emet? If we truly believed in our own Nevi'im, I'm sure we'd act different. We're living those words today. It's a matter of time before the rest of the [hi]story is complete. Let's make it a good ending.......

We're in the year

תשס"ט - תהיה שנת סוף טוב

Tih'ye Shenat Sof Tov - Let it be the year of a good ending (of the Galut)

Let it be wonderful! Let it come peacefully! Let us all be in Eretz Yisrael to see it unfold!

Amen!

What Happened to Am Yisrael?

What has happened to our nation? The glorious nation that witnessed a closer revelation of Hashem at the splitting of the Yam Suf than Yechezkel Hanavi; who received the Torah and heard the "voice" of Hashem; who ate the man in the desert; what has become of us?

I just look at myself and at the world and am utterly astonished. This is Galut. Yes, the nations of the world have affected us. 1940 years since our Second Bet Hamikdash was destroyed, and we are spread throughout the world. We have no concrete leadership. We have hundreds of factions divided on major issues. We seem to be unable to get along on anything.

Do we realize what has happened to us as a nation? We are like blind men groping in the darkness. We are so lost. So many of us believe 'our way is right', yet we often have no concept of what the path to Hashem truly is. So many of us have been lost to intermarriage, lo aleinu. Many of us are unrecognizable from the surrounding population. We want to blend in. We try to "kosher" the styles, music, thinking process and everything else and bring it into Judaism.

Ay! Look what the Goyim have done to us. Look how they have destroyed us physically, spiritually and separated us from Hashem. How many Jews don't believe in Hashem, (r"l) ?! And who is to blame? We may have sinned, but we were tempted. The snake tricked us and look at us now! Do we even realize this?

During this "late hour" in time, it is often easy to get caught up in the "politics". We see "Jewish" people, yet to us (and the Torah), they represent the antithesis of Jewishness. But we have a rule - even a Jew who sinned, is still as Jew. Hence, we are still responsible for them and must love them - they are still our brothers and sisters.

It is easy to feel anger towards certain groups, especially when their views differ tremendously. It is easy to fall into the trap of derogatory speech (and thought) about members of other factions or even feel intense anger (and hate) against people who are truly being Mechalel Shem Shamayim (and we may be justified in doing so). However, we need to pay close attention to what has brought this about. Being in Exile has brought about this destruction. Had we never been banished from our Holy Land, we would not be in this predicament. The Exile and the "kind" nations who provide us with the keys to our spiritual and physical destruction are truly at fault. How much can we fight? How much strength do we all have? 1940 years is a long, long time. Some got tricked and brought others with them - and now there are massive amounts of confused "Jews".

Why do I mention this? We need to stir up Divine Mercy on all of Am Yisrael. Yes, some "Jews" are truly from the Erev Rav and we need to distance ourselves appropriately. But we need to take a step back and realize the truth about the situation we find ourselves in. We need to become defense attorneys in our prayers and beg Hashem to have mercy on ourselves and ALL of Am Yisrael, no matter how unrecognizable they might be.

We are must reach a point where we love every Jew, in order to merit our Bet Hamikdash. We can use our intellect to overcome our emotion and realize what has truly made us so different, so mixed up and confused. We can love the true Jew hiding inside that tormented body. We can feel sadness and cry over the destitution of our Nation. And we can pray to Hashem to bring us closer together without mass tragedy or danger. It's up to us to make a difference...