Name Change

Beto dropped out of the race. He is becoming a Baal Teshuva and will start calling himself Beiso. 

#religiousrevival

Or he will go back into to music [he was a musician in his youth] and change his last name to "Vin". 

Rough Neighborhood For Husbands

Boca Raton Synagogue Semichas Chaver Program - Join The Revolution [Wherever You Live]!!

Not Discrimination - False Narrative

R' Elimelech Firer is a person who has spent DECADES helping people with medical issues in all types of ways. He works about 18 hours a day and asks the people he helps for nothing. He helps men, women and children, religious and secular. He has saved countless lives and helped countless people. He is making a fundraiser to support his holy work and caused a storm. He invited male performers but no female performers. He is a Chasidic man who wears a long jacket, untrimmed beard - the works. It is against his religious values to have women sing publicly. But people said that he is offending women!! How can he not invite female singers?? TERRIBLE. Some performers are refusing to perform because of his offensive anti-woman policy. A SCANDAL! WE MUST BOYCOTT!! 

We all understand where he comes from. None of us had women singing at our Bar Mitzvas and weddings - or have them as Chazanim [or Chazoniot] in our shuls. It is not because we don't like women. If we didn't like them - we wouldn't marry them! It is because it is not halachically permitted. But the secular [some of them] have their own narrative. They are so far away from any concept of kedusha and tzniyus, so all they see is discrimination. 

So I have a suggestion for them. The Israeli army is FILLED with sexual harassment against women.   [And remember that there are many cases which AREN'T reported. Statistics say that 97 percent of sexual harassment cases aren't reported]. BOYCOTT THE ARMY!! Instead of starting with people who dedicate their lives to helping others and trying to impede their life saving work  - clean up your own house first. Israeli society is filled on all levels with sexual harassment against women - not to mention the fact that women are portrayed in the media as being sex objects. Even the mainstream newspapers have pornographic pictures  [at least they did 30 years ago when I stopped reading those filthy papers BARUCH HASHEM!! I am talking about the regular papers that the average Israeli buys].

They like to attack frum people when they have so many problems of their own. THAT is a scandal. 

This World

I want to write a book [after I finish all the other books I want to write...]: It will be called "You think YOU'VE got problems." 

It will document the incredible challenges people are going through. It seems like every time a person opens up to me, I hear of tremendous difficulties they experience. 

So is Olam Ha-zeh. We can accept it or keep wishing it would be otherwise.

I suggest the former [while davening for the latter]. 

The immortal words of the Ramchal:

ותראה באמת שכבר לא יוכל שום בעל שכל להאמין שתכלית בריאת האדם הוא למצבו בעולם הזה, כי מה הם חיי האדם בעולם הזה, או מי הוא ששמח ושליו ממש בעולם הזה. ימי שנותינו בהם שבעים שנה ואם בגבורות שמונים שנה ורהבם עמל ואון, (תהלים צ).

בכמה מיני צער וחלאים ומכאובים וטרדות, ואחר כל זאת, המות. אחד מני אלף לא ימצא שירבה העולם לו הנאות ושלוה אמיתית. וגם הוא, אילו יגיע למאה שנה כבר עבר ובטל מן העולם.

ולא עוד אלא שאם תכלית בריאת האדם היה לצורך העולם הזה, לא היה צריך מפני זה שתנופח בו נשמה כל כך חשובה ועליונה שתהיה גדולה יותר מן המלאכים עצמם.

Indeed, you can see that no rational person can possibly believe that the purpose of man's creation is for his existence in this world. For what is man's life in this world? Who is truly happy and content in this world? "The days of our life are 70 years, and if by strength, 80 years, yet their span is but toil and trouble" (Ps.90:10).

How many sorts of distress and sicknesses, pain and burdens, and after all that death! Not one in a thousand can be found to whom this world has granted plenty of pleasures and true contentment. And even such a person, if he reaches the age of a hundred years, already [is as one who already] passed and disappeared from the world.

Furthermore, if the purpose of man's creation were for the sake of this world, it would not have been necessary to imbue him with such a lofty and exalted soul, greater even than the angels themselves.

כל שכן שהיא אינה מוצאה שום נחת רוח בכל עינוגי זה העולם. והוא מה שלמדונו זכרונם לברכה במדרש קהלת, זו לשונם (קהלת רבה ו): וגם הנפש לא תמלא, משל למה הדבר דומה, לעירוני שנשא בת מלך, אם יביא לה כל מה שבעולם, אינם חשובים לה כלום, שהיא בת מלך כך הנפש, אילו הבאת לה כל מעדני עולם, אינם כלום לה, למה שהיא מן העליונים.
וכן אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה (אבות ד): על כרחך אתה נוצר ועל כרחך אתה נולד. כי אין הנשמה אוהבת העולם הזה כלל אלא אדרבא מואסת בו. אם כן ודאי לא היה בורא הבורא יתברך בריאה לתכלית שהוא נגד חוקה ונמאס ממנה.
אלא בריאתו של האדם, למצבו בעולם הבא היא. ועל כן ניתנה בו נשמה זאת, כי לה ראוי לעבוד, ובה יוכל האדם לקבל השכר במקומו וזמנו, שלא יהיה דבר נמאס אל נשמתו בעולם הזה, אלא אדרבא נאהב ונחמד ממנה, וזה פשוט.

Especially so, when the soul finds no satisfaction whatsoever from all the pleasures of this world. This is what our sages teach us in Midrash Koheles: " 'but the soul will not be fulfilled' (Koheles 6:7) - What is this analogous to? To the case of a common peasant who married the king's daughter. Even if he brought her all that the village possessed, it would be as nothing to her. For she is the king's daughter. So too with the soul, if you would bring to her all the pleasures of this world, they would be like nothing to her. For she is from higher worlds" (Koheles Raba 6:7).

Likewise our sages of blessed memory taught us: "against your will were you formed, and against your will were you born" (Avot 4:22). For the soul does not love this world at all. On the contrary, it despises it. If so, certainly, the Creator, blessed be His Name, would never have created something for a purpose which is against its nature and despised by it!

Rather, man's creation was for his state in the world to come. Therefore, this soul was placed in him, for it befits the soul to serve G-d; and through it a man will be rewarded in proper time and place. Thus this world will not be something despised to his soul, but rather beloved and cherished by it. This is evident.

TAKE IT IN!

Pat Fitzgerald, football coach at Northwestern: 

“These things (holds up phone). … Watching young people today live like this (looks down) instead of like that (looks up). Stacey and I were out on a date and there were two groups of couples sitting next to us and I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m old.’ … They were all on their phones and it drove me up the wall. I literally wanted to be like a dad and go, ‘Give me your phone, talk to each other.’ This is pathetic. The way a lot of younger people and fans intake is all through technology. You watch a concert and everybody is holding their phone up. LISTEN. WATCH. TAKE IT IN. Create a memory. They don’t go back and watch the videos. They just want to post it on their social media, which is pathetic because it creates a society of ‘Look at me! Isn’t my life great?’ Even though when they go home, they’re like, ‘I hate myself, I hate my life. Everything’s wrong.’

Kavod Ha-Torah

In 1933, the Chofetz Chaim pased away. Rav Kook eulogized him in Meah Shearim. In the middle of his eulogy, the zealots started screaming "FIRE FIRE" in order to disrupt his speech. Rav Kook didn't say anything and [as always] took the "bizyoinois" in silence. He just put his face in his hands with deep pain. The police came and removed the rabble rousers. 

The Rav then said that according to the Arizal there are two "pipelines" [צינורות] in Shomayim, one for לימוד התורה and the other for כבוד התורה and they are intertwined. If there is no כבוד התורה there is also no לימוד התורה. 

[Rav Eliezer Valdenberg, the Tzitz Eliezer, who attneded the eulogy as a child]. 

How important is this message in our generation!!