תביעת עצמית

החשיבות של הקדושה שבעיני הבריות אינה צריכה להחליש את הדעת מפני התביעות שיש לו על עצמו, שהן הנה יסודות התשובה, המביאה לכל ההתעלות, המושיעה את היחיד ואת העולם כולו.. אמנם צריכה היא החשיבות הזאת לעורר את תכונת הענוה בכל מלואה, שההתעמקות בשרשה מביאה היא את העטרה של החכמה כולה. ולשמירת הענוה, לחדורה בכל מחבואי הנשמה, תכונת הגבורה דרושה היא. וההדר החיצוני הבא מתוך החברה הרי הוא מחזק את היסוד של הגבורה, שיוכל לצאת בבהירות צחצחיותו אחרי שמזדקק מתוך הזוהמא של הגאוה.

1. "הַחֲשִׁיבוּת שֶׁל הַקְּדֻשָּׁה שֶׁבְּעֵינֵי הַבְּרִיּוֹת אֵינָהּ צְרִיכָה לְהַחְלִישׁ אֶת הַדַּעַת מִפְּנֵי הַתְּבִיעוֹת שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ עַל עַצְמוֹ..."

הסבר: לפעמים החברה מסתכלת על אדם ומחשיבה אותו לצדיק, קדוש או מושלם. הרב זצ"ל מזהיר: אל תיתן למחמאות ולכבוד מהסביבה לגרום לך להרפות מהביקורת העצמית שלך. זה שהציבור חושב שאתה "כבר שם" לא אומר שאתה צריך להפסיק לדרוש מעצמך להשתפר. "החלשת הדעת" כאן פירושה שאדם עלול להפוך לשאנן או לחשוב שהוא באמת מושלם רק כי כך אומרים עליו.

2. "...שֶׁהֵן הֵנָּה יְסוֹדוֹת הַתְּשׁוּבָה, הַמְּבִיאָה לְכָל הַהִתְעַלּוּת, הַמּוֹשִׁיעָה אֶת הַיָּחִיד וְאֶת הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ."

הסבר: אותן "תביעות עצמיות" (הביקורת הפנימית והרצון להשתפר) הן המנוע של התשובה. התשובה אצל הרב זצ"ל אינה רק תיקון חטאים, אלא תנועה מתמדת של התקדמות. כשאדם דורש מעצמו יותר, הוא מתעלה, והתעלות זו לא רק עוזרת לו באופן אישי ("היחיד"), אלא משפיעה לטובה על המוסר והרוח של האנושות כולה ("העולם כולו").

3. "אָמְנָם צְרִיכָה הִיא הַחֲשִׁיבוּת הַזֹּאת לְעוֹרֵר אֶת תְּכוּנַת הָעֲנָוָה בְּכָל מְלוֹאָהּ..."

הסבר: כאן הרב עובר לצד השני. למרות שלא צריך להיות שאננים בגלל הכבוד מהבריות, יש לכבוד הזה תפקיד חיובי: הוא צריך להוליד ענווה. איך? כשאדם רואה כמה הבריות מכבדות אותו, הוא צריך לחוש בושה פנימית חיובית – "הם חושבים שאני כל כך גדול, ואני יודע כמה אני רחוק מזה". הפער הזה בין הדימוי למציאות מעמיק את הענווה.

4. "...שֶׁהַהִתְעַמְּקוּת בְּשָׁרְשָׁהּ מְבִיאָה הִיא אֶת הָעֲטָרָה שֶׁל הַחָכְמָה כֻּלָּהּ."

הסבר: הענווה היא לא רק "להרגיש קטן", אלא שורש החוכמה. לפי תורת הסוד, החוכמה מגיעה ממקום של "אין" (ביטול עצמי). ככל שאדם עניו יותר, הוא פנוי יותר לקלוט את האמת האלוקית והשכלית ללא הפרעות של אגו, ובכך הוא זוכה ל"עטרת החוכמה".

5. "וּלְשְׁמִירַת הָעֲנָוָה, לְחִדּוּרָהּ בְּכָל מַחֲבוֹאֵי הַנְּשָׁמָה, תְּכוּנַת הַגְּבוּרָה דְּרוּשָׁה הִיא."

הסבר: כאן יש חידוש פסיכולוגי. כדי להיות עניו באמת (ולא סתם חלש או חסר ביטחון), צריך גבורה. נדרש כוח נפשי עצום כדי לעמוד מול הכבוד מהסביבה ולא להתגאות, ונדרשת גבורה כדי "להחדיר" את הענווה לכל פינות הנפש כך שלא תהיה רק הצגה חיצונית אלא אמת פנימית.

6. "וְהַהִדָּר הַחִיצוֹנִי הַבָּא מִתּוֹךְ הַחֶבְרָה הֲרֵי הוּא מְחַזֵּק אֶת הַיְסוֹד שֶׁל הַגְּבוּרָה..."

הסבר: הכבוד והערכה שהחברה נותנת לאדם ("ההדר החיצוני") הם לאו דווקא דבר רע. הם מעניקים לאדם תחושת ערך וכוח. הכוח הזה (הגבורה) יכול לשמש ככלי עבודה. הציבור נותן לך כוח – עכשיו השתמש בכוח הזה למטרות טובות.

7. "...שֶׁיּוּכַל לָצֵאת בִּבְהִירוּת צַחְצָחִיּוּתוֹ אַחֲרֵי שֶׁמִּזְדַּקֵּק מִתּוֹךְ הַזּוֹהֲמָא שֶׁל הַגַּאֲוָה."

הסבר: המטרה הסופית היא לקחת את ה"הדר" והכבוד החברתי ולזקק אותם. אם אדם לוקח את הכבוד לעצמו – זו "זוהמת הגאווה". אבל אם הוא מנקה את הגאווה, נשארת "גבורה נקייה" (צחצחיות). האדם הופך להיות אישיות חזקה ומנהיגה, שמשתמשת בכבוד שהציבור נותן לה כדי להוסיף טוב בעולם, מתוך ענווה פנימית עמוקה וזיכוך המידות.

סיכום הרעיון:

הפסקה מלמדת איך להתמודד עם הצלחה חברתית וכבוד: לא לתת להם להרדים את השאיפה להשתפר (תשובה), להשתמש בהם כדי להעמיק את הענווה, ולנצל את הכוח שהחברה נותנת לנו ככלי של "גבורה" מזוקקת לעשיית טוב, בלי ליפול למלכודת הגאווה.

Too Far? Trump Threatens To Nuke Used Car Dealership Unless It Comes Down Another $500 On 2017 Chevy Malibu

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The political world was set on edge once again on Wednesday, with experts urging everyone to prepare for the worst as President Donald Trump threatened to nuke a local used car dealership unless it agreed to come down another $500 on a 2017 Chevy Malibu.

The tense negotiations hit a breaking point earlier in the week, as the president sought to get a good deal on a used car for one of his grandchildren. After the dealership stated that it would not lower its price any further on the vehicle, Trump responded by threatening to end the car lot's "whole civilization."

"Don't think I won't do it," Trump reportedly told the used car salesman, Brad. "Your 47 years of corruption and terror will come to an end tonight. I'm not messing around. Take off another $500 before 8 P.M., or I'll unleash fury unlike anything anyone has ever seen. You don't want to find out, believe me. Bring the price down, or I'll bring down your entire world. Just try me. Lower the price, you evil psychopaths!"

Following several hours of intense discussions between the two sides, Trump announced that a tentative agreement had been reached to put off any strikes. "They have made it known that they are willing to make concessions," Trump later posted to Truth Social. "They know I mean business, and they've agreed to come back to the table. I will say that it's in their best interests, and the best interests of everything they know and love, to make a deal. It's a great day for world peace and getting a great deal on a Chevy Malibu. Thank you for your attention to this matter."

At publishing time, the White House had confirmed that Trump had agreed to purchase the 2017 Malibu for an additional $300 off.

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Isn't it great that we can joke around about a President who threatened to destroy an entire civilization??!! [Note: I really don't think he meant it and just used it as a strategy to get what he wanted. He is a bit crazy but not THAT crazy].

אהבה לכל הבריות

 גדולה היא אהבתי לכל היצורים, לכל המציאות. חלילה לי להכניס בלבבי גם זיק קטן של משטמה, של שנאת הבריות. הנני מרגיש במלא קרבי את אהבתי הגדולה לכל הבריות, וביותר מזה לבני אדם, ובמדה יותר עליונה לבני ישראל, ובכמה מעלות בקודש ליראי ד', לשומרי תורה ומצוה, וק"ו לת"ח. איני חפץ בפחיתת הכבוד של שום אדם. אני רוצה שהכל יתעלו, הכל יתכבדו, יתרוממו ויתפארו. הנני צריך להכיר את תוכיות רצוני, את נקודת חפץ נשמתי, למען אדע לכוין את דרכי אך למעלה למעלה.

Dozens Of New Shiurim BS"D!

 Here is one.

The Rogan Paradox: Why Demographic Ignorance is Dangerous

Joe Rogan’s YouTube channel boasts more than 16.4 million subscribers—a digital empire of staggering proportions. Yet, from this massive platform, Rogan has frequently waded into the waters of ancient prejudice. He has characterized Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide,” hosted guests who echo the same, and mocked thinkers like Douglas Murray for defending the Jewish state.

Most tellingly, Rogan recently defended the trope that Jews have a disproportionate obsession with financial influence. During a discussion regarding Ilhan Omar, Rogan remarked:

"The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza. It’s a ridiculous thing to say."

Unless Rogan has access to a global sociological survey proving that Jews value currency more than any other ethnic or religious group—or evidence that the rest of humanity is indifferent to wealth—this statement is nothing more than a lazy recycling of a medieval stereotype. Rogan may argue he is merely being "honest," but as the saying goes, "Ignorance is a voluntary misfortune." When you speak to millions, the line between "just asking questions" and spreading harmful misinformation thins to the point of vanishing.

The Math of Misunderstanding

The depth of Rogan’s ignorance was laid bare during an exchange with Gad Saad. When asked to guess the global Jewish population, Rogan’s intuition was wildly off-base.

"A billion?" he guessed. When Saad shook his head, Rogan scaled it back to "500 million."

In reality, there are approximately 13 million Jews in the entire world. [We can't know for sure because so many people who think they are Jewish are not and there is also the opposite]. 

Pause and consider that for a moment: Joe Rogan has more subscribers [millions more!!] than there are Jews on Earth. When a random person on the street doesn't realize how few Jews exist, it is a failure of education. When Rogan—who spreads his opinions to a tribe larger than the global Jewish community—doesn't know, it is a catastrophe. He is effectively broadcasting to a "nation" of followers while remaining ignorant of the fact that the group he is criticizing is a statistical whisper in the global ear.

A History Written in Blood

To understand why there are so few Jews, one must look at a history defined by what historian Salo Baron called the "lachrymose conception of Jewish history." While there are 2 billion Muslims, 2.3 billion Christians, and 1.1 billion Hindus, the Jewish population remains stalled.

This is the result of 1,500 years of systematic persecution in Europe and dhimmi status in the Middle East—centuries of massacres, forced conversions, and systemic displacement. In 1939, the global Jewish population stood at 16.5 million. After the Holocaust, it plummeted to 11 million. Nearly 80 years later, the population has still not recovered to its pre-war levels. "This," one might tell Joe Rogan, "is what actual genocide looks like: a population that cannot recover its numbers even after a century."

The Parsi Precedent: Sugar in the Milk

To understand the precariousness of tiny minorities, we can look to the Zoroastrians. Once the state religion of Persia for over a millennium, Zoroastrianism was decimated following the Islamic conquest in the seventh century.

A small group fled to India, where they became known as Parsis. Legend says that when they arrived in Gujarat, the local King sent a cup full of milk to the Parsi leader, signaling that his land was full. The leader responded by dissolving a spoonful of sugar into the milk. He promised that his people would blend in, not displace the locals, and would "sweeten" the country.

The Parsis kept their word. They became a pillar of Indian society, producing the Tata family—the architects of India's largest business conglomerate. Yet, despite their immense success, they are on the brink of extinction. Due to low birth rates and strict endogamy, there are only about 120,000 Parsis left worldwide. As the proverb warns: "A thin thread is easily broken."

The Hindu-Jewish Parallel

Hinduism and להבדיל Judaism share a unique historical bond: they are the two great ancient "non-proselytizing" religions that survived. While the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Mesopotamia vanished into the sands of time, Hindus and Jews remained.

In the 20th century, both communities faced similar demographic shifts. In 1950, Jews made up roughly 88% of Israel; today, they are about 73%. Similarly, Hindus in India have seen their share of the population dip from 84% in 1950 to roughly 78% today.

However, there is a vital difference in scale. Hindus constitute nearly 16% of the world’s population. Jews constitute 0.2%. Because Hindus were historically more numerous and did not face a singular, industrial-scale attempt at total erasure (the Shoah), they do not face the same immediate existential math that Jews do. For Israel, where half the world’s Jews reside, every conflict is a struggle against total disappearance.

The Burden of Achievement

In the United States, Jews and Hindus are consistently ranked as the most prosperous and highly educated religious minorities. As the saying goes, "Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay."

Jewish achievement is particularly startling: despite being 0.2% of the population, they have won over 20% of all Nobel Prizes. Conspiracy theorists like Rogan seize on these successes to bolster claims of "influence" and "control." They see a "cabal" where they should see a culture that prioritizes education as a survival mechanism.

Conclusion: The Power of One Number

We may never be able to convince the dedicated conspiracy theorist. But for the open-minded listener, we must insist on one sobering fact: 13 million.

When Joe Rogan speaks, his voice reaches further than the entire Jewish population combined. When that voice is used to validate tropes about "money" or "genocide" while remaining ignorant of the community's fragility, it isn't just "talk." It is the marginalization of a people who are already standing on a demographic ledge. In a world of billions, the Jews are a small family—one that has spent the last century simply trying to get back to where they were in 1939.

What Is The Real Problem?

The militants slaughtering Christians in Nigeria are the same jihadists executing Druze and Kurds in Syria. They are the same radicals terrorizing Uganda and Sudan, and the same extremists targeting Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike in Israel. This is a singular, global movement of violence—yet we are told [by people like Mamdani] the primary threat is 'Islamophobia.'

"There is a hierarchy of compassion in the West. If a jihadist attack doesn't fit the preferred narrative of Western 'systemic' guilt, it is ignored. This is why the world stays silent while Christians in Nigeria and non-Arabs in Sudan are wiped off the map."

The Wrong Marx: From Slapstick to State Terror

I can certainly appreciate the Marxes—Groucho’s wit, Harpo’s pantomime, and Chico’s piano playing are legendary. But Karl Marx? That is a different story entirely. As Thomas Sowell famously noted: “Marxism is a wonderful system for the people who run it. For everybody else, it’s a disaster.”

To understand the darker side of the 20th century, one must look at a specific "rogues' gallery":

Hitler*

Lenin

Stalin

These three were arguably the greatest destroyers of Jewish life—both spiritual and physical—since the Roman Empire. While their respective defenders hate to admit it, this unholy triad shared more than just a penchant for totalitarianism; their worldviews were all originally forged in the furnace of Karl Marx’s philosophy. Perhaps most damningly, they shared Marx’s visceral, documented contempt for the Jewish people.

The Myth of the "Jewish" Prophet

The most common defense of Marx against the charge of antisemitism is:

“How can he be an antisemite? He was a Jew! His grandfather was an Orthodox Rabbi!”

These are misdirections. As Sowell points out in Intellectuals and Society, many intellectuals are more in love with their visions than with humanity. Marx didn't care for his "roots"; he viewed them as a shackle to be broken. To understand why, we have to look at his origins in 19th-century Germany.

An Effervescent (and Hostile) Germany

Marx was born in Trier in 1818. At the time, Trier was a deeply Catholic city, home to one of the oldest cathedrals in the world. However, the broader German landscape was dominated by a Lutheranism still infected by Martin Luther’s own late-life vitriol against Jews.

Germany was also in the throes of an intellectual "renaissance." Figures like Hegel, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer were reshaping the world's view of the "Teutonic" mind. The Jewish world was not immune to this earthquake. This era saw the rise of the Maskilim (enlighteners)—Jews who wanted to "Germanize" Judaism. They introduced organs into synagogues, moved the Sabbath to Sunday, and declared Berlin to be their "Jerusalem."

But there was a "Third Way" even more radical than Reform: total abandonment.

The Baptism of Convenience

Heinrich Marx, Karl’s father, converted to Lutheranism around 1819 to escape the professional restrictions placed on Jews. Karl’s mother, Henriette, was more reluctant, but she eventually acquiesced to the baptism of her children in 1824 (not 1924), when Karl was six.

Marx grew up as a Lutheran, eventually trading his faith for the militant atheism of the Young Hegelians. He never received a Jewish education, never attended a cheder, and had no Jewish friends. As Sowell observes: “The more I study the history of intellectuals, the more they seem like a biological species unto themselves.” Marx was a German intellectual who viewed his Jewish ancestry as a "stain" of the old world. When he wrote On the Jewish Question, he wasn't speaking as an insider; he was relying on the tropes of non-Jewish German critics.

"Das KKKapital": Marx the Bigot

Marx didn't just dislike Judaism; he harbored a visceral racism that extended to almost everyone. His son-in-law, Paul Lafargue—who was of Cuban descent—was a frequent target. Marx referred to him as "the negrillo" and "the gorilla."

Writing to Engels, Marx sneered:

"Lafargue has the blemish customarily found in the negro tribe—no sense of shame, by which I mean shame about making a fool of oneself."

Engels, Marx’s benefactor and "partner in hate," was no better. He wrote to Marx’s daughter Laura, suggesting that because her husband Paul lived near a zoo, he was in his "rightful place," being "one degree nearer to the animal kingdom than the rest of us."

The Marx-Engels correspondence reads less like a political manifesto and more like a transcript from a radicalized message board. Marx’s descriptions of his contemporary, Ferdinand Lassalle, are particularly foul, utilizing a cocktail of racial and ethnic slurs: "the Jewish Nigger," "greasy Jew," and "Baron Itzig." Marx even attempted to use "science" to justify his hatred, claiming Lassalle’s cranial structure proved he was descended from "Negroes who joined in Moses' flight from Egypt."

The "Satire" Defense

Apologists like Robert Fine claim this was just "irony." But as Thomas Sowell notes: “If you want to help people, tell them the truth. If you want to help yourself, tell them what they want to hear.” Marx wasn't telling "truths" or "jokes"; he was expressing a genuine, obsessive contempt.

In 1879, while vacationing in Ramsgate, Marx complained to Engels that the resort was plagued by too "many Jews and fleas." He described the "Jewish type" as shriveled and cursed with a "guttural voice." To Marx, any undesirable trait—haggling, diplomacy, or calculation—was inherently "Jewish."

The Narcissist’s Manifesto

Perhaps the most revealing trait of Karl Marx was his parasitic nature. He loathed the "bourgeoisie" but spent his life mooching off his parents and then Engels. He treated his "friends" like ATMs. When Lassalle visited him, Marx was enraged—not because of Lassalle’s politics, but because Lassalle wouldn't lend him more money. Marx complained that Lassalle "would sooner throw money down the drain than lend it to a 'friend'."

While he theorized about the "proletariat," he never worked a day in a factory. He lived in squalor, neglected his children’s health, and reportedly fathered a child with his housemaid—whom he never paid.

Conclusion

If Marx were alive today, he wouldn't be leading a union; he’d be a "NEET" (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) posting vitriolic, racist screeds on 4chan.

His ideology provided the blueprint for the 20th century's greatest horrors. As Sowell summarizes: “The fact that so many successful politicians are such shameless liars is not only a reflection on them, it is also a reflection on us. When the people want the impossible, only liars can satisfy them.”

Marx promised a utopia built on the hatred of the "other"—whether that other was a class, a race, or a religion. The rogues' gallery of Hitler, Lenin, and Stalin simply took the "Prophet of Hate" at his word.

*Note on Hitler: While Hitler eventually turned against "Judeo-Bolshevism," the early Nazi party shared significant DNA with anti-capitalist, revolutionary socialism, and Hitler himself expressed early admiration for the "totalizing" nature of Marxist organization, even as he swapped "Class" for "Race" as the primary engine of history.