Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Seder Alone?
R' Pini Dunner
Algemeiner Journal
Sent by R' S.F. and I thank him
One of the issues that has been coming up again and again in the past week during phone calls I have been having with my community, and with others from further afield, is the fact that people will be on their own for the Seder this year — or their Seder will be drastically reduced in numbers, with children or parents elsewhere, all isolated in the midst of the current coronavirus social-distancing self-quarantine situation that is so important to prevent the spread of the disease.
Some people will literally be by themselves, solitary, with no one to do the Seder with at all.
“How can we do Seder by ourselves?” they ask me. “Doesn’t the Pesach Seder need to be done with family and guests?”
I have thought about this a lot, and would like to address everyone’s concerns by sharing an extraordinary conversation that I had about 18 months ago.
I just happened to be in New York at the time, and a friend of mine messaged me that his daughter had become engaged. I texted him back that I was around and would be able to attend the engagement party, and that night, I drove to Monsey to celebrate the simcha.
While I was at the party, I bumped into a friend of mine, Rabbi YY Jacobson, a well-known inspirational speaker on the East Coast. I knew that Rabbi Jacobson grew up on Montgomery Street in Crown Heights, in the heart of the Chabad community, just a few blocks away from the home of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe.
There is an aspect of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe’s life that I feel is often overlooked, and we got to talking about it. The Lubavitcher Rebbe was incredibly down-to-earth and, together with his late wife Rebbetzen Chaya Mushka, the Rebbe led a very simple life. Indeed, as hard as it may be to believe, their life together was very private.
Rabbi Jacobson often tells stories about the Rebbe when he speaks to audiences, so I asked him if he ever focuses on this particular aspect of the Rebbe’s greatness. Namely that the Lubavitcher Rebbe had no airs and graces at all, nor was he interested in the pomp and ceremony that is often the hallmark of other Hasidic leaders and “courts.”
“For example,” I asked Rabbi Jacobson, “do you ever tell audiences that in their 60 years of marriage, the Rebbe and his wife ate every Shabbos meal together on their own? No guests, no attendants, no public spectacle … just a married couple eating together — bringing the food in, eating, clearing the table, doing the washing up. A man who had literally tens of thousands of people at his beck-and-call! What a powerful lesson!”
Rabbi Jacobson paused for a moment, and then he smiled. “I’ve got one better for you,” he said. “A few weeks ago, I led a workshop for single mothers, and at the end of the session, I took questions from the women and encouraged them to ask any question that was on their mind. One of the ladies put her hand up, and this is what she asked me … it’s a crazy story.”
“A few months ago,” she told him, “it was Pesach. The thing is, my ex-husband and I went through a very difficult breakup. After years in court over our kids, we finally settled on a shared custody arrangement, which means that we alternate Jewish holidays. This past Pesach it was my turn — my children were coming to me for Seder and I was so excited. I changed over my home for Pesach and prepared everything beautifully; it was going to be just me and the kids.”
“I was so happy about them being with me, that I told everyone: my family, my friends, my neighbors. Then, one hour before yomtov, I got a phone call from my ex — for some reason, the kids were not going to be coming. I almost fainted from shock and heartache. I was also so ashamed. I guess I could have called my parents, or I could have called my neighbors — and gone to them for the Seder. But how could I actually do that? I had told everyone my kids were coming! Truth is, I did not have the energy to even be with anyone. I felt completely and totally numb — dry and lifeless.
“So I did the Seder by myself. On my own. It was the worst and most bitter Seder I have ever had. I just sat there crying the whole way through. Weeping. It wasn’t Pesach. It was Tisha B’Av. I did not have to eat Maror. I—my entire life! — was Maror. Yes, I went through the Haggadah and ate the Matzah; but the entire Seder took me 25 minutes.
“Rabbi Jacobson, did I do the right thing? Did I fulfill my Seder obligation? Was it even called a Seder? Because it did not feel like a proper Pesach.”
Rabbi Jacobson told me — and believe me, as a public speaker, I know exactly what he means — sometimes your most inspirational moments in a speech are not prepared. They are a gift from God. You can prepare for hours. And then inspiration drops into your lap. Right then and there, Rabbi YY Jacobson had such a moment.
“Lady,” he said, “in 1988 the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s wife died, and he was left on his own, as they sadly had no children. She passed away in February, and two months later was Pesach. Every year the Rebbe and his Rebbetzen had Seder together, but this year he was on his own, totally by himself. Who would the Rebbe conduct the Passover Seder with?”
“I recall that a young boy, Ari Halberstam — who was later tragically gunned down on Brooklyn Bridge, in 1994 — approached the Rebbe after Maariv on the first night of Pesach and, on behalf of his mother, invited the Rebbe to his home for Seder. Ari’s family lived at 706 Eastern Parkway, just one block away from ‘770.’ The Rebbe smiled at Ari, and shook his head. He thanked him profusely, but told Ari he would be having the Seder in his private office in ‘770.’”
“I was a yeshiva student at the time,” continued Rabbi Jacobson, “so I am a first-hand witness to this story. In fact, the Rebbe’s longstanding assistant Rabbi Leibel Groner offered to stay with the Rebbe, but the Rebbe sent him home to have Seder with his wife and children.”
“And so, the great Lubavitcher Rebbe — the man who inspired countless people around the world for their Seders, who personally undertook to provide a meaningful Pesach Seder for Israeli Army personnel who were on duty on the first night of Pesach via his shluchim in Eretz Yisrael — had the Seder on his own. Not one other person was present. As the Talmud says: if you are on your own, you ask yourself the ‘Ma Nishtana’ questions, and then you answer them to yourself.
“A few of us yeshiva boys did not go home that night; we waited outside in the street — and after a couple of hours, the Rebbe opened the door to welcome Eliyahu Hanavi and recite Shefoch Chamatcha. He walked outside holding a candle and his Haggadah, said the prayer, gave us a wave, and then went back inside to finish the Seder — by himself.”
“My dear lady,” said Rabbi Jacobson, “if it was good enough for the Lubavitcher Rebbe to have the Seder on his own, trust me, your Seder was perfect!”
“He could have had his Seder with 100 people, 1,000 people, or 10,000 people. He personally arranged for all the army Seders in Israel to be sponsored. He was responsible for hundreds of thousands of people celebrating Pesach on Seder night, from Kathmandu to Alaska, from San Francisco to New Zealand. But at the end of the day, he went and did the Seder on his own. He didn’t need anyone else to be close to God. He didn’t need adulation. He didn’t need validation. He sat alone and relived the Exodus from Egypt.”
“I was only 15 at the time,” concluded Rabbi Jacobson, “but despite my youth, I felt sad that the Rebbe had nobody to be with for the Seder. Why did he not invite even one person to be with him? But today, after hearing your story, I may have discovered the answer — and it is just a personal feeling. As a true Jewish leader, the Rebbe wished to empower all those souls who would ever need to do their Seder alone. He wanted them to know that their solitary Passover Seder was powerful, meaningful, and real. Jewish history and the Divine presence would dwell at their Seder just as it does at a Seder that has many people there.”
Over the past couple of weeks, as the coronavirus crisis has unfolded across the world, and the reality of our isolated situations has become ever more evident — this incredible and very moving story about the Lubavitcher Rebbe has been at the forefront of my mind.
This year, so many people — probably more people than at any other time in Jewish history — will be having the Seder on their own or without their families. All of our Seders will be diminished and anxiety will be hovering in the air. And all of us will be thinking to ourselves — “is this really a proper Seder?”
I think Rabbi Jacobson’s story about the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1988 answers that question, and it eases any doubts we may have about our impending “depleted” experience. After all, “If it was good enough for the Lubavitcher Rebbe to have the Seder on his own, trust me, your Seder is going to be just perfect!”
Managing
Not sure how long I have been locked up here because I lose track of time. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that it's been about 5 and a half months ....... and we're managing.
Baruch Hashem.
Answer To Corona - Chesed!!!
Charles Koch and Brian Hooks
USA Today
Amidst calls for a national shutdown, and with a growing number of states issuing shelter-in-place orders in response to the coronavirus, Americans are wondering what comes next. They’re looking for a better way.
Other countries have responded in ways that mirror their national character. We must do the same. China took an authoritarian approach. Korea relied heavily on technology and information sharing. While we can learn from the experience of others, the United States should choose an approach that reflects the best of who we are as a country — a distinctly American approach.
Our society is built on the principle of empowerment: the idea that every person has something to contribute. When we have lived up to this ideal, our country has accomplished great things. When we have given into the opposite impulse — to control people — we have suffered unspeakable tragedies. The principles that have driven our progress are no less important during crisis times. Indeed, this is when our principles matter most.
Facing a struggle that’s already affecting millions of people, we need to empower every person to contribute in their own way, helping others weather the storm. All of us have a role to play, and all of our roles matter. As with other challenges in our history, this crisis must be tackled from the bottom up.
A uniquely American approach would look to contributions from government, businesses, educators, and people from all walks of life, in every community, to find innovative ways of assisting each other.
Charitable initiatives around the country
Some such efforts are already underway. Take what’s happening in business. While businesses based on big crowds, like the NBA, have made the hard decision to close, others that can operate while protecting public health are doing what it takes to keep grocery aisles stocked and medical professionals supplied. Distilleries are converting their kettles and stills to make hand sanitizer. Technology companies are applying data analytics to track the spread of the virus and keep the public informed.
In education, when schools closed, creative minds found new ways to serve students. OpenStax at Rice University expanded access to its online customizable courses, offering a record number of students a chance at individualized learning. Yes Every Kid launched #LearnEverywhere, a free resource that aggregates curriculum for the parents now home with more than 30 million kids.
Communities are coming together in a spirit of cooperation and empowerment. People are meeting their neighbors’ needs in ways that only they can because they know best what works and what doesn’t in such specific situations.
Café Momentum, a Dallas-based restaurant that employs kids from the juvenile justice system, can no longer serve customers for dinner. So they’re now making 16,000 packaged meals per week for kids who depend on school lunches. The Phoenix, a remarkably effective addiction recovery group has moved online, potentially preventing tens of thousands of people from relapsing during isolation.
On March 26, Stand Together and the Family Independence Initiative — one of America’s most effective anti-poverty groups — launched #GiveTogetherNow, an online effort to help vulnerable families get immediate and direct cash assistance from everyday Americans looking to do their part. 100% of donations will go to those who have been hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis and resulting economic downturn.
The rapid rise of many similar charitable initiatives, tailored to local communities, is perhaps the most heartening story in the current crisis.
Policymakers also have a critical role to play in a crisis like this. By acting to empower those in a position to help, their decisions have undoubtedly saved lives. Many acted fast to break down barriers standing in the way of an effective medical response. At least 18 states and D.C. have removed restrictions on telemedicine. Others are relaxing licensing laws that prevent qualified medical professionals from assisting patients. These are examples of the right response in this difficult time: Creating an environment in which people can help solve the problems in their communities, in cooperation with others.
What we can do: Yes, the coronavirus pandemic is scary. But let's remember to help our neighbors.
Contrast that with the control-approach: open-ended business shutdowns that can prevent critical supply chains from getting products and services to those who need them most. Better to empower people who can responsibly operate businesses with effective social distancing and without endangering public health, as some governors have. Not only does this keep people employed but it ensures everyone has what they need to do their part — something that will be even more critical in the weeks and months ahead.
After a slow start, and as the challenges ahead intensify, we must embrace the best of our country. That means resisting the temptation to close off avenues for individuals and organizations who can find new and creative ways to do more to help others. It means relying on the ingenuity of every American to help make it through.
That’s the American way. Indeed, it’s the only way.
Prof. William Helmreich z"l
Professor Helmreich had a son, Alan, who was my chavrusa for a time. We learned the first perek of Pesachim. I recall that he came for the summer to learn in Yeshiva before starting work. I asked him what he wanted to do. He didn't know and said he was looking for an "entry level job" somewhere. I vividly remember him leaving my apartment for the last time and I watched him as he walked down the stairs. He died soon after at the age of 24 in 1998.
Prof. Helmreich conducted interviews with various Roshei Yeshiva of the previous generation which are thankfully available here. His book "The World of The Yeshiva" was a classic. I think I read it at least twice, maybe more. [If I remember correctly Prof. Helmreich learned for a time at Ner Yisrael].
So sad that he is gone - so suddenly.
So sad that he is gone - so suddenly.
Joseph Berger
NY Times
When William B. Helmreich was 9 years old, his father, a Polish-Jewish refugee from the Nazis who was curious about his latest haven, New York City, started taking him on weekend outings that he playfully called “Last Stop.” Father and son would choose a subway line at random, take it to the end and spend a few hours exploring the novelties of neighborhoods they had never seen.
Those adventures enlivened several years of the 1950s for young Mr. Helmreich and were in part the germ of two of the 18 books he would write or edit as a longtime professor of sociology and scholar of Judaism.
The first of the two, “Against All Odds: Holocaust Survivors and the Successful Lives They Made in America” (1992), was a data-driven study that highlighted the survivors’ resilience and achievements and contradicted the commonplace image of them as irremediably traumatized.
The second, “The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City” (2013), chronicled Professor Helmreich’s experiences over four years — and many pairs of Rockports — walking virtually every city block, all 121,000, totaling 6,163 miles. Chatting with strangers, he unearthed a cornucopia of colorful city sidelights; he even once approached members of the street gang the Bloods outside a Bronx housing project and asked them where he could buy one of their red jackets.
This is how he explained his disarming technique to the comedian Barry Mitchell for a YouTube video:
“I just say, ‘What’s that horse doing in that guy’s backyard?’, or, ‘Is this neighborhood dangerous? Can I get a good apartment for my son?’ In other words, I just start talking to people.”
A distinguished professor of sociology at City College and the City University of New York’s Graduate Center, he died on Saturday at his home in Great Neck, N.Y. He was 74. His son Jeffrey said the cause was the coronavirus.
Curious, gregarious and inexhaustibly energetic, Mr. Helmreich was fearless in his study of human beings. As a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis, he chose to do his dissertation on a group of black-power advocates who were hostile toward white people like him, even once getting into a tussle with one of its members. In 1973, the study was turned into his first book, “The Black Crusaders: A Case Study of a Black Militant Organization.”
Although for a time he helped organize the annual parade in Manhattan celebrating Israel, he conducted a two-hour interview in 2003 in Gaza with a leader of Hamas, Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who had just survived an attack by Israeli helicopters.
The book of his that broke important new ground was “Against All Odds.” In writing it he interviewed 380 Holocaust survivors and found that, far from the pathological stereotypes surrounding them, they had more stable marriages, equivalent economic status and a lesser need to seek psychiatric help than other American Jews of the same age.
He argued that traits like adaptability, tenacity and resourcefulness, which had been needed to endure near starvation, terror and the loss of so many loved ones, had enabled most survivors to flourish in the freedom and opportunities that America afforded. The book won an award from the Jewish Book Council.
What made his ramble through New York so beguiling — besides the sheer feat of his feet — were the serendipitous encounters and discoveries of offbeat corners of city life. In Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, he met a man whose ample garage was chock-a-block with old Dodger baseball uniforms, carousel horses, gaudy amusement arcade machines and vintage cars — all as a wistful homage to the Brooklyn of his childhood.
In Gowanus, Brooklyn, he came across a long-dormant grocery on a street of rowhouses and found that it that had been kept as a shrine by the descendants of a Neapolitan immigrant who had opened the business a century before, its Rheingold and Schaefer beer neon signs flashing at Christmastime in tribute.
“I saw this as a remarkable example of filial piety, something that today’s generation might not understand,” Professor Helmreich told Mr. Mitchell. “Today’s generation is much more techie, much more involved in the present.”
Professor Helmreich’s rambles through New York were inspired in part by a pastime that he and his father called “Last Stop.” They would choose a subway, take it to the end of the line and spend a few hours exploring the novelties of neighborhoods they had never seen.
William Benno Helmreich was born on Aug. 25, 1945 in Zurich. His parents, Leo and Sally (Finkelstein) Helmreich, had met in Nazi-occupied Belgium and had spirited their way through France into neutral Switzerland. In 1946 the family emigrated to the United States, where his father worked first repairing diamond jewelry and eventually became a diamond dealer.
Settling on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, his parents sent red-haired Willie, as he was known, to Manhattan Day School, a modern Orthodox yeshiva, where teachers noticed his strong tenor voice and had him star in the annual Purim play. (Among his many adult diversions, Professor Helmreich sometimes served as a supplemental cantor.)
He reflected on his mixed feelings about his childhood education in a memoir, “Wake Up, Wake Up to Do the Work of the Creator” (1977), and later studied more advanced yeshivas in “The World of the Yeshiva: An Intimate Portrait of Orthodox Judaism” (1982).
He attended Yeshiva University before doing graduate work at Washington University. As a professor at City College, he could be a riveting teacher, known for provocative interchanges with students and a near photographic memory. Professor Helmreich was the college’s longtime chairman of sociology, writing books on the Jews of Philip Roth’s Newark and the truths and distortions of ethnic stereotypes as well as follow-up walking guides to, separately, the streets of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island and Queens.
In addition to his son Jeffrey, an assistant professor of philosophy and law at the University of California at Irvine, Mr. Helmreich is survived by his wife, Helaine Helmreich, a speech therapist who wrote a well-received novel, “The Chimney Tree”; another son, Joseph, a writer; a daughter, Deborah Halpern, a speech pathologist; and four grandchildren. A third son, Alan, died of a brain aneurysm in 1998 at the age of 24.
Learning of Professor Helmreich’s sudden death, Jonathan Sarna, professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, said: “He was in the wrong profession for the coronavirus. Willie loved talking to people. Social distancing was not in his nature.”
Pray And Study Bible!!!
Michael Lindell of "My Pillow". His company has now changed from making pillows to making masks. Kol Hakavod!! We should all merit to use our wealth and resources for helping others.
Timing
Hard to free myself of the thought that in retrospect, my daughter's wedding could have cost me only 50 bucks.
The Famous Iggeres!!! Great To Read And Read Again
"אהובי וחביבי, שלום וברכה!
מכתבך הגיע לידי, ודבריך הגיעו ללבי.
דע לך חביבי כי עצם מכתבך מתנגד הוא לכל התיאורים הנמצאים בו. והנני בזה להסביר לך תוכן משפט זה.
רעה חולה היא אצלנו שכאשר מתעסקים אנו בצדדי השלמות של גדולינו, הננו מטפלים בסיכום האחרון של מעלתם. מספרים אנו על דרכי השלמות שלהם, בשעה שאנחנו מדלגים על המאבק הפנימי שהתחולל בנפשם.
הרושם שלך על גדולי ישראל מתקבל כאילו יצאו מתחת יד היוצר בקומתם ובצביונם. הכל משוחחים, מתפעלים ומרימים על נס את טהרת הלשון של בעל החפץ חיים זצ"ל, אבל מי יודע מן כל המלחמות, המאבקים, המכשולים, הנפילות והנסיגות לאחור שמצא החפץ חיים בדרך המלחמה שלו עם יצרו הרע – משל אחד מני אלף. ודי לנבון שכמותך לדון מן הפרט אל הכלל.
התוצאה מזה היא כשנער בעל רוח, בעל שאיפה, בעל תסיסה מוצא בעצמו מכשולים, נפילות, ירידות, הרי הוא דומה בעיניו כבלתי "שתול בבית השם". שלפי הדמיונות של נער זה, להיות שתול בבית השם, פירושו הוא לשבת בשלוות נפש על נאות דשא של מי מנוחות וליהנות מיצרו הטוב, כדרך שצדיקים נהנים מזיו השכינה שעטרותיהם בראשיהם במסיבת גן עדן, ולאידך גיסא, לא להיות מרוגז מסערת היצר על דרך הכתוב של "במתים חופשי" [תהילים פח,ו].
אבל דע לך, חביבי, ששורש נשמתך הוא לא השלווה של היצר הטוב, אלא דווקא מלחמתו של היצר הטוב. ומכתבך היקר והנלבב מעיד כמאה עדים כי אכן לוחם נאמן אתה בצבאותיו של היצר הטוב.
באנגלית אומרים – Lose a battle and win the war – דהיינו, הפסד קרב, ותנצח במלחמה. בודאי שהנך נכשל ועומד להיות נכשל (אין בזה משום פתיחת פה לשטן), ובכמה מערכות תיפול שדוד. אבל אני מבטיח לך שלאחר הפסד כל מערכות תצא מן המלחמה כשזר על ראשך, והטרף החד מפרפר בין שינך.
החכם מכל אדם אומר "שבע ייפול צדיק וקם", והטיפשים חושבים כי כוונתו בדרך רבותא: אף על פי ששבע ייפול צדיק, מכול מקום הוא קם. אבל החכמים יודעים היטיב שהכוונה היא שמהות הקימה של הצדיק היא ה"שבע הנפילות" שלו. וירא את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאוד. טוב זה יצר טוב, מאוד זה יצר הרע.
אהובי, הנני לוחץ אותך אל לבבי, ולוחש באוזנך, כי אילו היה מכתבך מספר לי אודות המצוות והמעשים הטובים שלך, הייתי אומר שקיבלתי ממך מכתב טוב. עכשיו שמכתבך מספר על דבר ירידות ונפילות ומכשולים, הנני אומר שקיבלתי ממך מכתב טוב מאוד. רוחך סוערת לקראת השאיפה להיות גדול. בבקשה ממך, אל תצייר בנפשך גדלותם של גדולי עולם שהם ויצרם הטוב בבחינת חד הוא. לעומת זאת צייר גדלותם של גדולי עולם באותיות של מלחמה נוראה עם כל הנטיות השפלות והנמוכות. ובזמן שהנך מרגיש בקרבך סערת היצר, דע לך שבזה אתה מתדמה אל הגדולים הרבה יותר מאשר בשעה שאתה נמצא במנוחה השלמה שאתה רוצה בה. דווקא באותם המקומות שהנך מוצא בעצמך הירידות הכי מרובות, דווקא באותם המקומות עומד הנך להיות כלי להצטיינות של כבוד שמיים.
אינך רוצה לגנוב את דעתי, שאחשוב עליך שהנך בקו הטוב בעוד שבאמת הנך כך וכך, ועוד כך ושבע פעמים כך. ואני מה לי לכל השבע פעמים הללו. בשבילי עבודת היסוד היא שבמשך החורף העבר רכשת לך ידיעה הגונה בהלכות נזקי ממון. חזרת כמה פעמים על המסכת שלמדת. לא תכחיש את זה, זו היא העובדה המכריעה. בעובדה זו גנוז סוד הניצחון במאבק היצרים שלך.
הנך כותב: "לעולם לא אשכח הרצון שהיה בי להצליח ולעלות מחיל אל חיל. אבל חבל, כבר אבדה תקוותי". אינני יודע כיצד אתה מעיז פנים להכחיש מציאות חיה, האם אתה לא עלית מחיל אל חיל מאותו זמן שנכנסת לבית המדרש?!
מכיר אני אותך שאינך בעל העזה כזה, שלא שהם הם הדברים: אם מוצא אתה בעצמך שיצרך הרע מתגבר עליך, הנך חושב בטיפשות ובתמימות שכבר אבדה תקוותך. דבריך פשוט מביאים לידי גיחוך. משתתף אני בסבלך הרע, אבל הסבל הזה הוא, הוא הרחם של הגדלות. ראיתי את פניך בשעת עיון בהלכה. ראיתי את פניך בשעת הקשבה לשיעורים. ראיתי את פניך בליל שביעי של פסח. האותיות החרותות על פניך בשעות הנ"ל הן אותיות של "סוף הכבוד לבוא". אין שביל הכבוד מתפתל דרך מישור: שביל הכבוד עובר מסתובב כנחש עלי דרך וכשפיפון עלי אורח. ארסו של נחש בקרבך? – הוא ישופך עקב ואתה תשופנו ראש.
מצאתי לנכון להציע לך דברים הללו במכתב. הכוונה היא לתת לך יכולת להזדקק להם מדי פעם בפעם. מובן מאליו שמפאת זה לא היתה לי הכוונה אלא לקו הכללי. בנוגע לנקודות פרטיות, בזה יפה כוחו של הדיבור החי פנים אל פנים.
אתה הוא השתול בבית השם!
בהשתתפות בסבלך, בביטחון בניצחונך, בתפילה להצלחתך
יצחק הוטנר.
נ.ב. עכשיו הנך מבין את המשפט הראשון של המכתב, כי עצם מכתבך מנוגד הוא לכל התיאורים הנמצאים בו.
Kfiya On Talmud Torah
קי"ל ב"ד כופין על קיום מצוות עשה, מדוע א"כ אין כופין על תלמוד תורה?
איך האב נאך נישט געפונען [עוד לא מצאתי] די קייטן [שלשלאות] בינדן צום לערנן [לקשר ללימוד].
כ"ק האדמו"ר מקלויזנבורג זצ"ל שעור חומש עקב
איך האב נאך נישט געפונען [עוד לא מצאתי] די קייטן [שלשלאות] בינדן צום לערנן [לקשר ללימוד].
כ"ק האדמו"ר מקלויזנבורג זצ"ל שעור חומש עקב
New MBD Hit
"Just One Shabbos And We Will All Be Infected": A song explaining why you should stay home this Shabbos.
The Case Of Eidem Zoomemim
"How can you say that you witnessed that murder?? We saw you on video at that very time in a completely different place??!!!"
Exercise
Research shows that 15 minutes of intensive exercise has the same effect as an anti-depressant.
Motion engenders positive emotion!!!
TRY IT!! 😊😊
The Bright Side
א פחד נורא, דער עולם גייט נישט אין מקוה, נאך א מזל מ'קען נישט שמעקן...
SCARY. No men are going to mikva where they take their showers.
Good thing we lost our sense of smell...
A Comment On The Eitza Of Ha-Gaon Maran Sar Ha-bitachon Shlita
For those who take seriously the recommendation to have the seder in the afternoon at 2 or 3 pm on zoom with the grandparents, it is worth remembering that it is absolutely forbidden to eat matza on Erev Pesach. So it will be a seder without matza [וכל האוכל מצה בע"פ כאילו בא על ארוסתו בבית חמיו - ירושלמי]. One is allowed to have meat, fish, salad, cheese, eggs, horseradish, fruits, vegetables, and potato starch cakes. However, one should not fill up on these items so as to ensure a hearty appetite at the seder. He may drink wine or grape juice on Erev Pesach in quantities that will not affect his appetite at night.
To have the main seder during the day and just do a quick one at night is actually a tremendous זלזול to the seder. This is not Thanksgiving, where it is just a nice time for family to get together. This is a one time a year mitzva from which we are supposed to draw Emunah and inspiration the entire year.
So how about this suggestion - call up the grandparents before Yuntiv, tell them how much you love and miss them, ask them for presents and money the four questions, share a few vorts, wash your hands, tell them again you love them, sing a few hagada songs with them, wash your hands, tell them you love them again and that you will miss them - then hang up, wash your hands and get ready for the seder. They have been through a LOT in their lives. They will make it through this one, too....
Monday, March 30, 2020
Source For Social Distancing.
The mishna in Avos says that in the Beis Hamikdash they were עומדים צפופים ומשתחווים רווחים - they would be crowded together when they were standing but had plenty of space when they bowed down. The question is why it worked that way? Why didn't they bow צפופים?
The answer is now very simple. No corona. They stood close to each other. Then an announcement was made about corona and the need for social distancing. משתחווים רווחים.
From we have a source that in the time of the Beis Hamikdash they were makpid to abide by the guidelines made by the medical establishment.
But in all seriousness. Why is it called "social distancing"? It should be called "anti-social distancing".
But in all seriousness. Why is it called "social distancing"? It should be called "anti-social distancing".
Like
Rebbe Elazar ben Azariah said "הרי אני כבן שבעים שנה". My teenage daughter translated into the modern lingo "I was, like, 70 years old".
What I do what I am bored - listen to my daughter speak and count how many times she says the word "like".
[OK - Full disclosure. I don't have a teenage daughter. One post teen and two pre-teen ב"ה בלע"ה. And they don't speak with modern lingo. In English.]
Ki-neged Arba'a Bonim
THE FOUR SONS AT THE SEDER 2020
THE CHOCHOM: Makes his Seder in his own home just with his nuclear family [thankful that it is corona and not the nuclear bomb].
THE RASHA: Organizes a communal Seder because "it's not a big deal. You are just catastrophizing and being alarmist. It is like the flu. Plenty of people die from the flu every year." He also NEVER goes to mikva. But this Erev Pesach he INSISTED on going. Just to make a point.... [It was locked. He used his experience in pilfering to pick the lock].
THE TAM: Doesn't wash hands at Urchatz and eats the leftovers of his siblings.
THE SHE-AINO YODEA LI-SHOL: Hasn't learned Ma Nishtana because of Zoom's 40 minute limit. Now we finally understand why the שאינו יודע לשאול is a שאינו יודע לשאול. The zoom thing....
MOSHIACH
An oldie but goodie [I tried to find the shiur by doing a search "Ehrman Moshiach". I thought that this sounds a bit like megalomania. This corona this is getting to me!]
Maos Chittim Shiur - And More
Achilas Korbanos Al Ha-sova - so filling!!!
Anu lo ratzim vi-heim lo ratzim. Nobody is running anywhere. But we stay home and learn Torah and they stay home and keep busy with dvarim b'teilim. Sorry - but that is the reality. When Moshiach comes "לא יהיה עסק העולם אלא לדעת את ה' בלבד" - Just Da'as Hashem. LIKE NOW!!!
I am not sure in history if it ever happened that every Jew, had nothing else to do other than sit at home and learn [OK - there is also cleaning and preparing for Pesach...]. Well, there was Shmitta year - but then they didn't have endless shiurim on line and well over a hundred thousand sfarim available for FREE!
אשרנו מה טוב חלקינו ומה נעים גורלנו!!
Psak Halacha And Brilliant Recommendation From Ha-Gaon Maran Sar Ha-bitachon Rav Naftali Bennet Shlita
All joking aside - of course he is right. Nobody may have seder with grandparents.
But his vort about having the seder before Pesach starts and then doing a quickie at night - I don't know....
Two Silver Linings In These Dark Clouds
1] The talking in shul has stopped COMPLETELY!!!
2] Pointed out by a friend - we finally found a solution to the tuition crisis.
Home Schooling According To Chazal - Advice To Teachers
In front of you is a record of a brilliant talk given by Maran Rosh Hayeshiva ztz"l [translated from the Yiddish in the Tradition journal by R' Shalom Carmy - with slight modifications on my part]. His words are especially meaningful today because what he says is that home-schooling is the IDEAL. Torah should ideally be transmitted from father to son and compulsory schooling is בדיעבד.
Very honorable gathering:
Let me excuse myself, first of all, for speaking while sitting. In
fact, it would be quite inappropriate for me to make a speech here at
all. No commodity has been so hit by inflation as speech making. A
speech today would be too cheap an offering to so important a
gathering as this. If I am here, in any event, it is, indeed, not to make
a speech but simply to "learn and study." Therefore it is quite fitting
that I speak not standing but seated, for I am not "standing and
speaking" but rather "sitting and learning."
Since I have come here to study, clearly what one must learn
here is the halachos pertaining to teaching. But to study all the laws
of teaching is impossible; therefore I have selected one sugyah in this
great area of halachah pertaining to teaching. This topic is:
The Specific Vocation of Teachers in Our Generation.
Why have we chosen this topic? It elevates a man's soul to understand his distinction. When a man understands clearly and well
the characteristics which distinguish him from his environment, this
understanding serves him as a source of inspiration and gives him
strength to endure many difficult trials. What is true of the individual
is also true of the group collectively. Therefore we consider it very important that the present generation of teachers understand clearly
and well the Torah view regarding its distinction vis à vis the teachers
of previous generations.
Yehoshua Ben Gamla
To understand properly the Torah view regarding the distinction
of the present generation of teachers, we must correct a deeply entrenched mistake concerning the origin of teaching among Jews,
which is connected with Yehoshua Ben Gamla:
Indeed is that man remembered for good, Yehoshua Ben Gamla is his name. If
not for him the Torah would have been forgotten from Israel. For at first,
whoever had a father-his father taught him Torah; whoever had no father
did not learn Torah. . . until Joshua Ben Gamla came and ordained that they
should establish teachers of children. It has already become an accepted formula of all those who
write the history of Jewish education to record with pride the fact
that the Jews had established compulsory schools in such ancient
times! We openly state that this entire formula is the opposite of the
truth. Such writers clearly have no conception of the difference between Israel and the nations.
Let us learn through this piece of Gemara. In the Gemara it is
stated that if not for Yehoshua Ben Gamla, "The Torah would have
been forgotten from IsraeL." This arouses wonder. From Mount Sinai
to Yehoshua Ben Gamla there passed many periods, during which
"whoever had a father - his father taught him Torah; whoever had
no father did not learn Torah"; nevertheless there was no danger of
the Torah being forgotten from Israel. So why does Yehoshua Ben
Gamla deserve such a yasher koach in the Gemara, that without his
ordinance the Torah would indeed have been forgotten from Israel?
One must recognize that in all those generations in which it was
the case that "whoever had a father - his father taught him Torah"
conduct was built upon an axiom that one must receive Torah where
one has received life. If one received life from one's father, then one
must receive the Torah from him too. Imagine that we were suddenly
to discover that a particular country has passed a law requiring all
newborn children to be placed in an incubator. We would all understand that something is not in order with the mothers of that country.
This is indeed what the Gemara says: that until Yehoshua Ben Gamla
"whoever had a father- his father taught him Torah." Surely a profession is a blessing in life; but living itself can never become a profession. And Torah is identical with living. Just as one generation can not give over life to the next generation professionally, so too one
generation cannot give Torah to the next generation professionally.
Just as a mother must carry her child biologically, so must the home
carry a Jewish child spiritually. The definition of a fetus is surely that
it is nourished by that which nourishes its mother; the best incubator
is surely no more than a substitute. It is self-evident that, if the importance of education demanded that one not employ any substitute,
this brought about the situation in which "whoever had a father-his
father taught him Torah; whoever had no father did not learn
Torah."
But Israel and Torah are one, and just as it was ordained that
Israel undergo all sorts of setbacks, so too it was ordained that the
Torah undergo various setbacks. And there came a time when a
deterioration occurred. The father's house lost its fundamental
capacity for educational vitality, (when we say lost, we mean relatively; a millionaire can lose a great deal and yet remain rich.) Then came Yehoshua Ben Gamla and ordained the school for children. This means
that he superseded the educational approach of children with their
father, replacing it with that of children before their rebbe.
This is indeed the true understanding of the fact that in the situation of "whoever had a father - his father taught him Torah; whoever
had no father did not learn Torah" there was never any fear that the
Torah would be forgotten. To the contrary, this was the healthiness
of Torah and masorah among Jews. Since the situation of "whoever
has a father - his father teaches him Torah" is a healthy one, then
even when there is an orphan, he too breathes in an atmosphere of
"whoever has a father - his father teaches him Torah," and there can
be no speaking then about forgetting the Torah.
Yehoshua Ben Gamla
receives a yasher koach in the Gemara, because he anticipated the setback, and he ordained the schools for children.
Therefore, when one writes the history of Jewish education and
calls upon us to be proud of the achievement - that among Jews there
is already, in antiquity, compulsory schooling-we repulse the proud
with the scorn appropriate to idolatrous values. That which they
regard as such pride for us would for us be the greatest humiliation
were it (Heaven forbid!) true. It is certainly true that, among the
Gentiles, the law of compulsory schooling is a step closer to the ideal
of "education" among Jews. But this is only an "adjustment." If they
tell us to be proud of the antiquity of this law of compulsory schooling, we say, for our part, that this is not to begin to understand the
havdalah between Israel and the nations.
However, if Sanhedrin enacts an ordinance for future generations until the end of days, this takkanah gives Klal Yisrael whatever powers are required in order to fulfill the ordinance. So, if they
enacted an ordinance superseding the education of children in the
house of their father with that of children in the house of their rebbe,
this ordinance alone gives that power that through the study of Torah
one may receive paternal power over the student. A fit Jewish teacher
never falls into the mentality of a "professional" because deep in his
soul he feels that he is only a "substitute" - their rebbe in place of
their father.
"You shall be like My mouth".
However, all this talk about the tradition of Torah passing
specifically from father to son is only one aspect of the Giving of the
Torah; for the Chumash speaks about two aspects of the Giving of the
Torah. From one aspect, the Torah was given to 600,000 receivers of
the Torah; it is they who were told: "You shall teach your sons to
speak of them, when you sit in your house. . ." (Devarim 11:19);
"You shall make known to your sons and your sons' sons the day you
stood before your God at Chorev" (Devarim 4:9). All talk about
"whoever has a father - his father teaches him Torah" refers only to
this aspect of the Giving of the Torah.
The second aspect of the Giving of the Torah is also stated explicitly in the Chumash. From this aspect, the Torah was not given to
be transmitted only from father to son; rather, the Torah addresses
itself to fathers, sons and grandsons simultaneously. Thus it is stated
in the Chumash: "With whomever is with us here standing today
before God and with whomever is not here with us today" (Devarim
29: 14).
We call this - "he who is with us here. . . and he who is not
with us here" aspect- "the Giving of the Torah to neshamos," following the usage of our Sages who state that all souls, all neshamos, were
at Sinai (Exodus R. 28:4). Referring to this as the Giving of the
Torah to neshamos, one implies that this has nothing to do with our
world. But this is not so. If not for the second aspect, the Giving of
the Torah would have been exclusively a matter of transmission from
father to son; then if there had been a disruption for one generation,
it would have been (Heaven forbid!) a break in the chain. If one link
in a long chain falls out, the wholeness of the chain can never be
restored; it is broken and lost. Because, howcvcr, thc Giving of the
Torah had a second aspect which reaches much deeper than the first
and which addresses itself to both fathers and sons simultaneously,
then even if there occurs (Heaven forbid!) a misfortune and one generation falls out, the next generation is not yet cut off from the
root. The next generation can again begin anew.
Now we may understand the special halachah of teaching in a
special educational situation, namely the case of he who "teaches
Torah to the son of an ignoramus (am haarets)." For thus we rule
halachically: that he who teaches Torah to the son of an ignoramus
becomes like the mouth of God, as it were, as the prophet Yirmiahu was told: "If you shall extract the noble from the worthless, like My
mouth you shall be" (Yeremiyahu 15:19). Do not wonder that I speak of
a halachic ruling (pesak); a practical ruling derives from this statement, namely that there is a preference to be shown for the teaching
of the am haarets's son.
Here lies the delicacy of the matter. We, as men, can only activate our souls through our bodies. Thus our natural mode of Torah
and masorah is only that of transmission from father to son. The
Giving of the Torah to the neshamos can be transmitted through the
Holy One's mouth alone. Therefore when an individual teaches Torah to the son of an am haarets, where, in that case, the tradition
from father to son has been broken, a generation has fallen out of the
chain, then one must arrive at the Giving of the Torah to the neshamos. The Giving of the Torah to souls is directly related only to the
mouth of the Holy One. Thus when a teacher successfully extracts
what is noble from what is worthless and leaps over the lost links in
the chain, this indicates that he has had the fortunate opportunity to
be engaged in the Giving of the Torah to neshamos. Therefore he
who teaches Torah to the son of the am haarets- his mouth becomes
like the mouth of the Holy One: "If you extract the noble from the
worthless, like My mouth you shall be."
Back to the Beginning of the Lecture
Now we come to the clarification of the special distinction of
teachers in our generation from all previous generations of teachers.
For that which was a special case for teachers of all the generations
has today become an everyday happening. Teachers today must be
prepared to leap over the lost links; it is the vocation of us all today
to extract what is noble from what is worthless. Our distinction vis à
vis all previous generations of teachers is that our mouths must
become like the mouth of the Holy One. We must affect the Giving
of the Torah to the souls.
This idea, in truth, is an explicit chapter of prophecy; and not
just any explicit prophecy, but the final prophecy among Jews:
"Behold I shall send you Eliyah the prophet. . . And he shall restore the heart of fathers upon sons, and the heart of sons upon their
fathers" (Malachi 3 :23). "He shall restore the heart of fathers upon
sons" - Rashi interprets "upon sons" as meaning "through the sons";
the sons will lead the fathers to repentance. Until the coming of Eliyahu, the Torah always speaks about a transmission from fathers to
sons. Only when the Torah speaks of the spreading of Torah through
the prophet Eliyahu does it speak of a reversed transmission from
sons to fathers. For this is a prophecy for sons whose parents are a
generation that has fallen out of the continuum of generations; such
sons one must approach precisely via the Giving of the Torah to the
neshamos. For only through this aspect of the Giving of the Torah
can a later generation begin anew and so reestablish the continuity of
generations retroactively. And because this teaching is a Giving of
the Torah to the souls, it pertains to the prophet Eliyahu who did not
taste death and burial, whose body is, therefore, also his soul.
Who of our teachers today has not experienced the process of
bringing about repentance on the part of fathers through sons? This
is the distinction of our generation of teachers vis à vis previous
generations. Our spreading of Torah, that of a generation for which
Messiah's coming is imminent (Ikvesa dMeshikhah), is already like
that of the prophet Eliyahu: "He shall restore the heart of fathers upon
sons-through the sons."
In Practice
From the awareness that the present generation of teachers happens to work in extraordinary circumstances there arises a special
obligation for orderly contact with the gedolei hador. For under such
conditions matters often come up as to what should take precedence
over what, and how far one may proceed with the rule: "It is a time to
do-they have abrogated Your Torah" (Psalm 119:126). Here one
may not rely upon oneself, Heaven forbid. Here one must consistently be tied to the great Sages of the generation. They are the "eyes of
the congregation" and no sane person willingly ignores his own eyes.
That Torah Be Not Forgotten
I would like to suggest a line of conduct, for which I can in effect
claim personal experience. It is good to introduce this with a
halachah. If an entire community has only an invalid esrog, then one
makes the benediction over the invalid esrog. Of course, when there
is a valid esrog this one would be invalid and the benediction recited
over it would be a "blessing in vain"; yet when there is no valid esrog available, there is a special ordinance that one should take the invalid
one. The term for this halachah is: "That it not be forgotten." Even
more so regarding the modes of talmud Torah there certainly is a
matter of ~'lest it be forgotten." And since for our generation of
teachers who work in strange environments it happens very often that
they cannot fulfill the halachos of schoolchildren as these are stated
in Shulchan Aruch, one should keep in mind something in the
category of "lest it be forgotten."
I would like to offer two examples
of this. It is the halachah of all poskim that the study of children
must be conducted both by day and by night. We know very well how
rarely it is possible, under present-day conditions, to fulfill the law of
"by night"; however, in order "that study at night not be forgotten,"
one should encourage some children, at least, from time to time, to
come for learning at night. Or, for example, the law that one may
cancel lessons of school children only on the Eves of Sabbath and
yom tov. Now we all know that there are days when we are forced to
cancel the lessons of school children. But it would be very fine if
precisely on these days the teacher should keep it in mind to encourage several children to come to learn, if only for a short time, in
order that "the idea of not cancelling lessons not be forgotten." I
know from my own experience that I have instructed good friends of
mine who were teachers to do so. It is understood that one gave this
advice to teachers of personal courage. And they have afterwards
told me with joy the benefit they found in this conduct. The two examples are general. Local examples one can find in every place more
and more. In these situations, where the goal is to extract the noble
from the worthless, the extra-curricular activities which I urge "lest it
be forgotten" can be very useful.
I wish that you be so successful in your holy work that the next
generation of teachers after you will no longer need to extract the
noble from the worthless, but rather the noble from the noble.
Seder Order Altered
This years seder:
Kadesh Urchatz Karpas Urchatz Yachatz Urchatz Magid Ratzcha Motzi Matza Urchatz Maror Urchatz Urchatz [just in case] Koreiach Urchatz Shulchan Oreich [with 3 Urchatzes in the middle] Tzafoon Bareich Hallel Nirtzah Urchatz.
Then wash your hands, say Shma and pray that the משחית doesn't enter our house.
Great Bank
"They called me up from the bank and told me that I was late in paying a loan. I apologized and told them that I was in China recently so I wasn't around to repay the loan. I am not feeling well [fever, cough, trouble breathing] but since I owe the money, I will come in and pay it.
They told me not to worry about it for the time being and not to come in for at least a month and only if I am feeling well.
WHATTA BANK!!!"
😊😂
Generous Cop
A my-seh that just happened:
A bachur from Meah Shearim is getting married. How do you pay for a wedding in those parts? Often [although not always] you go door to door collecting. So that is what this boy did. He was stopped by the police for being outside and explained the situation.
One of the policemen took one hundred shekel out of his pocket and gave it to him.
מי כעמך ישראל!!!
Who Is Responsible For This Pandemic? The TRUTH!!!
BARUCH HASHEM OUR BELOVED COUSINS HAVE UNCOVERED THE SOURCE OF CORONAVIRUS. SO ENLIGHTENING!!!😊
Iraqi Leader Muqtada Sadr: Trump Behind Coronavirus; We Will Reject Any American Treatment Against The Disease
In a March 11, 2020 tweet, the leader of the Shi’ite Sadrist Movement in Iraq, Muqtada Al-Sadr, attacked U.S. President Donald Trump, accusing him of being responsible for the spread of the coronavirus, particularly in the countries that are hostile to the U.S.: "I was taken aback when Trump said: 'We are doing a great job against the coronavirus, and the situation would have been worse had it not been for our intervention.' Oh, Trump, you and others like you are suspected of being behind the spread of this disease, especially since most of those suffering from it are opponents of America." He went on to ridicule President Trump, writing: "Yesterday you claimed that America has brought down great empires and suppressed terrorism, and today you are fighting a virus that is invisible to the naked eye. Are you not ashamed of yourself[?]!" He concluded by saying: "Any treatment dispensed by you and from your infected companies will not be approved by us and we do not want it. You are not only the enemy of Allah but the enemy of the people. You are a virus [that kills] peace that spreads wars and illnesses."
On March 4, 2020, Al-Sadr posted a video on Facebook depicting his visit to the shrine of Imam 'Ali in the Iraqi city of Najaf, after it was closed briefly for sterilization against the coronavirus. During the visit, he instructed the custodians of the shrine not to close it for any reason, saying that he would be visiting it on a daily basis to ensure that it remains open to the public.
Writers in Syrian Establishment Dailies: The Coronavirus Was Created In The West To Wage Medical Terrorism Against China And Other Countries
In Syrian establishment dailies, conspiratorial articles were prominent, alleging that the coronavirus is part of a biological war being waged by the government of U.S. President Trump against China, which is competing with the U.S. for the position of the world's strongest economy. For example, Sha’ban Ahmad, a columnist for the government daily Al-Thawra, wrote: "…Whoever follows the coronavirus understands that Trump has adopted a policy of biological warfare against China and against the world, [a policy of] trading in people’s lives by creating a disease that will benefit the pharmaceutical companies and vaccine [manufacturers]. This is the next war, and the world must be more aware of the danger posed by this American administration, which strives to destroy the world and leave [only] its false empire [after] destroying all of mankind, and which is now ready to destroy the world in the service of its own interests.”
Muhyi Al-Din Al-Muhammad, a columnist for the Syrian establishment daily Teshreen, wrote: "The coronavirus is most likely not a natural phenomenon but a product of a Western lab, manufactured in order to wage medical terror against China and many other world countries, and restrain the Chinese economy which is racing to take the lead in the global [economy]. The coronavirus appeared after President Trump’s [other] defense measures, [such as] the raising of tariffs on Chinese products, failed. This deadly virus stopped travel to China to a large extent, by air, land, or sea, and many countries began to close their borders and place themselves under lockdown, which is [something that] the forces of global arrogance [i.e., the U.S.] cannot impose using weapons. Although the coronavirus does not threaten only China, and its spread across the world is now only a matter of time, the media attention is focused on China alone. This means that this virus is being exploited in a criminal manner in order to wage a new kind of Western war against China…”
Ziad Ghassan, another columnist for the Teshreen daily, wrote: "What has been written by dozens of spies and collaborators with the West in their memoirs about the despicable operations they carried out around the world proves that it cannot be ruled out that the coronavirus is the product of a biological warfare lab. In my opinion, what John Perkins disclosed in his best-selling book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, from 2004, strengthens the claim that the West is responsible for most of the deadly diseases that appeared suddenly in our modern world and some of which disappeared [just] as suddenly.”
Editor Of Arab Daily: The U.S. Created The Coronavirus To Damage The Economies Of China And Iran; An International Investigation Is Called For
'Abd Al-Bari 'Atwan, a Palestinian journalist who lives in Britain and edits the London-based online Arabic daily Rai Al-Yawm, wrote: "The spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry wrote on his English Twitter account that the U.S. military may have been responsible for introducing the coronavirus to the city of Huwan, which was hardest hit by the disease. This is a very serious claim that implicitly accuses the U.S., and President Trump personally, of perpetrating crimes against humanity – for this disaster has affected most of the world's peoples, as well as their stock markets and financial systems, and the number of victims has so far reached 3,000, and this is only the beginning.
"The Chinese economy is poised to become the number one economy in the world, toppling the U.S. from the [global] throne it has occupied since World War II. The Chinese leadership is planning to softly throttle the U.S. by means of a new Silk Road and establish an alternative financial system that will end the hegemony of the dollar within five years. All these are facts that may have motivated a hasty president like Trump to perpetrate this war crime, if the Chinese accusations are indeed true.
"There is need to perform a quick international investigation and establish a committee to examine the facts in depth, to check these Chinese accusations and publish the findings for the entire world, with maximum transparency. Europe and Russia should support this and assist in any way they can.
"The U.S. is the only [country] in the history of mankind that ever used atomic bombs, in Japan. Since it is the one responsible for all the wars, we cannot rule out that it is also the first [country] to ever use biological weapons, [in the form of] the coronavirus.
"Yes, I believe the conspiracy theory, because, as Arabs and Muslims, we have been and still are the greatest victims. Our best proof [of this] is the lie about [Saddam Hussein’s] weapons of mass destruction in Iraq [during the 1990-91 war].
"Our renowned poet, the late Mahmoud Darwish, did not lie and did not disregard reality when he said that the U.S. is a plague and that the plague is the U.S. We will not be surprised if the day comes when the facts are exposed and [it transpires] that the U.S. [indeed] created the coronavirus and spread it in China and Iran in order to destroy these two countries and their economies."
Lebanese Journalist: Coronavirus: An American Plan To Weaken China Economically
'Ali 'Abadi, who writes on the website of Hizbullah’s Lebanese Al-Manar channel, wrote: "…The spread of the coronavirus is the result of an American plan intended to weaken China, now that the latter has become a global player that competes with the U.S. in nearly every domain. If it continues developing at the [current] rate, China could be on the verge of becoming the world's foremost economy… There are reports, still unconfirmed, about the presence of a bacterial agent in the inner courtyard of the U.S. consulate in Wuhan, China. This is reminiscent of the plot of the 2011 movie Contagion, in which a deadly virus originating in bats spreads rapidly and is carried by a woman from China's Hong Kong to the rest of the world. This story is similar in some of its details to the circumstances of the coronavirus outbreak, and it is said that bats, which are eaten by the Chinese and other Asians, are the possible source of the [corona] virus… Some science fiction stories and conspiratorial stories in cinema are not far removed from reality, and some of them mysteriously come true. There have been reports that the U.S. was experimenting on germs that target certain ethnicities. Such reports were published last year by the Russian [news agency] Sputnik… "What is certain is that the coronavirus is an epidemic whose epicenter was China and which affected many aspects of China’s economy. This leads us to ask: Who benefits from this? We know, at the very least, that the U.S. is very concerned about China’s steady economic growth and has tried for years to restrain this growth by means of political pressures. [It tried] to force China to devalue its currency, the yuan, since the persistent drop in its value boosted Chinese export, [making Chinese products cheaper] in comparison to American and other goods. The Trump administration took some blunt and direct measures, such as imposing tariffs on Chinese products in order to offset their advantage] over American ones. [The U.S.] also imposed security restrictions on the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, which is developing G5 cellular phones.
"The American elites are worried that the U.S. will lose its status as world leader due to China's rapid growth, which extends to Asia, Africa and Europe thanks to its Belt and Road Initiative, the largest infrastructure project in the history of mankind, while the U.S. is shackling itself with its obsessive policy of opposing many countries. This gives China constructive soft power, as opposed to the coarse and destructive image of the U.S.”
Jordanian Columnist: The U.S., Which Used Nuclear Weapons Against Japan, Is Now Destroying China With The Coronavirus
Rashid Hassan, a columnist for the Jordanian Al-Dustour daily, mentioned the coronavirus in a February 23, 2020 column about the Deal of the Century. He wrote: "The one who attacked Japan with nuclear weapons, occupied Iraq and Afghanistan on the pretext of [waging war on] terror, established military bases in 88 countries, invented ISIS and the organizations of takfir [accusing other Muslims of heresy] in order to spread destructive chaos, and spread AIDS in Africa is now destroying its number one enemy, China, by disseminating the coronavirus. The one who was capable of doing all these things and more is prepared to do anything to remain the pirate of the world and steal its resources…"
Cholim List From Teaneck That I Received
Coronavirus Cases:
752,854
Deaths:
36,230
Baruch Hashem minyanim are still going on [albeit outside]. So relieved that people are willing to ignore Gedolei Yisrael and doctors, endanger their families and neighbors in order to do the aveirah of tfillah bi-tzibbur.
For the last few thousand years davening with a Tzibbur was a mitzva. Until this ends it is [according to most rabbis] an aveirah. Sorry things change. We have to be able to adjust to changing circumstances. Sleeping with one's wife is a mitzva - unless one drop of blood comes out of her. Then it is one of the worst aveiros that entails כרת - being cut off from Hashem. Eating on the ninth of Tishrei is a mitzva. When the sun sets it becomes a terrible aveirah. Learning Torah is the GREATEST mitzva. In the bathroom it is an aveirah. And the list goes on.
Devora bat Sara
Yosef Tzvi ben Ita
Shlomo Yisrael ben Raizel
Moshe Eliezer haLevi ben Esther Tziporah
HaRav Pinchas Eliezer ben Leah
Menashe Dov ben Rasha Reva
Simcha Yentl bat Ita Riva
Aaron Shmuel ben Malka
Rus bas Shoshana
Esther Roiza bas Sara Mindel
Yaakov Yehuda Ben Chana
Yoseph ben Simcha
Yosef Lazer ben Sarah Raizel
Eliezer Yehuda ben Chaya
Leah Rivka bat Esther
Shoshana Pessa Chaya Rochel bat Leah
Chaya Devorah bat Sarah
Benyamin Shalom ben Aviva
Chaim Zalman ben Hinda
Yaakov Mayer Yerachmiel ben Chaya
Avraham Yitzchak ben Chana
Leeba D'vorah bat Miriam
Moshe Yechiel ben Chaya Esther
Avraham Yitzchak ben Zelda
Avrohom Lev ben Sara Maya
Sarah Yehudis bat Miriam
Bracha Basya bat Chaya Rivkah
Shlomo Zalman ben Chaya Ruhza
Yitzchak Dovid Ben Hinda Mala
Yosef Shimon ben Yehudit
Eliezer ben Etyl Sorah
Yonah ben Golda Zahava
Eliezer Nossen ben Tzirel
Ephraim Mordechai ben Rivka
Rav Ephraim David ben Yehudit
Aaron Yehuda HaCohen Ben Breinsha
Sarah bat Rachel
Sender ben Dina
Moshe Tzvi ben Tova Mariasha
Sorah Atarah bat Sheindel
Mordecai Markel ben Buntza Mindel
Yitzchak ben Esther
Esther bat Sarah Mindel
Daniel ben Nechama
Etan Moshe ben Hila
Dov Yaakov ben Zlata Liba
Moshe ben Traynsha
Yitzchak Eiizik ben Leah
Moshe Yosef ben Leah
Yehuda Aryeh Leib ben Sarah
Miriam bat Gittel
Moshe ben Raizel
Esther bat Shoshana
Pessel bat Rochel
Mordechai ben Chaya Sora
Yehuda Aryeh ben Sora Rochel
Elyakim Mayer ben Sigal
Yair Yosef ben Yacha Chana
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Holy Jews Be Happy
"With great sadness and a heavy heart we inform you that our shul must close...." That was the refrain in so many shul notifications.
Excuse the heresy - but why "with great sadness" etc. ?
JEWS ARE HOLY!!! They want to daven to Hashem in His home. However, we don't have to be sad. WE MUST ALWAYS BE HAPPY!!! It is a din in the Gemara and paskened in Shulchan Aruch!! Even when a close relative dies we are required to be bi-simcha.
Why?
Sadness is, in some way, an expression of displeasure at reality. Happiness bespeaks satisfaction with reality. If we are sad it is like saying "This isn't the way things should be. This is NOT GOOD". But EVERYTHING is good. Otherwise - Hashem wouldn't make it happen. If He wants the shuls closed - that is His [unfathomable] will and thus for our complete best. So we are happy because Hashem's will is being done which is OUR will, as well.
Yisroel Kedoshim because they want to daven with a minyan in shul. Right now it is clear that our Avoda is to serve Him with simcha elsewhere.
Loving The Ger
Wonder of wonders!! [Hebrew] BS"D!!!!
Chilul Shabbos to save one who foolishly endangered himself - here.
Teshuva is a gift from Hashem - here!
Chilul Shabbos to save one who foolishly endangered himself - here.
Teshuva is a gift from Hashem - here!
Disbelief - Transformation To Good
It is really hard to believe this is happening. People just keep dying and dying and most of the world [who are still alive] is on lockdown. Like a sci-fi movie that you just KNOW can never happen.
One thing we know for sure: Something big is up, UP THERE.
What?
I hope it is sweet and I hope we find out soon. Our job is not to speculate but to daven, learn and do mitzvos. Hashem loves us and אין רע יורד מלמעלה.
Heartrending:
Coronavirus Cases:
722,088
Deaths:
33,976
הסבל והייסורים שקיימים בעולם מעסיקים את ספרות המחשבה היהודית מקדמת-דנא. אפילו בתנ"ך עצמו אנו מוצאים התייחסות לשאלה זו (ספר איוב, למשל, עוסק כולו בעניין זה). גם תורת-החסידות דנה בהרחבה בסוגיא זו, וכדרכה היא חודרת עד שורש הדברים.
באופן כללי אנו מוצאים בתורת-החסידות שלוש גישות לעניין הסבל. האחת רואה בו נסיון שבאמצעותו מנסה הקב"ה את האדם לראות האם אמונתו עזה דיה. כשקורה איפוא לאדם דבר הגורם לו צער וסבל, עליו לזכור שאין זה אלא נסיון בלבד, וברגע שהוא זוכר זאת ואינו נחלש באמונתו ובבטחונו בה', כי אז - "באמונה זו באמת נעשה הכל טוב בגלוי" ('תניא', אגרת-הקודש סימן י"ב).
מתוך אהבה
גישה שניה רואה בייסורים אמצעי להבאת האדם לידי תשובה. זה מסביר מדוע גם ליהודים מאמינים ועובדי-ה' נגרם סבל, שכן אדרבה, דוקא משום שהם קרובים אל ה', מנסה הקב"ה לעורר אותם לתשובה ולהמיר את עוונותיהם בייסורים בעולם-הזה. "כמשל מלך גדול ונורא הרוחץ בכבודו ובעצמו צואת בנו יחידו מרוב אהבתו; כמו שכתוב: 'אם רחץ ה' צואת בנות ציון'" ('תניא', אגרת-הקודש סימן כ"ב).
הגישה השלישית רואה בסבל עצמו טוב וברכה, והיא אולי המעניינת ביותר. במקומות רבים בתורת-החסידות מוסבר, שהסבל והייסורים הינם ביטוי של טוב נאצל וגבוה ביותר עד שאין הוא יכול להתגלות כטוב והוא מופיע כדבר הגורם צער וסבל. "כי גם זו לטובה, רק שאינה נגלית ונראית לעיני בשר, כי היא מעלמא-דאתכסיא שלמעלה מעלמא- דאתגליא (-היא מהעולמות הנסתרים שלמעלה מהעולמות הגלויים)..וזהו שכתוב: 'אשרי הגבר אשר תייסרנו י-ה'" ('תניא' פרק כ"ו).
ניתן למצוא דוגמאות רבות שבהן הרע הינו למעשה טוב. למשל: שני רצים יוצאים לתחרות-ריצה, אבל הם אינם יודעים שהזוכה לא יהיה זה שיגיע ראשון, אלא דוקא זה שיגיע אחרון. והנה, תוך כדי ריצתם החלה לפתע לכאוב רגלו של הרץ שהשיג את חבירו והוא נאלץ להאט את מנוסתו, כשחבירו משיגו ומגיע ראשון למטרה. ברגע זה הוא בטוח שקרה לו דבר רע ביותר, אבל כשיוודעו לו כללי התחרות, ודאי ישמח מאוד על שכאבה רגלו...
הרבי מליובאוויטש מביא דוגמא מאדם חסר ידע רפואי מינימלי שנכנס לחדר- ניתוח ורואה רופאים החותכים באזמליהם בבשרו של אדם חסר-ישע. הוא עלול לפרוץ בזעקות על האכזריות הברברית שנתגלתה לנגד עיניו. אבל כשיקבל הסבר על הנעשה, תשתנה דעתו מהקצה אל הקצה. הוא יבין, שהמעשה ה'אכזרי' כביכול היה לאמיתו של דבר ניתוח שנעשה במסירות רבה במטרה להציל את חייו של המנותח.
לראות את הטוב
דוגמאות אלה ממחישות לנו את הקלות שבה יכול דבר 'רע' להפוך לטוב כאשר מקבלים את המידע הנכון על מה שעומד מאחוריו. מזה אנו יכולים ללמוד, עד כמה אין לנו כלים לשפוט דברים שנעשים על-ידי הקב"ה, כאשר אין לנו אפילו שמץ מראיית התמונה הכוללת כפי שהיא נראית על-ידי הקב"ה.
לאור זאת קל יותר להבין איך ה'רע' הינו למעשה טוב, ואדרבה, הוא טוב נאצל וגבוה ביותר. ישנם דברים שאינם יכולים לבוא לידי ביטוי במה שנתפס בעינינו כטוב - אם מפני שהאדם אינו 'כלי' לזה ואם מפני שהדבר עצמו הינו נאצל ונעלה ביותר - ואז הדרך היחידה שבאמצעותה הם יכולים להתגלות היא בצורה הנגדית, כדבר רע ומצער. אבל היהודי המאמין, שיודע כי הקב"ה הינו תכלית הטוב, מבין שגם זו לטובה והוא מקבל את הייסורים והסבל באהבה ובשמחה.
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