From an email:
SHALLOOM SWEEEETEST FRIENDS!!!!
These are HUUUUUUGE times beloved friends!
Today, in particular, is a big day.
My second youngest daughter turned 10. DOUBLE DIGITS!!! The Torah starts with a "Beis" [or "Bet" for those who prefer the sefardic and modern pronunciation, or who like to gamble] b/c 2 [the gematria of Beis] symbolizes MORE than the standard. Blessing - ברכה [which starts with a Beis] - is getting MORE than the standard. Torah is ALL ABOUT bringing blessing. [Based on the Maharal]. [It is ALSO my wife's b-day but she hit double digits a few years ago....]
On a more global scale - I heard something transpired in the US political reality. Is it TRUE or FAKE NEWS??? [Depends who you ask...]
This is a NON-PARTISAN message. Whatever you believe, whoever you voted or didn't vote for - if you are a Jew, or are married to a Jew, have met a Jew or like pickles and cold cuts, this message is for YOU!!
Let's get Purim-dik for a moment!!:-):-)
When Esther was in the king's palace, it might have led to a sense of complacency. All is cool. SHE will take care of things. Esther didn't want that! Mordechai didn't want that!! So the Jews were told [before Esther did her little hishtadlus] to FAST 3 days. They cancelled SEDER NIGHT [acc. to the Gemara]. Not even Seder by zoom. GOR-NICHT. NO-THING. NA-DA!!
WHY????
B/c we had to know - ultimately, there is NO HUMAN BEING we can trust.
The ENTIRE world is on it KNEES from a virus just that nobody has ever seen with their naked eyes b/c it is too small to be seen [also b/c it is embarrassing being naked] - but not too small to kill over a million people, cause over 46 million to fall ill and to destroy the entire global economy. Where are all those BIG AND POWERFUL people? How come they are not saving us? Where are all the BRILLIANT SCIENTISTS? We are taught that SCIENCE has all the answers.
Not quite... We are merely:
אָדָם יְסוֹדוֹ מֵעָפָר, וְסופו לֶעָפָר"
בְּנַפְשׁו יָבִיא לַחְמוֹ
מָשׁוּל כְּחֶרֶס הַנִּשְׁבָּר
כְּחָצִיר יָבֵשׁ וּכְצִיץ נובֵל
כְּצֵל עוֹבֵר וּכְעָנָן כָּלָה
וּכְרוּחַ נושָׁבֶת וּכְאָבָק פּורֵחַ
וְכַחֲלוֹם יָעוּף.
A man's origin is from dust and his destiny is back to dust, at risk of his life he earns his bread; he is likened to a broken shard, withering grass, a fading flower, a passing shade, a dissipating cloud, a blowing wind, flying dust, and a fleeting dream."
Not only on R"H and Y"K but ALWAYS. Like a blowing wind, a fleeting dream. Here today - gone tomorrow. POOF! How did Woody Allen [may he do teshuva] put it? "Life is full of misery loneliness and suffering - and it is over much too soon".
So what we Jews do is go BEYOND the narrow confines of the planet Earth!!! We have HASHEM! We have ETERNITY!! We are NOT bound by the laws of nature, science, history, sociology, psychology etc. etc. Rabbi Yaakov Emden said [he SWORE!!] 400 years ago or so that the miracle of Jewish survival is GREATER than all the miracles in Egypt. Given what has happened since he said that we can say that these miracles have increased exponentially.
So back to current events. We don't have to worry who occupies a house in Washington D.C. [regardless of the color of the house. White Houses MATTER!! But so do BLACK houses. And RED BRICK houses]. We voted for the person we thought was best and Hashem decided that His plan for history [for the next 4 years] will be carried out by "Yosef Reuven" [in English his middle name is Robinette! Weird but remember that Obama's middle name is Hussein] and not by "Doniel Yonason". We can use this as an opportunity to become MUCH BETTER PEOPLE [like with respect to everything else that happens].
Those who felt secure when their preferred man was in power and are now frightened can place their faith MUCH HIGHER UP!! "אשור לא יושיעך" cried the Prophet. No more believing in mere humans. Just like we learned from Corona. No more security of having "our people" advising the president.
And if you are happy with the results - remember, all people, politicians in particular, are swayed by public opinion and by those around them. And there are MANY PEOPLE who do not have the most loving and warm feeling towards Jews, the Jewish state and our value system.
So to sum up: This is GREAT!! Now we can look heavenward and assert our belief in the limitations of Man and the All Powerfulness of the All Powerful. In a SECOND this can all end in the most AWE-SOME way.
As the Navi Malachi [3-1. That is also the name of a pub on 72nd and Columbus Ave., named such to remind the drinkers of the great prophecies, I am sure] puts it - וּפִתְאֹם יָבוֹא אֶל הֵיכָלוֹ הָאָדוֹן אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם מְבַקְשִׁים. Eliyahu Hanavi will come SUDDENLY to herald the coming of Moshiach!!
Hold on tight! GREAT things are coming. We are [as the Rosh Yeshiva ztz"l noted] the only nation called both עם שרידי חרב and עם מדושני עונג. We both survived the sword and are SATURATED with pleasure. Pleasure b/c we have Shabbos, we have tefillah, we have Talmud Torah, we have meaning, we have family, we have eternity and we have a SPECIAL connection to Hashem.
BI-SIMCHA sweet friends!!! TOMID BI-SIMCHA!!!!!
These are HUUUUUUGE times beloved friends!
Today, in particular, is a big day.
My second youngest daughter turned 10. DOUBLE DIGITS!!! The Torah starts with a "Beis" [or "Bet" for those who prefer the sefardic and modern pronunciation, or who like to gamble] b/c 2 [the gematria of Beis] symbolizes MORE than the standard. Blessing - ברכה [which starts with a Beis] - is getting MORE than the standard. Torah is ALL ABOUT bringing blessing. [Based on the Maharal]. [It is ALSO my wife's b-day but she hit double digits a few years ago....]
On a more global scale - I heard something transpired in the US political reality. Is it TRUE or FAKE NEWS??? [Depends who you ask...]
This is a NON-PARTISAN message. Whatever you believe, whoever you voted or didn't vote for - if you are a Jew, or are married to a Jew, have met a Jew or like pickles and cold cuts, this message is for YOU!!
Let's get Purim-dik for a moment!!:-):-)
When Esther was in the king's palace, it might have led to a sense of complacency. All is cool. SHE will take care of things. Esther didn't want that! Mordechai didn't want that!! So the Jews were told [before Esther did her little hishtadlus] to FAST 3 days. They cancelled SEDER NIGHT [acc. to the Gemara]. Not even Seder by zoom. GOR-NICHT. NO-THING. NA-DA!!
WHY????
B/c we had to know - ultimately, there is NO HUMAN BEING we can trust.
The ENTIRE world is on it KNEES from a virus just that nobody has ever seen with their naked eyes b/c it is too small to be seen [also b/c it is embarrassing being naked] - but not too small to kill over a million people, cause over 46 million to fall ill and to destroy the entire global economy. Where are all those BIG AND POWERFUL people? How come they are not saving us? Where are all the BRILLIANT SCIENTISTS? We are taught that SCIENCE has all the answers.
Not quite... We are merely:
אָדָם יְסוֹדוֹ מֵעָפָר, וְסופו לֶעָפָר"
בְּנַפְשׁו יָבִיא לַחְמוֹ
מָשׁוּל כְּחֶרֶס הַנִּשְׁבָּר
כְּחָצִיר יָבֵשׁ וּכְצִיץ נובֵל
כְּצֵל עוֹבֵר וּכְעָנָן כָּלָה
וּכְרוּחַ נושָׁבֶת וּכְאָבָק פּורֵחַ
וְכַחֲלוֹם יָעוּף.
A man's origin is from dust and his destiny is back to dust, at risk of his life he earns his bread; he is likened to a broken shard, withering grass, a fading flower, a passing shade, a dissipating cloud, a blowing wind, flying dust, and a fleeting dream."
Not only on R"H and Y"K but ALWAYS. Like a blowing wind, a fleeting dream. Here today - gone tomorrow. POOF! How did Woody Allen [may he do teshuva] put it? "Life is full of misery loneliness and suffering - and it is over much too soon".
So what we Jews do is go BEYOND the narrow confines of the planet Earth!!! We have HASHEM! We have ETERNITY!! We are NOT bound by the laws of nature, science, history, sociology, psychology etc. etc. Rabbi Yaakov Emden said [he SWORE!!] 400 years ago or so that the miracle of Jewish survival is GREATER than all the miracles in Egypt. Given what has happened since he said that we can say that these miracles have increased exponentially.
So back to current events. We don't have to worry who occupies a house in Washington D.C. [regardless of the color of the house. White Houses MATTER!! But so do BLACK houses. And RED BRICK houses]. We voted for the person we thought was best and Hashem decided that His plan for history [for the next 4 years] will be carried out by "Yosef Reuven" [in English his middle name is Robinette! Weird but remember that Obama's middle name is Hussein] and not by "Doniel Yonason". We can use this as an opportunity to become MUCH BETTER PEOPLE [like with respect to everything else that happens].
Those who felt secure when their preferred man was in power and are now frightened can place their faith MUCH HIGHER UP!! "אשור לא יושיעך" cried the Prophet. No more believing in mere humans. Just like we learned from Corona. No more security of having "our people" advising the president.
And if you are happy with the results - remember, all people, politicians in particular, are swayed by public opinion and by those around them. And there are MANY PEOPLE who do not have the most loving and warm feeling towards Jews, the Jewish state and our value system.
So to sum up: This is GREAT!! Now we can look heavenward and assert our belief in the limitations of Man and the All Powerfulness of the All Powerful. In a SECOND this can all end in the most AWE-SOME way.
As the Navi Malachi [3-1. That is also the name of a pub on 72nd and Columbus Ave., named such to remind the drinkers of the great prophecies, I am sure] puts it - וּפִתְאֹם יָבוֹא אֶל הֵיכָלוֹ הָאָדוֹן אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם מְבַקְשִׁים. Eliyahu Hanavi will come SUDDENLY to herald the coming of Moshiach!!
Hold on tight! GREAT things are coming. We are [as the Rosh Yeshiva ztz"l noted] the only nation called both עם שרידי חרב and עם מדושני עונג. We both survived the sword and are SATURATED with pleasure. Pleasure b/c we have Shabbos, we have tefillah, we have Talmud Torah, we have meaning, we have family, we have eternity and we have a SPECIAL connection to Hashem.
BI-SIMCHA sweet friends!!! TOMID BI-SIMCHA!!!!!
