The Toulouse Murders in Perspective

A handul of people around the world, very wealthy and powerful, powerful with money but not with brains (because the God they ignore will have the last say), want to corner the world's wealth at the expense of the populations at large. They decided to ride the coattails of Islamic Jihad to achieve their goals. This includes the destruction of Israel and that of America, of Israel as a nation, and of America as an economic and political power.

Their interim goal is to support the Muslim "Jihad" and when that succeeds to a significant extent, they plan to take over the reins and corner the entire wealth of nations, including that of the Muslims, who they now use temporarily as pawns.

The leftist media, owned by these people, are carefully following orders. Therefore, upon seeing the Jihad unfold, they will downplay it and hide it from people as best they can, to let Jihad go forth and strike unsuspectingly, but painting the incident in different colors to disguise it for what it really is. This will allow for tumult to happen in unforeseen ways. For if they expose it for what it is, Jihad will fall flat on its face, because of clear, public awareness. So they hide it whereever possible and espouse political correctness to further this goal.

Take, for example, the horrific murders in Toulouse. The gunman came face to face with his victims, so close that the fire from the gun burnt their faces. Only Muslims, brainwashed Jihadists, can do such dastardly acts of terror, as they did to the Fogels and celebrated it.

How did the media behave when Toulouse happened? They first claimed it must have been the work "neo-Nazis" (WHITE supremacists, as opposed to the minority kind). Never would they initially suggest the obvious - Muslim terror.

Then, when that proved false, they said "It was a RANDOM act of violence". All of them, the entire gamut of mainstream media, from New York to London, said so, using the keyword "random". The media, you see, if you don't yet know, are a cohesive group, even though they spread out over the entire Western world. And know this: Before they come out with their headlines, there is a conference call wherein they receive their "talking points" for the day, or for a given event. Scan the headlines of what was said by the media regarding Toulouse, across all of them, and you'll see all of them using their own sentences but always, without failure, they include, and key in on, the important, talking-points - their "marching orders" for the day. In Toulouse the keyword was "random", so you got reports of a "random act" or a "random shooting".

Media today no longer is what it used to be. It used to be, each one on his own; Today, the one on his own, will, if they cannot shut him up, or buy him out, one way or the other.

This isn't just bias against Jews that is going on, although Jews are likely to remain at the forefront of victimization because of Muslim hatred of the Jew, but rather it is a new world order that is trying to position itself by piggybacking on the Jihad war that aims to create world chaos, and then forcibly supplanting Muslim headway with their own scheme, to finally render the ultimate takeover of world resources. The two major obstacles for this takeover require, however, to first destruct the democracies of Israel and America. Europe, now on the brink, is almost as good as gone.

Even if they catch the murderer, a new spin will be made up. Or, more probably, under-report it, like the New York Times used to do during the Holocaust, placing a "small item" near the back pages.

Don't underestimate the greed and bad nature of these people. Probably they derive from the "Council of Foreign Affairs". They are the ones pulling the strings. Out of sight but closely supervising by remote control. An example of this control: Notice that the Muslim who killed 13 soldiers in a U.S. army base hasn't yet been brought to trial; Reason; It will hurt Obuma's chances to win in 2012. They are no less evil than the Muslim in Toulouse who pulled the trigger, shooting his gun into the heads of the Jewish children.

UPDATE: The Islamic scummy murderer. He makes his mother proud.

Brigitte Gabriel - Trying to Wake Up America

Learn why:
- We must become energy-independent
- No less than 75 Americans, in 2 years, became home-grown terrorists

(13 minutes)

Reform Judaism's "Tradition"

Here's a comment I left at a Reform Judaism website, in reaction to what the rabbi said.


Dear Rabbi ___,

You say the Reform movement takes a "... thousands-year-old tradition to renew it everyday."

May I remind you there is NO tradition of the Reform movement, but rather the tradition of the Orthodox movement - simply because Reform Judaism has no tradition beyond that which remains after two or three generations, which by that time is practically nil. Reform Jews of today are not the descendants of Reform Jewry of the past. Within only 2 or 3 generations, Reformism goes extinct! Starting with a group of Reform Jews, the number of them who remain hugging Torah after 3 generations is insignificant.

If you take this as an accusation, you miss my point. This is not an attack. It is an empirical finding that the chances for assimilation into the Gentile culture and intermarriage is a simple matter of fact. (Researched chart data can be seen here.) The only "tradition", therefore, that you adopt as your own happens to be that which Torah-observant Jews have propagated for over 3 millennia!

Torah at its core is truth, in God's language, אמת.

(This is suggested by the 1st 3 words of Torah, where their last letters spells "truth". The order of these letters is not in order, because, at first sight, Torah truth does not SEEM apparent. But the further you delve into Torah, as its words 2, 3 and 4 represent, the more its truth becomes evident, which is why the last letters of THESE words DO spell "truth" -- in the right order!)

(Another thing about אמת : It comprises the 1st letter of the alphabet, the last one and the middle one -- to signify that Torah-truth remains unchanged ("unreformed") from beginning of time to the end of time.)

I say this only to correct a slight error in your reasoning -- that Reform Judaism has "its own" tradition. It does not. It merely adopts another's tradition, calling it its own, and then reforms it -- or, hollows it out, as its geneology will prove in 4 generations at most. As with any slight error in aim, its downrange trajectory misses the target by a wide margin.

A Ruling by the "Moses of Our Generation"

God assured Moses at Sinai that, "And also in you the Jews will have faith in, for always".
(וגם בך יאמינו לעולם) [Ex.19:9]

Why the word "also"? Rashi explains, "Not only will Jews believe in Moses the prophet, but they will also believe in all the prophets who will appear in generations thereafter."

Chabad got lucky because their Rebbeim happened to be the leaders of the last 7 generations. The Rebbeim, besides being leaders of a generation (נשיאי הדור), were also, like Moses, blessed with נבואה, prophetic power. But our entire generation - that of the 7th Rebbe - really got lucky; Because the Moses of our generation also happens to be the Moshiach, who very soon will usher us into the Era of Ultimate Redemption!

Literally scores of times our Rebbe spoke of himself in strong hints as the Messiah. One such indication we find in the Ma'amer, Ve'Ato Tetzave, he delivered in 5741 (10 Adar A), and handed out, after footnoting it, in 5752. This was the last publication he handed out before the 3rd of Tammuz. Here's what he said:

"... And we can conclude, that by the Previous Rebbe making reference to the Midrash where it states 'Mordechai in his generation was the equivalent of Moses in his generation', the Previous Rebbe thereby ruled this ruling upon himself, that he [too] was the 'faithful sheperd' of the entire generation (in a revealed way!)."

To drive home this point, the Rebbe adds an analogy as a footnote. It says in Pirkei Avot that a person eventually "is destined for a judgement and an accounting" when he appears before the court in heaven. But it would make more sense to first have an accounting before any judgement is made, so why the reverse order of these terms. The Rebbe alludes to his explanation of this elsewhere, where he answers - that the way the person himself had made judgements in similar situations about a 3rd person down here on earth will be the very same way the heavenly court will use to judge him, and then the accounting will proceed accordingly. I.e., the way he had judged people, either by giving them credit or demerit, will in turn decide how he himself will be judged for similar situations. Thus "judgement" proceeds "accounting".

For a chassid of the Rebbe, or for anyone actually, upon reading this assertion of the Rebbe, it only stands to reason that just as the Previous Rebbe's reference that Mordechai was the Moses of his generation (in a revealed way) served as a ruling on himself as being the Moses of his generation (in a revealed way) , this very same ruling would apply to the Rebbe's own evocation of it as well. Just as he explained how the Previous Rebbe broadcast his status as Moses of the generation, the Rebbe too broadcast his own status in the same way!

Like I said, there are literally dozens of such invocations, or strong hints. (As to why it had to come by way of hints, I postulate here.)

All these indications, taken together, give the chossid, a soldier of the Rebbe, the impetus to take his words public, to let people know, that he is both prophet (let that be for another post) and Moshiach, or leader of this generation bound to make entry into the Era of the Ultimate Redemption.

As I said elsewhere (link), the Chabadnik's ride isn't always smooth. There are plenty of bumps in the road. Sometimes, to kill the message, they try to kill the messenger. As an example, here's a "gift" I got this Purim. A popular Jewish blogger censored my site from her blog roll. Here's what she wrote March 8th:

Dear Meir,

This is just a sample email I received from a reader regarding your latest Rebbe post.... also the one you published before this one was a bit confusing for everyone. I have a standard policy that I do not link to sites proclaiming the Rebbe as Moshiach.......
so I am going to have to remove you from the Blog Roll.

Sorry, but I"ve been thru all this before, and it's a turn off.... it makes people turn away from yiddishkeit, and it's not helpful to anyone.


Kol tuv
Jane (pseudonym)
-------

happy purim Jane. just my humble view. if you disagree, fine, i wont feel offended, it is your site and as a jew you definitely know more than me.

http://hezbos.blogspot.com/2012/03/why-rebbe-wouldnt-say-i-am-moshiach.html

i wrote to a strong chabad friend. he did nto seem to agree with the rebbe being written in this light. do you feel it might lead astray some people reading it??? just wanted your view.

The Rebbe said, more than once, "The world is ready!" But that's not to say all Jews will finally - on their own - come around to realize the truth. Even regarding Moses, as with Mordechai, it says many Jews adored him - but not all. (Reminds me of Jews who, after a bloody war, gave back the Sinai desert and gave up their oil fields, to a worthless enemy. Or those who tore away from Jews their cherished Gush Katif for no good reason. Or those who now want to give up other parts of our Holy Land for illusory perceptions, to a worthless enemy. These Jews too know better than the Rebbe.) In the end, Moshiach himself, after he reveals himself, will still have to put up a good fight to convince his Jewish opposers to acquiesce. Jews, whatever their stripes - we just gotta love 'em all.

The Previous Rebbe's Peiyos

Overheard this from an elder Lubavitch chassid who was sitting shiva.

The Previous Rebbe went with peiyos under his hat (or yarmulke). He did this because his father, the Rebbe Rashab, had lost the hair on his head, which included the loss of his peiyos. In order to spare his father shame when standing next to his son, who would provide stark contrast with his peiyos worn visibly, the Previous Rebbe tucked his peiyos under his hat.

Someone asked him about the Rebbe's peiyos. He immediately told the story of someone coming to the Rebbe and "asking" the Rebbe why he wore his tefillin so low on his forehead. The Rebbe answered him, "How do you know where my hairline used to be?"

(The Rebbe too apparently lost some hair on his head although to what degree we don't know. But, aside from that, we don't ask such questions on the Rebbe.)

A Chassidic Axiom - The Moses of the Generation

Jews pray daily, including these words from Torah:

"ויאמינו בד‫'‬ ובמשה עבדו"
"And they believed in God and in Moses his servant,"

But why not just say,

"ויאמינו בד‫'‬";

Is this phrase in itself not enough? Why is there, in addition to the belief in God, also the addition of the phrase "ובמשה עבדו", invoking belief in Moses too?

The answer is a simple axiom of Chassidus: Because there can be no connection directly to God without the mediation of the "Moses of the generation"! As sure as every body needs a head to function, God casts a Moses for every generation to be its leader (Tikunei Zohar 469). No generation can exist without its "Moses" (Beraishit Rabba 56:7).

"אתפשטותא דמשה בכל דרא ודרא"......, "אין דור שאין בו כמשה"

Failure to believe in this Tzaddik, the leader of the generation, causes forfeiture of the belief in God - because the Moses of the generation is the perfect conduit through whom belief in God can be actualized.

One might ask, "Who needs Moses (or the present leader of the generation)? I can believe or connect to God directly - without need of a "conduit" (ממוצא המחבר)!

That's like saying, "I'll pray to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to help me out"; But who says they will accept you? But, if your request is carried to them by the "Prince of the Generation" (נשיא הדור), now suddenly your request is deemed worthy for acceptance.

That's just what Torah insinuates. There is a formal channel of communication to God. You might have the right "number" to dial, but without the right "area code", you cannot get through.

(How failure of faith in God manifests is a different story.)

So it is not for nothing "ובמשה עבדו" follows "ויאמינו בד‫'‬"! One requires the other!

This truth might hurt those who do not practice "ויאמינו במשה עבדו", in which case "ויאמינו בד‫'‬" therefore fails, but this is Torah truth, and nothing but Torah truth!

As R' Yossi taught, "Woe to those who see, but know not what they see, who stand, but know not upon what they stand; Upon what does the earth stand? ... 'And the righteous one is the foundation of the whole world' (Proverbs 10)." (Chagigah 12b)

Here's an indication of the same concept. It says "And when you wish to raise the heads of the Jewish people ..." (Ex.30:12), you do it by counting them, because counting attributes equal importance to every Jew. You count them by counting the coins they each provide, the Half-Shekel (מחצית השקל) coins. The word מחצית, says the Tzemach-Tzedek, shows that those who connect to the Tzaddik, represented by the middle letter of this word - are "alive", as suggested by this letter's two adjoining letters, חי; Whereas those remote from the Tzaddik, as suggested by the two letters furthest from the Tzaddik, מת, suffer a metaphoric death. To be uplifted, then, a connection to the Tzaddik of the generation is warranted.

(See also "The Chassid-Misnagid Barrier is Melting", here.)

Religions of the World - How Many?

The Jewish religion does not engross itself in missionary activity. It holds no allure in accumulating converts. In fact, Jewish law requires the rabbi to "chase away" a Gentile seeking to convert. If the person persists, after having been chased away 3 times, the rabbi can begin to take this person seriously.

One good reason for this law, or attitude, is simple: God created the Jew and He created the Gentile. Why should He have done so were the goal for all people to follow one path of worship?

But another Jewish law, which pertains to all Jews, not just rabbis, is here pertinent. Until recently in history, that is until the last century or so, it was outright dangerous for the Jew to obey this other law. And because danger to life transcends obedience to a commandment, Jews refrained from it for nearly two millennia.

Jews must convey to their Gentile peers the requisite for fulfilling the "7 Noahide Laws". We find this statute in Maimonides' paramount compendium of Jewish law, "The Strong Hand" (division "Judges", section "Kings", chapter 8, rule 10).

Now that general, blatant hostility to the Jewish people and to their religion has been swallowed up during a transformation to a "Western society", giving Jews (once again after 2,000 years) a carefree freedom to express their opinions, compliance with that law again becomes relevant.

A Gentile with no faith in God feels free to behave as he wishes, especially in a free country, and, from the moment he rises in the morning, he has no plans for devout activities. For such a person, the 7 Noahide Laws may come as a rude awakening, for suddenly he's saddled with a new set of responsibilities he never would have imagined (simple as they are).

A religious Gentile may find it less traumatic to learn of the yoke he must bear to the Almighty, but he too will certainly be taken aback by this religious commitment he needs undertake, which he never knew existed.

As for the Jew who must impart this information to his Gentile peer, this responsibility is extremely distasteful. The Jew never had it in his tradition to proselytize. And it's not in his blood to talk religion with a Gentile.

The Jew who lacks faith in God would, of course, scorn this task as being ridiculous. So degrading a chore as this, to convince others of fairy-tale machinations, he wouldn't even wish on his enemy.

As for the religious Jew, after a centuries-long tradition of being under Gentile rule, much of which meant being downtrodden and on the defensive, with only recently the phenomenon of racial equality becoming socially palatable, he is not accustomed nor does he relish this now-feasible calling. He'd rather be shackled and told to stay home than actively mimic the Gentile proselytizers he so despises, knowing they want to sell him on pennies so that he give up his gold. For him to have to spread the Noahide laws to Gentile peers is tantamount to being perceived as some sleazy insurance or used-car salesman.

So - we end up with Jews who shrink back from their responsibility to enlighten, and Gentiles who may well rebuff any new religious liabilities they will learn about.

The metaphor for this situation is the horse and buggy, and the passenger. The horse gallops along, and no matter if the passenger is smart or stupid, king or pauper, the horse, as far as it is concerned, could care less.

Similarly, that a person with obligations may reject or dismiss them - will not change the fact of the matter. The world gallops along its temporal course from one day to the next. One of these days, divine reckoning shall ask each of us if we fulfilled our duty on earth, and, by then, we will not be able to feign ignorance nor cast judgement aside. We'll be held accountable for our deeds.

We were created in God's image, which means we have the ability to think and reason, unlike other species.

So, to understand why disseminating, on the one hand, and accepting, on the other, the 7 Noahide laws is imperative, the simplest reasoning is the most elegant.

Suppose you host a guest in your home. Wouldn't you expect him to show appropriate manners? Would it not annoy you if he sits on your dinner table, carelessly breaks a crystal, or spits on the carpet? Would it not also offend you if such crass behavior were to occur mindless of your presence?

This anecdote symbolizes our lifetime on earth. We are the world's guests, given this incredible opportunity to live a life, by God our host. Do we disrespect the master of this domain and behave ungratefully?

You might ask, "But what constitutes 'appropriate behavior'? How is one to distinguish between what's really right from wrong?"

Think and reason again. The creator of any complicated gadget always leaves a set of instructions how to correctly operate his creation.

The same is true of the created universe. We creatures too have been given a manual of instructions. It happens to be the most widely read book in the world and the most popular in human history, until this very day! In the whole world, hardly a home exists without one, or at least without the ability to get one immediately!

Thought and reason should also lead you to understand and conclude that this fact is no mere happenstance. It's God's way to make sure we all have access to Him and His expectations of us. God also wants you to fill in the dots of so many more happenings around the world, especially events concerning His representative people, who have always been believers of His monotheistic presence, for that too will reveal important points in the mosaic of truth God wants people of thought and reason to realize and appreciate.

The very existence of the Jewish people is a phenomenon that transcends nature. It is the equivalent of "a sheep that survives among 70 wolves" (as our Jewish sages tell us, although this phrase has found its way into other unoriginal sources). The Torah is the glue that keeps the Jewish people true to their faith and miraculously assures their collective, if not individual, survival.

The book God gave the Jewish people is called Torah. The word means "a book of instruction". That name is deliberate.

The Torah, as it was gifted to the Jewish people 3,323 years ago, in its original Hebrew language, provides all the answers. Torah is your source for truth! As long as you allow others - other than observant Jews - to teach you what Torah says, or, as long as you find reason to follow those who shun the opinion of such Jews, you will never know the truth!

Not one letter has ever been added or removed from Torah since its inception, in 1312 B.C.. It suffered no revisions or modifications, and never will, because divine perfection gets it right the first time and remains eternally perfect. No translation of it can do justice to the original language. Unlike every other language, which is artificial, Hebrew is God's language.

Only observant rabbis profoundly intimate with Torah and Talmud (oral Torah tradition) can provide answers to questions of appropriate behavior.

The Torah prescribes two modes of appropriate behavior in this domain of God; One prescription is for the Jew; The other, for the Gentile. The Jew has 613 commandments (plus ramifications thereof) he must follow. The Gentile has 7 (with its own ramifications); These are the so-called Seven Noahide Laws.

So, what constitutes proper conduct in God Almighty's abode? What behavior befits the King's palace? There are two, depending on who you are. One protocol applies for Jewish people, and one for Gentile people. Each group has its own role in the world. The Jew is the Torah's beacon. The Gentile is the world's colonizer. Each has his own related set of commandments. Anything else falls short of these requirements and lacks divine sanction!

So, how many religions exist in the world? Who knows; There ought to be none! Torah endorses only two modes of proper conduct, one for Jew and one for Gentile, no more, no less. You can't beat this elegant simplicity, nor the inherent synergy.

As for the payoff - righteous Gentiles in this world earn their future ticket into the world of truth.

An Ode to the Forlorn Chabadnik

Chabad has a mission today unlike any other. A mission the Rebbe handed his emissaries in 1992. Of all previous campaigns he dispatched them with, the most difficult mission he saved for last, more difficult, in fact, than all previous campaigns combined!

What makes this task so difficult? Why is there so much resistance?

Because it is easier to remove the Jew from exile, than to remove the exile mentality from the Jew. The Jew got used to his Western lifestyle, and now the Rebbe comes along and tells them, "Start thinking Moshiach", "A Jewish Messiah has come onto the scene", "Think of accepting him as your king!"

Huh? Say what? There's a Messiah who wants to dislodge me from my comfort zone? Who is this man? Did you say "king"? Do you want me to start thinking fantasies? Keep moving. Stop bugging me with antiquated, bizarre concepts. I got enough on my hands as it is, let alone annoying spiritual demands. Judaism is nice, but go easy on the mystical.

Jews have it good in the U.S. and other countries they're in. They are profitably employed or loaded with amenities. They have good business connections. Many Jews have slipped out of strict orthodoxy. Most were already born into a secular, worldly, luxury-seeking lifestyle. Shabbos is a favorite weekday - a time for frolic. The kosher diet need not be so stringently enforced. And as for family purity, why the shower is just as good as a dip in the mikveh.

The unrestrained attitude has been adopted by the religious element as well. They may not desecrate the Shabbos, or eat meat that wasn't properly slaughtered, but to have them confide new faith to some outsider's sect who "claims" their rabbi is Moshiach - well that kind of Moshiach I just won't accept. After all, who says he's the right rabbi for the mission? I know a better one, so there!

These religious Jews also have prominent positions and profitable investments, and cannot be bothered with self-sacrifice like yearning for Moshiach just now. Yes, they pray for redemption everyday, but as long as it remains in the context of formal prayer, let it stay there and not effect outside life that's running rather smoothly as it is, thank you.

Jewish hearts have become burdened with lard. They are too heavy to nimbly shift into Messianic mode. They wax in morality but cannot now prostrate themselves to a call from a divine prophecy.

Poor Chabadnik. He must go out to these Jews, religious and non-religious, and try to cloak his wild ideas (for they are wild and absurd - because at the same time they straddle the supernatural and the unnatural), in calm, rational explanation. Not only does he have to say Moshiach is the Rebbe, even though people can swear the Rebbe was buried, but he also has to explain that even if Moshiach can arise from the dead, the Rebbe, whose stark gravestone stands in a Queens N.Y. graveyard, is alive and well - despite facade appearances. Poor Chabadnik! He has to convince Jews they are supernatural beings and the Rebbe even more so, and despite what the world thinks, or what nature determines, the Rebbe is alive and well - and waiting for Jews to crown him as King Messiah!

Talk about a bitter pill to swallow. Woe to him who has to convince in rational terms that which clearly rests completely in the realm of the irrational. Yet here he is, the Chabad emissary, having to obey his Rebbe, who commanded him, "Take the absurd, wrap it up in careful, rational language; Make it palatable. Cook the wild food in an acceptable pot before you offer it, so the person listening can take the vessel's content and then digest it - no matter where his state of mind happens to be." "אורות דתהו בכלים דתיקון"

Many Chabadniks shrug off their orders, lower their heads between their shoulders and quickly slink away, as if they never heard the orders. When they are reminded of what the Rebbe said at the International Conference of Chabad Emissaries in ש''ק חיי שרה , 1992, they just sigh, "Oy vey"!

(The "Moshichists", on the other hand, put faith in what the Rebbe said, "Go ahead, the world is ready!", and quietly watch the world transforming into its loftier metamorphosis as they ply the Rebbe's final campaign unabashedly.)

Why the Rebbe Wouldn't Say "I am Moshiach!"

Two postings ago we spoke of Chabad's Last Mission. Then we spoke of How Moshiach Will Arrive.

Now let's address - why didn't the Rebbe just come out with it and say bluntly, "I am Moshiach!"?

Because - for the Rebbe there is no "I".

In all writings attributed to the Rebbe, easily over 100 volumes, hardly twice can you find the word "I" used.

Just as Moses was the most humble of all men on the face of the earth (Num.12:3), the Rebbe too would not come out and speak of himself this way. He is the perfect conduit between God and man, in that he does not regard himself existent for any other purpose. Any attention drawn to himself in any other capacity would conflict with his essence.

We note a precedence in Tanach, where a leader of the generation speaks of himself in this blunt way.

When Saul went searching for his father's lost donkeys (Sam.A:9), he decided days later, as a final resort, to ask Shmuel the prophet for help. On his way into the city of Rama, he bumped into the prophet. "Do you happen to know where the seer lives", asked Saul. "I am the seer!" (אנכי הרואה), answered Shmuel.

This haughty response cost Shmuel, for it was unbecoming of him. Hashem later punished him for this. When Shmuel was sent to the home of Yishai in Beit Lechem to anoint one of Yishai's sons to replace King Saul as sovereign (Sam.A:17), Hashem struck Shmuel with several episodes of "blindness". Since he had said "I am the seer", Hashem showed him he saw nothing. As each of Yishai's sons in turn Shmuel considered as king, Hashem told Shmuel, "No, it's not him", thereby showing the "seer" he was seeing incorrectly.Then when David was fetched from the fields and stepped into the room, Shmuel figured David's features appeared inappropriate for a king. But now God shocked Shmuel into a new reality and spoke into his brain, "Shmuel, get up! Give royalty its due honor!"

This entire string of "blind" encounters Hashem used to chastise Shmuel for having referred to himself inappropriately as "I am", instead of using a modest answer (See Radak).

The Rebbe, therefore, would never just come out and say, "I am Moshiach!". He is much too humble to so proclaim.

On the other hand, he wants to be crowned by the people so he can do his job and take the Jews out of exile and into the Era of Redemption. Which is why every single talk he gave or writing he distributed in the years 5750-5752 strongly hinted at his newly-knighted rank of Moshiach.

Perhaps another compelling reason he held back from stating unambiguously "I am Moshiach" regards tripping up a large segment of Jews. For, as long as it's up to Jews to decide for themselves, they cannot be held liable according to Jewish law. If the Rebbe were to get up and proclaim "I am a prophet", or "Hashem sent me", or "I am Moshiach", then all Jews who find out suddenly become responsible to obey the prophet or king, to the point of being held liable for whatever penalty is due were they to neglect their duties. The Rebbe would not want thereby to hoist transgression upon so many Jews who may well rebuff or rationalize away their obligations to listen to him.

If you have more knowledge on these halachot (laws) regarding obeying a prophet or king that bears on this topic, please let me know.

How Will Moshiach Come?

My previous post dealt with Chabad's last mission as a prelude to the Era of Redemption (link). To sum it up in one sentence: We soldiers of the Rebbe have an assignment, often uneasy because we have to be well-versed in what the Rebbe prepared us with, to convey to Jews the world over the identity of Moshiach, despite the ignorant resistance, if we are to be faithful to our commander-in-chief.

Several issues that trigger resistance or doubts must be explained. There's the issue of his apparent death, and there's the issue of why he never just came out with the blunt assertion "I am Moshiach". The issue I now try to explain, in my own way, is - How will Moshiach arrive?

Will he descend in a blaze of fire from the heavens and make a soft landing; Will he use a parachute that, like the burning bush, won't disintegrate? And where will he land to maximize exposure and attention?

Will he storm his way into a television studio while they're broadcasting, grab the microphone and announce himself; Like CNN, Fox, or maybe an Israeli leftist channel? Will he time his entry during a soccer match or a kids' show?

Or will everybody's screen one day suddenly provide a beeping alert, followed by an urgent news bulletin that introduces Moshiach to everyone?

Or will he suddenly appear in a white tank during some war and fire perfect kills at the enemy, then stand on its hull, raise his hands and shout, "I am Moshiach!"?

Even if these were viable entry protocols, we'd have to first test his sanity, then test if in fact he was Moshiach. And where do we find those criteria? In Maimonides - and only in Maimonides - in his "Kings" 11:4.

How will Moshiach come? The Rambam (11:1, 3) says that

"he will get up" (עתיד לעמד‫,‬ ואם יעמוד)

and "getting up" implies - he's been around awhile already, only no one took much notice.

As for his bursting onto the scene in some miraculous fashion, I hate to disappoint those who expect such a debut. In fact, his arrival will come in a most natural way!

"World events will proceed as usual" (12:1) עולם כמנהגו נוהג

A "natural way" means his arrival will respect the rules of nature.

But surely he could do for us even a little miracle, to make it easy for us to pinpoint him? Banish such thought, says the Rambam:

"And don't even consider that Moshiach has to perform miracles or wonders ... It isn't so!" (11:3).
ואל יעלה על דעתך שהמלך המשיח

צריך לעשות אותות ומופתים ... אין הדבר כך

Well then, maybe the environment or social landscape will change significantly and this will give us an indication of changing times to help us identify a man who at the time suddenly claims he's Moshiach? Again Maimonides says - banish the thought;

"Don't let it don on your mind that in Moshiach's time some natural aspect of the world will be nullified ...."

אל יעלה על הלב שבימות המשיח יבטל דבר ממנהגו

One of Moshiach's identifying criteria is, he must learn and delve in Torah. So when he does "get up" to become Moshiach, we'd have to know he has indulged and fathomed the depths of Torah (11:4), so, again, he'd have been around enough for us to judge his grasp of the written and oral Torahs.

Sounds to me like he'd be a prominent rabbi first; A rabbi preoccupied with doing mitzvot - all mitzvot, both those decreed by the sages as well as those of Torah.

It's like a general who becomes chief-of-staff; He will have had to prove himself as a capable general before being honored with the highest rank available.

Another identifying criterion of the rank of Moshiach is a history of swaying all of Jewry to follow the ways of Torah, or of strengthening such behavior. It would have to be a rabbi in the world with the very best credentials for reaching out to world Jewry. And what better way to have this impact than to have already long ago begun sending into all remote corners of the world emissaries faithful to his goal, to set up shop in these far-flung, often inhospitable regions, with wife and children, where there isn't yet kosher food, Jewish schools or synagogues, when the emmissaries don't even speak the local language, and begin their lives there anew, for the sake of Jewry, under conditions of self-sacrifice. "Beit Chabads" can today be found almost anywhere around the globe where Jewish feet may tread!

This Moshiach rabbi, of course, would certainly have to be recognized for having such influence on Jewry all over the world, and a rich history of it at that.

Somewhere along the way, this learned and influential rabbi, from the lineage of David, will have been knighted by God with the new rank of King Moshiach. Overnight he will have gone - from rabbi to king.

So how will he "get up"?

Will he notify the world all at once, as we said, storm into some world-broadcast session, or does it make more sense he will first notify his own circle of followers to reach out to their brethren? It cannot be the former because informing every Jew at once involves, simply, a miracle. The latter way is, unfortunately, the longer, but natural, way.

It is imperative to remember what it is Maimonides laid down as Jewish law: The world will go on as it naturally goes on, on a daily basis, even once Moshiach has become Moshiach! That is to say, Moshiach will take the world over - normally, in an ordinary due course.

In fact, it seems clear, this king will now use the same messengers he had used until now to influence world Jewry. He would make use of his thousands of emissaries already in place, and still growing in large numbers everywhere in the world.

Only this time his emissaries must carry a new message ("Chabad's Last Mission"). Not really a new message, for Torah is eternal, and Judaism and Moshiach are intimately linked, but rather with a new angle to the old messages - an important, all-encompassing update!

Think of it as a general who becomes chief-of-staff. First he tells his own brigade, and then asks them to tell their soldier friends and all the people they meet. Well, perhaps in the army it doesn't quite work that way, but for the Jewish peapole, a nation spread out the world over, and for this rabbi who already has his soldiers in practically all these universal locations, it obviously is the most natural way to proceed.

It becomes their job to explain Moshiach and Moshiach times, because they must create a nation of acceptors, for without his nation to accept him, the king simply cannot assume the mantle of kingship. He cannot force himself upon his flock. It is up to Jews to recognize and nominate him, and thereby crown him.

As the Rebbe told his messengers, "Whereas recently a novelty has accrued to your mission ... every emissary must prepare himself and to prepare all Jews in his place, in his city, etc. to accept Moshiach for who he is, whereby he explains the concept of Moshiach ... in an acceptable way to every Jew, as per their intellect and understanding ... that will take us into the True and Final Redemption." (Sefer Hasichos, 5752, Chayei Sarah)

(Read also: Why the Rebbe Wouldn't Say "I am Moshiach!", here.)

Chabad's Last Mission

A Jewish man who lives separated from his wife can accomplish a divorce by use of a messenger. The messenger needs only to get the wife to accept the document from him. He will then have successfully executed his role as messenger for the divorce.

An analogous event took place one Shabbat 19 years ago when the Lubavitcher Rebbe addressed his thousands of emissaries from around the world who gathered at his Brooklyn headquarters. These emissaries who serve as messengers of the Rebbe to disseminate his messages worldwide, who gather in Brooklyn for this annual meeting with their prolific leader, were shocked by the Rebbe's new marching orders. They were accustomed to the Rebbe's continual stark demands for extended outreach - but the gigantic nature of their new campaign now dwarfed whatever ambitious assignments were heaped upon them in years heretofore.

The Rebbe said they have from now on one main message to deliver, and that any other outreach to Jews they are involved with must be subsumed and secondary to the one main message. The new piece of information they must now deliver is this: That Jews must accept the Rebbe's role as Moshiach! That Moshiach has already been given this rank of redeemer but, as a king, he cannot yet function unless much of Jewry accept his kingship, without which a redemption cannot be forthcoming.

The Rebbe spoke clearly; "The solitary mission remaining ..." "The gate through which all other outreach must be channeled ..." "The year when the King Moshiach revealed himself ..." "The redeemer has already been given the go-ahead ..." "Everything you do must be penetrated with this one central idea ,,," "All Jews have already merited redemption," and "All that remains is for people to accept Moshiach for who he is!"

In plain words, God has already dispatched the Rebbe to redeem the Jewish people. The only duty that remains incumbent upon the people to accomplish this feat is to accept the messenger of God. The Rebbe wished to awaken his emissaries to a new turn of events, a turnabout, a world of new circumstances that his emissaries must from now on dwell on, to get Jews to accept the Rebbe as Moshiach. For he, as a king, needs a nation to nominate him, for him to lead them. "There is no king without a nation," we are often told in Chassidus. The king cannot force himself upon his people.

From that day on, the emissaries had their new work cut out for them. Yes, they could continue encouraging observation of commandments and continue talking Torah, but, in and of itself, these are now no longer main objectives - if they act as representatives of the Rebbe. What they can do, instead, is to continue these functions and explain how they can accelerate the Rebbe's revelation, and then broach the issue of Moshiach.

Any Chabad emissary who fails to make this main mission his priority, something that any Jew he meets can immediately sense and discern if in fact he lives up to it, then any other function with which he replaces his main mission, despite its lofty reach, is a mission unaccomplished. The litmus test of every Chabad emissary can easily be assayed by any Jew he reaches out to - did he allude to the Rebbe as Moshiach or is he avoiding the issue. It is a simple test.

Certainly such mystical news cannot be poured out in indiscreetly, to a mind that cannot yet fathom simpler religious aspects. But it must, nevertheless, serve as the core for which all endeavors are meant to expose.

For many emissaries this main mission is difficult to adjust to, particularly when he calculates that his financial backers might thereby find him unsuitable for "serious" consideration any longer. But here too the Rebbe had forewarned and informed his emissaries that "The world is ready", that people are, surprisingly enough, ready for this ostensibly irrational novelty. It is, anyhow, not for the emissary to allow his calculations to interfere with his mission otherwise he automatically disqualifies himself as the Rebbe's messenger.

Chabad's new - and only - mission is, in fact, Chabad's new and final mission; Its last hurdle to the finish line. Of all the Rebbe's "mitzvah campaigns", this one is the hardest, for obvious reasons. But it's not for his emissaries to decide on the agenda. This last mission is the toughest, a test, to be sure, and, despite occasional winds of resistance in a world accustomed to the prevalence of natural law, those loyal to the Rebbe follow through with gusto to deliver their supernatural message, albeit in a cogent, even rational manner.

So if you see a Chabad emissary (any Chabadnik thus qualifies) doing everything BUT driving this central point home, you can remind him by asking him what it was the Rebbe conscripted him for on that eventful Shabbat, Chayei-Sarah, 1992.

A Rebbe Story - Diamond Smuggling

These Rebbe stories are so plentiful, the saying in Chabad goes, they're rolling all over, even under the tables, that no one can bother picking them up. Here's one at Gruntig.net.

Huge Dolphin Pod Races Boats

The wonders of Hashem; If you enjoy wildlife, watch these dolphins having fun. It seems they are racing two boats. Four minutes of an exhilarating phenomenon.

(And if you haven't yet seen dolphins play "Solitaire", watch here.)

The Windows of the Holy Temple

The openings, or "windows", in the stone wall of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, were constructed such that their inside dimensions expanded as they reached the outside of the thick wall. Much like a rectangular funnel, narrow on the inside and wide on the outside. If, for example, on the inside of the wall an opening measured 3 feet by 4 feet, its measurements at the outside of the wall were 3.5 feet by 4.5 feet. Had you placed a ball on that window sill, near its inside edge, the ball would have rolled and fallen outside of the building.

A private individual, in those days, in his own stone-walled home, in contrast, would have shaped his windows such that the widening occured towards the inside, to project into his house as much light as possible from the outside.

Why did the Temples' "windows" widen out from the inside to the outside? To indicate that the inner light of the Holy of Holies served to enlighten the outside world. God does not need His own light. People need it. Thus God's light, that which the Menorah symbolically stands for, fans out from the Temple to light up the outside world.

In fact, an aspect of the Menorah itself, inside the Holy of Holies, also suggested this same principle, by the direction of its goblet components. The Menorah's sculpture contained goblets, flowers and button-like shapes. According to Maimonides, who included a drawing of the Menorah in his writings (see here), the goblets were turned upside-down, with the wide edge turned down, and the narrow end, turned up; As if to indicate that that which the goblet contained - was meant to pour out.

Medicine's First Appearance in Torah

The Torah begins by saying the earth, prior to its formation, was in a state of "Tohu", תהו (verse 2). That is, it was in a state of mixture, or some state of amorphousness. It was, one can say, in a state of being "sick", in the sense that it needed a cure.

This condition had to be addressed and rectified. So G-d said, "Let there be light..." יהי אור (verse 3). This light became the cure for the "sickness".

Verse 3 contains 23 letters. But only 7 of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet make up these 23 letters of the verse. These 7 letters make up the two words, "אור" (= light) and "מילה" (= word), that is, the light of the mouth. The entire verse, in fact, speaks of the emission of light from the mouth; The light of healing.

The word in Hebrew for medicine is "רפואה". This word itself is comprised of letters that constitute the two words "אור פה", which means, "the light of the mouth". That is, the emission of the mouth. Just as G-d's light was the light of healing, there ought to be spiritual light coming out of the mouth of a good doctor.

(Heard during a talk given by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh of inner.org)