Infinity Unimaginable

With the aid of microscopes, telescopes and theoretical science, we can "see" things down to the quark or as far away as beyond the galaxy, covering a range of metric sizes about 10 to the power of 39; From so tiny as 100 "attometers" in resolution to as far as 10 million light years away! 

Never mind figuring out the number of quarks, or even electrons, that exist in the universe. Just the number of stars in the universe is 1,063,400,000,000,000,000 (Brachot 32b)! [Do the math yourself.]  And most of these stars are much larger than our tiny earth.

And forget about conceiving how to control all of these, and their collective formations, at the same time and in their mutual interactions, in continuous time, all the while maintaining "multi-dimensional cross-sectional" integrity of the whole swirl and flurry of these dynamic micro and macro interactive events. 

That just begins to give you a tiny bit of an idea of the infinitely infinite power of Our Creator. Let alone, for now, the beneficence, magnificence, and other properties of The Only One.

(Here's a slide show (view it in "manual" mode) of that range of distances, going from micro to macro, or in reverse.)

Knesset Member Admits Failure on Pollard

Arutz Sheva reports Rafi Eitan of the Israeli cabinet admits failure and has regrets on Pollard.  (Pollard's story, by Caroline Glick, you can read here).

Something really stinks. What kept him from admitting it earlier? After burying someone alive, he had 24 years to think about it, why awake now? This later than late admission must play into his hand. This guy's up to something. Or, if he's no longer of hostile heart, let him propose something useful to his victim.

A Memorable Cartoon - Click It to Enlarge It

My Mom (ע''ה) was in Auschwitz, and my Dad (ע''ה) was in German labor camps; Just another reason this topic speaks to my heart.

A Warning - from Ronald Reagan, 1961

Obama cynically plots to transform this country into a totalitarian regime. Why the urgency? To forestall a next election he may well lose. He contemptuously hypes "Health Care", but he couldn't care less! To ensnare us requires socialized medicine as the 1st critical step.

Click HERE to hear about socialized medicine and "liberals". It's from 1961, but it's fresh as of 2009.

On Forced Vaccinations

This fellow, Gary Null, testifies at a hearing on forced vaccinations, in the N.Y.S. Assembly.  It regards the danger of vaccines. Watch all 3 clips, for one has what the other doesn't in terms of data, emotion, eye-opening revelation (like the horrific effects of inoculation of U.S. troops in Afganistan), and setting. He's brave, because big-Pharma's fat cats can now attack him. 

Too many are unaware of the pharmaceutical industry's corrupt control of medicine, research and health-care in this great country - which is profusely hemorrhaging these days.  But ignorance won't stabilize it. 

Moshe Yess & Shalom Levine

This goes back a few years. Enjoy 10 minutes of their concert, in these two short clips.

A Chabad Fisherman

I got this friend who "fishes" in the strangest of places. His catches are often exotically colorful. He canvassed America for this fishing hole, and now stakes his claim in the backhills of Clearwater Florida. He sent me this email, and this picture of a recent "catch".

 - - - - - - - - 

Here is Bob S[beep], founder of reform temple Ahavat Shalom here in Clearwater Fl. back in the 70`s.  I went to the gym last Friday to lift some weights, and as I was about to leave this guy comes in and I ask him "ARE YOU JEWISH?"  He says "YES", so I went to the car, got him some challah made by Raizy, AND PUT ON TEFILLIN WITH HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE IN HIS 60`S!!!  You can see me in the mirror taking the picture with my cell phone!!!

Why the Storytelling in Genesis? A Lesson for the Jews.

Right from the very outset of Torah an alert reader could ask, "Why would a manual of instruction to the Jewish people preoccupy itself with storytelling, first about the creation of the world and later about the patriarchs?" All of Genesis, in fact, is heavily narrated with stories. "Torah" in Hebrew comes from the word "to teach", so what does all this storytelling teach us?

It turns out, the sole purpose of the entire book of Genesis, with all its stories, is to provide the basis for the Jewish people upon which to stake their claim to the Land of Israel! It's the ammunition they should fire back with when accusers charge them with "occupying someone else's land".

In his very first commentary on Torah, Rashi asks, "Why not start the Torah from the first commandment to the Jewish people (concerning Passover; Exodus 12, 2)?" Why get sidetracked with storytelling in a book of laws?

Says Rashi. "Know that the Jewish people will be accused of conquering and displacing other peoples." (Note that Rashi lived some 1,000 years ago, when no one heard of a country called "Israel", nor could even dream of these scattered Jewish outcasts as an "aggressor nation"! Which testifies to Rashi's prophecy.)

He says to the Jew, "The reason G-d started the story from creation and tells the stories is - so you should know how to respond to your Gentile accusers! Here's what you tell them: G-d created the world; He gave the land to whomever He saw fit and wanted to give it to; He then took it away from them and gave it to us!" Period.

Says Rashi, "This is what King David meant in Psalms (111, 6): 'The might of His deeds He narrated to His people, to give them land inherited from Gentiles.'".

So why the Torah's long preamble? Why the seeming distraction with the entire Book of Genesis and 285 verses into the Book of Exodus, before it gets to the first commandment?

The answer is - to teach Jews they must invoke this demonstrable power and will of The Creator of the universe Who granted them this land - to lay claim to it! All that scripture serves as a living document with which to justify the claim. G-d "wastes" 1,819 verses so Jews should know how to respond to nations who accuse them of being usurpers of this land!

The reason Israel faces so much opposition most probably stems from saying everything but these words! Most religions acknowledge the Torah; Therefore most Gentiles would accept the message. But once we cite economic, military, humanistic or other reasons, to justify our claim to the land, instead of invoking the divine gift - that's when things get muddled up.

We must say clearly what Torah wants us to say, what it teaches right at its outset; And not stray one iota from that Torah instruction.

The Bulkhead - By Dr. Yaakov Brawer

There are Chassidim who relish davening on airplanes. Immediately after takeoff, a Chassid of this breed stands up in the aisle (the farther forward, the better), intones a thunderous brachah, and with a great sweeping motion, envelops himself in a tallit, causing nearby passengers to flinch as flying tzitzit miss their eyes by millimeters. He then prays with an ardor rarely seen in shul, blocking the aisle and attracting the attention of everyone on the plane, and that, of course, is precisely his intent. He is, after all, a Chassid, charged with the mission to reveal G-d's presence within whatever niche of creation he happens to occupy at any given moment. Although the airline is under the impression that it has staged the flight in order to make money, and the passengers think that they are on the plane in order to actually arrive somewhere, the Chassid knows better. The Chassid understands that the objective of the flight is to sequester 150 souls 50,000 feet above sea level so that they can watch him daven and learn that there is a G-d in the world. When finished davening, any Chassid worth his salt works the cabin, entwining Jewish men in tefillin, reminding Jewish women to light Shabbat candles, and exhorting non-Jews to keep the seven Noahide commandments.

Although my admiration for these stalwarts knows no bounds, I am most definitely not one of them. I just do not have the genes. I abhor public display and I can not bear to make a spectacle of myself, no matter how worthy the cause. It goes without saying that I am useless on mitzvah campaigns, except in those instances in which an adult is simply needed to drive the getaway car.

Thus, some years ago, while en route to LA, my stomach knotted up as I realized that I would have to daven on the plane on my return trip.  (Read the rest here.)

Vaccination Time? The Blind Leading the Blind.

Doctors too can be creatures of bad habit. Some follow the pharmacological industry's "set up" - no questions asked. Just like you (would like to) trust your doctor, so too your doctor trusts the vaccination protocol in blind faith. But you need not be blind.  Here's a video to make you rethink what too many consider trivial to worry about - most unfortunately.



UPDATE (10/16): Woman gets a neurological disorder 10 days after her flu shot.
UPDATE (10/22): Video of this girl, here.

The Biggest Beasts of Land and Sea

מה רבו מעשיך ה' כולם בחכמה עשית

How manifold your works, G-d, all that You created in wisdom! 
(Teh. 104, 24)

(1) The Birth of an Elephant - This is a marvelous 5.5 minute video. Watch how mom does not give up on her calf.

Any birth, be it of a baby or a calf, or for that matter, any reproduction in any taxonomic kingdom, reveals the power G-d invested in the species to do what only G-d can do - to create - giving each species the instincts or faculties it needs for procreation.



(2) A Pod of Humpback Whales: Learn, in 2 minutes, how they cooperate to "bubble-feed"!

The Pivotal Role of Jerusalem

The fate of the Jewish people forever challenges them because, as recited during the Passover seder, "... for in every generation after generation some nation always seeks to destroy them [either physically or spiritually]".

In the Haftarah of the 1st day of Succot, Zechariah (chpt 14) the prophet reveals an unusual point of information; The final war against the Jews, the one that will precede the revelation of Moshiach, centers around the city of Jerusalem. ("Jerusalem" appears 10 times in this chapter).

Over 1,900 years ago Jerusalem was destroyed. Only in recent history has she been revived. Never had this city been the capital of any country except for Israel. The so-called "Palestinians", Arabs who live in Israel and claim no other land as their own although they came from surrounding countries, choose, of all cities, Jerusalem as their "capital"? They not only want to hijack their host country, they want to redefine its capital as non-Jewish. This may well be the prophecy beginning to materialize.

Jerusalem will become the world's fulcrum about which two sides will emerge. One camp will come out in support of the Jewish claim; The other will support the enemies of the Jews. Not only will the world focus on little Israel, but all eyes will laser in on events happening in the city of Jerusalem. It will appear as though defenders of Jerusalem will go down in a tsunami of disaster - when, in fact, that very day the world will realize the Master of the Universe, the G-d of the Jews, rules alone and rules supreme.

Chareisha, Israel - On the Chopping Block

Wanted to prove to you, the "temporary freezing of settlements", as termed by Netanyahu, is really permanent in his mind as he indulges the current rogue American government. The uprooting (of Gush Katif) 5 years ago (of 8,000 Jewish citizens) looks like it might repeat itself with settlements in Yehuda and Shomron, G-d forbid. Here's an 8-minute video of the plight of residents in the beautiful town of Chareisha, a plight wrought by the despicable leftist treacherous organization euphemistically called "Peace Now", may its constituents rot.

Thanks to YidWithLid.