A World War of Evil vs Virtue

Like darkness is to sunlight, like black is to the spectrum of colors, is Iranian ideology to - Chabad's ideology. The juxtaposition of these two ideologies surprises me as I write these words, but the parallel is striking.

Iranian dogma has it (more or less, for I'm no expert in their creed) that once revolution or hostilities upset the tranquility of nations far and wide, their holy imam or whoever, shows up to then change the world into their brand of Moslem religiosity. The Iranian mullahs therefore preach that violence must be sewn and distributed worldwide to hasten that holy person's appearance.

In sharp contrast, but along similar lines, we in Chabad believe that the sooner more Jews can be reached out to, to bring them into the warm fold of Torah observance and Yiddishkeit, the sooner "critical mass" is achieved to bring on Moshiach and the Era of Ultimate Redemption for the Jewish people as well as for the world.

So Iran sows terror where they can, as in Lebanon ("Hizbullah") or Iraq, with proxy movements far and wide, with the aim to do violence and revolution, to spur their religious outcome; While Chabad - in sharp contrast, but in similar vein, seeks to bring goodness and kindness to their brethren across the globe, trying to expose them to the beauty of Torah truth and its observance, to hasten Moshiach's arrival.

In effect, it's a world war, with a religion of death pitted against a religion of life. Theirs is the snake; We have Moshiach. Life will triumph.

See below how the two religions celebrate their holy occasions.
Thank you G-d so much for making me a Jew!!

The Chassid-Misnagid Barrier is Melting

What differentiates a "Misnagid" from a "Chassid"?

Both Jews can be G-d-fearing, careful in observing even the minute requirements of law. Both can sit and learn Torah day and night. And both can open their hearts to do good deeds and charity. If so, at what point do their paths diverge?

The answer relates to what King Solomon said (Koheles 3, 11), "He [G-d] made everything perfect for its times...". That is, whatever G-d reveals, He reveals at its appropriate moment in history.

For example, no raw material we have today went missing in the times of our forefather Abraham. Had he been privy to technological knowhow we have today, he too could have built a motor car. But G-d did not reveal this knowledge then. He preferred, for His own reasons, people then commute by camels and mules.

Similarly with all sorts of knowledge. Each has its own time and place for discovery and application.

The 6 sets of Mishna appeared during the era of the Tana'im. Why? Because their predecessors had no need for them. Two hundred years later, the Bavli and Yerushalmi Gemoras came into existence - something the earlier Tana'im initimately understood and had no need for in print. But once this knowledge surfaced as literature, no man could claim he knew as much as his predecessors without availing himself to Mishna or Gemora. For surely, were one to study this way, he'd be left wanting or lacking something he'd otherwise never know.

Similarly with Chassidus. Until 1732, when it was publicly first revealed, those who learned Torah missed nothing in the course of their studies. But those who came thereafter, no matter what aspect of Torah they would study without this new light, would overlook the important Chassidic contribution.

Chassidus is where the Chassid and Misnagid part their ways. The Misnagid rejects this new revelation. He prefers to remain in the same place as his predecessors; Just as they did without Chassidus, he too, he asserts, can delve into all aspects of Torah without Chassidus. Why should he go on a foray on a path his forefathers never took?

But here is his mistake. He does not realize he is missing what his predecessors did not miss.

There's another issue to be reckoned with. As sure as a body needs a head to function, so too the Jewish people require a Moses to be at the helm in every generation. There is no Jewish people without a head. And every Jewish leader has a unique agenda to fulfil, which may well be quite different from that of his predecessor (See Rashi, Deut. 31, 7). Chassidus intimately understands the concept of a "Moses in every generation", although the Misnagid may not appreciate it. By fixating in the past, he spurns the directives of the leaders of current generations, as well as the Torah light they divulge.

Originally, Misnagdim had good reason to reject Chassidus (although their hostile behavior was unwarranted). They suspected Chassidus diverted Judaism towards false illusions, such as did the sordid Shabtai Tzvi affair. But today they certainly can have no such suspicion. If anything, those who keep Judaism as it should be, like not shaving, like drinking milk and bread from Jewish producers, like donning Rabbeinu Tam tefillin - are Chassidim. So they have no good reason today to bear antagonism to Chassidus.

So, in a sentence, why did Chassidus arise in recent history? To shine a new light into the world - to elevate it, to remove the anti-Messianic trance it was in, so as to permit the Jewish people to usher in Moshiach's soon-to-be-revealed new utopic era. From what I see about me, it seems even non-Chassidim sound more and more like Chassidim because Moshiach's imminent arrival seems to be anticipated also by them. We have to greet Moshiach as one, close family.

What To Do About Terror In Israel?

What To Do About the Terror In Israel? A New Approach

Parents and three children of the Fogel family were murdered Friday Night in their home in the town of Itamar. What is the cause of this bloodshed? What's in the mind of man who slits the throat of a 3-month old baby?

Here's a talk by Rabbi YY Jacobson to a mixed group, comprised of Gentiles and Jews. (Link) You will enjoy it from start to finish. See how Yishmael today, as the Yishmael of 3,700 years ago, in the days of Abraham and Sarah, has to be understood, and why. See why Israel and Jews are "stuttering", instead of embracing their heritage and faith, to clean the air of evil, for good. See why the canary in the mine relates to every people in the world.

March is Half Gone

March is half over and we had, an attack in Jerusalem, missile attacks from Gaza, a family slaughtered, a ship with 50 tons of weapons destined for Gaza. And how are these barbaric acts against Israel portrayed? Attenuated condemnation, if any, but always a way to denounce Israel.

As for America's leading role, come on! Let the man-child play. He takes his game seriously.

The Fogel Family Massacre - Revisited

Youtube and Facebook removed the Fogel film (below) 2 hours after it was posted! They figured a few Jewish lives in Itamar shouldn't get so many Muslims and others worked up or angry.

We came into this world to fix it. Everyone has with what to make this a better place for all. Everyone - except Amalek. That's the one exception; That's why Torah calls for Amalek's destruction. For no good, whatsoever, can ever come from their seed. The only "fix" for this source of evil is its utter destruction. The single redeeming value they have is to provide people with a model to reject.

We saw an example of this vile element two weeks ago. Only this beastly lowlife can sneak into one child's room, then into another, and stab the children repeatedly in the heart and slice their throats, while the children snuggle up in warm beds, sleeping or reading. The infant was stabbed most of all!

Don't think only these lowlifes who held the knives possess such depravity. The same worthless soul lives among many of their fellow citizens. Sure some exceptions exist, but most of these folk bubble with joy over such dastardly acts. They parade these killers as heroes, post their pictures in public limelight and grant them honorific titles, as "Shahidis".

A special TV program offers up praise for these murderers. They even have a ministerial position allocated to the cause, "Minister for Prisoner Issues", whose job it is to seek avenues of relief or release for these creatures if they are captured and imprisoned. They name streets or plazas in honor of this scum. And for what? For butchering men, women and children.

For public consumption they'll condemn the action, but you'll never hear from them a clear, emotional censure; You'll never hear them describe the act in terrible terms. At their best, you hear a begrudging response like, "It doesn't serve our interests" in "our struggle" with the Jewish state. Simultaneously they are busy inculcating their children to become murderers. There can be no peace with these people!

These murderers should be hanged. And another thing: To help stem this sort of horror, we have to ensure such acts serve the opposite effect. Instead of questioning the legitimacy of these settlements, build up a brand new one in honor of the fallen. Not by issuing a few hundreds permits to build - but by establishing a brand new settlement. And it is about time Israel annex and claim sovereignty over all "occupied" land, otherwise we continue to placate the enemy, local or abroad, giving them the notion this land is still negotiable, while frustrating Jews who want to settle it securely.

UPDATE One Year Later: LINK

Current World Events in Bright Perspective - Psalm 93's Prophecies

Psalm 93, authored by Moses (B. Basra 14b; Rashi), contains a prophecy relevant to our days. That is to say, 3,300 years ago, the world's greatest prophet foretold how the pre-Messianic era, our present period (as per The Lubavitcher Rebbe), will unfold. The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, in August 1944 (הקריאה והקדושה), deciphered this Psalm's explanation - and added his own prophetic details of the events to take place. The brevity of these 5 verses is inversely proportional to its profundity.

In outline: The 1st third of the article nails down our current era as the period in question. The middle third predicts the sort of events we will witness, with specificity added by the Rebbe. The final third of the Psalm takes us further in time - into the Era of Redemption.

(Apropos, the 6 days of creation parallel the 6,000 years of prelude to the 7th, Sabbatical millennium. Our daily prayers include a single Psalm they used to sing every weekday in the Temple. Psalm 93 they reserved for Friday, singing it the day before Shabbat. Today, in year 5771, we are in "Friday's millennium", past "12:30 pm", on the eve of "Shabbat".)

Here follows a free-flowing translation of the Rebbe's article in Yiddish. (The highlighting is mine.)

ד' מלך גאות לבש

"Hashem is acknowledged as King when He vests Himself in supernatural grandeur."

Most people think the world runs on its own powers of Nature. Only when supernatural catastrophic events threaten the world with upheaval do they come to realize the greater force of Hashem in control. That's when people recognize the might of Hashem and call him "King". The Psalmist speaks of an era when mankind will acknowledge Hashem vested in supernatural grandeur, at which time He will be deemed "The King".

That this period will occur in the Messianic Era prior to the Era of Redemption, we learn from the next clause.

לבש ד' עוז התאזר

"Hashem will vest Himself in might that He had previously girded Himself with."

"Might" refers to Torah. Hashem had already girded Himself with the might of Torah when He first gave it to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. At that time, thunder and lightning struck so fiercely and frightfully that all mankind believed the world is doomed for destruction.

Among the Gentiles, at the time, only one prophet, Bilaam, knew better. He told his people, "G-d is giving might (which is Torah) to His people (Psalm 29, 11)".

The whole world at the time saw and heard the awesome and the supernatural. This was when Hashem first vested Himself with the might that is Torah. And, says the Psalmist, Hashem will once again vest Himself with this might. This is not a new might, but rather the original might of Torah; And this occasion will not be for a new purpose, but rather for the original purpose - to reinforce Torah, to cast it upon the world, again by demonstrating His dominion over Nature, to be acknowledged as "King". By again coming vested in the same force and for the same purpose ("G-d is giving might to His people."), although this time the whole world will accept Torah, this definitely nails down the period to the eve of Moshiach's arrival before the Era of Redemption.

אף תכון תבל בל תמוט

"The world will actually remain steadfast; It will not falter."

This forthcoming might to be unleashed will arrive - not for the sake of a flood or other catastrophe, as many will believe. The world will remain steadfast, without ruin, only now the Jewish nation and Torah will once again be uplifted. There will be a second "G-d is giving might to His people".

נכון כסאך מאז, מעולם אתה

"Your throne is prepared from long ago, from the universe that is You!"

Since creation, that You alone build, You have already prepared the royal seat. In fact, the entire purpose of creation was to anchor Torah in the Jewish people. As Rashi (Genesis 1,1) stated, "The whole purpose of creation was for the sake of the Jewish people." Already at the world's outset Hashem established that He will arrive vested in might to strengthen Torah. His second appearance vested in supernatural power will come, not to destroy the world, but to strengthen Torah, and so, "It will happen that Hashem will be deemed King of the entire world (Zechariah. 14, 9)." And when will that be? Once the world accepts the Jewish nation, through whom the world will acquire Torah.

נשאו נהרות ד', נשאו נהרות קולם, ישאו נהרות דכים

"The rivers will uplift Hashem, the rivers will raise their sound, the rivers will raise their tumult."

Because of the rivers' tumult, their sounds will be heard and Hashem will thus be uplifted. This can mean only one thing: That Hashem's uplifting will occur by the storminess of the rivers prior to the Era of Redemption. How so? Once the tumult hits, the raucous will raise the voices of man and stir them to recognize Hashem's greatness - thus "the rivers will uplift Hashem."

The tumultuous rivers will wreak much havoc in the world, as, for example, the drowning of an entire nation, or more than its half. Victims of this devastation will experience a change of heart, for they will come to realize their predicament as divine punishment. And quite possibly this will affect the entire world's politics through a whole chain of events that will happen as a direct consequence of the submerged country.

Anyhow, prior to the Redemption, a great stormy water event shall happen. This will lead the world to tremble, and then to a turnaround that will uplift Hashem. This is the meaning of "the rivers will uplift Hashem" and that "the rivers will raise their sound".

מקולות מים רבים, אדירים משברי ים; אדיר במרום ד'!י

"From the sounds of many waters, mighty shall be the breakage caused by the ocean, and mighty will be deemed Hashem in heaven."

The end result of these stormy water events will be to break land-based might; to break world mights by sea - followed by unanimous turnaround of man to acknowledge the Almighty above.

עדתיך נאמנו מאד, לביתך נאוה קדש; ד' לארך ימים!י

"Those bearing witness for You will be sincerely believed; For Your Temple, holiness is befitting. May Hashem maintain this for long years."

This holy prophet concludes his prophecy with what mankind's turnaround will accomplish. Gentiles will testify to the detailed accuracy of all of the Bible's prophets, concerning Hashem and Jewish redemption. This means the Era of Redemption will be a fact and Jews will again have back the Land of Israel** and the Temple. And that all Gentiles will be drawn to this land, to learn about the ways of Hashem; Otherwise the phrase "those bearing witness for You" would be untrue. The Gentiles will also say "For Your Temple, holiness is befitting," meaning to say, the Divine Presence will, as it had in the past, once again rest in the Temple. The Gentiles will also proclaim "Hashem is forever." This implies Jews will experience full-fledged peace, and no nation will harbor anti-semitic thoughts.

Although its words are sparing, this Psalm embraces the entire redemption period - the eve of the redemption, as well as the era in the end of days. The main event that will introduce the redemption will be an awesome water tumult that will display Hashem's might, which will transform mankind's mindset. This very water tumult will define the commencing phase of the Era of Redemption. Then the honor of Hashem, or of His Torah, or of the Jewish nation will be uplifted until all of the prophecies in the Holy Bible will be tangible and supreme peace will reign over all the world.

We need only wait for the great water tumult to arrive, which will force all nations to admit "Hashem is King!" and that it is no natural catastrophe but rather a divine intervention.

** Even in 1944 there was no formal country called "Israel" yet.

Massacre at Itamar, Israel- The Fogel Family

G-d, help us! The pain of being Jewish is sometimes heart-wrenching. Such a great people, such a great nation, yet we have to suffer continually from the world's meanest, most brutal elements, like Arab haters, or like American, cold-calculating pseudo-intellectual haters (e.g., owners of the New York Times) (whom Melanie Phillips calls "armchair barbarians"). What happened to the Fogel family this Shabbat we've suffered for over two millennia, and just when the wound almost heals, another tragedy rips the sore wide open again. What does G-d want from us? 6 million Jews - wasn't that enough? Now 123 children since 2000. Still not enough?

You haven't read about this horror story in the mainstream news. It went unreported for two days, and then either short-scripted out of the headlines, or couched in justifiable terminology. As Jews and Israelis, we are but scapegoats for their sinister agendas. This family was butchered by sub-human creatures; By those who use their own children as shields in times of war with Israel, after provoking the latter. They are those who hand out or accept candies when such atrocities succeed. These people are the scum of the earth.

To add salt to the wound, we have Israeli "leaders" who crave to negotiate a "peace" with this worst element of the human race.

Here's an article by Dr. Phyllis Chesler on this tragedy.

UPDATE: Clip of Fogel family at play in better times:

Courtesy: Arutz 7 & Gruntig.net

UPDATE! 33% of "Palestinians" happy for the massacre (Link)

A Soldier's Story of 20 years Ago

Purim Saddam

By Tzvi Jacobs

"Hi, Mom. Got my orders today," David Zuk said. "I'm going to Saudi. I have to leave first thing tomorrow morning.

"Oh, no," his mother said, her "no" echoing in her 20-year old son's head.

"I was assigned to the 101st," David said with a sinking voice, as he slumped against the glass wall of the phone booth. "I almost cried when they told me."

The 101st Airborne Division, nicknamed the "Screaming Eagles," fought on the front lines during all the wars: World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and Viet Nam. Only a fraction of the early ranks had ever returned alive.

David's mother tried to find encouraging words for her only son, but it was hard. She had never been able to get used to her son's unpredictable life choices. When he was 16, he had become involved with Orthodox Jews and made himself separate from the family by eating only kosher. Two years later when he joined the Army, she just about gave up. Now, upon hearing this ominous news, all she could think was, "I told you so."

The Gulf War had broken out a month earlier, on January 17, 1991. David knew he would be on the front lines, facing the open jaws of the ravenous war. "They said we'll be there at least a year," David said, not knowing when he would see her next. "Take care, Mom. I love you," he added faintly,

David closed the door of the phone booth and ambled back to his barrack. Gazing at the snow-covered hills surrounding Fort Knox Army Base in northwestern Kentucky, he was awe-struck by their quiet beauty, as if seeing them for the first time. He wondered if he would ever see them again. He thought of the preposterous story circulating around the army base that someone had predicted the war would end by Purim, the Jewish holiday instituted to thank and praise G-d for saving the Jewish people from a decree of annihilation some 2,300 years ago.

Read the whole story, here.

Miracles in Gaza

Conventional Medicine Rejects the Main Cause of Disease

We spoke earlier of "The Main Cause of Disease", as per our sages.

A major problem with "conventional" medical outlook today is, it looks at symptoms and "attacks" the symptoms as if symptoms were the disease - instead of determining the root of the problem.

If a person has a cancerous tumor, for example, which is a symptom, they seek to treat the tumor, as if the tumor itself were the disease, when in fact the tumor is not the real problem. The real problem is why the body became so toxic that it lost its ability to regenerate normal growth. Normally, the body, when relatively healthy, attacks and destroys wayward growth.

Perhaps a more common situation, more clearly explains the present rut. Suppose a person goes to the doctor suffering from a cold, with a congested nose. The doctor says, "Oh, you have nasal congestion, let me prescribe for you an anti-histamine." But dear reader, the congestion is a symptom, not the problem. The body, in trying to excrete waste products or toxic substances, sometimes tryies to remove these through the mucous membranes. That's why it's congested. So if congestion is the body's way of taking care of itself, why then should we interfere with this symptomatic healing process? It's best to leave it alone. Certainly not to consider it an ailment that needs treatment.

Similarly, if someone has a cough. That's the body's way of trying to eject an offensive irritant. Should we then take cough syrup to cover up this symptom, or should we try and help the body remove the irritant? But today's doctors look at coughs, congestion - or tumors, as if these symptoms are the problem - when in fact they are only reactions to the real problem. Today's conventional medicine has it all backwards. Which is, by the way, why most tumors regrow despite prior conventional therapy (especially if the patient sticks with his original, poor diet).

Imagine you have outside your house a rat problem. What would you do? You can go outside and put down traps or take a pellet gun and shoot them. Will that solve your problem? Of course not! You can keep shooting them, but they'll keep showing up, despite their losses. Why? Because you haven't corrected the root of the problem; You haven't cleaned up the garbage they come to rummage in! But were you to clean up the mess outside the house, you'll not see rats anymore.

This is how "modern, conventional" medicine tackles disease today. They look for symptoms and "shoot at them", instead of seeking the root of the problem. If a patient has high blood pressure, they give drugs to lower the pressure. If the patient develops high blood sugar, they prescribe insulin. If the patient develops arthritis, they offer pain killers. Then if patients show blockage of their cardiac arteries, they quickly jump to perform surgical bypass.

People fall for this approach without realizing that - that which created the hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and atherosclerosis - still remains in the body, and still causes problems. The patient, internally, with the additional toxicity of the medicines, is only getting worse, not better. (Assuming the patient remains on the bad diet that brought him to his sorry state in the first place.)

Never once, during all these doctor visits of our hypothetical patient, did the doctor seek to determine what brought on the disease. Never once did the doctor ask his patient what he eats. Never did the doctor, in fact, make the connection of the disease with what the person eats because, according to his mindset, nutrition has nothing to do with disease.

I can show you many letters from doctors who wrote me in response to a question of mine regarding nutritional therapy, saying nutrition has nothing to do with sickness. Well if not, what then causes most disease? Most of these doctors really don't know. They "know" nutrition has nothing to do with disease, that they "know". But what, in fact, causes disease - this they admit they don't know. Frankly it's to be expected because in all their years at medical school, doctors never once took (or can take - because it's not offered) a basic course in nutrition. They are too proud, so they scoff at news of alternative therapies that actually work. That's why you have the following absurd situation: When a patient develops cancer, for example, they prescribe chemotherapy, and then, during the treatment period, they tell their patients they can continue eating what they've been eating until now.

Recently I saw a cancer patient in his house, a few weeks before he passed away, drinking black coffee while conversing with a friend. At the time he could barely walk a straight line, was pale, weak and sickly. Another member of the community, with "multiple sclerosis", claims to be treated by the "best doctors" in the "very best hospital" (maybe he meant ornate), taking an injection (of a "special medicine") every day for the past 3 or 4 years. What's the outcome of this "great treatment"? The results are open for all to see: This poor guinea pig went from walking with a tingle in his leg, to an unsteady gait, to walking with crutches, then with a wheeled walker, and now you barely see him because he probably can hardly get up. Had he taken no medicine at all, he'd have been better off for sure.

The problem is - people still cannot make the logical connection between disease and food intake; They do not yet realize their chronic degenerative disease directly relates to what they put into their body. It's so simple, yet so elusive. Why? Because our medical establishment steered this culture and conspired against it in the last 100 years to break that natural, logical connection.

Is it any wonder doctors' offices and pharmacies are constantly flooded with clientele? Is it any wonder cancer and other degenerative diseases are on the rise? Is it any wonder no cures yet exist for these, only "treatments" that last a lifetime? Is it any wonder more jobs are filled doing cancer "research" than there are cancer patients? Is it any wonder those who discover or provide curative therapies are legislatively hounded and forced out of practice, or out of the country? Is it any wonder government colludes with these big money-makers who lavish heavy bribes? Is it any wonder "charities" keep raking in billions for cancer, yet kindheartedness to people goes unheeded? Is it any wonder anything other than poisoning (=chemotherapy), burning (=radiation) and mutilation (=surgery) is illegal therapy against cancer in the USA today?