Daniel's Prophecy on the Era of Redemption

There won't be any 'gray' areas ...

The Jewish people survived several exiles since the destruction of the Second Temple 1,945 years ago. The present exile, quickly coming to a close, will be their last one, to be followed by a utopia.

The closer we get to this "Era of Ultimate Redemption", after which Jews will never again suffer exile, the clearer becomes the distinction between good and evil. The reason for this separation is simple. Evil will be wiped off the face of the earth and people must make their choices which of these two sides to align with, so they can be held accountable.

Before the sin of Adam, good and evil were clearly distinguishable. The sin of eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil obfuscated this distinction, making what was "good" much less discernible. The sin burdened mankind with an intellectual challenge to determine right from wrong. With this obfuscation man could rationalize away his misdeeds.

But now, as we stand at the threshold of the 7th millennium, the nature of the world is coming full circle. In the utopia that preceded Adam’s sin, good and evil were blatantly incongruous. But the ultimate purpose of this descent served a purpose. It was a descent is for the purpose of a subsequent ascent.  The world will be taken to a level of experience even higher than that which prevailed in the Garden of Eden. A most wondrous and ultimate utopia is, therefore, about to dawn.

Evil cannot inherit the future. It will be swept away forever, as a pre-requisite for a more sacred, lofty experience. We will experience a so-called visualization of divinity; Even the flesh will "see", and we'll comprehend G-d's omnipresence.

To pave the way for this imminent era, arbitrary, politically-correct boundaries are falling asunder. Distinction between what is right and what is wrong is becoming all-too evident. Man, with his power of reasoning, will not be permitted to straddle the fence. With the choices people make from now on, they sign their fates.

For example, we see now how the United Nations constituents begin to line up for or against Israel. But in the final analysis, individuals, not countries, will be responsible for their own destiny. (Unless the country is almost bereft of righteous people to save it, as was Sodom.)

In the Book of Daniel (written about 2,400 years ago), reference is made to the interval preceding the Era of Redemption using the metaphor of a “refinery” - a time of demarcation and separation. For evil to be vanquished, it must be separated out and identified. Once Moshiach ushers in The Era of Redemption, the evil camp will be fought and eradicated.

The last chapter in Daniel (verse 10) describes this precursor stage of the “end of days”: “Much will become clarified, purified and refined; [But] the wicked will continue in their evil ways, and none of the wicked will understand, but the wise ones will understand.”

Daniel says the distinctiveness of "good" versus "bad" is strictly for the sake of the wise, for whom the process is unfolding. The world-to-come will accommodate Jews and Gentiles - but only righteous Gentiles.

Will good people who passed away prior to the utopia lose out; Will those who behaved righteously merit this glorious eternity? The final verse in the final chapter provides the answer, “And you continue on your [righteous] path [towards the] end-of-days, and were you to rest, you will get up to your fate in the end of days.”

G-d grants every human being an intellect and ability to decide for himself his own fate regarding his portion in the world to come.

Jacob's Humility

As heard from Eiezer Zalmanov

To qualify as a platform from which God would present the Jews the Torah, Mount Sinai was chosen because it stood high, but not too high. The symbolism is clear: A Jew must know his worth and be proud, but must carefully refrain from being haughty. Humility is practically ingrained in the Jewish soul, for we have had it since our forefathers and since Moses, who was the most humble of all.

A hint to this trait we find in the verse, where Yaakov worries he is in overdraft on his account of goodnesses God has dispatched his way (Gen.32:11).

קטנתי מכל החסדים

I have become smaller from all the goodnesses ...

The gemora (Sotah 5a) reminds us a Torah scholar must have only an eighth of an eight of haughtiness (= 1/64)! Otherwise he is arrogant!

By divine providence, the above verse falls out to be the 8th in the 8th parsha. Yaakov's "smallness" of 1 in 8 by 8 is quite fitting therefore. Were he to become even one notch haughtier, that would yield 1/63, which would already be too much, as suggested by the gematria of haughtiness ( גס = 63). 

A pertinent anecdote:
As a single man, after having attended Chabad yeshiva after becoming observant, a Skolener Chassid hosted me at their house for a weekend in Borough Park, Brooklyn.

That Shabbos the host said to me, "I'll take you to a lecture given by one of the brightest rabbis in the community." I was delighted. He escorted me to a shul, then continued on his way. I walked in and the place was packed. I stood in the back.

After listening some 15 minutes I found myself fidgety. The rabbi speaker kept saying things like, "When I discovered this ...", "Yesterday when I told you ...", and "I think that ...".

I was glad to be standing at the back of the shul because I quickly made my way out the door.

When my host discovered my premature exit, he asked "Why?". I told him "I could not tolerate all his 'I this' and 'I that'". He laughed and said, "Now you've learned a key feature of Chassidus!"

The Trial at Sea - and of Matrimony

Seeing the Egyptian army quickly gaining on them, the Jews, who hastily made their famous exodus from slavery 7 days earlier, were frightened. They faced the sea and felt trapped as the Egyptian chariots were closing fast. In those apprehensive moments, Torah tells us the Jews divided into 4 opinions as how to react. One group wanted to fight; The other to pray; Another to surrender; and the other, to commit suicide.

You'd think one of them would get it right, but not one did. Said Hashem to Moshe, "Tell them to go forward!" Which is exactly what Moshe did; He said, "Keep going!" (Ex.14:15)

By the way, here you have a clear indication the Moses of every generation knows that which Jews, otherwise, would never know were it not for their leader with whom God communicates.

The Jews were afraid; People started saying, "Oh no, I'm not going first." Just then, the leader of the tribe of Yehuda took the initiative and said, "I'll go first!". Only after the waters reached his nostrils did God split the sea and provide the Jews with a dry path to advance into. (Mechilta Beshalach 5; Sotah 27a)

You can imagine the tribulation Jews suffered with a mighty army closing in behind them and a dreadful sea they were ordered to enter in front of them.

To what do our sages compare these moments of tribulation?

- To finding a marriage mate!

Finding the right person requires much of what the leader of the tribe of Yehuda, Nachshon ben Aminadav, had and did. You have to be committed to following Hashem's directives, to the extent that not everything needs to be discovered from the start. Things will work out for the best if the attitude to obey God's command to marry (for it is indeed a mitzvah) is paramount. If you would just take the plunge - without too many calculations, you'd discover that that which appears as an awesome sea before you, will split, and a smooth road will lay ahead. Do your part, and trust in God, and God then chimes in to help you on the road you want to follow.

Shlomo Katz and Harry Angus - DYNAMITE!

Here you get a front-row seat to a masterful, most wonderful bunch of musicians.
מעין עולם הבא (A taste of the world-to-come!)

"... Miracles in Those Days - in Our Time"

He who chooses a military operation's name in the IDF, such as "Operation Cast Lead", I have no idea, but surely no one asks a rabbi. Be that as it may, the last operation's name, "Pillar of Cloud", should raise your antennae if you are among those attuned to events that disguise the unfolding Era of Redemption, appearing as if they were simply part of "Nature".

Chassidus, generally speaking, recognizes two categories of miracle; One that breaks Nature's rules, such as the splitting of the Reed Sea, which is the least miraculous; And one, like that of Purim, that weaves through the fabric of Natural life, which perhaps with hindsight one might recognize as miraculous, which is of a higher sort. (Nature itself, Chassidus recognizes, is miraculous, in fact the greatest of miracles, for this involves continuous creation, continuous input of divine derivation to achieve something from nothing, but besides this highest level of miracle, there are those lesser two mentioned above.)

Operation "Pillar of Cloud" obviously recalls the events of the great Jewish exodus from Egypt, 3,325 years ago. That miraculous exodus will never go forgotten. As the opening event of the Jewish nation's history, it must forever be remembered even into the Era of Redemption.

After the Jews had already left Egypt, Pharoah regretted his decision to free the Jews. His hate for them compelled him to draft his army and give chase to capture his former slaves. On the 7th day he caught up with them at the sea shore. Pharoah now felt elated and confident, with 600 of his armed chariots and best soldiers right behind him.

Suddenly something strange happened. A thick cloud lowered itself right in the path of the fast-approaching army. Despite poor visibilty, Pharoah gave the order for a massive volley of arrows and missiles. Miraculously, however, that "Pillar of Cloud" blocked the projectiles.

Now thousands of years later we see the same miraculous phenomenon - in the "Natural" guise of Israel's "Iron Dome". Amazingly, in its inaugural performance, it scored better that an 80% hit-rate. The truth is, even before this contraption's use, we saw how years and years Hashem's protective hand saved Jews from bombs raining down upon them. Surely everybody has heard individual stories of miracles.

Do you recall the Persian Gulf war? No less that 39 Scud missiles landed in Israel and not one Jew died as a result of these bombs - each one the size of a bus. (See below what just ONE missile did that landed in Saudi Arabia!)



One such story happened to my mother-in-law (ע''ה) whose house was one block away from one of those Scud missiles that landed in Tel-Aviv. It smashed right into earth where beneath was a school's underground shelter. It just so happened the children on that day were taken to Eilat for a day's excursion. The missile, which never exploded, nevertheless shook the ground and all windows of her apartment shattered.

The next time Israel invades Gaza, for anyone with eyes in his head knows this has to happen, may Hashem guard every Jewish soul from harm and, if the Era of Redemption hasn't yet become blatantly manifest, may Israel wipe out its enemies entirely - this time by taking the offensive with a "Pillar of Fire" to lead them.

ברוך אתה ה' ... שעשה נסים ... בימים ההם בזמן הזה

Who Developed the "Iron Dome" ?

The ABC's of the Iron Dome
By Llan Gattegno

Over the eight days of Operation Pillar of Defense, the Iron Dome system intercepted more than 420 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. The system is the result of tireless work over many years, and the results speak for themselves.

The core team that led the Iron Dome development was comprised entirely of graduates of the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa. In an interview published on the Technion website, some of Iron Dome's developers spoke about their work.

"Credit for the system’s success is shared by the hundreds of engineers, technicians, and managers who took part in its development; but the people sitting here with me are definitely the key players,” said a team member identified only as H., a 1975 Technion graduate. “The development of Iron Dome transformed our lives, dictating a hectic work week and some weekends," H. said. "I never got home before 11 p.m., and of course I didn’t take a single day off for three whole years. But I ...

Read the rest here.

The Advantage of a Minyan

As told by
Eliezer Zalmanov
re: following verse (Gen. 28:16)

וייקץ יעקוב משנתו ויאמר אכן יש ה' במקום הזה
 ואנוכי לא ידעתי

-----------------

After Yakov had laid down to sleep at Har Hamoriah, the verse reads:
"וייקץ יעקוב משנתו ויאמר"
- the last letters of which spell
"צבור"

So we can understand the verse to mean this:
"That if a person prays in a minyan (צבור), then he can be certain that - as the verse continues:
"יש ה׳ במקום הזה"
and his prayers are accepted.

However, should he pray by himself - as the verse continues:
"ואנכי"

then the acceptance of his prayers are now more in doubt - as the verse continues:
"לא ידעתי"

For the Sake of the Jewish People

As told by 
Eliezer Zalmanov, 
who heard it from 
Reb Chaim Klein

The Righteousness of Leah

The Torah tells us how Lavan fooled Yaakov and brought Leah to the canopy instead of Rochel. At that point, we read this verse:
ויהי בבקר והנא היא לאה
"And it was morning, and, behold, she is Leah."

However, the spelling for the word “היא” in the Torah scroll is actually the spelling for the masculine pronoun “הוא”  (meaning "he", not "she"). If we are talking about a female, Leah, why is the word written in the masculine form?

I heard a wonderful answer. When Yaakov awoke in the morning and saw Leah in his tent instead of Rochel, he raised his voice and said, “Liar, daughter of a liar, how can you do something like this?! You knew I specifically wanted to marry Rochel!”

Leah answered Yaakov, “Are you a like a tallis that is full of techeiles? (i.e., Are you perfect yourself?) You also told an untruth. When you came to get the blessings from Yitzchok, your father, he asked you, ‘Who are you?’ and you answered you were Eisav!”

Leah continued, “However, you did this because you wanted to merit the blessings of your father on behalf of the Jewish People and that was the only way to do it. You were ready for self-sacrifice on their behalf.

“So too myself. I wanted to connect myself to the Tzaddik who will and merit to build the Jewish Nation [that therefore will carry his namesake]. I had no other choice but to go on this path to achieve this merit.”

Then Yaakov realized he was just like Leah –
“והנא הוא לאה”
"and, behold, he is [as] Leah."
They both had self-sacrifice for the Jewish People.

Amalek Be Perished

The following is a translation of a short, Hebrew article by Rabbi Avraham Kahane (link):



Amalek On Your Way To Eretz Yisrael

Our sages learned from the verse in Psalm 111:8
"סמוכים לעד לעולם"
"Forever they are in proximity"
to relegate significance of proximity in Torah verses or chapters, especially in Deuteronomy (Brachot 21b), as when they asked: "Why is the chapter on 'The beautiful prisoner' juxtaposed to the chapter of the 'renegade son'"? (Sanhedrin 107a)

In light of this, we can ask: The end of Parsha "Ki Teitzei" finishes with the commandment to recall the attack on Jews by Amalek, "Remember that which Amalek wrought upon you on your way [to Mount Sinai] after you left Egypt"; The next Parsha starts with "When you come into the land"; Why this proximity?

One Depends On The Other

We can answer that this proxomity teaches us an aspect related to the conquering and settling of the Holy Land, which includes destruction of the Amalekite seed, to afford viability to the kingdom and the temple. Thus it says, "Eradicate Amalek", then it says, "And when you enter the land", ... "And you shall come to the priest who will serve in those days". That is to say, eradication of Amalek serves as a prerequisite in settling the land as preparation for the kingdom and the temple.

We can further say, the Torah is describing for us a state of affairs: On our journey to sanctification, we shall encounter various impediments, as Amalek symbolizes for us the obstacle in our path to acquire holiness, which is why we were commanded to destruct them. As we saw in jewish history, when Jews journeyed to Eretz Yisrael or to the Tmple, Amalek suddenly appeared in an attempt to forestall our holy acquisition.

To Defeat Amalek

After the Jewish exodus from Egypt, while Jews sang to God, they expressed the ultimate purpose for having left Egypt: "Take us into and plant us in the land of our inheritance ... the Temple of God that You wrought ..." and then it says, "And Amalek arrived and fought with the Jewish nation at Refidim."

And so it was during the Second Temple, when the Babylonian exiles wanted to return to Israel rebuild the temple, a hateful decree emerged from the family of Haman, which demanded cancellation of the building the temple (Seder Olam Rabbah 29).

Similarly in our present era, in our return to our land and in preparation for the imminent sanctification, we find obstacles that rise from Amalek's seed. May God find merit with us so we can remove all barriers so we can whole-heartedly worship Him.

Israel's Political Carousel

The escalation of Hamas terror from the South, more than it actually creates a greater worry, spotlights the pathetic failure of the Israeli adminstration, especially those in the upper echelon, as we witness their meek policy that never terminated the terror threat to Israel's citizens since well before 2005, when they ceded territory and uprooted Jewish families - just to appease the enemy who had been firing rockets into Israel.

This escalation is no mere coincidence. It reflects a terror stratagem that ratchets itself up in carefully measured strides, with a fixed plan and scenario. The first step is always a provocative, violent incident, like what happened recently along the Gaza border when Palestinians struck an IDF jeep with a missile.

Israel then retaliates feebly, which then serves the enemy as the excuse for it to take step three - the "serious" firing of missiles and mortar shells. This time they fired some 200 rockets. Only with Hashem's providence do we avoid much bloodshed.

Then they heat things up a little more, so about a million of Jews must scramble under the "red alert" terror umbrella, forcing that population to seek haven in large sewer pipes. Meanwhile the enemy can learn about Israeli retaliatory tactics - and then, after an interval, wait for signals of submission or concessions from Israel, like, for example, Israel asking for a "cease-fire".

The enemy knows the Israeli government desperately seeks to mitigate foreign anger directed at them, especially from Europe or America, or maybe even from the international court at the Hague. The enemy knows this and also knows how vain Israeli politicians are in thinking such political considerations further chances of survival of their own political careers.

Sure enough, Israel turns to Egypt to seek her help for a cease-fire. Were Israel to achieve this step, they deem it a "victory" and now can buy more time before the next round of this merry-go-round.

Then the terrorists can once again start filling up their arsenal with more and better weaponry, as Israel's politicians lick their wounds and think they accomplished something.

The last time they went into Gaza to sweep away the dirt, they left the mess. The Rebbe cried out many times against this pathetic, idiotic state of affairs and often called out for Israel to abide by the law in Shulchan Aruch (329) to go out and destroy the enemy, even on Shabbat. He had always been aggressive in his stance against the enemy, as when he urged Israel to conquer Damascus in 1973, or destroy Egypt's 3rd army in the 6-day war, or to destroy the PLO in the war in Lebanon; And surely the same applies to the riffraff that constitutes Hamas and the PLO.

UPDATE (Nov. 21):
Timidity magnified! Now, of course, the world will love us, right? Now, of course, we'll have full-fledged peace, right? More like LUNACY! This "Liberal" mindset is a mental disorder! We are our worst enemy!

The "Light Festival" Team

The Chabad "Light Festival" team erected its own tent among those of 1,500 participants who attended the "Spritual Festival" that took place two weekends ago in Metzoke Dragot, Israel, which overlooks the Dead Sea.

On Friday they arrived, set up their two tents, handed out literature, donned tefillin on men and distributed Shabbat candles to women - all before evening. They worked throughout the weekend, continually accommodating participants with Chassidut lectures, Shabbat meals, small get-togethers, prayers and Torah readings.

"What's surprising is," says Rabbi Michael Kedlborg, "that many of the Israelis actually observe Shabbat and mitzvot." This energetic young man organizes the Light Festival participation in all of Israel's so-called Festivals. I get his emails. He also wrote, "the thirst among Israelis is great for a return to authentic Jewish tradition."

Taking it to Our Enemy

We all "fly" to Tanach sources to find how events today have been prophesied in our holy books of prophecy. Have you seen the Rashi of this verse in Isaiah (11:14)?

ועפו בקתף פלשתים ימה, יחדו יבזו את בני קדם

They will fly together, against Plishtim on the West, together they will then loot those of the East

Says Rashi, "The Jews will fly and run together [aerial and ground forces?] against the Plishtim ["Palestinians"?] who are in the West of Israel [where Gaza is] and they will conquer their land [reclaim our land] ... as Targum Yonatan renders, 'They will join together to wipe out the Plishtim of the West.'"

Radak and Metsudas Dovid, on "They will fly" - Move swiftly.

Perhaps it speaks to our times for we have recently crossed the threshold into the Era of Redemption, and, as per the Malbim, such is the time Isaiah speaks of.

Isaiah (11:10): "And it will be on that day when the ancestor of Yishai will stand ...."
Says the Malbim: "At the start of Moshiach's revelation, countries will seek to close ranks against Israel in the war of Gog and Magog...."

But here I interject to say that the Rebbe said that no holocaust will again be hoisted upon the Jews.

Wishing you all a splendid Kislev!

The Significance of Invisibilty

Jews are likened to the moon. But to which phase of it - the new moon or the full moon? During the new moon, when it "renews" itself, we cannot see the moon, or just a speck of it. During the full moon, it brightens the sky in all its glory.

You might therefore be surprised that when they pray monthly to sanctify the moon, Jews wish
"... that they will be renewed like the moon."
שהם עתידים להתחדש כמותה

This prayer references the periods of rule under King David and King Solomon when the Jewish kingdom reigned supreme in the world. The Era of Redemption soon to render its full impact will outdo the former periods of Jewish heyday, even outdoing the experience of Jewish souls when they were still fused with God before the world's creation was even considered - impossible as that is to conceive.

Why should renewal of the moon suggest a bright era Jews would yearn for? After all, during its renewal, the the moon is concealed from view? Wouldn't the full moon serve as a better metaphor?

Imagine this: You discover a beloved of yours, whom you haven't seen for very many years, is coming to visit you. In your ecstasy, you can hardly wait to meet that person. Meanwhile you cannot make contact with that person for a protracted time because of the individual's long flight and traveling to and from airports.

Now I ask you: Will you not be utterly excited during this entire waiting period? Your connection with that cherished individual - now - is immense. Not because later with that beloved you will feel great, but because now, even as you cannot be with the person but only feel his or her presence, your essential bond with that person reverberates and almost overwhelms you.

Similarly with Jews and the moon. During the new moon, the essence of that feature, in that it symbolizes the Era of Redemption for world Jewry, is best felt, because during those protracted hours, you know, by virtue of its invisibility, that soon it will be seen.

The bright shine of a full moon will grace the sky, but knowing the new moon has now been born is the essence, the root, of this progressive phenomenon. All that will occur later is as if it's included in its birth.

The Era of Redemption has arrived for world Jewry - said the Rebbe of Lubavitch. That we cannot yet visualize it in its full glory will not discourage us. On the contrary, trust the Rebbe, anticipate it and recognize it in its bloom, and ponder all that now transpires - transpires for the sake of the Jewish nation's ultimate redemption, and much more.

Later, once the world has been elevated to its more sublime existential nature, (to one higher yet than experienced by Adam and Eve), then will the true supernatural aspects of this universe become palpable. But meanwhile, for a protracted, relatively brief phase, as the Era of Redemption unfolds before our very eyes, the world still appears to follow all the "natural" laws.

The King Without His Nation

We spoke of a momentous mission the Rebbe assigned to all his emissaries, charging them to adopt an entirely new perspective. And were any emissary amiss of this objective, he would forfeit his commission. These were Chabad's new marching orders - in order to bring Moshiach! That happened Nov. 2, 1991.
(See "Chabad's New Marching Orders")

The Rebbe alluded to this mission one week earlier (Oct. 26, 1991).

ש''פ וירא  ח''י מר-חשון

"... Moreover, now we get to the main point:

"Besides what we spoke of that every Jew carries a spark of Moshiach, know that Moshiach's actual presence is currently a factual reality!

"As you know, every generation has its potential Moshiach, one who befits being the redeemer of Jewry, and were the time right then God would appear to him, and dispatch him, etc., and had it not been for impeding issues that prevent or delay etc., he would have revealed himself and actually arrived!

"But since the announcement of the Previous Rebbe, the Moshiach in our generation ... all that which could prevent and delay has been eliminated, and therefore ... you also have the revelation of Moshiach, and all that's left for you to do is actually accept him!"

The Rebbe tells us plainly that Hashem has, in fact, appeared to him and crowned him for the job. What's more, says he, Moshiach is right in front of our eyes!

By the way, for those who claim the Rebbe discouraged people to refer to him as Moshaich in the past, which he did, that was not the case in the "latter" years. The contrary was true! Presumably because since then, as the Rebbe here indicated, Hashem had promoted the Rebbe to the rank of Moshiach. (By the way too, those who feel the Rebbe always discouraged being referred to as Moshiach either know little of the many times he encouraged it, and, more importantly, will not be able to explain or understand the multitude of times the Rebbe strongly suggested he was Moshiach.)

Exactly one week later, after the above spoken words, (see above link for an elaboration on the subject), the Rebbe went to the heart of this matter and told us what must be done for Moshiach to officially reveal himself: "... the only mission that remains is to actually accept the countenance of Moshiach - which will effectually enable Moshiach to proceed and redeem all Jews from exile!"

Now we know the task at hand. Armed with this information, even those outside of Chabad can now easily identify and sense the resistance to this mission - to the Rebbe's new marching orders! 

For there remain members of Chabad who will espouse mysticism if pinned down to explain these words, or the Rebbe's words spoken the following week at the grand convention. But this mystic aura they cast upon these simple words is nothing but an attempt to forestall committing themselves to recognize their commander-in-chief as King Moshiach. My impression of these Chabad "stragglers" is they fear the backlash of reaction from other Jews and cannot stand up to the criticism unabashedly. I wish them strength, the strength the Rebbe himself can infuse them with if only they took it to drive them.

There need be no more speculation as to what prevents Moshiach from officially taking office. The matter is crystal-clear. Jews must accept the Rebbe for who he is - King Moshiach, and, as he said, only that acceptance, to the exclusion of anything else, will effectually enable Moshiach to proceed and redeem all Jews from exile!

Why so? Because Jews must nominate their king to enable the king to do his job. He cannot force himself upon them. As the Rebbe often said, "there can be no king without a people" who want him. In other words, it is incumbent upon Jewry to appoint the king for the king to be able to do his job.

Both following links discuss this "stragglers" symptom from different viewpoints:

The Rebbe's Vanguard - The Juggernaut of Chabad

Chabad Stragglers - Not Giving it All They Ought

Our Caring Government's Free Giveaway

Why does government fluoridate drinking water? Because fluoride is good for you, they say. Oh yeah, then why not dump vitamins, which are also good for you, into drinking water? No, that you have to buy if you want them. Well then, why not have people buy fluoride if they want it? Why force it on them?

Because fluoride is a poison, that's why. Wherever they deliver fluoride, to laboratories, for example, it comes in protective containers with glaring warning labels that scream, "Poison!".

Even if fluoride were given away for free, nobody would want to get near it. Fluoride is not a manufacturer's product but rather a highly toxic waste product that the manufacturer must get rid of lest it contaminate the soil or air. This is the real reason government puts fluoride into the country's drinking water. They can thereby get rid of this poison and because it is thereby diluted quite a lot, the people won't be acutely affected.

Which is why, already from back when they discovered the need to get rid of this poison, while doing research for the atomic bomb, then a necessary weapon under development, government fronted for the manufacturer and "sold it" to the public as a "good deed", as a "good free therapy", because they said, "it's great for fighting cavities" (yeah, right!), and, of course, got the ADA, yet another branch of this conspiracy, to confirm the "fights cavities" lie.

At the same time, if people get too wise, fluoride helps to dumb people down a bit, or gets sicknesses to sneak up on them and thus people become preoccupied with their own health concerns.

The medical drug-pushing mafia would definitely support this cause too, because for them too this stuff is good for business, keeping doctors pushing pills and hospitals full with occupied beds.

Sowing Discord between Syria and Syria

The Syrian civil war continues unabated, each side now reinforced with more money and weapons from involved supporters, and with fresh enlistments from these foreign countries supplementing their ranks. America, in some measure, has helped the anti-Assad melange, as does Turkey, Russia, AlQueida and Saudi Arabia, from the big players, while Iran props up Bashar Assad's side. Just yesterday Hizbullah sent into Syria 5,000 soldiers.

This war of "Syrian Loyalists" against "Syrian Rebels" is analagous to the war once played out long ago, for the sake of Jews, when "Egypt" fought "Egypt", as it says in Isaiah (19:2):

וסכסכתי מצרים במצרים ונלחמו איש באחיו
ואיש ברעהו עיר בעיר ממלכה בממלכה

And I will sow discord between Egyptians and Egyptians, they will clash - man against his brother, man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

This is exactly what's happening now in Syria. I said before, in "Syria - A Miracle Unfolds", that a miracle is unfolding before our very eyes. What may well happen is that Israel will be spared, please God, from the necessity of fighting and bloodshed because her enemies are killing each other and downsizing their might. Iran, with its Hizbullah proxy, has already heavily entered into the fray. (Israel can now take relief from the threat to her northern border.) Soon we can expect Turkey to scale up the war as a counter measure to Iran's last move. Who knows how far this will spread?

I don't mean here to prohesize, only to shed light on what is happening from "an End of Days" Jewish perspective, which takes into account the war Moshiach is waging (behind the scenes) against Jewish enemies, by strategically setting enemy against enemy, evil against evil, thereby beginning the sweep up of evil from the world, as he refines the world by preserving the good while eliminating the bad.

Things may look like the rules of Nature are hard at play, but it depends who is doing the looking and the glasses worn by the observer. This observer sees Redemption in the cards.

Rather than fret, therefore, and become overly concerned with mundane politics and "logistical" calculations, it would be far waiser if we continue learning about Moshiach and Redemption, which, as stated here, in "Resuscitating a Dying Counter-Culture", is in and of itself the very best means to gain victory over our enemies, and leave our army experts do their job while we do ours.

Resuscitating a Dying Counter-Culture

To elevate the world to a Messianic sublimity requires an intimate recognition of God. During Jewish exile, this wasn't within human reach. Very few in any generation managed to be 100% righteous to achieve this magnificent level of consciousness. That 1st phase of Jewish exile lasted nearly 2,000 years. Recently things changed; A final, pre-Messianic phase went into effect.

Every Jew can now attain the level of complete righteousness. Why? Because contemporary man's spiritual mechanics has changed. Man now has built-in what it takes to do God's bidding to the utmost degree.

Man stems from the lowest of elements, as it says (Gen. 2:7), God created man from "dust of the earth". Man also retains that which is the highest of all, for God then "puffed into his nostrils a soul of life"- and a puff comes from the blower's deep interior.

Although Man always possessed a Godly element, only recently that divine inclination got permission to take full control, whereas in times before the evil inclination easily could restrain divine yearnings.

In the former phase, a person could walk through life feeling fully independent; After all, God created man "in His image", which means man could impersonate the Creator, the sole really independent thing. But now, in the current period, the Jew can much more easily sense his integral divine component. He can feel his bond with God. Observance of God's commands can now become "second-nature" to him.

In the earlier phase, man felt he was here on Earth and God was up in Heaven. Now, so close to the sublime Era of Redemption, we can recognize all that is here - and everywhere  else, is - nothing but God! Instead of praying TO God, we we can now CONNECT WITH God. We no longer need serve God as slaves. We can serve God as we'd serve our loved ones - NOT to gain a prize. In fact, taking a prize for our service would wedge a disconnect with the one we love.

After all, the true beginnings of the Jew predates the world's creation! That is, Jews, so to speak, entered God's mind even before creation entered His mind! Jews, so to speak, are  part of God - and this level of revelation we can and will attain. (That the thought of Jews preceded the thought of creation is Rashi's Chassidic intimation as he explains the first word of Torah, ב‫-‬ראשית; "For two things called ראשית the world was created - for Jews and for Torah"; And Jews preceded Torah in thought!)

This is God's intent when He says, "Make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in them" (Ex. 25:8). Note, it does not say, "in it". God dwells in every Jew and this revelation can now, in the present period, become evident. Every Jew can now serve as a full-fledged sanctuary for God to dwell in. This recent new power has been gifted to us at birth. All that is required is that we listen to our inner sacred call. If we open our mind's eye - we'll see our bond with God.

How do we best actualize this potential? Says the Rebbe - BY LEARNING ABOUT MOSHIACH and REDEMPTION! We will then understand the secret of the serpent.

The only requirement for Redemption is every Jew's participation in this private emancipation.

For over 33 centuries, Jews had to interact with the world-at-large to extract "sparks of holiness" that were enmeshed inside the material world. Scattered throughout the world, Jews cultivated the world for redemption. This long preparatory period came to an end, the Rebbe proclaimed, in 1998 (ספר השיחות, ה’תשמ”ח ח"ב, עמ' 573). All "sparks of holiness" were finally extracted!

A short phase of work now remains, however. (Otherwise we'd already be living the utopia.) This last, brief period is a test period. Jews must accept the supernatural notion of Moshiach, recognize who he is, ignore preoccupation with "important" events in Nature, lay aside all "smarts" and "logical calculations" that counter Torah truth, and, simply - accept Moshiach.

Engrossment in politics, or the like, defeats the purpose of this final phase of Torah and Mitzvot. More than irrelevant, they undermine. For example: Becoming engrossed in what the Iranian madman has up his sleeve. Our concern of this freak's threat IS what gives him the power to exist. We could shut him down tomorrow by ignoring him. More than a potential distraction, he's a potential drain! Why? Because he can siphon off more Jewish lifeblood for his own existence. How? By taking up "space" in a Jewish mind! This is what fuels him and his ilk - though they'd never know it. But that is how God works - says the Rebbe. Jewish thought is today's fuel of life!

Jews can surrender their own powers, which then goes to the "other side" - by reading, listening, watching and discussing those matters. If sacred channels go unused, profane channels usurp the forfeited power for themselves. Jewish gas can unwittingly fill the functional gas-tanks of anti-Jewish forces. Were Jews to use their gas for their own tanks, the opposition would wither away and die. The "klipah" reservoirs can thus be drained and nullified.

We've entered a strange time of Jewish history; A test period wherein anti-Jewish function requires OUR gas, OUR empowerment, TO EXIST AND FUNCTION. We have left behind the period called "עבודת הבירורים" and now all that remains to nullify the opposition is to "לקבל פני משיח". We must preoccupy ourselves with Moshiach to accelerate THAT phenomenon.

Once we integrate Moshiach and Redemption, God will reward our efforts in miraculous ways that will make the miracles that accompanied the Jews back when they were redeemed from Egypt pale in comparison.

It's not coincidental Barraq Hussien Obama's presidency raised coinage of the words "messiah" and "the anointed one". That unholy source is the counterpoint we can vanquish in favor of the real Moshiach.

Instead of resuscitating a dying counter-culture, help bring Moshiach NOW!