The Wars of Hashem

Jews find themselves in this 2nd half of the Hakhel year 5776.

The first order of the day for Jews as a whole is that they must appoint a king when they enter their Holy Land. Then comes the need to conquer the Amalekites, a war waged to cleanse the atmosphere for the next and 3rd obligation - to build the Third Temple.

The first obligation for Jews in Israel, then, is the nomination of a king. Well, that king years earlier made his presence in Brooklyn, NY. This king, otherwise known as “The Rebbe”, was accepted by many Jews whose prominent rabbis ruled on this by signing such a declaration. Even a giant of the non-chassidic Litvish element (Rabbi A. Soloveichik) agreed that the claim these rabbis make coincides with Torah view, leaving his legacy as a stalwart supporter of the cause (link).

Then, on the 3rd of Tammuz, 5754, he may well have made his move to Israel - as King Moshiach. (The 3rd of Tammuz is significant in Jewish history for then it became obvious how the whole world order caters to the wishes of the “Leader of the Jewish People”, the day Joshua froze the entire orchestrated motions in the heavens above.) That we cannot see him in person for now is a problem we have, but only if perceived from lightweight faith in the Rebbe’s words, or from undue faith in Nature for a people who transcend Nature, or simply underestimating the supernatural powers of Moshiach who is no less a personage than Moses or Joshua.

The next obligation, that of wiping out the enemies of the Jews (the Amalekites and their Jew-hating supporters), is now in progress. Enemies of the Jews are enemies of God. Right now, as you read these words, King Moshiach is fighting the wars against God’s enemies for the sake of the Jewish people. He’s doing it all on his own. No soldiers of Israel need be involved. While Jews sit in security watching with folded arms the world’s stage, seeing how Jew-haters fight Jew-haters, Jews remain unblemished spectators while their enemies swallow each other up with vicious violence.

The words of the Rambam, “And he will fight the wars of Hashem” [Kings 11:4], make a little more sense to me now. Normally the reader figures it means Moshiach as general will command that war be waged against so and so, and we assume he’ll lead brigades or battalions into battle. Apparently the wording of the Rambam is precise. We can assume it means that he, the general himself, will be doing all the “fighting”. Let’s put this into context. After all, the enemy is fighting another enemy, so what kind of fighting is the general himself doing? Evidently it means he is “mediating” between enemies that they fight each other, generating conflicts among these enemies. For this war of “mediation”, the general himself is handling it - all by his lonesome.

Now, in this age of instant communication, where the entire world has an open window to see all that transpires in every corner on earth, a phenomenon is unfolding. Evil has surfaced for the whole world to observe and/or to choose sides between good and evil, between being pro- or anti-Jewish. It all boils down to this simple distinction. Israel and the Jewish people always take center-stage; Whether you’re in Tibet or in Timbuktu. For evil Amalek must be vanquished before the purity of space provides the proper base upon which to build the physical sanctuary on earth for God - the 3rd and ultimate Beit Hamikdash. As long as weaponry remains significant, we must lay aside the tools of construction. The king we have. The wars of Hashem are now in process; And, may it be very soon, once the Beit Hamikdash is rebuilt in Jerusalem, all Jews from the world over will stream their way to live and thrive in their wonderful Holy Land.

These wars are very significant because they decide for us, based on victory or defeat, whether we speak of Moshiach with certainty. Unless “this general” emerges victorious and afterwards builds the Temple, he may cast doubt about who he really is. Only complete victory followed by the rebuilding of the Temple shall be the final gauge.

Nevertheless, for now, in this 2nd half of the Hakhel year 5776, we remain firmly committed to seeing our general trounce our enemies from this old world order and create for us the new world order, the Era of the Final and Ultimate Redemption, which is barreling its way headlong into our modern history.

Torah Codes re: Rambam

The following "Torah Code" findings about the Rambam (Maimonides) were originally discovered by Rabbi Dov Ber Weismandel, author of "Min Hamaitzar", even before the days of computers. (Taken from a page in the new book, "Toldot HaRambam", pp. 1253-4. Charts are my own, or modified.)

The acronym "Rambam" (רמב''ם) occurs once in the entire Pentateuch (Ex. 11, 9).

This very verse also contains the word Moshe, Rambam's name.

Seven verses later comes the commandment for the Jews to bring a sacrifice on the 14th of Nissan. This is the Rambam's birthday.

Counting forward every 50th letter from the Mem in the word Moshe, spells "Mishne". This is the first word in the Rambam's most famous book, "Mishne Torah", a book that enumerates all the laws of Torah and the basis of which is the 613 commandments.

The word "Torah" (the second name of his book's title) is also in the region, and also arrived at counting every 50th letter.

The point at which the Taf of this "word" begins occurs after a skip of exactly 613 letters from the Mem in Moshe.

All these features occur within the tight space of 15 verses.

The Main Cause of Disease

What is the number one cause of ill health in man?

The answer, from The Code of Jewish Law (chpt 32, law 3), may surprise you: "Most disease suffered by man comes from, and from none other than, bad foods, or from filling his belly even with good foods." Note the strong tenor of the assertion. The basis for this ruling comes from Maimonides who stated (De'ot 4, 15), "Most illnesses that afflict man are caused by harmful foods or by overeating, even of healthful foods."

In other words, illness comes from what a person puts into his mouth.

As simple as this sounds, if you think Western culture believes it, think again:

Most people, including most doctors, believe germs cause sickness. This is in direct contradiction to what the Code of Jewish Law asserts, namely that food is the main problem, yet medicine prefers germ theory. This has exceptionally significant ramifications, for if intake of food is the real problem, it follows that a proper dietary regimen could cure or reverse the problem, whereas the germ theory of disease suggests an entirely different approach, in fact one that leaves the bad food habits in place!

In fact, medicine today totally denies the Jewish Law or its implications regarding the healing of illness or seeking cures.

People who are sick, who then visit a doctor who prescribes a pill or a shot, who then put that medicine into their bodies - do so without realizing this "food" they take into them is unnatural and cannot be considered "good", yet the doctor pushes the drug, or the patient swallows the pill, without thinking twice. Depending on the diagnosis, this "treatment" could be an occasional one, or, with degenerative disease, more likely a lifelong "diet".

For the last 100 years, or so, conventional medicine rejected the wisdom of Maimonides. There were doctors in America before that who, in fact, did follow the wisdom of Maimonides, even if they never knew of this sage. To their credit, they derived the knowledge on their own.

Dr. J.H. Tilden, a doctor who practiced medicine for more than 70 years, and lived until the age of 91, wrote in 1921, "The commonest cause of disease is, first, last, and all the time, overindulgence of appetites and passions". Notice how forcefully he states what the Jewish Code of Law also emphatically asserts.

In the late 1800's Louis Pasteur promoted the germ theory of disease. In contrast, Antoine Beauchamp, his contemporary, said, "The primary cause of disease is in us, always in us". In other words, the primary problem was the milieu, the biological terrain. That germs take advantage of this situation is a secondary aspect of the disease.

Whatever the historical reasons, Pasteur's viewpoint overshadowed Beauchamp's and became the holy grail of medical perspective in the West. It prevails until today. Medical education never even broaches a view other than what the establishment prescribes. In fact, the medical curriculum in a U.S. medical school never includes a course in nutrition! Moreover, any attempt to move away from the prevalent viewpoin, to provide therapy based on other premises, immediately draws intense retribution by the powers that be, thus discouraging "unconventional" or alternative medical practice.

Contrast the approach of today's doctor with that of Dr. Tilden, who says:
"As a refutation of the necessity for all the so-called remedies carried into the sick-room - surgery, drugs, prescriptions, vaccination, serum injections; faith, suggestion, and mind cures; the laying on of hands, and every other device known and used as remedial - I offer my simple methods; namely, that of taking nothing into the sick-room, and of doing nothing that can be likened to the modern conception of healing. My methods are devoid of any suggestion of mysticism or supernaturalism, and are not above the understanding of the most commonplace mind, unless its simplicity appears uncanny to distorted understandings.

"I go into the sick-room without a so-called remedy, and, what is best of all, without the need of one. There is no faith cure offered; there is no hocuspocus, legerdemain, nor play on the superstition or credulity of the patient. There is nothing resorted to which may give the impression that unusual or supernatural power is to be used.

"After getting the history of the case, I explain how the patient happened to get sick, how his life differs from nature's requirements, and how he may get well. No drugs, no manipulations - nothing but keep still and don't build disease by foolish acts of mind or body!

"When cause is known, the remedy will be self-suggested to the most commonplace mind. This being as fundamental as truth always is … ." [From his book: Impaired Health: Its Cause and Cure.]

As I said, Dr. Tilden arrived at his understanding of medical disease from pure, rational thought. Let's listen in on some of his wisdom:

"There is no question about the necessary and beneficial action of the bacteria that are in us and about us all the time. The germs that infest our bodies, our food, our atmosphere, our soil, are necessary to our existence. If they were not, they would not be there. Nature never stultifies herself; there is a reason for everything, and that reason is backed by the logic of the Absolute.

"The weakest point in modern medical science is its teachings on bacteriology. It teaches that germs cause disease. If that could be proved, it would establish demonology [as if Hashem acts as a demon], and chaos would reign supreme."

Why germs are necessary we can answer another time. But for now, it should be apparent that germ theory of disease survives not because it's the correct view, but in spite of it.