Lazer Beams

We're Almost There

We hope you had an easy fast and a meaningful Yom Kippur. Now, with all the Jewish People on the level of righteous tzaddikim, Moshiach and Geula are so close - we're almost there. The thickest, deepest darkness at the end of the tunnel leads to the brightest light of Moshiach and our rebuilt Holy Temple, soon and in our days, amen!

Moshiach and Mount Zion

And saviors will ascend Mount Zion to judge the Mountain of Esau, and the kingdom will be Hashem's (Ovadiah 1:21).

Our sages elaborate on the above prophecy and say that Moshiach and his colleagues will exact retribution from the descendants of Esau, Zion's arch-enemy. Then, everyone will acknowledge Hashem.

Before this happens, Moshiach will enter Mount Zion. With this in mind, I want you to keep a very special image in front of your eyes - the mezuzah on the Zion Gate (image, above), at the entrance to Mount Zion. I was there yesterday, when I visited King David's holy gravesite atop Mount Zion. This is the mezuzah that Moshiach, King David's descendant, will place his hand on and kiss when he comes to fulfill the above prophecy. Some people say that they can see an image of Moshiach wearing tefillin on this mezuzah - can you?

May we all soon greet our holy Moshiach, this year, amen!

Bayer and Monsanto: Axis of Evil

Block 10 (image, above) was the infamous hellhole in the bowels of the Auschwitz concentration camp where the epitome of evil Nazi "doctor" Josef Mengele performed his atrocious experiments on humans during the Holocaust. Block 10 leads to Mengele, Mengele leads to Bayer, Bayer leads to Monsanto and Monsanto leads to the convenience food you're eating, either at home or on vacation. Sounds surreal? We wish it were...

The closer we get to Moshiach, the more we see Divine justice settling unfinished scores. An apparently innocuous item on the international news-wire reveals an iceberg of evil that Hashem's fiery wrath will soon erase from the face of the earth. The shares of Bayer Pharmaceuticals just fell 10%, the result of  their subsidiary Monsanto's failure to warn of the cancer risks posed by its infamous weed killer, Roundup. 

Before I tell you who Bayer is, they bought Monsanto earlier this year for $63 Billion. Our sages teach that evil attaches itself to evil. In short, Monsanto is a conglomerate of evil that creates pesticides that destroy every type of viable seed - not only weeds - except for seeds that Monsanto genetically engineers. So, once you spray your field with Roundup, your soil is poisoned to regular seeds and you can only use Monsanto's genetically-engineered seeds. But, new types of weeds set in that are immune to conventional weed killers, which require more and newer Monsanto weed killers. With mafia-like tactics, Monsanto has gone around the world, not only impoverishing farmers, poisoning their soil and indenturing them into virtual slavery, but causing an epidemic of farmer suicides, especially in India.

Monsanto also hijacks faculties of agriculture in the world's universities, so that agronomy students will learn to use their products only. Thank goodness I majored in horticulture and deciduous orchards, where Monsanto's poisoned hands didn't yet reach my teachers. Fortunately, you can grow an apple, a peach or a plum without spraying Roundup...

Back to Bayer, who owns Monsanto. Do you know who Bayer is? Have you ever heard of IG Farben?

Both my pulse and my mind are racing much faster than I can type (chill, Lazer!) - let's take it slow.

Do you know that IG Farben was behind the Nazi's mutilation of our holy teacher, Rav Shalom Arush's spiritual guide, Rabbi Yehuda Zev Leibowitz of saintly and blessed memory? That's why he could never have children. Let me be more specific:

IG Farben financed Hitler’s electoral campaign and became a staunch supporter of the Nazis. IG Farben worked closely with the Nazi party to take over manufacturing plants when the Germans invaded other European countries. IG Farben also held stock in and was represented on the board of the company which produced the gas used in the Holocaust gas chambers. IG Farben tested its products on the concentration-camp prisoners of Auschwitz. Even more, IG Farben had its own concentration camp. Josef Mengele, the gruesome butcher of Auschwitz, the SS doctor (sic) and Hitler's right-hand man in the planned annihilation of European Jewry, worked with IG Farben in doing his experimentation on human guinea pigs, one of whom was our sacred and beloved teacher Rabbi Yehuda Zev Leibowitz who succeeded in surviving the Holocaust.

Bayer is the successor and continuation of IG Farben. Monsanto belongs to Bayer.

Is the GMO and GE domination of our fields, crops and foodstuffs a continuation of the Nazi conspiracy to dominate the world? You make your own conclusions.

For anyone who seeks my advice, eat natural and organic as much as possible. Steer clear of US commercially grown corn and soybeans as well as processed foods that are full of such derivatives as corn syrup solids and soy isolate. If you have a headache, don't take Bayer aspirin. Chances are that your headache - and many other ills, such as your close friend's, your relative's or your own autistic child - come from the use of Roundup in growing the food you eat.

The closer we get to Moshiach, the more we'll see evil's foundations crumble. Meanwhile, don't lose heart, because the darkest darkness is right at the end of night, before the dawn of a new day.

The Shechina Cries for Israel on Tisha B'Av

Rabbi Avraham Levi was a holy kabbalist and a student of the Ariza'l, who would wake everyone nightly in Tzfat for Midnight Lamentations (Tikkun Chatzot) - he was so holy that on Tisha B'Av, he merited seeing an image of a women dressed in black on the Kotel - the Shechina - begging for the end of exile and the restoration of the holy Temple. That's what you see in the adjacent below - in the spirit of Tisha B'Av, see today's lesson, a meaningful one, in the post directly below this. Have an easy fast, and may we all see the Geula soon, with our own eyes, amen!

The Kotel, Emuna, and Geula

 

Above image: The Kotel and Temple Mount at twilight

The Divine Presence never leaves the Kotel HaMaaravi, the Western Wall remnant of the holiest place in our history - the Bet HaMikdash. If one needs any kind of salvation, the Divine Presence is available 24/7 - you don't need an appointment. In the holy Land of Israel, especially in Jerusalem, and most of all at the Wall, one feels Hashem's presence.

Our Talmudic sages therefore make a seemingly stiff statement when they say (Ketubot 110b): "Anyone who lives in Israel resembles a person who has a G-d; anyone who lives outside of Israel resembles a person who has no G-d." Rebbe Nachman of Breslev elaborates on this concept, and teaches (Likutei Moharan 7:1) that emuna, prayer and miracles are dependant on Eretz Yisroel. In other words, outside of Israel, one cannot attain the level of emuna and prayer that one can attain in Israel.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev also teaches (ibid.) that the "Geula", the redemption of our people, is dependent on emuna, the pure and complete faith in Hashem. Conversely, lack of faith prolongs the exile and diaspora.

In the same vain, Rebbe Klonimus Kalman, author of "Ma'or VeShemesh" and prime disciple of the Noam Elimelech, writes (Ma'or VeShemesh, parshas Behar) that the material abundance outside of Israel blocks the light of spirituality, and is therefore counterproductive to emuna, whereas in Israel, the brighter lights of spirituality are at the expense of a lower level of materialism.

In light of the above, living in the Land of Israel is conducive to developing higher levels of emuna and spirituality.

According to the above teachings, anyone who strengthens his or her faith, comes to Israel, or does both is making a direct contribution to hastening the Geula, the full redemption of our people Israel, and the rebuilding our our Holy Temple in a united Jerusalem, soon and in our days, amen.

But what if your personal circumstance requires you to remain for the time being abroad? Don't feel guilty - Hashem put you in the situation where you must care for an elderly parent, or you have joint custody with your ex and you can't leave your children, or you haven't been able to find employment in Israel. Hashem doesn't expect you to do what you currently cannot. But, there's plenty you can do outside of Israel to hasten the Geula. We mentioned above that Rebbe Nachman attributes the prolonged exile and Diaspora to the lack of emuna. So, by spreading emuna - wherever you are, be it New York, LA, Miami, Toronto, Melbourne, Hong Kong or Maui - you hasten the Geula.

There's no excuse for not spreading emuna. If you personally don't want to, or can't teach emuna and spread emuna materials, you can partner with Emuna Outreach - we'll do the leg work. All you have to do is to Donate to Emuna Outreach and you'll be a full partner is hastening the Geula. May we hear good news soon, amen!

Blood Moon: Total Lunar Eclipse in Israel, July 27-28, 2018

Here is exciting news that is closely related to the imminent Geula, Israel's full redemption, may it come soon and peacefully, amen:

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and Israel will be at the center of a total lunar eclipse, the longest of the century, which will take place on July 27-28, 2018, or 15-16 Av, 5778 on the Hebrew calendar. This is an amazing occurrence that coincides with Isaiah's prophecy, as follows:

When referring  to the Geula, the full and final redemption of the Jewish People, Isaiah the Prophet says in the Name of Hashem, "B'ito, In its time, achishena, I shall hasten it" (Isaiah 60:22). Rashi explains that if the Jews so merit, the Geula will be hastened; if they don't merit, it will come anyway in its appointed time. My esteemed and beloved teacher Rabbi Shalom Arush explained to me that a "hastened" redemption will be a merciful and joyous redemption, whereas an "in its time" redemption is liable to be one of wars and strife, Heaven forbid. 

The Gemara (photocopied, above) in tractate Succah 29a tells us that a Blood-moon lunar eclipse is not a good sign for Israel, especially when it is seen only here in the east and not in the west as the July 27-28 lunar eclipse will be. Yet, the Gemara in tractate Taanit 26b tells us that the 15th of Av (this year, Friday, July 27, 2018) is the best day of the year for the Jewish People. What's more, Saturday, July 28, 2018 is "Shabbat Nachamu" this year, the Sabbath of consolation, when Hashem consoles His people the Shabbat following the 9th of Av.

So what do we expect? Difficult tidings like the Gemara in tractate Succa tells us or good tidings like the Gemara in tractate Taanit tells us? The continuation of the Gemara in Succa answers that question and says: "When the Jews perform the will of Hashem, they need not worry about celestial omens. Thus says Hashem, 'Do not be frightened by the signs of the heavens' (Jeremiah 10:2)." 

If we all do teshuva the best we can and strengthen ourselves in emuna, then there won't be a thing to worry about. That's why it's so important to us to spread emuna as and as wide as we possibly can. There is an amazing Heavenly hint to this in the coming lunar eclipse, as I've circled in the graphic below - the total time of the upcoming eclipse, the longest of this century, will be 6 hours, 13 minutes - 613 is the exact number of the Torah's commandments. Coincidence? No such thing...

To aid understanding, here's a clip, courtesy of our friends at the Times of India, which clearly explains the natural phenomenon of the coming lunar eclipse. Enjoy it, and may we all hear good news soon.

Three Levels of Peace

Lazer with security forces in the holy city of our Patriarchs Hevron, during a day of Emuna Outreach lectures at the Machpela Cave

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev explains that a person's quest for peace must be threefold - between him/herself and G-d, between him/herself and the Jewish people as a whole, and within him/herself.

In order to develop a harmonious approach to life as a whole, one must develop the ability to find Hashem's presence everywhere and in everything. That way, a person can feel love for Hashem regardless of the situation - whether things are good or seemingly bad.

If a person doesn't love G-d, he or she won't feel love for a fellow Jew. Therefore, the love of G-d is a prerequisite for ahavat Yisrael, the love of fellow Jews. Ahavat Yisrael leads to peace and unity; peace and unity among our people will hasten the redemption, soon and in our time, amen.