#18 - Can we CHANGE our Mazel?

Chodesh Tov everyone!

I'm beginning this blog now while it is still daytime here in Israel on this special Rosh Chodesh/beginning of the new month of Shevat, but I will realistically be done when it is already nighttime of the next day, but this blog will bear the Rosh Chodesh date, especially as it pertains to an event that happened on this very date that I will be discussing.

Yes, the worse has happened. In fact, I don't even know where to begin, but I think a good choice is to outline the basic United States history.

July 4, 1776 - Pregnancy formation, i.e. Declaration of Independence
September 17, 1787 - Baby born, i.e. Constitution created
June 21, 1788 - Baby circumcised, i.e. Constitution ratified

Fast tracking to the demise of the United States of America

July 27, 2004 - Beginning stages of fatal illness, i.e. Obama's first public political speech (endorsing Democratic candidate John Kerry. The word Kerry in Hebrew - Koof, Reish, Yud - refers to sexual impurity)
October 22, 2006 - Symptoms first appear, i.e. Obama announces considering the presidency
February 10, 2007 - Diagnosed, i.e. Obama announces that he will run for the presidency
June 3, 2008 - Hospitalized, i.e. Obama is the Democratic candidate for the presidency
November 4, 2008 - Vital signs slowing down, i.e. Obama voted to be president by majority
January 12, 2009 - Commits suicide, i.e. Supreme Court denies Berg vs Obama, thus
contradicting the Constitution that forbids a non-born citizen of the United
States to assume the office of the Presidency
January 20, 2009 - Funeral, i.e. Obama, as a non-born citizen of the United States, illegally
swears the oath of presidency.

Shoking, isn't it? But how could this happened? What happened to the critical media who is always quick to bad mouth and challenge a political candidate with a suspicious background?
Where was this media's challenge to Obama for two years - especially after there were rumors of perhaps Obama not being born in the United States?

I'll never forget in the mid 80s when I was in high school, and there was a presidential candidate whose last name was Hart who visited South Florida where I lived for most of my life. Every day while Hart was visiting the sunny state, the Miami Herald was picking on him for some past sexual scandal. The end result of this press(ure) is that it stopped Hart from continuing his heartbeat for the presidential candidacy.

Now mind you, having a sexual scandal past at worse is perhaps a gray area in terms of the Constitution expecting a candidate of high moral standards to be leading a country with trust in G-d. Yet, it seemed that the whole world - including a good portion of people who commit adultery, extra marital affairs, etc. - was pouncing on this Hart guy as though he was the most terrible person in the world. Yet, he was perfectly legally legible to run as a presidential candidate, and unless decided differently by a court of law, there was absolutely no insult to the Constitution.

So, did the corrupt media change in the last 20 some years? Perhaps the media (the majority of which are not blacks) was a little afraid of picking on a black guy? Or were they mezmorized by Obama's handsome physique and charm? Whatever the case, his doubtful status as a legal presidential candidate was virtually ignored and was considered tabooed for questioning.

You have to wonder, did G-d have anything to do with this?


DIVINE PROVIDENCE

When it comes to what is called Hashgacha Peratit/Divine Providence, everyone speaks about Hashem in terms of miracles. Yes, there are plenty of such 9/11 miracles - many include stories of people who didn't quite make it early for work on that fateful morning. Put perhaps what is often not talked about is about those who were "in the wrong place at the wrong time". Well that may be very so in the literal physical sense. But Hashem sometimes has his plans for certain people for unknown reasons to us, to be especially in harm's way.

It was just a week before - not even - before Obama was revealed to be the winning candidate, that the Mumbai tragedies took place. No doubt that this was tragic for thousands of people, which includes families and friends of all the victims - dead or injured. Mind you, the majority of the victims were those who were living there or near there. With this being said, there were two Mashgichim who arrived in India and came to the Chabad house there just hours before it all started. Very sad to say, but they literally traveled to their deaths. But perhaps most ironic was that they originally had other plans. One of them originally was going to travel to Thailand, but because of problems in that country, he decided that India would be a safer place to travel to. Now, on the better news side of this - the nanny Sandra Samuel who rescued the son of the murdered Chabad couple normally took off Wednesday evenings to be with her family. But this particular Wednesday, as she admitted, she had no special reason to stay in the Chabad house that evening, but she did anyways. Indeed, after 15 hours of hiding, when she heard the young boy crying, she instinctively grabbed him, and ran out into safety.

Now in Obama's case, it seems that people went out of their way for him to march right into the White House. Oh yes, there was Jesse Jackson, the black minister who was a presidential candidate on Voting Day many years ago (incidentally, there's a picture of him with Obama), but I guess Obama had a more youthful charm and look. Oprah, the billionaire TV show host had Obama on her show, and there was even a white girl who made a free major display on the internet calling herself an Obama girl (Hmmm, never heard of this kind of thing with any previous president). Oh yes, Obama denied having anything to do with that, as though he might have been guilty of doing something wrong otherwise, but whatever. So, where were you really born Obama?

Try denying the story, O Democrats (Dam V'Karet - Blood & Spritual Extinction - as a former Democratic Jewish guy turned Republican calls this party) - but Obama's mother when pregnant with him flew from Hawaii to Kenya at one point. When she wanted to return to the States, the Kenya government didn't allow her to do so since she was pregnant and could not be allowed to harm the embryo by travelling, so she gave birth in a Kenya hospital, which is now considered a special site in Kenya since this is where Obama was born. Guess this news didn't quite impress the corrupt media or courts too much. Without going into all kinds of other details, Attorney Phillip J Berg, Esq. lifetime Democrat and two times member of NAACP proves in three different ways how Obama is ineligible to be president. And yes, Obama's so called online birth certificate is a phoney, but don't cry bloody murder to me, you have to cry to Berg Esq. about that one. Why didn't Obama sue Berg back for slander? Too busy, really? Obama seems to be pretty calm, cool, and collective. So how come Obama is afraid to face the facts as his rival candidate John McCain, who ironically, was quickly questioned about where he was born, and he wasted no time being up front about it. Yes, he was not born in the continental United States - because his father was serving his United States country on an American base in Panama. In any case, neither candidate was born in one of the 50 states, so why the difference in attitude?

My friends, every single one in the media or courts who knew the truth, but didn't act in their respective position to do something about it, will one day have to give an accounting to the Big Judge upstairs - for the sin of stealing. A reporter has a duty to report news correctly, and to question anything illegal, or he/she the reporter is stealing money from his/her employer. The court employee of whatever position - has an obligation to follow the law and not allow violaters to get away with it - or is stealing money from the United States government. Stealing, my friends, is also one of the sins that non-Jews are bidden not to committ. In fact, a non-Jew who steals is liable to the death penalty in the court according to Judaism.

Yet, Hashem will sometimes allow things to go "through the cracks" to make certain things happen. True that everyone has free choice, but since Hashem knows the future, he will play with everyone whether the subject in question is doing good or evil, if this is part of Hashem's master plan to have certain things in place. And the reason that sometimes Hashem will play "through the cracks" is to show that indeed it is Hashem who is running the world. The fact that Obama was born in Kenya, raised in Indonesia, made no difference practically to hundreds of millions who paid lip service to the Constitution, and bowed down to him because he promised them CHANGE shows that Hashem is showing that he has a special reason for Obama being in power despite his illegalities.

Let's backtrack a bit. Remember the "butterfly votes" in Florida just eight years ago? It took over a month after Voting Day, for Bush who was determined to have defeated his running Democratic mate by a very small margin, to be the 43rd President of the United States. I said back then that the scandal involved with the voting (in my personal opinion, it was the Democrates that messed things up) will be the worse thing that will go down in American history. Little then did I know that I would be proven wrong eight years later. But what was the significance of this scandal happening in Florida? If you have observed all the state seals, there is only ONE that has the phrase "In G-d we trust". The answer is - you guessed it - Florida!
So, what was Hashem's plan here?

Maybe technically, it was the Democratic presidential candidate who should have won. Well, it is true that this whole thing happened when Jeb Bush, George Bush II's brother, was governor of Florida at the time. Anyways, later in 2001 after President Bush took office, 9/11 and then the American attack took place a few weeks later. When did this war start? On the night of Hoshana Rabba. Rabbis, including the Vilna Gaon said that the war of Gog U'Magog is going to begin on...Hoshana Rabba! According to the Torah, it is supposed to be a seven year war, and this is how long it lasted under G(e)o(r)g(e) Bush's presidency (and a few months, but it's rounded off more to seven years than eight years). Indeed, George Bush was associated as Gog at one point, but what happened? Yes, he had pressured Israel in the past about "land for piece" as other presidents did, but he didn't openly wage war against Israel, as the script written out for Gog in Scriptures?

Don't worry, Bush just prepared the way for the real Gog - OBAMA! This is actually old news in my blogs - you will can check out blogs #5 & #6 in 2008 that deal with Obama as he is hinted as Gog in Scriptures, including through the Hidden Codes. And indeed, Obama wasted no time sending George Mitchell - who succeded in 2001 to prevent Jewish settlements from being built in Israel - to rush to Israel to continue the evil deed. My gosh - everyone knows that Israel is preparing for elections in a couple of weeks. Can't Obama have a little patience here? What happened to his supposed promises of helping Israel? Well, guess he didn't quite expect to have such a demanding anti-Israel crowd in power with him.


BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, 44TH PRESIDENT, HINTED IN THIS MONTH

This beginning part in the following paragraph is entirely new. It's something I didn't even think about before - until this past week since Obama capsized the presidency.

Last night began a new Jewish month - Shevat. One meaning of this word, when changing the Hebrew vowels, is tribe, as in the tribes of Israel. The other meaning as the pronounciation says, is rod. Sometimes, this can have a negative connotation as in the "rod of punishment". With this being said, let's observe what the astronomical sign - or Mazel - for this month is - D'li/Aquarius. The Hebrew word - D'li - is a pail of water. Now, add up the letters of this word - Daled, Lamed, Yud - the Gematria of 44. Now, each Jewish month has a corresponding Jewish tribe/Shevet; thus, Shevat's corresponding tribe is Asher. When you add up the letters in this word Alef, Shin, Reish - the Gematria is 501. As mentioned previously, Obama's full name in Hebrew has the Gemaria of...501! And after his first paragraph of his Inauguration speech thanking Bush for his years of service, the beginning words of the second paragragh are "Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath". You see the connection of 44th President Barack Hussein Obama's 501 & 44 with this month of Shevat, the first full Jewish month since he started his presidential term? Is this Obama going to be our rod of punishment, G-d forbid?

As I mentioned previously, Rabbi Meir Kahane ZTVK"L HY"D, whose 18th Yahrzeit was commemorated a couple of months ago (this is my 18th blog), gave us a warning about what would happen if the Jewish people, especially the Israeli government, would continue on the wrong path. He said it very straight forward - it's either Kahane or Arafat. Yes, no in-between.
And so with Obama's middle name, his Moslem Arab past, his attendance at Palestinian fundraisers, and only after six/seven years after 9/11, you would think that perhaps at least a few more people would be a little more cautious. But I guess they are a little more afraid of being considered "racist", especially the liberal Democratic Jews - some of whom hyprocritically ran away from neighborhoods turning black, and then pretend that only they care about Israel while mocking today's "settlers" who are only followers of the original Zionists who toiled for what was then known as Palestine, except that the Arabs didn't make so a big stink back then except when on one of their murderous rampages.

Well, Rabbi Meir Kahane who was murdered by an Arab in 5751, has his messages echoed in the 5751th verse of the Torah (Deutronomy 31:29): "For I know that after my (Moshe's) death that you will surely act corruptly, and you will stray from the path that I have commanded you, and evil will befall you at the end of days, if you do what is evil in the eyes of Hashem, to anger Him through your handiwork." As pointed before, the Hebrew words for "through your handiwork" is the Gematria of Obama's full name in Hebrew adding up to 501! Yes, Jews voting for Obama, pretending that one of the main reasons for voting for him was because of his supposed positive stance on Israel, when the real reason known to Hashem is that they trusted in Obama despite last paragraphs' negatives on him, because he promised "CHANGE", - these Jews angered Hashem very much, and as the verse predicts that as a result that "evil will befall you at the end of days". Also pointed out before is that the first three letters of the phrase in Hebrew for "in the end of days" - Beit, Alef, Cheit - are the same initials of Obama's full name in Hebrew! Yes, Obama IS the evil in the end of days! And yes, it will happen to the very Jews who voted for him, as is hinted right here in this most fateful verse in the Torah!

Now, speaking of 44, what is the 44th Parsha in the Torah? It is Parshat Devarim, the beginning Parsha of the book of Deutronomy. This final book of the Chumash is basically Moshe's final sermons to the Jewish people. In fact, it records when he began this "on the 11th month, on Day One of the month". As we count the months from Nissan, the 11th month is Shevat, and the first day of any given month is Rosh Chodesh. Thus, on Rosh Chodesh Shevat, the beginning of the month that means "rod", Moshe began his sermons that start from the 44th Parsha! Now Rosh Chodesh literally means Head of the Month, or in a more used translation as "New Moon". Now, for the word Chodesh/Month, if you replace the Hebrew vowels for this word with others, you can read the same word as written as Chadash/New, thus you can now read the phrase as Rosh Chadash/New Head. And indeed, the word Rosh/Head, like Obama's full name in Hebrew, has the same Gematria of 501! And what are the beginning words of this Parsha? Aileh HaDevarim - These are the words/matters, Asher Diber Moshe - that Moshe spoke...Now, if you take a look on Rashi on this first verse, you will see a list of no-nos that the Jewish people performed in the desert that Moshe reproved them about before his demise. These are the things - THAT - Asher in Hebrew, the same Hebrew letters as the tribe/Shevet Asher represented by this month of Shevat - again it equals 501, the Gematria of Obama's full name! Again, the number 501 in close association with the number 44 - for the THIRD time!
And just like here it says "These are the things that Moshe spoke about...", so too immediately after it says in the other verse "to anger Him through your handiwork", it says "Moshe spoke into the ears of the entire congregation of Israel". You get it? Moshe warned us about Obama on the last day of his life! Yet, the Torah hints to us in the beginning of his final sermons as the first on the list of things that Moshe warned out about. First on the list, but last to be talked about?

The Megaleh Amukot, commentator on the Torah, tells us that the very first word of Deutronomy - Eileh/These have the Hebrew letters Alef, Lamed, Hei that begin with the phrase Avak Lashon Hara - "Dust of evil talk" meaning, statements that while may seem to be talking positive about someone, can lead to think of a negative connotation instead. For example, you mention someone as always cooking food. Saying it in a negative way can connote that one likes to stuff himself as opposed to feeding others, or praising someone in front of another who hates the one being praised. Another interpretation that I would like to offer is that these letters can also stand for Issur Lashon Hara - the prohibition of saying evil talk - "THESE are the things that Moshe spoke to all of Israel" - all about the dangers and prohibition of evil talk about one another.

Now for the second word - HaDevarim, after which is the name of this 44th Parsha called Devarim/Words or Things for short, as well as the name of this last book of the Chumash - consists of two words - Dam/Bloodshed=44 and Reiv (Reish, Yud, Beit) which means fighting. Based on the writings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, these letters also are the beginning letters of the phrase Reshaim B'Choshech Yidamu - "the wicked are stilled in darkness" - a phrase in Sefer Shmuel in which Chana, the mother of prophet Samuel, thanks Hashem for granting him such a son. In the very next verse, it says Hashem Yeichatu Merivav - "Hashem, may those who FIGHT with him be shattered". Speaking of darkness, in describing the 9th plague that happened to the Egyptians as in this week's Parshat Bo, it says Veyamesh Choshech - "The darkness was felt" It has been said that if you take the word Veyamesh and look towards the letters in the Alef Beit that immediately precede the letters in this word, it spells out HITLER exactly - next to the word darkness! Speaking of the 9th plague, it was on the 9th of Av that some of the worse tragedies happened to the Jewish people. Now in the word next to darkness as in "stilled in darkness", the word for stilled is Yidamu - the middle letters can be spelled Dam/Bloodshed. Thus, Moshe is warning everyone about the evils of bad speech about one another - it can Chas V'Shalom lead to fighting and bloodshed. However, if we do the right thing and trust in Hashem, then it will be the wicked who will be stilled in darkness and shattered.

Now in last week's Parshat Vayera and this week's Parshat Bo, Hashem inflicts the 10 plagues/Makot on the Egyptians. Perhaps what may be most confusing to one starting to learn about being a real observant Jew in reading through the Haggadah is this little piece after the list of these plagues where it says that Rabbi Yehuda gave a sign to remember this list using the first letters of these Makot - Detzach Adash Beachav. The Gematria of these first letters add up to - 501. Now my friends, what is the very first Maka/plague? Dam/Blood which equals 44! Now mind you, it was this very phrase of acronyms that was on the "rod of punishment" that Moshe and Aharon used as their "magic wand" to bring these sickly and deadly plagues. Indeed, this is the FOURTH connection here between the numbers 501 & 44!

I think this is the meaning of the connection between the previous paragraphs and Obama. Our Rabbis tell us that one who is merciful to the cruel will in the end will be cruel to the merciful. We see that King Shaul showed a little mercy to the nation Amalek about which Hashem told him to totally eradicate. Well later, he ordered a city of Cohanim to be murdered - including the babies! So now, these very Jews who bad mouth others who truly love Israel, followers of the ideology of Kahane who showed the Torah way of absolute strength despite what anyone else says, are the very ones who voted for Obama because of his liberal stance, which includes making peace of the broken pieces in the Middle East which will be shown to have already been shattered countless of times with no chances of making true mends. The only thing is that this took place practically at the very end of our exile, so this is virtually the last thing that Moshe actually addressed, but was on the top of Moshe's list of agendas to be discussed.

BLOODSHED AND SPIRITUAL EXTINCTION

As I mentioned in parenthesis earlier, the word Democrat in Hebrew consists of two words - Dam V'Karet: Bloodshed & Spiritual Extinction. Dam/Blood has the Gematria of 44. Yes Democrat Obama is indeed the 44th President. And this 44th Parsha - starting with Eileh HaDevarim Asher... - is always read on the Shabbat before Tisha B'Av, or the date itself except that we fast the day following it. It was on this fateful day marking the anniversary of both Holy Temple Destruction and numerious other tragedies that occured on this very date - that Obama made his first public political speech in 2004. Now, the word Dam can also be the initials - Daled, Mem - for the words Daled Malchuyot/the four kingdoms, referring to the four exiles in which we were subjected to one nation or another. The 4th and last of these is Edom, with a Gematria of 51, which is today associated with the United States with 50 states and District of Columbia. Edom also has a connotation of the word Dam/Blood. And as mentioned in a past blog, Obama's full name in Hebrew=501, (so is the word Yishmaelim/Yishmaelites - the Arabic nations) times 4, equals 2004, the secular year of his political birth that took place on the fateful day of Tisha B'Av commemorating when the 2nd Holy Temple was destroyed under Rome which was the Edom in those days! Now, add Edom (Christianity)= 51 and Yishmael (Islam-the letters in this word are included in the word (Y)ISHMAEL!)=451 with a combined Gematria of 502, times 4, equals 2008, the secular year in which Obama was voted in!

Can we CHANGE our Mazel? Can we change the sign of the month to be in our favor? What do we do now?

Honestly, for those who voted for Obama - I have news for them. Statistics show that 78% of voting Jews voted for Obama. This is indeed most close to the statement of our Sages that 4/5ths of the Jews in Egypt - 80%, died in exile "in the three days of darkness", so the Egyptians wouldn't be aware of Jews who died. Question: Doesn't it say that Hashem allowed them to die during the plague of darkness that happened to the Egyptians, so the Egyptians wouldn't know the difference? But wait a minute - 4/5s of the Jews dying? Could it be that the Egyptians who took good track of every single laboring Jew would not know the difference?

Thank G-d for the American guys who host the shows at http://www.redemption5768.com/, from whom I quoted a number of things in this blog as I mentioned in past blogs. As they pointed out, indeed it had to have been a spiritual extinction - left to die in exile without being with their brethren because they didn't want to leave. They wanted to rely on the NEW changes that they would hope for now that things got better, especially after the Egyptians were punished. No problem - the Torah has nothing to do with these leftover Jews who refused to leave the exile, and were left to die in spiritual darkness, with no future connection with the Jewish people or eternal bliss in the world to come. Apparently, they forget how their slavery begin - "A NEW king arose who didn't knew Yosef". Yosef -the one that save the Egyptian economy a century earlier, now a forgotten matter, Egypt had a CHANGE over a century before the Exodus - the new Egyptian king not recognizing what a Jew did for the country a century earlier began enslaving the Jews. So, what were the chances of having a CHANGE in the Jews' favor now? But such is the Galut/exile mentality, from the time of King Rameses to Moslem Arab Obama - they both being black and their policies being black. The only black we should be worried about is the black ink written in Scriptures that teach the lessons of the past.

And for the rest of the Jews who didn't vote for Obama because you didn't want to and you didn't rely on him - yes, there is hope for you. Either you trust in Hashem or you trust in Obama. Period! No inbetween - just strengthen your trust in Hashem - despite the economy. If you still live in the United States, don't wait until the economy improves in the States - IT WILL NOT HAPPEN. The great Kabbalists of today, as well as autistic children who have a clear spirtual state of things happening, have warned us that what is happening now is the States is the beginning of its downfall, and IT WILL NOT IMPROVE. If anything, Jews will be blamed by the same finger of Obama as he used to make his points across leading him to the presidency. And indeed, the word for the Mazel of D'li/Aquarius as associated with this fateful month, has a connotation of Dalut - poverty! Morever, the letter Daled=4 also has a connotation of Dalut/poverty, and we are at the end of the 4th and final exile. So, start packing your bags for Israel - NOW! Avoid the bloodshed and being left out of the spiritual rink. Avoid the Rex 84 prison camps which were over 600 at last count which will soon be proven to be concentration camps legalized by the United States government. Check out http://www.shuva.net/ for more information on this. Yes, you can change your Mazel, as our Rabbis tell us: "One who changes his place, changes his Mazel". And you will enter into the realm of Chai (18)- Eternal Spiritual Life!

Since we know that one of our best weapons is prayer, especially in combating "the evil in the End of Days" which is the 44th President of the United States, I leave you all with Psalm 44, described by Artscroll http://www.artscroll.com/ as "vividly portraying the recurring oppressions and persecutions of exile. Israel pleads for strength to endure until it is redeemed".

PSALM 44

For the Leader; a Psalm of the sons of Korah. Maschil.

O G-d, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us; a work Thou didst in their days, in the days of old.

Thou with Thy hand didst drive out the nations, and didst plant them in; Thou didst break the peoples, and didst spread them abroad.

For not by their own sword did they get the land in possession, neither did their own arm save them; but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou wast favourable unto them.

Thou art my King, O G-d; command the salvation of Jacob.

Through Thee do we push down our adversaries; through Thy name do we tread them under that rise up against us.

For I trust not in my bow, neither can my sword save me.

But Thou hast saved us from our adversaries, and hast put them to shame that hate us.

In G-d have we gloried all the day, and we will give thanks unto Thy name for ever. Selah


Yet Thou hast cast off, and brought us to confusion; and goest not forth with our hosts.

Thou makest us to turn back from the adversary; and they that hate us spoil at their will.

Thou hast given us like sheep to be eaten; and hast scattered us among the nations.

Thou sellest Thy people for small gain, and hast not set their prices high.

Thou makest us a taunt to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.

Thou makest us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples.

All the day is my confusion before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,

For the voice of him that taunteth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and the revengeful.


All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten Thee, neither have we been false to Thy covenant.

Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Thy path;

Though Thou hast crushed us into a place of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death.

If we had forgotten the name of our G-d, or spread forth our hands to a strange god;

Would not G-d search this out? For He knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Nay, but for Thy sake are we killed all the day; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Awake, why sleepest Thou, O L-rd? Arouse Thyself, cast not off for ever.

Wherefore hidest Thou Thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaveth unto the earth.

Arise for our help, and redeem us for Thy mercy's sake.

1 Shevat - Rosh Chodesh Shevat 5769

#17 - The Fourfold GOOD

"So, what is the good word?" Well, where did this phrase come from? I would hardly be surprised if the word good actually comes from the word G-d. G-d is known by the world as a Being of Goodness. And while there are those who are quick to blame G-d for the Holocaust by denying His existance because "if G-d really existed, he wouldn't have let it happen", our Sages in Mishna Berachot Chapter 9 waste no time telling us that we are supposed to thank Him for the bad like we do for the good. Of course it's most tragic when someone is murdered, injured, sick, loses a beloved one, falls down from riches to rags overnight, etc., but Hashem has His reasons which we quite often do not understand. The truth is that the real world of goodness is the world we enter after death if we behaved good. The "other" world is the real world because this is the world of eternity; however, the world that we presently live in is only here for ourselves to accumulate as many brownie points as possible so we can merit the world of eternity; and the more points we have, the MORE we will enjoy the spiritual bliss FOREVER!

Indeed, our Rabbis have told us that it's worse to cause someone to sin than to murder him/her, because while a murderer only deprives one from this temporary world (though he/she can no longer perform good deeds, Hashem may reward someone for the deeds that would have been done had he/she lived longer) but causing someone to sin causes him/her to be taken away from the future world, basically, dying a spiritual death. Yes, it may be a little hard to grasp first, but as evil as Hitler was, ANY Christian missionary attempting to lure Jews to Chrisitianity, "Messianism", etc. is FAR MORE evil. It's true that some six million Jews were torturously murdered in the hell of Hitlerism, but as we know in Judaism, a Jew who dies Al Kiddush Hashem/by Sanctification of Hashem's name, is granted an automatic immediate free ticket in the world to come in a most special place that NO ONE else is granted permission to enter. However, a Jew who converts to another religion cuts himself off spritually FOREVER from Hashem's Presence!

With this being said, today's date - 17 Tevet - is a date full of good meaning. First of all, the name of this month Tevet has a connotation of the world TOV - Good. Now, today's date of the 17th also implies good, because Tov/Good is the Gematria of 17. And there's more. After every day of creation as recorded in the beginning of the Bible, it marks the creation that "it was good".
There is an exception here. The second day of the week has no mention of the word good, but the third day of the week (from Monday night until Tuesday night) mentions the word good TWICE. And so this year, 17 Tevet falls out on the 3rd day of the week. Hence, you have here the fourfold GOOD, the name of my 17th post. Moreover, the Mazel/constellation for this month of Tevet is Gedi/Capricorn which is also the Gematria of 17!

On a personal level, 17 Tevet will always be ingrained in my mind for something very good that I accomplished. FOUR years ago, I made Aliyah on this date. It didn't fall out on the 3rd day of the week then, but significantly, I am writing this post celebrating FOUR years of living in Eretz Yisrael. When I first moved here, I lived in Yerushalayim for two and a half years. Now, in Parshat VaEtchanan (Deutronomy 3:25), it mentions Moshe pleading with Hashem to let him cross over to Israel so "I can see the GOOD land...this GOOD mountain and the Lebanon". Rashi tells us that the "GOOD mountain" refers to Yerushalayim (and Lebanon refers to the Holy Temple). I didn't think along these lines at the time that I was on my way to the airport or on the El Al plane, but sure was it GOOD timing! In any case, the phrase in Hebrew for this is HaHar HaTov HaZeh - "THIS good mountain". Now normally in Hebrew, the word for the word THIS is ZEH. But in this instance, it's with a presuffix of the letter Hei, thus HAZEH, which also has the Gemaria of the number 17, following the word HaTOV - the GOOD.

There is a halachic significance of the number four with Israel, particularly with Jerusalem (and the Holy Temple). Now first of all, we ask Hashem in our prayers to gather us from the "FOUR corners of the earth" to return us to Israel. But even before that, even while not yet living in Israel, Halacha/Jewish Law tells us that when we pray the main prayer of Shemoneh Esray, we are supposed to face Israel/Jerusalem/site of Holy Temple from whatever direction we are at. Actually, it sometimes is more confusing when living in Israel if out of Jerusalem as to exactly what direction to face the Holiest City because when travelling around, we are at a very fine angle, and especially without the sun around (or GPS), we may not have a good sense of exact direction. (In terms of living in the Western Hemisphere including the United States when facing east - in Florida, it should be a slight northern slant; in New York, it should be a slight southern slant).

In terms of four years, there is a type of spiritual level that is associated with this. As many will be familiar with, a Jewish boy gets his first haircut at the age of three, that is, in the beginning of his fourth year. Now, what is this based on? The Torah tells us (Leviticus 19:23-25) that when growing a fruit tree - in the first three years, the fruits are forbidden to be eaten. In the fourth year, its fruit are considered holy, and we are told by tradition that they can only be eaten if redeemed (for example, with a coin). And finally, in the fifth year, we can eat its fruit without any hindrance. One thing that is associated with this Mitzva which is not said in the Torah pertaining to most Mitzvot is that this would apply, as it starts off with "When you enter the land (of Israel)" which happened in the beginning of Joshua's leadership. How fascinating! I reached a milestone of four years, and now in the beginning of my fifth year, I am considered as a regular inhabitant of the Land. To come to think of it, I lived here for virtually an entire United States presidential term, for it was shortly before Bush started his second four-year-term.

Another connection with the number four in terms of Israel is the four blessings of Bircat HaMazon/Grace after meals. While the first blessing, composed by Moshe who was not able to enter Israel, does not speak anything about the Holy Land; the second blessing that was composed by Yehoshua who led the Jewish Nation to the Land mentions thanks to Hashem for the "cherished, GOOD, and spacious Land". Then the third blessing that was composed by King David & King Solomon mentions Jerusalem & Zion, and today's version of the blessing ends off asking Hashem to rebuild Jerusalem.

However, what perhaps is most fascinating is the FOURTH blessing because there is a whole story behind how this blessing got composed - which happened because of what started out as rather a very tragic incident. You see, the Jews of Beitar were murdered by the Romans and to add insult to injury, were forbidden to be buried. Some time later, permission was finally granted. Well, we don't need to mention what happens to a deceased after a short time of not being buried, but in this instance, a miracle happened and none of the dead were decayed or decomposed! It was in thanks of this that the Rabbis composed this FOURTH blessing thanking Hashem for preserving the bodies and that they were finally allowed to be buried. The key words used in this blessing in thanking Hashem for these things are HaTov V'Hameitiv - "the GOOD (king) and does GOOD (to all)" - in this instance, a double expression of goodness in this FOURTH and final blessing of thanking Hashem for our wonderful meal that we just ate.

There is one more interesting thing to note here. Rabbi Ya'akov Krantz, known as the Magid of Dubno, passed away on this date of 17 Tevet. He is known most famously for his parables that he composed amidst his sermons to bring Jews closer to the Torah. The Vilna Gaon, who was of impeccable Torah scholarship and character, felt a great need of this Magid to give him a lecture on ethics so he can fine tune his own character/Midot Tovot, though someone of the caliber of the Vilna Gaon probably did not need further "ethical instruction". In any case, what I would like to point out here is that the Vilna Gaon, among the greatest scholars of that generation, was born on the first day of Passover. As we know, we read the Hagaddah on the first two
night(s), (in Israel where the holidays are celebrated the way that the Torah tells us, we read the Hagaddah only on the FIRST night) which includes the Mitzva of recounting the Exodus/Sippur Yetizat Mitzrayim that is entitled with the word MAGID. It was exactly 200 years after the passing of the MAGID of Dubno that I was making my personal Exodus, leaving the exile for the Land that was promised to the first Ya'akov our ancestor who was told U'Faratzta Yama V'Keidma V'Tzafona VaNegba - "You will spread out to the west, east, north, and south". Yes, the four directions of the Land that the Jews who were redeemed from Egypt with the FOUR expressions of Redemption were promised that they would enter - V'Hotzeiti, V'Hitzalti, V'Go'alti, V'Lokachti "I will bring out", "I will save", "I will redeem", "I will take". (Incidentally, there is an English translation of the commentary of the Magid of Dubno on the Haggadah which was published for his 200th Yahrzeit which was the very date that I made Aliyah!).

So imagine - FOUR years gone by as though it was only yesterday. Do you want to wait another "FOUR more years" before coming to our Homeland where it is meant for a Jew to live the true meaning of life, living a spiritual life that more closely resembles the life of the world to come in the next world? Don't need to wait to start enjoying the spiritual bliss - the only TRUE GOOD. You can start your preparations for the big move to the GOOD land - TODAY!

17 Tevet 5769

#16 - The LAST Period

It's a little ironic to be calling this post the LAST period on the 10th of Tevet, the day that commemorates the FIRST major tragic event that happened to the Jewish Nation for which we fast. It is true that when the verse in Zecharia mentions the list of fast days that this one is listed last, but that is strictly according to the order of the months of the year. But this is the BEGINNING of these major troubles - which was the the enemy beseiging the wall of Jerusalem, which was the beginning of the downfall of Jerusalem & destruction of the first Holy Temple. In fact, our Rabbis tell us that if 10 Tevet falls out on Shabbat, then we have to fast on this Shabbat as we do for Yom Kippur - on 10 Tishrei - when it falls out on Shabbat, as learned out from a verse about today's fast day from Ezekiel (Note: the way our calendar is set up these days, 10 Tevet will never fall out on a Shabbat). This is unlike the other fast days when if their regular date falls out on Shabbat, then the fast is held earlier or later (only when Tisha B'Av falls out on Shabbat, we begin the fast from sunset due to a technicality as to a doubt as to when night begins). Accordingly, even though most of the burning of the Holy Temple took place on the 10th of Av, the fast of Tisha B'Av is held on the 9th of Av (unless it falls out on Shabbat so then we fast on the 10th of Av) because though the burning only started near the end of the day, yet it is the BEGINNING of the tragedy that is considered the worst part of the tragedy.

This year, 10 Tevet actually marks something most significant - it happens four times a year. This is the spring equinox, the summer solstice, the fall equinox, or the winter solstice. They are known as Tekufat/Cycle of - Nissan, Tammuz, Tishrei, or Tevet respectively. Each such period lasts for 91 days and 7 and 1/2 hours. Thus, a full solar year consists of 365 and 6 hours.
So, this coming winter solstice will be BEGINNING this year on 10 Tevet at 10:30AM Jerusalem time (3:30AM EST). It is interesting to note that it falls out on the time that is in the middle of the hour of 10 o'clock on the 10th day of the 10th month (counting the months from Nissan, the month of the Exodus - the birth of our Nation). But be it as it may, there is something much more of significance here as to THIS particular winter solstice.

In my 7th post "Countdown to Bircat HaChama" (in November), I mentioned the planetary pattern being in the same position every 28 years starting from Creation, which will occur for the 207th time this year on Erev Pesach - 14 Nissan. Now, we have four seasonal periods every year. Starting the count from the spring equinox when we recite Bircat HaChama, this winter solstice or Tekufat Tevet will be the LAST period of the 112 periods in the 28 year cycle. To get a clearer picture of this, press on this link which will show you these 112 periods of this cycle
http://www.realluach.com/tkf.php?zone=machzor&c=206, and the 112 periods
http://www.realluach.com/tkf.php?zone=machzor&c=207 for the upcoming cycle.
(NOTE: The Hebrew date showing will sometimes actually be the next Hebrew date if the time showing is at night before 12:00AM of the next secular date. Also, the times showing does not take into account Daylight Savings Time)

As you noticed, there are exactly 112 periods in each 28 year solar cycle. To be sure, nothing is coincidence. When Ya'akov with his family came to Israel, at one point, they crossed the ford of the Jabbok - Ma'avar Yabok. Yabok are the same letters for the Hebrew number of 112, Koof-Yud-Beit. In fact, there is a holy book that is called Ma'avar Yabok, which contains liturgies for the ill and deceased. A section of this deals with the LAST period of the dying person's life - particularly the last few hours, minutes or seconds. This is the most CRUCIAL time of a person's life, and is a time for confessing and regretting one's sins throughout his or her lifetime.
If a person truly repents of one's sins, he/she is totally forgiven and these sins are not held against him/her in the Hereafter.

In Ya'akov's own name, you have the same three letters of the number 112 or Yabok, and the letter Ayin in his name is the letter that is kabalistically connected with this month of Tevet. In fact, there is a special period of repentance for sexual sins that is called Shovevim - the Hebrew word that are the beginning letters of the first six Parshiyot of Sefer Shemot/Book of Exodus - Shemot, Vaeira, Bo, Beshalach, Yitro, Mishpatim. We begin these readings in this month. Also, the word for one needing to set a fixed thing is Yikba, the same letters as Ya'akov. This word is used in Shulchan Aruch/Code of Jewish Law in reference to setting a fixed time to learn Torah everyday - especially after the morning prayers. It says that even if one is rushed to work, he should set a fixed time (Yikba Et) to learn even just one verse or one Halacha/Jewish Law, and can learn more later in the day when he has more time. Indeed, learning Torah is a greater Mitzva and has more eternal reward for each word learnt than ALL of the Mitzvot combined! But in addition, learning Torah helps one repent between learning what one has to do to serve Hashem the proper way as well as giving one the motivation and understanding of one's purpose in life without squandering it on worthless things, as money can always be replaced but time cannot be replaced - every moment counts.

In this week's Parsha Vayechi, the last Parsha of Bereishit/Book of Genesis which always falls around 10 Tevet, Ya'akov is about to reveal the date of the Redemption, but is made to forget it at the last moment before blessing his children. This period of time right before the Redemption or the time of the Redemption itself is referred to as the Acharit HaYamim "End of Days".

Speaking of end & last, there is another last in time - Shabbat. This is the weekend & LAST day of the week. But what is special about this coming Shabbat is that it falls out on the 14th of Tevet. You see, exactly 850 years ago, the famed commentator on the Torah/Chumash known as Ibn Ezra was handed a letter in which he was addressed by non other than the Sabbath Queen herself (yes, Shabbat isn't just the name of the special day of the week, there is an actual spiritual being whose name is Shabbat). In his words: "In the year 4919 at midnight , Shabbat eve of the fourteenth of Tevet, I, Avraham the Sephardi Ibn Ezra was in a city on an island at the end of the earth (London, England)... And I saw in a dream that what appeared to be a man stood before me, holding a sealed letter. And he declared to me: Take this letter that the Shabbat has sent to you... and I bowed down... And I read it, and at first it was as sweet to me as honey, but when I read the final passages my heart burned within me, and I almost lost my soul... Why did it send me this letter? Here it is: 'I am Shabbat, the crown of precious religion, the fourth of the Ten Commandments... I am the joy of men and women, and both old and young are happy with me...'
"And the Shabbat said to me: 'It has been said that yesterday your students brought to your home books with a commentary on the Torah, where it is written to desecrate the eve of Shabbat. And you should gird your loins in order to defend the honor of Shabbat by fighting the war of the Torah against the enemies of Shabbat. Do not show favor to any man.'"

Following this, the Ibn Ezra opened his door, and there is was, the version of the Bible that this student of his placed at his front door. Reading from the beginning of Genesis, when speaking about the first day of Creation where it is written as "And it was evening, and it was mourning, the first day", the commentary on this read as "When it was morning of the second day, then there was one full day, because the night follows the day", thus challenging when Shabbat begins which according to this, it would imply that Shabbat begins on Saturday morning and ends at Sunday morning instead of from Friday night until Saturday night. Upon seeing this, the Ibn Ezra became very enraged, and tore this up, even though under normal circumstances, it is forbidden to rip up something - especially with wording - on Shabbat. He then resolved that immediately after Shabbat, he would set the record straight.

For the full version of the poem of the words of Shabbat HaMalka herself in Hebrew, check it up on the following link in the paragraph in blue daat.ac.il/daat/shabat/luach/igeret-2.htm. What follows is Ibn Ezra's letter in response to the heretical views of his wayward student. The full text is what is called Igeret HaShabbat - The Letter of Shabbat.

As you may have noticed in more recent posts, I have connected the number of the post to some theme within that particular blog. Well, I have a double wammy here with the number 16, actually three specialties:
1) The number 112 is a multiple of 16 when multiplied by 7 (we just talked about the 7th and last day of the week - Shabbat)
2) I had mentioned in a previous blog pertaining to Obama (his case challenging his supposed U.S. citizenship is pending in the Supreme Court) about the two American guys who predicted his rise to the U.S. Presidency long before he was the main candidate running on their website http://www.redemption5768.com/. At this time, they have 16 shows posted on their site. And at the very end of their 16th show...
3)They mentioned the SECRET FORMULA FOR CLEANSING SINS. This is most particularly the case for sexual sins. We are referring specifically to the 10 Psalms of what is known as the Tikun HaKelali, as compiled by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov - 16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137, 150. Now, while we are at it, it should be mentioned that this date of 10 Tevet is the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Nosson Sternhartz, the main disciple of Rabbi Nachman, who said of his disciple Rabbi Nosson that if it wasn't for him, there would be no writings of Breslov around. In any case, the very first word of the first of these 10 Psalms, in Psalm 16, is the word Michtam/Letter (of David) which is the same Gematria as Nosson (500)! Now, add the number 112 which we associated earlier in this blog to repentance, and it comes out to 612. This is the Gematria of Brit, as in Brit Mila/Circumcision, referring to sexual purity.

Let's prepare ourselves in this LAST PERIOD before the nearing of the coming of Moshiach which is associated with the timing of Birkat HaChama which will begin a new period, a new era, the time of the new LIGHT/Ohr=207, beginning of the 207th period of physical and spiritual light which will occur on Erev Pesach, the very day that according to the Torah we are supposed to offer the Pascal lamb (called Pesach in Hebrew, the same name as the holiday) as the Jews did right before leaving the Egyptian exile in their first redemption. In our final and last period which begins in the midst of this fast day, a day that marks a time of self reflection due to the troubles that happened to us as a result of our sins, let us resolve to do it right and truly repent and make a sincere effort for the better BEFORE the coming of Moshiach to merit eternity.

(I should mention that since my last posting on the political party in Israel to vote for, a very positive change happened in which the National Union (Ichud Leumi) went through a major change when choosing Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz, the legend of the Yishuv movement in Israel including the founding of Bet El, to be the head of this party, and combined a few smaller parties, including Marzel's, to be united as one. Fourth on its list is Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, one of Marzel's guys and was in close contact with both Rabbis Meir and Binyamin Kahane ZTVK'L HY'D. This is the party to vote for if you want Israel to get back on its feet without compromise with the Arabs. If you can't vote if you live abroad, then get your relatives and/or friends in Israel to vote for this party).

10 Teves 5769 - Day of Beginning of Tekufat Tevet

P.S. The time mentioned for this posting is 2:06PM. Indeed, this very blog is talking about the last period in the 206th cycle of the 28 year planetary position. True Divine Providence/Hashgacha Pratit!