Nowhere To Run, Nowhere To Hide

If there is nowhere to run from flesh and blood, how much more so from HaShem!

HaShem should give us all the strength to come clean and be made clean, especially from transgressions related to kedusha.

All of us together should have a g’mar chasima tova.

And HaShem should have mercy on Mr. Polanski, grant him the grace to do Tshuva, and rescue him from those who seek to do him harm.

Edom Makes New Threats

Just before the new year is “sealed”, Edom versus Paras cranks up another notch as America and Europe accuse Iran of operating a clandestine nuke facility.

Looks like more groundwork being laid before an Israel-led (and Edom finished) attack against Paras.

HaShem should protect us so that when the smoke clears, it won’t be the Jews who are forced to pay heaviest price of victory.

After all, who really is the target of Edom’s anti nuclear weapon proliferation agenda?

Power Boosted 13 Attributes of Mercy!

Not sure what the 13 middot are really all about?  What do they really mean?

Here’s a well done and and super useful and user friendly English guide for the 13 Middot that is sure to boost your Yom Kippur experience!

Contains a take-to-shul “kavanah table” you can use when you pray.

Paras Falling – Strong Signs

Debka news reports that Iran loses its only AWACS in a collision of two jets over military parade in Tehran Tuesday.

Eye witnesses reported that the flaming planes landed on the mausoleum burial site of the Islamic revolution’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini, a national shrine.

Airplanes are like birds, and birds are mystically connected with angels.  We learn from the Zohar (parshat Beshallach) that a nation’s spiritual guardian angel falls before the nations’ physical downfall.

Given the timing of this event (during the Days of Awe) and the strange details (fiery crash on Khomeini’s burial site), it could well be that this plane crash represents the fall of the guardian angel of Paras, and presages the fall of Iran.

This may mean war between Edom and Paras.

HaShem should protect us all!

Hadassim (Chassadim) Shortage?

Breaking news reports that there may be a North American shortage of hadassim this year, causing the price to increase over 500%!

There might be a message in this. . . .

It is well known that the hadassim symbolize the attribute of Chessed (Kindness).   The shortage of hadassim could represent that there is, mystically speaking, a blemish in this attribute that needs to be fixed by North American Jewry.

To fix this, we turn to none other than the holy Ramak, ztkl, who states in Tomer D’vora (with slight paraphrasing):

The core means to enter into the secret of Chessed is to love haShem completely, “with all one’s m’odecha“, with every measure given to a person, good and bad.

To do this, one must tie all harsh judgments to kindness. This was the attribute of the holy Sage, Nachum ish Gam’zu.  A person needs to take the  “Gam’zu” (the harsh judgment), and tie it “l’tova” (kindness).

This is a great method by which a person ties themselves constantly to haShen’s attribute of kindness.

As Rashi states, “with all ones m’odecha” also means with all one’s money.  Thus, this year, in the event that hadassim are much more expensive because of a shortage, we should fix that problem by gladly and eagerly spending more to purchase them.

HaShem should help that, together, we sweeten all harsh judgments!

Secret of the Russian S-300 Air Defense System?

300 is the gematria of Elohim, the attribute of strict justice, in its “filled” form (when every letter is spelled out).

Negative forces of impurity (klipot) draw nourishment and sustenance from this name when the Jewish people transgress (the name itself is entirely holy).  These klipot act as barriers between the Jewish people and haShem.

Possibly, a hint of this spiritual reality is reflected in Russia’s efforts to arm Iran with the advanced S-300 air defense system. This weapons system is, in essence, a barrier intended to stop the Jewish people’s efforts to protect themselves from harm.

HaShem should help us do tshuva that will remove all barriers between the Jewish people and our King.  Our efforts to remove the barriers “above” will surely remove the barriers “below.”

Our heartfelt prayers for salvation should surmount all barriers and be answered and fullfilled, soon, in our days.

Have a Healthy and Sweet New Year!

The Archer & The Trapper: The Two Covenants

Slichot this morning spoke of “The Archer” and “The Trapper”.  Who are they?  And how do they relate to the End of Days and Tshuva?

Yishmael is known as the Archer. Genesis 21:20, “he dwelt in the desert and became an accomplished archer”; Rashi on Genesis 21:10, “he would shoot arrows at Yitzhak and say he was just joking”.

Yishmael represents the forces of impurity that result from inappropriate lusts. Yishmael is strengthened when Jewish people blemish “The Covenent of Circumcision” (Brit Milah) by engaging in prohibited sexual immorality.

Esav is known as the Trapper. Rashi on Genesis 21:28, “he would trap people with his lying words”.

Esav reprsents the forces of impurity that result from inappropriate arrogance.  Esav is strengthened when Jewish people blemish “The Covenant of the Mouth” (Brit Peh) by engaging in prohibited evil speech.

The holy Abir Yaakov, haRav Yaakov Abuchatzeira, ztkl, writes that the “Two Covenants” of the mouth and circumcision are like one, as the gematria of milah and peh are both 85.  These covenants are directly connected to strict judgments insofar as “85 plus 1″ equals 86, the gematria of the divine name Elohim, the  attribute of strict judgments.  (He further writes that our forefathers merited redemption from Egypt because they guarded these Two Covenants.)

Fundamentally, violations of the Two Covenants are the primary causes of Yishmael’s and Esau’s nourishment, strength and power. This manifests on a geopolitical level as the growing power and animosity of Yishmael and Esav over and towards the Jewish people.

Consequently, to defeat Yishmael and Esav, the Jewish people must do Tshuva and rectify and guard against blemishes to the Two Covenants.

Not only will this Tshuva “sweeten” and annul the harsh judgments . . .

This Tshuva will actually cause strict justice (din) to join forces with kindness (chesed) and mercy (rachamim) as an ally and protector against our enemies.

This is the secret of verse Psalm 94:1, which says, “El (chesed) n’kamot (din) haShem (rachamim)”

Good Guarding the Brit Milah site.  Good Guarding the Brit Peh site.

Guardians of the Morning

Congrats to the Moshiach Blogosphere.  Participants are soon to be mentioned each day during Yomim N’oraim (Days of Awe) prayers.

Tehillim (Psalm) 130, verse 6 reads, “My soul is for HaShem, amongst the guardians of the morning (mi’shomrim l’boker), guardians of the morning .”

On this pasuk, Rashi states that “amongst the guardians of the morning (mi’shomrim l’boker)  refers to those who look forward expectantly for the redemption (mitzapim l’yeshua)”.

There could be no better description of Moshiach Blogosphere participants than this.

Its A Family Affair: The End of Days Players

Who really is Esau? Let’s take a fascinating look at the “sons of Esau” in detail.

Click for a cool schematic diagram of the Family Affair “players” (.pdf )

The Torah singles out two of Esau’s children as “son’s of Esau”,  Eliphaz and Ruel. (The other children of Esau are not referred to as sons of Esau but rather sons of his wives).

Eliphaz, Esau’s first born, means “My God is Gold”. This son manifests at a nation level as Russia.  It is well known that for Russia’s KGB/mafioso rulers, its all about the money.

“Iran, want a nuclear reactor? No, problem, that’ll be $4 billion. . . Don’t pay on time?  Construction stops. . .  A war between the west, Israel, and Iran? Great, let’s sell some oil”, and so on.

Importantly, while Eliphaz is in it for the money, his son, Amalek, is in it to annihilate the Jews.  Amalek gestates inside of Eliphaz, but he is just under the surface for those with eyes to see.

Ruel means “Evil and Kindness (el being the the attribute of kindness according to Kabballa)”. This son manifests at a nation level as the United States.  The US is a complex combination of great kindness and true evil.  For example, America is the most charitible nation in the world in terms of aid, but it readily supports wicked tyrants and dictators when they provide material benefits.

Importantly, the mother of Ruel is Basmath, the daughter of Ishmael. This explains why the US has a unique intimate relationship with the Arab World.  (See how Barak Obama is deeply connected to Basmath).

As we follow major plotlines of Esau vs. Paras, and Esau/Yismael vs. Yaakov, keep an eye on the fascinating Eliphaz vs. Ruel sub-plot. Expect Eliphaz (Russia) to more forcefully assert his “first born” dominance over Ruel (US) as the End of Days unfolds.

Israel Being Set Up?

What’s a great way for the nations to really put Israel behind the 8-ball?  Have Israel start the war against Iran.

There appears to be more confirmation that Bibi’s mysterious “disappearance” was due to a suprise visit to Russia to discuss an Israeli attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Bibi’s actions are reasonable. After all, if Edom (US/Europe/Russia) doesn’t do anything to stop Iran, Israel must.

But Bibi must proceed with extreme caution. It is highly probable Israel is being squeezed/goaded to fire the “first shot” against Iran.

Once it does, Iran will predictably do something stupid like attack a US or Saudi interest ( a US base in Iraq, or Arab oil installation).  Edom will then have the perfect excuse to pile on “in self-defense” and cream Iran.

When the smoke clears, the nations will hypocritically take Israel to task for “attacking” Iran.

Edom will scream, “Israel didn’t give enough time for diplomacy. They started a war, and we had to finish the job for them.”

Ishmael will shamelessly declare, “We are shocked and humiliated that the Jews would violate and attack our Muslim brothers in Iran.”

Of course, all along, Edom and Ishmael truly desire Israel to strike so as to eliminate Paras’ influence from the region.

Any war against Paras will likely have frightening negative effects on the global economy.  Israel (and he Jews) will likely be blamed (after all, they “started it”).

Edom will demand Israel “fix” the problem they created by starting a war with Iran. It will demand immediate implementation of the suicidal piece plan.   Ishmael, too, will join in making this demand.

HaShem should protect us from this scenario!  HaShem should help all of us do a complete tshuva!