Please say tehillim and give tzedokah for the refua shelama of 4 year old Avraham Moshe ben Miriam Toba who has cancer that spread to his brain and spine.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Put Effort Into Preparation Not Prediction of Moshiach's Arrival Emphasizes Rabbi Lazer Brody
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The editorial page of Breslev Israel's English website More on the Yetzer’s desensitization process The difference between speculation, that is, predicting the date of Moshiach's arrival, and between anticipation and preparation for Moshiach, is like the difference between light and darkness. The former is forbidden, and the latter is an absolute obligation. The Yetzer Hora, or EI (evil inclination) wants to convince you that they're both the same. He desensitizes us to believe that any mention of Moshiach is forbidden. Why? The arrival of Moshiach marks the beginning of the Yetzer's end. A Jew begs Hashem three times a day for redemption, Moshiach, and the rebuilding of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and that's without birkat hamazon and Kaddish. In Kaddish we say "b'agala u'bzman kariv", in other words, that Hashem's kingdom on earth should be established speedily and in our days. In Aleinu, we beg Hashem to bring down the Divine Monarchy to this earth, and to wipe away all evil. So, after everything an "observant" Jew says every day, if he or she is not eagerly anticipating the Geula (Moshiach, salvation, the building of the Temple, and the establishment of G-d's reign on earth), then they are either totally desensitized by the EI, or else they have no idea what's in their liturgy. On Shabbat, we all cry out from the bottom of our hearts during Kedusha, "When will You reign in Zion? Speedily in our days, shall You dwell anong us forever!" We yearn for Moshiach, because his arrival marks the beginning of Hashem's reign on earth. So, when a person says Kedusha during the repetition of the Amida, and he's not waiting for Moshiach, he's being downright dishonest to The Almighty. That's pretty cheeky... The very same Rambam who codified the Gemara's curse against those who speculate on the time of Moshiach's arrival (Hilchot Melachim 12:2), also lists in the thirteen tenets of our faith (see Rambam's commentary on the Mishna, tractate Sanhedrin, 10:1, principle number 12), "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach, and even though he tarries, I'll await him any day (whenever) he may come." Does that make the Rambam a "Moshiach Monger"? If so, I'm happy to be in the Rambam's company… Movies, TV, and the Web are all agents of the EI's desensitization process. The EI doesn't want you praying, learning Talmud, Rambam, or Shulchan Aruch, and certainly not saying thank-you to Hashem or doing an hour or more of hitbodedut every day. Why? You might discover that when you finish your go-round on this earth, one of the first things the Heavenly Court justices will ask you is (Talmud Bavli, tractate Shabbos, 31a), "Did you anticipate yeshua (salvation, i.e. Moshiach)?" How will you be able to answer that question? Why do we need Moshiach? The Yetzer has so desensitized worldwide Jewry that most don't even feel the spiritual holocaust that's destroying our people all over the world this very minute. We must fight to the finish against the heresy, assimilation, and the 21st Century golden calf - the mad race after materialism - that's killing our nation. So, speculation no, but anticipation and preparation yes! The future of the Jewish people depends on it. The Yetzer (Evil Inclination) used to employ Cossacks and Nazis to kill our people. Now, he does it with money, toys, and laytzanut - scoffing at our pure faith of old, especially by self-hating Jews. The distance between laytzanut and epikursis (denial of faith) is a short jump. Anticipation of Moshiach demands preparation, namely Torah and Tshuva. With Torah and Tshuva, we will win the war against epikursis and expedite the redemption of our people. If we spiritually stimulate ourselves to return home to Hashem, then we won't need such harsh wake-up calls like the natural disasters that all the meteorologists and geologists are talking about. It's time to turn off the TV and the computer and open a Gemara or Tehillim (Psalms). A soldier can't prepare himself for battle by playing Monopoly. But, don't take my word for it; listen to the giants of this generation, from Rabbi Ovadiah Yossef to Rabbi Chaim Kanyevski, with the Kabbalist and Chassidic Rebbes concurring, may they all have long and healthy days. Our esteemed brothers in Chabad coined the term, "Moshiach Now!", but really, every human on earth should be yelling it. All "Moshiach Now" means is "Tshuva, now!!" Tshuva means "returning to Hashem" - for a Jew, it's the big 613 commandments and for a non-Jew, it's the Seven Noahide Mitzvas. Since we don't know exactly when Moshiach will come, we have to be on 24-hour round-the-clock preparedness. That means that we all must return to Hashem this very second. The instant Moshiach comes - if a person hasn't made Tshuva - then it's too late. To paraphrase the old tuna commercial, he or she will be told, "Sorry, Charley..." Now's the time to resensitize; for our own welfare and for the future of our offspring for generations to come, this is the moment to come back to Hashem - Jews and non-Jews alike. (We invite you to visit Rabbi Lazer Brody’s award-winning daily web journal, “Lazer Beams”) | |||
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Powerful Video on the Power of Gratefullness
Lazer Brody teaches that saying thank you to Hashem can undo the ungrateful crying and complaining of the Sin of the Spies that we are still living out today. Very powerful messages to strengthen emunah (faith).
See here http://www.breslev.co.il/video-stream/asx/brody28.asx
See here http://www.breslev.co.il/video-stream/asx/brody28.asx
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Tikkun (Rectification/Healing) of the Sin of the Spies
The Arizal revealed that the souls of the Jewish people at the end of history will be the same souls of the Jewish people from the beginning of our history. One main reason for this will be tikkun, that is rectification of the sin that they committed.(Rabbi Pinchas Winston Geulah Brachamim p 31-32), emphasis added
We already saw how four fifths of the Jewish population in Egypt died in the Plague of Darkness for not wanting to leave Egypt. However millions died over the course of 39 years for not wanting to go into Eretz Yisrael, and it is those souls that return at the end of history to make amends for that tragic sin.
( Eim Habanim Semeicha 258-259), emphasis added
You must understand that the people of Israel did not deserve to enter the Land because they tested the Holy One Blessed be He many times. However through his abundant mercy and kindness, G-d placed in their hearts the desire to send men to spy out the land. Had they performed the mission properly, Hashem would have brought them into the land (because of this merit) and afterward, slowly but surely would have taken retribution for their previous sins. ...
Hashem commanded them to send their princes, meaning their greatest sages... Moshe was hinting that they should praise Eretz Yisrael so that the Jews would yearn to enter the Land. Then they would merit to enter therein.
...This teaches that simply yearning for and desiring the Land makes Israel worthy of inheriting it...
The holy Zohar and the Shelah explain that selfish motives caused the spies to do this. They feared that they were meant to be princes only in the desert, but once they entered the Land new princes would be appointed.
Let this be an instructive lesson. Even the greatest gadol in Torah and righteousness should not trust himself when he opposes the movement to build the land. He should not feel that his intentions are fully for the sake of heaven, for he is certainly no greater in Torah and righteousness than the princes whom Moshe sent. Consider and study this well and you will see that it is truth.
In any event, we see that Hashem motivated the Jews to send men to Eretz Yisrael for Israel's benefit. He wanted to awaken within them a yearning and desire for the good Land, so that they would be worthy to enter the Land.
There is no doubt that the Holy One Blessed be He, Who always has our best interest in mind placed this desire for the Land of our forefathers into the hearts of our Jewish brethren (who have learned the ways of the nations during this long and bitter exile), so that none of us will be banished.
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