Showing posts with label midrash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label midrash. Show all posts

Friday, September 4, 2015

Prophecy Fulfilled: Sept. 4, 2015


Prophecy Fulfilled: Sept. 4, 2015


I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to publish this tidbit of news I discovered in Friday morning’s newspaper, but by now everyone must surely know. On page 10 of the Jerusalem Post, there was a small article that happened to catch my attention.  I would have expected it to be placed on the front page (knowing its significance), but nevertheless, there it was.  I had been patiently waiting for this event to happen (along with many other people).
BIN-OpEd-Experts-300x250(1)The article, which you can also find originally posted on Reuters, states: “The White House said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman would meet with President Barack Obama in Washington on Sept. 4. The two leaders will discuss Yemen, Syria and steps to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region.” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told this to reporters who were traveling on Air Force One. The story goes on to say that US President Barack Obama wants to “shore up relations” after a period of tension regarding the US-led nuclear deal with Iran.
The timing is uncanny though, since this visit is scheduled to come less than two weeks before a Congressional vote on the nuclear agreement with Iran.  Furthermore, the article points out clearly that the gist of the meeting is to discuss “steps to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region.”
Can you smell the fear there? One of the things I learned in my Executive Counter-Terrorism course at IDT was that it’s the “infidel” (aka – moderate) Sunni Arabs in Saudi Arabia that are first on the Iranian (Shi’ite) nuclear hit list. Before Israel even – despite all the rhetoric to the contrary.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Very interesting. All this has been mapped out over 1500 years ago in the following Jewish scriptural sources:
Yoma 10a in the Talmud – “Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda in the name of Rabbi Ilayi: In the time to come, Rome will fall at the hands of Persia.”
Well, how it that going to happen? We definitely know that present-day Persia and Rome intensely dislike each other ever since the Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US was revealed (in Nov. 2011). The above verse may in fact elude to the final battle of Gog and Magog that we may witness at the End of Days.
But here is something closer to home. The following passage is from a Midrash (an ancient text originally compiled circa 500 AD). Keep in mind that Midrashic literature is not always meant to be taken at face value, but is usually coming to teach an historic lesson that all can learn from.
Yalkut Shemoni (Isaiah, #499) – “Rabbi Yitzchak said: The year that Melekh HaMashiach (King Messiah) will be revealed, all the kings (leaders) of the nations will be struggling against each other. The leader of Persia (Iran) will contest with an Arab leader and the Arab leader will go to Aram/Edom (the Western Superpower) to get council from him. The leader of Persia will respond and [attempt to] bring destruction to the entire world. All the nations of the world will be trembling and shaking and falling on their faces. They will be seized by pains like labor pains. The Jewish people will be overcome by panic and fear, saying: “Where can we go? Where can we go?” And the Messiah will say to them: My children, do not fear, everything I did I did only for you! Why are you frightened? Don’t be afraid–the days of your redemption have arrived!”
I’d say this particular Midrash is not just conjecture, but pretty specific!
Uncover the Truth Behind the A.R.K.
But when the Midrash speaks about destroying the world, for instance, it begs the question: Is this statement to be taken literally, or does it refer perhaps to another type of destruction? Iran and ISIS intend to destroy other things in the world as well, one of which is Democracy, and replace it with a global Islamic Caliphate. Or maybe it points to the poisoning of ecosystems and drinking water sources throughout the world by means of terror attacks, etc. Maybe it’s all three! (heaven forbid)
Rabbi Yonasan Eibshetz (1690-1764) in his book Ya’arot Dvash – “At a certain moment the time will come when the Messiah should have already arrived but the redemption has not yet come. The Messiah will ask how it could be that the time for redemption has arrived and he still undergoes sufferings? The response that he will receive is that he must wait for nine months. Why? In order to wait for the fall of Persia (Iran) at the hands of Edom (the Christian West), and then the final redemption will come!”
No doubt Jerusalem will end up in the centre of all this by then as well. The main thing for us is to be hopeful that the Redemption of the Jews, and all peoples, should happen in a merciful way, and not followed by sorrow and servitude!
Each one of us can actually affect that outcome by strengthening our connection to the Creator and our commitment to Him, each in his/her own way, in our everyday lives, and by doing random acts of kindness to each other. Sounds corny, but this stuff really does have an effect on High.
This piece wouldn’t be complete without at least a couple other hints that also point to this upcoming year as being especially appropriate for the Messianic arrival. In the Bible Codes the words “Melech HaMashiach” – Hebrew for King Messiah, are found crisscrossed with the words Obama and “Shoresh Nachash” (meaning Source of the Snake). In fact, the numerical equivalent, or Hebrew gematria, for Barack Obama, and also Snake, both equal 358, the same exact number as the word: Mashiach! (his antithesis?) There are actually so many more hints available on this stuff that it’s outside the scope here.
My take on all this? Nobody alive today can pretend to know for-sure if all these sources pertain to this year specifically, but that little article that I chanced upon reveals the most striking fulfillment so far of prophecy, right here in the 2015 daily papers. One things you CAN bet on though, is that this Sept. 4th I’ll be checking the news.
Fasten your seatbelts folks!

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/47934/prophecy-fulfilled-sept-4-2015-opinion/#wSVXgJFZ5Ebo427E.99


Friday, August 21, 2015

Mazal Tov to Rabbi Tuly & Family! ✡ "Righteousness Shall You Pursue"

Righteousnessrighteousness shall you pursue, so that you will live and possess the Land that the Lord your God gives you.

DEUTERONOMY (16:20)

צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְ-הוָה אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ

דְּבָרִים טז:כ

tze-dek tze-dek tir-dof l'-ma-an ti-kh'-ye v'-ya-rash-ta et ha-a-retz a-sher a-do-nai e-lo-he-kha no-tayn lakh

Shabbat Inspiration

This week's Torah portion (Deut. 16-21) discusses the restrictions placed by the Torah on a king of Israel. The restrictions are all meant to remind the leadership of the true source of Israel’s strength - God above. A leader remains humble before God while protecting his people. Jonathan (Yoni) Netanyahu, the leader and fallen hero of the Entebbe hostage rescue in 1976, took this principle deeply to heart, sacrificing his life in order to save those who needed him. A book of his eloquent and revealing letters give a glimpse into the mind of a modern-day Israeli warrior and honors his sacrifice for the Land of Israel.

Into the Heart & Mind of an Israeli Hero

Yoni Netanyahu, obm, was only 30 years old when he was killed leading Operation Entebbe, in 1976, which rescued more than a hundred Jewish hostages from armed terrorists. This video gives a private glimpse into Yoni's heart and love of protecting the Land and People of Israel.

Mazal Tov! It's a Boy!

With deep gratitude to Hashem, Rabbi Tuly Weisz and his wife Abby are happy to announce the birth of their son, born in Shaare Tzedek Hospital, Jerusalem!

Midrash Manicures

Show your support for Israel in fashion! These nail stickers, featuring images of Israeli flags, symbols and famous landmarks, go over your manicure and last for 10 days.

Today's Israel Photo

Israel's Supreme Court located in Jerusalem. The highest court in the Land, it consists of 15 justices, and its current Chief Justice is a woman, Miriam Naor.

Thank You

Today's Scenes and Inspiration is sponsored by Ruth Olayisade of Lagos, Nigeria. Toda raba!

“Very Informative & Keeps Me Current with Israel”

It’s great to hear from so many of you - stay in touch and let us know where in the world you are enjoying Israel365!

Greetings Rabbi, I really enjoy your Israel365. It's very informative and keeps me current with Israel and its people... John Thomas

I really love the land of Israel. Everything about Israel. God has given me the privilege to visit Israel last Feb 2015...I'd really love to come back and explore more.  Indeed Israel is the land of milk and honey is flowing from the Bible. Shalom, GLORIA V. ABAD
Shabbat Shalom, and may we always share in happy occasions,
Rabbi Tuly Weisz
RabbiTuly@Israel365.com
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Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Biblical Qualities Of Leadership ✡ "He Led the Flocks"

Moses was pasturing the flocks of Jethro, his father in law, the chief of Midian, and he led the flocks after the free pastureland, and he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.City of David with joy.

EXODUS (3:1)
 

וּמשֶׁה הָיָה רֹעֶה אֶת צֹאן יִתְרוֹ חֹתְנוֹ כֹּהֵן מִדְיָן וַיִּנְהַג אֶת הַצֹּאן אַחַר הַמִּדְבָּר וַיָּבֹא אֶל הַר הָאֱלֹהִים חֹרֵבָה

שמות ג:א

u-mo-she ha-ya ro-e et tzon yit-ro khot-no ko-hayn mid-yan va-yin-hag et ha-tzona-khar ha-mid-bar va-ya-vo el har ha-e-lo-heem kho-ray-va

Jerusalem Inspiration

Did you know that it was precisely the character traits of a shepherd, embodied by the young Moses, that prompted his appointment as redeemer of the Jewish nation by God? The Midrash teaches that it was Moses's display of pity towards his thirsty flock, that showed God his worthiness to lead God's beloved chosen nation.  The Shepherd's Tent, an interactive exhibit, was created with the idea of re-inviting this ancient lifestyle and the qualities that came along with it, such as kindness and caring for others. After much natural and political upheavel, this venture needs your help to continue to spread these vital messages. Sponsor the rebuilding of the Shepherd's Tent and have your name affixed to a testimony of Biblical values in the Holy Land.

"Living Through You" - Musical Tribute to Terror Victim

This inspiring music video expresses the beauty of the constantly outstretched hands of a young woman, Dalia Lemkus, obm, who was a giant in kindness to others in her work for the sick. She was murdered by a terrorist last summer, yet her life lives on through those who she loved and helped.

Raising Sheep in the Holy Land

One man's dream to raise sheep and goats in the Holy Land hasn't been easy, but his perseverance is paying off.

Star of David Keychain

This meaningful and eye pleasing keychain with five unique Star of David’s with shades of blue is a must for anyone who stands with Israel and the Jewish people.

Jerusalem Daily Photo

The image of the flock following its leader, by Zev Rothkoff.  Many of our Biblical prophets were shepards, because the qualities of this ancient profession mirror those of a compassionate leader.

Thank You

Please help us continue to spread the beauty and significance of Jerusalem!
 

“What a Wonderful Place

It’s great to hear from you and make new friends from all over the world. Please send mean email and let me know how you are enjoying Jerusalem365 (don’t forget to say where you are from!).
  Ah, beautiful Israel......what a wonderful place...........greetings from Knoxville, Tn. - Lynn Woody

God put it into my heart to pray for Israel and Jerusalem during my prayer time, but pray for me that one day I visit Israel. Shalom, Mukasa Deo
Blessing from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Tuly Weisz
RabbiTuly@Israel365.com
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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Simchat Torah - sundown Sept. 25, 2013

Simchat Torah: Just You and Me

Simchat Torah: Just You and Me

Amidst all the dancing and revelry, we realize just how alone we are with God.

by Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld
Simchat Torah is given a curious description in Torah: “On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you… it is a holding back (atzeret)” (Leviticus 23:36). What in the world is a “holding back?”
The Midrash explains: God says to Israel, “I hold you back unto Me.” It is as a king who invites his children to a feast for a number of days. When it is time for them to depart, he says, “My sons, please remain with me one more day. Your departure is difficult for me.” We have just gone through a Rosh Hashanah, a Yom Kippur, and a Sukkot together. I have judged you, forgiven you, and shaded you in My protective Clouds. And I don’t want to let go of you so soon. Stay for just one more day.
Why do we celebrate the Torah on this day?
There is thus something very intimate about Simchat Torah. After celebrating so many other festive occasions, God asks for one last day – just us alone. No special activities – no shofar, no judgment, no sukkah, no lulav. Let’s put it all aside and spend one more today together – just Me and you. In fact, the earlier holidays related to all mankind: On the High Holidays God judges the entire world. On Sukkot we would bring Temple sacrifices for the well-being of all the nations. But not Simchat Torah. God asks for just a little quiet time together. No one else; just the two of us.
How do we celebrate our special day with God? By taking His special gift to the Jewish people – by holding and dancing with His Torah.
But why do we celebrate the Torah on this day? Didn’t we receive the Torah on the holiday of Shavuot – which commemorates the Revelation at Mount Sinai? Why the opposite end of the year?
The answer is that we lost the Torah we received on Shavuot. After the Revelation, Moses remained on the mountain for 40 days as God taught him the Torah he was to teach the nation. He descended the mountain only to find a fraction of the nation dancing around a Golden Calf – with most of the people indifferent to the tragic affair. Moses smashed the Tablets, annulling our first “marriage” with God. We had lost the Torah we had only so recently acquired; we had failed to live up to its ideals.
Moses spent the next 40 days beseeching God not to wipe out the nation utterly. He then spent another 40 days on Mount Sinai receiving the Second Tablets. He returned at last on Yom Kippur, when God forgave the nation entirely. This is the Torah we celebrate on Simchat Torah.
There are thus two dates in the Jewish calendar in which we celebrate the Torah – Shavuot and Simchat Torah. On Shavuot we celebrate the Torah we had but lost. Why celebrate what we lost? Because the awe-inspiring event of the Revelation at Sinai was one the world would never forget. God descended onto Mount Sinai in all His glory. The world, all of creation stood frozen before God’s overwhelming presence. And Israel was terrified, shaken to the core. We begged Moses to act as intermediary between God and us, “for who of all flesh hears the voice of the Living God speaking from the fire like us and lives?” (Deut. 5:23). It was an overawing experience, one which we as a nation as well as the world over would never forget.
Today many people celebrate Shavuot by staying up the night of the holiday studying Torah. Who can sleep the night before such an earth-shattering event? But not once on Shavuot do we ask ourselves if we are keeping the Torah God gave us. For the Torah of Mount Sinai is not the Torah we have today. The Revelation was the greatest national event which ever occurred to us, but it was one we not able to live up to.

A Personal Torah

By contrast, on Simchat Torah we do not celebrate our national receiving of the Torah; we celebrate our personal one. God gave us the Second Tablets because He deemed us worthy of receiving them. He had just forgiven us on Yom Kippur and decided to take us anew. And we celebrate by each of us holding close that Torah God entrusted us with and dancing with it. And likewise every single member of the synagogue is called up to the Torah for the reading of a section.
Dancing in a crowd is actually a very personal experience.
Anyone who has experienced dancing in a crowd knows that it is actually a very personal experience. In spite of vast numbers of people surrounding you, you feel very alone. You lose yourself within a great moving mass of people, unaware of the individuals within the group and your location within it.
When we dance on Simchat Torah we celebrate our very personal connection to the Torah. We at once feel ourselves a part of the great body of Israel, yet at the same time we feel very alone with our God. This is not only the Torah of the nation of Israel; it is my own Torah. And each of us holds the Torah and celebrates just what God’s wisdom means to him personally. For everyone has his or her own perspective on God’s Torah. Everyone has his story, how the Torah has touched his life and how he has become who he is today.
My grandfather’s family came to the United States from the Ukraine in the early 20th century. He was one of 11 children in a very traditional family. They settled in Philadelphia. In a story repeated literally 2 million times, the children were sent off to public school and became “Americanized,” losing most of their religious observances in the process.
All except for my grandfather. Nearly 100 years ago, a local rabbi convinced his father to send his son Abraham to yeshiva in New York. Arriving as a teenager on the original Armistice Day of 1918, he attended what would later become Yeshiva University. He went on to earn rabbinic ordination – as did his son and grandsons after him.
Every one of us has his personal story, how he came to be who he is today and what the Torah means to him. For the Torah is the possession of all of us. No one has the monopoly on God’s wisdom. It is wisdom we can all study and grow from – and recognize its personal message to us. For when we dance on Simchat Torah, we celebrate the fact that we have been cleansed on Yom Kippur. We celebrate that God has once again accepted us. And we celebrate that the Torah is once again ours.

Wesbite: Aish.com

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Messianic Commentary: Prophecy Through Jewish Eyes

Messianic Commentary: Prophecy Through Jewish Eyes
Messianic Commentary: Prophecy Through Jewish Eyes
 
Strange as it may sound, such cardinal beliefs as resurrection from the dead and the Messiah are not to be found in a literal reading of the Bible. Despite this, both are so essential in Judaism and Christianity that negation of either is regarded as heresy.

The fact that the Messiah does not appear literally in the Bible means that he can be perceived only through interpretation. The genre known as “messianic prophecies” therefore essentially consists of drawing messianic significance out of biblical verses.

In contrast to Christianity, which engages in messianic prophecies in order to prove Jesus’ messiahship, Judaism regards them merely as plausible interpretations concerning the Messiah. Unfortunately, this disparity frequently leads to the use of messianic prophecies as a tool to prove the other tradition wrong, both Jews and Christians attempting to claim the truth to be on their side.

This column rejects this form of polemics, seeking instead to examine the many Jewish interpretations of messianic prophecies as a way of enriching one's faith rather than justifying it.

Our first "messianic prophecy" comes from “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 2:4).

The messianic clue in this verse requires a brief explanation. The scribes who copied the biblical text are called sofrim in Hebrew because they “counted” the letters, words, and verses in each book in order to ensure a faultless manuscript. This process revealed numerous irregularities, particularly between plene (full) and defective (short) spellings, Hebrew allowing words to be written with or without vowels.

For example, the word toledot (generations) in this verse can be spelled with or without the letter vav so that it can look like toledot, tledot, toledt, or tledt. These divergences were meticulously copied, not being considered “scribal errors” but intentional spellings hinting at possible hidden meanings.

The plene spelling toledot (generations) in Genesis 2:4 appears only here and Ruth 4:18, the latter verse stating “this is the genealogy (toledot) of Perez.” According to Jewish commentators, this unique spelling is that which links the two genealogies and juxtaposes Adam with the Messiah, the son of Perez.

The Midrash explains why these two are the only places in the Bible which use the plene spelling: “R. Judan said in R. Abun's name: The six [the letter vav, which equals six] corresponds to the six things which were taken away from Adam: his lustre, his immortality, his height, the fruit of the earth, the fruit of trees, and the luminaries … R. Berekiah said in the name of R. Samuel b. Nahman: Though these things were created in their fullness, yet when Adam sinned they were spoiled, and they will not again return to their perfection until the son of Perez [Messiah] comes; [because] ‘… toledot (generations) of Perez’ … is spelled fully, with a vav. These are they: his lustre, his immortality, his height, the fruit of the earth and the fruit of trees, and the luminaries" (Gen. Rabbah 12:6).

This interpretation asserts that Adam's perfect state of being has been lacking in all succeeding generations and will only be restored by the Messiah, who will give man back his primordial splendor. According to this midrash, therefore, the Messiah is the second, perfect Adam.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23351/language/en-US/Default.aspx