Help fight this war

In the daf yomi today (בבא קמא דף ג) the Gemara brings the passuk in Yeshaya (21:12):

אמר שומר אתא בוקר וגם לילה אם תבעיון בעיו שבו אתיו - The watchman said that the morning has come, and also night, if you would ask, then come again.

Rashi on the passuk is powerful. He says that the 'watchman' is reference to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Says Hashem, the morning will come, that is, the day when He will shine upon us; and the night as well, that is, the time that is prepared for Esav at the End of time. If you will ask to quicken the end, you can, by way of teshuva.

It seems clear that Teshuva is the essential component of Moshiach being revealed early. My gut tells me that if we are to merit Moshiach this year, it will be an early appearance. If that is so, Rashi tells us it can only be attained by doing Teshuva.

We keep hearing teshuva, over and over again. Daniel mentioned to me a while ago that teshuva is a common theme throughout the Geulah blogosphere, but we never seem to hear exactly what it means.

I would like to put forth a simple and straightfoward answer to the question.

Teshuva means to return. It means to return to Hashem. It means to return to your highest point, to what you know inside the deepest depth of your heart.

We know that success in the war that is going on here in Eretz Yisrael is not dependant on the might of the IDF nor the IAF. It is dependant completely upon our connection and relationship to Hashem. Nach is replete with stories of success and failure in the wars of the Jewish people. Recent history also tells the same tale. When we depend on Hashem, he takes care of us. When our connection is broken, we fail רחמנא לצלן.

We can run through Dreaming of Moshiach, Shirat Devorah, Mystical Paths, Lazer Beams, I Heart Noahides, Dani18, and a plethora of other Moshiach related blogs scanning for whatever buzzes our brain and gets us a little excited. But if all it does is give us a buzz and doesn't move us off of our computer chair into the Beis medrash for at least a few extra minutes a day to learn some Torah and connect to Hashem, then WE HAVE MISSED THE POINT!!!

The only way we can win the war is by returning to Hashem and reconnecting to Him. That is what Teshuva is about. It doesn't mean that you have to turn around and become a different person overnight. That is ridiculous and unrealistic. But we can take on to learn a few more minutes a day. If you need a place to find a five minute dvar torah, try out www.arigoldwag.com. It doesn't have to be my site - my point is not to plug my site - there are tons of great Torah sites (www.simpletoremember.com is a great one of note).

Commit to five minutes of Torah before you open up your internet browser. That is concrete Teshuva. That is how we can win this war and perhaps bring Moshiach early.

Getting the message

I just heard the following story from my rav.

A wealthy man came to a certain gadol last week. He told the gadol that he had recently lost thirty million dollars. The wealthy man asked for a bracha for his parnasah.

Asked the gadol, "Do you have bread on your table?"

"Yes, baruch Hashem, we can still feed our family," the man replied with a smile.

"Well, there are avrechim who have trouble putting food on their tables," said the gadol seriously. "I'm not sure who I should have pity for, you or them."

The wealthy man immediately wrote a very substantial check for tzedakah (as my rav told it, for two million dollars!).

To me, the amazing thing about this story is the willingness of the wealthy man to accept the gadol's rebuke! I have no doubt that the merit of that alone will stand him in good stead in shamayim.

Watch your pride

The leaders of Israel make a decision to enter into Gaza, and surprise Hamas with a devastating attack. The operation has begun and there is certainly promise in what is being done.

Yet, we see events unfolding with a superficial eye. We believe that what we see on the surface is what is really happening. When our leaders make decisions or surrender to inaction, we are fooled into believing that it is their own choices that are deciding our future.

When the results seem to be positive, we quickly get caught up in patting ourselves on the back. When things turn a different course, we look immediately for someone to take the blame.

This is all a result of a fundamental mistake. We forget that לב מלכים ביד השם - the hearts of kings (or leaders) are in the hand of Hashem. This means that although on the surface it would seem that there are certain people making decisions, starting wars and showing bravado, all that is really here is a drama that is being written by Hashem Himself. We sit in the audience and watch the actors on stage, believing that it is real and they are spontaneously thinking of their lines. The truth is that each one of them was chosen for their role because they would play their part well. But the script was written by Hashem. What they do and what they choose is not guided by their own intellects. It is guided by the greatest Intellect.

We need to have this perception when we read the news if we want to understand what is really going on. The moment we give in to the pride - yes it is pride to believe that our superficial perception of reality is all that there is - we make a tremendous mistake. When things are going well, the mistake makes us lose sight of Hashem's helping hand. When things are not going as well, the error leads us to despair.

When we trust in Hashem and know that all is from Him, and all is for our ultimate benefit, we can have true appreciation for His good in the good times, and hope for the best, even when times seem bleak. As Dovid Hamelech put it, להגיד בבוקר חסדיך ואמונתך בלילות - To say your praises in the morning [when there is light and all is well], and Your faithfulness in the night [when all seems dark and bleak].

Miketz - Facing adversity

Why did Yosef feel like he had to make sure the dreams were fulfilled?

Why did the brothers have to go through this ordeal?

Why did we need to be oppressed in the Chanukah story and then receive a miraculous salvation?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast, entitled, "Facing adversity."

By the way, you can subscribe to this podcast by going onto itunes and going into the Judaism section of the podcasts, or you can use the following url:

http://www.puresoulband.com/podcast/parsha.rss

Missing the point

I heard the following story in the name of R' Shimshon Pincus z'l.

Rabbi Boruch Adler* was asked to give a shiur to a mixed group of people, comprised of both scholars and unlettered individuals. He was forewarned that he should make sure to explain and translate words or concepts that might be foreign to anyone. Throughout his derasha he made every effort to explain each and every word, at times expounding on concepts that to him were fundamental. He made no assumptions, however, and explained everything to the best of his ability.

After his speech was completed, one of those who attended came up to Rav Adler with a broad smile on his face. As they began to speak it became evident that he was one of the less learned of the group.

"Rabbi," the man said, "I just want you to know that I truly appreciated how you made such a great effort to explain all of those lofty concepts."

Rabbi Adler nodded and smiled.

The man continued and said, "I believe that I really understood the ideas you were conveying in your speech, and I benefitted each time you translated the words from Hebrew in to English. There was just one word that you said a few times which you didn't translate."

"What was that," asked Rav Adler, looking slightly worried.

The man replied, "I didn't know what you meant when you kept saying 'Hakadosh Baruch Hu.'"

If Hakadosh Baruch Hu - God - is missing from the shiur, you've missed the whole point!

We can wake up every day, learn the daf yomi, put on our tallis and tefillin to daven, run to do chesed, be careful about saying Lashon Hara, and make sure to say Amen to the berachos that our friends say out loud. But if the essential ingredient is missing - if we are lacking the connection to Hashem - we've missed the boat!

Yehoshua and the Sun

I just came across a Da'as Zekenim on the passuk speaking of Yosef's second dream. He brings a Medrash, which I found both as he brought it and also in a slightly different version. Presented here is a composite of the two Midrashim.

The passuk says in Yehoshua 10:12, "שמש בגבעון דום" - the Sun stood still in Givon.

Yehoshua commanded the Sun to stand still. The Sun responded and said, "Is it right for on older one to stand before a younger one? I was created on the fourth day of Creation. Man was created on the sixth!"

Yehoshua responded and said, "A young master can ask an old slave to do his bidding. You are my grandfather Yosef's slave, as the verse says, 'Behold the Sun and the Moon... were bowing down to me.'"

This Medrash is somewhat perplexing at first glance. Firstly, it was only a dream - the Sun did not actually bow down to Yosef. Secondly, the Sun clearly represented Yakov Avinu, as everyone involved in the story seemed to understand, hence we would think that the dream should not be taken literally.

It is clear from this Medrash that the dream had deeper implications, as we mentioned in a previous post. We see that the dream implied that the Sun and Moon and Stars literally bowed to Yosef.

This was what Yehoshua was saying - just as you bowed to Yosef, you must bow to me too, as I possess the power of Yosef, as Moshiach ben Yosef.

It is also significant that both the Sun and the Moon stood still. In regards to the stars, this story clearly occurred during the day, so the stars were not visible. Nevertheless, they also stood still for the observers on the other side of the world. Thus, all the characters in Yosef's dream showed their subservience to Yehoshua, Yosef's great-grandson. May we merit to soon see them show their subservience to Moshiach ben Yosef again.

Who is Moshiach ben Yosef?

I would like to give a little idea of who exactly is Moshiach ben Yosef, and I would also like to weave in some strands of the dvar Torah that I said in my Parsha Podcast on Vayeshev.

Firstly, let us understand why we need two different Moshiachs.

The Moshiach we've all heard of is Moshiach ben Dovid, who we mention in our tefilos.

The lesser known is Moshiach ben Yosef. His job is the physical aspects of Klal Yisrael. He brings the Jewish people back to Eretz Yisrael (kibutz galuyos). He takes part in rebuilding the land of Israel. He builds the physical structure of the Beis Hamikdash. He is also privy to the secrets of the Torah (חכמת הנסתר). His job is to destroy Esav (see Rashi on Genesis 30:25). His power is the rectification of יסוד - the אות ברית קודש. He has full dominion over his physical desires - he rises above them and merits miracles. His power is also the power of Emunah/Bitachon - absolute trust in Hashem which also corresponds to יסוד. This also merits miracles, as per my earlier post "Bringing Miracles of Redemption."

The role of Moshiach ben Dovid on the other hand, is to bring the Shechina into the physical structures that Moshiach ben Yosef builds. Moshiach ben Dovid brings the Shechina into the Beis Hamikdash, into the Land of Israel, into the Jewish people. He is the מלך - which means that he reveals מלכות which is equal to שכינה.

This is why we say first ולירושלים עירך ברחמים תשוב - To Jerusalem your city return with mercy, before we even mention Moshiach ben Dovid. We say ובנה אותה בקרוב בימינו בנין עולם - rebuild it soon in our days an eternal building - this is reference to Moshiach ben Dovid. Then we say וכסא דוד עבדך מהרה לתוכה תכין - and the seat of David your servant quickly prepare in its midst. Here we see that it is a two step process, starting with the job of Moshiach ben Yosef and culminating with the job of Moshiach ben Dovid.

According to the Gemara in Succah, Moshiach ben Yosef is destined to die. The Gr'a holds that this is לאו דוקא, and says that in fact, the length of the gallus has already atoned for whatever would have necessitated his death. His שיטה is עוד יוסף חי - Moshiach ben Yosef will yet live.

Another interesting point which I have seen in more than one place is that besides for there being a single human being named Moshiach ben Yosef and Moshiach ben Dovid, there is a force within the Jewish people that corresponds to their role. This is actually similar to how you may have specialized cells in your body that perform a certain specific function, say the cells in your eyes. Nevertheless, every single cell in your body contains the same DNA, with that very information that makes those eye cells specialized. The only difference is that the other cells, say in your hand, do not express and bring out that specialized nature to its full expression. Nevertheless, that power exists everywhere within a person.

Thus, every Jew can donate to Moshiach ben Yosef's role, for there is a small piece of Moshiach ben Yosef in every Jew. In fact, people who work for Nefesh B'nefesh, as an example, are actually fulfilling one of the roles of Moshiach ben Yosef - kibbutz galuyos. When we bring spirituality into our lives or the lives of others, we are activating the Moshiach ben Dovid in each of us. This brings us a step closer to Geulah and effectively lightens the load of each of the Moshiachs.

Returning to Yosef, we see that his job was to take care of the physical welfare of the Jewish people. This was expressed in his dream with the stalks of produce, and later in his role of providing for Egypt and more specifically the seventy souls that descended to Egypt with Yakov. His role as the knower of the secrets of the Torah is also mentioned in numerous sources, and is hinted to by his name צפנת פענח - the revealer of secrets. It is also hinted to in the reference בן זקנים - the gematria of the bold is 207 which is the same as the word רז - secret (בעל הטורים).

Yosef was the master of תיקון הברית as he displayed in his difficult encounter with the wife of Potifar. He was also the quintessential בעל אמונה. He had the ultimate faith in Hashem and throughout the story of his trials stood steadfast in his faith in Hashem, never questioning, only constantly moving forward and staying strong. He himself constantly reassures his brothers that he bears them no ill will, but rather from the onset it was the will of Hashem that Yosef be sent to Mitzrayim.

Yehoshua bin Nun was from the tribe of Efraim (son of Yosef) and he fulfilled the role of Moshiach ben Yosef in his time - conquering the land of Israel and dividing it amongst the Jewish people.

Very interestingly, according to the site http://keitzmeguleh.blogspot.com, the current year (5769) corresponds to the first year of Yehoshua's conquest. Exactly what this means and how this will play itself out remains to be seen. (For more on that, please see his post Geulat Mitzraim to Yemot HaMoshiach)

Last point I would like to make is the pshat I said in my parsha podcast about Yosef's second dream. It is clear from the psukim that the second dream was a different dream (חלום אחר) as opposed to Paroh's dream which the Torah says ויחלום שנית - he dreamed a second time. Whereas Paroh had a repetition implying the dream would soon materialize, Yosef's second dream was a totally different dream with a totally different message.

The key to the message of the second dream is that the sun, moon and stars were bowing down to Yosef. The almost silly sounding question is, what do stars look like when they bow down?

The answer is that the prophets tell us that before Moshiach comes, the sun, the moon and the stars go out (יואל ד:ט"ו). They are extinguished, and then we are told that we no longer will be provided with light from the sun, but rather Hashem Himself will be our light. The message underlying this concept is that whereas until Moshiach Hashem directed the world through the מזלות - the constellations and the heavenly bodies, when Moshiach comes, Hashem Himself will be the One Who directly is involved in the world, with no more intermediaries. This is why the sun, moon and stars go out, to signify that they are no longer the conduits, but rather Hashem will now be leading us directly.

The concept of bowing - השתחוויה - is that one shows that he totally nullifies himself in the face of the one he is bowing to. This is what was happening in Yosef's dream. He saw of vision of the ultimate future when the sun, moon and stars would 'bow,' as it were, to Yosef's emunah. This emunah would bring about the days of Moshiach where Hashem himself would deal directly with the world. This emunah - which by definition taps into the concept that Hashem is directly involved in our lives - was what Yosef represented, and to this they bowed - showed their lack of existence - and were extinguished. The eleven stars represent the fact that all of the Jewish people will bow to Moshiach ben Yosef - that is, we will learn from him the power of Emunah and absolute trust in Hashem that will bring about Hashem's full display of His direct involvement in our lives.

May we merit that day soon.

Idols of the Land of Wealth

Something I mentioned in the post Moshiach ben Yosef II was:

I think that the most potent message of the story is that Rebbe Nachman teaches that the most desperate place a person can be is in the Land of Wealth. This place is a land that worships wealth and literally calls the wealthiest people there gods.

Interestingly, Paul Krugman writes the following in his op-ed article in the NY Times:

Think of the way almost everyone important missed the warning signs of an impending crisis. How was that possible? How, for example, could Alan Greenspan have declared, just a few years ago, that “the financial system as a whole has become more resilient” — thanks to derivatives, no less? The answer, I believe, is that there’s an innate tendency on the part of even the elite to idolize men who are making a lot of money, and assume that they know what they’re doing. (Italics mine - ag)

Striking.

Help your brother

Guest post by Daniel

A few nights ago I had the privilege to hear the following story from Rav Shemtov. Rav Shemtov is a paragon of Ahavas Yisrael. At our table sat a young man who is beginning to wrap tefillin. Rav Shemtov grasped the young baal teshuva's hand, kissed it, and beamed at the young man "This hand will put on tefillin every day!"

Rav Shemtov learned this mida from his father, whom I will simply call "Shemtov" since I don't know his first name. The following is one of many stories from his life.

Shemtov was living in Russia at a time when Jews were being drafted into the army. It was either army or prison. His father took a rope and manually broke his own toe so that he would be "unfit" for the Russian army and would be able to stay with his family.

As Shemtov was walking down the street he saw a Russian police officer escorting his friend, a fellow Jew, off to prison. What could he do? Fight the cop? He would be clobbered, not to mention taken to prison.

Out of nowhere Shemtov jumped at the Russian officer and began hugging him and kissing him, like a long lost friend. At the same time, Shemtov kicked his friend repeatedly until the friend got the idea and ran for his life.

After Shemtov's friend escaped, he pulled back from the Russian officer. "Hey there old friend!" exclaimed Shemtov. The officer was dazed, "Do I know you?" "Sure you do! Last time we met was in Moscow, don't you remember! Come on pal!" The officer didn't buy it. "I know what you just did, you sneaky Jew. That guy was going to prison, but you, you're in for the worst."

Shemtov looked the officer in the eyes and said, "Now you don't want to do that. What's going to happen? You'll take me into your headquarters, sit me in front of your superior officer and tell him how this puny little Jew outsmarted you so that you failed your mission? You'll look like a complete idiot."

Shemtov pulled out some cash from his pocket, put it in the officers hand and said, "Better you take this money and go enjoy it for yourself." The officer took the cash and left Shemtov alive.

When Rav Shemtov finished telling us the story he said, "This was my father. He lived the lesson that when another Jew is in need, you don't think about yourself."

Shalosh Seudos and Gog Umagog

Guest post by Daniel

Shulchan Aruch 291:1
Din Shalosh Seudos

A person should be very cautious to fulfill [the mitzvah of eating] the Third Meal [on Shabbos].

Mishnah Berurah
As is brought in the gemara: A person is obligated to eat three meals on Shabbos, and this is in parallel to the verse that says אכלהו היום כי היום שבת לה' היום לא תמצאהו בשדה "And Moshe said 'Eat that [manna] today; for today is the Shabbat unto Hashem; today you shall not find it [the manna] in the field.'" And three times "today" is written in this verse. Our Sages said: 'Any Jew who upholds the Three Meals on Shabbos will be saved from Three Calamities - from birthpangs of Mashiach, from judgments of Gehinom, and from the War of Gog and Magog.'

Additionally, the Mishnah Berurah says that we are even obligated to help support poor people to the extent that they have the Third Meal on Shabbos (and not just enough for one meal and night and one meal at day).

The Mechaber writes that
"A wise person will not fill his stomach in the Morning Meal, so that there will be room for the Third Meal."

How to Fullfill Third Meal:
The Third Meal can be fulfilled with a drop more than a kabeitza of bread. (Less than a kabeitza is considered a snack and not a meal). Other opinions hold that baked goods in the amount needed to say mezonos is acceptable. If there is no mezonos, then fish and or meat is acceptable. If there is no fish or meat, then fruits are acceptable. But really one should eat bread, with lechem mishnah if possible.

If there is only one lechem mishnah, one person can say hamotzi with the lechem mishnah and have in mind everyone else, if everyone else also has in mind that he is saying hamotzi with the lechem mishnah for them.

The Yetzer Hara's last stand

A friend of mine recently shared with me a very beautiful idea which I found to be insightful.

He told me that he heard from his rebbe that in the times before Moshiach, as the Yetzer Hara's power is waning and he is nearing his defeat, he makes his final stand. His behavior is similar to a star going supernova that lets off the light of ten suns as it is about to die.

Where does the Satan place all his final energy? Into the place that is most important, and most vulnerable - Shalom Bayis. He tries to create marital discord. Jewish life, in all of its aspects is completely dependent on this most central pillar. It is here that the evil one strikes in his last ditch effort.

Once we become aware of this, we can recognize that if our spouse does something that would provoke us, it isn't really our spouse - it's the Yetzer Hara! He is trying to fight his final battle in the place we are most sensitive. Notice again that the yetzer's primary tool is pride. We can fight pride with humility.

Recognize that the provocation is not really coming from the spouse. It is coming from the evil inclination. Respond with humility. A quiet voice calms anger. We know in ourselves that we respond with humility when others act towards us with humility. Use the tool of the Yetzer Tov.

This tool can be used in all of our interactions with others.

Commit for thirty days to always respond with humility to others, especially one's spouse, no matter what the provocation. See the difference it makes in your life.

Make humility part of your personal creed.

It will reveal the light of Hashem and bring Moshiach.

Moshiach ben Yosef II

I think this is the year of Moshiach ben Yosef.

In Rebbe Nachman's story "The Master of Prayer," there are two main characters. The first is the Master of Prayer (בעל תפילה), who represents מלכות - that is Moshiach ben Dovid. The second is the Mighty Warrior, who corresponds to יסוד - which is Moshiach ben Yosef.

I just thought of a clear parallel between the story of Yosef and the Master of Prayer story. In the story, the Master of Prayer is in the land of wealth and hears about a mighty warrior, and wonders if it is the Mighty Warrior that he knew from long ago. This is similar to the storyline where Yehuda (who was the forebear of Moshiach ben Dovid) did not know that he was in fact talking to Yosef (the forebear of Moshiach ben Yosef) until Yosef later revealed himself. This revelation brings about a reunification of the family.

In the story, it is clear that the Mighty Warrior (מב"י) reveals himself much before the Master of Prayer (מב"ד) actually goes and gathers all the other characters of the story, leading to the final rectification. Moshiach ben Yosef is the first to appear on the scene, similar to how Yosef himself comes down a number of years before Yehuda.

I think that the most potent message of the story is that Rebbe Nachman teaches that the most desperate place a person can be is in the Land of Wealth. This place is a land that worships wealth and literally calls the wealthiest people there gods. The story states that there is almost no way for someone trapped in the desire for wealth to escape. Many words can be said, but they will fall on deaf ears, as happens when the Master of Prayer tries to convince them of their error. Eerily, the story states that the only way to release people from their mistake in regards to worshiping wealth is via the path of war.

I highly recommend getting a copy of Breslov Research Institute's "Rabbi Nachman's Stories" translated and annotated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.

Vayeshev - Moshiach ben Yosef

Why did Yosef have two dreams?

Why does the Torah call the second dream a חלום אחר - a different dream, whereas by Paroh it says he dreamt the dream a second time?

What do stars look like when they bow down? Why should we care?

Why is the story of Yehudah and Tamar sliced into the story of Yosef?

Why is Yosef called to task for asking the Sar Hamashkim to remember him?

What is the character of Moshiach ben Yosef?

How is it reflected in Yosef himself?

Why is Yosef the one who will ultimately destroy Esav before Moshiach?

DON'T MISS this weeks Parsha Pocast!

Hashem will not forsake us

Ki Lo Yitosh was composed by Elli Kranzler and sung by Mordechai Ben David on his album Hineni. The words are כי לא יטוש ה' עמו ונחלתו לא יעזוב. השם הושיעה המלך יעננו ביום קראנו - Hashem will not push away His nation, and He will not leave His inheritance. Hashem the Savior and King will answer us on the day we call. The power of these words is the promise God gave His people, the Jewish people, to forever protect them in the face of all danger.

Pride Kills

Twenty five people were killed yesterday in a road accident here in Israel. The news reports that the two drivers were 'racing' right before the fatal nightmare. The driver had a record of driving incidents.

This tragedy holds a profound lesson for us.

On occasion I have a simcha that I will sing in Jerusalem and it will require renting a car to bring my keyboard and other equipment. A few times I have called to reserve a car too late, and ended up taking a taxi to and from the job.

It was on one such evening that I met Eli. He is a driver who startled me with his simple smooth attitude about everything. Nothing would perturb him, and he told me that the right question to ask is never, 'Why did you go that way,' but rather, 'Why don't we go that way.' Questions about the past, he told me, are not constructive. Questions about the future are.

There was another bit of wisdom that he said that I would like to focus on. He told me that if he was the minister of transportation, he would remove all of the horns from the cars. Why is that? He said that the horn makes a person feel invincible. So what if you're coming? HONK HONK! I'm here! The horn causes more traffic accidents then it prevents.

The depth behind this statement is that when a person is full of himself at every point as he is driving, there will be no respect on the road. Whaddaya mean? I'm drivin' here! Watch out! When the attitude is pride, destruction is close by one's side.

Another taxi driver (who Eli sent me to) was Yehuda, who told me that at a certain point he realized the pointlessness of getting upset at others' foolishness on the road. When he came to that realization, he had an encounter on the road where he cut someone off, and the other person was enraged. Yehuda was in turn cut off by the guy, and the car slowed down in front of him until they both came to a stop.

A big burly guy got out of the car and came over with a look of death in his eyes and curses on his lips. Instead of getting upset, Yehuda turned to the guy and said to him, "You are right. I deserve whatever you have in mind for me. Give me your best shot."

The big guy didn't know what to do with Yehuda's statement. He grunted something under his breath, got back into his car, slammed the door and drove off.

Pride kills. Humility saves lives.

Thinking ahead

This story starts off rather normal. But a discerning ear will hear greatness here.

Last night, the wife of an old friend of mine called. Her in-laws will be in town and staying in my area and she heard that I may be out for Shabbos Chanukah for a simcha.

I confirmed that I would be in Jerusalem for that Shabbos, and my apartment would be available. It would be great to have them stay in my home.

Then she somewhat abashedly asked where I light Chanukah candles.

Not comprehending at first, I stumbled and said, "In the bedroom, in the window that faces the street."

It dawned on me that her husband (or perhaps she?) had thought ahead. Not only did they need an apartment for Shabbos, but they would need a proper place to light Chanukah candles!

I told her that my apartment is a second floor apartment and the window is not so visible from all angles. As far as 'pirsumei nisa' goes, they might be able to find a better suited apartment.

I realized that many times we make plans for the future that may or may not include the most important factor of our lives. Our avodas Hashem.

It's not such a big deal to think about our davening schedule when making our flight plan. It does limit our options, but wouldn't we limit them for something 'really' important like a big executive multi-million dollar business meeting? Tefillah is our chance to have that meeting with Hashem. Its power is enhanced manifold by joining with a minyan. Perhaps it could merit a second thought.

The plans that we make and the details that we notice can display where our true devotion lies.

Giving beats everything

I recently heard a from a friend of mine that Rav Shach had said that right before Moshiach comes, the only ones who will be giving tzedakah will be the bnei Torah, and they will receive all the reward of the world as no one else is giving.

As a continuation of the post "Give it or lose it," the Chofetz Chaim asks an important question. Why is it necessary for Hashem to decree how much we will make and also how much we lose? Why can't we just have the numbers cancel and make less?

The Chofetz Chaim brings the Zohar that explains that when a person goes to sleep at night, his soul comes up to heaven and they present it with a list of things he has done that day. The soul must sign on the dotted line. If there are sins that he has done that day, then the forces of evil try to overtake him. But Hashem redeems him, and instead allows the soul to return to the world, instead to receive some kind of financial loss in place of being destroyed by the evil forces.

Now a person can actually take that loss and instead give Tzedakah with the money. What this accomplishes is that instead of the money being lost by his refrigerator breaking down, he is able to redeem the money and gain eternal reward! Not only that, but the Torah promises that when we give to the poor, not only don't we lose the money, but Hashem pays us back double!

Thus when a person gives tzedakah he is redeeming himself from spiritual suffering, earning eternal reward, and he doesn't lose a single penny he has given!

Based on this idea from Rav Shach, when a person does this during a time when no one else is giving, he not only gets the reward from his action, but he is נוטל שכר כולם - takes all the reward that would have been for all the others who could have given but did not.

Open your heart

This song was composed by Rav Shmuel Brazil, and the words are attributed to Sefer Charedim. The words are בלבבי משכן אבנה להדר כבודו ולמשכן מזבח אשים לקרני הודו ולנר תמיד אקח לי את אש העקידה ולקרבן אקריב לו את נפשי היחידה - In my heart, I will build a sanctuary to praise His glory, and in the santuary I will place an altar for the shine of His honor. And for an eternal lamp I will take the fire of the binding of Isaac, and for a sacrifice I will bring my unique animal soul. Herein we find the key to true spirituality - creating a place within ourselves for God to reside in this world, as it were.

Winning the game

We affect every person we meet. We can have a positive impact on others, sometimes so great that it will affect their lives. This is certainly true of the children Hashem has given into our care. There is power in that, but as Peter Parker learned early on, 'with great power comes great responsibility.'

The positive affect one can have on another, and specifically one's child, was brought home to me last night as I put my five and a half year old son to sleep.

After saying Shema and going through our nightly thankyou's to Hashem, I was talking to him, and I told him that I am very proud of him. I just had this general feeling from the day that made me say that, it was nothing in particular. He gave me a look that I couldn't read, and I wondered to myself if I had perhaps said something that was wrong. So I asked him if he liked it when I said I was proud of him.

He answered, "It feels like I won the game."

It made me realize how essential my role is as a parent. My child's self esteem and personal value is currently being built. We don't realize how powerful the simple words "I am proud of you" are. But they can make or break our child's confidence in his ability to 'win the game' of life.

This idea struck me even deeper as I realized that this doesn't just hold true for our children but rather for every person we encounter. We can walk away from literally every interaction with a human being, leaving them with a feeling that they can win the game. We also have the free choice do the opposite if we raise the banner of our own pride too high.

Here again, when we act with humility our world is no longer limited to our small selfish reality, but it is expanded and continues to expand ever outward, lifting those around us along with the entire world.

Give it or lose it

In my Daily Dvar, today's reading in Ahavas Chesed brought a very poignant Gemara in Bava Basra (10a).

There it says that just like one's income is determined on Rosh Hashana, similarly the expenditures (or losses) one will encounter are determined on Rosh Hashana. If the person merits, they can be 'lost' by being given to the poor. If not, the money will be taken forcibly.

Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai had a dream where he saw that his sister's children were to lose seven hundred dinars (an ancient currency) that year. Without telling them about the dream, he convinced them to give him a total of six hundred and eighty three dinars over the year. He wasn't successful in getting the last seventeen from them.

It came Erev Yom Kippur, and the Caesar sent his henchman to grab money from them. On that day they took seventeen dinars. Rabban Yochanan reassured them that they need not worry that more would be taken. When his nephews asked how he knew that no more would be taken, he told them about his dream.

They proceeded to ask him why he hadn't told them of the dream, so they could have given the full amount to charity instead of losing it to the Caesar! To this he responded and told them that he wanted them to be able to have the reward of giving the charity altruistically, without an ulterior motive.

For a deeper understanding of this, please listen there to episode 200.

Esav's tentacles

The tentacles of Esav's superficial view of the world are found throughout Western society. It has seeped into our hearts and our minds to the point where we automatically question what our Torah says is truly the nature of reality. We identify more naturally with the words of the scientist then with the words of our Chazal. If Stephen Hawking or Brian Greene says it, well how does that work out with Beraishis?

This flaw is a product of the yetzer hara (evil inclination) who always works with the concept of egoism.

If I experience reality in a certain way, it must be that way! If I don't see the spiritual side of the world, then the words of tradition are fanciful at best (חס ושלום).

This egocentric approach to life is absolutely evident in the approach of the scientist, who evaluates only what he sees, and disregards the wisdom of the ancients with a quick shrug. The experience of thousands of years and the wisdom culled through that time is worthless to the modern scientific mind that thinks it holds the ultimate vision of reality.

The foolishness of this prideful outlook was once brought home to me quite starkly.

Ninth grade biology taught us of 'vestigial' structures. These are the supposed byproducts of a body produced by evolution. They serve no function in our bodies, and thus must be a throwback to a previous stage where they did perhaps serve some purpose. The quintessential example of this is the appendix, appropriately named for it is 'appended' as it were and is pointless.

I remember an assignment where we had to think of five vestigial structures, similar to the appendix. I remember having difficulty with this. Maybe a pinky toe, or my belly button?

The ridiculousness of it was that basically what they wanted was an exercise in pride. Hmmmm, let's think of something that I have no idea what it does in the body. Since I don't know what it does, it must be pointless. Eureka! Vestigial structure!

This story was brought to a close years later as I sat in a doctor's waiting room next to my pregnant wife, and picked up some scientific magazine. Towards the front was a column reserved for new information that was coming out of scientific research. The column was about the appendix. Apparently (if I recall correctly) some scientist had found that it has a significant function in children's digestion. That function fades as the child matures and grows to adulthood. Seems appropriate for a name change on that organ.

The Western world would have us believe that we are here for no purpose. Well, I can't quickly discern that purpose, so it must not be there. Doesn't really make too much sense to me.

But we do that all that time.

I don't understand why I should tie my right shoe first and then the left.

I've never seen an angel, it must not exist.

Ruach Hakodesh? Come on now, this is the twenty first century!

We may not understand the deeper parts of reality, what is going on in the spiritual world, and what the deeper purpose of the mitzvos are. Does our pride lead us to therefore assume it is indeed pointless, or that these levels of reality don't exist?

The more we invest ourselves in humility, the larger the world becomes.

The more we invest in our pride, the smaller the world becomes.

We can choose a vast reality - the reality of Hashem's world.

Bringing Miracles of Redemption

I was deeply moved recently as I read a beautiful piece in the sefer Nefesh Hachaim at the end of the first gate, chapter nine, and the accompanying commentary of Rav Bentzion Epstien (Feldheim hebrew edition of Nefesh Hachaim pp. 98-101).

Rav Chaim Volozhin explains the deep idea that Hashem set up the world in such a way that all that He wishes to give to the world is completely dependant on our actions. Hashem acts precisely corresponding to how we act.

With this premise Reb Chaim explains why Hashem told Moshe specifically not to pray when the Jews stood next to the sea of reeds. Rather Hashem told him to speak to the people and have them move into the sea. With this display of absolute trust, they would merit an 'awakening from above' that would bring about the miracle of the splitting of the sea.

In explanation of this, Rav Epstein brings down the Gr"a (who was R' Chaim's rebbe) who says that prayer would not help them at this juncture because in order for the miracle to occur, there had to be a breakthrough to the highest spiritual dimension. This dimension is one that is not dependant on actions from below but is a dimension of complete mercy, irrespective of one deserving that mercy. The prayers that they would offer would have no effect in that dimension, and thus they were to hold off on prayer at that time.

Rav Epstein goes on to explain (based on Rashi) that when the Jews stood next to the sea, they were actually being judged at that time whether they would be saved or drowned. The angel of Egypt claimed that both the Jews and the Egyptians served idolatry. If they had been judged with strict justice, they could not have made it. Prayer would not get them past that level.

So how would they be able to access the dimension above judgment, the dimension of absolute mercy?

Moshe was directed to leave any and all types of hishtadlus (concrete efforts) and to instead have the people do something which showed their absolute faith in Hashem's miracles. Acting in a manner which was למעלה מן הטבע - above nature - would ensure that Hashem would behave with them in a way that was above nature. When they showed their willingness to jump into the sea, a place impossible to sustain life, which was completely unnatural, and listen to Hashem's command, that action was reflected in Hashem's supernatural response, which was to split the sea.

In short, the way they were able to access that supernatural dimension of absolute mercy was by showing their absolute trust and faith in Hashem. That opened them to the sublime level where mercy is shown irrespective to one's level of deservedness.

Unbelievably, Rav Epstein brings numerous sources for the idea that one can merit salvation from Hashem even if one is evil, just by stepping back and placing one's complete trust in Hashem! To prove this point he brings the passuk in Tehillim (107:17) that says, "Fools will be pained from the path of their iniquity, they that eat from their despicable desires will reach the gates of death. They will call out to Hashem from their difficulty and He will save them from their desperation." We are clearly talking about a great רשע (evil person) here, and nevertheless, when he calls out to Hashem, he is immediately saved!

Finally he quotes the famous meditation of Rav Chaim Volozhin (Nefesh Hachaim third gate, chapter twelve) where one focuses completely on the fact that Hashem is God, and there is no other but Him. If one constantly focuses on this idea, no evil power in the world can affect him. This goes hand in hand with the previous idea that when one trusts completely in Hashem, he can rise above the level of strict judgment and access the dimension of pure mercy.

The reason this whole concept hit home for me was because we find that exactly the level that was needed to be accessed there at the splitting of sea is the same dimension we need to access for the miracles of Geulah. Thus, if we want to access this level, we need to learn from Hashem's directive to Moshe. We need to show our complete trust in Hashem, and also be ready to act in ways past our natural comfort level. By doing so, we will merit the supernatural miracles of Geulah, and they will bring down this unbelievable level of pure mercy.

I think it is so important to stress that this type of mercy is one that is shown whether we as a people are meritorious or not from any other perspective. Our collective emunah raises us above our level - even if we are similar in many ways to the culture around us, we can rise above it by displaying our supernatural trust in Hashem.

To me, if one looks at the type of sacrifice and trust that is necessary to live here in Eretz Yisrael, there is no greater show of a readiness to live by the ideals of emunah and bitachon. There are so many reasons not to be here, but those who make the sacrifice are opening the Jewish people up to the highest revelation of Hashem's mercy and the ultimate miracles of redemption.

The truth is that this type of emunah can be activated wherever one is. The greater the show of faith in Hashem, the greater the effect will be to bring about miracles.

This is why the final tikkun before Moshiach is working on emunah and bitachon. The more we attach ourselves to this middah, the more we will be able to merit the unconditional mercy accompanying the miracles of Moshiach, not just for ourselves, but even for those who may be less deserving than we are. May we all merit to see the day soon. Amen!

Joy of Unity

This song testifies to the great joy that unity brings. The words are הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שבת אחים גם יחד - how good and how nice is it when brothers sit together. When we look for the good in our friends and neighbors by judging others favorably we can find great joy in unity.

This is the next song in my new series called "A song and a thought."

Vayishlach

Why did Yakov 'happen' to have an experience with angels just as he was running away from Esav, and again just as he was about to encounter him again?

Why did Yakov prepare so greatly for his meeting with Esav, splitting his camp up out of fear that Esav would kill part of it, but then bring out his whole family to greet him?

What is the significance of Yakov's ladder and Yakov's meeting with the angel of Esav?

What can we learn from these events?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast.

How Fortunate Are We

Guest post by Daniel

How Fortunate Are We, How Wonderful is Our Portion, and How Beautiful is Our Heritage

Today, the traffic-jammed street is full
Of people and not cars.

The only wheels moving
Are strollers pushed by young couples
And scooters chased by little brothers.

The many passersby have made a coup
Against traffic lights
That signal no one.

Walls of apartments on either side
Their windows open to buzzing summer air.
In flies a bee, a breeze, and blossoming jasmine.
Out flows laughter, silence, and song
From families still dining
On the dessert that is family.

One day a week,
This street transforms
Into a blessing that lacks
Impatient horns.
One day a week.

What in the world is going on?!

I try not to read the news. I try to avoid the news websites and the magazines and papers that bring the news into my home. The news dazzles and confuses. We can always find some tragedy to hold up and either cry from or encourage ourselves with, saying that surely Moshiach is on his way.

But reading the news is like putting on dark glasses that block one's view of reality.

Part of the problem is that no matter what we read we are completely missing the point.

A while ago, I read the headline that said Olmert is giving 250 prisoners to Abbas as a good-will gesture.

My blood began to boil. Is he nuts? On PA television, Abbas is spurring on his people to more and more hatred of the Jews living next door, and we need to show him good will?

As the juices start running in my head I catch myself. I let out a laugh! This makes no sense!

The joke is that the thought is so ludicrous it is clearly Hashem peeking out from behind the scenes.

Hashem you say? In Olmert's idiocy? Come now, you must be kidding. Olmert is just a fool who somehow made it into a position of power by a fluke. Soon we will be rid of him and all will be well. But to say that Hashem is behind his lunacy?

But get this, folks. If you want to find Hashem, you actually have to look for the joke. Find the point that makes absolutely no sense. That is where He is found. How do I explain that?

Things start to make sense when we internalize the fact that Hashem Himself is pulling all the strings. He is placing all of the chess pieces in their positions in order to bring about the final checkmate. He is putting the ideas in the heads of the leaders of each country, orchestrating events so that a beautiful concerto will soon be heard. As the orchestra gets in tune and is about to start playing, the room sounds like a rather awful cacophony. One would be hard pressed to believe that a symphony is about to be heard.

Then the conductor lifts his wand and the whole room is silent, and the music begins.

One could think that the music has only just begun, but in truth, the music was written before and each musician received the musical notes specially prepared for the part he was to play. The conductor also invested much time and effort placing each instrument in its proper place. The wind instruments in their place, the strings in theirs, the brass in theirs, and the percussive instruments in theirs. The concert actually began long before the conductor raised his wand.

One with a discerning ear can indeed hear the music long before. Such a person sees the careful placement and planning, yet hears the cacophony directly preceding the symphony and is struck with the utter humor of the situation. Others will notice the irony only in retrospect. Still others will miss the fact that there ever was an irony to begin with.

We can choose the group we wish to be a part of.

The Generation of Moshiach

My wife recently bought me the second volume of the wonderful book Machat Shel Yad by my rebbe Rav Yitzchok Frankel. The first book came out about a year ago on Braishis, and even though I got it toward the end of the parshios in Braishis, I read the whole thing from cover to cover. It was difficult to put down.

Perusing excitedly through the new book on Shemos, I found myself in Parshas Tetzaveh where Rav Frankel speaks about the phenomenon of Moshe's complete absence from that parsha. He speaks of Moshe's humility, which is a reflection of Hashem's. He spends a page speaking of Hashem's humility and as I read it I was incredibly moved.

Here I quote (from page 246):
The fact that the infinite Being should lower Himself to take interest in those tiny dots on Earth called human beings is an amazing concept, so much so that many of the ancient philosophers could not comprehend it nor would they believe such a thing to be true. This disbelief in Hashem's tremendous humility has continued even into modern times where we find great intellects such as Albert Einstein unable to comprehend how the Creator of the universe could be concerned with the little details of a human being's life.

Contrary to their way of looking at things, this trait of Hakadosh Boruch Hu actually reveals His true greatness and power. How so? It is not so impressive when a strong man picks up a heavy object. It is not so amazing when a lofty person acts aloof. But if Someone who is immeasurably great is capable of involvement with something immeasurably small, this is a true proof of His greatness. To borrow a metaphor from Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus זצ"ל, let's imagine the renowned giant Og Melech Habashan. For him to lift a great boulder is no big deal. But can he squeeze himself into a matchbox? Hashem can do even this, so to speak. He concerns Himself with the little details of a little Jew's life. This type of humility is a truly staggering level of greatness.

We see this trait of Hashem most clearly and decisively in the month of Adar. The miracle of Purim took place ata time when K'lal Yisrael were not deserving of miracles as in previous generations. It comes as no surprise to hear of miracles occurring in the days of Dovid Hamelech and Shlomo Hamelech. In those days, the Shechinah was revealed in all its glory in the Bais Hamikdash. But after the Babylonian exile, under Persian rule, did the battered and lowly remnant of a people expect to see miracles such as this?

Yet, Hashem brought Himself to relate even to their low level. In this way, it was even a greater miracle than the ones that took place in the times of Israel's greatness. In spite of the iron barrier that was erected between us and Hashem when the Bais Hamikdash was destroyed, Hashem saw our plight nonetheless. As it says in Shir Hashirim 2:9, "He observes through the openings; He peeks through the cracks." Hashem's hashgacha did not leave us.

I was deeply touched by these words, and could only think that despite the fact that Klal Yisrael has never been in a worse spiritual state then we are now, nevertheless the greatest redemption will come from this state. Hashem will soon show His infinite greatness by displaying His incredible humility, caring for His people even in their most lowly state. What greater sign of Geulah can one find? What greater consolation can there be?

This is also a concept that is echoed in the fact that when Hashem redeemed the Jewish people from Egypt, He was manifest through His name אקיה אשר אקיה. This name corresponds to the concept of כתר - Keser. This represents the greatest mercy of Hashem, the mercy that is beyond the intellect and beyond understanding. We as a people had sunken to the lowest levels in Egypt, and logically were not deserving of the miracles and redemption that Hashem had in store. We were not worthy to be separated and singled out when the plagues occurred only to the Egyptians. Despite the logic, Hashem manifested with Keser, which was above logic and brought about the Exodus from Egypt.

Similarly, when the final redemption is to occur, there is a notion that Hashem again will manifest with the name אקיה אשר אקיה and the middah of Keser - transcending logic and raising His people from their lowly defiled state to rise above all to truly be a light unto the nations, במהרה בימינו אמן.

Do not fear at all

Many things in life can make us fearful. Whether it is the fate of our livelihood, the fate of our children, the fate of our people in Israel, or the fate of the world. When our faith is placed solely in Hashem, we need not fear.

Rebbe Nachman says "כל העולם כולו גשר צר מאד והעיקר לא לפחד כלל" - the whole world is a narrow bridge, and the main thing is not to fear at all. When we know Hashem is taking care of us and protecting us we can truly place our trust completely in Him and face our challenges with confidence.

Click here to hear my rendition of the classic song, composed by Rabbi Baruch Chait.

Those who talk...

A while ago I had a conversation with a certain well-known rav, who is a talmid of the mekubal Rav Moshe Shapiro. I mentioned to him a few things that strongly implied that Moshiach may be on the very near horizon, and I was curious what Rav Shapiro was saying on this matter.

He told me that Rav Shapiro had said something very profound:

Those who talk don't know, and those who know don't talk.

Vayetze

The issue that we address in this week's parsha podcast is where Leah was at in the whole con game that Lavan had in store for Yaakov's marriage to Rochel.

The end of the psak

People have asked if I have found anything further.

I have received a number of emails from people who either asked themselves or sent a letter to him and his response was the same, "שקר וכזב" - absolutely false.

You can see a similar story here.

One final thing is that people were very quick to send the first part of the story. I would greatly appreciate if all those who gave links to this site or pasted the story into an email (or received the original for that matter) would please do the same for the second half of the story.

I would also appreciate if any comments are added for what ever reason, that it be kept in mind that my intention was not to mislead anyone. I honestly believed the story was accurate, or I would not have written it. It would have been much easier for me to leave the story and let people think what they would, rather than write a follow up displaying my error.

Thank you in advance.

you'll find the post here:
http://geulahperspectives.blogspot.com/2008/11/rav-kanievskys-psak-part-two.html

Rejoice!

Are you looking for a little pick me up? Rebbe Nachman says that it is a great mitzvah to always be joyous. Here's a little song that might help.

It's part of a new podcast series I am working on, which you should be able to find on itunes already (in the section on Judaism) and I hope to have up on my website soon bezras Hashem.

When he's finally here

Guest post by Daniel

I was thinking about the kinds of kiddushei Hashem that will occur when Moshiach is revealed.

The first thing I thought was that there will be a great kiddush Hashem in the eyes of the Jews. We will be astonished at the massive number of Jews that come to greet Moshiach.

What I mean is the following:

Each group of Jews naturally thinks that its group is "the Jewish people." This just seems to be the way people operate. It's difficult to see past our own community.

When Sephardi Jews came to Seattle in 1902, the Ashkenazi community was flustered by these "strange people" calling themselves Jews. Sephardi culture was as foreign to the Ashkenazim as another religion. Only after their Rav explained to them the truth did the people open up.

Similarly today, the Jews where I come from think that that bulk of klal Yisrael lives here. The Jews where you live think that klal Yisrael primarily lives there. Yes, we "know" that other communities exist. We may even visit them from time to time. But it's not real to us.

When Mashiach comes and unites us all, we'll come out of our cupboards, so to speak, and face one another in all our stripes and colors.

The Jews in Eretz Yisroel will see the Jews of chutz la'aretz, and the more modern folks will see the more orthodox community, and on and on - all of us arising to greet the same Moshiach sent by the same G-d with the same one Torah. "Goy echad, am echad, ha'meyachadim shimcha Hashem Elokainu Hashem echad."

Who knows what kind of Jews we'll get to see that we never even knew existed, that we never knew were out there saying in their hearts "achekeh lo b'chol yom she'yavo."

If you can picture this in your mind, you'll see that it's both a humbling and an empowering experience. Humbling, in that each of the communities will be brought to realize that their community is but one shevet in the midst of an entire am (there are 12 different tribes, not one monotone tribe). Empowering, in that we should no longer feel alone or small in numbers. We truly will be numbered like the stars.

What I'm trying to say is that perhaps we already are. And if you can see that, then you can put that inspiration toward your avodas Hashem. Toward accepting other Jews. Toward accepting your own community.

May we merit to greet Moshiach bimhera b'yameinu and say together:

“Baruch Atah Hashem Elokeinu Melech Ha’olam chacham ha’razim.”

Toldos

This week's parsha podcast discusses the character of Esav.

Who is wise...

Sometimes you learn a lesson from the place you least expect it.

I spent this past Shabbos with my family in Jerusalem. We took a bus from Ramat Beit Shemesh until the entrance of the city. From there we took a cab until our destination. As soon as we got in the cab I knew he was Arab. There are certain clues that give it away. I am always interested to know what they think of us, and I asked him what the feelings are generally in East Jerusalem. He seemed a little bit perturbed that I was asking him this. He said to me, "If you want to know about politics, ask Olmert!"

At some point in our conversation, it seems like he felt he needed to prove himself and he pulled out a document attesting to the fact that he had served Israel faithfully in one of its wars. He also told me that he was sixty years old and the proud grandfather of eighteen grandchildren.

What impressed me was a comment he made. He said that the problem with politics is selfishness. We need to be concerned about honoring our parents and our elders. He told me that Teddy Kolek, who served as mayor of Jerusalem for over thirty years, is sitting and rotting away in a nursing home. Is this how we show our appreciation for a person who served the public for so long? This is how we treat our elders - as soon as they aren't useful to us anymore we throw them out in the trash heap?

I told him that I was impressed with his attitude, and if there were more people thinking this way, the world would be a much lovelier place.

He left us off at our destination and said, "Shabbat Shalom."

Seems you can learn something from any man.

Investment Advice

People everywhere are desperately searching for the right place to put their money. Nothing seems safe. I would like to share with you the secret investment that is one hundred percent guaranteed.

A good friend of mine is involved in collecting for the Kollels of Rav Ahron Leib Shteinman, one of the great gedolei hador. He shared the following story with me that he witnessed recently.

One of the other people involved in collecting for the kollel had been promised by a certain wealthy individual that he would receive a sum ranging around $100,000 the following week. When it came time for him to come through on his commitment, he told him that he had just lost $3 million and would not be able to give that money.

My friend was there when the news was broken to Rav Shteinman.

Reb Ahron Leib's straightforward response was, "If he would donate the $100,000, he would not lose the $3 million."

Living in a world of Western values, we naturally think that the one who makes the money gives the tzedakah. Our Torah teaches us the opposite. The one who gives Tzedakah makes the money.

This is the idea of עשר בשביל שתתעשר - give off a tenth to become rich. We think this is a quaint saying our Chazal are telling us. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This statement is actually a rule that is hardwired into reality. Those who are givers (or more accurately sharers) will find that Hashem pours out his beracha upon them, because the truth is that Hashem is always waiting to give His blessings to His people, and those who use their money correctly and truly give to the best of their ability become conduits for Hashem's Shefa into the world, and they themselves benefit as well.

In my neighborhood, as may be the case in yours, when someone is blessed with a child, the gears go into motion and the chessed pours out from every side. People are there to help in any way they can, from helping prepare for a simcha to cooking meals nightly.

Chessed and tzedakah go hand in hand and are the things that bring Hashem's blessings into our lives because we are bringing the blessings into others' lives. If we know someone who is suffering financially, we can help. We can offer to watch their kids or we can surprise them with a meal, or even create a schedule with others to help them on a regular basis. The brotherhood that can be advanced in difficult times can be the zechus to get us out of the difficult times.

A wonderful way to become more aware in this area is to learn the Chofetz Chaim's sefer Ahavas Chessed. If audio works better for you, you can find a number of five minute audio shiurim that I have recorded based on Ahavas Chessed on my website in the section entitled the Daily Dvar.

Now is the time to strengthen our resolve in this area, to dedicate ourselves to raise our level of giving. If we have not been careful until now with our maaser, let us take off our maaser as soon as we make the money. If we have given less than ten percent until now, let us make sure to give ten percent. It may be possible to look inside oneself and see that the bar could be raised and even twenty percent could be given. הבא לטהר מסייעין אותו - one who comes to purify himself is aided from Heaven.

I once asked Rav Sheinberg about how much one should give to tzedakah, and he emphatically said that every penny given to tzedakah comes right back. The more you give the more you get!

איש את רעהו יעזורו ולאחיו יאמר חזק - each man will strengthen his fellow, and say to him, "Be strong!"

Rav Kanievsky's psak - part two

I have not had peace of mind this entire week. One of the things I hold dear in my life is the midah of Emes. I try to be true to that midah in my business dealings, in my family life and in any area where it applies. It was partly for this reason that I was so excited about the story of Rav Kanievsky's psak. Here was a story that for all intents and purposes was completely verified and strikingly pertinent in a quite immediate sense. Or so I thought.

I wrote the email and and posted the story on my blog (http://geulahperspectives.blogspot.com) on last Sunday evening after first hearing Rav Levy's story directly from his mouth. The story was striking enough that through Monday over a thousand individual hits were registered on my blog. This did not include the numerous people that saw it via forwarded emails.

When I came home Monday from my morning seder my wife had already received two phone calls from friends about the email/post, and she also happened to be on the phone with Rav Levy's daughter for an unrelated reason. This was Rav Levy's daughter who is married to 'Dovid' - the son-in-law who is working on the project that involves constant consultation with Rav Kanievsky.

My wife tells me that she said that the story with the bomb shelters was not confirmed. I was surprised at this, to say the least. I had understood from Rav Levy that he had verified the story himself.

It became clear that in my excitement about the story, I had misunderstood what Rav Levy had said. As it turned out, Rav Levy had heard the story from his son-in-law Dovid who had in turn heard it from another rav in the neighborhood, 'Rav Stein.' When I subsequently spoke to Dovid directly, he said that Rav Stein had heard both the story about the bomb shelters (his wording was 'bunkers') and the story about buying property from two different sources. Rav Stein could not remember from whom he had heard the story about the bomb shelters, and thus could not verify it. In the original version of the story as Rav Stein had heard it, someone came to Rav Kanievsky asking if he should make his chasunah on a certain date in Kislev of this year. Rav Kanievsky responded and said that he should not make the wedding on that date as we would be in bunkers. Again, this story could not be verified.

In regards to the second part of the story involving the property purchase, I spoke directly to Rav Stein and he told me that he heard it from a reliable source.

I was understandably perplexed by this information, and my wife advised me to immediately remove the post from my blog. As far as the emails were concerned, I wasn't at first aware as to how far they had spread, and I also did not want to send out another email until I had more information. I thought that perhaps it would be possible to actually confirm the first part of the story as well. If that would indeed be possible, sending out multiple emails would only make the story into a more confusing mess.

What made matters more complicated was the following story that happened to Dovid's chevrusa.

Dovid's chevrusa came to Reb Chaim Kanievsky with a question. He had heard from one source that R' Chaim had said that if you donate to a certain organization you will merit that your children will stay on the path of Torah. A different source quoted R' Chaim as saying that it is impossible to guarantee that all of your children will stay on the path.

Rav Kanievsky resonded and said, "כל מה שאומרים בשמי הוא שקר" - anything said in my name is false.

Basically, it seems Reb Chaim was saying that until you hear it from his mouth as it applies to your situation, you can not be sure it applies to you. People have a way of hearing what they want to hear, and interpreting things as they wish to interpret them, not per se maliciously, but naturally a person understands what he hears through the lens of his own experience.

I subsequently spoke to Dovid a number of times, and at first we thought that perhaps we could confirm the story by asking Reb Chaim directly whether he had indeed said these things. Dovid went first on Tuesday night and then on Wednesday night to Reb Chaim, but the first time he was too late to speak to him. The second time he was one of the last people in and was unable to get to this question, as he had another important and pressing question to ask.

I realized that even if we would ask the question, in all likelihood his response would just be, "כל מה שאומרים בשמי הוא שקר" - anything said in my name is false.

The bottom line of this whole story is that I have come to the realization that until one hears a story directly from the mouth of the one who experienced it, it should be taken with a grain of salt. It can be taken seriously, especially if it is coming from a reliable source, however even the most reliable source, and even the people themselves who experienced the story will only have understood what has happened from their own vantage point. That being the case, it would be wise to take heed, but at the same time be guardedly cautious.

As a final note, when trying to make heads or tails of this story, people have expressed the need to understand why Rav Kanievsky would make a statement that indicates there is danger here in Israel, but then say that a chasuna should be held here despite that. So I think it is important to note something that I clarified later with Rav Levy about the letter he wrote presenting the question to Rav Kanievsky. He specifically told me that he included a line in his letter saying, "We have heard that the Rav [meaning Reb Chaim Kanievsky] has said that some serious things are going to be happening in the near future," and Reb Chaim read the entire letter very carefully and did not make any comment to the contrary of this statement. Dovid also told me that he personally asked Reb Chaim three questions involving the issue of people being encouraged to move to Israel and whether people considering leaving Israel should indeed leave. His response to these questions was that if possible, people should indeed come here, and whether people should leave Israel, he said simply עדיף פה - better here. Would he say this for you? I don't know. If you want to know how to get your shaila to him, I would be happy to help. In any event, it doesn't take a great chacham to look at what's going on in the world and see that there is danger here. Nevertheless, Reb Chaim is telling people generally to come here and stay here. Clearly he feels that not only is it safe here, it is better to be here than anywhere else in the world.

May Hashem guide us all to do His will and may we all merit to see and hear only בשורות טובות.

Dreaming of... Pesach

Last night I had an unusual dream. The reason it was so unusual is because it had nothing to do with anything I was thinking about the whole day, and at first glance seems to just be a funny dream.

In the dream it was Shabbos, and we were eating Challah. It must have been an early morning Shabbos meal. I don't recall seeing guests in the dream at first, but for whatever reason I suddenly became aware that it was erev Pesach and we hadn't gotten rid of the chametz! We were just sitting there eating regular challah, getting crumbs all over as if it was any other Shabbos.

I frantically ran around the house, clearing out all the chametz I could find. I found myself in this large open area (that doesn't exist in my real house) that had ארונות (Israeli style stand-alone closets) near the walls. I knew that some bochurim had left their old half-eaten sandwiches up there and I quickly pulled them down, continuing in my frenzy to gather as much chametz as I could. I deposited all the chametz in a large green dumpster outside of my house in some kind of large yard, and returned to my house where my guests (!) were all eating... more chametz! I knew that these guests were not religious, so they were unaware that Pesach was coming and the clock was slowly ticking closer to the time we would be unable to eat the chametz. They didn't seem to have an issue with the fact that I grabbed the challah away from them and quickly proceeded to dispose of it.

At some point in the dream I also knew that I was still chewing on chametz and that there was chametz in my teeth and this made me very nervous.

When I woke up it became clear to me what the message of the dream could be. One of the deep meanings behind our cleaning for Pesach is that we are supposed to be doing a soul searching - cleaning our neshamas from the chametz, i.e. the negative things we have done in our life. The Yetzer Hara is called the שאור שבעיסה - the yeast in the dough - because he convinces us that evil is good when really it is just hot air.

The sudden realization I had in the dream that it was erev Pesach represents the fact that sometimes we wake up to do teshuvah and clean our souls properly at the last second. When we do that it becomes a frantic search, and hopefully we will finish in time, before סוף זמן אכילת חמץ - the last time we can eat chametz. If we are too busy eating the pieces of 'chametz' (ie doing the aveiros) even as we are cleaning and trying to eradicate them, we may find some chametz left in our mouths even after the time when we are supposed to have stopped.

The final message for me of the dream was that there are many people out there who don't even realize that there will be an accounting or that they are doing something wrong, nevertheless we can help them, either by davening for them or by showing them a better way. If we are sensitive to them, not only will they not complain, they will certainly be happy we have prayed on their behalf and/or shown them the proper path so that they too would not be found with 'chametz' in their mouths on Pesach.

Chayei Sarah

What is the difference between the way Eliezer planned to ask for water and the way he actually did?

What is the significance of this?

What can we learn from Eliezer's switch?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Rav Kanievsky's Psak - update

I have received a lot of response to the post entitled "Rav Kanievsky's Psak" and I have taken down the post, and I am still not putting it back up for the time being. There is someone who will be asking Rav Kanievsky directly whether these statements were indeed made, and also whether he feels it is appropriate that they be made public knowledge. In any event, I will defer to his wishes.

Rav Kanievsky's Psak

I am putting the original post back up as I originally wrote it. Please refer to the second part of the story before drawing any conclusions, as I was mistaken in some of the major details.

Rav Levy is a very distinguished member of the community. He is someone well versed in both nigleh and nistar (the revealed and hidden parts of the Torah). I have spoken to him numerous times discussing topics ranging from the mundane to the esoteric and I have found him to be someone with a lot of intuitive wisdom and a keen observer of life.

A neighbor of mine was hosting a certain young man for Shabbos, and this young man ate the Friday night meal at Rav Levy's house. He came back and told my neighbor the story that follows, which I excitedly and quickly confirmed by hearing it directly from Rav Levy himself.

Rav Levy has a daughter who moved to the states a few years ago because her specialty pays 40 shekels an hour here in Israel, and in the US she would make $65 an hour. She recently became engaged to a young man who also lives in the US. Being that all of her friends and all of his family are there, both the chosson and kallah wanted to have their wedding in the states. Rav Levy was presented with a dilemma. Bli ayin hara he has a large family, and bringing the entire family to the states would be a tremendous expense. Besides for that, Rav Levy is careful not to leave Israel except for his livelihood or to visit his elderly father.

Rav Levy is very close to Rabban Gamliel Rabonovich, the rosh yeshiva of yeshivat Sha'ar Hashamayim (A school for mekubalim in Jerusalem), so he posed the question to him. R' Rabonovich told him that it would be best if he asked this question to someone else, as he has very strong feelings for Eretz Yisrael - he's never left since he was born here, and never plans to. He ssuggested that Rav Levy should ask a posek.

Rav Levy wasn't sure who to ask.

Then his fourteen year old daughter came home and mentioned that when she was at her friend's house, it came up that someone had asked Rav Kanievsky last week about making his wedding during Chanukah. Rav Kanievsky said that it wasn't such a good idea, as during Chanukah we will all be in bomb shelters.

Rav Levy was somewhat surprised at this information, especially since they were talking about a wedding only two weeks after Chanukah. He was able to get in contact with and speak directly to the young man (we will call him Reuven) who was told this by Rav Kanievsky, and it was confirmed that indeed Rav Kanievsky had told him this. Reuven also told him that he had another friend (we will call him Shimon) who recently went to Rav Kanievsky to ask for a bracha as he was planning to buy an apartment. Rav Kanievsky told Shimon that he should not buy any apartments, as the value of all apartments will be next to nothing within six months as people scramble to get out of Israel. Rav Levy was able to speak directly to Shimon as well, and confirmed that indeed this was what he had been told by Rav Kanievsky.

Rav Levy told me that he had previously posed questions to Rav Kanievsky on a number of occasions, and felt that this would be the correct address to pose this one as well. He went to Rav Kanievsky with a two page letter detailing all of his concerns, the chosson and kallah's concerns, as well as what he heard from Reuven and Shimon. Rav Levy was accompanied by his son-in-law who frequently visits Rav Kanievsky as he is working on a major project involving the Zohar that requires the guidance of the Gadol.

Rav Kanievsky read the letter slowly and carefully. He finished it and read it again. (Rav Levy's son-in-law said that it was very unusual for the Rav to read a letter twice.) When he finished, Rav Kanievsky said, "יותר טוב שיהיה פה" - it's better that it should be here. Rav Levy's son-in-law reiterated that the chosson and kallah both are in America and very much want it to be there. Rav Kanievsky again repeated, "יותר טוב שיהיה פה" - it's better that it should be here. Rav Levy asked how he should convince them, and Rav Kanievsky responded and said, "תגיד את זה בשמי והם יסכימו"- say it in my name and they will agree.

Rav Levy told his family and they all agreed to follow Rav Kanievsky's psak.

I was personally curious as to how Rav Kanievsky knows this information, perhaps through Ruach Hakodesh, or perhaps he's had conversations with Moshiach, or maybe from learning Kabbalah or the sifrei HaGra? Rav Levy gave me a sheepish look and said that of course he can't answer that, but he affirmed that on a number of occasions in the past when they have asked Rav Kanievsky shailos, he clearly had Ruach Hakodesh.

I thought it was appropriate to mention to Rav Levy that I had heard a rumor that R' Dovid Abuchatzeira was only standing for his visitors now because of a dream where his grandfather told him that Moshiach had come and he had not shown him the proper respect. Rav Levy told me that indeed he has been to R' Abuchatzeira a number of times in the past, and he was always seated, but when he went right before Rosh Hashana, the Chacham was standing the whole time.

After reading this, please see the second part of the story.

Stuck in the US?

I received the following concern in an email:

I am very worried. I know that we should be moving to Eretz Yisroel, but we are stuck here in chutz l'aretz for many different reasons. I daven that Hashem should gather all yidden and bring us all safely to Eretz Yisroel.

to which I responded:

I think it's important to think about the fact that part of Moshiach's job is Kibbutz Galios. It may be more pleasant to have a 'front row seat' when Moshiach comes, but it's also important that we realize that all of our circumstances are almost completely controlled by Hashem, and although we do have some level of bechira that can affect our circumstances, we also have to trust Hashem that He would not put us in a place that isn't ultimately good for us. No matter what we will need miracles. True, the miracles may be more forthcoming here in Eretz Yisrael, but don't forget that the Geulas Mitzrayim and all of its accompanying miracles happened in the one place in the world that was known for being home to the greatest Tumah possible!

Kol tuv,
Ari Goldwag


After I posted this, I came across this post from R' Lazer Brody.

Bottom line is to follow your rav and put your trust in Hashem no matter what.

Gog and Magog - part 1

A while ago I posted about the idea that Gog - גוג - is the opposite of Dovid - דוד. What this means is that whereas Dovid represents complete התבטלות (self-nullification) - דלות ודלות, Gog represents complete and absolute pride - גאווה וגאווה. The more we associate ourselves with the attribute of humility, the more we give power to משיח בן דוד, Moshiach who is descended, and of the same stock as Dovid. The more we associate ourselves with pride and are unwilling to bend to another's will, the more power we give to the powers of evil, represented by Gog.

I think it is especially significant to note that the place of Gog is called Magog. Gog completely represents the place that he is from. He is from the land that is completely full of itself, believing that its ideology and its outlook on life is the only way possible. Not only that, but its ideology, by definition, completely excludes Hashem from the picture, because the ultimate בעל גאווה (one who is completely prideful) does not acknowledge any other power than his own. This is the power that needs to be destroyed completely before Moshiach's advent when Hashem's Hand will be apparent to all and this land's power will be shown to be exactly what it is - hot air. There is certainly a strong resemblance to Sodom whose utter and complete arrogance and selfishness led to its ultimate downfall. Sodom's destruction set the stage for Lot fathering Moav who would be the great-grandfather of Moshiach. Gog and Magog's destruction set the stage for the ushering in of the one human being who so humbly represents Hashem's full control of the world - Moshiach ben Dovid.

Vayera

Why didn't Hashem tell Sarah directly that she would be having a child, but rather tell Avraham who already knew?

Why did the malach who was going to destroy Sodom also have to come to Avraham and Sarah if he had no job to do there?

Why did Sodom have to be destroyed at the same moment that Yitzchak was to be conceived?

Why did the conception of Moav happen at this time as well?

Find out the answer to these questions and more by listening to this week's Parsha Podcast

Sign of the times

From the mailbag:

Ari,

The day after election night, my host said to me the following:

"My close friend in Lakewood was driving by the passport office and said it was flooded with Jews the day after the election. She drives by there all the time and she said it's never like that."

Thought you would find that interesting.


Brian

Of Autists and Sheitels

I must admit that I have read most of what Ben Golden and Daniel have said on their site www.dani18.com. The prospect of a blog that's hooked up to what's going on in shamayim is pretty interesting. They have even been right in some of their predictions (like the fall of the world economy). Some of the more dire predictions have not seemed to come to fruition, by the grace of Hashem, but one could still attribute that to either Klal Yisrael's or some individual tzaddik's positive deeds (see Mishpacha's article on Rav Eliyahu) that have effected some change preventing "all of Israel being Sderot."

In general, I also must say that I take what they have to say pretty seriously. (Yes, I have a two week stock of food prepared, we call it the 'earthquake kit' with a wink.) One of the things that I have had difficulty with is their blanket statement that sheitels are evil. While I could understand where they are coming from, and I have heard of such an idea before, I always found it difficult to believe that the sheitel phenomenon could be so prevalent in the yeshiva world if it was indeed so horrible.

Recently, when statements came out from Rav Ovadiah Yosef and Rav Elyashiv confirming the autistic view on sheitels, it gave me reason to pause. Perhaps this is indeed more serious than I thought. But again, how could all these serious yeshiva families, whose goal in life is to serve Hashem, be so misguided?

I was somewhat comforted when I saw Josh Waxman's post on his parshablog where he brings Reb Moshe Feinstein's teshuva as well as the Lubavitcher rebbe's take. But I was still not satisfied.

Then a relative of mine who is engaged calls me. She is about to buy her first sheitel and her chosson, who is learning in Yerushalayim calls, telling her that perhaps she should not buy one because Rav Elyashiv just came out against them! Both I and she agreed that she should call her rav, a posek in Yerushalayim.

So she calls Rav Katz (name changed) and he says that she should absolutely still buy a sheitel! First of all, he asked her if she knows of any rabbonim whose wives wear sheitels. Her response was summarily affirmative. He also asked her if she waits six hours between eating yellow cheese and eating meat. She responded in the negative. He told her that Rav Elyashiv has many stringencies that are not per se accepted universally, and she need not worry.

The bottom line of this discussion is that whether an autist says something or lehavdil a gadol says something, it is a good idea to take note and take it seriously. In the end, Hashem guides us individually through the rabbonim that we choose to turn to for personal guidance. Whether the question is if the pot has become treif, or if the sheitel has become treif, whether we should move to Israel, or we should move around the block, we need guidance from those who know the Will of Hashem and they are our Rabbonim. The Torah applies to all people in all times, and in all situations, and being that there are a lot of people and a lot of times, and a lot of situations, Hashem gave us the means with which to deal with each issue as it is raised. We must know that He guides us through the people in our lives that we come to ask our Halachic questions, and we must also trust that by following their advice we are doing Hashem's Will to the best of our ability. If we are sincere in our desire to serve Him, He will not lead us astray.

The Real Moshiach

I recently came across a very important statement Galia made in her book. You will find it on pages 113-114.

Ima: Is the time of the Mashiach coming soon?
Galia: Yes, my dear Ima, mighty and wonderful revelations await us so soon. But you have to be very wary of people who define themselves as messiahs. Soon there will be confusion. At the time of the revelation of Mashiach, the number of people who have risen to a high spiritual level will increase, and people will see and feel things such as there never were in all the generations. As we now draw closer to the time of the Mashiach, geula revelations that had previously been shown only to private individuals will be shown to the public.

Ima: Is Mashiach with us yet?
Galia: Mashiach is here with us. He is alive and with us here and now. He is all ready and waiting to be revealed. We all have to get ready to welcome him since it depends on us to determine how and when he will reveal himself.

Ima: It doesn't seem logical to me that everyone will do teshuva. So what then? Mashiach will never come?
Galia: Ima, leave your logic out of it. Mashiach comes in every generation and we simply don't receive him. But soon we will have to accept him. Either we prepare ourselves or Hashem will prepare us. Only through teshuva will we be able to welcome him quickly and without suffering.

Ima: Galia, when the Mashiach is revealed, how will we know that he is the true Mashiach?
Galia: Ima, when the Mashiach is revealed, everyone will know that he is the true Mashiach. He will have signs which will come together with him. The signs will be very clear and his authenticity will leave no doubt in the heart of anyone that he is indeed the Mashiach of Israel.

Lech Lecha

What was Avraham Avinu's real contribution to the world? Monotheism was already being taught in Shem's yeshiva.

Why does the Torah start the story of Avraham from the command of Hashem to go to Israel, and leave out his first 75 years?

What is the significance of the letter Heh being added to Avraham and Sarah's names?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast.

More Moshiach dreams?

Dear Rabbi Goldwag,

Have you heard anything about Rav Kanievsky having a dream in which Rav Schach zt"l told him that Moshiach is coming soon?

Have a good week,
Mrs. Goldstein

I have not. I am wary of these types of stories until I hear them from a close source.

I did recently hear from someone who heard from Rav Uri Zohar's mouth that Rav Zohar went to visit Rav Elya Svei recently, and he is still repeating that which Rav Elchanan Wasserman said in 1939 that Moshiach would come in 70 years.

Rav Uri Zohar also had come to one of the gedolim here (I forget if it was Rav Sheinberg or Rav Kanievsky... talk about accuracy!) because he knows a family outside of Israel who all the children are having difficulty with shidduchim. The gadol responded and said that the oldest one should come to Eretz Yisrael, and he would find his shidduch. The gadol then amended that and said that it would be a good idea for the whole family to come as Moshiach is coming soon.

all the best,
Ari Goldwag

Obama, Moshiach, and Gog

The election of Barack Obama is for me a source of interest and what I would describe as an emotion bordering on the edge of excitement.

Why? Because Hashem is clearly guiding our paths each day and each moment, both individually and nationally, and this election is bringing the final redemption closer.

What makes me say this? The following Torah code that was sent to me in an email.

These verses are from the beginning of Yechezkel 38, which speaks of the war of Gog Umagog.

ויהי דבר י-ה-ו-ה אלי לאמר. בן אדם שים פניך אל גוג ארץ המגוג נשיא ראש משך ותבל והנבא עליו. ואמרת כה אמר אדני י-ה-ו-ה הנני אליך גוג

Every seven letters gives us Obama's name. The significance of seven is that it denotes malchus.

What his role precisely will be remains to be seen.

By the way, his name is also encoded in this weeks parsha in the story of Hagar and Yismael (one of only a few places in the Torah with a short skip).

four-fifths

We've all heard that during the plague of darkness in Egypt, directly preceding the redemption, at least four-fifths of the Jewish people perished. We have also heard that the final redemption will parallel the redemption from Egypt, thus leading us to conclude that at least four-fifths of our people will Chas V'shalom not make it to see the final redemption.

I have substantial evidence that shows that this will not be the case, and I would like to present it as both hope and a prayer that indeed all of our people merit to see the final redemption, speedily and in our days.

The most obvious and explicit statement of this was made by Rebbe Nachman. He makes it very clear that there was a fundamental difference between the redemption from Egypt and the final redemption. He explains that there was a factor in the Exodus of speed. It was this speed that was what caused the Jews to leave with haste, not leaving time for their dough to rise (see Exodus 12:39). It was also this speed, says Rebbe Nachman, that prevented four-fifths of our people from leaving Egypt. There just wasn't time to wait for the Spiritual slumberers to awaken. Unfortunately they had to pass away. (This could be because the Jews were then teetering on the edge of the 49th level of impurity, and any moment more that they would remain in Egypt would have caused the destruction of the entire Jewish nation, Heaven forbid.)

Rebbe Nachman says that the final redemption WILL NOT HAVE THAT SAME ASPECT. It may be true that the final redemption will happen quickly, but it will not be the required haste as was necessary when the Jews left Egypt. This will ensure that all Jews will be redeemed b'ezras Hashem.

A second source for this which is older, but not as explicit, is a medrash I heard quoted by Rav Kessin. It relays a conversation between Moshiach ben Yosef and Hashem. Moshiach ben Yosef has become aware of the possibility that many of the Jewish people will not make it through to the times of Moshiach. This upsets him greatly and he declares his readiness to do whatever it takes so that they should survive. Hashem responds and says that in order to save them, he will have to descend to the depths of impurity in order to save every last soul, as many of them will be entrenched in evil. He agrees to this, and as he is sent down into the spiritual abyss, Moshiach ben Yosef screams in horror at the depths of the depravity he encounters, but nevertheless does accomplish his goal.

One could explain this medrash that it is speaking on a spiritual level, and that Moshiach is saving these Jewish souls from spiritual destruction. However, when one understands the role of Moshiach ben Yosef, it then becomes apparent what is being spoken of. Moshiach ben Yosef's job is the physical restoration of the Jewish people (similar to his forebear Yosef who provided physical sustenance to the Jews when they first came down to Egypt). Thus Moshiach ben Yosef's job includes bringing the Jews back to Israel, rebuilding the land, and even building the physical edifice of the third Beis Hamikdash (temple) itself. The role of Moshiach ben Dovid, on the other hand, is to bring the spiritual side into these physical constructs - the spirit back to the people, the holiness back to the land, and the Shechinah back to the Beis Hamikdash.

With this in mind, it becomes clear that when Moshiach ben Yosef is asking to save every last Jew, he is not just speaking about their spiritual existence, but rather, he is speaking about their physical existence as well.

Well, if this is true, you ask, why do we keep hearing that even during the final redemption many of our people will be lost, Heaven forbid?

I think the answer goes back to an argument we find in the Gemara in Rosh Hashana on pages 16b-17a.

The gemara there speaks of the Final Judgment that will take place and says that there are three groups on the Day of Judgment (similar to Rosh Hashana). A group of righteous individuals, wicked individuals, and middle of the road individuals. All agree that the righteous are immediately written and sealed for [Eternal] Life. The wicked are sentenced to Hell.

Here's where it gets interesting. What is with the 'middle of the road' class? So, in regards to Rosh Hashana, the gemara says that their judgment is suspended while they have ten days to do Teshuva (repentance). But in the final judgment, there doesn't seem to be a period of grace.

Beis Shamai says that these people are sent down to Hell [where they are purified], and then they float up. This is based on the verse (Zechariah 13), "And I will bring the third group through fire, and I will purify them as silver is purified [of its impurities], and I will check them as one who checks gold [for impurities]. He will call in My Name, and I will answer him." About this group did Chana say (I Shmuel 2), "Hashem kills and gives life, brings down to the depths [of Hell] and raises."

Doesn't sound too good, does it? Don't be too scared yet, because Beis Hillel argues.

Beis Hillel says that with regards to this group, ורב חסד מטה כלפי חסד - the One who is abundantly kind leans toward Kindness [i.e. Hashem shows kindness to the middle group, and does not send them into Hell.] About them did King David say (Psalms 116), "I love when Hashem hears my voice," as well as the rest of that parsha, including, "I was bereft, and He saved me." (These are the verses from Hallel - אהבתי כי ישמע ה' את קולי... דלותי ולי יהושיע)

It seems to me that Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel are arguing about our four-fifths of the Jewish people, and Beis Shamai says that they will have to do some time in Hell, whereas Beis Hillel says that there will be an overwhelming Kindness that Hashem will show His people.

Amazingly, the gemara there explains the verse דלותי ולי יהושיע, I was bereft, and He saved me - as meaning that despite the fact THAT I WAS BEREFT OF MITZVOS, to You [Hashem] it is beautiful to save me! Is there a clearer description of our four-fifths than that?

But what of Beis Shamai who says that the middle-of-the-road class of people don't make it? The answer is that the halacha is like Beis Hillel until Moshiach comes. Only when Moshiach comes do we go in accordance with the views of Beis Shamai. Since the judgment we are talking about is occurring BEFORE Moshiach, it is clear that this four-fifths of the Jewish people will survive in accordance with Beis Hillel's ruling!

This also explains why the autistic individuals are saying that there will be such mayhem and destruction before Moshiach chas v'shalom - because they are 'living in the world of truth!' In their world, all they see is a world of Din (pure judgment) and thus they see the ruling of Beis Shamai. We, however, who live in a world mixed with Din and Rachamim (mercy) will experience a reality based on the ruling of Beis Hillel - All of our people will survive, bezras Hashem, except for the most wicked individuals.

This leaves us with a small quandary. Based on what I am saying, why should we bother to do Teshuva? In any event Hashem will have mercy on us and redeem all of His people!

The answer is based on something that Rabbi Akiva Tatz writes in his book Living Inspired. While it's true that G-d willing, all of our people will survive, there will be a tremendous level of embarrassment that will be endured, Heaven forbid, when the truth of the spiritual world becomes evident. At that moment of truth, the contrast between Reality and how lives have been led will be most telling. For those who have lived their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Torah, their lives will reflect a harmony that will be exhilarating. For those who did not, however, their will be a tremendous dissonance that will result in a tremendous feeling of shame.

It is for this reason that we must redouble our efforts to do Teshuva, to try our best to constantly bring our lives in line with the dictates of the Torah - the Will of Hashem. We must develop our love of Hashem and our commitment to Him, and we must also pray on behalf of all our brethren who have not been privileged to know the Truth that they too should be drawn toward the light. The more we do this the more we will fulfill that which we say, "למען לא נבוש ולא נכלם" - in order that we not be embarrassed and mortified. The more we live a life of consonance with Truth, the greater will be our ability to fulfill the verse that speaks of the ultimate joy of Moshiach, "אז ימלא שחוק פינו ולשוננו רינה" - then will our mouths be filled with laughter, and our tongues with praise. May it be speedily in our days.