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.