Nice Music Video of the Beit Hamikdash

past, present, and future...



(Hat tip: R' Lazer Brody)

New Be'Itah Date?

The Tsunami Kabbalist, in his latest Shiur, spoke of תש"ע - or 5770 - as the "'Year of Redemption' as before that year, there will be upheavals in the world". Hashem1.net was quick to point out in his footnote that this refers to the "Be'Itah" date of Redemption - referring to the set time for it to occur. The rabbi talked a year and a half ago about Mashiah appearing in 5769, which is Motza'ei Shevi'it (the year after the Shemitta year). However, that year will involve upheavals in the world, so the first year of peace without troubles will be 5770.
Of course, in the right spiritual climate, Mashiah can appear any day beforehand.

See an English translation of the rabbi's words here.

Rabbis Protesting Mixed Jewish/Arab Groups

Haaretz reports that various rabbis were protesting a school near the Ma'alot Dafna and Ramat Eshkol sections of Yerushalayim for offering mixed Jewish/Arab after-school groups in their neighborhood.

The rabbis include:
Rav Moshe Tzadka Shlit"a - The Rosh Yeshiva of Porat Yosef
Rav Yaakov Yosef Shlit"a - son of Rav Ovadia Yosef Shlit"a
Rav Reuven Elbaz Shlit"a - one of the biggest Mekarev Rehokim around

I think the protest is justified for the reasons mentioned in the article plus the fact that arguments against segregationism should not apply in Israel between Jews and non-Jews.

What do you think?

(Respectful comments only please)

Various Links

Ladaat.net - Rav Ovadia Shlit"a is Maspid (eulogizes) the Tzitz Eliezer Zt"l

Jonathan Rosenblum - Eis Tzara L'Yaakov

R' Dov Bar Leib - Year of Ya'akov: Pulling him out of the Klipot

Nava of Dreaming - History of Erev Rav

R' Dov Begun - Toldot: To Judge the Mount of Esau

Rav Amar: No Proof Bnei Menashe are Jewish

Ladaat.net, quoting the Shas weekly Yom Leyom quotes Sephardic Chief Rabbi Rav Shlomo Amar as saying, "Contrary to rumors in my name, the 'Bnei Menashe' are not Jewish without a proper conversion."

This seems to contradict a recent report from Arutz Sheva on the arrival of 51 Bnei Menashe to Israel:

Last year, at the initiative of the Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel organization, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar formally recognized the Bnei Menashe as "descendants of Israel," and later sent a rabbinical court to India to oversee their process of return to the Jewish people. The court formally converted 218 Bnei Menashe back to Judaism, including those who arrived in Israel this week. The remainder will be making Aliyah (immigrating) in the coming days, making it the largest group of Bnei Menashe ever to come to Israel at once. While ensuring the right of any Indian citizen to emigrate freely, and while recognizing the Bnei Menashe as Jews, Indian authorities expressed opposition to the mass conversion carried out in their territory.

Rav Amar continues to say, "There are a few rabbis who claim that there are proofs to their Jewishness. I examined the matter well, but I have not seen sufficient proof for this."

Rav Ovadia on Celebrating Bat Mitzvahs

See here

Tzitz Eliezer ZT"L

Rav Eliezer Waldenberg, known as the Tzitz Eliezer for his multi-volume work passed away at the age of 89.

Baruch Dayan Ha'emet

Articles:
Arutz Sheva
JPost
Ladaat.net (with pictures of rabbis that attended the funeral)

It's the Final Countdown

את חטאי אני מזכיר היום
As a teenager, I used to like this song way before it became popular introduction music at Jewish weddings. So, I'll try to elevate its קדושה even more by using it as a title for a Geula post.

• Rav Dahan Shlit"a - the Tsunami Kabbalist - said recently that Eliyahu Hanavi Zachur Latov will announce himself soon, and everyone will know that it's him. Soon afterward, Mashiah ben David will arrive and will live forever (see Sukkah 52b). Mashiah ben Yosef had already died, he says. (Sources: HydePark forum, Geula Forum, Nava, and Hashem1.net)
• Hashem1.net talks about how the Targum Yonatan on the ברית בין הבתרים (Covenant between the pieces) foretells how Iran's downfall will be the rise of the Jewish people.
• Nava explains the missed opportunity of last year (5766) and gives advice for this year (5767) and the month of Heshvan in particular.
• R' Dov Bar Leib explains what happened on the 17th of Heshvan, and what it means in the scheme of things.

It's the final countdown...

Some Don't See the Truth

I attended a shiur by the Kabbalist R' David Pinto Shlit"a last night. He talked about how Avraham Avinu was able to see the truth when everyone else didn't. He said that the same is true with many people nowadays. Those whose eyes are open will be able to see the truth.

How many of us will see the cancellation of the parade as Yad Hashem, and how many will chalk it up to consistant "bad timing"?

It was obviously Yad Hashem. The only question that remains is whether it was supposed to be this way originally or if our Zechuyot overturned the Gezeira.

Was it due to this? Or this? Or even this?

Whatever it was, we need to be thankful that no defilement of the holiest city to Judaism will take place.

Parade Canceled Again

Arutz Sheva:

In light of dozens of terrorist warnings and hundreds of thousands of expected protestors, the homosexual parade scheduled for Friday has been replaced by a rally. Only minor protests are expected.

It continues by talking about the Yad Hashem in its cancellation:

Speaking with Arutz-7, Rabbi Shmueli explained how he sees the "Divine hand" in evidence throughout the last few months:
"The left-wing public often threatens that when they finish with the Arab problem and bring peace, then they'll start dealing with the religious problems - which means to make war with us. So we see that when they wanted to hold this international abomination parade last summer, the war in Lebanon came along to stop them. And now again, they were about to hold it - and suddenly comes this event in Beit Hanoun with the 20 dead that compels the police to have to deal with terror threats. Not to mention that some of them simply became afraid to march..."

And don't forget what happened last year, where it was canceled due to the Disengagement.

The good guys won the battle. I wish it didn't have to involve violence and threats from all sides - a small fraction of Hareidim, the Yassamnikim, and a homosexual group. We can still say:

זה היום עשה ה' נגילה ונשמחה בו

Mishna Berura 100th Anniversary Friday

This Friday, the 19th of Heshvan, while certain people will (hopefully not) be parading in Yerushalayim, Jews around the world will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of the writing of the Mishna Berura, the halachic work by Rav Yisrael Meir HaKohen of Radin, also known as the Hafetz Haim. He died in 1933 (see the NY Times obit). At the end of his work, on the last page of Hilchot Megillah, he writes that he completed it on 19 MarHeshvan, 5667.
May this anniversary be a Zechut for us all.

Saddam to Die

Do you know what time it is?

It's time to hang Saddam!

'כן יאבדו כל אויביך, ה

Through Tzefania, Your Seer

The verse in Tzephania 3:11 says:

יא בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, לֹא תֵבוֹשִׁי מִכֹּל עֲלִילֹתַיִךְ, אֲשֶׁר פָּשַׁעַתְּ, בִּי: כִּי-אָז אָסִיר מִקִּרְבֵּךְ, עַלִּיזֵי גַּאֲוָתֵךְ, וְלֹא-תוֹסִפִי לְגָבְהָה עוֹד, בְּהַר קָדְשִׁי.

11. In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against Me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in My holy mountain.

• This verse is referring to the End of Days - as it says ביום ההוא (In that day) in addition to the context of the verse referring to the End of Days.
• עליזי has a root of עלז, which means "Gay"
• גאותך has a root of גאה, which means "Pride"
• The רד"ק on this verse says "כלומר הגאים"
• בהר קדשי is referring to the holy city of Yerushalayim
• Verse 8 refers to many nations gathering in Yerushalayim for Hashem to pour His wrath on them (it is an international parade, after all)

Is this a sign that the parade will be canceled? Time will tell...

The Time for Teshuva is Now

Hashem1.net (who's having issues with his site, but has his latest on his home page) quoted Rav Shmueli who said not to think that there is more time until the Ge'ula - it can come suddenly. We should therefore do Teshuva now before the gates of Teshuva close (when the Ge'ula comes). He also said not to rely on our military weaponry since they won't help.

Here is a video with English subtitles of what he said




Rav Pinchas Winston has a couple of great posts about the To'eva parade and what it means in the scheme of things.

Money quote:

...Thus, the parade represents not just the potential for disaster, but the potential for redemption as well. Whatever kedushah the Klipot are after on the day scheduled for their march, it is kedushah that is meant for us, the Jewish people. Realizing that and taking advantage of the moment can not only divest the Klipot of any spiritual sustenance, but it can greatly increase the strength of the side of Torah … and trigger who knows what in the upper worlds.
After all, if a Mekubel were to get up and announce that on such-and-such a day, the Jewish people must greatly enhance their level of holiness, and that if we do, it will open doors in the upper worlds, and perhaps bring the Final Redemption immediately or close after, what would be response?
“Which Mekubel said it, and on what authority?”
“How many other Gedolim agree with him?”
“Didn’t he say something like that before, and nothing happened after?”
In other words, we would resist the invitation to get more involved in redemption, citing other personal priorities as an excuse to ignore than mandate of the moment. We tend to belittle the messenger in order to minimize the importance of the message and the moral obligation to make good on it.
God only knows this too well. On the other hand, He doesn’t want us to miss the opportunity of a lifetime, perhaps of all of history. Therefore, if we remain unmotivated by a positive event, then He often sends a negative one to which He knows we will respond. You have to always wonder about that angle when crisis come around and ask, “What might this crisis be a trigger for?”

Running Out of Time

The answer to that question might be coming faster than we think. For example, when Pharaoh dreamed and Yosef interpreted them, Pharaoh had to ask, “Why two dreams about the same idea?” Yosef knew the answer to that question as well:
“God is telling Pharaoh that not only is He carrying out His plan of plenty and famine, but that He is doing it quickly.”
Not that God was in a rush and had to get things in motion so that He could move on to His next appointment. Being eternal, God has all the time in the world, literally. Rather, for the sake of the Jewish people, for the sake of world history, God was speeding things up, and letting Pharaoh know about it so that he would work fast as well.
In the past, when such the parade was arranged and then cancelled, we usually had an entire year to pray that it wouldn’t happen again. This time, however, we barely had a month before it hit the headlines once again, so impatient are the Klipot to invade the kedushah of Jerusalem. Or more accurately, so quickly is God bringing about the next stage of Jewish history, for which this event is obviously a trigger, that He did not want to wait an entire year this time to raise the issue all over again.
Had God not made Pharaoh dream and give Yosef the interpretation to those dreams, Egypt would have been caught flat-footed like all the rest of the nations when the famine finally came. If people don’t pay attention to the Divine messages expressing urgency in our time, then we too will be caught flat-footed, forced to kick ourselves as we wonder why we never saw it coming. ...

Important Dates? Maybe

Hashem1.net has an interesting post on recent statements by Rav Ovadia, Shlit"a, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, Shlit"a, and more.

The very prolific Nava was kind enough to translate it:

Translation from HaShem1 http://hashem1.net/?p=376

The 2 most powerful Sephardic Rabbanim expressed the beginning of this week (Parshat Noach) within 2 days of each other, the matter of the Geula (redemption) and the coming of Eliyahu HaNavi, zachur latov, to announce Moshiach's arrival.

HaRav HaGaon Chacham Ovadia Yosef Shlita gave a shiur (class) and mentioned the story of the Eliyahu HaNavi causing a drought during the time of King Achav. Afterwards, the Chacham said the following:

"Eliyahu HaNavi will soon be revealed to us and will announce the Geula, and we will witness the final redemption together with Moshiach, speedily in our days. And the Bet HaMikdash will be so beautiful. All the Jews already did complete Teshuva will yell "HASHEM HU HA'ELOKIM, HASHEM HU HA'ELOKIM ..."

The Chacham has said in the past that all Am Israel will do Teshuva before the Geula arrives (amen!). A few years ago he explained that Am Israel will do Teshuva because of the great miracles they will witness HKB'H doing for Am Israel.

To View Chacham Ovadia Yosef Shlita's shiur, click here (with Engish subtitles) לחצו כאן

Monday, HaRav HaGaon HaMekubal Mordechai Eliyahu Shlita said very similar prophecy. He spoke about Chazal teaching us why in specific places, the letter Yud from Eliyahu is missing. (Written Eliya, as it says in Malachi "I am sending you Eliya HaNavi...). He also spoke about the extra letter "Vav" added on to Yaakov (a'h), as it says, "And I remembered My convent with YaakOv".

Chazal explain that Yaakov Avinu took the letter Vav (representing the Brit) from Eliyahu HaNavi as collateral. This forces Eliyahu HaNavi to announce the redemption. For more info, see Yaakov, Tzizit, Eagle - 600 to Geula.

The Rav said that a person should strengthen faith in the coming redemption, which must be any minute; all of a sudden the Geula arrived...

The Rav mentioned 7 Shevat twice but we're not sure what he meant.

To View HaMekubal Mordechai Eliyahu Shlita's shiur, click here (with Engish subtitles) לחצו כאן

Another interesting development from YN of http://moshiach.forumsplace.com/message1230.html
YN's Disclaimer: I do not know DavidH personally, and I cannot verify the truth of what he says. However he has posted on this forum and on the LeDavid forum (the predecessor to this forum) and my sense is that he is honestly presenting himself as a kosher Jew who has connections with Chassidic Rebbes and Sephardic Tzaddikim, as he has posted in the past.

DavidH emailed me and told me that he spoke to his "contact", a Rav who evidently has connections among mekubalim in Israel. His contact told him that the situation for the revelation of Moshiach has never been as good as it is now, particularly in this month of Marcheshvan 5767. He had been contacted by mekubalim of the Bet El Yeshiva who told him that something "very important" will happen during this month [specific date has been omitted]. The only question is if the Jews will merit to understand it and to feel it. He also said "all the mekubalim know perfectly without any doubt that our Holy King Moshiach is in Jerusalem and some of them know him and his name."

Further discussion here.