It is quite ironic that one of the few times the Torah gives us a description of Acharis Hayomim via prophecy, it is done so through Bil’am HaRasha. Nonetheless, his visions in Parshas Balak, while somewhat cryptic, provide us with both the events and the lessons that will help us approach Acharis Hayomim, the end of time. In one such pasuk it says “Hen Am Levadad Yishkon Uvagoyim Lo Yischashuv” -“Behold it is a nation that will dwell in solitude and not be reckoned among the nations.” (23, 9)
Read full devar Torah at http://www.cckollel.org/html/parsha/bamidbar/chukas-balak5763.html.
The Pasuk above spoke to me this morning as I read the UN daily briefing from yesterday. With world problems including malnutrition in Somalia, conflict in Sudan, Libya, and Syria, click here to see what preoccupied the minds of those asking questions to the UN spokeperson.
The 2010 flotilla, the 2011 flotilla, reports of 4 Iranian prisoners in Israeli jails, the Israeli blockade,Israel and Lebanon...
Israel being singled out once again. - Hen Am Levadad Yishkon Uvagoyim Lo Yischashuv
8 Jul 2011
Parshat Balak
7 Jul 2011
Google cartoon images
Many of you may have read about Richard Falk posting an anti-semitic cartoon on his blog. At first, he denied it and then he removed it.
Yesterday, Mr. Falk posted an apology for including the cartoon.
In a blog post today, Mr. Falk wrote, "I found the cartoon through a Google image search on the page devoted to the International Criminal Court."
I checked it out on Google and, sure enough, the cartoon is there for all to see. How reassuring that an anti-semitic cartoon is only a click away.
Although, I must admit, googling the right combination of words regarding other religions produces some not in good taste cartoons, as well.
Yesterday, Mr. Falk posted an apology for including the cartoon.
In a blog post today, Mr. Falk wrote, "I found the cartoon through a Google image search on the page devoted to the International Criminal Court."
I checked it out on Google and, sure enough, the cartoon is there for all to see. How reassuring that an anti-semitic cartoon is only a click away.
Although, I must admit, googling the right combination of words regarding other religions produces some not in good taste cartoons, as well.
Count your blessings
In an article at Aish.com, Slovie Jungreis-Wolff details 6 Keys to Outsmart Stress.
5.SEE THE GOOD
Come on, it’s not all bad all the time. Of course it’s easier to see the dark side and fall into despair. But you do have some good going on, you just need to open your eyes and stop complaining.
“My in-laws are coming for the weekend, I can’t take it.”
“These Sunday carpools with the kids are driving me crazy. I am so stressed out from them.”
“My baby was up crying the whole night. I’m ready to explode.”
Well, at least you have family to share your life with!
“My boss is nuts! He is a pressure cooker.”
Thank God you have a job!
It’s all how you see the situation. Will you focus on the good or just always be a complainer?
The more we complain, the more stressed we feel.
Happiness and a ‘feel good‘ mentality is in our hands.
The point struck home as I was reading an email I had received last night.
I AM THANKFUL:
FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.
FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.
FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS.
FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED
FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.
FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.
FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.
FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.
5.SEE THE GOOD
Come on, it’s not all bad all the time. Of course it’s easier to see the dark side and fall into despair. But you do have some good going on, you just need to open your eyes and stop complaining.
“My in-laws are coming for the weekend, I can’t take it.”
“These Sunday carpools with the kids are driving me crazy. I am so stressed out from them.”
“My baby was up crying the whole night. I’m ready to explode.”
Well, at least you have family to share your life with!
“My boss is nuts! He is a pressure cooker.”
Thank God you have a job!
It’s all how you see the situation. Will you focus on the good or just always be a complainer?
The more we complain, the more stressed we feel.
Happiness and a ‘feel good‘ mentality is in our hands.
The point struck home as I was reading an email I had received last night.
I AM THANKFUL:
FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.
FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.
FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS.
FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED
FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.
FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.
FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.
FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.
6 Jul 2011
Misconceptions
What great news. Controversial billboards which "are part of a campaign claiming to promote religious tolerance" have been going up in parts of Australia.
In the video below, Shane Yoder promotes a site for people who have misconceptions about one of the world's main religions inlcuding the thinking that most terror attacks are carried out by members of one religion.
You can click here and find out about a shared golden age with the Jewish people when Muslims conquered Spain. Apparently, times were good for Jews when they were paying a tax to their rulers. Understandably, with the decline of the Muslim Empire and the rise of Zionism, relations aren't that great nowadays.
So, what is it going to take to reestablish a shared golden age? The rise of the Caliphate, the fall of Zionism and the Jews accepting dhimmi status?
In the video below, Shane Yoder promotes a site for people who have misconceptions about one of the world's main religions inlcuding the thinking that most terror attacks are carried out by members of one religion.
You can click here and find out about a shared golden age with the Jewish people when Muslims conquered Spain. Apparently, times were good for Jews when they were paying a tax to their rulers. Understandably, with the decline of the Muslim Empire and the rise of Zionism, relations aren't that great nowadays.
So, what is it going to take to reestablish a shared golden age? The rise of the Caliphate, the fall of Zionism and the Jews accepting dhimmi status?
Noah's ark
Got an email last night - author unknown - thought I'd share it with you.
Noah's Ark Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark .
ONE: Don't miss the boat.
TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat!
THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
FIVE: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
SIX: Build your future on high ground.
SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile.
TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with G-d, there's always a rainbow waiting.
Noah's Ark Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark .
ONE: Don't miss the boat.
TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat!
THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
FIVE: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
SIX: Build your future on high ground.
SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile.
TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with G-d, there's always a rainbow waiting.
5 Jul 2011
Our day in court
Years ago, my mother passed a stop sign. A policeman pulled her over and she went on to explain that she hadn't seen the sign, to no avail.
My father took pictures of the sign which was not visible to my mother, due to the foliage which had obstructed her view.
My mother's day in court arrived and my father had his day in court, cross examining the policeman, asking questions about the angle where he was standing from the stop sign and so on.
After his interrogating the policeman, my father introduced the pictures he took into evidence.
The judge took one look at the pictures and asked my father, "Why didn't you show this to me in the first place? Case dismissed."
I thought of the incident when I read Rabbi Yaakov Salomon's article at Aish.com about his day in traffic court.
He described his feelings in court as follows.
"I started feeling a bit light-headed and a slight quiver emerged on my bottom lip.
Wow, I thought, I am really nervous about this thing. How absurd is that?"
Click here to read how the case turned out.
As I was reading the article, I couldn't help but think that if the author of the article was nervous about a day in court regarding a traffic violation, can we imagine how much more nervous we will be at our day in court after 120 years?
How about if we spend the rest of our ad meah veesrim shana in building up a strong defense in the most important case yet to come?
My father took pictures of the sign which was not visible to my mother, due to the foliage which had obstructed her view.
My mother's day in court arrived and my father had his day in court, cross examining the policeman, asking questions about the angle where he was standing from the stop sign and so on.
After his interrogating the policeman, my father introduced the pictures he took into evidence.
The judge took one look at the pictures and asked my father, "Why didn't you show this to me in the first place? Case dismissed."
I thought of the incident when I read Rabbi Yaakov Salomon's article at Aish.com about his day in traffic court.
He described his feelings in court as follows.
"I started feeling a bit light-headed and a slight quiver emerged on my bottom lip.
Wow, I thought, I am really nervous about this thing. How absurd is that?"
Click here to read how the case turned out.
As I was reading the article, I couldn't help but think that if the author of the article was nervous about a day in court regarding a traffic violation, can we imagine how much more nervous we will be at our day in court after 120 years?
How about if we spend the rest of our ad meah veesrim shana in building up a strong defense in the most important case yet to come?
The audacity of comparison
Ethan Bronner's piece in the New York Times about the Gaza flotilla begins with the following sentence.
"SOME see a parallel with the Exodus, the ship filled with Jewish refugees that tried to break the British blockade of Palestine in 1947 and helped sway world opinion toward Zionism."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/sunday-review/03flotilla.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&sq=BRONNER
Leo Rennert discusses the New York Times article in the American Thinker in an article titled NY Times likens pro-Hamas Audacity of Hope vessel with 1947 Jewish refugees ship, the Exodus.
One comment posted was the following:
Whenever you read or hear a mediapuke use the following phrases: "some say" "but critics charge" "but some believe" "but others say" or any permutations you can be sure that the aforementioned mediapuke is now injecting his/her/its own leftist opinion and that everything that will follow will be yet another piece of propaganda; devoid of any sense of balance, objectivity of journalistic integrity. Journalistic integrity? Please forgive my oxymoron, i don't know what i was thinking.
Finally, click here to read an Israel National News article about a new movie starring Colin Firth which won't portray Israel in the same light as that in the Exodus move.
In the NYT article, Mr. Bronner writes, "Shlomo Avineri, a historian and onetime director general of Israel’s foreign ministry, wrote in the Haaretz newspaper..."
Yesterday I blogged about hastening the arrival of the Mashiach. I think one sign that will portend his arrival will be when Mr. Bronner quotes from Israel National News rather than Haaretz.
"SOME see a parallel with the Exodus, the ship filled with Jewish refugees that tried to break the British blockade of Palestine in 1947 and helped sway world opinion toward Zionism."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/sunday-review/03flotilla.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&sq=BRONNER
Leo Rennert discusses the New York Times article in the American Thinker in an article titled NY Times likens pro-Hamas Audacity of Hope vessel with 1947 Jewish refugees ship, the Exodus.
One comment posted was the following:
Whenever you read or hear a mediapuke use the following phrases: "some say" "but critics charge" "but some believe" "but others say" or any permutations you can be sure that the aforementioned mediapuke is now injecting his/her/its own leftist opinion and that everything that will follow will be yet another piece of propaganda; devoid of any sense of balance, objectivity of journalistic integrity. Journalistic integrity? Please forgive my oxymoron, i don't know what i was thinking.
Finally, click here to read an Israel National News article about a new movie starring Colin Firth which won't portray Israel in the same light as that in the Exodus move.
In the NYT article, Mr. Bronner writes, "Shlomo Avineri, a historian and onetime director general of Israel’s foreign ministry, wrote in the Haaretz newspaper..."
Yesterday I blogged about hastening the arrival of the Mashiach. I think one sign that will portend his arrival will be when Mr. Bronner quotes from Israel National News rather than Haaretz.
4 Jul 2011
Do something
As Americans celebrate Independence Day, JB WIlliams discusses the divisions in American society.
The term E Pluribus Unum dates back to the founding of our once great nation. It was a very simple concept, a Latin term chosen by our Founding Fathers as the official National Motto for the newly formed United States of America, which translates in English to – “Out of many, one.”
http://newswithviews.com/JBWilliams/williams152.htm
As the Yom Hillula of the Lubavitcher Rebbe approaches this evening, let us take heed of the message the Rebbe delivered to Prime Minister Netanyahu many years ago.
"Mashiach still hasn't come so do something to hasten his coming."
How about if we focus on the words, "E pluribus unum" and become a united people?
Let's do our part to hasten Mashiach's arrival.
The term E Pluribus Unum dates back to the founding of our once great nation. It was a very simple concept, a Latin term chosen by our Founding Fathers as the official National Motto for the newly formed United States of America, which translates in English to – “Out of many, one.”
http://newswithviews.com/JBWilliams/williams152.htm
As the Yom Hillula of the Lubavitcher Rebbe approaches this evening, let us take heed of the message the Rebbe delivered to Prime Minister Netanyahu many years ago.
"Mashiach still hasn't come so do something to hasten his coming."
How about if we focus on the words, "E pluribus unum" and become a united people?
Let's do our part to hasten Mashiach's arrival.
The journalist
An article about Yair Lapid caught my attention last night. The secular Israeli journalist spoke to a group of Orthodox students in Jerusalem. He said that the secular had thought that the Orthodox were destined for a museum, but he conceded that the Orthodox had emerged victorious.
Read full article in Hebrew: http://www.bhol.co.il/article.aspx?id=29391
After googling "Yair Lapid" I came across an article he had written in 2008 which has been translated to English in which the journalist asks, "Why do they hate us so much?"
Click here to read the article.
P.S. Mr. Lapid doesn't supply an answer to his question.
Read full article in Hebrew: http://www.bhol.co.il/article.aspx?id=29391
After googling "Yair Lapid" I came across an article he had written in 2008 which has been translated to English in which the journalist asks, "Why do they hate us so much?"
Click here to read the article.
P.S. Mr. Lapid doesn't supply an answer to his question.
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