The Brooklyn landlord who was kidnapped near his office late Thursday was found in a dumpster at a Long Island gas station, authorities said Saturday.
The body of Menacham Stark was found in the trash container at the Getty gas station in Great Neck just before 4 p.m. Friday, according to Nassau County cops.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/man-body-found-long-island-feared-abducted-brooklyn-landlord-article-1.1566192#ixzz2pTWs0h5V
A cache of unregistered weapons was found at a diplomatic residence where a Palestinian envoy was killed by an explosion, officials said Friday.
...Officers searching the house following the blast found enough weapons to arm a ten-man combat unit, police said.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/gun-cache-uncovered-at-palestinian-diplomats-home/#PgsaHoYpGU3ItHxL.99
Genie Milgrom’s quest for her religious roots began with a mysterious box her maternal grandmother left her when she died. It ends, if one can call it an ending, with a book, a website, speaking engagements around the world and a scholar’s depth of knowledge about Jews who were forced to convert, or pretended to convert, by the Spanish Inquisition.
First, the box. Milgrom, who was raised Catholic in a traditional Cuban household, had already converted to Judaism when her maternal abuela left her a well-worn hamsa, or charm-like “hand of God” trinket, and one gold earring with a Star of David in the middle.
...Milgrom and her husband keep kosher. They walk to shul. And when she lights candles every Friday night, “I feel all my grandmothers are standing around me and they’re saying, ‘Good job.’ I’m glad they’re here for me.”
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/03/3850310/miami-woman-tracks-her-jewish.html
Brooklyn man arrested, charged in five 'knockout' incidents against women
Barry Baldwin, 35, was arrested for a rash of assaults that some have connected to the infamous 'knockout game,' cops say. Sources say Baldwin was initially charged with hate crimes for targeting Jewish victims, but those charges were later downgraded.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/brooklyn-man-arrested-knockout-game-women-article-1.1566125#ixzz2pTVkeD8C
A small plane owned by a Jewish man made an emergency landing on a New York City expressway on Saturday, resulting in minor injuries to the three onboard and backing up a traffic on the major thoroughfare, emergency officials said.
Read more: http://forward.com/articles/190331/plane-registered-to-jewish-owner-makes-emergency-l/#ixzz2pTWLinQQ
5 Jan 2014
3 Jan 2014
The glaring hypocrisy
Walid Shoebat calls attention to a program which is to be aired on HBO about Islamophobia which features CAIR-Michigan’s Executive Director Dawud Walid. Click here to read the article. Investigative Project has an article about Dawud Walid over here. You can listen to his words over here. At the 15 minute mark he talks about the Jews who incurred the wrath...
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has criticized the glaring hypocrisy and inconsistency of the Obama Administration for urging Israel to free Palestinian Arab terrorists with Jewish blood on their hands while simultaneously expressing outrage that Afghan President Hamid Karzai intends to free dozens of prisoners with the blood of Americans on their hands.
Read more: http://5tjt.com/shocking-hypocrisy-of-obama-admin-urges-israel-to-release-palestinian-killers-of-jews-yet-condemns-afghans-for-intending-to-release-killers-of-americans/
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has criticized the glaring hypocrisy and inconsistency of the Obama Administration for urging Israel to free Palestinian Arab terrorists with Jewish blood on their hands while simultaneously expressing outrage that Afghan President Hamid Karzai intends to free dozens of prisoners with the blood of Americans on their hands.
Read more: http://5tjt.com/shocking-hypocrisy-of-obama-admin-urges-israel-to-release-palestinian-killers-of-jews-yet-condemns-afghans-for-intending-to-release-killers-of-americans/
2 Jan 2014
The victim who fought back
Chabad Crown Heights info writes about a phone snatching victim who fought back. Click here to read.
During an episode of the program Sights of Jerusalem broadcast in October, official Palestinian Authority TV dehumanized Israelis and Jews as crows and rats. In addition, the program denied Jewish history and the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, calling Israelis "foreigners."
...The program was co-produced by PA TV and PYALARA, a Palestinian NGO for youth. PYALARA is funded by NDC (NGO Development Center). NDC's donors include: the European Union, the World Bank, the French government's Agence Française de Développement, and a donor consortium of Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Read more: http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=10482
Stanley Kutler thinks "very highly" of some U.S. senators and their motivation to support Israel.
Now comes a "bipartisan" group of U.S. senators determined to join Israel in isolation. They are motivated from little else other than electoral fears and campaign contributions. They have offered legislation imposing new, more severe sanctions on Iran at a most inopportune time, and a pledge of American diplomatic and military support if the Israelis attack Iran.
He also is concerned about a balanced discussion on the Palestinian question.
Swarthmore College's Hillel chapter also tried to have a balanced discussion of the Palestinian question, but the governing body prevented it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stanley-kutler/israel-can-do-no-wrong-je_b_4521643.html
The pro-Israel campus groups Hillel International and the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) have been denied the right to present a discussion on Israel at the Jan. 9-12 Modern Language Association (MLA) convention in Chicago, JNS.org has learned.
MLA’s convention includes a roundtable discussion that will feature supporters but no opponents of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/academic-group-hosts-bds-bars-pro-israel-groups-at-panel-on-israel/2014/01/02/
Is Stanley Kutler concerned that the Modern Language Association convention present a balanced view?
A Twitter account belonging to “@BDSAmsterdam“ is using an outrageous image of Anne Frank dressed in a red keffiyeh, Israeli daily Ma’ariv reported on Thursday.
http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/01/02/dutch-bds-twitter-account-using-image-of-anne-frank-in-keffiyeh/
During an episode of the program Sights of Jerusalem broadcast in October, official Palestinian Authority TV dehumanized Israelis and Jews as crows and rats. In addition, the program denied Jewish history and the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, calling Israelis "foreigners."
...The program was co-produced by PA TV and PYALARA, a Palestinian NGO for youth. PYALARA is funded by NDC (NGO Development Center). NDC's donors include: the European Union, the World Bank, the French government's Agence Française de Développement, and a donor consortium of Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Read more: http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=10482
Stanley Kutler thinks "very highly" of some U.S. senators and their motivation to support Israel.
Now comes a "bipartisan" group of U.S. senators determined to join Israel in isolation. They are motivated from little else other than electoral fears and campaign contributions. They have offered legislation imposing new, more severe sanctions on Iran at a most inopportune time, and a pledge of American diplomatic and military support if the Israelis attack Iran.
He also is concerned about a balanced discussion on the Palestinian question.
Swarthmore College's Hillel chapter also tried to have a balanced discussion of the Palestinian question, but the governing body prevented it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stanley-kutler/israel-can-do-no-wrong-je_b_4521643.html
The pro-Israel campus groups Hillel International and the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) have been denied the right to present a discussion on Israel at the Jan. 9-12 Modern Language Association (MLA) convention in Chicago, JNS.org has learned.
MLA’s convention includes a roundtable discussion that will feature supporters but no opponents of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/academic-group-hosts-bds-bars-pro-israel-groups-at-panel-on-israel/2014/01/02/
Is Stanley Kutler concerned that the Modern Language Association convention present a balanced view?
A Twitter account belonging to “@BDSAmsterdam“ is using an outrageous image of Anne Frank dressed in a red keffiyeh, Israeli daily Ma’ariv reported on Thursday.
http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/01/02/dutch-bds-twitter-account-using-image-of-anne-frank-in-keffiyeh/
A thought on the parsha, an op-ed and a new release
There's a nice thought on this weeks's parsha at kikarhashabat. It's in Hebrew, but I will try to translate it, when I have the time. Click here to read.
Gil Solomon has writte an Op-Ed: Jews Killed Nobody.
According to a new release from the JAMA Network Journals, vitamin E may help Alzheimer’s patients. Researchers discovered that a daily dosage of 2,000 IUs of vitamin E for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease slowed functional decline and lowered caregiver time in helping patients.
Read more: http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/vitamin-e-may-help-alzheimers-patients-study-finds/#ixzz2pE5nm7hO
Wishing you a good chodesh.
On December 31, Roger Cohen published an op-ed at the New York Times titled My Jewish State. On January 1, Sticking Point in Peace Talks: Recognition of a Jewish State by Jodi Rudoren was published. The first and third paragraphs in bold below were written by Roger Cohen. The second and fourth paragraphs were written by Ms. Rudoren.
Notice any similarities?
For Palestinians, such a form of recognition would amount to explicit acquiescence to second-class citizenship for the 1.6 million Arabs in Israel; undermine the rights of millions of Palestinian refugees; upend a national narrative of mass expulsion from land that was theirs;
They contend that recognizing Israel as a Jewish state would disenfranchise its 1.6 million Arab citizens, undercut the right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees and, most important, require a psychological rewriting of the story they hold dear about their longtime presence in the land.
When I spoke to him in Tel Aviv a few months ago, Yair Lapid, a top government minister, said: “The fact that we demand from Palestinians a declaration that they recognize Israel as a Jewish state, I just think this is rubbish. I don’t need that. The whole point of Israel was we came here saying we don’t need anyone else to recognize us anymore because we can recognize ourselves. We are liberated.”
Yair Lapid, a top minister in Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition, has distanced himself from the recognition demand, saying in an October interview, “My father did not come to Haifa from the Budapest ghetto in order to get recognition from” Mr. Abbas.
Gil Solomon has writte an Op-Ed: Jews Killed Nobody.
According to a new release from the JAMA Network Journals, vitamin E may help Alzheimer’s patients. Researchers discovered that a daily dosage of 2,000 IUs of vitamin E for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease slowed functional decline and lowered caregiver time in helping patients.
Read more: http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/vitamin-e-may-help-alzheimers-patients-study-finds/#ixzz2pE5nm7hO
Wishing you a good chodesh.
On December 31, Roger Cohen published an op-ed at the New York Times titled My Jewish State. On January 1, Sticking Point in Peace Talks: Recognition of a Jewish State by Jodi Rudoren was published. The first and third paragraphs in bold below were written by Roger Cohen. The second and fourth paragraphs were written by Ms. Rudoren.
Notice any similarities?
For Palestinians, such a form of recognition would amount to explicit acquiescence to second-class citizenship for the 1.6 million Arabs in Israel; undermine the rights of millions of Palestinian refugees; upend a national narrative of mass expulsion from land that was theirs;
They contend that recognizing Israel as a Jewish state would disenfranchise its 1.6 million Arab citizens, undercut the right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees and, most important, require a psychological rewriting of the story they hold dear about their longtime presence in the land.
When I spoke to him in Tel Aviv a few months ago, Yair Lapid, a top government minister, said: “The fact that we demand from Palestinians a declaration that they recognize Israel as a Jewish state, I just think this is rubbish. I don’t need that. The whole point of Israel was we came here saying we don’t need anyone else to recognize us anymore because we can recognize ourselves. We are liberated.”
Yair Lapid, a top minister in Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition, has distanced himself from the recognition demand, saying in an October interview, “My father did not come to Haifa from the Budapest ghetto in order to get recognition from” Mr. Abbas.
1 Jan 2014
Cell phone penalty
KikarHashabat pointed me to an article at tzfatinews regarding a successful initiative in a shul in France where the gabbaim instituted a monetary penalty for those whose cell phones rang during davening. The money would be set aside for the shul's use. Needless to say, the congregants got the message after a number of days and prayer is no longer interrupted by the ringing of cell phones.
The article ends with a suggestion that the initiative can be implemented in other synagogues or public places where the ringing has become a nuisance.
The article ends with a suggestion that the initiative can be implemented in other synagogues or public places where the ringing has become a nuisance.
Roger the prophet
For people at high risk of depression because of a family history, spirituality may offer some protection for the brain, a new study hints.
Parts of the brain's outer layer, the cortex, were thicker in high-risk study participants who said religion or spirituality was "important" to them versus those who cared less about religion.Continue reading: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/30/us-thicker-brain-sections-tied-to-spirit-idUSBRE9BT0LA20131230
A Wikipedia entry titled Prophets in Judaism lists the 48 Prophets and seven Prophetesses. Perhaps the list should be amended to include NYT columnist Roger Cohen, who finds time amongst his new year's celebrations to prophesy about the coming year.
But I am going to make one prediction for 2014. It is that, for all John Kerry’s efforts, this will be another year in which peace is not reached in the Middle East. (And if I am wrong, I vow Sisyphean penance in eternity.)
Of course, Israel is mostly to blame for the sorry state of affairs in an article titled My Jewish State.
Then there is the rebounding Israel-is-a-Jewish-state bugbear: Netanyahu wants Palestinians to recognize his nation as such.
...If Israel looks like a Jewish state and acts like a Jewish state, that is good enough for me — as long as it gets out of the corrosive business of occupation. Zionism, the one I identify with, forged a Jewish homeland in the name of restored Jewish pride in a democratic state of laws, not in the name of finicky insistence on a certain form of recognition, nor in the name of messianic religious Greater Israel nationalism.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/opinion/cohen-my-jewish-state.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0
Jeffrey Grossman opines about the NYT article.
Yes, Roger (Iran is "not totalitarian") Cohen is given to playing footloose with the truth, and my prediction for 2014 is that he will continue to rain manure down upon us.
http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.be/2013/12/roger-cohen-my-jewish-state-still.html
Who Cares What You Think, Roger Cohen?
31 Dec 2013
Resolutions
Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss takes a look at secular New Year's resolutions and compares them with our resolutions.
After studying these lists, I realized that they primarily revolve around the body: to lose weight, to get fit, to quit smoking or drinking, or to manage stress. These are all the needs of the guf, our mortal bodies. Now, while we also ascribe to the positive commandment of “V’nishmartem meod es nafshoseichem - To guard the health of our bodies,” it is the needs of our neshoma, our immortal soul, that is the primary focus of our existence. Thus, our resolutions are quite different and revolve around character improvement such as: 1. I will not gossip about others. 2. I will avoid lying. 3. I will make up with people that I am at odds with. 4. I will try not to be envious of others. Rather, I will rejoice in their success and prosperity. 5. I will be more loving and attentive to my spouse. 6. I will be a better role-model for my children. 7. I will bring joy to my parents. 8. I will be more charitable. 9. I’ll try not to be selfish and self-centered. 10. I will work hard to curb my anger and will restrain myself from screaming and yelling.
Read full article: http://matzav.com/new-years-resolution-2014
KikarHashabat has an article about a man who refused to give his wife a get and fled to America a few years ago. He has now been extradited to Israel.
KikarHashabat has an article about Rav Kaduri seeing the Mashiach in the past.
Former minister Rafi Eitan, the former handler of Jonathan Pollard, believes that this time, Israeli efforts to win Pollard’s freedom may yield results.
Continue reading: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/175765
NPR has an article titled What Israel's Release Of Palestinian Prisoners Means For Peace.
Below is one comment posted under the NPR article. If one reads through the rest of the comments, one realizes that views are entrenched and opinions won't be swayed by the truth.
I was very surprised to see the article didn't include a link to the names and crimes of the actual prisoners, but it included a convenient link to an article about settlement expansions. One can't expect every article to be written by a non-baised robot, but NPR is usually better than this.
After studying these lists, I realized that they primarily revolve around the body: to lose weight, to get fit, to quit smoking or drinking, or to manage stress. These are all the needs of the guf, our mortal bodies. Now, while we also ascribe to the positive commandment of “V’nishmartem meod es nafshoseichem - To guard the health of our bodies,” it is the needs of our neshoma, our immortal soul, that is the primary focus of our existence. Thus, our resolutions are quite different and revolve around character improvement such as: 1. I will not gossip about others. 2. I will avoid lying. 3. I will make up with people that I am at odds with. 4. I will try not to be envious of others. Rather, I will rejoice in their success and prosperity. 5. I will be more loving and attentive to my spouse. 6. I will be a better role-model for my children. 7. I will bring joy to my parents. 8. I will be more charitable. 9. I’ll try not to be selfish and self-centered. 10. I will work hard to curb my anger and will restrain myself from screaming and yelling.
Read full article: http://matzav.com/new-years-resolution-2014
KikarHashabat has an article about a man who refused to give his wife a get and fled to America a few years ago. He has now been extradited to Israel.
KikarHashabat has an article about Rav Kaduri seeing the Mashiach in the past.
Former minister Rafi Eitan, the former handler of Jonathan Pollard, believes that this time, Israeli efforts to win Pollard’s freedom may yield results.
Continue reading: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/175765
NPR has an article titled What Israel's Release Of Palestinian Prisoners Means For Peace.
Below is one comment posted under the NPR article. If one reads through the rest of the comments, one realizes that views are entrenched and opinions won't be swayed by the truth.
I was very surprised to see the article didn't include a link to the names and crimes of the actual prisoners, but it included a convenient link to an article about settlement expansions. One can't expect every article to be written by a non-baised robot, but NPR is usually better than this.
Call for prayer
Chadrei Charedim reports that HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman is calling for a global prayer day, tomorrow, erev Rosh Chodesh Shevat, against the conscription law aimed at yeshiva students. Rav Vozner has also added his voice to the call for prayer.
Click here to read the article in Hebrew.
Click here to read the article in Hebrew.
30 Dec 2013
The sanctification of time
In the video below the speaker discusses the mitzvah of "Hachodesh Hazeh." He states, "There is nothing more aimportant for an individual than the sanctification of time.... We have a limited time to make a difference in the world."
Reading about Nochum Zvi Potash, I realize that he made a difference, even though he was granted but a few years on earth.
Crown Heights info reports on a levaya of a young boy from London.
Nochum Tzvi loved going to Shul. He loved his small community of Heichal Menachem. Each time he came, he always offered his help. Though young, he joined with the other children in cleaning the Shul after davening or setting up the Farbrengen. But there were two “jobs” he loved most. For many Shabbosim he would stand near the Bima and help cover the Sefer Torah in between Aliyos. The other job was helping his treasurer father, Yossi, in keeping record of the donations people pledged after their Aliyos.
...The Potash/Garelick families, together with the Heichal Menachem community, are launching a building campaign for a new Lubavitch Community Center in Golders Green, which will proudly bear the name Beis Nochum Tzvi – to never forget the child that loved his Shul.
Read more: http://crownheights.info/notices/419101/lavaya-of-nochum-tzvi-potash-to-take-place-today/
by Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple
The 12th chapter of Sh’mot starts the history of the Jewish calendar: “This month (Nisan, the month of the Exodus) shall be for you the first of the months” (Ex. 12:2).
We might have thought that this command was merely addressed to Moses and Aaron, since the previous verse says, “HaShem spoke to Moses and Aaron…” But Ramban points out that our verse is linked with what follows, “Speak to all the congregation of Israel”, which indicates that the establishment of the list of months is addressed to the whole of the Jewish people.
The great founder of neo-orthodoxy, Samson Raphael Hirsch, used to say that if you want to know what Jews believe, you have to look at their calendar. On one level this means, “Look at the festivals”. Hence Pesach stands for freedom, Shavu’ot stands for duty, Sukkot affirms God’s protection, Rosh HaShanah represents destiny, Yom Kippur assures us of reconciliation with God.
But it is not only the festivals that tell us what Judaism stands for: the months too have a message about the principles of the Jewish way of life. Every month we see the moon wax and then wane, which symbolises the way in which faith functions.
There are times of gadlut emunah, greater faith, when no-one can have the slightest hesitation about believing in God; there are times of katnut emunah, when our faith is tested and events tempt us to deny the Almighty. That’s the way the human soul works, and our task is to contain the moments of doubt and return to the spiritual equilibrium in which we wholeheartedly affirm our Creator.
With the coming of each new month we overcome our hesitations and once more grow in faith and belief.
http://www.oztorah.com/2013/12/the-message-of-the-calendar-bo/
Reading about Nochum Zvi Potash, I realize that he made a difference, even though he was granted but a few years on earth.
Crown Heights info reports on a levaya of a young boy from London.
Nochum Tzvi loved going to Shul. He loved his small community of Heichal Menachem. Each time he came, he always offered his help. Though young, he joined with the other children in cleaning the Shul after davening or setting up the Farbrengen. But there were two “jobs” he loved most. For many Shabbosim he would stand near the Bima and help cover the Sefer Torah in between Aliyos. The other job was helping his treasurer father, Yossi, in keeping record of the donations people pledged after their Aliyos.
...The Potash/Garelick families, together with the Heichal Menachem community, are launching a building campaign for a new Lubavitch Community Center in Golders Green, which will proudly bear the name Beis Nochum Tzvi – to never forget the child that loved his Shul.
Read more: http://crownheights.info/notices/419101/lavaya-of-nochum-tzvi-potash-to-take-place-today/
by Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple
The 12th chapter of Sh’mot starts the history of the Jewish calendar: “This month (Nisan, the month of the Exodus) shall be for you the first of the months” (Ex. 12:2).
We might have thought that this command was merely addressed to Moses and Aaron, since the previous verse says, “HaShem spoke to Moses and Aaron…” But Ramban points out that our verse is linked with what follows, “Speak to all the congregation of Israel”, which indicates that the establishment of the list of months is addressed to the whole of the Jewish people.
The great founder of neo-orthodoxy, Samson Raphael Hirsch, used to say that if you want to know what Jews believe, you have to look at their calendar. On one level this means, “Look at the festivals”. Hence Pesach stands for freedom, Shavu’ot stands for duty, Sukkot affirms God’s protection, Rosh HaShanah represents destiny, Yom Kippur assures us of reconciliation with God.
But it is not only the festivals that tell us what Judaism stands for: the months too have a message about the principles of the Jewish way of life. Every month we see the moon wax and then wane, which symbolises the way in which faith functions.
There are times of gadlut emunah, greater faith, when no-one can have the slightest hesitation about believing in God; there are times of katnut emunah, when our faith is tested and events tempt us to deny the Almighty. That’s the way the human soul works, and our task is to contain the moments of doubt and return to the spiritual equilibrium in which we wholeheartedly affirm our Creator.
With the coming of each new month we overcome our hesitations and once more grow in faith and belief.
http://www.oztorah.com/2013/12/the-message-of-the-calendar-bo/
23 Dec 2013
Leading the sheep
by Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple
Whatever Moses did, the Egyptian magicians were able to counter it (Ex. 7:11). In today’s world, Moses wouldn’t have stood a chance.
The magicians were masters of show, while Moses was a mere stutterer. On television Moses wouldn’t have lasted a moment. He hadn’t an ounce of charisma.
From the perspective of history, however, judged by the criteria of a pre-television age, Moses had the more substance, and that’s why the Torah says (Ex. 14:31) that the people “believed in God and in Moses His servant” (possibly the words mean, “and that Moses was His servant”).
The lesson we learn is that no-one, not even a rabbi, especially not a rabbi, should be judged by spell-binding oratory or flamboyant theatricality. Some people are masters of magic, capable of manipulating minds and hearts, either for the wrong purpose or for no purpose at all other than the pleasure that they get out of wielding their magic.
Not that putting on a show is necessarily always bad, but the rational person should always ask,
“What’s behind the theatrics?” The rational person should never be swayed by the drama. It’s harder to ask the hard questions, but without them no decision will ever have real validity.
http://www.oztorah.com/2013/12/moses-the-showmen-vaera/
The pasuk tells us that Moshe led Yisro's flock of sheep in the Midbar. Chazal tell us that in the zechus of his outstanding service of leading the sheep of a mere mortal with perfection and compassion he was zocheh to lead Hashem's "Tzon Kodshim", Hashem's Holy Sheep, for 40 years in the Midbar.
The Ben Ish Chai in his sefer Ben Yoho'ada on Chumash says that the reason why the Bnei Yisroel are called "Tzon" is to remind us that we must serve Hashem with the four traits laid out by Yehuda Ben Teima in Pirkei Avos (5:20). Az KaNamer, audacious like a Leopard; Kal KaNesher, light like an eagle; Ruzt KaTzvi, run like a deer; Gibor Ka'Ari strong like a lion. The Roshie Teivos of these for animal Tzadi for Tzvi, Aleph for Ari, Nun for Nesher and Namer make up the word "Tzon". Hashem's flock must use all four of these character traits for avodas Hashem. If we do so then we are zocheh to be called "Tzon Kodshim" and be led by a merciful shepherd.
http://www.revach.net/dafyomi/article.php?id=1585&style=send
Whatever Moses did, the Egyptian magicians were able to counter it (Ex. 7:11). In today’s world, Moses wouldn’t have stood a chance.
The magicians were masters of show, while Moses was a mere stutterer. On television Moses wouldn’t have lasted a moment. He hadn’t an ounce of charisma.
From the perspective of history, however, judged by the criteria of a pre-television age, Moses had the more substance, and that’s why the Torah says (Ex. 14:31) that the people “believed in God and in Moses His servant” (possibly the words mean, “and that Moses was His servant”).
The lesson we learn is that no-one, not even a rabbi, especially not a rabbi, should be judged by spell-binding oratory or flamboyant theatricality. Some people are masters of magic, capable of manipulating minds and hearts, either for the wrong purpose or for no purpose at all other than the pleasure that they get out of wielding their magic.
Not that putting on a show is necessarily always bad, but the rational person should always ask,
“What’s behind the theatrics?” The rational person should never be swayed by the drama. It’s harder to ask the hard questions, but without them no decision will ever have real validity.
http://www.oztorah.com/2013/12/moses-the-showmen-vaera/
The pasuk tells us that Moshe led Yisro's flock of sheep in the Midbar. Chazal tell us that in the zechus of his outstanding service of leading the sheep of a mere mortal with perfection and compassion he was zocheh to lead Hashem's "Tzon Kodshim", Hashem's Holy Sheep, for 40 years in the Midbar.
The Ben Ish Chai in his sefer Ben Yoho'ada on Chumash says that the reason why the Bnei Yisroel are called "Tzon" is to remind us that we must serve Hashem with the four traits laid out by Yehuda Ben Teima in Pirkei Avos (5:20). Az KaNamer, audacious like a Leopard; Kal KaNesher, light like an eagle; Ruzt KaTzvi, run like a deer; Gibor Ka'Ari strong like a lion. The Roshie Teivos of these for animal Tzadi for Tzvi, Aleph for Ari, Nun for Nesher and Namer make up the word "Tzon". Hashem's flock must use all four of these character traits for avodas Hashem. If we do so then we are zocheh to be called "Tzon Kodshim" and be led by a merciful shepherd.
http://www.revach.net/dafyomi/article.php?id=1585&style=send
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