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Some Good & Comforting News

15/5/2019

In Tishrei/October of 2018, the Ginsburg family of Beitar Ilit, Eretz Yisrael, lost their youngest daughter and son in a shocking fire, which seems to have been sparked by a night-light falling on a bed, which immediately ignited the bed in a large, fierce blaze.

Their 3 oldest daughters made it out, but were blocked from their siblings by the blaze (although they did call out to them immediately upon seeing the fire, even before they'd left their own beds, but the little ones never woke up).

Within a minute, the room was impossible to enter.

Within 10 minutes, it was impossible to even enter the hall leading to the bedroom, even for fire fighters.

As far as anyone knows, Tzvi z"l & Efrat z"l never woke up.

Their mother took comfort in the fact that their last words were the Bedtime Shema.

Anyway, this hasn't seemed to have spread to the English-language media yet, but the Ginsburgs just had triplets this morning (Wednesday, 10 Iyar): 2 girls & a boy.
http://www.bhol.co.il/news/998549

(UPDATE: This wonderful news is now in English HERE.)

Mazal tov!

(Although there seems to be some question whether it's boy-girl twins or boy-girl-girl triplets. But either way, it's a big bracha.)

And while nothing can replace the irreplaceable children lost in the fire, it is certainly a big nechamah and chessed from Hashem for the Ginsburgs to receive these multiples.

May they have much nachas from all their children and raise them to Torah, chuppah, and maasim tovim.

May we know no more tzarot in Am Yisrael.

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More Astounding Proof that Hashem Really Can Do Anything

14/5/2019

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Following up on a previous post about how Hashem is the Real Influencer & Orchestrator of everything, (including politics & Jew-haters), a book of Rabbi Wein’s most compelling anecdotes, Vintage Wein, presents a sharp story along these lines.

(You can find the original story in full HERE.)

The German-born son of a particularly psychopathic Nazi (a former member of the Death Head Unit--Totenkopfverbände) recoiled from the revelations of his father's atrocities during the Shoah. As a result, he ended up in Eretz Yisrael and started investigating the very people his own father had hunted down to slaughter.

This journey eventually led to his kosher conversion to Judaism and marriage to a fellow German convert.

Together, they were able to have 3 sons in Eretz Yisrael—which was how Rabbi Wein met them, when he noticed this father with 3 particularly well-behaved sons in shul in Eretz Yisrael one day. (That, and they all had a stereotypically Aryan look to them.)

In speaking with this ger tzedek named Avraham, Rabbi Wein heard an astonishing story.

Avraham understandably did not want anything to do with his father, nor did he ever wish to visit Germany again.

Yet at one point, his elderly father was dying and his wife felt it would be a good idea to go visit the elderly father before his death—and also show him his beautiful Jewish grandchildren.

Eventually, she managed to convince her husband and he made the trip with his 3 sons to see their grandfather.

At first, the Nazi grandfather could barely look at the Hebrew-speaking, tzitzit-and-kippah-wearing children.

But gradually, he got used to them.

Interestingly, after they spoke for a while, the Nazi grandfather expressed approval of how things were turning out for them. (Not that anyone needs his approval, but it is pretty shocking.)

Then the son explained the concept of middah k’neged middah (measure for measure) in Judaism.

After explaining that, he asked the former Death Head member if he could think of anything he had done that would explain how (after all the horrors he committed) this former Death Head member merited such a long life (he was over 90 at that time) and to have 3 fine Jewish grandsons.

Because, really, he deserved to have been executed shortly after WWII, like many other Nazi officials, and he certainly did not deserve any Jewish descendants.

The elderly Nazi thought it over, then said something like, "I can't think of anything outstanding, but once, in Frankfurt, when we were rounding up the Jews, I had the chance to save the lives of three Jewish boys who were hiding in a Catholic Orphanage. For some reason they aroused my sympathy. I was touched by their plight; they were so lost and forlorn I felt pity for them, so I let them flee. I don't know what happened to them. But I didn't kill them."

Avraham pondered this for a moment, taking into account the 3 sons he and his wife managed to have, and said that, according to Judaism, that made sense.

No Good Deed Goes Unrewarded

Now…

You can take this as particularly sharp chizuk that Hashem ALWAYS rewards ANY good deed, no matter how evil the deed-doer is.

All the evil deeds in the world cannot nullify the reward earned by the smattering of good deeds.

So yes, this particularly sadistic Nazi merited 3 exceptionally fine Jewish grandsons (likely) middah k’neged middah the 3 Jewish boys upon whom he had mercy. (Probably, there are other metaphysical reasons for this, but just looking at the simplest level, this is a reasonable—if incomplete—conclusion.)

So yes, that is sharp chizuk for us, to encourage us to keep doing good deeds. Many a wise Jewish Sage has pointed out that the reward of the wicked should encourage us, because if that's what they get despite their awfulness, then gosh, think of what we non-wicked can earn!

But there’s another lesson here.

Hashem Can Do ANYTHING

This German grandfather spent the Shoah years murdering Jews in cold blood. Babies, children, men, women, elderly…he hunted them down and slaughtered them while proudly wearing the skull-and-crossbones insignia. The Death Head members ran & staffed the death camps & committed other massacres, like the La Paradis massacre in 1940 France.

Just looking at him in his uniform, you knew exactly who and what he was, and what he did.

And this was his day job, so to speak.

Think about that for a moment. Think about what an unbelievably heartless & evil person he must have been (and still was--let's be honest).

Completely remorseless and unfathomably evil, he felt good about doing such an “important” job for Nazi Germany.

Yet out of all those years of murdering innocents, he unexpectedly pitied 3 Jewish boys in hiding and spared their lives for reasons even he himself could not understand or explain.

And it’s impossible to explain it away by explaining that the Jewish boys’ situation was simply the most pitiable he’d seen.

That can’t be.

He rounded up for slaughter other Jewish children in similar (if not more pitiable) situations.

Did those 3 boys have zechut avot (merits from illustrious ancestors)? Did Hashem have big plans for them or the offspring they would later have? Was someone davening for them? Was it all of these or was it something else entirely?

We can’t know.

But one thing we do know from exhortations and mussar all through Tanach & Chazal is that Hashem can do ANYTHING He wants.

And Hashem can turn the heart of whomever He wants.

And beyond human comprehension, Hashem can even turn the heart of an unfathomably evil blood-thirsty Death Head Jew-hunter—if Hashem wills it.

To me, THAT is the big lesson of the above story.

How can it be that such an evil person, a true Amalekite, someone so consumed with the annihilation of Jews that he continuously & personally perpetrated horrors on innocent people--how can such a person suddenly be "touched" by the "plight" of 3 Jewish boys?

Where could that astounding blip of "sympathy" possibly come from?

Our Beloved Avinu Sheh B'Shamayim

As stated in a previous post, how much & what kind of derech hateva efforts should be made in society and politics needs to be determined by daas Torah.

But the Torah has been telling us for millennia that Jew-hatred is connected to our own avodah. And this mussar is meant for me as much as anyone else.

Wherever we are, we need to turn to our Father in Shamayim, our One True Best Friend, our Yedid Nefesh & Av HaRachaman (Merciful Father) in order to merit the Heavenly Compassion we so desperately need for ourselves and for each other wherever we are.

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How We Should Really be Responding to Our Politicians

12/5/2019

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It’s very easy to get wrapped up in a specific politician and his or her viewpoints (whether for or against).

It’s even easier to get wrapped up in the conventional democratic way of fighting an opponent or political movement you find distressing or even dangerous.

Yet when you have obviously & unabashedly anti-Jewish politicians, it seems a bit silly for Jews (including some frum Jews) to run after purely political solutions.

Needless to say, we are usually expected to make some effort, but it's important for daas Torah to decide how much effort derech hateva Jews should make, while taking other factors into consideration.

Why Politics Do & Don't Matter

And perhaps I’m wrong, but I don’t see that the general population cares much about a politician’s views on Israel.

And I'm not sure how much people care specifically about the Jewish community of their country, especially seeing as Jews tend to get along just fine without anyone else's help and are also such a small (though prominent) minority. I honestly don't think many people are concerned about increasing Jew-hatred in society. They neither feel it nor see it.

They care MUCH more about issues that directly affect them.

For example, who (outside of Jews) feel that America or Britain’s relationship with Israel really affects them or the country?

Many Jews feel that one of the big lessons from the Shoah is to pay a lot more attention to politics, especially if someone says he wants to kill you.

I don’t argue with that, but I simply follow it up with the question: “And then what?”

Why? Because I don’t see that any amount of campaigning and political participation and voting in the “right” people could have turned the tide of Nazism or Communism.

I think that many Jews in democratic countries have grown overconfident.

We’re used to having a voice and feeling equal.

But really, what’s the correct attitude and action to take?

Jew-Hating Protectors

Chazal tells us that the heart of a leader is in Hashem’s Hand.

We’ve seen this throughout history.

Here’s one bizarre example:

At the same time he upheld the savage Inquisition in Spain, King Charles V (1500-1558) provided German Jews with protection.

It makes no sense.

Yet it happened.

Who would have thought that the same king who allowed terrible torture and burning of Jews could also be their protector?

And this is what happened even earlier with King Achashverosh, who hated Jews even more than Haman...yet signed on a decree to prevent their genocide.

The Jew-Friendly President who Blocked the Jews

On the flip side, you have the more positive figure of Republican Calvin Coolidge, who served as the 30th American President during the years 1923-1929.

Coolidge was different than other politicians. Entering the presidency after the particularly corrupt Warren Harding, Coolidge got rid of the corrupt and inept people and hired decent officials in their stead.

In favor of small government, Coolidge cut taxes and lowered government spending.

He granted Native Americans US citizenship and instituted programs to improve conditions on reservations. Contrast him to Teddy Roosevelt (President from 1901 to 1909), who once called them "squalid savages" whose land needed to be "taken by the white race," and shoved them off reservations to give that land to American squatters, tourists, and national forests.

Coolidge defended the rights of black Americans and constantly pressured Congress to pass anti-lynching laws, refusing to appoint any KKK members to office.

He supported the nomination of a black Republican to Congress, shortened the workweek for women and children, increased teacher's salaries, and supported veterans.

As far as Jews go, he also seemed a relatively decent guy.

For example, Coolidge attended the cornerstone-laying of the Jewish Community Center of Washington, D.C. in 1925 and he said some very nice things. He praised Jewish participation in America’s Revolution of Independence, calling Judaism “the faith of liberty” and stating that "Hebraic mortar cemented the foundations of American democracy."

During the speech he included Jews in his opinion that when people have the freedom “to find the places for which they are best fitted…the vast multitude will rise to a higher level, to wider horizons, to worthier attainments."(1)

When unable to attend the Convention of the Zionist Organization in 1924, Coolidge extended his regrets for not coming and his good wishes to the attendees, then wrote:
“I have so many times reiterated my interest in this great movement that anything which I might say would be a repetition of former statements, but I am nevertheless glad to have this opportunity to express again my sympathy with that deep and intense longing which finds such fine expression in the Jewish National Homeland in Palestine.” (2)

Regarding a book of Jewish thought by England’s Chief Rabbi sent to Coolidge by an American Jew in 1923, Coolidge responded with a thank-you note in which he included the following:
“…I can see that it will prove of interest and value.” (3)

So he seemed to appreciate Jews and seemed as pro-Israel as an American president could be without there actually being a State of Israel.

And I’ve never found any anti-Jewish statements by him.

Yet it was this pro-Israel, Jewishly appreciative President who put the cap on Jewish immigration to America when he signed the 1924 Immigration Restriction Act.

Based on testimony by the Eugenics(!) Head Office to Congress, this new law designated that 86% of immigrants come from Western & Northern Europe, while Southern & Eastern European immigrants could make up only 9% of total immigrants.

Nine years before the evil fuehrer came to power in Germany, this law became the reason why Jews had such a hard time escaping Europe during the Nazi era.

Who Really Decides If It's Good for the Jews?

But despite a lot of anti-Jewish sentiment in the upper echelons of America, American Jews prospered, moving from the sweatshops and tenements to better jobs and nicer homes. Their children attended (and excelled in) public schools, got together in soda shops, and went to the movies on the weekend.

Just like all the other middle-class Americans.

While I oppose Jewish assimilation into American society, my point is that whether the non-Jewish ruling elite likes Jews or hates them, Hashem decides how Jews are affected by this.

Jews thrived in America, whether the government despised them or not.

Sympathetic non-Jewish rulers have sometimes proved powerless while Jew-haters sometimes provide the protection and freedom Jews need to flourish.

To truly affect our politicians positively, we need to turn to Hashem for our salvation.

He is the one who can make a sympathetic leader callous…

…or make a Jew-hater an ally & protector.

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The Big Lie in Social Pseudo-Science Today

9/5/2019

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The primary reason why physically intimate relationships between the same gender is wrong is because the Torah clearly states that it’s wrong. Hashem despises such relationships.

Furthermore, if you study the deeper significance of a marital relationship between husband & wife (on all levels: spiritual, emotional, physical, etc.), you understand more why a same-gender relationship is so incredibly corruptive and destructive.

Such people are seriously hurting themselves, in addition to their society, and cause harm in unseen spiritual realms.

One of the strongest weapons used against the proponents of traditional marriage is the idea that same-gender attraction is “normal.” They claim it’s innate and cannot be changed.

If you even suggest that one’s orientation can change, you will be subjected to disdain and vitriol.

And it has even became a human rights issue.

Human Rights Abuse, Eh? Hmm...

Human rights usually deal with truly horrific things, like child trafficking, slavery, long-term internment in terrible prisons for non-crimes, torture, concentration camps, genocide, and more.

With regard to same-gender attraction—particularly among males—it is all about taavah.

It’s just about being able to act on your taavah.

Sure, some of them will start blabbing on about “love,” but the kind of lifelong monogamous relationship (marriage) that regular men and women seek under the auspice of love does not exist in the male toeva community.

(Statistics show that they are incapable of both a long-term relationship AND a monogamous one. For example, a fully monogamous 20-year relationship is barely found among these men—yet a fully monogamous 20+-year relationship is the norm among husbands & wives.)

So it’s basically as if human rights organizations battled for, say, the right to engage in copious, indiscriminate relationships with redheads—as if NOT being allowed to do that is equal to slaving to death for years in a diamond mine in Africa.

Despite the obvious ridiculousness, “expert” sources oppose the very idea of what’s known as “reparative therapy” or “conversion therapy.” One human rights organization defines such therapy as “a range of dangerous and discredited practices.”

Dangerous, eh?

This community has an abnormally high rate of violence, disease, criminal activity against children, addiction, and a shorter lifespan…yet trying to re-orient their attraction—THAT’S what’s “dangerous”?

Seriously?

Biased Science

The DSM no longer considers same-gender attraction something that needs to be (or can be) re-oriented.

Both the American Psychological Association and the American Counselors Association question the ethics of re-orienting a person’s attraction even if the client requests it.

Not only that, these organizations advise therapists to actively inform a client that such therapy has not been shown to work and can even be harmful.

It is hard to see how attempted therapy can be MORE harmful than a toeva lifestyle, but there are your “experts” for you.

The American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Association of Social Workers, and the American Academy of Pediatrics joined together years ago to oppose reparative therapy.

A professor of psychology at the University of California-Davis even stated the following:
“And even if conversion therapies were shown to be successful in more than a relative handful of cases, they would remain ethically questionable.”

See? Even if there is a method to successfully change orientation, it is still “ethically questionable,” according to these people.

If you read the actual article, it’s full of gobbledygook that you have to sift through to find the actual information.

It’s impossible to enter into a rational discussion when the “experts” themselves are so dead-set against the possibility of re-orientation.

What is the Overall Effectiveness of Treatment, Anyway?

Part of the problem is that therapy for anything is overrated.

Most divorced couples participated in marriage therapy, yet divorced anyway.

Child psychologist John Rosemond has claimed many times that talk therapy does not help children, and can even make their behavior worse. He cites decades of observation to back up his opinion.

Also, the people you’ve known who’ve gone through therapy, what are they like?

The ones I’ve known still have problems (sometimes even serious problems) with emotional immaturity (including one who claimed that therapy helped her emotionally mature so much more), narcissism, and general bad middot.

They may not be worse than everyone else, but they don't seem better either.

More significantly, they don't seem better (or much better) than they were before they entered therapy.

Meaning, whether you compare them to others or to themselves, there is often a lack of notable improvement.

And despite so many people digging in their heels to say that people can’t change their orientation, the fact is that people definitely do—and some do even without any therapy or treatment whatsoever.

Re-Orientation Story #1

For example, a 27-year-old British man (who’d “come out” at the age of 14 with his attraction to men, never had a relationship with a woman, had indulged with over 150 partners, and worked in a service catering to male-male taavah) decided to abstain from any physical relationships for a year.

Dominic Hilton made this decision after reading accounts of how abstinence helped people increase their self-esteem and energy, lessen anxiety, and generally helped them get to know themselves better.

To his shock, he found himself increasingly attracted to women over the course of that year.

His final realization hit when, during a vacation in Spain with a male friend, his friend tried to engage Hilton in Hilton’s usual chitchat about what guys around are attractive.

But “I just couldn’t join in,” said Hilton. “…I just don’t find men attractive anymore.”

Hilton also described how his fashion and mannerisms have changed. He no longer feels comfortable in “camp” styles and makeup, preferring instead tracksuits and less quasi-feminine expressions and behaviors.

Originally, appearing in the UK Mirror, you can find the above article HERE.

Re-Orientation Story #2

Robert Oscar Lopez opened up on his blog and American Thinker (How to Survive a Character Assassination) regarding his own “conversion.”

Raised by a toeva parent & exclusively involved with other males since age 13, Lopez states that he “identified completely” with toeva and sank into a toeva lifestyle that also consisted of self-destructive behavior, abusive relationships, and drugs.

Upon intimacy with a woman for the first time at age 28, Lopez woke to the fact that his former lifestyle actually wasn’t okay. (Part of his thunderbolt insight had to do with the fact that the act could lead to fatherhood.) He married that woman, found God (kind of), and went on to lead a fulfilling life.

Interestingly, he says that premarital intimacy with a woman, looking at untsnius pictures of women (often part of reparative therapy), and other unwholesome behaviors is actually NOT ultimately helpful to re-orienting one’s attraction.

He regrets that he himself did so and wishes that he’d married his wife straightaway, having relations only after their marriage.

(So this might be one problem with conventional reparative therapy, in that it often encourages unwholesome behavior in the opposite direction, rather than healing the person’s soul.)

Working as an English instructor at California State University-Northridge, Lopez ended up being viciously & unrelentingly harassed for 7 years by both his prestigious degreed colleagues and his students. Why? Because he came out as a formerly toeva-oriented person who’d changed and was now happily married.

Even “worse,” he detailed his childhood suffering as the child of a toeva parent.

Unfortunately, the mere listening to an honest description of his childhood experiences (by those who don't want to hear it) is forbidden under a Californian discrimination law, which seeks to protect ostriches with their head in the sand from hearing things that they don’t want to hear.

You aren't Defined by Your Flaws

The final problem with any discussion of this issue is the non-Jewish attitude toward mistakes, stumbles, fails, and falls.

It’s all black-and-white with no acknowledgement of Hashem’s Hand in things.

For example, alcoholism is often considered a “disease” that progresses even if you stop drinking. You are supposed to consider yourself an alcoholic for the rest of your life, even if you abstain completely from any alcohol.

If, say, you stumble and get drunk once after 10 years of sobriety, that is considered evidence that you are “still” an alcoholic.

The same is true with regard to drugs and food and anything else considered an addiction.

In secular society, you are defined by your addictions. You are defined by your negative traits and your taavahs.

Likewise, if a man formerly attracted to men ever finds himself looking at unwholesome images of men or even in a fling with another man, then he is considered to still “really” be attracted to men.

Liberals especially love this black-and-white idea because they feel it “proves” that reparative therapy (or whatever inspired the man to re-orient his attraction) doesn’t really work and it seals in their own mind their mantra that orientation cannot be changed.

(Note: All the anti-Torah social science mentioned in this post is highly reminiscent of the fake science characteristic of murderously totalitarian societies. Please see related links below for more.)

What a Fail REALLY Means

As written about on this blog before, this is one of the very damaging beliefs in Western society, that you are defined by your negative qualities rather than your positive ones.

This false belief insists that your negative traits are the “real” you, when in reality, your positive traits are the real you.

Judaism informs us that failing challenges or stumbling into sin can actually be a yeridah for the sake of aliyah—sort of like hitting rock bottom in order to bounce back up as far away from rock bottom as possible, which propels you even higher than before.

Sometimes, these fails & falls occur to keep you humble.

Though underrated in society, Hashem cannot stand to be with prideful or haughty person. He can actually be closest to you in your remorse and pain over your fall. (Breslov chassidus goes into this whole concept quite a lot.)

Anyway, the point is that we all have traits & taavahs with which we were either born or developed from our environment, and we are supposed to work on overcoming these traits and taavahs.

We aren’t supposed to indulge them or give up on them.

And we certainly aren't supposed to be defined by them.

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Standing against Chilul Hashem

8/5/2019

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On Friday night, a New York Jewish Democrat councilman collapsed in a movie theater. By Sunday, his death was confirmed.

As the media swoons over the “loss,” it quickly becomes clear that they cherish him most for his work on behalf of toeva.

This councilman served in a district home to a large & thriving frum community, along with other Americans who initially weren’t so gung-ho for toeva rights & acceptance.

But this “progressive” councilman propelled that cultural descent before his constituents wanted it. (And many still don’t want it.)

They Don't Need that Kind of Advocacy

Starry-eyed groupies particularly swoon over the councilman’s “advocacy” for the "runaway youth," portrayed as boys attracted to their own gender who didn’t find acceptance in their communities of origin, so they came to live on the streets of Brooklyn. The councilman got funding for shelters and extra beds for these guys.

Needless to say, I don’t completely buy this because organizations, hotlines, and other forms of support existed for such youth way before the councilman started working on their behalf in 2001.

As described before on this blog, the vast majority of males attracted to their own gender were either violated by a man at some point or lacked the kind of affection they needed from their father (especially true of those with scary or neglectful or absentee fathers) and therefore seek a warped version of it from other men.

Popping the Leftist Bubble

Basically, such youth need genuine compassion, focused on treatment and re-orientation, not further indulgence of a damaging lifestyle.

They don’t need to run away and live on the streets of New York. And they need a lot more than beds in a shelter.

Furthermore, males involved with other males, particularly when its many other males (as is common in this community) have a significantly higher rate of an incurable 100% fatal disease—not something you want to encourage in your community.

Men attracted to their own gender also abuse children far out of proportion to their numbers. For example, while less than 3% of Americans identify as attracted to their own gender, men attracted to their own gender are 11 times MORE likely to violate a child. (Please see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1556756 and a Harvard study, both of which clearly describe the evidence even as they tell you not to believe it!)

They abuse drugs and alcohol out of proportion to their numbers.

Their relationships also tend to be the most violent, surpassing the rate of physical abuse within a relationship for female-female relationships and male-female relationships.

Why would you want this increased in your community?

A Vote for Him is a Vote for Sedom

Finally, and most importantly, the Torah categorically forbids toeva relationships, whether for Jews or non-Jews.

Chazal already stated centuries ago that one of the main reasons why Hashem destroyed Sedom was because they enacted marital contracts for toeva.

Once toeva becomes officially sanctioned, that signifies the end for such a society. Anyone who cares about the society in which they live must oppose legislation that validates toeva lifestyles and behaviors.

Hashem is very Patient and Forebearing with mistakes for all kinds of sins. He gives us a wealth of opportunities to do teshuvah. But once a sin is enacted as a perfectly acceptable norm and protected (or even encouraged) by law—particularly such a severe transgression—then that society is doomed.

(Just to contrast: Certain forms of slander are prohibited by American law. If outright baseless character defamation and completely false slander were not only protected by law, but encouraged and celebrated as a “right,” then the culture would become intolerable. And yes, America is heading in that direction too.)

Yet this councilman made himself an advocate and activist on behalf of toeva legislation.

Hiding behind the Charity Facade

Furthermore, his generosity is suspect, as is the case for reshaim.

(We don’t give them the benefit of the doubt; we do the opposite: We suspect their motives even when they do good things.)

The councilman’s non-profit for the toeva street youth earned nice bonuses for him and his cronies (all of whom were already earning 6-figure salaries), in addition to providing deluxe salaries for the people hired to sit on the board of the non-profit—the cronies’ wives.

Coincidence? Hmm…

I’ve long noticed that indecent people will do some large act of charity to make themselves look and feel good, plus it’s used a shield against those who see their true colors and wish to unmask them.

“But I did this really amazing act of charity, so you can’t say I’m a bad person!” they howl.

Yeah, I’ve seen this personally and not just in politics.

I bet most of us have seen this dynamic.

Can We Please Get Off the Insidious "Pro-Israel" Bandwagon?

It's very common for Jews to jump on the bandwagon of a completely repulsive fellow Jew simply because he supports the State of Israel, the IDF, or opposes BDS.

This is a huge mistake.

As someone once explained to me, morally indecent people feel attracted to modern Medinat Yisrael because their moral laxity is acceptable there.

That is not true for anywhere else in the Middle East.

The modern state of Israel would be even more secular had not the religious Jews intervened with all their might.

Also, even the most rebellious Jews are aware that Jew-hatred affects them too, and they relish having a theoretical place to which they can escape, if necessary. (i.e., "If America doesn't work out, I can always go to Israel as my Plan B!")

So their support for Israel tends to be wholly self-serving and based on their perception of Israel as a place where they can indulge their anti-Torah lifestyles.

This is a terrible mistake because as is written, Eretz Yisrael is a Land that "vomits out" those who desecrate her.

Yet the desecration acceptable among secular Leftists in Eretz Yisrael is exactly what these anti-Torah Jews like about it.

This councilman fought with BDS. So what? BDS flourishes BECAUSE of Jews like this.

(Hashem brings Jew-hatred to the world when Jews hate themselves--meaning, the Torah, which defines Judaism.)

Then, despite all the adulation surrounding the death of this person who, though identifiably Jewish, clearly felt compelled to catch a movie on Lail Shabbat, his behavior toward a fellow (and far better) Jewish competitor crossed the line.

Strafing Storobin

When Russian-born Republican David Storobin chose to run against the recently deceased councilman, it was a breath of fresh air for decent people.

As a child, Storobin came with his divorced mother from Belarus. His extended family had been physically decimated by the Nazis, then spiritually attacked by the Communists.

But coming to America, Storobin reconnected with his Jewish heritage and also worked his way up through law school, opening his own firm at the age of 25: a hard-won one-room office.

Actually, that was his second office. His first was not actually even his; a friend allowed him to work out of the friend's office.

But Storobin applied all his grit and became very successful.

This is a real self-made man, and not like all the politicians who had tons of help (yet claim to be self-made).

I have no clue as to Storobin’s personal observance, but he belonged to an Orthodox shul in Brighton Beach and promoted traditional marriage only, pro-life, the development of small businesses, and school vouchers—all of which benefit both the frum community and the community at large.

But the now-deceased Democrat councilman wasn’t having any of that.

In a shocking attack, he accused Storobin of “ties to skinheads and neo-Nazi groups and white supremacist groups.”

Whoa, quite a mouthful there!

It takes quite a lot of ego and callousness to accuse a fellow Jew, whose family was victimized by Nazis, of having ties to Nazis.

But anything to take down the competition, eh?

Fortunately, people rallied to Storobin’s defense, notably Storobin’s rabbi and the chairman of Agudath Yisrael.

Yet the idea had been planted and that district hosts a large minority population for whom “white supremacist” is a high-voltage word, and is anyway associated with “Republican” in the mind of American liberals.

Storobin won by a sliver.

Just Say No to Chilul Hashem

Other evidence exists of the deceased councilman’s greed & cronyism. But he was most known for his advocacy on behalf of toeva.

Yet this renegade Jew, known for his chilul Hashem (chilul Shabbat too, apparently) managed to achieve accolades by virtue of a natural charisma (please see Mishlei 11-9: The Absolutely Charming Path to Destruction as to why morally repugnant people are often found attractive) and Liberal politicking gusto.

This post came about at the request of a pained reader--who saw this councilman lauded & mourned in a frum newspaper! (He didn’t say which one.)

We can’t allow this.

Even if we find someone personally appealing, we cannot ignore his trampling of Torah values.

And it is wrong to paint a chilul Hashem as a kiddush Hashem.

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What's REALLY Bothering You - the Measles or the Jews?

7/5/2019

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It's important to identify Jew-hatred for 2 reasons:

To avoid going overboard in self-blame and self-hatred.
Jew-hatred is ALWAYS a wake-up call from Hashem.

If Jew-hatred is on the rise for any reason it hides behind, it means that we Jews are supposed to take stock of ourselves and see what non-Jewish attitudes and values we've adopted in place of the beautiful & holy Jewish attitudes & values.

Looking at the whole picture, it really seems like the spotlight on Orthodox Jews for a measles outbreak has more to do with attacking Orthodox Jews rather than a real concern about measles.

And this post addresses the reasons why that's the likely motivation...

A Brief Look at Measles

WITHOUT getting into a vaccine debate, I want to address SPECIFICALLY the attitude toward Jews, particularly Orthodox Jews, with regard to the recent outbreak of measles in New York.

Currently, Orthodox Jewish cases of measles have been in the media, both Jewish and not, along with the usual accompanying hysteria and consternation.

Traditionally, measles has appeared as a normal childhood disease (like chicken pox).

Yes, it can be very uncomfortable.

Yes, it can even be deadly.

Yes, a measles outbreak must be taken seriously.

But if you speak with people old enough to have actually suffered through a bout of measles before the vaccine, it sounds a lot like chicken pox bouts of my childhood: Some kids got it bad, some average, some just suffered a runny nose and slight fever with a dot or two.

Yes, both chicken pox and measles can turn deadly.

So can the flu.

So can the common cold. (One stat said that 4500 people die of rhinovirus, the most common strain of the common cold, each year in the US, but I could not find a source for that.)

For every 1000 infected with measles, 1-2 die. The last confirmed measles death in the USA was in 2015, and before that, in 2003.

And it’s entirely possible that the current common strain of measles is more virulent than that of 60 years ago.

But measles is NOT, say, in the realm of polio, smallpox, tuberculosis, leprosy, HIV, or malaria.

It just isn’t.

Yodeling Yidden

And yet, you have headlines about it in both the non-Jewish and Jewish media.

The frum media has wholeheartedly embraced the “Vaccinate against measles, you dangerous loons!” side.

Cries of “Chilul Hashem!” rise up from all frum sides.

Fellow frum Jews want to dox the 1 or 2 rabbis who aren’t pro-vaccination.

At least one yeshivah has been closed down because of measles and a new discrimination against Orthodox Jews has developed based on the measles issue—such as a New York bus driver refusing to allow an Orthodox passenger on board, screaming something about measles at the hapless Jew.

I’d say the frum community has firmly hopped on board (maybe even overboard) the pro-vaccine side of the whole measles issue.

The frum community has gone overboard in taking responsibility.

This is so typical because the frum community is the most self-critical community in the world.

Yes, we have our deluded self-righteous narcissists. But in general, we are always ready to rip ourselves apart, self-castigating ourselves even for things we personally have NOT done and would NEVER do—simply because another Jew (or 10) who looks frum has done it.

When people take responsibility for their problems, there is no need to pursue and harass them about it. They are willing to take care of it themselves, even without all sorts of harassment.

Yet if you point out that all this response to measles in the frum community smacks of Jew-hatred, you will be charged by fellow frummies who accuse you have burying your head in the sand, not taking responsibility, passing the buck, and one of the worst accusations in frum society today: IGNORING THE REAL PROBLEM.

Whew! Pretty heavy stuff.

It's Those Juuuuuz...

But I’ll tell you why it indeed smacks of Jew-hatred and why the widespread acceptability of blaring about Orthodox Jews with measles (even if it’s true) is not a good sign.

Here is the golden rule of thumb:
If it’s only a problem when JEWS do it—and other groups get a free pass when doing the exact same thing or WORSE—then Jew-hatred is at its root.

So let’s look at other groups.

Other "Measly" (Ha!) Groups

First of all, as of September 2018, the vast majority of measles in the US came from Venezuela. (Not Orthodox Jews, but Venezuela.)

Because of a measles epidemic there (4605 cases, 62 deaths), the CDC issued a Level 3 Travel Alert, discouraging Americans from going to Venezuela.

In 2014, Ohio experienced an outbreak of 383 cases of measles, the majority appearing among the unvaccinated Amish.

In 2014, Minnesota experienced a measles outbreak (78 cases) that originated among unvaccinated Somalis.

Did these cases make headlines? Did you hear about these at all?

Did you know that one is far more likely to catch measles from someone recently from Venezuela than from an Orthodox Jew?

No, of course not. It’s only when (over 120) Orthodox Jews have measles that measles is a widely publicized problem.

And did you see any Venezuelans or American tourists from Venezuela self-flagellating about their part in spreading measles? What about the Somalis? The Amish?

Neither did I.

Nobody feels bad about these things as a group—except the noble Orthodox Jew.

An Incurable 100% Fatal Disease

While the initial development of AIDS is murky, the spread of this disease came about through debauched behavior, particularly on the part of men involved with their own gender.

And it continues to be a problem in that community and communities in the Third World in which debauched behavior between men and women is rampant.

Unlike measles, HIV/AIDS is 100% fatal and has no cure.

Furthermore, unless a person is tested, one can flit gaily through life for 10 years, infecting others, before symptoms appear.

And there are other populations with very high rates of it.

For example:

53% of Eastern & Southern Africans have HIV.
16% of Western & Central Africans have HIV.
14% of Asians and Pacific Islanders have HIV.
10% of LA males involved with other males is HIV-positive (Los Angeles Times, Feb. 17, 2001).
1%-4%, depending which country in Central & South American, the Caribbeans.
0.3% of North Americans have HIV.

Now, legal immigrants are screened for such things, so we don’t need to worry about them.

However, illegal immigrants are not.

And in fact, a free clinic in California has said that 100% of their female patients tested positive and most are immigrants (legal? illegal?) from Central America.

Should we not allow, say, LA men attracted to their own gender into our schools and universities?

And why aren't clubs catering to toeva shut down if schools with measles are shut down?

And before you say, “Well, it’s not an airborne disease, so it’s okay,” there have been rare cases of HIV being contracted through being kissed or bitten by an HIV-positive person.

Regardless, you’d think that with an INCURABLE 100% FATAL and common disease, people might be more cautious and also forgiven for discriminating against populations in which HIV is common, but I would like to see the popular response to any southern Californian university or public place that would deny entry to a toeva male or a Latina woman based on their much higher likelihood of carrying an incurable 100% fatal disease.

(Actually, I wouldn't like to see the popular response. They'd be screaming about discrimination.)

And would newspapers blare such headlines?

And finally, I’d like to see toeva publications and representatives lambaste themselves (just like Orthodox Jews are) for this crisis and very real health hazard.

I would like to see toeva men and southern Californian Central Americans ban each other from parties, simchas, and other get-togethers (just like some Orthodox Jews do) in which this disease might be spread further.

Let them admit only those who’ve been tested and tested negative for this incurable 100% fatal disease.

(And if you think that because it’s not airborne, then it can’t be spread at group functions—especially those where there is likely to be drinking, etc.—then you aren’t aware of what can go on at these functions.)

If frummies can do all that for measles, then why can’t these groups do it for an incurable 100% fatal disease?

And why can't these groups do all the above for the following disease, which IS airborne...

Tuberculosis

So...what do you think of tuberculosis?

The US has one of the lowest rates of TB in the world.

In contrast, Mexico has 10 times the rate and much of Africa and other countries have 100-150 times the rate.

Again, legal immigrants are tested for TB. We don't need to worry about them.

Illegal immigrants are not tested.

In California, 84% of TB patients are foreign-born.

TB is a real concern because it is potentially fatal and highly contagious as an airborne disease. One person with active TB will infect 10-15 others over the course of a year. Furthermore, a recent strain of TB resists all the standard anti-TB drugs. And another strain is impossible to cure at any cost, making certain strains of TB incurable.

This is obviously much more serious than measles, yet the groups infected with TB (especially the most dangerous strains) are not being highlighted in any way.

We do not see bus drivers refusing to stop for members of these groups or any other form of group discrimination based on this very real and dangerous disease-risk.

And any discrimination against such groups because of disease is severely castigated in Western society.

(This is despite the fact that such strains of TB are almost exclusively found among specific groups from specific regions, something which is not true about Orthodox Jews & measles.)

Dengue & Chagas

Other infectious diseases, like dengue from Asia and chagas from Central & South America, were unknown in the United States until recently.

Dengue is spread by mosquitoes and there is no medication for it, although as of 2016, the FDA approved a vaccine for it.

(Actually, information regarding dengue is contradictory. Some say dengue isn’t so bad and people recover after a few days with a lifelong immunity to it, while others say it’s pretty bad and that re-infection IS possible, with a serious increase in complications and fatalities from a 2nd-time infection. So there you go.)

Chagas is still not recognized by most US doctors (meaning, even if someone has it, the doctor won’t think to check for it & therefore cannot treat it) and it entered the American blood supply because blood banks did not think to check for it until 2006 (because it was unknown in the US).

Leprosy

Leprosy used to be extremely rare in the US (900 cases between 1962-2002), but now it has doubled.

Leprosy passes from mouth/nose droplets and is curable.

But it takes anywhere from a few weeks to many years for symptoms to appear and the vast majority of cases are found in people from India and anywhere south of the US.

The rate of leprosy has doubled and increased in the US. And while considered curable, the strain has been mutating.

Furthermore, due to their unfamiliarity with leprosy, many American doctors aren’t quick to diagnose it. This means that 25% of lepers end up with disfigurement and disabilities impossible to remedy even after the disease is finally diagnosed and cured.

Finally, until 1997, the only Americans with leprosy were those who’d been infected while abroad.

But in 1997, the first diagnosis appeared in a man who’d never left the US.

This made leprosy endemic to the US for the first time.

Summary of Main Points

This is all clearly as bad as or even worse than measles among Orthodox Jews.

Yet are any of these groups self-flagellating because of it?
Are there headlines about it?
Are people discriminating against them because of it?

As is well known, it is considered racist to even mention the bare fact that infectious diseases have been brought into America by certain groups—unless, apparently, the group is Jewish.

This is true even when the only source for a disease is from this particular group (which is not true for Orthodox Jews & measles).

So to sum-up:

Orthodox Jews are not the prime carriers or sport the largest outbreaks of measles or other infectious diseases in the US, but they are the only group being spotlighted.

No other group is displaying nearly the same level of shame, concern, or responsibility for their group’s tendency toward a particular outbreak.

No other group is facing discrimination (including among its own members) for its infectious diseases—including those suffering fatal incurable diseases.

Yes, I feel measles should be taken seriously. But I think ALL infectious diseases should be taken seriously—especially untreatable & easily transferable diseases.

Here is a sampling of some of the links to the information in this post:
http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthread.php?2097-Cases-of-leprosy-on-the-rise-in-U-S
https://sma.org/illegal-immigration-and-the-threat-of-infectious-disease/
http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_diseases.html
https://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2018/08/29/immigrants-and-disease-n2513341
https://www.amfar.org/worldwide-aids-stats/
https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/international-travelers-bring-measles-usa
https://www.cdc.gov/measles/downloads/measlesdataandstatsslideset.pdf

These are not even all the sources. As you can see, I chose a variety of sources. Not all sources share the same politics and attitudes regarding the issues mentioned in the post.

Please note:
I do NOT want the comments section to turn into a vaccine debate. The subject of the post is discrimination (and our need to embrace our authentic Torah Judaism more fully), not vaccine effectiveness or lack thereof. Thank you.

Let's start giving our neshamahs, our God, and our Torah more love.

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Mishlei 17:24: How to be Wise in 1 Step & Avoid being a Self-Defeating Fool

6/5/2019

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Intellectually, we all know not to get discouraged by the long journey or the giant mountain ahead of us.

Yet emotionally, it's hard to internalize this.

Furthermore, other people can discourage us by overemphasizing out how far we need to go, how high we need to climb, or how much work we need to do in order to accomplish our goals.

They can do this mockingly too.

But whether the discouraging words come from ourselves or others, we've all heard the following:

"My efforts don't really matter in the end."
"It's too much."
"There's no point in even starting."
"It's impossible, so why bother?"
"Only really great people/tzaddikim/chachamim can do that."

Such a person feels (or causes others to feel) discouraged before even taking that first step.

Yet in Mishlei/Proverbs 17:24, Shlomo Hamelech/King Solomon labels such a person as a "kasil."

According to Malbim, what is a kasil exactly?

Usually translated as "fool," a kasil is the kind of fool who understands what Malbim calls chukei hachachma/the laws of wisdom. He doesn't question the sensible stuff that anyone can understand.

(Malbim frequently defines kasil. One place is Mishlei 12:23.)

But his desires lead him to deviate from or distort his view of things.

I'm guessing that a kasil is the kind of person who knows exactly what smoking does to the body, yet smokes anyway.

A kasil is presumably the kind of person who, despite all evidence to the contrary, convinces himself that "just this one time/one drink/one thing won't hurt" or "Yeah, but I'm different..."

So here is Mishlei 17:24:

אֶת-פְּנֵי מֵבִין חָכְמָה; וְעֵינֵי כְסִיל, בִּקְצֵה-אָרֶץ

"Et p'nei mavin chachmah v'einei kasil biktzeh aretz."

"Directly before the understanding person is wisdom; and the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth."

Rashi explains this as if the kasil is saying to himself:

"...There is no wisdom found before me because it's far from me. How will I be able to learn Seder Nezikin, which is 30 chapters, 30 chapters of Masechet Keilim, 24 chapters of Masechet Shabbat?"

Then Rashi encourages us by describing what a chacham does:

But for a wise person, it is an easy thing: "Today, I learn two chapters. And tomorrow, two. And I shall say, 'This is how they accomplished these, those who accomplished before me from time immemorial'."

(Please see Mishlei 17:24 with Rashi for the full English translation of Rashi and that verse.)

To recap:

The kasil (the discouraged fool in denial): "Whine, whine, whine, kvetch, kvetch, kvetch, self-defeatist talk, blah, blah, blah."

The chacham (the wise person): "I will do as much as I can at a time, even if it's only a little bit. That is exactly how all the great chachamim started out since the beginning of time. Baby-steps was their way of accomplishing--and therefore, the correct and wise way to proceed."

Please note that at this point, the person whom both Shlomo Hamelech and Rashi are calling "chacham" does not yet know the Mishnah or Gemara! (Or at least, these particular areas of the Mishnah or Gemara.)

Yet this person is still called "chacham."

The chacham tries.

The kasil does not.

Be a chacham, not a kasil.

Hang out with chachamim, not kasilim.

Listen to chachamim, and not kasilim.

Yet once again, Judaism tells us that:
We aren't defined by our success so much as we are defined by our efforts.

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2 Helpful Posts for Rosh Chodesh Iyar

5/5/2019

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Please click this link to see: A Segulah & Prayer from the Chida for Iyar

And there's this important goodie:

Rav Avigdor Miller on Rosh Chodesh Iyar

Q:
What should I think about on Rosh Chodesh Iyar?

A:
You know, on Rosh Chodesh Nissan you were asking Hakodosh Boruch Hu, “Oy Hashem, please give us chayim and chayim and chayim.” We’re worried every Rosh Chodesh; who knows what’s going to be. The people who passed away last month weren’t all expecting to go away.

Now, suppose someone would tell you, “My friend, I have a secret to tell you. I was listening in to the Beis Din Shel Ma’alah and they said that you’re going to get a whole month of life for the coming month.” Oh, what a happiness it would be! If someone would know for sure he’s going to live the whole month, it’s a happiness. A month of life is a gift. A month of life?! It’s diamonds.

Are we happy? Sure; that’s why we say Hallel. We’re wild with happiness. We lived a month already! We look back at the past month, the month of Nissan - all the hachonos for Pesach, and then the whole Yom Tov, and then after Yom Tov - we were busy all month and now the month came to an end. Boruch Hashem, no big troubles came during the month. So what’s the question?! It’s a happiness, certainly it’s a happiness. It’s the happiness of being alive.

And now we ask Hashem for the next month in ya’aleh v’yavo. I want to tell you something. Hakodosh Boruch Hu says, “You’re asking for another month? It depends on how your attitude was to the past month. Did you appreciate the month of Nissan? Were you thanking Me for the past month? No, you’re coming to Me ungrateful, not thanking Me - ‘I want another month!’ What kind of business is that?!”

First you have to say to Hashem: “Hodu lashem ki tov ki l’olam chasdo,” in Hallel. “We thank You Hashem, how good you were to us this past month. Now please give us another month.” “Oh,” Hashem says. “That’s what I want to hear.” And if that’s the case so He’ll give us another month.

So therefore Rosh Chodesh in itself is the biggest gift; there’s nothing like chayim. Life is the biggest gift. The pashtus of what Rosh Chodesh means is enough for us to spend the day in gratitude to Hashem for having lived another month.

TAPE # E-106

(I got it early because I signed up to receive their emails, but this should appear on the Toras Avigdor site within a day or 2.)

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Mishlei/Proverbs 17:23: Amazing Encouragement for Awful People

5/5/2019

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Here is one of many very encouraging verses in Mishlei/Proverbs, Mishlei 17:23:

שֹׁחַד מֵחֵק רָשָׁע-יִקָּח לְהַטּוֹת אָרְחוֹת מִשְׁפָּט

"Shochad mechek rasha-yikach l'hatot archot mishpat."

"A bribe from the bosom of a wicked man-he shall take to tilt the ways of justice."

At first glance, it looks like it's commenting on the kind of degenerate person who thinks nothing of bribing officials and anyone else who can help him avoid justice.

Or the kind of degenerate person who will accept the bribe of a wicked person in order to do that wicked person's bidding.

And commentaries like Metzudat David definitely interpret it that way. And certainly Shlomo Hamelech/King Solomon intended that interpretation.

But Shlomo Hamelech also had Rashi's interpretation in mind.

Rashi interprets it as an interaction between Hashem and someone who knows he is evil...and wants to change.

Here's Rashi:

"A bribe from the bosom of a wicked man--He will take..." — The Holy One Blessed Be He accepts words of humility and placation from the bosom of the reshaim [evil ones, intentional sinners]; that is to say, in secret between Him and them.

"...to tilt the ways of justice." — to overturn his din [verdict] from bad to good.

This is tremendously encouraging.

Malbim and others define rasha as an intentional sinner.

A rasha KNOWS he is doing the wrong thing. He KNOWS.

Yet if he (or she!) quietly turns to Hashem with sincere contrition and promises to change, asks for help to change...then Hashem overturns the original din from bad to good.

Once again, Hashem doesn't necessarily demand grand gestures from us.

Okay, yes, sometimes grand gestures are exactly what's needed.

But here, Rashi (and really, Shlomo Hamelech) is saying that even if you are a wicked person and you are WILLINGLY & KNOWINGLY being awful...you can simply turn to Hashem in a private moment (as signified by "from the bosom"), humbly submit to Him (by confessing your awfulness) and promise to be better, tell Hashem how much you'd like to be better, and ask Him to help you.

And voilà! The negative consequences in store for you transform into positive consequences.

And probably most of you aren't even intentional sinners, but accidental & occasional ones—which means that you have even more to be optimistic about.

So there we go.

Happy teshuvah to us all!

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Powerful New Video Clip: The Most Effective Response to Jew-Hatred

2/5/2019

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For a few years now, I've been concerned about the response of the Jewish newspapers (including blogs) to acts of Jew-hatred and any kind of discrimination against Jews.

Jews who aren't fully committed to Torah observance mean well, yet lack the knowledge to respond properly.

But even some frum Jews get sidetracked - and again, it's all with the best of intentions.

Everybody cares about our fellow Jews getting hurt or harassed.

But much of what people mention is either not the solution or not the full solution.

I wanted to write a post on this, but Toras Avigdor beat me to it by putting out a brilliant 8:24-minute video.

In the clip, Rav Avigdor Miller explains how to completely overturn even the most genocidal gezeirah.

Then, at 5:25, he does something he acknowledges that many people don't like (but he does it anyway because it's absolutely necessary & absolute emet); he speaks of what he personally witnessed in Europe leading up to the Shoah, after Hitler (yemach shemo) was already in power...and what we can learn from this to apply to our times.

And also, in the name of the Chafetz Chaim, he blames the newspapers run by assimilated Jews.

And while this blog is far from being a newspaper, blog posts are the modern take on newspaper columns. So I'm taking his comments as personal mussar for myself too.

Anyway, the video packs a powerful punch. Yashar koach to Toras Avigdor for putting together such an important message at such a crucial time.

Here it is:
Rav Avigdor Miller on Our Response to Antisemitism (Please scroll down to the last video.)

Note #1: It looks like this class was filmed in Rav Miller's later years. There are English subtitles for those who can't hear the rav clearly.

Note #2: Also, at minute 6:30, Rav Miller quotes the Chafetz Chaim regarding the Jewish community there of that time: "...ki ein bayit asher ein sham mes - There was no home which didn't have there a mes" from Sefer Shemot 12:30, regarding the Plague of the Firstborn in Egypt.

In Sefer Shemot, the word mes (or met) means "dead." But in the clip, Rav Miller translates it as "spoiled" for a metaphorical interpretation. (Please see Yaak's comment below for clarification.)

May Mashiach please come in a sweet way.

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<<Previous

Forward>>

No Good Deed Goes Unrewarded

Hashem Can Do ANYTHING

Our Beloved Avinu Sheh B'Shamayim

Why Politics Do & Don't Matter

Jew-Hating Protectors

The Jew-Friendly President who Blocked the Jews

Who Really Decides If It's Good for the Jews?

Human Rights Abuse, Eh? Hmm...

Biased Science

What is the Overall Effectiveness of Treatment, Anyway?

Re-Orientation Story #1

Re-Orientation Story #2

You aren't Defined by Your Flaws

What a Fail REALLY Means

They Don't Need that Kind of Advocacy

Popping the Leftist Bubble

A Vote for Him is a Vote for Sedom

Hiding behind the Charity Facade

Can We Please Get Off the Insidious "Pro-Israel" Bandwagon?

Strafing Storobin

Just Say No to Chilul Hashem

A Brief Look at Measles

Yodeling Yidden

It's Those Juuuuuz...

Other "Measly" (Ha!) Groups

An Incurable 100% Fatal Disease

Tuberculosis

Dengue & Chagas

Leprosy

Summary of Main Points

אֶת-פְּנֵי מֵבִין חָכְמָה; וְעֵינֵי כְסִיל, בִּקְצֵה-אָרֶץ

"Et p'nei mavin chachmah v'einei kasil biktzeh aretz."

"Directly before the understanding person is wisdom; and the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth."

שֹׁחַד מֵחֵק רָשָׁע-יִקָּח לְהַטּוֹת אָרְחוֹת מִשְׁפָּט

"Shochad mechek rasha-yikach l'hatot archot mishpat."

​"A bribe from the bosom of a wicked man-he shall take to tilt the ways of justice."

Myrtle Rising

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"A bribe from the bosom of a wicked man-he shall take to tilt the ways of justice."