"Instead of stinging nettle, myrtle will rise" (Isaiah 55:13)
 "Instead of evil, good will rise." (The Malbim's Interpretation)
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Part I of How the Torah Provides Guidance for the Best Governmental Policies: Yosef HaTzaddik in Egypt vs. Socialism & Communism

31/5/2021

 
Click here to skip to Part 2.

​​It's always amazing & validating to see how much applicable guidance the Torah contains.

A huge chunk of its wisdom lies in how the Torah demonstrates what great people did wrong AND what they did right.

The Torah proves exceptional in that respect.

With their insight into the Torah limited & distorted by their own sense of self-importance & narrow-mindedness, the am ha'aretzim & the Jew-haters misinterpret the Torah's analyzations of failures & mistakes by both tzaddikim & reshaim.

This prevents them from eliciting the invaluable lessons contained within. 

When to Collect a Large Percentage of Citizen Earnings & When Not To

For example, I remember reading the stories of the kings of Yisrael and coming across the repeated theme of how raised taxes produced a disgruntled society.

As a youngster, I never thought to apply that to modern times because the assimilated Jewish environment in which I grew up dismissed most of authentic Judaism as impractical or irrelevant, only deriving the most superficial lessons from it (i.e., whatever is emotionally appealing to the secular liberal mind).

But modern economic theories show that, indeed, lower taxes mean more money for spending, which means more income for workers.

It creates a happy, productive cycle.

Yet we also find the example of Yosef Hatzaddik.
​
As second to Pharaoh in ancient Egypt, Yosef Hatzaddik tithed a tremendous amount from that nation—but only for a specified time period (7 years) and for a reason derived from exceptional forethought: to maintain Egypt's abundance. 

In other words, Yosef's goal of accumulating Egyptian production was not for the personal extravagance of the royal family nor for ego-driven wars.

Yosef acted for the people & for their future.

So when the predicted 7-year famine arrived, Egyptians not only found themselves on top of the world, both personally & nationally, but those years of famine turned into years of plenty for Egypt as the entire world turned to Egypt to survive the famine, bringing Egypt income of all varieties.

And despite its superficial similarities to other movements, Yosef's strategy contrasts sharply to seemingly similar systems, like Communism & Socialism.

How Yosef HaTzaddik's Policies Differ from Communism & Socialism

For example, Yosef set a time-limit for this mass stockpiling.

It was not an eternal way of life as it is with Socialist & Communist societies.

But most importantly, Yosef did it for the people.

​He set aside their own goods to provide for them in tough times.

He also displayed incredible integrity in organization, accounting, and supervision as he knew exactly what was happening, how much, and where it went.

Communist societies reveal their glaring hypocrisy in how the political leaders & mafias get rich off the people, permanently trapping their people in the lower-middle-class-to-poor stratum. 

The successful (at least temporarily) Socialist societies (like Scandinavia) resign the entire society to a relatively content middle class. With some exceptions, less innovation or advancement occurs due to lack of motivation. (Working hard won't earn you much more & anyway, life is pretty decent, so why push yourself?)

Contrast this to how, for example, the need to irrigate land in new areas led Israel to become one of the world's best innovators in irrigation.

​However, socialism not considered a good long-term system and it also depends on a society that remains of one mind on the value system making the system work (i.e., who won't exploit the benefits by not doing their share, like not working, or by using their free time for criminal & other harmful activities).

As we see now, a tremendous amount of drinking takes place in all the Scandinavian countries, plus their daisies-and-unicorns immigration policies and vapid attitude toward crime (including toward expressions of Jew-hatred—even when the Jew-hatred turns violent), these societies are starting to sink.

​Furthermore, the Russian bear sometimes makes noises at their borders. (The truth is, anyone who'd want to conquer Finland, Norway, or Sweden could do so easily at this point.)

Yet most refuse to see their society's downward turn because of: "Please don't disturb my Scandinavian socialist utopia."

I think we could also fit France in here because they also had a seemingly socialist society, but I'm not sure about the details. Anyway, France is also tanking now.

In England, you have some people living off benefits in posh neighborhoods with more money than the middle-class workers who fund their benefits.

(BTW, most Brits on benefits do not find themselves in fine neighborhoods & good housing; it depends on their situation and the terms for receiving benefits. But it's bizarre & unfair that such a situation happens at all.)

This is obviously unfair & unequal and in opposition to the ideals of economic & social equality Socialism claims to provide.

Similar to feudal societies, you have the poor providing for the luxuries of the rich while the poor struggle or go without.

At the same time, you also have the working-to-middle-class providing for those who make easily avoidable yet bad decisions that cripple their income or provide for those who don't wish to work at all. 

​Increasingly, this dynamic appears in America too.

America, moving toward socialism over the years, also lives off its working class, middle class, and upper class, all of whom provide for the extravagant lifestyle of its political leaders (i.e., Obama constant retreats to Martha's Vineyard for golf & treating his daughter, plus her 12 friends, to a $115,000 vacation in the foreign country of Mexico, Congressman flying around in private planes & treating themselves to exorbitantly expensive haircuts, etc.).

As in England, American tax-payers fund those who make easily avoidable yet bad decisions that cripple their income, in addition to funding those who don't wish to work at all... 

...all while raising taxes & prices on a wide variety of necessities.

Ironically, the welfare system—originally intended as a safety net for those fallen onto hard times—makes it difficult to get back on one's feet, in addition to funding a pool of dependents who haven't simply fallen on hard times and need a hand up, but instead fund a pool of poor decision-makers (as the majority; there exists a minority who really do need the welfare).

Even more ironically, the growing tent camps of homeless in American cities display the thousands of people who fall between the cracks.

In one online forum, a previously employed non-drug-addicted man had accepted upon himself a temporary stint of homelessness (less risky for a man than for a woman) in order to get back on his feet.

This man inquired about the most comfortable place to be homeless while he sought a new job, saying he expected to endure his homeless state for only 1 month. He figured on getting some kind of job pretty quickly, then being able to move in to a low-rent apartment after saving on rent & utilities during that 1 months.

He had no drugs, crimes, or warrants in his background, had a good job history, and rarely drank.

He preferred Idaho for its quality of living, but heard that homeless weren't welcome there.

It's true that, due to police & citizens more sympathetic to normal decent people (as opposed to drug-addicted/mentally ill who do nothing to help themselves), Idaho lacks the drug-addicted & mentally ill homeless taking over parks and streets occurring in other cities, and who thus endanger normal people & children, which also block these people from utilizing the parks & other facilities paid by their own taxes. 
 
For example, the homeless shelter in Boise, Idaho, apparently limits stays to 17 days and the Boise campground limits stays to 3 days. People loitering in closed parks after dark face a $40 fine if caught.

People suggested this guy move to southern California, where more benefits & facilities exist for the homeless, plus the police leave the homeless alone (even when they commit crimes) & the citizens either ignore them or give them handouts. Plus the weather is really good for outdoor living.

(Although some made the sensible recommendation of applying for a job at Idaho's Sun Valley ski resort, which offers dorm facilities to employees.)

It's weird that someone decent like him cannot get government help for his temporary downturn, which is what many claim the welfare system is set up to do and what many tax-payers wouldn't mind funding. 

And there you have it, folks.

Either way, the system seems to not work the way it claims it does.

And whether they sit among the oblivious wearers of rose-colored glasses or among the resentful observers, the above societies are suffering from their lack of integrity & morality in the ruling classes...unlike the ancient Egyptians under the rule of Yosef HaTzaddik.
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WHAT MOST SOCIALIST POLICIES ARE REALLY ABOUT: FEEL-GOOD VIRTUE-SIGNALING—AND A WAY TO STAY IN POWER

Some sources used in the above article:
https://jcpa.org/article/recent-anti-semitism-in-scandinavia/ (the last half of it)

https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-releases/judicial-watch-releases-records-detailing-government-funds-expended-on-first-daughter-malia-obamas-spring-break-trip-to-mexico/

Continue on to Part 2:
http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/14-strategies-necessary-for-creating-a-successful-nation-or-society-as-gleaned-from-chapter-9-of-melachimkings-i

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​I Support the Goal of Amazon Employees to Fulfill Their Ideals & Avoid Hypocrisy!

I Support the Goal of Amazon Employees to Fulfill Their Ideals & Avoid Hypocrisy!

30/5/2021

 
Because this is the Internet, and because any ability to perceive various uses of humor (sarcasm, irony, pathos, etc.) disappears during online browsing, please be forewarned that a large part of this post is written tongue-in-cheek.
What's more, I think that's what space aliens are REALLY mining here on Earth, IMHO. If you've noticed, the rise in UFO sightings has coincided with the decrease in the ability to utilize or perceive humor in writing. I really think I'm on to something here...

Hamodia recently published an article about people who clearly lack even the vaguest awareness of on which side their bread is buttered:
https://hamodia.com/2021/05/27/amazon-employees-ask-bosses-support-palestinians/

Their 4th demand states:
To sever business contracts and corporate donations with companies, organizations, and/or governments such as the Israeli Defense Forces.

Ironically, a significant part of their Amazon salary & source of their jobs comes from...Israel.

​For example:

  • The USB flash drive we all use (and is widely sold Amazon, and which is used widely by Amazon employees & customers for Amazon digital products) was developed by the Israeli M-Systems in conjunction with IBM.

(Although to be fair, China, Singapore, and Taiwan all claim to have developed it independently at the same time.)

  • Intel 8088 processer, the first personal computer microprocessor (used by IBM), which inspired many Intel "offspring" in that field.
 
  • Waze, the popular GPS system.
I certainly hope these Amazon employees never use it and make no money off of selling anything to do with Waze, so as not to benefit their Israeli producers in any way, in accordance with the demands detailed in their impassioned letter.

  • I'm also very concerned about Amazon's selling of the Quicktionary translator pen, first produced in Yerushalayim by Wizcom Technologies.
I certainly hope these concerned Amazon employees will stop making any money selling these pens and refuse to use them themselves...EVER.

  • These Amazon employees also must not have anything to do with the Wix webhost.
Do they know that every time they visit a website hosted by Wix, they are supporting an Israeli company in Tel Aviv? Do they ever use Wix for their own websites? I sincerely hope not!

  • I also hope they never sell or use anything to do with VoIP technology, produced by VocalTech in Herzilyah.
These Amazon employees MUST avoid this technology like the plague!!!

​The origins of VoIP are worse than any of the above.

Read this scandalous reveal from Wikipedia:
​VocalTec was founded in 1985 by Alon Cohen and Lior Haramaty while still serving together in the IDF, and was officially incorporated in 1989.

Did you get the "while STILL serving in together in the IDF" part?

It doesn't get worse than that!

Also, Amazon employees, please STAY FAR AWAY from anything to do with Text-to-Speech technology, which provides revolutionary assistance to blind people. Alon & Lior made transformative developments in that too and practically invented the Hebrew version.

  • Also, no more Rummikub! Ephraim Hertzano invented it.
Okay, he first created it in Romania. But after coming to live in Eretz Yisrael in the 1940s (the 1940s? why would he leave Romania davka then? hmm...), he continued to develop the game in ISRAEL and then market Rummikub worldwide. Delete Rummikub from Amazon!

​Okay, guys...you probably thought the above was bad enough.

But you know what?

​I've saved the worst for last:
​
  • Kindle.

Yes, yes...THAT Amazon ereader.

Amazon corners the market in ebooks & ereaders.

And (deep breath) the original Kindle technology was mostly developed in...Israel.

The Herzliyah Industrial Zone, to be exact.

I'm so sorry.

Please, above-signed Amazon employees...PLEASE...just give your entire ebook market over to Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Apple. 

​Toss out all the Kindles and just let Nook take over the entire market. (Or Kobo Clara HD. Or Apple Reader.)

Sever those business contracts with Israel companies, organizations, and/or governments such as the Israeli Defense Forces—and do so NOW!

​It is clearly the best way to support the Palestinians along with the the Palestinian jihad ideology, Gazan missile attacks on civilians, Palestinian terror attacks, rampant domestic violence within their own community, FGM on their own females, using their fellow Palestinian children as human shields, and much more.

(Not that all Palestinians are bad, of course! However, as a society, they suffer from certain issues, such as Arabian male privilege, lack of diversity, and—well—a tendency toward unbridled za'am. No offense.)

Please, above-signed Amazon employees! Do your best to fulfill your stated ideals & avoid any vestige of hypocrisy or personal interest.

​We're counting on you to do the wrong thing.
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Image by Tablet Helpline from Pixabay
Buh-bye, Kindle! Your origins simply aren't "woke" enough!

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​Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Beha'alotcha: Motivation from the Midbar
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Part I of How the Torah Provides Guidance for the Best Governmental Policies: Yosef HaTzaddik in Egypt vs. Socialism & Communism

Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Beha'alotcha: Motivation from the Midbar

28/5/2021

 
In Rav Avigdor Miller's dvar Torah for Parshas Behaaloscha 4 - The Happy Nation, Rav Miller goes into the psychology of happiness & gratitude.

He explains how complaining ruins life for everyone around the complainer. 

Dissatisfaction is contagious.

And out of all the challenges Moshe Rabbeinu faced, he found most bitter the challenge of the people complaining about the mann.

This really was an amazing miracle that gets lost on us today with all our modern food production.

But once upon a time, even the most basic foods demand intense physical labor.

Bread needed to be harvested from wheat, then ground into flour, protected from mice who gnawed through sacks, sifted, and only then a person could start with the recipe.

Yeast wasn't so predictable either. A housewife merely saved some dough from a previous baking.

Boiling a potato meant digging it up out of the ground. Tomatoes needed to be picked. So did beans.

If you didn't make enough vegetable & fruit preserves and smoke enough meat over the summer, then you ended up very hungry in the winter.

So the mann was an amazing & unbelievably convenient thing.

But the mann was the same every day. Also, Rav Miller notes that it was clear (even though it's often described as white), which he derives from the textual description of mann looking like crystal.

Now, you could imagine it any taste you'd like. You could also grind it up or fry it, in addition to eating it as is. (Mann straight from the sky tasted like a sweet wafer.)

The way Rav Miller describes it when cut up & fried, it sounds like tastes like the wonderful Yemenite mallowach. 

Personally, I can't imagine getting tired of mallowach and wanting eggplant or spinach instead, but nonetheless, I still understand the main point of the parsha: gratitude for what you have—even when it's not exciting!

First Things First

In response, Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu to gather together 70 elders to speak to the people.

According to Rav Miller, these were some of the world's first motivational speakers.

And Hashem did this BEFORE sending the people quail to roast in answer to their complaints.

First, Hashem addressed their mental attitude.

​In addition to their attitude about the mann, the Midbar (Desert) lacked entertainment & diversions.

The ancient world, especially an advanced society like Egypt, featured all sorts of entertainment & diversions. Interesting architecture, attractive music...the ancient world also hosted all the vices found in our generation, albeit just a different form.

So Am Yisrael also struggled with that.

​From pages 13-16, Rav Miller details in his characteristically witty & appealing way how & what to feel gratitude for. (I never knew that staircase banisters were a new thing, for example.)

Feeling grateful.

And not being the Typhoid Mary of gloom.

​That's what life is all about.

Don't forget to check out the Practical Tip on page 15!

Credit for all material & quotes go to Toras Avigdor.
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◄Previous post:
Megillat Ruth: What Naomi & Ruth Teach Us about Self-Transformation, Teshuvah, Mistakes, Rebuke, Criticism, and How It's Okay to Not be Perfect
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​
I Support the Goal of Amazon Employees to Fulfill Their Ideals & Avoid Hypocrisy!

Megillat Ruth: What Naomi & Ruth Teach Us about Self-Transformation, Teshuvah, Mistakes, Rebuke, Criticism, and How It's Okay to Not be Perfect

26/5/2021

 
The Malbim provides intriguing insights regarding interactions between Ruth & Boaz, and then Ruth & Naomi.

In Ruth 2:8, Boaz invites Ruth to continue gleaning in his field exclusively, adding:
  וְכֹה תִדְבָּקִין עִם-נַעֲרֹתָי
"...v'cho tidbakin im na'arotei"
"...and so you shall stay close to my maidens."

However, when Ruth later transmits Boaz's message to Naomi, she is called the Moavite woman (haMoaviyah) and claims that Boaz told her to stick with the young MEN (2:21):
 וַתֹּאמֶר רוּת הַמּוֹאֲבִיָּה:  גַּם כִּי-אָמַר אֵלַי עִם-הַנְּעָרִים אֲשֶׁר-לִי תִּדְבָּקִין
"Vatomer Ruth haMoaviyah: Gam ki amar elei im hana'arim asher li tidbakin..."
"And Ruth the Moavite woman said: 'He also said to me, "You shall stay close to my young men"...' "

Understanding the culture & mentality from which Ruth came, Naomi gently corrects Ruth, emphasizing the need for Ruth to stick with the maidens (2:22):
טוֹב בִּתִּי כִּי תֵצְאִי עִם-נַעֲרוֹתָיו 
"Tov, biti, ki tetzi im na'arotav..." 
"It is good, my daughter, for you to go out with his maidens..."

These 3 little verses hold some very powerful messages for us.

3 Questions Sparked by These Verses

Here are some questions these exchanges elicit:

  • (1) Why did Ruth, such a wholesome & truth-seeking person, change Boaz's words when she transmitted them to Naomi?
 
  • (2) And why did Ruth, a paragon & the historic Jewish example of tzniyut (modest dignity & nobility), change the wording to something so lacking in modesty & propriety? 
 
  • (3) Why does the text suddenly call Ruth "the Moavite woman"? After all she did & sacrificed out of loyalty to Hashem, Judaism, and her Jewish mother-in-law, why is Ruth suddenly referred to by her ignoble roots & the depraved nation of Moav?​

How Malbim Answers These 3 Questions

The Malbim on Ruth 2:21 states:
...in truth, he said to her: "...and so you shall stay close to my maidens."

Only because she was a Moavite female—and over there, they didn't distance themselves from the young men—she didn't understand the importance of taking his words literally.

And she thought his intention was to stay close to his men because the young men were the main priority for her since she thought one of them would marry her.   

And that is why it calls her "the Moavite woman" since a bat Yisrael [a Jewish female] would have understood...that he said "with my maidens."

The Hebrew word used for "stay close" also means "to cleave" (lidabek) and is the same word the Torah uses to command a man to cleave to his wife.

So deriving a marital interpretation from tidbakin isn't crazy.

However, the refined Jewish way to find a husband isn't to hang out with a bunch of guys in the hope that one of them will marry you.

In contrast, Moav, with its more licentious culture, hosted no such separation between males and females. If a young woman wished to hang out with a bunch of guys, then that apparently was fine. 

Moreover, Ruth's intention was to find a husband—not to just hang out with the guys.

So to her it made sense.

So though Boaz specified the maidens, Ruth heard it as the young men—which in Hebrew also makes sense because a masculine plural can either mean just males or males & females together.

​So maybe she also thought she should be friends with everyone, in addition to finding a kosher husband.

Fortunately, Naomi automatically understands everything.

​Regarding 2:22, the Malbim says:
But Naomi understood with her intellect that it would not be good for Ruth to stick with the young men.

Only with the maidens and the female reapers. 

​And so she said, "It is good, my daughter, for you to go out with his maidens..."—she means to say "not with the young men...so you shouldn't come to arouse suspicion."

Lesson #1: Patience! Change Takes Time. Teshuvah is a Process.

Despite Ruth's wholehearted commitment to Torah Judaism & her innate sense of tsniyut, residue of the Moavite mentality still clings to her.

Without even meaning to, Ruth jumps to a conclusion that a bat Yisrael of that time would never make.

I think we can all relate to that.

Even those who are FFB still grow up in an atmosphere permeated by the warped values of their surrounding culture.

Rav Avigdor Miller spent most of his life raising awareness about this & offering the authentic Torah attitudes as a replacement.

​Being influenced by our past attitudes is entirely normal.

As we see, even the best person can stumble in this.

And again, it's ironic that Ruth stumbled in precisely the area she excelled:

Tsniyut!

That's a big lesson right there: No one is immune.

Ruth cared so much about tsniyut, yet because of her background, she hadn't fully integrated the Torah attitude.

​Her intentions indicate her goodness: She simply wished to uphold the Jewish value of marriage.

She did not want to hang out with boys. Not at all.

​A holy marriage was her goal.

Also, Ruth proved an incredible person. As noted before, the power of her sincere conversion released all the sparks trapped in Moav, which eventually led to their complete disappearance.

Hashem designated her as the progenitor of Mashiach.

Ruth was AMAZING.

​Nonetheless, you know what?

Internalizing Torah values takes time.

That's important mussar right there: patience.

Be patient with ourselves & our mistakes & our progress.

And also be patient with others & their mistakes & their progress.   

No one is perfect. Only Hashem is Perfect. 

Naomi: The Paragon of Pleasantness, Criticism, and Rebuke

Naomi really shines here.

So positive, so tactful, so sensitive...

Let's examine what she says, word by word:
 
"Tov—it is good to..."

Please notice how Naomi doesn't castigate Ruth or shriek: "What?!! Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Do you really mean to hang out with young men like you're some kind of I-don't-want-to-say-what? Are you trying to cause a scandal? Where are your common sense and your womanly wisdom? I can't believe Boaz would suggest such a thing. OBVIOUSLY, you must stick with the girls, not the guys! This is clearly your Moavite mentality coming to fore. You lack the proper Jewish hashkafah. You really need to get rid of all that Moavite baggage you're dragging with you."

Instead, Naomi avoids commenting on Ruth's misinterpretation.

Fascinatingly, Naomi offers NO CRITICISM AT ALL. Not even nicely phrased constructive criticism.

​She never tells Ruth outright she was wrong.

Naomi merely notes what would actually be good to do—emphasizing its benefit for Ruth.

Naomi genuinely holds Ruth's best interests at heart.

And as Naomi speaks, she immediately calls Ruth "biti—my daughter."

This displays warmth & feelings of strong connection to Ruth.

Rather than pushing Ruth away for reverting to a Moavite attitude, Naomi brings Ruth in as close to Naomi as possible—a daughter.

Calling Ruth a daughter also affirms Naomi's view of Ruth as the Torah Jew Ruth intends to be—despite the Moavite residue that seeped out for a moment. 

In a sense, Naomi also reminds Ruth of who she really is: a daughter of Yisrael and not a daughter of Moav.

​Then Naomi offers the gentle directive of going out with the maidens, gently pointing out to Ruth how, by sticking with the girls, no scandal or suspicion would harm Ruth.

In this way, Naomi nicely explains to Ruth WHY she should stick with the maidens.

This is no blind order.

Naomi needs to explain what the Moavite mentality overlooks: WHY a girl should avoid sticking with the guys (even for the purpose of marriage)...

...which also indicates Naomi's ability to judge Ruth favorably.

She understands Ruth's purity of intention.

It just needs some fine-tuning.

And Naomi does it all very nicely, living up to her name of "pleasant"!

Learning from Ruth's Response

Happily, Ruth yet again shows herself as sincere, open-minded, and quick to catch on.

​The episode ends with 2:23 stating of Ruth:
וַתִּדְבַּק בְּנַעֲרוֹת בֹּעַז
"Vatidbak b'na'arot Boaz..."
"And she stayed close to the maidens of Boaz..."

Ruth never argues or suggests that perhaps Torah Judaism needs to stop being so uptight and take a leaf from Moav's book.

She never huffs, "Well, how exactly am I supposed to get married if I hang out only with girls ALL the time? Anyway, my situation is different! I'm the only Moavite in the entire country and nobody here likes Moavites. What Yisrael family would allow their son to marry an impoverished Moavite convert—especially when not all the major talmidei chachamim agree that my conversion is even valid? But if these field hands get to know me, then maybe one will take a liking to me, and I'll get a man that way.

"Clearly, rabbis like Boaz don't really understand how things work, especially nowadays and in my kind of situation. All the Moavite self-help gurus explain why the Yisrael way of complete separation between genders is outdated and even hinders marriage—something that Judaism insists is very important! An exception needs to be made here. I think the Moavite pop psychology works in this situation. After all, it achieves the Yisrael goal of marriage. Like, hel-lo? Can we please stop being so close-minded & intolerant here?


Nope!

Instead, Ruth snaps into action. Without any further ado, Ruth clings to Boaz's maidens.

And that's that.

She listened carefully to Naomi's advice and the reasons behind that advice. She realized Boaz meant what he originally said. And now she understood why.

And with this, Ruth was able to keep propelling herself forward.

Likewise, we also don't see Ruth berating herself, calling herself stupid, or sinking into toxic shame.

She accepts her mistake and MOVES ON, bolstered by her newfound knowledge & awareness.

She reverts to Ruth the Moavite woman for just one moment, then when she listens to Naomi, the text (2:22) immediately refers to her as "Ruth kallata"—Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi. 

The minute Ruth shows she's ready to listen, she redeems herself from her mistake—yes, even before she hears a word!

​Ruth's mere readiness to listen & learn liberates her from her Moavite residue. 

Summary of Main Points

Here's a summary of the lessons detailed above:

Teshuvah & Self-Transformation
​
  • Self-transformation takes time.
 
  • We need to be patient with our progress.
 
  • We need to be patient with the progress of others.
 
  • Stumbling on our path to teshuvah is NORMAL.​
​
​
The Art of Rebuke

  • View the errant one in the most positive light possible ("my daughter").
 
  • Exude warmth & closeness.
 
  • Avoid focusing on what was wrong.
 
  • Focus on what's right, what's good to do.
 
  • Avoid focusing on the past.
 
  • Focus on how to move forward.
 
  • Point out the benefit of the right way.
 
  • Explain WHY the Torah way is correct & better.

​
How to Deal with a Fall (especially if you didn't even realize you'd fallen!)

(The following applies to mistakes & sins too.)

  • RATZON—You've got to want it.
​
  • Attach yourself to genuinely GOOD mentors—then be ready to really listen to them, even when it's hard or doesn't initially make complete sense.
 
  • Be ready to learn at all times.
 
  • Be open to messages from Hashem (especially since He uses agents to deliver these messages rather than telling us directly).
 
  • Keep an open mind to new & unfamiliar ideas from authentic Torah sources.
 
  • The moment you show yourself to be ready to change already effects a change!
 
  • Avoid self-denigration.
 
  • Avoid self-hatred.
 
  • Avoid despair.
 
  • Avoid drowning in toxic shame.
 
  • Immediately change direction.
 
  • Have faith that Hashem is guiding you at all times.​
​
  • Pick yourself up & KEEP MOVING FORWARD!
PictureJean Housen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Karak area of today's Jordan, formerly the territory of the really powerful, hotshot nation of Moav.
Yoo-hoo, Moavites! Anybody there? Anybody? Hello? Guess not.


That body of water is known today as Wadi Mujib, but most authorities say it is the Arnon River mentioned in Tanach.


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Encouraging Update on RAFAEL MELECH BEN ESTHER
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Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Beha'alotcha: Motivation from the Midbar

Encouraging Update on RAFAEL MELECH BEN ESTHER

25/5/2021

 
Your tefillot for RAFAEL MELECH BEN ESTHER have been working!

His devoted mother has gone far above & beyond in her efforts to secure the right treatment & the best treatment for her sweet 4-year-old. (Your tefillot help with that too!)

With new & improved treatment, Rafael Melech is now eating & starting to speak. Yashar koach to everyone—and please keep up your powerful prayers on his behalf until he experiences a full recovery!
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The coast of Kesariya (Caesarea) in Eretz Yisrael

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When Feeling Heavy & Struggling Means You're on the Right Path
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Megillat Ruth: What Naomi & Ruth Teach Us about Self-Transformation, Teshuvah, Mistakes, Rebuke, Criticism, and How It's Okay to Not be Perfect

When Feeling Heavy & Struggling Means You're on the Right Path

24/5/2021

 
Megillat Ruth (the Book of Ruth) contains some of Judaism's most stunning messages and fundamental morals.

Let's go back to what the Vilna Gaon says regarding Megillat Ruth 1:18 & take a deeper look into one of those lessons. Here's the text of Megillat Ruth (source):
וַתֵּרֶא, כִּי-מִתְאַמֶּצֶת הִיא לָלֶכֶת אִתָּהּ; וַתֶּחְדַּל, לְדַבֵּר אֵלֶיהָ
"And when she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her."

The Hebrew word above, mitametzet, translated here as "steadfastly minded" (or "determined" according to other translations) indicates a struggle.

​Malbim defines its root (amatz or amitz) as a "strengthening of the heart" (chizuk halev), which leads to enduring & unfailing strength; Malbim views it as inner strength.

Ruth needed to gather the extra "oomph" she displayed in her famous statements of devotion in verses 16 & 17 ("for wherever you go, I will go too..."). 

The Vilna Gaon views mitametzet as also physical, meaning Ruth needed to gather physical strength to continue the journey. He states the following:
לכן התחיל היצר לעכב ונעשו איברי הגוף כבדים. ואף כאן אינה יכולה לילך אחריה אף שהיא היתה בחורה ממנה בלתי אמיץ בגוף ויגיעה רבה
Therefore, the yetzer [evil inclination] started to hinder and the limbs of the body were made heavy. And also here, she [Ruth] is unable to go after her [Naomi]—even though she [Ruth] was younger than her—without strength in the body and great weariness.

Prior to this last statement, the Vilna Gaon details the innate nature of a human being as heavy and lazy due to a person's physical body originating from the heavy & stagnant element of earth.

Remember, the name Adam comes from the word adamah (earth) and Hashem formed the first human being from earth.

So when people feel lazy, heavy, and unmotivated, there isn't anything unnaturally wrong with them. Such a person simply reflects the natural state of a human being.

However, Judaism both commands & expects us to at least struggle to rise above our natural state.

Happily, Naomi possessed the wisdom to discern Ruth's inner conviction expressed by her words combined with Ruth's sudden physical depletion.

This combination meant that the yetzer tov propelled Ruth, and that Ruth's statements came from the right place—a place of utter sincerity.

When a Book Seems like a Boulder

Likewise, in Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender's book Words of Faith, he mentions that even the binding of a book can be an obstruction.

Meaning, have you ever had the experience of looking at your siddur sitting a couple of feet away from you on a table, and you feeling like, "Oh, man...I just don't have the koach to get up and get it"?

Or maybe your Sefer Tehillim lies right smack in front of your face, but you perceive the mere act of opening the book as too much trouble?

This happens with books of learning too.

​Whether you wish to learn the parsha, mussar, or Gemara...all of the sudden, you sometimes get struck by this overpowering feeling of "dragging myself up to get the book is too much trouble" or "Oy, to drag myself all the way across the living room to open the glass door of the book case, and then actually pull the sefer off the shelf...I feel overwhelmed just thinking about it."

And then you feel embarrassed because laziness on such an irrational level must indicate something very wrong with you.

You know it makes no sense.

After all, you happily skip across the same room to grab a piece of pizza, right?

You energetically traverse not only the living room, but the kitchen, and easily open the cabinet or fridge to treat yourself to a beloved beverage.

​The same guy who leaps out of sound sleep to hop on a motorcycle struggles to drag himself out to a minyan.

The later Harry Potter novels are massive—yet do you ever hear of someone who can't be bothered to read them because it's too much trouble to physically lift book #4?

Nope.

​Some people mock or despise those who feel heavy—even when the object of the mockery only occasionally feel too lazy to do a very simple mitzvah.

It just sounds so irrational.

But now, because of Rav Bender and the Vilna Gaon, we know that such heaviness & laziness does not indicate something very wrong with us—but rather, something very RIGHT!

It indicates a sincere yearning to do the right thing. It also means that if we actually do it, it's definitely the best thing and also very powerful.

After all, Ruth's conversion ended up sucking out all the holy sparks from Moav.

Her conversion to Judaism depleted the entire lifeforce of Moav.

Very powerful!

Even today, archeologists barely find anything left of Moav—just a stele here and a sarcophagus there.

Literally. Just one stele and one sarcophagus.

Interestingly, this one stele presents a description by King Mesha of the Yisrael-Moav war of Kings/Melachim II:3:27, providing external validation of the Torah's narrative—not that we need it, but it's funny how the one piece of writing remaining from Moav validates the Torah narrative (although King Mesha tweaked it to make Moav look better—as if!).

We don't even know what the Moavites looked like, their lives and wars, nothing. (Nothing outside of the Torah, anyway.)

That was the power of Ruth.

Yet paradoxically, that moment of Ruth's greatest power showed her as weaker and wearier than an old & depleted widow.

​In fact, Ruth's body dragged so much, the Vilna Gaon describes Ruth as being "unable to walk after Naomi."

She literally could not move another step.

Using This Knowledge to Choose Friends & Mentors

So this concept is helpful on the personal level.

It rids us of the excess shame we feel at the admittedly irrational perception of a simple & easy action as nearly insurmountable.

​We now know our personal sloth is normal and the result of the yetzer hara.

It is not insurmountable—that perception is an illusion produced by the yetzer hara due to our intrinsic greatness.

Also, it helps us choose friends & mentors.

Those who seem flummoxed by your sloth may be very good in other ways, but simply unfamiliar with this particular aspect of the yetzer hara—and may not be able to help you with this particular issue.

Those who scorn or mock you for feeling this way likely never worked on themselves with any significant honesty or analysis and may even hover at a lower spiritual level than you, despite their external presentation.  

Certainly, those unfamiliar with this concept will be unable to see the positive aspect of it—meaning, that your heaviness indicates a powerful potential within.

Or, as with Ruth, maybe you are in the middle of actualizing something very good and the sloth hits you at the critical moment.

As Naomi did for Ruth, a friend or mentor aware of the Vilna Gaon's interpretation & Rav Bender's observation could more effectively help you out of the slump.
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Related links:
  • The Powerful Secret of Sincere Conversion
http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/the-powerful-secret-of-sincere-conversion

  • The Secret Saga of a Righteous Convert as Told by a True Tzaddik
http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/the-secret-saga-of-a-righteous-convert-as-told-by-a-true-tzaddik

  • Converts in the Breslov Community
http://breslovcenter.blogspot.co.il/2011/01/converts-in-breslov-community.html

  • How to Conquer Toxic Shame
http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/how-to-conquer-toxic-shame
(some fundamentals of releasing & elevating hidden & trapped sparks)

  • Why was Ruth's Conversion to Judaism So Monumental? What Does Conversion Actually Accomplish? And Why is It So Vitally Necessary for a Conversion to be Absolutely Kosher & Sincere?
​http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/why-was-ruths-conversion-to-judaism-so-monumental-what-does-conversion-actually-accomplish-and-why-is-it-so-vitally-necessary-for-a-conversion-to-be-absolutely-kosher-sincere​

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What You Need to Know about Motorcycle Mania
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Encouraging Update on RAFAEL MELECH BEN ESTHER

What You Need to Know about Motorcycle Mania

23/5/2021

 
Erev Shavuot (May 16, 2021), a group of motorcycle-riding boys decided to join another group of around 10 motorcycling boys to go to a motorcycle track.

FYI: At a motorcycle track, young motorcyclists try out different stunts and ride around a circular track repeatedly for hours. (Yes, it's pretty meaningless. And not really in the spirit of getting ready for Matan Torah either.)

However, one group decided they wished to first dip in a natural mikveh in honor of the upcoming chag.

(This group included the God-fearing motorcyclist written about here: a-true-anecdote-of-how-hashem-helps-with-yeshivah-kosher-cell-phones-and-nice-people.html)

Upon arriving at the hill spring in which they wished to immerse, they discovered it packed with people. Maybe that also made it less safe & produced modesty issues, not sure. Anyway, they decided to forgo the immersion and catch up with the other group that skipped the mikveh detour to head straight to the motorcycle track.

So they sped off from the hill spring toward the motorcycle track, where they planned to meet the other group.

​As they went around a curve in the road, they encountered a policeman directing traffic away from an ambulance, whose paramedics were, to their horror, loading most of their friend's body (which they recognized from his motorcycle suit) into the ambulance.

This injured young man lead the non-mikveh motorcyclists. He took a curve too fast, which caused an accident and, leaving out the gory details, his body did not remain in one piece.

At that point, he was still alive, but unconscious.

This delayed group swung over to the initial group, who were sitting in a lot near the road. 

The rider immediately following the lead motorcyclist suffered a minor injury because he could not stop in time to completely avoid the leader's flying parts & motorcycle, but everyone else was okay physically.

Because they'd all been zooming along at around 100 kph/62 mph, they could not slow down in time to attend to their friend, nor could they immediately U-turn due to traffic coming from the opposite lane.

Yes, they called the ambulance, but that was all they could do.

Needless to say, no one even thought of continuing to the track.

Very concerned & traumatized about their severely injured friend, the group which experienced the accident simply left all their motorcycles in the lot off the road & hitchhiked back home.

The other group returned to their homes riding verrrrry slowly.

The injured young man regained consciousness at one point, but the medical staff was ultimately unable to save his life.

​Throughout Shavuot, the friends from the mikveh-group stayed up all night to recite Tikkun Shavuot & learn Gemara in their now-deceased friend's merit.

The funeral was held Motza'ei Shavuot.

Heartbreakingly, in addition to the sudden loss of their son & brother, Shavuot will never be the same for his family.

Just Wanting to Do a Mitzvah Gives You Something

One aspect seen from the above tragic story is that just wanting to do a mitzvah matters.

Judaism says that if you sincerely mean to do a mitzvah, but are prevented from actualizing it, it is considered in Shamayim as if you actually fulfilled the mitzvah.

The group of boys who intended to immerse in the natural mikveh were saved from being at the actual accident. Maybe they were also saved from being harmed in the accident too. Who knows?
​
Even though they ultimately did not immerse, they sincerely intended too & prioritized that before the meaningless motorcycle track excursion.

Beware of Motorcycle Mania

Another lesson here concerns the motorcycle culture.

Initially, I didn't realize there was a whole culture built up around motorcycles.

Yeah, I knew about motorcycle gangs & Harley Davidsons. But I'd no inkling there existed a whole general motorcycle subculture, similar to a gamer subculture or a drug subculture. 

A lot of young men in Europe & Israel start with motorcycles because they're cheaper & easier than cars.

Meaning, attaining a drivers license, buying a motorcycle, and paying for gas—it's all cheaper & easier than doing the same for a car.

But there's this whole motorcycle culture that leads to obsession similar to a drug or gaming addiction.

These motorcycle addicts spend every free minute on their motorcycle.

They wake up, grab their helmet & whatever else they need, and make a beeline out of the house.

If you need any kind of help from them (or even just a word with them), even to take out the garbage on their way out, they refuse & just keep on going. (If you insist, they get very irritable, just like addicts when you try to communicate or get them to carry out their most minimal responsibilities.)

They stop learning and working just to spend entire days going round & round a track.

They invest tons of money in decals & accessories.

Those 100% kangaroo-leather motorcycle suits cost at least 6000 NIS new, 2000 NIS second-hand—or more.

Some guys invest in more than one suit.

Most of them acquire several really nifty (and expensive) helmets.

One young man stopped working & burned through all his savings buying stuff for his motorcycling obsession—until he suffered an accident that nearly killed him, but fortunately only resulted in temporary injury (written about here: what-it-looks-like-when-hashem-expands-your-tiny-opening-to-the-size-of-a-banquet-hall.html ).

And you hear tons of stories about young men injured in motorcycle accidents, injured very badly, and even killed.

The special suits save lives & prevent injuries, but they aren't foolproof, as shown in the sad story above.

Not to mention, when a motorcycle & its rider go flying or skidding, this endangers any other pedestrians or vehicles in the immediate vicinity. 

So it's very nice that they invest so much in protective gear for themselves, but because they like to go so fast & take other risks while riding, they still end up endangering themselves and others.

Like those immersed in other addictions & obsessions, the motorcycle manics blow off the risks ("That won't happen to me;" "It's not so bad"), only thinking about their own enjoyment (regardless of who gets hurt or even killed).​

How to Prevent Motorcycle Mania—and What To Do When You Can't

It's not always possible to tell a young adult (i.e., teenager & twentysomething) what to do or to make them do what's best for them.

So if you see your son or another young man starting up with the whole motorcycle thing, you should try your best to nip it in the bud.

As noted above, it often starts off innocently, like it's just a way to achieve more mobile independence more cheaply & easily than a car.

But it turns pretty fast.

Once they're into the motorcycle culture, it seems impossible to get them out.

By the way, they can be doing this while still attending yeshivah, dressing in black and white, and so on. Even if the frummer ones don't get as immersed in the culture as the others, they still get obsessive. They need to constantly go out and drive in that stupid circle for hours Erev Shabbat & Erev Chag. And again, they can respond with a lot of resistance & irritability if you merely ask them to postpone their riding (let alone ask them to stop completely).

Like noted above, even delaying them by one minute to take out the garbage meets with resistance & irritability.

They either need to get tired of motorcycling (which can take years) or they get into an accident (sometimes more than once) before they manage to extract themselves from the whole soul-sucking culture.

I don't mean to pressure anyone.

I know that so many "experts" and others believe that parents have some kind of secret ability to exert control over their teens & 20somethings—and if a parent doesn't manage to control them, then many "experts" (and naïve others) believe that means the parent refuses to access this imaginary secret ability. And thus, this means the parent does not care about the child and is clearly a terrible heartless parent!

Because if it was TRULY important to the parents, they would FIND a way to convince their young adult child to do WHATEVER the parents want! So if they can't manage to succeed no matter how hard they try, then that means they're awful uncaring parents. This is true even when one of the parents actually is pretty awful—the other parent is responsible for not completely nullifying the dysfunctional parent's harmful influence on the child, in addition to everything else. [sarc]

But I realize that parents don't necessarily have any way to control or meaningfully influence a wayward young adult child if that young adult child doesn't want them to.

So this is just an "if you can" and also to keep an eye out for the beginning of the obsession (which starts out so innocently) so if possible, you can nip it in the bud. (Because I don't think this obsession is well-known.)

And by the way—not just parents! A friend or other family member sometimes succeeds where the parents don't. So if you see it, try to stop it if you can.

And if you cannot stop it practically, davening really does help!

One young man who refused to listen to his parents merited being spoken to by another person whose opinion he cared about more, and thus he tore up his motorcycle license application.

(Again, the link to how davening helped one obsessed motorcyclist & his distraught parents: http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/what-it-looks-like-when-hashem-expands-your-tiny-opening-to-the-size-of-a-banquet-hall. Scroll down to "Turning to Hashem Mashes Motorcycle Mania.")

​Wishing everyone lots of bracha & hatzlacha, and that we all merit to invest in meaningful activities.
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Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Naso: How to Emulate the Nazir Today

20/5/2021

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In Rav Avigdor Miller's dvar Torah for Parshas Naso 4 - The Nazir and Shabbos, we learn about the great virtue of prishut—self-limitation.

To effect teshuvah, the Nazir abstained from permissible things, like wine & grapes (among other stipulations).

​This teaches us the significance of placing boundaries around permissible indulgences, which help us avoid things actually forbidden.

Doing so also refines our personality in a way that feels joyful & liberating.

The Struggle

If you curb your appetite for the permissible—not like a lifelong monk, but in a healthy way—Rav Miller explains by the example of curbing the act of speaking (page 5):
And so, if you can train yourself to be a porush from speaking even when it’s permissible, you can consider yourself a pelehdikeh person – you’re already remarkable.

I admit that when I first started on my journey toward frumkeit, the idea of prishut really bothered me.

As much as I enjoyed Torah Judaism & found meaning in it, I struggled with some of the restrictions (which now ironically feel liberating & stabilizing).

For my personality, life already had always felt so constrictive.

For example, while many people recall childhood as a time of freedom, I always felt shackled as a child, bound to all sorts of rules & obligations (like, among other torments, attending public school & attending those dreaded afternoon Hebrew schools & insufferable summer camps run by the Movement for Conservative-which-is-actually-way-too-liberal pseudo-Judaism) and longed for the freedom of adulthood.

I felt resentful when more insightful Jews pointed out the ideological problem of all the kosher substitutes for their treif originals—or delved into the finer details of the spirit of tsniyut.

​And so on.

​(But now I understand & even agree.)

Indulging in food, movies, music, going out, reading, long meaningful conversations with friends, cruising, etc. felt great!

Why impose upon myself all the old resentful restrictiveness of childhood?

Especially since I was already dressing tsniusly, keeping kosher, and keeping Shabbat in a world that didn't even appreciate such values.

​Why narrow my world even more?

Interior Decoration of the Brain

​What took a long time to realize is that a certain amount of limitation paradoxically liberates a person.

A person free of taavot is one of the happiest people in the world — halevai I'll one day get there!

​​Prishut helps a person declutter the mind too.

"Abstaining from superfluous things
is the function of clearing the mind
of things that are not necessary."


– Rav Avigdor Miller


​Here's Rav Miller on page 7:
And because there are so many pictures, so many ideas and ideals that we have to move into our minds, that’s why it’s so important to remove the clutter from your head.

If you don’t create room to move in expensive furniture, there’s no extra space, no space to move in the thoughts that are truly valuable. 

So imagine now that on the way out of this room tonight you want to get started on this project — you want to be a person of higher nature so as you you walk out the door you make a decision:

“From here to the corner, I’m going to spend that one minute in picturing the creation of the universe.”

Now, one minute of thinking is not the most expensive piece of furniture but it’s a good start.

But what happens?

As soon as you walk out the door you’re already thinking about what’s going to be for supper tonight.

Or you’re thinking of some other puny thing, of some argument you had with someone, let’s say.

​And that cheap furniture in your thoughts prevents a beautiful picture from entering your brain — it’s the law of physics that two objects cannot occupy one space at the same time.

The 3 Main Problematic Influences

From Mesilat Yesharim, Rav Miller extracts 3 main problems that pull us off the good path:
  1. Bad friends—keeping the wrong company & marrying the wrong person ("If you marry the wrong person then the influence is going to break you"), sitting with the wrong person in shul, learning with the wrong chevruta, etc.​
  2. Joking around & looking for enjoyment & entertainment all the time.
  3. Being too busy to think.

The third, says Rav Miller, is the trickiest.

​Whether it's demanding schedules or all sorts of distractions along the way that tug at our eyes, ears, and minds, modern life is full of busy-ness.

The media also keeps everyone on their toes by encouraging dissension & self-righteous anger.

The Shabbos Eye

Notably, Shabbat—which celebrates the Creation of the World—is celebrated with menuchah (rest).

Rav Miller says that our natural inclination should be to celebrate with fireworks & enthusiastic festivities.

​Yet Hashem made the celebration a time for using your mind.

Rav Miller recommends thinking about Yetziat Mitzrayim (including the mann) & the Creation of the World on Shabbat while you:
  • walk to shul
  • sit in shul
  • eat
​
Also, Rav Miller quotes Gemara Brachot 43b, which states that a hasty step takes a way 1/500th of your eyesight.

He explains it to mean the rushed walk of nervousness or anxiety that results from fear of missing something, like an appointment or a bus. He extends this to encompass the constant anxiety people develop when needing to make phone calls, catch a customer, parnassah—all this weakens the eyes.

But it weakens the spiritual eye too, adds Rav Miller.

​All the distractions make it hard to concentrate, make it hard to see what we really need to focus on in This World.

And kiddush is the remedy.

Kiddush reminds us that nothing in the world existed prior to Hashem.

Everything only exists because Hashem wants it to.

​This heals our eyes, both physically & spiritually.

On pages 13-15, Rav Miller explains exactly how to do this.

And therein lies the the secret of the Nazir and how to emulate the Nazir in our world today.
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Covid-19, the Meron Tragedy, Hamas Missile Attacks, Rioting Yishmaelim, the Bleacher Tragedy in Givat Zev—What's the Underlying Message?

19/5/2021

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While only spiritually great people know the deeper reasons for world events, Hashem arranged things so that even a small person can glean lessons from what happens around him or her.

​In fact, Hashem WANTS us to examine events & elicit mussar from them.

So I found it telling that just as covid-19 wound down in Eretz Yisrael, the Meron tragedy occurred with 45 dead.

And then Hamas started going nuts with a barrage of rockets continuing even as I write this.

At the same time, Yishmaelite rioting & fiercer attacks spread throughout the country...with accompanying curfews (sort of like during covid-19).

And most recently, the bleacher disaster in Givat Zev.

On the most superficial level, I see Hashem as saying, "I don't need covid-19 to cause someone to die. I don't need covid-19 to cause physical suffering & emotional distress. I don't need covid-19 to force you to say in your homes. Everything comes from Me. Stop looking in all other directions but Mine."

Throughout the duration of covid-19, it frustrated me that so many doctors, media, and mainstream non-Gadol shul rabbis strove to enforce face-masks and social distancing.

Why?

Because the most basic germ theory taught in my non-prestigious American public elementary school stated that if there's an airway, there's a germ-way.

The common mask allows germs to come out via the upper gap around the nose and the side gaps.

Furthermore, the 2-meter/6-foot distancing never made sense to me because the germs coming out the gaps in the mask hung out in the air & moved around according to air currents. Seeing as you can cross 2 meters within a second, what is the point?

Here is some actual science about the issue:

  • MIT Study Challenges Social Distancing Guidelines, 6-Foot Rule
  • https://video-tov.ml/watch/cK-oAJDXYHg: Oxford Epidemiologists – No Evidence that Coronavirus Masks Make Any Difference
  • http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/coronavirus-facts-fears-and-a-deeper-look-at-whats-really-going-on
  • http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/what-are-the-medical-facts-spiritual-truths-behind-the-face-mask-phenomenon-of-coronavirus

Yet you had so many intelligent, educated people getting zealous about "compliance" with these rules.

It sometimes reached a point where it seemed more like groveling than anything else ("See what good little boys & girls we are!").

Intelligent, educated people truly believed that if they got sick with covid-19, it was because someone did not wear a mask.

From a purely scientific angle, I still cannot understand why they held these views.

​I especially do not understand why so many doctors & nurses (though certainly not all) promoted this view—especially since medical school teaches how germs behave and spread. Medical school teaches about sterility and how to achieve this.

Sadly, despite lacking the scientific basis to support these measures, people were treated badly about not wearing masks or social distancing.

And this irrational fear-based maltreatment occurred in the frum community too.

And now I feel like Hashem is saying,

"You focused on the wrong thing all that time. I gave you truly insightful rabbonim and others who told you about doing teshuvah and explained the spiritual significance of the covid-19 regulations and what you're meant to work on. Yet you insisted on getting all worked up about masks, social distancing, "proper" quarantines, and vaccinations. Well, here. Look at this! Here is more social distancing, "quarantines" (in bomb shelters & safe rooms) curfews, illness (via injuries), and death—but from totally different causes! Are you getting the message yet?"

Their Priorities are Not Our Priorities

Similarly, just as the English-speaking media (both frum & not) was working up a defense of the police against accusations of their allegedly appalling behavior which apparently both caused & worsened the Meron tragedy, we suddenly encountered confirmed reports of the unforgivable police response in Lod.

Police (likely acting on orders from higher up) refused to respond to desperate calls for assistance to Jews under attack by their Yishmaelite neighbors in Lod.

Furthermore, police actively prevented trained assistance from entering the neighborhood under attack! (Somewhere, there's a video online of a group of post-army guys who showed up to help their fellows in Lod, but authorities blocked them from entering immediately.)

However, police did manage to arrest a Jew who shot a Yishmaelite as the Jew was attacked by a bloodthirsty mob:
https://hamodia.com/2021/05/11/muslims-desecrate-shuls-lod-ramle/

Some of these self-defending Jews were released to house arrest:
https://hamodia.com/2021/05/13/court-releases-jews-shot-lod-arab-rioters/

Way to prioritize, guys!

So we in Eretz Yisrael have very good reason to suspect our police of wrongdoing! Certainly not all of them are bad, but we needn't give them the benefit of the doubt when it looks that they're behaving unethically. Things are different here. 

(I'm planning a post explaining how the Israeli police is different than the American police. But the fact that the Israeli police force developed within a Middle Eastern country under the rule of Russian/Polish anti-Torah Commies should give you a vague idea of what might be wrong within the Israeli police force. Stay tuned...)

Based on reports, it certainly looks like the Israeli police & justice system have a problem with the shooting-in-self-defense-Jews NOT ending up like Yigal Yehoshua, who was attacked in his car by a bloodthirsty mob armed with bricks, rocks, and other hard objects.

Unarmed, Yigal Yehoshua was not able to defend himself against his savage attackers.

Yigal Yehoshua was a husband & father to 2 children. He worked as a good-hearted electrician in Lod, assisting both Arabs & Jews.

He died of his injuries on Shavuot.

Hashem yinkom damo.

Apparently, that's okay with the secular Israeli police & the predominantly anti-Torah justice system.

It's the Jews who manage to shoot back—not necessarily even killing their attackers—who need to be penalized.

So we see that:
  1. Being murdered in an absolutely terrifying manner is okay.
  2. Defending yourself is not.

​Got it.

​(But I refuse to accept it. I follow the Torah value system, not the destructive anti-Torah value system.)

Comparison with the Anti-Jewish Laws of Nazi Germany

Here's the paradox:

  • Everything comes from Hashem.
​
  • Having said that, we need to operate on both planes—meaning, we invest in practical hishtadlut without losing sight of the bigger picture.

​Needless to say, I find that balancing act just as challenging as everyone else does.

​So let's look at the Nazi era in Germany & Austria—as explained by big rabbonim like Rav Avigdor Miller.

By the time the Nazis came to power, German Jewry sunk to disturbing depths.

Intermarriage ran rampant.

Most Jews preferred to be German than Jewish, striving for German names, a German appearance, German music, a German mentality & value system, and marrying non-Jewish Germans.

In other words, most Jews in Germany strove to assimilate into German culture as fast and as thoroughly as they could. 

(Some awe-inspiring exceptions remained. But the above was true for the majority of German Jews.)

Astonishingly, pro-Hitler Jewish organizations existed, along with Jewish Nazi groups, and a pro-Hitler monthly magazine with a circulation of 6000:
http://www.myrtlerising.com/blog/part-iii-americas-scary-new-direction-jewish-nazis
​
Talk about self-destructive tendencies!

Anyway, when anti-Jewish regulations came out, like the obligation to wear a yellow star declaring "Jew," the prohibition against marrying a non-Jew, the prohibition against mixing with non-Jews in school & cultural events, and the institution of a Jewish name on every Jew I.D. card ("Sara" for females and "Yisrael" for males), the Divine message was pretty clear.

Rav Avigdor Miller details it all in his book Divine Madness, but others have also explained this.

Such laws obviously tell Jews to stop assimilating.

However, let's say the Jews of that time only focused on the discriminatory regulations themselves.

And indeed, some Jews did exactly this. 

Let's say they decided: "I REFUSE to wear this yellow patch! I WILL keep my name as Rolf Singer and NOT Rolf YISRAEL Singer! And I WILL marry Gretta, my Aryan beloved!" 

And also they decided to fight the Nazi regime...all so they could go back to frolicking with Gretta and listening to German carols on the radio and attending the Berlin opera. 

Of course, there was nothing wrong with fighting the Nazis—on the contrary, fighting Nazis is a very good thing to do! Timcheh et zecher Amalek.

But to focus exclusively on that? That's barking up the wrong tree.

Fighting the Nazis while remaining ensconced within everything German wasn't ultimately going to help because Hashem set everything in motion for a reason.

​Was there a whole big conspiracy going on?

Yes! We know now it was called the Final Solution.

Was the Reichstag fire a false flag event?

It certainly seems so.

​Was 17-year-old Her­schel Grynszpan's shooting of a low-level German diplomat (to avenge the deportation of his parents & sister along with thousands of fellow Jews, plus the theft of all their property & possessions) merely the spark exploited to set off the pre-planned annihilation of European Jewry?

Yes! 

And were there truly evil people involved, against whom Jews needed to protect themselves?

Absolutely!

But to focus only on that?

No. That would not work. In fact, tragically, it didn't work for the vast majority of Europe's Jews.

Likewise, now.

We need to deal with events without getting caught up in the event itself.

To take a mashal from Chazal: We should not be like the dog who, when struck with a stick, bites the stick rather than looking to see who wields the stick & why.

Sticks don't move on their own.

Honest Perception of Events Helps Us Avoid being Cruel to Each Other

We needn't remain blind to our corrupt system.

And if we need to improve our society, our government, our justice system, & our safety regulations, then we should!

That's part of our hishtadlut, that's part of caring about each other.

At the same time, we must examine the parallels.

Whether we have journalists, media, doctors, health officials, etc. enforcing regulations that made no sense and even contradicted each other at times OR we have government officials, justice officials, Hamas-launched missiles, and rioting savages tormenting us, we need to see how the results are so similar: isolation, death, injury/damaged health, fear, distress, disruption, and so on.

The messages seems to be the same regardless of the messengers.

I'm worried this post comes off as too harsh, but I mean for it to be caring.

The Rambam says in Ta'aniyot 1:3 in the Mishneh Torah:
​Conversely, should the people fail to cry out [to God] and sound the trumpets, and instead say,

"What has happened to us is merely a natural phenomenon and this difficulty is merely a chance occurrence," this is a cruel conception of things, which causes them to remain attached to their wicked deeds.

Thus, this time of distress will lead to further distresses.

So that's the intent of this post. 

And for myself too. After all, I'm talking to myself just as much as to anyone else.

Yes, of course we can blame the factors. We should take note of the people & factors behind all the distressing events.

It's GOOD for us to see that the media & our leaders are unreliable. We need to stop trusting in the media, political leaders, and a corrupt justice system. 

​We need to stop trusting in "isms" except for Torah-true Judaism.

We need to look at what Tziyonut has caused when a Torah mitzvah was taken out of context & distorted into a nationalist political movement with no innate connection to Torah. The actual mitzvah is yishuv Eretz Yisrael (settling the Land, dwelling within the Land), along with the privilege of being able to carry out the mitzvot dependent on the Land.

And MOST IMPORTANTLY: the SPIRITUAL advantage of living in Eretz Yisrael, which is why Jews traditionally strove to live here, even under harsh circumstances!

The air itself makes one wiser. Today, most of the best yeshivot exist in Eretz Yisrael. And the very Land itself contains kedushah.

Some of the deepest aspects of Torah—such as Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai's Torah, which later became the Zohar, and further along with the Arizal's teachings—were revealed by those living in Eretz Yisrael, all made possible by the spiritual aspects inherent within Eretz Yisrael.

Many people find they can pray & learn Torah better in Eretz Yisrael than anywhere else.

Living in Eretz Yisrael enables close proximity to the holiest places on earth, such as the Kotel and the tombs of our holy Patriarchs, Matriarchs, Prophets, and Sages.

​Living in Eretz Yisrael is all about living a Torah life. That's it.

Furthermore, are we worshipping rabbis who aren't Gedolim & doctors (both of whom may be well-intended, but misguided nonetheless)? Are we worshipping military prowess and the Iron Dome?

Have we swallowed the idea of being like the nations and thinking that peaceful co-existence is possible without adherence to Torah? 

Are we, with good intentions, nonetheless transgressing uncompromising Torah prohibitions like Lo techonem?

We're experiencing a lot of disappointments, betrayals, and manipulations.

And this should help us clarify the truth: Who are we? Who do we need to be? What & who should we reject? What's the truth here? What should we be doing instead?

By examining current events honestly & answering the questions these events bring to fore, we can put an end to our distress & merit Heavenly Compassion.

May Hashem please bring the Geula b'rachamim.


6 Comments

A True Anecdote of How Hashem Helps with Yeshivah, Kosher Cell Phones, and Nice People

18/5/2021

7 Comments

 
One of my sons has an 18-year-old friend who, with his stern face & his noisy chartreuse motorcycle, doesn't look particularly God-fearing...but he is.

He refuses to own a cell phone with any kind of Internet, gets angry when his friends try to show him stuff from their cell phones, and insists on attending yeshivah rather than working. And yes, he also wears the customary charedi white shirt & black pants.

He trusts Hashem to take care of his financial needs (motorcycle & all that).

Last week, the kosher fast-food owner named Mustafa realized that sending out his usual Arab delivery guys on their motorcycles to deliver kosher fast food to customers risked their well-being due to the many young Jewish males who've gotten fed up with innocent Jews being randomly & brutally attacked—sometimes to death—by Muslim-Arab males.

(Yes, the same Mustafa of the kosher-for-Pesach Thousand Island dressing fiasco that appeared here: rav-avigdor-miller-on-parshat-shemini-all-about-anger.html. Mustafa is also a Muslim-Arab, but he rejects physical violence. He prefers making money & living an enjoyable life.)

So Mustafa sent the Arab delivery guys back home to Beit Tzafafa (a relatively peaceful & upscale Arab community in the Jerusalem area), then called on his Jewish employees to gather as many of their motorcyclist friends as possible to keep the deliveries going.

The normally frugal Mustafa declared, "Instead of paying them 30 shekels an hour, I will pay them 30 shekels per delivery! Just get them here and keep the business going!"

And that's how my son's motorcyclist friend, who happened to be home from yeshivah that evening, ended up earning over 400 shekels in just a few hours.

The icing on the cake was the last delivery of the night.

The staff forgot to shut down the restaurant's website on time. So when they came to shut it down, they noticed a new meal order from Beit Hakerem.

Realizing how bad it would be for business to ignore the order, the God-fearing yeshivish motorcyclist & his buddy took the order and went to find the customer in an apartment located on the 15th floor somewhere in Beit Hakerem.

Just as they reached the neighborhood, the buddy's Netspark-filtered cell phone with its Waze GPS died.

So they made do with the motorcyclist's little kosher cell phone to contact the woman for directions.

Apparently, it's a complicated area to maneuver, which caused them to get lost. So this older lady insisted on coming out to meet them, which ended up meaning a trek of a couple of blocks and crossing a highway—all at her own insistence.

Upon meeting, they apologized for the cooled-down food.

"No matter—I can easily warm it up in the microwave!" she reassured them.

They informed her that she had the right to a freebie in light of the considerable inconvenience they inadvertently caused her.

But she refused. In fact, she even insisted on tipping them!

"I'm sorry the tip is only 5 shekels," she said. "It's the only change I have in the house, I promise! I would give you more if I could! I'll order again next week and give you a proper tip then."

Of course, the boys didn't want to take her tip in light of the circumstances, but she insisted. She reassured them she realized it wasn't their fault (they already apologized profusely via the kosher cell phone, explaining what happened to the cell phone with Waze), and she only felt bad for them.

People like this older Jewish lady end up increasing compassion in the world because she teaches an example of empathy & how to behave when things don't go your way. She only thought about the delivery boys, not herself.

She refused to get caught up in the principle of the matter (i.e., "If I made a meal order, then I deserve to have it delivered right to my door on time & hot!").

​Instead, she focused on how the delivery boys had done their best. She also focused on their feelings, that it was late at night & maybe they were tired, and that they felt bad about the whole mess. 

​I think the above anecdote also shows that it's possible to prioritize yeshivah over working full-time & also to make do with a simple dinky Internet-free cell phone.

Maybe not everyone can. But it's also not as impossible as some make it out to be.

​Hashem helps.
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