Blog Archives

Wonderful Campaign to Support Our Disabled Sisters & Brothers in England!

31/8/2020

If you can, please check out this important campaign by the Step by Step organization in England, which helps our disabled sisters & brothers (and their families!):
https://www.charityextra.com/stepbystep

They're offering a matched campaign on Sunday August 30-Monday August 31, in which every donation will be matched by generous donors. (This means that if you donate $50, another donor will donate $50, making your donation $100.)

ANY & EVERY amount counts. You can pay by your local credit card (or Paypal) in your own currency. (I paid with an Israeli credit card in shekels, and it was one of the quickest & easiest online transactions I've encountered.)

If you're familiar with Mrs. Nechumelle Jacobs, a lovely frum poet who is wheelchair-bound due to cerebral palsy & has been interviewed in frum magazines, you can donate to her specific page here:
https://www.charityextra.com/stepbystep/7578

Needless to say, you can donate anytime, even after the matched campaign is over.

It's a wonderful way to tip the scales in our favor & sweeten din (judgement) before Rosh Hashanah.

Here's a message from Step by Step:

Dear Donor

Last year, our crowdfunding campaign was a resounding success — thanks to you!

Your support enabled us to reach our goal, and to continue supporting the families of special children.

With your support, we introduced daily Stay & Play sessions, installed a state of the art sensory room, and so much more.

The last two years have been busy years for us as we've introduced new services and programs.

But we need your help again, to help us take the organisation to the next level.

We are running another crowdfunding campaign this Sunday and Monday 30-31 August, where every donation will be doubled.

Covid-19 unfortunately meant that lots of our usual funding was stopped. At the same time, we offered lots of new respite services to help parents manage during this time, so expenses were higher than ever before.

We look forward to seeing your name up on our campaign page again.

In the zchus of helping families cope with their special children, may you only know of gezunt and nachas in your family.

Gratefully,

The Committee

And here's some background to Step by Step, how it got started & what it does:

KEEPING FAMILIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS SANE AND SMILING

Founded in 1998 by Mrs. Toby Waltzer, whose two sons with special needs were bringing the walls of her house down, Step by Step has grown to support 150 local families in similar circumstances.

Parents and siblings of children with special needs never signed up for a life of bedlam; they need the community’s support.

Step by Step provides a wealth of services occupying and caring for children with special needs whenever schools are closed to take the strain off the parents and siblings.

That’s every day after school, Sundays, Shabbos and Yom Tov, summer and winter vacation, the week before Pesach and more, with different divisions catering for the different ages, boys and girls.

They also run a sports programme with sessions like swimming, ice-skating and horse riding. Besides being exhilarating and fun, these activities improve the children’s physical skills significantly, giving them a chance to glide beyond their disability, if only for the moment.

It’s exorbitant to run but the results are priceless.

These fulfilling out-of-school programmes grant families some 30 hours a week of ‘normal’. That’s their only chance to bond undisturbed — and just be — without waiting on edge for the next bang!

But the normalcy only lasts as long as the child is out. The moment they return home, the calm unravels. Think: breakages, meltdowns, emergencies. As one mother put it, ‘If I wouldn’t have Step by Step, I would have to give up my child.’

And that’s why this campaign is so important. The more funding Step by Step has, the more the future of their services -- and the harmony in homes — is assured.

You can help assure these families keep them sane and smiling simply by donating https://www.charityextra.com/stepbystep

Wishing everyone much bracha & hatzlacha, robust health, and a complete & quick healing!

Disclaimer: I only found out about this organization & campaign just now, via an email to my Inbox. I receive no compensation for promoting this & they don't even know I've posted this. So no ulterior motives on my part; just think it's a great organization that deserves as much support as we can give them.

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Embracing the Tzelem Elokim: Why Seemingly Defective People are So Important

27/8/2020

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Couldn't stop thinking about this week's parsha (Ki Tetzei) and how much Rav Miller emphasized the all-important idea of tzelem Elokim (God's Divine Image on a person's face) and how taking that idea to heart could transform society (link).

In addition, this parsha mentions kidnapping with the intent to enslave — the Torah calls for the death penalty in response to such a crime.

Human trafficking and especially child trafficking made waves in the media over the past couple of years...despite how trafficking has been going on for a very long time prior to all the publicity.

Trafficking is a form of kidnapping. Sometimes the victims are actually kidnapped, sometimes they are deceived into going with their captors. And the enslavement that follows is horrific.

Yet think of a world in which everyone recognized the tzelem Elokim of the other.

You wouldn't have human trafficking.

You wouldn't have kidnappings, especially of children, which so often end in the abuse, enslavement, and even murder of the child.

In recognizing the Divine Image imprinted on the other person, which includes the spirit of life breathed into each person by Hashem (with the infinite potential that implies), others wouldn't seek to exploit and harm people.

You wouldn't have abortion or euthanasia either.

How to Truly Expand Your Mind

The aborting of unborn babies due to disabilities found in a sonogram wouldn't happen in a tzelem Elokim-oriented society.

And indeed, when the USA was more religious and all people read & respected the Bible (even if they also misunderstood a lot of it), they imbibed the concept of every human being made in God's Image — and society was more moral at that time.

Whether we realize it or not, disabled people benefit us so much.

For example, their very presence reminds us to be grateful for our able minds & bodies.

And the chessed necessary for them takes us out of our own world and expands us in ways we couldn't otherwise.

The Smile Only a Pure & Lofty Soul Can Give

Recently, I needed to wait in line to buy my 5-year-old his first bus card.

For some reason, it ended up being a looooong wait.

While stifling my increasing irritability and trying to reframe the situation ("Hashem WANTS me waiting here interminably; it's the best thing that could happen to me right now!"), a little Down's syndrome girl suddenly swept into the room with her mother close behind her.

The little girl looked happy & interested to be there. When she turned, she gave me the most beautiful smile.

All in all, the experience was like a beautiful light sweeping into the room.

We know that most mentally disabled people possess lofty souls that do not need regular abilities & mitzvot to complete their soul rectifications, so they are born without such abilities or obligations.

As children, these people are exceptionally pure & innocent (even as they can also be very difficult to raise).

I've seen a lot of beautiful smiles, but this little girl's smile struck me in the most beautiful way.

I NEEDED that smile.

Who else could have given it?

For a variety of reasons, these people serve a very real purpose in society.

The Boy without a Brain

A few years ago, I saw a video of the little boy born without a brain (he just had a brain stem). I think he didn't have much of a skull either.

The light glowing from his face fascinated me.

Without a brain, he wasn't remotely functional. But he looked so beautiful — and he glowed.

This made me realize I was seeing his tzelem Elokim which, due to his purity and inability to see or hear the grossness of This World, was particularly prominent & visible on his face.

Even more surprising, his parents & grandmother loved him so much, despite all the work he made for them — a situation made even more grueling by their obvious lack of finances.

I remember his grandmother with her dyed red hair, sporting a bandanna. She spoke so lovingly of him. She and his parents wanted so much for him to continue living.

His existence, helpless & flawed as it was, enhanced his family's life so much.

We need such people in our world.

Who says they should be aborted?

Or even, as some elite intellectuals suggest, be "euthanized" after their birth?

It's not easy dealing with mental or physical disabilities (and their caretakers deserve our support: practically, emotionally, and financially), but that's part of the reason why WE benefit from them: We need to stretch ourselves to meet their needs.

Disabled people are the real givers.

But without the recognition of tzelem Elokim, it's impossible to see that truth.

Cruel "Compassion"

Immoral values come disguised as "compassion."

Even the word "liberal" conjures up images of "freedom" & "liberty."

Abortion advocates promote their cause using the language of compassion.

Nowadays, parents who DON'T abort disabled children are called "cruel."

"Compassionate" liberals feel that killing a flawed baby is a kindness to the child, preventing the child from suffering.

(They often don't suffer anyway. But regardless, avoidance of suffering is not usually a legitimate reason to commit either suicide or homicide.)

Today, so many people do not receive the compassion & support they need.

People in vulnerable situations (like the elderly or disabled or the disadvantaged) find themselves judged or ignored or exploited or abused.

Racism has become a major topic today, but without tzelem Elokim, it's hardly worth addressing.

Accusations of racism are lobbed by racists themselves in order to browbeat others to bow to their will.

We face the irrational belief that only white people can be considered racist; all non-white racists are simply carrying out justice or taking reparations for slavery.

However, because most black Americans contain so much Native American or white genetics, the question becomes: Should they give reparations to themselves?

Furthermore, other black Americans are recent immigrants (or the children of) and never enslaved by white people in America.

And the fact that black people in the American South owned black slaves too? Ignored.

Who owes who?

But with the concept of tzelem Elokim, you wouldn't have racism or human rights abuses.

♪ "Imagine all the people embracing the tzelem Elokim..." ♫

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Manifest Your God-Given Innate Greatness (and that of others): Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Ki Tetzei

26/8/2020

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In Rav Avigdor Miller's dvar Torah for Parshat Ki Tetzei: In His Image, we learn that for crimes in which the punishment is stoning, the body must afterwards be hung on a tree as an example to deter potential sinners of this type.

Yet the Torah immediately warns us not to leave the dead sinner hanging overnight.

Why?

Because although he was guilty beyond any doubt, he is a human being created with tzelem Elokim (Hashem's Divine Image), and it is therefore disrespectful to leave this Divine Image hanging wantonly.

This is a powerful lesson.

Even though this human being sinned to the point that his life was no longer worth living, he still possesses a Divine Image.

This is also why, in the aftermath of even the most savage terror attack, Zaka (Jewish volunteers who work to identify & preserve dead bodies and their parts — along with providing life-saving first aid to the survivors) does not mutilate or abuse the dead body of the terrorist.

Certainly, the body of the evil terrorist deserves no respect or consideration.

Yet they cover his body out of respect for Hashem's Divine Image.

It's all for the honor of Hashem. The beastly terrorist himself isn't taken into consideration at all.

Tzelem Elokim: Worth Discussing for 40 Years

Our faces do not literately resemble Hashem. It's holy alliteration, but stated in such a way that we must take it to heart, both literally & figuratively.

Rav Miller recalls that the Alter of Slabodka spoke for 40 years about the concept of tzelem Elokim.

In fact, on page 7, there's an amusing story of how the Alter's last words to his talmidim upon traveling away were about tzelem Elokim.

That was the final message he wanted to leave for his talmidim.

Uniquely Human

The idea of tzelem Elokim is a major reason why we wash our face in the morning.

It's out of respect for our Creator.

Rav Miller even recommends pleasantly telling our children in the morning, "Wash your tzelem Elokim" as a way of telling them to wash their face.

This is a natural way to pass on that idea and generate the concept of mitzvah with such a simple act.

On page 8, Rav Miller offers a beautiful & compelling description of the human face, any human face anywhere in the world.

To go deeper, Rav Miller describes how Hashem blew the nishmat chayim (the breath of life) via the nostrils — an opening in the human face.

Hashem didn't do this for animals; only human beings.

Therefore, this life-giving vitality is also part of our tzelem Elokim.

Why Toxic Shame, Self-Hatred, & Thinking of Humans as High-Concept Animals are All Against the Torah

Because Hashem's Essence is Infinite, His Qualities are also Infinite.

Therefore, we absorbed certain infinite qualities that entered us when Hashem blew His Breath into our face.

This means, says Rav Miller (page 9):

It doesn’t mean that you’re already perfect, but it means that you possess within your soul a capability for endless perfection.

Being made with tzelem Elokim means that, theoretically, we innately possess the potential for innate nobility, wisdom, glory, and perfection.

Even though it's impossible for most people to achieve such levels in one lifetime, the potential is still there.

The innate ability exists.

Today, so many people feel bad about themselves, described as suffering from "toxic shame."

On the flip side of that coin, many people perceive themselves as a higher form of animal and act accordingly — while encouraging others to act accordingly too.

The popular yet incorrect idea of genetic predeterminism (countered by the real science of epigenics, which states that we activate or deactivate our genes) also joins the human-as-a-higher-animal belief.

But tzelem Elokim shatters the blatant falsehood of these animal-oriented views.

Far from being mere evolved animals, we possess something of the Divine & Infinite.

Rather than being innately defective or bad, we possess something Godly & Good; we are imbued with infinite Godly potential.

Embrace Your Innate God-Given Greatness!

Because this idea is so TRUE, and therefore so motivating & inspiring, NASA, governments, and many scientists (particularly evolutionists) use every weapon available to battle against the idea of tzelem Elokim.

(Rav Miller details this on page 10.)

Just think of how well humanity would behave if everyone internalized the concept of tzelem Elokim.

Life would be beautiful.

People would feel compelled to treat others with respect.

The psychology of self-improvement would be based on morality and getting in touch with one's innate Godliness (rather than "how I can be richer, more socially & financially successful, physically healthier, enjoy myself more, feel more comfortable, and meet my own needs").

Certainly, we would be physically healthier, but not as the Greek ideal.

We would cultivate healthy eating habits for spiritual reasons, out of respect for our tzelem Elokim, and not to conform to the latest trends of beauty.

What Not to Say

Likewise, in the 6 years Rav Miller spent in the Slabodka Yeshivah in Lithuanian in the 1930s, he never heard a member of the Slabodka yeshivah utter the word "shaigetz."

(You can see more about that here: What is a Clean Tongue?)

Most people don't know the root of the word, but it comes from the Hebrew word for sheketz — abomination.

And even though many Lithuanian gentiles behaved abominably (both against each other & against the Jews), those of the Slabodka yeshivah refused to utter shaigetz because (page 11):

How can you say shaigetz on a human face?!

How can you say shaigetz on a tzelem Elokim?

2 Seconds over Several Times a Day Can Transform Your Mind

But it's human nature (ESPECIALLY today!) to judge others by unimportant aspects.

A person's face, body, smell, clothes, hair — that's not focusing on the tzelem Elokim.

On page 13, Rav Miller offers practical tips for re-orienting your mind toward the Truth.

Look at a person and think: "That face is an image of Hashem."

Repeat this often.

In other lectures, Rav Miller also recommends gazing at your spouse's face & thinking: "I am now looking at the tzelem Elokim."

This is a simple 2-second act that reaps profound results.

You can change your whole way of relating to other people just by doing this.

Credit for all quotes & material goes to Toras Avigdor.

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Rulers, Geese, and Bitachon: Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Shoftim

20/8/2020

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In Rav Avigdor Miller's dvar Torah for Parshat Shoftim: The Jewish King, we hear about how originally, other nations always lived under a monarchy.

Because they NEEDED to. Otherwise, their societies would devolve into a "might makes right" situation, like how you see in many Third World nations today.

But Am Yisrael didn't need that.

Am Yisrael dwelled in awareness of Hashem, which gave them a conscience & a desire to be good & do good.

A Shocking Revelation about Political Systems

Rav Miller notes that monarchy is actually better than democracy.

Especially if you're American and you grew up with pride about having thrown off the rule of the British monarchy in order to be truly free, the notion of democracy being the lesser option sounds blasphemous.

But not long ago, I read an article about the advantages of monarchy over democracy (along with historical examples), and I had to admit that it made sense.

Certainly, if the king is awful (though Rav Miller notes that you can have an awful President too) or if you end up ruled by foreigners, then that stinks. (England sometimes found itself ruled by foreigners because with foreign marriages and education, they occasionally ended up with a ruler who was more French or German than British — to the point that the ruler of England couldn't even speak English well.)

Yet the benefits of a decent monarchy outweigh those of a democracy.

This quote sums it up:

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what they are going to have for lunch."

We saw this in Kenya, when a pro-democracy candidate ran against a pro-Sharia candidate (before his Presidency, Obama went to Kenya to promote the pro-Sharia candidate), and when the pro-democracy candidate won, the pro-Sharia voters went on the rampage and burned hundreds of pro-democracy voters (men, women, and children) in churches.

There was no higher authority to stop them.

So much for democracy.

We see that today in the US, when people with loose morals comprise the majority of voters and nearly all the mainstream (and very influential) media.

A candidate with the most excellent record as a governor could not win a US election today if he (or she!) ran on a pro-life, pro-free market, pro-marriage, pro-family, pro-filtered immigration ticket.

Imagine a candidate ran on the platform of encouraging abstinence before marriage.

Waiting for marriage would improve society across the board.

Suicide & depression would go down. A great deal of juvenile delinquency would simply disappear. Abortion clinics would close. The amount of people living under the poverty line would shrink dramatically.

Drugs, drinking, crime — we would see a tremendous decrease in these activities.

Yet we all know that anyone who ran on such a platform would be laughed out of the running. Despite all the studies, stats, anecdotal evidence, and common sense to back him up, he would never make it.

Even religious conservatives today feel they cannot advocate abstinence, so they advocate contraception instead.

Society has degenerated to where even the religious conservatives feel they cannot promote this issue.

A wolfish majority with a lamby minority wishes to vote on their next meal.

We also see this by how Mitt Romney lost by upholding traditional values and behaving like a decent guy, including both treating & speaking about his competitor (Obama) with courtesy — a courtesy which was not only not returned, but trampled.

We see this with Donald Trump, who is personally very liberal on social issues, but ran on a slightly more conservative ideology than his competitor, and only won by a narrow margin while being raked across the coals by the media throughout his campaign and has continued to be scoured (whether he does right or wrong) ever since.

I'm certain as to who's going to win this next election, and it won't be Donald Trump.

Don't be a Goose

In Hebrew, the word translated as "king" (melech) means the one is the most capable of ruling the people, not just the one who managed to seize & hold power.

(On page 6, Rav Miller provides an amusing summary of the origin of Britain's royal family.)

Back in Judges, Am Yisrael wished to appoint the great Shofet Gidon as their king. They wanted this out of gratitude for all Gidon had done for them.

But Gidon noted they already had a King (Hashem), and with that, he humbly rejected the offer and Am Yisrael continued as they were: a holy Nation led by Hashem with no human king.

But as the bitachon (trust) of the people dimmed, the need for a melech arose.

And so they got one.

But as we know, that didn't end so well down the line, so now we're waiting for Melech HaMashiach to help us accept Hashem's Kingship over the world.

On pages 11-13, Rav Miller discusses the songs of the wild goose & the domesticated goose in Perek Shirah.

He makes the striking observation that from the time it hatches out of its egg, the domesticated goose sees its owner as a generous & kind-hearted man.

This man makes sure the goose's shelter stays strong & protective. He feeds the goose generously. He often talks to the geese is a cheerful manner.

Little does the goose know that all this exists ONLY for the finale: the slaughter of the goose.

Everything the owner does for the goose exists to make the goose a tasty meal & maybe a nice feather pillow.

If this isn't an excellent parable for what's going on with the Western world today, then I don't know what is.

All those nice government officials giving us free stuff...we will vote for the candidate who promises us the most free stuff!

If an official doles out free stuff so generously & smiles so nicely as he speaks, then he must be a very good-hearted person!

What other reason could he have for being so generous & smiley?

Hmmm...

Real Bitachon Means Trusting Hashem & Not People

Humble words from a great Jew (Rav Miller on page 14):

Now, I’m not saying I have bitachon but at least I talk about it.

I speak to you about it and I hear my own words, so a little bit rubs off on me.

On page 14, Rav Miller recalls when she shidduch process got stuck for one of his children.

They invested lots of effort, but nothing happened. Nothing even moved.

Then they received a suggestion from an unexpected corner, that ended up being The One.

(See? These things happen to big & important people too.)

And while we must feel & express gratitude toward people who help us, we must not forget to credit HASHEM overall.

Whether or not they succeed is decided by Hashem.

When we put our trust in people, we make a big mistake.

For example, the mostly forgotten President Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) was probably one of America's best Presidents.

He was also a highly moral person.

He actually cleaned out the swamp (by ousting corrupt officials & installing decent men & refusing to employ any Klansmen); Coolidge improved rights for black people, Native Americans, and working women & children (without BLM or any other group of banshees screaming at him & rioting — just out of his own sense of fairness); he lowered taxes.

He appreciated Jews & Judaism, and was pro-Israel long before the State existed.

Here's a leader we can trust!

Yet he was the President who signed the 1924 Immigration Restriction Act that ended up blocking Europe's Jews from escaping to American during the Holocaust.

He had no idea of that act's ultimate effect, of course. Otherwise, he wouldn't have signed it.

(You can see more about that topic here: How We Should Really be Responding to Our Politicians.)

But he did.

And that's just one example of why we can't trust people, even if they're good.

Everything comes from Hashem.

For our own best interests, we must turn to Him.

2 Seconds to a Better World & Sweetened Din

Practical tips:

Rav Miller recommends shouting out loud (but not where people will hear & feel unnerved):

"HASHEM MELECH!!!"

God is King.

He says that as you walk down the street, you can think "Hashem Melech."

That's a tremendously good thing to do.

You can say it, especially if you're wearing a mask and no one can see your mouth moving.

If you're in a very noisy place, like under a city bridge where no one can see or hear you, you can even shout it at the top of your lungs.

And that's a very good 2-second act of self-improvement that can reap a lot of blessing.

Credit for all material goes to Toras Avigdor.

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Heart-Warming Story of True Acceptance & Understanding

18/8/2020

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I received this heart-warming true story in my inbox from a frum lady. It's a great example of how our true goodness is revealed through the seemingly mundane & private aspects of our lives, and not in the grand public gestures.

This story is used with permission, but the person didn't want credit. (Boldface or italics are my own additions for clarity or emphasis.)

Burned Biscuits

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then.

And I remember one night in particular, when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!

Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school.

I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly, burned biscuit. He ate every bite of that thing...never made a face nor uttered a word about it!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits.

And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night, and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned.

He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your momma put in a hard day at work today, and she's really tired. And besides, a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!"

As I've grown older, I've thought about that many times.

Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people.

I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and even anniversaries just like everyone else.

But what I've learned over the years is that accepting each other's faults—and choosing to celebrate each other's differences—is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today: that you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God.

Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!

We could extend this to any relationship; in fact, understanding is the base of any good relationship, be it husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket. Keep it in your own."

So, please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burned one will do just fine. And please pass this along to someone who has enriched your life.

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

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Are You Cast-Off Clothing or a Storm Breaker?: Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Re'eh

12/8/2020

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In the dvar Torah for Parshat Re'eh: A Nation of Volunteers, Rav Avigdor Miller discusses the politically incorrect scenario of the Ihr Hanidachat — the idol-worshiping city commanded to be destroyed by fellow Jews.

It's just supposed to be left there as a burned & ruined heap.

No one is allowed to salvage anything from this punished city, not even the most innocent item wholly free of idolatry.

This is because in order to be internally liberated from tumah (spiritual impurity), one must make a total separation from it.

True Love Means Going Beyond the Letter of the Law

On pages 5-7, Rav Miller illustrates the importance of going beyond the letter of the law by delving into a sugya in Masechet Sukkot on shaking the lulav.

Then he gives the example of a child who wishes to please his parent.

If the child notices something that the parent desires, and the child has the means & abilities to give or perform it for the parent, then a devoted child will certainly do so.

And that's how we should behave with Hashem.

On pages 9-13, Rav Miller sings the praises of Am Yisrael by detailing how far we go to serve Hashem beyond the letter of the law.

We could settle for the law as described in the basic text. (Rav Miller describes a bit what Judaism would be like without all the rabbinical law, and page 9 was a shocker. We are definitely richer for all the Talmud has to offer.)

Throughout history, we've been ridiculed for this.

Rav Miller mentions the ridicule of the Tzaddokim (Sadducees), the followers of the gospels, and the Reform movement.

Those were the big ones that still affect us today.

And the ancients also felt Am Yisrael took things too far. After all, many felt fine about us serving Hashem. But why couldn't we worship their gods and kings too?

This has been & will continue to be a criticism of us until Mashiach comes and the Truth is revealed.

The Cast-Offs of History

And where are these groups today?

So many of our critics disappeared over time.

The Saducees & Karaites may exist in spirit to an extent, but these groups no longer exist by those names as a threat to us.

The very powerful empires that spanned the globe no longer exist.

Like David Hamelech said in Tehillim 102:27, the other nations go lost while Hashem endures. They get all ratty & disintegrate like a garment. Sure, you can patch up a garment to a certain extent. But at some point, it is simply no longer viable. And then it is used as a rag while another garment comes to take its place. At some point, it is simply cast out.

(Rashi's interpretation is interesting in that he describes it as a garment being turned inside out as it is removed. Don't we see this happening now? Nations are being turned inside-out on their way out.)

How to REALLY Change with the Times

Rav Miller then notes that in order to endure today's storm winds of change, one must push forward into the wind.

If you try to stand straight or even lean back the tiniest bit, the wind will blow you down.

This is a major reason why in some ways to some people, certain aspects of Torah Judaism seem more extreme than they were at one time.

(It's definitely not the only reason, but it is a major one.)

While I'll always disagree with anyone who claims that the movies or radio of our grandparents' times were innocent (Rav Miller does NOT say they were innocent, BTW), there was significantly less filth & immoral brainwashing & propaganda than there is today.

Much of radio & all of the silver screen was co-opted from its inception by pervs & losers, and they snuck in a lot of their degenerate values. But society & their sponsors simply did not allow them to wreak the havoc they wreak now.

So while at one time, even seriously frum homes hosted a radio & the main newspaper of their city...but today, they can't.

And that's the real way to "change with the times."

We need to push back against the storm winds.

Perhaps this is one reason why the emphasis on simcha & gratitude has become such a focus in recent years.

In a variety of doublespeak & images & stories, our current cultural climate screams at us: DESPAIR! DESPAIR! DESPAIR!

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! DO WHAT WE WANT YOU TO DO!

And we scream back: MITZVAH GADOLAH L'HIYOT B'SIMCHA TAMID — IT'S A GREAT MITZVAH TO ALWAYS BE HAPPY!

And we shout: HALLELUHU — PRAISE HIM! And we say TODAH — THANK YOU, HASHEM!

And yes, the winds may knock us flat on our faces, leaving us to peel ourselves off all the gravel & schmutz.

But we still try.

And that's what counts.

A big THANK YOU to Toras Avigdor for providing such important material to help us push back against the stormwinds.

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How Going to the Extremes of "Transcendent" Spirituality Leads to Disturbing Death Rituals & Cannibalism

9/8/2020

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Note: While I consider this post inspiring & Torah-affirming in its own way, it's not one you should read while eating. Just saying...

One of my older sons loves hiking around Eretz Yisrael, particularly in the North, with his yeshivah friends.

Not far from the border, they met up with another hiker around their age, but no kippah.

As stated before on this blog, when Jews are away from media incitement & Erev Rav personalities, we get along better & like each other more.

Unless clouded by brainwashing, a Jew's gut instinct toward another Jew is to connect.

Along those lines, the kippahless hiker felt perfectly comfortable asking this obviously charedi group of yeshivah boys if he could join them.

They said "Sure!" and he spent the next 2 hours hiking with them.

Along the way, he revealed that he actually grew up in a religious home and despite his external secular appearance, he still kept Shabbat.

In addition, he recently returned from a trip to India and told them what he experienced there.

It was one of those creepy, disturbing experiences that makes you happy you're a Torah-minded monotheist.

Fake Information

If you do a brief search on the Ganges River in India — just a search providing brief summaries, without even entering any websites — you'll discover that the Ganges is considered "holy" and safe to swim in.

You'll learn that India's lowest caste uses that river to conduct traditional cremations and that a "spiritual" group called Aghoris hangs out there for reasons of "transcending the material world."

Aghoris even have their own yoga called "aghora yoga."

It all sounds so spiritual & uplifting.

Yet this Israeli hiker had a different story to tell.

Transcendent Skull-Smashing & Cannibalism

Seeing as trip advisories reassure tourists that the Ganges is perfectly safe to swim in, the young man (who hiked with my son & his friends) decided to go for it.

Yet when a dead body floated right past him, swimming in the Ganges lost its appeal.

Then he went to see the famous funeral pyres.

He watched as they ceremoniously burned a dead man's body on a heap of wood on the water, then he watched as the dead man's oldest son climbed up and ceremoniously smashed his father's skull. (This is part of the oh-so spiritual tradition. Frankly, I can only imagine the psychological damage incurred by doing this to one's own father.)

He learned that dead men get burned while dead women & children are simply tossed into the water (hence his experience of swimming next to a floating corpse).

And while he didn't see the Aghoris, he was told how they fish out the dead bodies and charred remains...and eat them.

How spiritual! How transcendent!

The Aghoris dwell in that area, surrounded by the decaying & burning dead, in order to recapture that childlike feeling of everything being equal (like how babies & toddlers can play with or eat bugs or their own "outputs" if you don't stop them in time & teach them not to): Nothing is disgusting, nothing is scary — everything is the same.

They believe wholly pluralistic non-individualistic mentality helps one to transcend the material world.

Probably we're all in one mind about this kind of transcendence: YUCK.

(See? We've achieved plurality & non-individualistic thinking right there. We're transcendent!)

The Beauty of Holy Separation & Uniqueness

If this hiker is like many of the young Israelis who visit India, he probably wanted to seek out spirituality and a non-materialistic society.

Yet he ended up with a lot more than he bargained for.

He saw where that much-lauded mentality of spiritual impurity that seeks to transcend the material leads to: disturbing death rituals & cannibalism.

It reminded me of something Rav Eliyahu Dessler wrote Strive for Truth Vol. II, Light from Darkness.

He speaks there about using "the yetzer hara to acquire a tremendous drive to holiness."

From Avraham Avinu to Moshe Rabbeinu to Am Yisrael in Egypt to Ruth, Rav Dessler notes that the repulsively tumah-filled environment pushes one toward kedushah in an effort to escape or destroy the tumah.

After seeing where Hindu spirituality leads (although many Hindus reject the specific Aghora practice), this young man felt no desire to extend his stay. He returned to Eretz Yisrael and started trekking around the most beautiful parts of the Holy Land.

And though he doesn't look outwardly religious, he maintains his Shabbat observance, which is a sign of Jewish individualism.

Shabbat is set aside from the week; it's not pluralistic or the same as every other day.

Indeed, the Havdalah ritual on Saturday night is all about separating between the holy and the regular mainstream: hamavdil bein kodesh l'chol.

So when he saw a group of like-minded yeshivah bochurs — who stand NOT for "transcending" the material world, but elevating it — he wanted to join them.

And he felt like he could.

And the boys also received a deterring glimpse of the ugliness inherent in an opposing spiritual system.

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These 8 Captioned Images Demonstrate How Easy It is to Create Fake News

7/8/2020

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Long before the term "fake news" came into use, mainstream media manipulated us with images & captions to implant the desired ideas into our minds.

For example, let's take articles referring to the crisis of global warming (before seasonally inappropriate cold weather forced proponents to switch to the term "climate change").

Such articles often included the image of a polar bear scrambling onto a broken ice floe.

Accompanied by a caption proclaiming that a warming environment is causing polar bears to lose vital habitat, this impressed upon readers the crisis of global warming.

In truth, polar bears alternate between the sea and the land.

They can't stay in the water forever.

Heaving its massive body from the water onto a floating piece of ice isn't a graceful or smooth act.

So all the photographer needs to do is capture the moment a polar bear exits the water via floating ice...and there you have the desperate image of global warming melting the polar bears out of their natural habitat.

Many of us are all too familiar with the shenanigans of manipulated media images & weaselly captions regarding frum Jews or Jews living in Eretz Yisrael.

Arguably, the most infamous example is that of a brave Druze IDF soldier threatening terrorists with his baton to protect a bleeding religious Jewish youth who just escaped their attack — and this photo was labeled to make it look like a Jewish soldier beating a Muslim youth.

Despite how easy it is to manipulate & mislabel images, consumers continue to allow themselves to be misled.

So I decided, using free & legal images easily downloaded off the Internet, to show how easy it is to present the wrong impression using well-timed or manipulated photos and misleading captions.

Hopefully, those in the dark will wake up.

And those in the know...will hopefully enjoy a good laugh.

Global warming has shrunk the natural habitat of penguins and polar bears to the point that these incompatible species must live in unnaturally close proximity to each other, sometimes even being forced to share the same chunk of ice.

"As a result," stated zoologist Esme Poppykopf, "we've seen a massive spike in stress-related penguin anxiety, including stiff necks caused by constantly needing to keep an eye on a polar bear crouching way too close for comfort. And usually, penguins are perfectly content with a diet of fish, krill, and squid. But recently, we've started needing to defend our cache of fatty carbohydrate-laden comfort foods from penguin stealth-raids."

Local researchers report a serious decline in their supplies of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, microwavable popcorn, and supersize candy bars — traces of which were found in penguin nesting areas.

MISSING LINK FOUND! Biologists can now prove that Boston terriers evolved from pink unicorns.

Recent studies show that dogs are always happiest when wearing pastel-colored party hats.
You should get one for your dog & make him (or her!) wear it.

Scientists claim that global warming is responsible for the extreme aberrations recently found in the shell of a common snail.

Ducks can for sure breathe underwater. For hours. Literally.

For the first time ever, special night-cameras reveal that coffee-addiction is on the rise among chipmunks.
Scientists attribute the cause to global warming.

Despite centuries of vicious anti-tiger propaganda, recent studies show that Bengal tigers are actually highly sociable vegans.

ABOVE: Dedicated entomologists stumble upon the real culprit behind global warming.
SAVE THE PLANET!!!
Please donate NOW toward grasshopper-compatible nicotine patches!!!

See how easy that is?

I'm hoping one of the major media outlets will hire me after seeing this compelling portfolio.

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Getting in Touch with Your Real Greatness: Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Eikev

5/8/2020

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Growing up secular, I often heard the backhanded praise of the Torah being "a great history book!"

As I became frum, I heard the opposite refrain from people who actually knew the truth: "The Torah isn't a history book."

They said this to explain why certain things either weren't mentioned or to explain confusing chronology, and so on.

The Torah comes to teach; that is its entire purpose & hinted at in its name: Torah, coming from the root horah — teach.

In Rav Avigdor Miller's dvar Torah for Parshas Eikev 3 – One Nation In The World, Rav Miller makes this same point: The Torah isn't about world history (although you can find a lot of interesting anthropological historical insights in it).

History's Main Blog & Its Surprising Sidebar

As Rav Miller notes, the Torah relates to even the most powerful, influential, and advanced cultures of its time as if they're history's sidebar.

(And if you really think about, they really are history's sidebar.)

Tremendous art, literature, music, architecture, innovations, and science came out of the cultures, some preserved in a way that allowed them to be discovered millennia afterwards.

Yet you don't hear much about them in the Torah.

The Torah starts with Beresheit bara Elokim et hashamayim v'et ha'aretz — and Rashi states the verse's entire purpose is to make it clear that reisheit (the main priority, so to speak) is Yisrael.

In other words, the universe was created with Am Yisrael in mind.

To foster a loyal group of humans dedicated to holiness & elevation:

That's the purpose of Creation.

God Loves the Small & Unpopular

Then Rav Miller hones in on an excellent point that often gets lost among Edomite culture: Quality holds vastly more importance than quantity.

Throughout the Torah, it's the smallness that merits greatness:

Har Sinai was the smaller mountain
David Hamelech was the youngest brother
Gidon was the youngest brother in the smallest family in the smallest Tribe (Menashe) Moshe Rabbeinu was the youngest brother

We see people despised or rejected (David Hamelech, Yiftach, Leah Imeinu, etc.) attaining greatness beyond anyone's expectation.

Only one person, Noach, was worth saving his family & continuing humanity.

Am Yisrael really started with a childless couple (Avraham & Sara) living in a tent in the desert.

Even today, Judaism focuses so much on baby-steps and building yourself by one minuscule success at a time. (This is evidenced in what our truly great people advise us regarding self-improvement.)

Our task is to bring Hashem into the physical world & elevate the mundane.

Yet we've always needed to strain against the current to accomplish this because much of the surrounding world opposes everything Yisrael stands for.

Prophetically, Rav Miller predicted that one day, people would try to remove "In God we trust" from its coins.

In 2006, someone tried to challenge the inscription of "In God we trust," desiring to strike it from US money.

In 2007, the same person tried to eliminate "under God" ("one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty & justice for all") from the Pledge of Allegiance.

Rav Miller certainly saw which way the wind was blowing.

The Distortion of the Jewish Image throughout the Ages

On pages 8-10, Rav Miller takes us on a shortcut journey through history, literature, and culture to show us how Edom portrays Jews in the worst way.

On page 9, he describes the treatment of the media regarding the chassidic Jews of Williamsburg, who do not stand idly by the blood of their fellow Jew when that Jew is gashed & mugged: Homeless Man Attacked by Chassidish Mob!

Oh yes...this oh-so pitiable homeless man cut a Jew's face with a razor & snatched the Jew's wallet.

It sounds exactly like what the media does regarding Israel: Palestinian Driver Shot by Israeli Soldier!

(Only they fail to mention that the driver was a rampaging terrorist who turned his car into a weapon against pedestrians.)

And he makes excellent points about the hypocrisy of nations ignoring truly horrific violations of human rights around the world and within modern countries in order to focus on demonizing Jews.

Start Looking Inward for Solutions because the Outside World is Rotting at Its Core

It's also very worthwhile to read what Rav Miller said about self-hating Jews on page 11.

Rav Miller acknowledges that people accuse him all the time of whitewashing the Jewish people.

Yet Rav Miller insists that the non-Jewish societies aren't any better.

Several posts on this blog have discussed this.

I grew up in non-Jewish/secular Jewish America & there is so much gunk under the surface.

And yes, I'm very well aware of the problems within frum society, but there are so many frum people going above & beyond to heal the problems.

Yes, there are bad people and useless "help" in the frum community.

But in secular society, I never saw the self-criticism and passion to help that I saw in frum society.

And there are a lot of effective frum people who help.

And the same frum people who dedicate their lives to helping fellow Jews, even with the worst & thorniest problems, never give themselves credit for being the power of good that they are.

Furthermore, these same people constantly exhort us to improve ourselves and to be kinder to each other (which is a good thing).

We have such high expectations for ourselves that we focus on our problems & flaws to the point that we feel like we're worse than our surrounding societies.

I've personally heard/read of very frum people exhorting the frum world to look to the non-Jewish world as an example of how to handle our worst issues.

Utilizing their resources is fine; we gratefully support & utilize non-Jewish police services, fire departments, hospitals, etc.

But to use the non-Jewish world as an EXAMPLE of what to do?

No.

No, no, no, no.

A lot of frum people do not know what's actually going on in the non-Jewish/secular world because they, baruch Hashem, were never immersed in it.

And even the stuff frum people read in popular non-fiction or the newspapers, they don't necessarily believe it's as bad or as common as it actually is.

Why?

Because it doesn't LOOK that way on the outside or at work with your non-Jewish/secular co-workers.

Yes, the non-Jewish society promotes itself by showing you all the organizations and hotlines and laws it has to protect/assist people, but then you notice that a lot of it doesn't actually work.

(Please note: I did NOT say it NEVER works EVER. But it does not work as well or as often as the culture would like you to believe.)

Or people still don't feel they can get the help they need.

Despite all the "freedoms" and therapies and self-help options available, and despite the social acceptance of these, we see that society is actually worsening and even writhing in pain & despair.

It's not working.

We see this in how self-destructive behavior (eating disorders, drug addiction, gaming addiction, alcoholism, cutting, suicide, etc.) rose along with the rise of secular liberalism.

And the explosion of hatred! Both hatred of others & hatred of self as exemplified through murder & suicide...

It's a hate-filled society. (Peace 'n' love, man!)

Some USA stats (source):

Suicide in the #1 cause of death for Native American girls ages 10-19.

(Yes, you unfortunately read that correctly. If you hear about the death of a 10-year-old Native American girl, she probably did it to herself. Yet do you EVER hear any exhortations to help them?)

Murder by another black male is the #1 cause of death for black males ages 15-34.

And for any BLM sympathizers: Out of every 65 black male deaths, 60 are caused by another black male.

Guess how many black deaths out of 65 are caused by a police officer?

One.

Suicide is the #1 cause of death among Far East Asian males ages 20-24.

This is from a group considered successful by society. So why are they killing themselves more than almost any other?

Suicide is the #2 cause of death among so-called privileged white males ages 15-19.

25% of all white male deaths in this age-range are caused by their own hand. Someone had better tell them they're privileged because they don't seem to know!

All this self-destructive behavior clearly shows a society in steep decline.

And where are all the organizations & fanfare?

Did you know that suicide is the leading cause of death among Native American females ages 10-19, Far East Asian males 20-24, and the second leading cause of death among white males 15-19?

Most people do not know this.

If you did know this, did you hear it from a mainstream publication or source?

Or did you hear it from an alternative source or need to do your homework to discover this?

And if so, how often did you ever hear it discussed?

Tragically, that's a sign that no one really cares about that suffering & those deaths.

Anyway, this is clearly not a society to emulate, so let's just get to work on ourselves using our own tools.

The Authentic Jewish Secret to Success

Here's an important idea from Rav Miller on page 12:

And if someone is lacking in Torah attitudes he cannot be considered successful at all.

That's good mussar.

It doesn't matter how frum someone looks.

It doesn't matter how full of "good intentions" a non-frum person may appear.

If the Torah attitude isn't there, then phfftt.

Rav Miller then details (pages 13-14) all the norms in frum society that we take for granted.

Deviants make the news, unfortunately.

So we need to look at our neighbors and inner circles to get renewed enthusiasm about ourselves.

Getting Real about Us

It's really not about whitewashing things.

Chanifah (labeling something is good when it most certainly is NOT) is strictly forbidden by the Torah.

It's about seeking the light in other people.

It's about healing problems & trauma by looking to what is RIGHT to do, and not obsessing only about what is wrong.

It's well-known that when people raised dysfunctionally ONLY say, "I'll never do what my parents did; that was bad," they don't succeed as well in overcoming their negative programming.

It's the ones who say, "I won't do the bad things my parents did; I'll do this-and-such good thing instead! I want to emulate the good parents I see!" — those are the ones who often end up overcoming a lot of dysfunction.

Focusing so intently on what's wrong & how bad it is doesn't help to unmire people.

Focusing on what CAN be done & how we SHOULD behave reaps much juicier fruits.

It's about being our best according to Hashem's standards & value system.

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2 Fascinating Links to Enhance Your Life during This Time

3/8/2020

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Here's a video of a shiur from 2017 by Rabbi Yehoshua Zitron from Torahanytime.com called: Dybbuk/Exorcism/Adultery Part 1: Understanding Possessions Through Stories.

UPDATE: Here is the rest of the series: Dybbuk/Exorcism/Adultery: Part 2 - What Happens To A Spirit & Dybbuk/Exorcism/Adultery: Part 3 - The Destroyers

The first part of the shiur discusses a plague so lethal that as victims approached Rav Laniado for help, they dropped dead on the spot, and it explains how Rav Laniado remedied that.

(I couldn't catch the name of the book in which this story appeared, so if anyone figures it out, I'll be grateful if you let us know.)

Rabbi Zitron also brings fascinating stories from the Arizal & Rav Yehudah Petayah's Minchat Yehudah.

It all reinforces the importance of emunah and being real about your Yiddishkeit, kosher mezuzot, believing in the 13 Principles of Faith, and Torah learning.

And if you ever wondered why non-Jewish exorcists appear to succeed, Rabbi Zitron explains that the forces of tumah utilized in non-Jewish exorcisms damage the already damaged soul even more, so the soul flees in horror. (It's sort of like trying to clean a filthy garment by rubbing sewage into it; that only ruins the garment even more.) He also mentions exorcisms performed by priests in recent years, which resulted in the host's death (if it was even a real dybbuk-possession in the first place).

Also, Bilvavi produced a PDF collection of Rav Itamar Schwartz's insights into the month of Av, its astrological influence, its connection to Shimon ben Yaakov, and other helpful material to assist us in the avodah appropriate for this month.

Also, if you were born in Av, it can help you glean extra insights into yourself.

Here it is:
http://www.bilvavi.net/files/Bilvavi.Rosh.Chodesh.Av.pdf

Note: The Jewish view of astrology (mazalot) is that there's an influence that can always be overridden by our prayers, deeds, and Hashem. We may not rely on the mazalot nor may we attempt to predict the future with star charts. Jewish astrology walks in temimut with Hashem. However, Hashem created the influence for a reason & we can utilize the ruach of each month for beneficial purposes.

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How to Truly Expand Your Mind

The Smile Only a Pure & Lofty Soul Can Give

The Boy without a Brain

Cruel "Compassion"

Tzelem Elokim: Worth Discussing for 40 Years

Uniquely Human

Why Toxic Shame, Self-Hatred, & Thinking of Humans as High-Concept Animals are All Against the Torah

Embrace Your Innate God-Given Greatness!

What Not to Say

2 Seconds over Several Times a Day Can Transform Your Mind

A Shocking Revelation about Political Systems

Don't be a Goose

Real Bitachon Means Trusting Hashem & Not People

2 Seconds to a Better World & Sweetened Din

Burned Biscuits

True Love Means Going Beyond the Letter of the Law

The Cast-Offs of History

How to REALLY Change with the Times

Fake Information

Transcendent Skull-Smashing & Cannibalism

The Beauty of Holy Separation & Uniqueness

History's Main Blog & Its Surprising Sidebar

God Loves the Small & Unpopular

The Distortion of the Jewish Image throughout the Ages

Start Looking Inward for Solutions because the Outside World is Rotting at Its Core

The Authentic Jewish Secret to Success

Getting Real about Us

Myrtle Rising

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