Category: Society

4 Lessons Learned from Glimpses into the Self-Transformation of Real Talmidei Chachamim

29/9/2020

While intellectually, we all know that no human being is perfect and even the greatest tzaddikim had flaws to work on, we usually don't see it.

Some flaws may be obvious to others, but other flaws tend toward more private displays (which should usually remain private).

Furthermore, the depths & lengths to which we find we need to work on ourselves often remains private because of healthy shame.

Yet anecdotes trickle out about great talmidei chachamim, which gives us insight into how we should work on ourselves—and also our attitude toward that inner work.

Rav Scheinberg Makes a Kiddush over His "Minor" Spiritual Victory

Born in Poland in 1911, Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg immigrated to America with his parents when he was 9.

Being so young, Rav Scheinberg acclimated to the American Jewish society of 1920s, attended American public school before managing to attend yeshivah, and became known as "Lefty Scheinberg" for his skill at playing shortstop in baseball.

After his marriage, Rav Scheinberg & his beloved wife went to the Mirrer Yeshivah in Poland, where he gained the reputation of a masmid (one who learns Torah with perseverance).

After surviving the Holocaust in Shanghai, he & his family moved to Yerushalayim.

Rav Scheinberg ended up establishing his own yeshivah & earned both the title of talmid chacham & the description: "one of the Gadolei Hador."

Recently, I came across a little-known story about Rav Scheinberg.

Someone saw him making a kiddush & asked him why.

Rav Scheinberg answered that upon realizing that he no longer felt disappointed when his once-favorite sports team lost a game, he decided to celebrate that deep-seated accomplishment.

Look at that!

Rav Scheinberg steeped himself in the world of Torah and polished all his middot.

Yet he struggled to uproot an ingrained attachment to his once-favorite sports team.

However, he finally succeeded.

And what did he do?

He made a kiddush!

Uprooting that non-Torah attachment is a HUGE accomplishment!

Contrast this to well-meaning people who tend to denigrate such accomplishments with phrases like:

"What's the big deal? After all, it's just baseball..."
"Why was that even such a challenge for you? I mean, it's just a stupid sports team, for crying out loud..."
"Seriously? You're making a kiddush about THAT?
"Pathetic."

Or conversely:

"Why does that matter so much to you? After all, there's nothing wrong with baseball!"
"Lots of frum people play baseball & attend games. It's a harmless pastime! Are you sure you're not being kind of extreme?"

Needless to say, Rav Scheinberg was neither pathetic nor extreme.

This is a great example, both of how honest we need to be with ourselves regarding our inner selves and also with regard to the true significance of our spiritual accomplishments.

Rav Mordechai Gifter's Turnaround

As an American teenager, the great talmid chacham Rav Mordechai Gifter embraced the friendly & appealing American-style Zionism.

Yet after arriving in Lithuania to attend yeshivah, the 18-year-old Rav Gifter encountered the original tziyonim and their root ideology—and discovered hate-filled Commies similar to the rabid extremists of today's Leftist movements.

You can see the letter describing his transformation (including an apology to the man with whom he previously sparred on the topic) here:
personal.stevens.edu/~llevine/Two_Letters_from_Rav_Mordechai_Gifter_6.pdf

With the help of his study of Gemara, Rav Gifter executed a complete 180-degree turn on the issue.

Some of you may disagree with his conclusions on Tziyonut, but the point is to show a great Jew's self-introspection & openness to changing attitudes after receiving expanded knowledge on a topic.

A Glimpse into Rav Avigdor Miller's Personal Transformations

Throughout decades of his recorded lectures, Rav Avigdor Miller hinted at his former views & attitudes on a variety of topics, many of which he completely rejected by the time he preached to the public.

For example, a young Rav Avigdor Miller once got into fisticuffs while arguing in favor of socialism!

Given his later opposition to both any kind of physical aggression or liberalism (including socialism), this shows a sharp turn in his much younger self as opposed to his more mature & wiser self.

As Rav Miller tells it:

I remember when I was a boy, the fad of the day was Socialism. I once had a fistfight with somebody because I was fighting to defend Socialism.

I still remember that — I retired from that debate with a bleeding nose.

--Shavuos 3: Accepting the Torah

That's not the only example of the young Rav Miller's readiness to engage in physical confrontation to defend his views—or himself.

When the twentysomething Rav Miller first arrived in Lithuania to attend Slabodka yeshivah, he didn't take Jew-bullying passively.

Here's Rav Miller's first encounter with a drunk Jew-hating Lithuanian:

He had said something about me, “a dirty Jew” or something.

So I gave him a push.

I was an American so I wasn’t accustomed to bowing my head.

So my friends said to me, “What are you doing?! Are you crazy?!” and we quickly walked away. He could hardly keep his balance walking, so we just quickly walked away.

Every Lithuanian had a knife in his boots.

--Parshas Zos Habracha (page 23)

The following also shows a change in attitude & WHY he decided to change his view:

I was once walking in the street and I visited a friend of mine and he saw that I carried a stick, a heavy stick, on me.

It was many years ago, about thirty years ago and it was a dangerous neighborhood so I was holding a stick.

And this friend told me, “Don’t do that! It’s dangerous to carry a stick.”

It’s dangerous to carry a stick, because first of all they could take the stick away and hit you with it. That’s number one.

Secondly, with a stick, you become reckless. Without a stick, you’ll stay home. You’re safer off.

And it’s better always to avoid trouble.

— Rav Avigdor Miller on Carrying a Handgun

And thus, Rav Miller ended up giving solid advice to not only avoid confrontation, but to walk away when confronted (unless you can call the police, as he once tried to, or if you're forced to defend yourself):

Therefore, the best defense is to stay out of trouble.

When you’re walking down the street, and you see a few bums, or even one bum, walking towards you, even if you’re not sure if it means trouble, just cross the street.

Just cross over to the other side! You’ll be surprised how lazy bums are.

— Rav Avigdor Miller on Karate Classes

So we see that in his youth, Rav Miller felt unafraid of confrontation, including physical confrontation.

Getting a bloody nose while fighting on behalf of socialism did not deter him from getting physically aggressive with a Jew-hating Lithuanian later.

In other words, he portrays his young self as a proudly Jewish, feisty American boy.

However, though he remained proudly Jewish, his Torah-washed mind enabled him to see the truth of an aggressive response to the point that, with specific & safe exceptions, he eventually discouraged confrontation (or even self-arming) in any way whatsoever.

Another time, Rav Miller passed by a bum lounging on the sidewalk, who snarled something to Rav Miller.

Instead of either dismissing it or getting offended by it, Rav Miller decided to utilize it as a message from Shamayim with the bum as the unsuspecting messenger:

If you want to really be a success, you’re going to have to be willing to listen to people who open their mouth to you.

It might even be an off-hand comment from a stranger who passes by you on the street.

Seventy years ago a homeless bum told me something, he criticized me about a detail of my behavior – I’m not going to tell you what – and to this day I still remember his every word.

And I’m a better man because of it.

--Parshat Vayigash: That Fearful Moment

True, we don't get any details here, but the point is that there was some kind of self-perceived fault in his personality that he felt needed fixing.

And he never realized it until the vocalized observation from a bum on the street.

Here's a final view of inner change from Rav Avigdor Miller:

I remember when I was eleven years old, I was standing outside the shul and I heard a man – an old European Jew – he said, “Ahh! That was a geshmake ma’ariv.”

With his hands he made motions of excitement: “It was a pleasure!”

I was eleven years old and to this day, I can’t forget it.

I learned then that ma’ariv is fun!

— Parshas Ki Tisa 3: Getting Excited over Him

So we see that, like many boys (and men), Rav Miller initially lacked the correct attitude toward davening.

Obviously, he initially considered Maariv (Evening Prayer) as an unenjoyable religious duty.

But upon hearing the words from an older Jew with the right hashkafah, Rav Miller realized that tefillah not only can be enjoyable—it IS enjoyable.

Tefillah is fun!

Furthermore, even in his older years, Rav Miller remained spiritually young at heart.

When Rav Miller expressed regret over missing a Torah class while attending a grandchild's wedding, a former student respectfully questioned whether a grandchild's wedding is not in fact a great merit, and something to be both grateful & happy for?

Rav Miller mulled this over...and changed his perspective.

Later, Rav Miller possessed the humility to approach that same student & thank him for his words, expressing how helpful he found them and how they changed his attitude for the better, declaring that now he goes joyfully to his grandchildren's weddings (source).

4 Lessons Learned from the Above Self-Transformations of Real Torah Giants

From the above, we learn the following about facilitating inner change:

Observe your environment with the intention of gleaning life lessons.

Keep both your ears & your mind open to receiving messages from Hashem (no matter how lowly or hostile the messenger).

Investigate: What does the Torah say about it?

Consider how to apply these messages & lessons to yourself.

Take pleasure in these spiritual accomplishments, no matter how "pathetic" or minor or politically incorrect they may seem to others.

The Real Torah Perspective on Flaws & Teshuvah

We all have flaws.

We are not defined by those flaws.

ONLY HASHEM IS PERFECT.

It's HOW we face those flaws that defines us.

In the words of Rav Akiva Rabinovitz of Yerushalayim:

Hakadosh Baruch Hu [The Holy One Blessed Be He] holds absolutely no hakpadah [strict judgement, condemnation] against a Jewish person who possesses evil traits and lusts.

Hakadosh Baruch Hu does not come in accusations about this since He implanted these within him, and He brought us down here for this purpose.

If so, regarding what is the hakpadah?

The hakpadah occurs when the Jewish person does not strive to seek out the path and the counsel as to how to get out of [those evil traits and lusts].

Therefore, there exists the iron rule:
"As long as a person engages in battle, he is always called 'the victor' [hamenatze'ach]."

— page 170, Ahavat Kedumim (A Commentary on The Lost Princess) by Rav Ofer Erez

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COVID-19, Wildfire Smoke, Hurricane Floods, Masks: What's the Significance of All that Suffocation?

22/9/2020

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This has probably been discussed elsewhere, but it occurred to me that a lot of what's going on over the past year has to do with the penalty of chenek—strangulation.

We no longer merit a Sanhedrin to conduct capital cases (and even when we did, the Sanhedrin only arrived at the death penalty less than once in 70 years).

So Chazal said that those who deserve a certain type of death penalty may receive it in an unofficial way.

For example, one who commits the sin of toeva, which earns the penalty of execution by burning, may indeed die in a fire.

Therefore, because so much suffering highlighted in the world this year connects to chenek, it's helpful to look at that.

High-profile cases of death during arrest had to do with the perpetrator suffocating to death (usually from his own health issues & drug addiction, intensified by forcing the perp into awkward positions).

Symptoms of COVID-19 include coughing & difficulty breathing, with more severe cases causing serious breathing problems.

While hurricanes can kill via skilah (stoning), the most common way is by drowning--chenek.

Wildfires can certainly kill via sereifah (burning), but victims tend to die of asphyxiation rather than the actual heat of the fire.

And right now, you have millions of people affected by the smoke of America's Western wildfires.

Symbolically, 40 years of Californian environmentalism ensured that massive amounts of dead, dry trees & underbrush would "strangle" the lush forests—and provide copious fuel for wildfires. (See here for how that works.)

On the lighter side of it, we are forced to wear an oxygen-inhibiting mask. While not leading to actual chenek, it inhibits breathing, a mild form of non-lethal chenek.

So we definitely see a theme here...

Social Sins & Chenek

What sins earn the penalty of chenek?

These:

Committing adultery with another man's wife.
Striking one's own parent hard enough to wound them.
Kidnapping another Jew (and forcibly bringing him or her to one's property).
Prophesying falsely (i.e., a "prophecy" that he never heard OR that he heard from another person, rather than from Hashem).
Prophesying in the name of other deities (EVEN if it supports Jewish Law)
A Torah elder guilty of insubordination before the Sanhedrin.
Testifying falsely that someone had adulterous relations with a Kohen's daughter

(Mishnah Sanhedrin 11)

Needless to say, adultery has reached appalling standards of acceptance in society at large.

For decades, it has been both glorified & justified in popular books, movies, and songs.

I still remember in my teens as we waited to hear the results of the #1 Most Popular Song in the World that year.

To my shock, it was a song that cheerfully glorifies adultery, making adultery seem like a playful pastime rather than the disgusting betrayal it actually is.

My siblings and I looked at each other, mystified.

It wasn't even such a great song!

Yet in addition to our agreement about its aesthetic lack of merit, the lyrics always bothered me. In addition to making adultery seem like a playful, desirable pastime, it implied that everyone engaged in it.

But clearly, its lyrics comprised a big part of the song's popularity—meaning that a large part of the "civilized" world identified with the idea & the attitude expressed in the song.

(UPDATE: Originally, I named the song as I wrote down this memory. Then I kept hearing the song in my head. "Argh!" I thought. "What have I done? And in the 10 Days of Teshuvah too, for crying out loud..." Then I remorsefully realized that if it happened to me, then probably it caused this for others too. I'm sorry. So the name has been deleted.)

Another song that hit the pop charts for years was sung by a self-professed believer in the gospels who got her start in gospel music. Her popular croon was an ode to an adulterous relationship, romanticizing the betrayal in the most appealing way.

We even sung it in our high school jazz choir, but needed to change one of the lyrics to make it less inappropriate for teens.

Because of the large church-going population in my school, it caused some discomfort for both the singers & the audience.

Some people questioned its propriety for high school students.

Some wondered: What could the music teacher have been thinking?

Well, considering his past, he was probably thinking: I can really relate to this!

After all, he'd been married 4 times; each successive wife had been the woman with whom he'd cheated on the wife before.

Each time, he had an affair with one of his 12th-grade students, divorced the previous wife, then married his student-paramour after graduation. (We met his much younger 4th wife a couple of times...and, boy, was she uncomfortable around us...)

So he probably felt it was his personal theme song.

Okay, my high school music teacher was not exactly the adulterer mentioned in the laws above. Furthermore, different laws apply differently to non-Jews & Jews.

But certainly, adultery runs rampant through modern society, both the glorification & romanticization of it, along with the practice of it.

Anyway, prophesying falsely and convincing others to worship idols because of a dream you had...well, I can think of entire religions which fit that transgression.

The other angle to that sin appears when you switch the English translation "idolatry" or "idol worship" to "occult worship."

The oh-so simple-sounding idolatry of ancient times was a very powerful & dark occult worship still practiced today, albeit in modern form.

And in the USA, children definitely turn on the parents in far greater numbers than ever before.

Even in immoral & violent societies, it was unheard of for a child, especially a teenager or adult, to physically harm a parent—even if that parent physically abused that child.

But it happens now. Maybe not the majority, but it definitely happens more than ever before.

Finally, according to the 7 Laws of Noach, sxual abuse goes under the category of kidnapping, which is an aspect of stealing. As we know, Noachide transgressions elicit the death penalty.

Such crimes are also obviously forbidden among Jews, and as we see above, kidnapping is a transgression which earns the penalty of chenek.

Along these lines, human trafficking in general & child trafficking continues to be a increasing tragedy worldwide. Very little is being done to stop it.

The Rambam and the Gemara have a lot more to say about all the above, but I don't know either of them well enough to extrapolate further.

Suffocation on the Personal Level

But suffocation can also be understood metaphorically.

After all, Hashem knows that most people (including Jews) do not know the intricacies of Jewish Law & execution & how they connect to current events.

Let's ponder the following:

How many times have you, as a religious person, felt that you must put up & shut up around non-religious (or less religious) people, no matter how appalling their behavior or conversation?

How often have you, as a religious person, suffered jibes & tirades in either silence or placation because your nemesis came across some kind of exaggeration or outright falsehood about religious Jews in the media, and refuses to believe otherwise?

How long have people with the true moral high ground felt gagged & unable to express (no matter how gently) their real (and truly more virtuous) thoughts & feelings due to fear of offending someone or being shut down or rejected?

Or maybe you gag yourself because of deep-seated false beliefs?

Maybe you don't allow yourself to feel so much joy & pleasure in life?

Maybe gag yourself regarding your relationship with Hashem?

(Due to upbringing & society, many people fear Hashem in an unhelpful way. Many view Hashem as a punishing parent. Many fear cultivating a relationship with One who seems like He could be brutal & do not take comfort in the idea that "Hashem is behind everything." This understandably inhibits emunah & bitachon, and also inhibits the development of a deeply personal relationship with HaKadosh Baruch Hu.)

How many people express the feeling of being suffocated, gagged, boxed in, or shut down due to the inflexible behavior of others?

Don't many people express their distress as "I feel like I'm drowning in..."?

Interestingly, the most oppressive & abusive people often scream the loudest about feeling "gagged" or "censored" or "oppressed" when ANY boundaries are placed on their abusive behavior.

Is it any wonder that the most Leftist regions of America (the West Coast), the ones who feel most oppressed & suffocated by anything religious or conservative or moral or Trump-related, the ones who embrace the most liberal policies regarding drugs, toeva, environmentalism (which is really nature-worship—see above)...are now experiencing REAL air-oppression & confinement?

Previously, their complaints & fears were imaginary, based on media-hype.

And now they really ARE being suffocated. Gagged. Confined. Shut down & shut in.

The Suffocating Atmosphere was There All Along...

For years, Rav Avigdor Miller, Rav Itamar Schwartz, and others have been mentioning the tumah (spiritual impurity/blockage) in the very air.

But only the spiritually sensitive could perceive it.

The smoke from America's West Coast wildfires reached the East Coast.

All along the West Coast, people must stay inside their homes with all the windows closed (in summer weather!—and not everyone has air-conditioning) because the smoke is so thick.

Now the air quality isn't only spiritually bad, it's physically bad.

The suffocating spiritual pollution has now manifested itself physically.

A relative who lives in one of America's most toeva-tumah-infested cities (in the thick of the smoke, though not in the path of the fire) is forced by the wildfire smoke to use 5 air-purifiers at one time.

Now if that's not perfect symbolism for that city, then I don't know what is.

Facing the Truth with Courage & Conviction

And as always, there are very good people paying the price too.

That always happens. It doesn't negate the message emanating from the majority no-goodniks. It's part of the spiritual physics.

I definitely daven & feel for the innocent people who lost their homes, who've had their lives upended, and who are suffering now.

But Judaism considers it cruel to ascribe events—especially such tremendous events—to happenstance.

Hashem is intimately involved in our lives, whether or not we choose to see it.

Furthermore, we Jews are also expected to look at world events and take them as warnings for ourselves.

How can we better ourselves? What does Hashem want from us?

And can we take baby-steps toward cultivating a personal relationship with Hashem, including opening ourselves to feeling His Love despite all the inner obstacles?

Can we at least start to embrace the idea that Hashem is the Loving & Compassionate Source of everything?

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Exploring the Ladino Torah Anthology Known as the Me'am Lo'ez: Its Impact Yesterday & Its Benefit Today, Plus a Bit about Ladino & Why We'll Probably Never Know the Complete Original Content

9/9/2020

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Years ago, I started going through the Me'am Loez by borrowing volumes from a friend who owned the entire set in English translation.

The Me'am Loez is an astonishing masterpiece of Torah scholarship—written completely in Ladino.

Initiated by Rav Yaakov Culi & first published in 1730 in Turkey, it sparked a revolution amid the deteriorating spiritual situation of Sephardi Jewry in the Mediterranean countries.

Reportedly, tens of thousands of families who'd neglected religious observance embraced full religious adherence after reading just the first volume of Me'am Lo'ez.

With the heartfelt goal of giving his fellow Jews a positive answer for the Heavenly Court on the day of death, Rav Culi reassured them that as long as they studied the Me'am Lo'ez every day, they could claim before Heaven that they had learned the whole Torah because the Me'am Lo'ez covers all aspects of Torah.

Its English translator, Rav Aryeh Kaplan, likens its restorative influence to that of Chassidus on Ashkenazi Jewry.

What is the Me'am Lo'ez and what was its power?

Ladino Power

First of all, Rav Culi decided to write in the vernacular of those times—Ladino (Judeo-Spanish).

Many Sephardi Jews of that time either did not understand Hebrew or did not understand it well, making much of Jewish scholarship inaccessible to them.

The best way to provide them with knowledge was via their spoken language of Ladino.

With a development similar to that of Yiddish, Ladino consists of a strong Spanish base with many Hebrew words mixed in & Hebrew also influences Ladino's syntax. Aramaic, Arabic, Portuguese, Turkish, and Greek loanwords also appear in Ladino.

For centuries, Ladino remained the common language for Jews of Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, the Middle East, and North Africa.

The wife of my husband's brother grew up speaking Ladino because her mother never learned Hebrew well, and Ladino was what she spoke in Spanish Morocco (Tangier). A Moroccan cousin of my husband also attended a school for religious Jewish girls in Tangier, and Ladino was the language of instruction.

Hardly anyone speaks Ladino today and the few who know Ladino or learn it do not use it as their primary language of communication.

However, a Ladino song with a wonderful melody about Avraham Avinu remains popular even today: El Rey Nimrod — King Nimrod.

This song (including an English translation) is easily found today, and several modern singers have recorded it. I first encountered it years ago on a cassette of songs by Yehoram Gaon, and immediately fell in love with it.

A deeply religious song, it's one of the last vestiges of Ladino in popular culture.

What is the Me'am Lo'ez Exactly?

The Me'am Lo'ez is commonly referred to as a commentary on the Torah.

And it is.

But it's also much more than that.

Though written according to the chronology of the verses of Torah, the Me'am Lo'ez reads much like a novel.

And therein lies part of its great power of influence: The Me'am Lo'ez provides enjoyable & fascinating reading.

Throughout the masterpiece, Rav Culi (and the Sages who continued the Me'am Lo'ez after him; Rav Culi passed away after completing all of Beresheit & two-thirds of Shemot) brings a wealth of Torah scholarship written in a conversational manner.

In fact, reading an English translation of the Me'am Lo'ez, it's astonishing to see the breadth & depth of Rav Culi's knowledge.

Even if one studied copiously for 200 years, how could one know so much, both of well-known & copiously studied works and also little-known midrashim?

Tanach, Talmud, mussar, halacha, midrashim, Zohar — Rav Culi not only knew these works with amazing familiarity, but also knew all the commentaries associated with these works.

And although it's thought of a Sephardi work, only its halacha is specifically Sephardi (although in translation, scholars added the Ashkenazi variations in brackets).

The rest of the Me'am Lo'ez reaps from a wealth of universal scholarship: Talmud, Zohar, Midrash Rabbah, Kli Yakar, Yalkut Shimoni, Rashi, Rambam, Ramban, Ralbag, Magen Avraham, Abarbanel, Pri Chadash, and much more.

If you read the Me'am Lo'ez on any parsha or book (like, say, Shoftim/Judges), you will not only end up knowing that parsha or book well, but you will learn a lot of halacha, mussar, kabbalah, and just plain fascinating information.

In its heyday, a bride's family purchased a set of the Me'am Lo'ez for the groom, much like the bride's side purchases a set of the Talmud for the groom today.

And much like today's Jewish man commits himself the the program of Daf Yomi (a page of Talmud per day), Jewish men were also expected to learn a portion of the Me'am Lo'ez every day.

Those who could not afford a set of their own or who could not read attended public readings in synagogues.

(Readings, both public & private, plus discussions, enabled women to also learn the content of the Me'am Lo'ez.)

And the reading of the original Me'am Lo'ez is where we struggle today.

The Story of the Hebrew & English Translations

The Me'am Lo'ez was originally printed using Hebrew letters.

Like Yiddish, Ladino was originally written with Hebrew letters.

And the script used was similar to Rashi-script.

Who knows Rashi-script today?

Only frum people, and not all frum people can read it. And it's not as easy to read as regular Hebrew script.

Furthermore, as noted above, hardly any Ladino-speakers remain to understand, let alone translate the Me'am Lo'ez.

You also need to be a real Torah scholar in order to both understand & explain the concepts elucidated in the Me'am Lo'ez.

Fortunately, such a person was found in Yerushalayim in the late Sixties: Rav Shmuel Yerushalmi.

Interestingly, it was an Ashkenazi Jew, Rav Chanoch Eliezer Wagshal, who initiated the first Hebrew translation project.

After hearing Sephardi Sages discuss the Me'am Lo'ez & seeing Sephardi shopkeepers learn from it during pauses in sales, Rav Wagshal decided (with the support of another Ashkenazi Jew, Rav Asher Zelig Margolius) to seek its translation into Hebrew.

Actually, even before these Ashkenazi rabbanim sought to produce a Hebrew translation, the greatest Sephardi Sages of that time already spoke with Rav Margolius about a Hebrew translation to prevent the Me'am Lo'ez from being completely lost to the Jewish people.

A decade later, Rav Wagshal approached Rav Aryeh Kaplan with the goal of translating it into English.

Despite Rav Kaplan's Ashkenazi-sounding surname, Rav Kaplan's family originates from the Spanish city of Carmona and Rav Kaplan's grandfather was fluent in Ladino. Though he taught Ladino to Rav Aryeh Kaplan, it happened early in his youth and much had been forgotten.

Not to mention, many Ladino words known among Sephardi Jews of the 18th Century failed to remain in use over the centuries.

For these reasons, Rav Kaplan reluctantly conceded to utilizing Rav Shmuel Yerushalmi's excellent Hebrew translation (rather than translating exclusively & directly from the original Ladino), though his English translation also follows & utilizes the original Ladino.

(The above information is found in the Translator's Preface to the English translation of Beresheit-Noach in Volume 1 of the Me'am Lo'ez.)

However...

Neither the Hebrew nor the English translations reflect a complete translation of the Me'am Lo'ez.

Especially in the books following the Chumash, it's questionable how closely the Hebrew translation follows the original Ladino.

Certainly, both translations are fascinating & enriching masterpieces, which retain much of the original content of the Ladino Me'am Lo'ez.

However, the Hebrew translation of Beresheit/Genesis omits several paragraphs dealing with Kabbalistic interpretations.

However, Rav Kaplan restored some of them into the English translation.

On the other hand, the English translation omits some scientific discussion.

Rav Culi made those scientific interpretations according to the most brilliant knowledge of the 18th Century, but at the time of Rav Kaplan's translation, those same interpretations were outdated and Rav Kaplan feared they might diminish appreciation of the Me'am Lo'ez in full.

(I couldn't help wondering about this, knowing how science ebbs & flows throughout time. I remember reading another translation of a book about Jews in Yemen, with the translator's apologetic disclaimer regarding certain natural medical practices of that time as being what they considered helpful back then — only for such techniques to make a comeback in our times, with evidence to back up their efficacy.)

Note: Like Rav Yaakov Culi, Rav Aryeh Kaplan passed away before completing the English translation, and so the English translation was completed by others.

Reading the above brought me to the sad realization that the best a non-Ladino speaker could do is read both the English & the Hebrew translation, but even then, you still won't get the full original, whether the supposedly outdated science or the deep Kabbalistic interpretations or other deviations.

(Also, I found it intriguing that Rav Culi had no problem including certain Kabbalistic interpretations for the most ignorant of his time, but both Rav Yerushalmi & Rav Kaplan concluded that at least some of them are not appropriate for us, even we frummies. How times have changed...the 18-century am haaretz could apparently handle what the the 20th-century educated frummie could not)

However, with all the Spanish comprising Ladino, couldn't one of the many frum Spanish-Hebrew-speaking rabbis of today produce at least a full Hebrew translation—and really, there are even rabbis who know Spanish, Hebrew, and English too.

Can't we have a complete translation of the original in both Hebrew & English?

Furthermore, how about a transliteration of the original Rashi-script to the Latin-based script used by all Spanish-speakers today? Wouldn't that make the original Me'am Lo'ez accessible to at least Spanish-speaking Jewry today (plus make it a lot easier for non-native-Spanish-speakers to work it out)?

The Obstacles Standing before Transliteration & New Translations

As stated above, you really need a full-fledged Torah scholar to translate the 3 million words of the Me'am Lo'ez.

While this whittles down quite a bit the number of available candidates for the task, they certainly exist.

The problem is that with Rav Yerushalmi's skillful translation, there isn't much impetus to re-invent the wheel.

Just to figure out the omitted sections—sections which really might not be appropriate for the average reader today—and other deviations from the original?

No, it's an overwhelming task for such minor reasons.

Ditto with an English translation, even though we have rabbis knowledgeable in Spanish & English.

And what about a transliteration? Shouldn't that be easy enough if Ladino is anyway based on Spanish?

Well, actually, no...

Why not?

Because...

Disclaimer: Different regions of Spanish-speakers pronounce the same words differently. I chose one & lack the knowledge to include all the variations. In fact, I never learned Spanish; I only tried to learn some to understand the original Ladino of the Me'am Lo'ez. Anyway, please keep the above in mind if you're used to a different pronunciation.

It seems that Ladino adopted a—let's call it phonetic, maybe?—pronunciation of Spanish words.

For example, the Spanish word for "people" is gente.

Gente is pronounced "hen-teh."

However, in the original Me'am Lo'ez, gente is spelled:

ג'ינטי

In English transliteration, that's probably pronounced "zheenty" — which is how one might pronounce gente without knowing the rules of Spanish.

(Imagine the "zh" pronounced like the "s" in "pleasure." It's a j-z sound not found in English, but common in European languages.)

On the other hand, it depends how the tet-yud ending are voweled. Is there a chirik (ee) under the yud or a tzereh (eh)? It doesn't say.

But even if the Ladino-speakers pronounced it with a tzereh under the yud, making the pronunciation "zheenteh," it still isn't how the Spanish gente is pronounced.

Yet it would make sense to transliterate ג'ינטי as gente.

But in doing so, you would lose the original Ladino pronunciation.

Once you do that (and if you do that throughout), it's not really Ladino anymore.

Likewise, the Spanish que (than, that) is pronounced "keh."

Ladino spells it קי.

Is that pronounced "keh" or "kee"?

I'm not sure, but if it's "kee," then you couldn't spell it que, right?

Other words like ella (her), which is pronounced "eyah" or "ayah," are spelled phonetically in Hebrew-scripted Ladino: אייא

Likewise, there are words like:

פרוב'יג'ו

This was likely pronounced "pro-vee-zho."

It only takes a bit of research & guessing to figure out this is the Spanish provencho — pronounced "pro-beh-cho." (It means "advantage" or "benefit.")

But again, how would you spell it according to the Spanish alphabet?

So that's a major complication in coming up with a good Spanish transliteration.

And just for kicks, here is a phrase from the original Ladino Me'am Lo'ez:

נו טיינין הצלחה קי פלאנטאן ארב'וליס אי נו טיינין פרוב'יג'ו די אייוס

And here in Spanish-English transliteration:
"...no tienen hatzlacha keh plantan arvolis e no tienen proveezho de eyos..."

In real Spanish, it would go something like this:
"...no tienen hatslaja que plantan arboles y no tienen provencho de ellos..."

If you know Hebrew, you probably caught the insertion of hatzlacha/success.

(I'm not sure how you transliterate hatzlacha in Spanish; thanks to Hava for her suggestion in the comments.)

In English translation:
"...they don't have success with planting trees and they don't benefit from them..."

If you know Spanish & Hebrew, plus you can read Rashi-script, then feel free to try reading the original Me'am Lo'ez here:
https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=22704&st=&pgnum=1&hilite=

From Loss to Acceptance

Anyway, I came to the heart-sinking realization that the original Me'am Lo'ez will never be realized in complete translation.

As a complete body of work and one of the most brilliant & encompassing works of Torah scholarship since the Talmud, it's lost to us (though in translation, we retain the majority of it).

I mourned that fact for a bit, then realized that if Hashem wished us to have a complete translation of the Me'am Lo'ez in at least Hebrew, then we would have it.

Ladino-proficient Torah Sages with the skill necessary to translate into Hebrew existed in the centuries since the publication of the Me'am Lo'ez.

Yet it never happened until 1967.

And whether it was for the English-speaking audience or the Hebrew-speaking audience, knowledgeable rabbis agreed that at least some parts of it must be omitted.

So I took comfort in the fact that we received exactly what Hashem wanted us to receive from the Me'am Lo'ez.

And regardless of any omissions, the translations of the Me'am Lo'ez provide us with a wealth of Torah knowledge & compelling reading for our times—and refreshing sustenance for our souls.

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Torah Hashkafah can Prevent Wildfires

9/9/2020

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Regarding the horrific wildfires raging through California right now...

Due to the impassioned persuasion & propaganda of environmentalists, California has not cleared out deadwood, underbrush, and other wildfire-fuel for 40 years.

While many officials & media outlets choose to blame "climate change," the study of wildfires shows that clearing out dead vegetation is the best prevention of massive wildfires and benefits forests in other ways.

In other words, these overwhelming & fast-traveling wildfires are caused by surplus of dead vegetation.

Also, historical records & tree rings indicate that southern California endures years-long droughts every so often.

And contrary to the attitude of nature-zealots, nature NEEDS human use to survive & thrive.

Not human greed, but healthy use.

That's how Hashem set up the world.

The Kli Yakar gleaned this from the Torah 400 years ago.

For more about the Kli Yakar's view of people & nature, plus some vivid photos & fascinating studies on wildfires, please see here:
The Torah View of Our Planet Earth: Use It or Lose It

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Discover True Beauty & Life's Real Achievements, Plus Learn What's Really Necessary in Life: The Profound Importance of Jewish Children & Their Diverse Natures

2/9/2020

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Toras Avigdor has put together a powerful PDF of Rav Avigdor Miller's transcripted lectures on motherhood:

https://torasavigdor.org/building-worlds/

Rav Miller speaks from the heart and it's clear he possessed profound appreciation for the role of the Jewish mother.

And he doesn't focus only on the ones society admires (i.e., the Stunning Do-It-All Superwoman).

He speaks so compellingly about ALL frum Jewish mothers; every frum Jewish mother is a heroine.

For what it's worth, I feel that reading Rav Miller's words on the topic can inspire you to appreciate not only yourself (if you are a mother), but also inspire fondness & appreciation for all our fellow frum Jewish mothers.

I think men can also benefit from Rav Miller's point of view because it helps to appreciate the roles of one's own wife or mother (and grandmothers!), plus enables a father to provide his daughter with the best hashkafah regarding her role as a frum Jewish mother, whether it's in her future or whether she's up to her ears in it now.

But to digress a bit, several paragraphs jumped out at me (pages 10-12, boldface emphasis my own addition):

Every child is an achievement for the Am Yisroel.

If you’re a Jewish mother, you made our people a better people and the Am Yisroel is grateful to you for bringing so much beauty into our people.

Because what are parents doing?

They are planting various kinds of trees and plants in the world.

The world can’t have just one kind of tree and plant. Roses are beautiful but it’s not enough. To have only violets? It’s not enough.

You need various flowers; roses and violets and lilies, everything else – all kinds of plants.

The variety adds beauty and pleasure to this world; every different plant is a different benefit for the world.

Fruit too; you need apples and oranges and bananas and dates and figs. You eat everything and each one has its own sweetness.

The sweetness of apricots is not like the sweetness of an apple. And the sweetness of an apple is not like the sweetness of an orange. And grapes are different and pears are different.

*
And therefore, when parents have children, they’re putting into the world people of different natures and that means they’re walking in the ways of Hakodosh Boruch Hu.

*
And it’s a pleasure to see all of them – we need all of them!

What a great achievement it is!

Let’s say a man comes here to the lecture and brings all of his sons. Let’s say he brings five or six sons. It’s remarkable how different they are. It’s a remarkable thing; from the same parents the children are so entirely different.

This one is fat and jolly. This one is skinny and serious. That’s a true case I’m talking about – a family I know. One of the little boys has a face like a businessman – like an adult already.

Everybody is different! From the same parents! It’s a neis [miracle]!

It’s a pleasure to have skinny serious people, skinny serious Jews – it’s very important to have them.

Fat jolly Jews – it’s a pleasure to have them.

Business-like Jews – it’s a pleasure to have them.

Each one is a pleasure, no question about it.

The freiliche [cheerful] Jews and the serious Jews and the business-like Jews, all of them are necessary.

*
Also the women. One daughter is like this, another daughter is like this.

One daughter is quiet and obedient. Another daughter is a little freilach and mischievous, a lebideger [lively one].

Another daughter is stubborn.

They’re not robots that you program – each one is a world unto herself.

But you’d be surprised; you need them all.

They’re so different one from each other but each one uses her middos in a way that serves Hakodosh Boruch Hu.

The idea running through these paragraphs is so important, particularly in light of Rav Itamar Schwartz's emphasis on how Hashem sent covid-19 into the world partly because we lost our grasp on what he calls "holy individuality." (source)

Despite its reputation to the contrary, Judaism is the anti-robot religion.

And yet...

When our children behave according to their God-given natures...

...and when that particular God-given nature doesn't fit into cultural or social ideals...

...we parents can feel very, very bad about that.

Yes, we need to mechanech (train & educate) our children. Unbridled freilichkeit turns into insensitivity & driving others crazy with irresponsible behavior. Unrefined seriousness turns also turns into insensitivity via snubs & general disregard for the needs of others.

But here, one of the biggest talmidei chachamim to ever grace the American continent (and a man who does not hesitate to tell us the truth, regardless of how palatable or unpalatable) states that our children's individuality — including the more challenging or socially unappreciated aspects of their individuality — is NECESSARY.

An ACHIEVEMENT, states Rav Miller.

We tend to think of achievements as actions that earn wild applause & golden trophies & headlines. Or impressive certificates & accolades.

Conventionally speaking, achievements garner big salaries & major recognition, plus honors, magazine interviews, appearances on popular talk shows, and lots of followers on social media.

But no, says Rav Miller.

A mischievous child, a hyper child, an introverted child — THESE are achievements.

Forget the trophies, the applause, the certificates with pretty calligraphy, the big money, and the spotlight.

Those aren't real achievements, according to the Torah.

Most tellingly, Rav Miller listed traits that many parents find challenging.

(And yes, serious children also challenge adults because these serious ones can take life annoyingly seriously, not smile when adults expect them to, and in general not respond in the way adults & other children consider polite & proper.)

So according to this exceptionally knowledgeable Torah scholar, the very children who embarrass their parents by acting up, blurting out all sorts of nonsense or tactlessness, or not smiling engagingly or not responding as expected out of shyness or insecurity — THEY are necessary! We need them!

The fact that they need chinuch does NOT imply a fault within their innate nature.

They add beauty to the world.

Not just the obviously charming, well-spoken, well-groomed & well-behaved children, but ALL children.

Your child that drives you the craziest & garners the most phone calls from exasperated teachers — THIS child is equally an achievement & a necessity & a thing of beauty.

And YOU were also once a child...a necessary, needed neshamah — an achievement who adds beauty to the world.

And you still are.

A metaphorical portrait of our children.

Quotes & material used with the generous permission of Toras Avigdor.

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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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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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Rav Scheinberg Makes a Kiddush over His "Minor" Spiritual Victory

Rav Mordechai Gifter's Turnaround

A Glimpse into Rav Avigdor Miller's Personal Transformations

4 Lessons Learned from the Above Self-Transformations of Real Torah Giants

The Real Torah Perspective on Flaws & Teshuvah

Social Sins & Chenek

Suffocation on the Personal Level

The Suffocating Atmosphere was There All Along...

Facing the Truth with Courage & Conviction

Ladino Power

What is the Me'am Lo'ez Exactly?

The Story of the Hebrew & English Translations

The Obstacles Standing before Transliteration & New Translations

From Loss to Acceptance

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

Fake Information

Transcendent Skull-Smashing & Cannibalism

The Beauty of Holy Separation & Uniqueness

Myrtle Rising

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