Moshiach

Moshiach of the center, Moshiach of the right, and Moshiach of the left.

Moshiach of the center was not Shabtai Tzvi, but Hillel HaZaken. Without law, we have nothing.

Moshiach of the right was not Yeshu, but the Vilna Gaon. Perfectly faithful to the law of Hillel, the external Torah, he gave us the internal Torah.

Moshiach of the left was not Bar Kochba. His army was based on man, only man. The army of Moshiach is divine. HaShem will fight his wars.

Ruth 3:13

Ruth 3:13:

לִינִי הַלַּיְלָה, וְהָיָה בַבֹּקֶר אִם-יִגְאָלֵךְ טוֹב יִגְאָל, וְאִם-לֹא יַחְפֹּץ לְגָאֳלֵךְ וּגְאַלְתִּיךְ אָנֹכִי, חַי-יְהוָה; שִׁכְבִי, עַד-הַבֹּקֶר

I cited this Pasuk in a Mahalach to prove that the Galut will be over in 5774. It seems therefore significant that the gematria of חַי-יְהוָה; שִׁיכְבִי, עַד-הַבוקֶר is 773, which would refer to the year 5774. See here and here. Regarding Rav Fish's writings, read this.

Internet Trend: Lunar Cycle Secret (sic)

From A7 today:

The Talmud states that the lunar cycle spans ‘29.5 days and 793 fractions of an hour’. In Talmudic terms, the hour is divided into 1080 parts.

793/1080 = 0.734259 hours.

0.734259/24 = 0.03059 days.

29.5 days + 0.03059 days = 29.53059 days for the moon to travel around Earth.

NASA Research concluded that the lunar cycle is 29.530588 days, two 1/1000ths of a second short of the Talmudic figure. More advanced research in Berlin came to a figure of 29.530589 days, only one thousandth of a second short of the Talmudic figure.

The Sinai tradition of the span of the lunar cycle is thus corroborated by figures reached via advanced satellites and atomic clocks.

Errors:

0.734259/24 = 0.0305941 days. The difference with 0.0305900 is fatal for the message.

0.000001 day is 0.0864 seconds, far from "one thousandth of a second." Times five gives that the "old" number, 0.0305941 days, is some half a second off.

Finally, the impression that "science", from Nasa to Berlin, has halved the discrepancy is, eh, ridiculous, at best.

Write Up

Most important posts.

Moshe came and spoke all the words of this song

Devarim 32:44

Emergencies

The US has to decide whether they will continue the quantitative easing (QE). If they will not, interest rates will go up, banks will fall, states will go bankrupt. If they do continue the QE, the dollar will continue to fall and prices will continue to rise.

Europe has to decide whether to again help Greece. If they will not, Greece will go bankrupt, and the losses allover Europe will be severe. Countries like Ireland, Portugal, and Spain might also fall. If Europe will help out Greece again, they will do this with new money, and prices will continue to rise.

The OPEC has unofficially admitted that they can no longer provide the oil the world needs. Saudi Arabia promised to increase production, but these promises are mere words. The most they can do is sell accumulated reserves for a couple of months. Similarly, the US is considering releasing some of its Strategic Petroleum Reserves, which exist for cases of emergency. This is frightening.

אגרת פט. רמח"ל לר' באסאן

I already posted a translation of part of Ramchal's awesome letter 89. Here is part of the Hebrew.

העצמות האלה כל בית ישראל המה. כי שני מיני אהבה יש. אהבת הקב"ה ואהבת השכינה.
אהבת הקב"ה היא הנמצאת בכל חסידי ישראל השומרים משמרת אלקיהם באמת וחרדים על כל דבר מצוה, סור מרע ועשות טוב. אך אהבת השכינה היא החפץ והתשוקה לתקן השכינה תיקון ממש על פי סדריה ומדריגות בנינה וזה הנבחר מכל המעשים, אשר בזה שובחו כל איתני עולם וההפרש בין קמאי לבתראי. אמנם שרש לכל בספירות ושתי העבודות מושרשות בשתי הנוק' -– לאה ורחל. והענין כי עבודת המלך בשכינה היא תמיד, אך יש פנימיות הנוק' שאין בה עליה וירידה אלא עומדת בהשואה להשלים הז"א לעשר ספירות, וז"ס עצם מעצמי שאינו משתנה. אבל רחל עקרת הבית, היא הבשר שלפעמים הוא שמן ולפעמים נעשה רזה, וזה ענין הקלקולים והתיקונים הנמצאים בה.
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העובדים העבודה הכללית משתרשים בלאה סוד העצם והעובדים על דרך תיקון השכינה משתרשים בבשר שהיא רחל. ובסוף הגלות כבר הגיעו הדברים שאין מנהל לה – לרחל מכל בניה ילדה. ונמצאו כל ישראל עצמות יבשות ממש... כי זה כל האדם להיות עבודתו באהבת השכינה נוסף על אהבת הקב"ה. לכן צדק דבר האר"י זלה"ה באמרו שעיקר עסק האדם אין לו להיות אלא בפנימיות התורה, שזה לבדו המאיר לשכינה.

Compare this with the previous post, and understand that we must learn and teach the bones, which are the Tikkunim of the past, but we may not forget to grow the flesh. If we do the former and not the latter, we are not truly alive. Conversely, the latter cannot be without the former.

And so we see that the vision of the bones in Yechezkel 37 is followed by the required unity of the tree of Yehudah (Leah, bones) and the tree of Ephraim (Rachel, flesh). Bones can, for some time, "survive" death, but they cannot give life. For life, we need bones and flesh together. Once we have bones, we need to concentrate on the flesh.

אגרת טו. רמח"ל לר' בנימין הכהן

כאשר פתוח לרוחה היה פתח ההשפעה בהיות בית המקדש קיים, כן נסתם בזמן חורבנו, ולקח הס"א כח ככח אשר לקחה על פי חטאי אבותינו אשר חטאו. ומאותה שעה – גלגולי דברים נתגלגלו למעלה, לפי מדרגות הצריכות להתקן. כל יום מאור חדש הוא, ולפי טבע המאור ההוא, ולפי הפגם הנפגם בו, ולפי התיקון הפרטי הצריך לו, כך נמשכו דברים למטה בעולם הזה

וכמה תיקונים נתקנו לישראל בזמן גלותם, הלא המה תיקון המשנה, תיקון הגמרא, תיקון המדרשים, שכולם הם תיקונים פרטים, כולם צריכים איש בזמנו דוקא, והם נעשים בזמן שבו הגיעה להאיר מדרגה אחת שבה תלוי התיקון ההוא ליתקן

The Mishna, the Talmud, and the Midrashim were not accidentally written when they were written. They are Tikkunim and their prominence is limited to the period that needed it.

אך תיקון הזוהר הוא העולה על כולם. הנה סודו הוא הפנימיות עצמו, כי כל הפשט בחיצוניות הוא, וכאשר כל ההנהגה עיקרו בפנימיות – על כן עיקר התיקונים הוא הזוהר... והנה זכה רשב"י להיות הכלי האמצעי להמשיך תיקון זה, ועשה הזהר.

אבל האמת, שלא יצא אלא חלק אחד אור מאותה הבחינה וזה לצורך מה שיקיים ישראל וכל העולם בזמן הגלות. אך התיקון האמיתי הוא שיהיה ענין זה קיים תמיד, שלא יפסק. כי כל ההשפעה תצא חדשה, בסוד חדשים לבקרים כי זה סוד המן הבא בזכות משה, שהוא כללות הס' ריבוא, וממשיך השפעת הזיווג בכח כלם כאחד.

The Zohar is the first light, but the real Tikkun is that each Jew will receive this light continously.

והנה אחרי הרשב"י ע"ה חזרה הס"א וסיתמה, כי לא היה תיקון אלא לשעה. וסוד הענין: כי התיקונים הנעשים לפי ההכנה שנשלמה במקבלים – זה יעמוד, כי נמשך מכח היות הדברים בהקבלתם כראוי. אבל יש פעמים שלפי המדרגה המתעוררת תתגבר הארה העליונה, ומבלי הכנת התחתונים תתגבר ותעבור ותעשה הדבר ההוא. ואז לא תעמוד הרבה, כי תסתלק אחר כך, אלא שתיקונה ישמר לימים ארוכים להתגלות. והאות על זה: גדלות יציאת מצרים. ועל כן אחר רשב"י נסתמו הדברים. ואחר כך בהגיע מדרגות הארות להאיר נראו תיקונים אחרים. עד שבא האר"י זלה"ה ואז האירה הארה מבחינת ההארה הראשונה, שהאירה בזמן הרשב"י עליו השלום, והוא שלימות הארה הראשונה.

The Zohar is essentially superior to Mishna, Gemara, and Midrashim. Certainly after the Arizal.

הנה עתה אגיד להדרת כבוד תורתו אמרים אמת, כאשר הודיע ה' אלי על דברת כבוד תורתו, כי ראש שבטי ישראל הוא. וכבר זיכהו ה' להיות שמו הטוב הולך עד אפסי ארץ. אך תלמידים לא זכינו שיעמדו לפניו. מאת ה' כל דבר – אם קטון ואם גדול הוא.
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אמנם בהיות כבר שלם התיקון הראשון – על כן לא היה צורך לתלמידים אחרים, כי אין צורך לאותה ההארה להתפשט עוד.

Ramchal writes to a great sage that even the Zohar is in a sense passé, because there is now a bigger light:

ועתה ברצות ה' להיטיב לעמו רצה לגלות עוד אורה חדשה מבחינת הזוהר גם כן שהוא מהארת הטפה כנ"ל. והוא בחסדו בחר בי. ומה אומר בזה, אם על הכנתי ידרוש? הן אמת, שרק חסד ה' עשה זאת ולא כהכנתי.

It is not enough to learn the Tikkunim of the past. We need to do the Tikkun of today.

Just Around The Corner

Taken from here. High oil prices (blue) cause recessions (red). The green is a projection. Add to this the unprecedented annual growth of the already huge national debt of the US. The next crunch must be just around the corner.

The World Is Not Hefker

Rabbi Ari Goldwag notes, in my reformulation, that 5727 was year ט of the 100th Machzor Katan since Churban Bayin Sheni. The 99th such year ט was 5708, the year the State of Israel was declared. As I wrote three years ago, there was a count that reached 500 in 5727.

The world is not Hefker. In a hidden way, the Hand of HaShem is leading us to the Geula. He controls human history in a very precise way, just as He controlled the evolution of life in a very precise way. Regarding the latter, many think that evolution is about random mutations and selection of the fittest. On the surface, it seems like that. However, know that "random" is a mathematical abstraction. It does not exist in this world. It does not even exist in Quantum Mechanics...

Finally, a remark to Rabbi Goldwag. In my understanding, the climax of the leap years is not the 19th year of the cycle, but rather the 8th year, year ט, the year of the latest Pesach. Yom HaAtzma'ut and Yom Yerushalayim show it. The next such year is 5784, unless we change the calendar.

סוף מעשה במחשבה תחילה

Today we count the 42nd day of the Omer, which is six weeks. We reached the completion of the long waiting period for the seventh week, the time of Man, the time of Adam. Sof Ma'aseh B'Machshavah Techilah.

We have seen that 128 years of the seventh millenium are in a sense not within time. Sof Ma'aseh B'Machshavah Techilah. It seems to me that the 128 years repair for the breaking, as it were, of the Name of 45, caused by the time taken up by the first king. For this repair to be perfect, 128/1000 days of the first king would have had to be within time, a little more than the 2.5/24 days posited in the previous post. The small correction makes the age of the Universe grow another 7264519 years, to 13755317922 years (45128*304805 + 73440 + 4442) ...

Space and time were created. The Universe exploded. Stars were born and died. New stars were born and also they died. Hundreds of billions of galaxies arose - assemblies of hundreds of billions of stars. After 9 billion years, the Sun was born and spew the Earth and the planets. Life arose. Countless numbers of species of life appeared and went exinct, one after the other. Then. after 13.75 billion years of waiting, man arose. Man evolved, understood, invented, progressed, and forgot and regressed. Progressed and regressed. Cultures appeared, and disappeared. Empires arose, and fell. Sof Ma'aseh B'Machshavah Techilah. No matter how erratic and undirected history appears to be, no matter how random and redundant evolution may seem to have been, in truth there is a plan, and the plan is precise.

How great is the Chesed of the Creator. How awesome is His plan. How great His patience. How long is the distance between Techila and Sof. Yet, they will come together, because they are complementary - the awesome beginning and the awesome end. G-d and man. The Shechina and Knesset Yisrael.

Contemplate: Every single letter in the Torah stands for 45,000 years. The lifespan of man is a mere 120 years. Yet, all things that preceded man, all of these letters of Torah, were just for his benefit. It happened for you. All that occurred was to create a perfect world for you, so that you, the purpose of Creation, will observe, and understand, and will be able to learn to know the Creator.

A Small Correction

The seven kings that died were really ten. The first king corresponds to the four days before (Erev) Pesach, whereas kings two to seven correspond to the first six weeks of the Omer. To reach from seven to ten, the four days of the first king are counted each day by itself.

The first of the four days is not completely included in time. It contains the creation of time. The creation corresponds to Brit Mila, on the tenth of Nissan. At what hour should we say this occurred? I think that there are reasons to say that this must be the hour of Mincha Ketana, 2.5 hours before the end of the day. This would add 2.5/24 times 1000 times 304805, which is 31750521 years, to the ages mentioned in the previous post, which makes the age of Universe 13748053403 years...

Yom Yerushalayim

Starting with Lag B'Omer we no longer behave like mourners, and starting with Yom Yerushalayim, we barely say Tachanun. Yom Yerushalayim is the first day of the last week of the Omer period. This week is the seventh week, the holy week, corresponding to the eigth king, who does not die. This is the week that corresponds to the history of man. Yetziat Mitzrayim corresponds to day 45 of the Omer, the third day of the seventh week. Starting from this day, Tachanun is canceled altogether.

I have presented the age of the world as 46000 times 300000 years, 13.8 billion years. That number is a fraction of a percent too high. Now, 46 is a little over two percent more than 45, מ"ה, a divine number, and 300000 is a little under two percent less than the 304805 letters of the Torah.

HaKadosh Baruch Hu (מ"ה) looked in the Torah and created the world - קודשא בריך הוא אסתכל באורייתא וברא עלמא. Perhaps one can say that He counted the letters. The multiplication 45000*304805 yields 13716225000, a value that is pretty close to the current scientific value of the age of the Universe.

The 13716225000 years would be the time until "Yom Yerushalayim," until the last week of the Omer, until the emergence of man. Add 73440 years until Yetziat Mitzrayim, and 4442 years from Yetziat Mitrayim until now, in the chronology that I have described, and obtain that we live 13716302882 years after Creation...

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, a long time ago, Netanyahu was very much against a Palestinian state:

My Neighbor's Blog

Thanks to Yaak, I found that my neighbor and friend Baruch has a blog. The blog is excellent, and that does not amaze me. Here is a video that Baruch posted a while ago.

Netanyahu Lied

Netanyahu spoke well, but said an outright lie yesterday when he said that all six prime ministers since the Oslo agreements agreed to establish a Palestinian state. The six are Rabin (Peres), Netanyahu, Barak, Sharon, Olmert, Netanyahu. In his first term as prime minister, Netanyahu was against a Palestinian state. Before him, Rabin did not want a Palestinian state. Barak was the first to be in favor. When Sharon came out accepting the idea of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu vehemently opposed him. It is not only Abbas who is revising history.

Eukaryotes

Three years ago, on Lag B'Omer, I noted that the Eukaryotes arose in what corresponds to the fifth week of the Omer period. The earliest traces of Eukaryotes seem to be 2.7 billion years old, nine days in the mapping to the Omer. In other words, the Eukaryotes appeared on "Lag B'Omer."

Glenn Beck senses Makom HaMikdash

Glenn Beck senses Makom HaMikdash.

Shiur on Tzaddik Yesod Olam

Here is a fascinating Shiur (in Hebrew) by Rav Ezra Sheinberg around the Pasuk of Megillat Ruth that I have written about. The Rav explains the book Tzaddik Yesod Olam, the Arizal's commentary on Megillat Ruth. Among other things, he explains the date of the begining of the Geula. It is a date that you know.

Return of Mishpat to Tzedek

Kol HaTor lists several Geula hints containing the words Tzedek (Justice) and Mishpat (Judgement):

עד צדק ישוב משפט ואחריו כל ישרי לב

Judgement shall return to Justice and all the upright of heart will follow it (Tehilim 94:15).

צדק ומשפט מכון כסאו

Justice and Judgment are the foundation of his throne (Tehilim 97:2).

ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה

Tzion shall be redeemed with Judgement and those that return to her with Justice (Yeshaya 1:27).

Kol HaTor notices that the Gematria of צדק ומשפט מכון כסאו equals the gematria of "Eretz Yisrael", and that the Gematria of משפט תפדה equals the gematria of "Moshiach Rishon", the first Moshiach.

Often, Mishpat, judgement, is removed from Tzedek, the correct, ideal, judgement. In the Israeli court systems this happens a lot, for deep reasons, see below. It happens a lot in the "political" dispute regarding Eretz Yisrael, both inside and outside Israel.

I think Kol HaTor hints as follows. Eretz Yisrael will become "the foundation of his throne", of Moshiach ben David, when Tzedek and Mishpat are united. The first Moshiach is associated to judgement that brings redemption, and is followed by Justice that will come to those who returned to Tzion. The principle regards both Jew and Gentile. The reason for the judgement is the very separation between Mishpat and Tzedek, which must be eliminated. The separation causes Kitrug. S'dom was destroyed because its system of Mishpat was too far from Tzedek. The system had morally confused the law-abiding Sodomites to such a degree that no repair was possible. They had come to think that false was true and evil was good.

When, in the time of the first Moshiach, the Nations judge Israel completely unjustly, as they do today, this will bring Sodom-like Judgement upon them. Within Israel, when one group judges the other in perverted ways, or when court systems pervert Justice, and in other cases of principled unjustice, Kitrug awaits the perpetrators. HaShem Yerachem. יהי רצון מלפניך שיכבשו רחמיך את כעסך

The Sod of Mishpat returning to Tzedek is contained in the Sod of the left returning to the right, and of Law returning to Truth. Halacha is rooted in the Shechina. Truth is rooted higher, and comes to the Shechina through Zeir Anpin. During the Galut, the Shechina is to the right, with Moshiach ben David, and Zeir Anpin is on the left, with Moshiach ben Yosef. In this state, Mishpat and Tzedek are separated, but not too much. Tzedek, Truth, Chochma, influence Mishpat, Halacha, via the back of Zeir Anpin. This changes when the Shechina moves to Moshiach ben Yosef, when ציון במשפט תפדה, as discussed.

May we soon merit restoring Sanhedrin and returning Mishpat to Tzedek.

חרב בא לעולם על ענוי הדין ועל עוות הדין

5771

The politicians say no to Gevura - no to Eretz Yisrael.
The judges say no to Tzedek - no to Am Yisrael.
The gedolim say no to Emet - no to Torat Yisrael.

They all say no to the G-d of Israel.

1984

Taken from here and here.

Yom HaAtzma'ut

Jewish existence in the Galut is spiritual, miraculous, but unnatural, and cannot last forever. Ruth could be with Boaz only until the morning. She had to get married. As the Shechina moves to the left, to Moshiach ben Yosef, Klal Yisrael concentrates on earthly matters. On science and technology, on the restoration of a natural national existence. Though this process brings spiritual and physical danger, there is no alternative. The night is coming to an end.

The declaration of independence was a decisive moment in this process. For many, the associated emphasis on earthly matters was hard to accept. However, this emphasis had to be and it is only temporary. The Shechina will turn around, to Zeir Anpin. The restored natural Nation will return to HaShem. This does not mean that there will be a return to exilic religion. The Nation will return to HaShem in its regained naturalness. The left and the right will redeem each other. The earthly and the spiritual will unite.

Yom HaZikaron

As noted before, after the defeat of Bar Kochba, the Sages understood Ruth 3:13

ליני הלילה והיה בבקר אם יגאלך טוב יגאל

to teach that a long night lay ahead, the night of the Galut, and that in the morning there might be a first redeemer, by the name "Tov". This is Moshiach ben Yosef.

Should Tov not redeem Ruth, Boaz will redeem her. We see that Boaz represents Moshiach ben David, the Moshiach of the Right, and Ruth represents the Shechina, Malchut. Should Moshiach ben Yosef not redeem the Shechina, Moshiach ben David will redeem Her.

Where does the Shechina rest during the Galut? At the right, with Boaz, with Moshiach ben David. This is Her place of safety. Correspondingly, we saw that the count of Malchut is a count of the right, a count of Chesed.

Ramchal explains (Tikkun 33) that the Shechina is bound to the right so that Moshiach ben Yosef can redeem Her without dying. The Remez is the word Mezuzot, מזוזות, which can be reordered as זז מוות, death moves away - the death of Moshiach ben Yosef. Correspondingly, Mezuzot are bound to the right door-poles. This location corresponds to the safe location of the Shechina in the Galut.

At the time of the unison of the Shechina and Zeir Anpin, however, the latter must be on the right, just as Abba is to the right of Imma. Hence, the Shechina must move to the left and leave Her place of safety. This is related to danger that must come to Klal Yisrael, and from which the Jewish Nation will be saved.

The wars which Medinat Yisrael had to fight derive from this Yesod. May the memory of the fallen be a blessing to all.

Noteworthy Observations

Makor Rishon had an article by Rav Shmuel Yaniv with a few noteworthy observations.

The Rav observes that the six-day war, in June 1967, was 1335 years after the death of Mohammed, in June 632. He proposes that this is a fulfillment of Daniel 12:12.

Accordingly, Rav Yaniv notes that 1290 years after the death of Mohammed, the League of Nations decided to create the British Mandate over the Land of Israel, to secure the establishment of the Jewish national home.

Finally, Rav Yaniv brings in the name of Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook that this decision was the sole decision of the League of Nations that was actually carried out. And so it seems that the League of Nations was only established for this purpose.

Aspire For More

The four spiritual levels of this post describe the spiritual evolution of Am Yisrael, leading the way for the rest of mankind. According to "Din," the four levels correspond to Matan Torah, Beit HaMikdash, Geula HaShlemah, and Techiat HaMetim, respectively.

Nevertheless, at Matan Torah, beyond the Hanhaga of that time, the level Chochma-Bina-Da'at was revealed. This occurred because Am Yisrael aspired for this, and because they correspondingly acted beyond what was required. Na'aseh v'Nishma was more than required. The three days of preparation before Matan Torah were more than required.

The approaching Geula will, according to Din, reveal the Hanhaga of Keter. Am Yisrael will, B'Chasdei HaShem, rise above any level ever reached by man. However, even this is not the end of human potential. Learning from Matan Torah, it is clear that we are invited to aspire for even more.

Food Prices Stabilize

At a historically high level, food prices stabilize. Source here.

Kinneret Water Level

Hashgachah in action. The Kinneret reached the highest level in three years. Even so, the current level is dangerously low. Source here.

The Special Halachic Status of the "Palestinians"

"Behold, I drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. Be vigilant lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you come, lest it be a snare among you." (Shemot 34:11-12)
The Arbabanel writes: ".... Since the All Mighty drives out His enemies it is unseemly that we should make a covenant with them because this would be a desecration of His honor. How much more so that friendship and a treaty with them will not succeed since after the Israelites took their land from them there is no doubt that they will always seek evil for Israel. And this is the meaning of what it says: 'the land to which you come,', i.e., since you, Israel, went into that land and took it from its inhabitants and they feel oppressed and robbed of it, how will they preserve a treaty of friendship? Rather, it will be the opposite, and they will be 'a snare among you,', i.e., when war shall break out they will join your enemies and fight you."

"And you shall drive out ALL the inhabitants of the Land." (BaMidbar 33:52)
Or HaChaim writes: " And although the verse specifically said in the case of the seven nations 'you shall utterly destroy them,' here it speaks in addition to the seven nations found there. And that is why it said specifically ALL the inhabitants of the land, i.e., even those who are not of the seven nations.

The above was noted and translated by Rabbi Meir Kahane. I took it from his penultimate article in the Jewish Press, November 2, 1990, one week before he was murdered. Rav Kahane concludes:

The seven nations do not have their special status alone, but rather all people who were there before the Jews arrived, and who see the Jews as robbers who took the land from them, have the same kind of attitude and approach of hate and revenge - and thus, the same legal status.

Yom HaShoah

Tomorrow is Yom HaShoah. Still, Germany prospers. Still, no punishment was meted out for the most heinous of crimes. Still, the demise of the sons of the Nazis is delayed. May we soon merit seeing the revenge of the G-d of Israel.

Ever Higher

The following is after Ramchal:

אבן מאסו הבונים היתה לראש פנה

This is Knesset Yisrael in the Galut.

מאת ה' היתה זאת

It says מ-את השם, not מ-השם. The word את comes to indicate a plurality. The Shechina connects first with Tiferet, השם, but then also with Gevura and Chesed, את השם. Thus the Shechina connects with three heads, in the secret of (Bereshit 2:10)

והיה לארבעה ראשים

This is the unison with Zeir Anpin. This is the return of the Hanhaga that was at Har Sinai. This is Kabbalat Ol Malchut. The Nations of the world will reach this also, as it says in על כן נקוה:

ויקבלו כולם את עול מלכותך ותמלוך עליהם מהרה לעולם ועד

Then the Shechina will rise to Chochma, Bina, and Da'at. והיה לארבעה ראשים. This is the return of the Hanhaga of the second creation of man. The whole world will follow:

כי המלכות שלך היא ולעולמי עד תמלוך בכבוד

Then the Shechina will unite with the three heads of Keter that shine to the world, והיה לארבעה ראשים. This the return of the Hanhaga that governed the first creation of man. This is the meaning of

היא נפלאת בעינינו

Here נפלאת hints at אל"ף. The world will follow. Then the Shechina will connect to the beginning of time, with the upper Rosh of Keter, with Atik Yamin, with Yesod Adam Kadmon. והיה לארבעה ראשים. This is the return of the Unity beyond all of existence:

ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד

HaMevin Yavin

When, in the decennium before the year 5500, the Gedolei HaDor of Italy fought their ugly religious war against Ramchal, the latter never responded in kind. Instead, he always gave great Kavod to the Rabbanim who fought him. Is this, then, the proper attitude towards Rabbanim who fight the truth?

For Ramchal it was a great Mitzva to suffer the humiliation. For him, the war was not just a war against the truth. For him, the war was largely a personal matter. However, for others this was not so. Men of truth should have taken up the fight. However, the Rabbanim created great confusion. Many people did not dare to stand up against them, because they were uncertain about the truth. Maybe the Gedolim were right, and Ramchal was a great danger (perish the thought) to Am Yisrael?

The Truth was not strong enough in the time of Ramchal. His generation did not merit his revelations. His books were burned and buried. Ramchal was taken away from this world. The Geula was delayed. It was not delayed because of the Gedolim. They were only intermediaries. The Geula was delayed because Men of Truth did not stand up.

Aryeh Deri Reveals

מאת חגי סגל

אריה דרעי נתפס בימין כאחד מעמודי התווך של הסכמי אוסלו. האיש שהעניק לרבין הכשר דתי להכרה באס"ף. לפני שבועות אחדים השיקו בימין קמפיין שנועד לסכל את הקאמבק שלו. הציבור הוזהר שדרעי יעביר נתח מנדטים משמעותי מימין לשמאל באמצעות ניצול תמימותם של מצבעים חובבי מסורת

בינתיים, הקמפיין לא צובר תאוצה, ודרעי כבר מקבל בסקרים שבעה מנדטים. בכל זאת, חשוב לו לרכך התנגדויות. הדימוי השמאלני מעיק עליו. בראיון חג ל'מקור ראשון' מתחייב דרעי: "לא אתן את ידי בשום פנים ואופן להקמת ממשלה צרה של השמאל. בבחירות הבאות אחתור להקים ממשלת אחדות לאומית

בראיון עימו מגולל דרעי בהרחבה את התנהלותו בתקופת ממשלת רבין ומגלה שהרב עובדיה כפה עליו, בניגוד לעמדתו, לא להצביע נגד הסכם אוסלו א'. לדבריו, אהוד ברק, הרמטכ"ל דאז, שכנע אותו שההסכם מלא חורים, אבל הרב פסק שגם רבין היה רמטכ"ל וצריך לכבד עמדתו

We see confirmed that the Oslo agreements came about through wild abuse of halachic authority. This should not be covered up, because the lesson has not been learned yet. Not only did Rav Ovadia ignore national-religious Da'at Torah. He also picked and chose his military experts. Basing Psak on Rabin's military authority is particularly disingenuous. Rabin's military assessments were obviously not objective at the time. Moreover, Rabin and Rav Ovadia maintained close relations, and Rav Ovadia had exerted influence on Rabin. I see only two explanations for what happened. This was a case of evil intent or it was a result of the superficiality of Rav Ovadia's thinking.

חרב בא לעולם על ... המורים בתורה שלא כהלכה

הוּא חִשַּׁב אֶת הַקֵּץ

From the Hagada of Pesach:

בָּרוּךְ שׁוֹמֵר הַבְטָחָתוֹ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, בָּרוּךְ הוּא. שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא חִשַּׁב אֶת הַקֵּץ, לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּמַה שֶּׁאָמַר לְאַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ בִּבְרִית בֵּין הַבְּתָרִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֹּאמֶר לְאַבְרָם, יָדֹע תֵּדַע כִּי גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא לָהֶם, וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה. וְגַם אֶת הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר יַעֲבֹדוּ דָּן אָנֹכִי וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן יֵצְאוּ בִּרְכֻשׁ גָּדוֹל

Theoretically, if Yisrael would have been able to suffer 400 years of Galut in Mitzrayim, history would have been completed, and mankind would have risen to Gan Eden. The missing years expanded into history, towards זי"ת ז"ך.

HaZeman Gorem

Someone commented regarding my writings that it cannot be that there is a fixed chronology to eschatological events. Moshiach can come any day.

Who speaks like this, speaks according to the Hanhaga of Mishpat, justice, Din and Chesed, S'char v'Onesh, reward and punishment. This Hanhaga is rooted in the lower Partzufim. According to this Hanhaga, Moshiach will come if we will do Teshuva.

However, there is another Hanhaga, which has a much deeper source. In this world, it can be that Tzaddik v'Ra Lo, Rasha v'Tov Lo. Bad things can happen to good people. Good things can happen to bad people. This Hanhaga enables free will, and therefore it enables the Hanhaga of reward and punishment. Moreover, it repairs the world in a way that differs essentially from reward and punishment. It repairs and refines the world through the suffering of the Tzaddik. The Shoresh of this Hanhaga is in Atik Yamim, which connects between time, history, and timelessness, eternity. In this Hanhaga, HaZeman Gorem, time is the cause, not the deeds of man.

Oil and Food Prices Since 1990

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Sources: Here and here.

Sod HaIbur

Rav Ari Goldwag just wrote profoundly about a profound aspect of Sod HaIbur. I touched upon it two years ago. There is one thing I want to add: With Malchut also Keter is reached at Rosh Chodesh Nissan. When there is Malchut, there is a King - the reverse of אוי לו למלך.

The Secret of Gog

Come and see, this is the secret of Gog, the Rasha. See, as long as this House (of Kedusha) will be in shambles, the other side will be divided, so that they cannot stand up. Until those who will come together will come together (the United Nations), and they will again direct their faces to Kedusha (they will be preoccupied with Israel). About that time is written: "I, says HaShem, will be a wall of fire for Her (Zecharia 2:9). Accordingly, (Mishlei 15:25) Hashem will divert the house of the proud (the UN), and establish the border of the Widow (Zion, the Land of Israel). The border is (also) a reference to "And G-d separated between light and darkness (Bereshit 1:4)."

Ramchal, Tikkunim Chadashim 38 (except for what appears within brackets).

חד ביתא

Palestinian State Issues

The world's consensus is that the Jewish settlements in Yehuda and Shomron are illegal, and that the area belongs to the "Palestinians." That consensus is not based on international law. As things stand, Israel's policies are perfectly legal and justified. Therefore, a movement came up to change international law, through a formal decision by the UN after the coming Summer that would grant the "Palestinians" sovereignty, at least in principle, over the territories conquered by Israel in the six-day war.

Now see: The world is learning a lesson about the blessings of Arab states, for their own populations and for the world at large. For the time being, that should destroy the rationale for creating another Arab state, one that is likely to be taken over by Hamas. Further, the would-be Palestinian state would of course have to be financed. The decline of the dollar economy should kill the "rationale" for that.

Let The Dollar Go

Stanley Fisher is at it again. Israel's central bank is buying some 100 million US dollars a day. This seems a repeat of Israel's version of "Quantitative Easing", which Fisher executed three years ago. Fisher appears to maintain that he does not inflate the Shekel by buying Dollars with newly generated Shekels, as he can always take the Shekels back by selling the Dollars. This would be true if the US would not be inflating the Dollar. I hope that this time Fisher is effectively buying Dollars with Euros, or with Yens, and that he will be strong enough to let the Dollar go.

What Should We Do?

The crisis in Japan gets worse every day. It seems that the radio-active fallout will hit the center of Japan, and that the economic fallout will reach every place on Earth.

At the same time, the oil rally continues steadily. Inflation increases.

At the same time, in Israel, the threat of rocket fire from Hezbolla and Hamas increases.

What should we do in the face of these most serious threats to our prosperity and tranquility? I submit that we should heed the advice that Daniel gave to Nevuchadnezzar when the latter was confronted with a decree against his rulership:

"Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to thee, and break off thy sins by charity, and thy iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; that there might be an extension of thy tranquility." (Daniel 4:24).

Prove that you believe that the world has a Heavenly Ruler. Humble yourself. Become His Shaliach. Prepare to come His Shaliach should the situation worsen. According to your ability, as good as you can, be a giver.

New Reality

Let me very briefly touch upon the two Tikkunim that were as yet missed out. They can be written as

10! + 15^2 = (15*127)^2
13! + 288^2 = (288*2*137)^2

This refers to a dual change of Hanhaga, the first part of which was mentioned already: Din turns into Chesed. Note that the number 127 (2^7 - 1) is uniquely related to 7. As Din merges with Chesed, the Truth emerges. The number 2*137 refers to a new reality (Yeshaya 65:16-17):

אשר המתברך בארץ יתברך באלה"י אמ"ן והנשבע בארץ ישבע באלה"י אמ"ן כי נשכחו הצרות הראשנות וכי נסתרו מעיני. כי הנני בורא שמים חדשים וארץ חדשה ולא תזכרנה הראשנות ולא תעלינה על לב

כ"ת כת"ר

The Tikkun 14! + 420^2 = 295260^2 is right before Keter, and corresponds to Chochma. It can be written as

14! + 420^2 = (420*703)^2

We have seen these numbers before. One of the semiprime gematriot of כתר is 703. Whereas Keter is associated to 1000, Chochma is associated to 100. Further, 420 is כ"ת, Keter without Resh. We reach כתר through Chochma, in the merit of the Hasaga of כ"ת. The Rosh is added from above.

Yeshaya 2: 8-12

וַתִּמָּלֵא אַרְצוֹ, אֱלִילִים: לְמַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו יִשְׁתַּחֲווּ, לַאֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֶצְבְּעֹתָיו. וַיִּשַּׁח אָדָם, וַיִּשְׁפַּל-אִישׁ; וְאַל-תִּשָּׂא, לָהֶם. בּוֹא בַצּוּר, וְהִטָּמֵן בֶּעָפָר, מִפְּנֵי פַּחַד יְהוָה, וּמֵהֲדַר גְּאֹנוֹ. עֵינֵי גַּבְהוּת אָדָם, שָׁפֵל, וְשַׁח, רוּם אֲנָשִׁים; וְנִשְׂגַּב יְהוָה לְבַדּוֹ, בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא. כִּי יוֹם לַיהוָה צְבָאוֹת, עַל כָּל-גֵּאֶה--וָרָם; וְעַל, כָּל-נִשָּׂא וְשָׁפֵל

Their land also is full of idols; every one worshippeth the work of his own hands, that which his own fingers have made. And man boweth down, and man lowereth himself; and Thou canst not bear with them. Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the LORD of hosts hath a day upon all that is proud and lofty, and upon all that is lifted up, and it shall be brought low.

Translation from here.

Razei HaTorah

At times, Moshiach wants to reveal the light in full, and draw Gan Eden to this world, as it says (Shemot 2:3):

ותש"ם בסוף על שפת היאור

Read אור יה, the light of HaShem. However, Moshiach is bound to the decree (Shemot 1:22):

כל הבן הילוד היוארה תשליכוהו

A son is born to us (Yeshaya 9:5), but he must remain in Gan Eden. He must remain with the light of HaShem, Razei HaTorah. Read תשכילוהו. In this world, Israel must separate from Razei HaTorah, which are for Gan Eden. In this world, only the Pshat remains, darkness. In the darkness (Daniel 12:3),

והמשכילים יזהרו כזהר הרקיע

The Maskilim will shine like the brightness of the firmament. Who are the Maskilim? Those who separate from this world, go היאורה, rise to Gan Eden. What is the light that the Maskilim emit? Razei HaTorah.

Fourteen Steps

Here is an observation regarding the mathematical representation of the Kabbalistic concept of fourteen Tikkunim, i.e., regarding the exhaustive list of factorials n! such that the smallest square number that is not smaller than n!, exceeds n! by a square number. This list is as follows:

0! + 0^2 = 1^2
1! + 0^2 = 1^2
4! + 1^2 = 5^2
5! + 1^2 = 11^2
6! + 3^2 = 27^2
7! + 1^2 = 71^2
8! + 9^2 = 201^2
9! + 27^2 = 603^2
10! + 15^2 = 1905^2
11! + 18^2 = 6318^2
13! + 288^2 = 78912^2
14! + 420^2 = 295260^2
15! + 464^2 = 1143536^2
16! + 1856^2 = 4574144^2

The following computation also takes fourteen steps and also leads to the two final numbers 1143536 and 4574144. Each step, except the first, takes the result of the previous step and multiplies it with 3, 2, 4, 8, or 16, or adds 1, or subtracts 1.

0 = 0
0 + 1 = 1
1 * 3 = 3
3 * 8 = 24
24 - 1 = 23
23 * 4 = 92
92 + 1 = 93
93 * 16 = 1488
1488 + 1 = 1489
1489 * 3 = 4467
4467 * 16 = 71472
71472 - 1 = 71471
71471 * 16 = 1143536
1143536 * 4 = 4574144

Keter

Regarding the word כתר, meaning crown, the numerical value of its final letter (200=ר) is 10 times the first letter (כ=20). The middle letter, Tav, refers to a sign (Yechezkel 9:4). Hence, Keter is the sign of Aliyah, of elevation, as 20 rises ten-fold.

The number 20 hints at the size of the lesser Sanhedrin. The sages explain that the size of this Sanhedrin is a priori two Edot, twenty. However, the number must be odd, and thus the size must be at least 21. Further, a reasoning is brought down why 21 is not a good number, and two more are to be added. The final conclusion is that the lesser Sanhedrin must have 23 members.

I think that a principle of prime numbers is involved here, which the sages could not make explicit. If the sages would have been familiar with the notion of prime numbers, they would have said that 20 is not acceptable because it is not a prime number, and thus the lesser Sanhedrin must count 23 members, the first prime above 20. Similary, the size of the great Sanhedrin, which a priori is 70, must be 71, the first prime number above 70.

The gematria of כתר is 20+400+20*10 = 620. If כתר hints at the Sanhedrin, in the above logic it would seem that its gematria should be prime. Let us try to find a gematria that is prime. If the 20 in כתר refers to the lesser Sanhedrin, a deeper gematria for the word כתר is obtained by computing 23+400+23*10=653. Satisfactorily, this is a prime number. The idea stands.

One step further, we can replace 23 by 71, the size of the great Sanhedrin. This gives 71+400+71*10=1181. This is also a prime number. The idea stands stronger. We know have two prime gematriot for כתר.

In the other direction, we can replace 23 by 3, the size of a minimal Beit Din. This gives 3+400+3*10=433. This is also a prime number. Now we have three prime gematriot.

Yet one step further, just as 20 refers to 3, 23 and 71, the factor 10 refers to powers of 10, to 100 and to 1000. And so, we have the non-prime gematriot:

23+400+23*100 = 2723 = 7*389
23+400+23*1000 = 23423 = 59*397

Interestingly, these numbers have two factors only - they are semiprime. Also semiprime are

3+400+3*100 = 703 = 19*37
3+400+3*1000 = 3403 = 41*83
71+400+71*100 = 7571 = 67*113

Finally,

71+400+71*1000 = 71471

is prime. We have arrived at a very deep gematria of כתר, as the 1000 is related to the great Aleph, Aleph Sofit, related to כתר.

Fascinatingly, 71471 is a factor of the numbers 1143536 and 4574144, associated to the Tikkunim of כתר and the final Samech:

1143536 = 16*71471
4574144 = 64*71471

The circle is closed.

I could elaborate on the numerology, but let me just say the bottom line. At Keter, the Hanhaga of Moshe returns. When Sanhedrin was instituted, Moshe had to be convinced by Yitro. What was Moshe's problem? Did he not understand that he could not do all the work by himself, as Yitro pointed out? Moshe's problem was that he was the only one who could judge according to Truth. He could not delegate this. Yitro convinced him that Moshe's level of judgement was not maintainable throughout the generations. There had to be rules for judgement, law, Halacha. Lesser judges than Moshe could judge according to law. At Keter, the circle is closed. Sanhedrin will reach the level of Moshe. Even the lesser Sanhedrin will judge according to Truth.

The Building of the World

The Talmud states in Shabbat 114a that Torah scholars are engaged in the Binyan, the building, of the world.

Halacha, Jewish Law, is related to the laws of Nature, as it says in Yirmyahu 33:25 (in one interpretation): "Thus said HaShem, if My Covenant would not be kept day and night, I would not maintain Heaven and Earth." On one hand, the laws of Nature cause Hester Panim, the apparent absence of HaShem, lack of freedom, Galut. On the other hand, the suffering of the Jew in Galut draws Chesed to the world. Hence, even as Halacha in itself represents Din, the People of Israel bring Chesed to the world.

Chochmat HaTorah, the study and development of the secrets of Torah within the context of Halacha, draws Chesed to the world, within the context of the Din of the laws of Nature. Shivat Zion, the return of the People of Israel to the Land of Israel, is a natural process. But it is clearly miraculous, reveals Chesed, brings freedom. The Chesed is from HaShem, but it has a human source as well. It derives from the suffering of the People of Israel and from the achievements of the wise of Israel. The development of Chochmot HaOlam, especially Science and Technlogy, is equally miraculous, reveals the same Chesed, and is from the same source.

Shivat Zion is nearing completion. The end of Galut is close. Chochmot HaOlam will return to the source, and Chochma will increase. The Hanhaga of Chesed will increase. The world will be lifted up.

Etz HaChaim

The trees of Yosef and Yehudah are really branches, and the former is to be grafted on the latter. Both branches have three knuckles. The branch of Yosef has Galut, Shivat Zion, and Chochmot HaOlam. The branch of Yehuda has Halacha, Chochmat HaTorah, and Keter, which is the great Aleph (טצ"ץ אאאצצץ"ץ for who understands). At Chochma, the two branches are compatible, can be grafted, because Chochmot HaOlam and Chochmat HaTorah can be merged. Through the graft, Keter is shared by Yosef and Yehuda. There will be one king. The grafted tree, created by man, will be eternal, in the hands of HaShem. The tree, then, is Etz HaChaim, the tree of life.

לא ארפנו

Ramchal brings the following penetrating Perush:

Regarding "These bones are all of the House of Israel (Yechezkel 37:11)", know that there are two kinds of love. There ifs love for HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and there is love for the Shechina.

Love for HaKadosh Baruch Hu is common to all Chassidim of Israel who keep the Divine watch in truth, and tremble for every commandment, and flee from sin and do good. However, the love of the Shechina is the will and the desire to repair the Shechina, in a real way according to the decreed orders and levels, and that is what is most dear to HaShem among all things that we can do. Regarding this, the giants of all times were praised, and here is the difference between the early ones (Rishonim) and the later ones (Acharonim).

The root of all this is in the Sephirot. The two levels of Divine service correspond to the two females, Leah and Rachel. The matter is that the service of the King regarding the Shechina is continuous. There is an internal female aspect (Leah), that does not rise, and does not go down, but always remains constant, in order to complete Zeir Anpin to ten Sephirot. The seven Sephirot are "bone from my bones (Bereshit 2:23)", which does not change. But Rachel is the barren housewife (Tehilim 113:9). She is the flesh, which sometimes is plentiful and sometimes is scarce, and this is the matter of Kilkulim and Tikkunim that are found in her.

The truth is that I should elaborate further on this, but I do not want to digress from my topic. The summary of the matter is that those who work according to the general Divine service, are rooted in Leah, referred to as the bone. And those who work to achieve Tikkun for the Shechina are rooted in the flesh, which is Rachel. And at the end of the Exile, the situation has developed that "She has no one to lead her, Rachel, from all the sons that she gave birth to (Yeshaya 51:18). And all of Israel are found to be truly "dry bones" (Yechezkel 37:4) ...

Because, this is the complete task of man, to serve in the love of the Shechina in addition to the love of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. In this matter the Arizal was teaching correctly when he said that the main occupation of man must be with the internal aspects of the Torah, because only that gives light to the Shechina, as is said in the Zohar and in the Tikkunim, that "I will look at it and remember my eternal covenant (Bereshhit 9:16)" is said only regarding the secrets of Torah. See, here are his words, which also appear in Sha'arei Zion (a Siddur), in order to be widely published:

One who has a sharp mind should study one hour, or two hours at most, in Halacha, and the rest of the day he should devote himself to the secrets of Torah. And who is not sharp all day should occupy himself only with the internal aspects of Torah, and not with the external aspects.

That is the truth without doubt, and this is desired by HaShem our G-d. Even if many of our Chachamim will not accept this, we have no alternative to the words of truth.

Therefore, I applied my heart, and in view of the ability that the living G-d granted me, to understand and become wise in the depth of the secrets of Torah, it is clear that this is my fate - it comes from HaShem, and I will not let Him go (Shir HaShirim 3:4). And I will leave the straw that suits animals - to the animals. What is fitting to man - let be for man, as Rashbi said. I serve G-d, eating from the tree of life, according to the blessing of HaShem, Who gives me a daily portion, day by day.

Iggrot Ramchal 89

Time of Sasson

Purim is a good time to continue the train of thought regarding the unison of Yosef and Yehuda. This unison appears in Yechezkel 37 after the vision of the dry bones which come to life, acquiring flesh and spirit. Yosef and Yehuda appear after this revival because they are the ones who were revived!

The revival of Yosef is the revival of the physical side of Yisrael. The revival of Yehuda is the revival of the spiritual side of Yisrael. The prophet explicitly explains the revival of the physical side. The dry bones represent the House of Yisrael, in exile. The growth of flesh around the bones is the return to the Land of Yisrael. We have seen the prophecy at work in our days. The State of Israel arose from the bones of Auschwitz.

Flesh and spirit are not acquired in one process. There are two prophecies, one for the flesh and one for the spirit. Parallel to the return to Zion, Jewish scientists have brought a new spirit to the world, and great knowledge. The resulting technological revolution has propelled mankind to a new reality. Specifically, it has propelled the development of the physical side of Yisrael. Just 60 years old, the State of Israel is already an advanced state, and she is close to housing the majority of the world's Jews.

At Purim, the Yehudim had Simcha as well as Sasson. Sasson refers to the physical redemption, the revival of Yosef. Sasson is the celebration of the 14th day of Adar. Simcha refers to the other side of the redemption, to the revival of Yehuda, to Shushan Purim, Purim of Yerushalayim. That day will be a good time to present it.

Glenn Beck on Itamar Murder

Irony

Japan just agreed to help solve the environmental problems of the Palestinian territories. Now they have a frightening environmental catastrophy themselves. That is irony. I quote from the article:

The Palestinian territories cover a land area of 6,020 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 3.76 million people (2005). Its Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is about 1,230 USD (2006).

That means that the Palestinians have a GDP of over 4 billion dollars, which is agreement with World Bank estimates. Most of that is donation, not true production. Note that, as there are far less than 3.76 million Palestinians, each of them gets a nice yearly donation.

We know why all this money is given. It is not given because the world loves the Palestinians, or even cares about them. It is given to thwart Israel. But the result is opposite. A substantial part of the donor money streams into the Israeli economy, the only real economy around. It has been a good stimulus - one of the secrets of the resilience of Israel's economy. That is irony also.

It seems that soon the donors will run out of money. I trust that Israel's economy has been stimulated enough, but Abbas has what to worry about. Even more so, the donors.

Rav Kook on Geulat HaRatzon

I wrote about the exalted level man can reach, when man's free will becomes congruent with the Divine Will. I thought to translate a small segment of Rav Kook's elaborations on this matter. Here is Chapter 29 of Iggrot HaKoshesh:

"It impossible to understand the wondrous human will in all of its magnificent freedom, except as a spark of the big flame of the great Will that is in all existence, the expression of the Will of the Master of the Universe, Blessed is He. Through the sanctification of [human] will, the branch becomes similar to its root, draws from it, and connects to it, and from its light [man] becomes filled with its plentiful life, with its eternal and complete fullness.

Given the condition of human will, because of his engagement with smallness and private matters of the partial containment that he is held within, [man] separates his will from his source of life, and causes weakness, loss of power, and brings darkness to the most internal essence of his being, which is his will, which is his source of honor.

All toiling in ethics, and all emergences of spirituality in the world, is directed to the exalted goal of the redemption of the will (Geulat HaRatzon), and the return [of man] to the source of his essential life, to be planted in the house of HaShem, to produce branches and fruit, sprouts and flowers, and much produce, to become one in complete and living oneness, [to stand] in the truth of the universal Will, which is the light of HaShem and His Honor, which is in the Neshamah of all of reality."

Marc Shapiro on Rav Ovadia

What follows is a fragment of a book review of three books about Rav Ovadia Yosef, by Marc Shapiro, which expresses well what I wanted to say earlier.

"Finally, I must say a word about the most astonishing feature of R. Ovadiah’s writings, and that is his breath-taking beqi`ut, an encyclopedic knowledge the likes of which has never been seen in Jewish history. There have been great beqi`im prior to R. Ovadiah, and I think of R. Joseph Zechariah Stern and R. Hayyim Palache as two examples. But neither of them can compare to R. Ovadiah, if only because in the intervening century the responsa literature has more than doubled in terms of published works. R. Ovadiah has mastered all of it and continues to master every new
volume of any significance that appears. The knowledge that his mind encompasses is beyond belief and hard to describe. It is the product of an unequalled memory that has no use for the various electronic data bases that have made beqi`ut less valuable in this day and age.

I was recently asked if I have ever encountered such a mind in academia. Indeed, I have not. Yet this question led me to consider how someone like R. Ovadiah would be viewed in the academic world. This helps us understand why the Lithuanian yeshiva world has been less than overwhelmed by him. Considering the famous twentieth-century Lithuanian roshei yeshiva, you find personages with great minds who were able to produce stunning new talmudic insights. Had R. Aaron Kotler, for example, not remained in the yeshiva world, he could have used his great intellect in some other field. Had R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik not devoted himself to Torah, he could have excelled in philosophy, mathematics, or any other field to which he set his mind. The same can be said about the other Lithuanian Torah geniuses.

In contrast, when one surveys the work of R. Ovadiah, one finds not analytical brilliance, but a photographic memory that marshals a dazzling array of materials—and by the standards of the both the academic and the Lithuanian yeshiva worlds, this does not count for much. In the academic world one is judged by the significance of one’s publications, and in the yeshiva world by the profundity of one’s shi`urim (lectures). In the academic world a photographic memory may not even get one an interview, and in the Lithuanian yeshiva world he will not be regarded as suitable to offer shi`urim.

This is the challenge that R. Ovadiah presents to those in the academic and Lithuanian yeshiva worlds, where for good or bad, his type of knowledge is good for casual conversation, but has little true significance. Looking at the truly groundbreaking thinkers, such as those winning Nobel prizes or those reinventing fields in the humanities and social sciences, I cannot recall any with photographic memories. Having such a memory may even stand in the way of one’s mind charting new directions and creating new paradigms—the true stuff of genius. From an academic perspective, as well as from the outlook of the Lithuanian yeshiva world, it must be said that in the final analysis R. Ovadiah’s great knowledge amounts to a collection of facts, an encyclopedia, without real and lasting scholarly significance.

While R. Ovadiah is certainly a great technician, able to collect sources and come to conclusions by balancing views off one another, we are not confronted by any advanced thinking or grand theories that make a contribution to knowledge. There are no hiddushim (novellae) in the classic sense in R. Ovadiah’s writings. Even in his responsa, which overwhelm one with their sheer breadth, one finds that on almost every page R. Ovadiah cites a view, notes that this view is not mukhrah (necessary), and then cites a group of aharonim who disagree with this view. Yet hardly ever does he explain why the rejected opinion is wrong, or how its author has misread the Talmud or rishonim.

There is something deeply unsatisfying about declaring that an opinion is to be rejected because it is contradicted by a group of other scholars. It is not hard to see why someone trained in a great Lithuanian yeshiva would not regard this as a proper approach to pesaq. In the Lithuanian Torah tradition, a poseq is engaged in a search for truth, and if such a poseq feels that his interpretation is correct, then the fact that ten aharonim have a different opinion is irrelevant. To convince this poseq that his view should be rejected, one must show how he has misinterpreted the sources, rather than point out that many others disagree."

Tikkun of Purim

The Ramchal (Iggrot Ramchal 14, recently translated in part into English) addresses the Tikkun of Purim. Here is my very free interpretation.

King Sha'ul failed because the Divine Will was too much opposed to his human inclinations. Because of the failure, David had to fail, and Yosef (the ten tribes) and Yehudah had to separate. Yosef represents freedom. Yehudah represents servitude. The contradiction proved to be unbridgeable.

Conversely, the acceptance of Torah in the time of Achashveros healed the fundamental reason for the division. Indeed, we see that the book of Esther hints at this Tikkun. Mordechai is from Binyamin, ben Shim'i ben Kish. Why is Kish mentioned? King Sha'ul was also ben Kish, and also from Binyamin. Mordechai and Esther succeeded precisely and emphatically where Sha'ul failed. Where Sha'ul failed by not killing Agag, the Jews under Mordechai and Esther killed B'nei Haman with all other Amalekites. Where Sha'ul failed by taking spoils of war, the Jews under Mordechai and Esther did not take spoils (Esther 9).

Freedom and servitude to HaShem unite when human will is in line with Divine Will. This is the level of Binyamin ben Ya'akov. This is hard ro reach. This means crossing the Sambatyon. But there lies the secret of the unison of Yosef and Yehudah. This is the repair of the Sin of Adam HaRishon.

צריך לדעת איך עיקר הכוונה בבריאה היה רק להוציא האדם שיהיה בעל בחירה... ועל כן כל הבריאה נמשכה למה שצריך לזה הענין

One needs to know how the main purpose of Creation was purely to produce man such that he has free will... and hence Creation was constrained by what was needed for that.
- Iggrot Ramchal 14 (appears before the segment translated in the above link).

The Paradox

Man was created in the image of HaShem. As HaShem is free, man is free, can be free, must be free, will be free. HaShem wants free man to choose for Him, because he knows Him, because of his love for Him.

After the miracle of Purim, Am Yisrael accepted the Torah out of free will, for the first time in history. Servitude to HaShem, Avdut HaShem, is the height of freedom, if, but only if, it is acquired through Bechira, free choice.

At Har Sinai, the Torah was to a significant measure imposed. However, servitude to HaShem cannot be imposed. The imposition denies the essence of man, and the purpose of Creation. It takes the length of human history to resolve the paradox. From "Lo Lishmah" will come "Lishmah". Purim was an important step forward, but was followed by new forms of imposition. It could not be different. The resolution takes the full length of history.

The law is inevitable. To the degree that Divine worship is imposed, it does not derive from closeness to HaShem. The necessary result is worship that exposes the lacking closeness. This happened at Har Sinai - the Golden Calf. It happened throughout history. It happens today. See and understand.

Towards the End of Slavery

A reader of this blog suggested:

... It would seem that this [the Arab unrest] relates to the parallel to 5621, the beginning of the American Civil War, thus making the Civil War's common linkage to freedom from pharaoh to be most adept...

The observation is perfect in my eyes. Who has studied my blog writings, might understand that there is a precise timing aspect to the above remark. Rather than explaining the timing aspect, I want to stress the core of the matter.

At Yetziat Mitzrayim, physical freedom and spiritual freedom were given to Am Yisrael, and via Yisrael to the whole world. The last Geula is like the first, and the Moslim is the most enslaved of all men. The enslavery of the blacks was physical. Islam is a spiritual slavemaster. The Moslim is enslaved to dogma, to religion, to social coercion, to terror. To falsehood which he must believe is true. And to dictators as well.

The last vestiges of American slavery lasted until the sixties of the 20th century, until 60 of Chochma to who understands the code. Similarly, it will still take a while until every sect of spiritual slavery will be rooted out. However, we can feel strenghtened: The process of the redemption to freedom is proceeding. It is even on schedule...

Food Prices Keep Rising

Food prices rose for the eighth consecutive month.

Sambatyon

The currents in the Sambatyon form a dynamic double helix. Who crosses correctly, in Kedusha, at the right and holy times, makes progress, becomes gradually free, transforms the circle into a line, until Nature submits when the source is reached. Who crosses in Tum'ah will not perceive the times, and will regress. Multiple sacred crossings lead to the source, to the mountain from under which the river stems. There are three more mountains beyond, encircled and pierced by other rivers, which are straight. That is, their waters stream like lines, not in circles, not like helixes. However, the lines do split into many arms. The same water is shared by the Sambatyon and the other rivers. Yet, it is hard to pursue the streams from one river to the other. There is no other way through, though. Three mountains can be reached and climbed by all, by male and female, of every tribe. The fourth mountain, Divine Will, stands separate. It is the furthest and highest and has a white golden crown. It has four parts. Three of them can be climbed, but not by all. The fourth stands untouchable.

The Double Bluff Quartet Game

The "Quartet" (US, Russia, Europe, and the UN) keeps aiming for a Palestinian State in September 2011. It may seem weird that even the unrest in the Arab lands, and the ensuing global political and economic problems, did not reduce the international pressure on Israel. But, in fact, this is not strange at all.

The September deadline was dictated, about a year ago, by Saudi Arabia. After the collapse of the Libyan oil export, the world is more than ever dependent on Saudi oil. At least, that is what the world thinks. If the world's total production of oil would fall, the world economy would collapse. The Saudis, and only the Saudis, can prevent that. At least, that is what the world wants to think.

The Saudis have promised to make up for the loss of Libyan oil. The Saudis are bluffing. They can temporarily export more oil, by selling reserves. They can, however, not actually produce much more oil. The oil resources of Saudi Arabia are rapidly depleting. In short, the Saudis will not be able to significantly increase their export in a sustainable fashion.

A year ago, the Saudis calculated that they could hide their bluff for only another year and a half. Hence the deadline. But they did not take into account that the export by a country like Libya could stop. The game plan for Israel is easy now: Play along with the Quartet - bluff. Let the Saudis show their cards.

No Katushas from Gaza

Daniel 2:31-47

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly fragile. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

Rav Sa'adia Gaon comments that the fragile part of the toes of the feet of the image is Yishmael. Yishmael rules in conjunction with Edom, though the two do not mix well. When Yishmael breaks, Edom stumbles.

ויען ויאמר אלי לאמר זה דבר יקוק אל זרבבל לאמר לא בחיל ולא בכח כי אם ברוחי אמר יקוק צבאות
מי אתה הר הגדול לפני זרבבל למישר והוציא את האבן הראשה תשאות חן חן לה

Zecharya 4:6,7

Blossoming Almond

Here are two pictures I took today from behind my house in the Shomron. The first picture was taken towards the South, the direction of Yerushalayim. The second picture was taken towards the East, the direction of Har Gerizim. Both pictures feature the same blossoming ancient Almond tree.

The tree reminded me of Yirmyahu 1:10-12 and 31:26-35:

ראה הפקדתיך היום הזה על הגוים ועל הממלכות לנתוש ולנתוץ ולהאביד ולהרוס לבנות ולנטוע: ויהי דבר יקוק אלי לאמר מה אתה ראה ירמיהו ואמר מקל שקד אני ראה: ויאמר יקוק אלי היטבת לראות כי שקד אני על דברי לעשתו:

הנה ימים באים נאם יקוק וזרעתי את בית ישראל ואת בית יהודה זרע אדם וזרע בהמה:והיה כאשר שקדתי עליהם לנתוש ולנתוץ ולהרס ולהאביד ולהרע כן אשקד עליהם לבנות ולנטוע נאם יקוק: בימים ההם לא יאמרו עוד אבות אכלו בסר ושני בנים תקהינה: כי אם איש בעונו ימות כל האדם האכל הבסר תקהינה שניו: הנה ימים באים נאם יקוק וכרתי את בית ישראל ואת בית יהודה ברית חדשה: לא כברית אשר כרתי את אבותם ביום החזיקי בידם להוציאם מארץ מצרים אשר המה הפרו את בריתי ואנכי בעלתי בם נאם יקוק: כי זאת הברית אשר אכרת את בית ישראל אחרי הימים ההם נאם יקוק נתתי את תורתי בקרבם ועל לבם אכתבנה והייתי להם לאלהים והמה יהיו לי לעם: ולא ילמדו עוד איש את רעהו ואיש את אחיו לאמר דעו את יקוק כי כולם ידעו אותי למקטנם ועד גדולם נאם יקוק כי אסלח לעונם ולחטאתם לא אזכר עוד: כה אמר יקוק נתן שמש לאור יומם חקת ירח וכוכבים לאור לילה רגע הים ויהמו גליו יקוק צבאות שמו:אם ימשו החקים האלה מלפני נאם יקוק גם זרע ישראל ישבתו מהיות גוי לפני כל הימים:

See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, and to destroy and to overthrow; to build, and to plant. Moreover, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: 'Jeremiah, what seest thou?' And I said: 'I see a rod of an almond-tree.' Then said the LORD unto me: 'Thou hast well seen; for I watch over My word to perform it.'

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down, and to overthrow and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the LORD. In those days they shall say no more: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; forasmuch as they broke My covenant, although I was a lord over them, saith the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying: 'Know the LORD'; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.

Thus saith the LORD, Who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, that the waves thereof roar, the LORD of hosts is His name: If these ordinances depart from before Me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me for ever.

A Perfect Storm

It seems that the unrest that now threatens the oil supply from Arab countries is set to hit the world harshly. The oil market was already extremely tense, for fundamental reasons. The fundamental issue is geological, not political. There is simply no longer enough oil to support the continuing expansion of the world economy. As a result, the world oil price has been going up at the astounding rate of a dollar per week, per barrel, for the last five months (graph taken from here):


Exactly as the price is reaching a breaking point for the modern economies, the Arabs start to rage. This is a perfect storm. The Hand of Heaven.

The Mirror of Islam

A few weeks ago, at Parshat Mishpatim, the Torah reading started with the laws of Jewish slaves. The Haftara, Yirmyahu 34:8-22, was about the same subject: With the army of Nevuchadnezzar approaching Yerushalayim, King Tzidkiyahu does Teshuva and proclaims freedom for Jewish slaves, according to Torah: "At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Jewish brother who will be sold to you; he shall serve you six years and then you shall set him free from yourself."

Unfortunately, as Yirmyahu writes, the Teshuva was reversed. I learned the historical context from Rav Binyamin Lau's recent book about Yirmyahu: After Nevuchadnezzar withdrew, temporarily, to fight the Egyptian army in the sea-coast area, it became clear that the slaves were released only because of the pressure of war. Once this pressure was reduced, the Jewish slaves were re-enslaved. This act of evil sealed the fate of Yerushalayim.

In view of the increasing pressure of Islamic regimes around Israel, I think we should reflect on the need for Teshuva of similar kind. Islam is a system of slavery. Islam demands that man submits, and denies him, and especially her, freedom. Islam should be a mirror to us, to reflect. Slavery abounds also in religious Jewish circles. Slavery is when the details of one's clothing are seen as a matter of essence. Slavery is when a woman cannot find a Shidduch because her brother serves in Nachal Charedi. Slavery is when someone learns in Kollel because of social pressure. This is Islam. This is Galut. This is a type of slavery which cannot be allowed to persist in Israel. The Torah demands freedom for Jews. Without it the Geula cannot be.

כל רצון חפשי סופו לטוב וכל הכרח סופו לרע

Rav Kook, Iggrot HaKodesh 3:24

Minyan HaShtarot

I have explained earlier that we are in the 85th Machzor Gadol, which started in 5769. This count of Machzorim is of the left, and corresponds to Zeir Anpin, according to the Tikkun of the first year. In Machzor 85 is the start of the 85th Yovel period of history.

There is an associated Machzor count of the right, which counts from year ה of the conventional Machzor to the next ה, i.e., 28 years later. This count corresponds to Malchut, according to the Tikkun in year ה. We now live near the end of the 83th cycle of this count. Two years from now, Machzor 84 will start. The Moon was put in its place, as it were, on Erev Pesach, at full Moon, in the second year of the Sun, opposite four kings of the Sun, after five kings in total. The first 28-year Machzor of Malchut started therefore in the year 3449, which was also year zero of Minyan HaShtarot. The 85th Machzor will start in 5801, the year in which the Yovel periods are set to restart.

In short, in Minyan HaShtarot, year 5801 is year 2352, 84 times 28. In other words, Minyan HaShtarot counts 84 cycles of 28 years, until what should be the first Yovel period of the days of Moshiach.

Interestingly, 2352 years is also 48 times 49 years, יוב"ל Yovel periods.

אין העולם פחות משמונים וחמשה יובלות, וביובל האחרון בן דוד בא

(Sanhedrin 97b)

אמר רב נחמן: בגולה אין מונין אלא למלכי יונים בלבד

(Avodah Zarah 10a)

Lo Adoni

Parshat Tetzaveh describes the Choshen HaMishpat and the "device" Urim V'Tumim. Am Yisrael is granted a device for Pesika, for making correct fateful decisions.

It appears that Eli, the Kohen Gadol, used the Urim V'Tumim when he judged Channah when she was praying that HaShem open her womb. His Psak was that she was שכרה, drunken. Channah replies (Shmuel Aleph, 1:16):

ותען חנה ותאמר לא אדני

And Channah answered and said: "Lo Adoni".

Rashi comments to the words "Lo Adoni":

לא אדון אתה בדבר הזה גלית בעצמך שאין רוח הקודש שורה עליך שתדע שאיני שכורת יין

You are not an Adon. Through this matter, you revealed by yourself that Ruach HaKodesh does not dwell on you, as you did not know that I am not drunken.

The Gaon MiVilna explains that the Urim V'Tumim displayed the four letters שכרה in no particular order. The Urim V'Tumim are not an automated device. It takes Siatta DiShamaya, help of Heaven, to connect the letters correctly. In this case, the correct reading was כשרה, "like Sarah". Like Sarah, Channah was Akarah and prayed to merit a child.

Pesika is not a simple matter. Sometimes a Psak that has all the ingredients right, is dead wrong, Tartei Mashma: Death may result. In our days, we see this in an urgent fashion:

The Oslo agreements were the result of Psakim of Rav Ovadia Yosef, a great halachic scholar who unfortunately overstepped his limits. The lack of Siatta DiShamaya screams to the Heavens. The Oslo agreements have led to the loss of many Jewish lives, and we must fear that we have not seen the end. May HaShem protect us. The threatening rockets in Gaza are the result of these agreements, without which the "Disengagement" would not have been. The fact that senior rabbis were directly involved in both the Oslo agreements and the Disengagement, in very essential ways, is a revelation that is neglected at our peril. "Lo Adoni" is the proper response.

In the end, we will see the connection between sectorial Pesika and national disaster. We will be forced to recall in shame that the Torah commands us to unite in Pesika, and specifies the mechanism: All must submit to the decisions of the majority of the Sanhedrin.

Gadol HaDor?

In our days, the title Gadol HaDor is reserved for people who excel in the study of Gemara and Halacha, to scholars who devote all their hours of study to Jewish Law. The Ramchal said about this field of study (for longer quote, see here):

הלא הדינים צריכים בישראל – הנעזוב אותם? לא, לא נעזוב אותם, אבל נקבע להם זמנים לפי שאי אפשר בלאו הכי, אך לא בהם נבלה זמננו ח"ו

Are laws not needed in Israel? Should we stop studying them? We should not stop studying them. Rather, we should devote to them a limited amount of time, as we cannot do without this, but we shall not spend our life in this study, Chas V'Shalom.

We need people with a vast knowledge of halachic sources and the ability to combine them. Scholars who devote their lives to this are important. They are Gedolim in Halacha. But are they Gedolim without qualification? No. Are they the greatest Jewish Chachamim? No! Shall we give them authority outside of the Arba Amot of pure Halacha? Chas V'Shalom. The Gaon MiVilna was great in Halacha but did not give it much of his time, in line with the above quote from the Ramchal. Can modern-day Gedolim in Halacha be compared to him? Not at all, not in the slightest way. Or, can they be compared to a latter-day Ish Ruach like Rav Kook? Perish the thought!

May HaShem protect us, and teach us. We have lost perspective. Halacha is important for Am Yisrael, but Judaism is not about Halacha proper. Judaism is about being close to HaShem. Judaism is about our Midot, about how we relate to others, about the society that we build. Judaism is about repairing the world. Judaism is about HaShem living in our midst, about the Revelation of HaShem in the world.

From Yirmyahu 6

כה אמר יהוה צבאות עולל יעוללו כגפן שארית ישראל השב ידך כבוצר על סלסלות. על מי אדברה ואעידה וישמעו הנה ערלה אזנם ולא יוכלו להקשיב הנה דבר יהוה היה להם לחרפה לא יחפצו בו. ואת חמת יהכוה מלאתי נלאיתי הכיל שפך על עולל בחוץ ועל סוד בחורים יחדו כי גם איש עם אשה ילכדו זקן עם מלא ימים. ונסבו בתיהם לאחרים שדות ונשים יחדו כי אטה את ידי על ישבי הארץ נאם יהוה. כי מקטנם ועד גדולם כלו בוצע בצע ומנביא ועד כהן כלו עשה שקר. וירפאו את שבר עמי על נקלה לאמר שלום שלום ואין שלום. הבישו כי תועבה עשו גם בוש לא יבושו גם הכלים לא ידעו לכן יפלו בנפלים בעת פקדתים יכשלו אמר יהוה