Soul Mazal

Monday, October 28, 2013

Ger Tzedek and He Who Walks With G-d

No comments

Ger Tzedek Emes
Ego and Yetzer
Duality and G-d
Torah of the Mother....and Father
Changing Mazal
etc.

No comments

Hagar and Ha Ger
Sarah Returns
True Soul Mates
Kol Hator Revealed
David and Solomon - Abraham and Isaac
Shabbat and Sarah
Gilgulim and Love
etc.

Click Here For Article!

Songs of Song

1 comment

Parashas Chayei Sarah

Loving You Like It Was Yesterday

David Katz

[...and Abraham proceeded and took a wife whose name was Keturah]

***she is vaguely familiar with hagar..."a word to the wise is sufficient"
enjoy.

For score and a million years ago; OK it was 127 – but who's counting?

Like the whirlwind we once were, who knew we could meet up on a Ger-like pretense?

When there was so much to say, and so little time apart, I found myself embraced by the maiden.

The Ger, you know her, the one they call hagar; but to me, it's something vaguely more familiar.

God has a story to tell, with an audience of reserved seats – front row for the live performance.

Corpses no more, we demand delight, popcorn and cola in hand – the show we have all been waiting for.

While I think back, eons ago…hearing of the master of the house, happening upon the jester and his hedva – come on in they said; strangely appropriate, an even odder reoccurrence.

See, time flies, people sit, and the sorcerer's spell erupts in poetic chaos; did we ever think that Lovers are destined to reunite?

A fairytale indeed, the type of Divinity we thought not of, yet the soul thirsts for God's "romantic side" – did we ever even think of it that way before?

Long long ago lived a man named Solomon, maybe he thought of it; maybe he conceived Romeo before there was a Juliet; maybe Juliet arrived the day after William dropped his pen.

Think not, and absorb the ink - just know Abraham found his love; yet a better question one may perhaps ponder: did he ever drop by the lost and found department of heaven?

I thought he married hagar? I thought he loved sarah? …and we are to believe old wise tales?

Silly scholar, the rashbam you read not when he deduced that the pshat of the pussuk surely isn’t hagar the daughter of pharaoh – FOOL!

Do you really wish to delve into the upsurd? What next – a Kabbalistic discourse from tzfat explaining that funny word we trip on; mazal.

An episode of Torah dripping with the hand of God; go buy stuff you Ger and Toshav I am you; go find the mother of Israel – you iyov program you!

And it happened just the way you said it would – mazal Hashem. To the letter of the law – even when they contrived the hated son's years; repent he did. Noticed not did the 137 years enter the mind of gerless sage.

Numbers – 127, 175, 137 – the kabbalah code in full bloom; doesn’t this Egyptian maidservant ever die?

…But she does..err did. I swear on it, for did I not quote you the faithful servant the Rashbam?!

So who – pray tell, is this "the ger" woman who is comely like the scent of the throne?

Like a distant memory, shown up all grown up; you might know me – surely in your gilgul?

We didn't even have time for the wedding bells; Look! Abraham has taken his wife! For she has returned with the aroma of her tent…the same tent that became foreclosed to another.

Can a soul really come and go as it pleases? Can it reinvent itself in a telephone booth like Mr. C. Kent?

The World's first Messiah program has cleared the labyrinth; I believe this is where we see the light that was never seen.

This could be the scene we've only reaped a glimpse: eliezer, sarah, Abraham – one last ride on the other side of the aisle?

That world way yonder – here – now – in the book we read every year? How about a new battle cry – the books of moses end happily ever after?

You remember Abraham, all grown up, done smashing idols. Wed the woman of women, spun the whirlwind web of yester yore…..crawled through the hula hoop – even passed go and collected his ransom.

Not easy to look your only one in the eye; how ironic though – where the sacred feminine declares demise, the Lord claims victory?

That’s right; sarah found the flame of the sword that turns and the cherubim, while the maidservant disappeared long ago – far far away from little hedvah.

But in the end, in a few mystical moments, hagar is transformed in front of our misty eyes into the keturah that remembered Abraham.

Who knew sarah would find her way back so soon, now as his equal ger and toshav I am? Who knew now she would send off the villain offspring to the original lands?

Who knew the dead could dance [so eloquently]?

Who knew that Abraham would become the father of Nations? – uh, maybe God? – as it was told over a million times!

Yet what we knew not of, and where we stumbled time and time again – is that the Torah is the book of redemption. Redemption that is contained within the confines of darkness.

Welcome to Abraham's World – where this time Hashem has chesed for him.

Welcome to Abraham's World – where the sons of nobility prosper until micro antics bleed into macro and kosher cheese.

Welcome to Abraham's world – the sanctuary that is divorced of yesterday's plight, while happily wed to the flame and scent of sarah's tent.

The ger, the stranger, the one that remembers the righteous one of God, the one who goes by keturah – a spice of the divine – maybe it's about time we go code red; if they ask, tell them you are my sister.

In a book that loves to love – from Solomon to the ger; did you really think you could separate wisdom and understanding?

Silly in thought, for the mother and the father are lovers who never fall apart; in fact, we just got to see them fall in love.

.Audio Shiur on Parsha Sunday 11 P.M

[Tzfat Time]

***Notice we changed our clocks in Israel

Dumb, Duh - Duh, Dumb

No comments

The Yetzer Hara i.e. the one who comes from "Ego" is dumb. In fact, King David says that the more we sin from ego led inclinations, eventually we become immersed in sin such that we will eventually stumble in supremely foolish ways. This is why King David anguished over his yetzer, for he feared that God Forbid he do something so utterly foolish before God that he should become blind to his own madness and folly.

King David won out, and merited the seed of Moshiach; The Sitra Achra is the anti-David in this matter.

Behold just how dumb it may get. By this thinking [along with World Precedent in these issues - Bavel anyone?] - we may be entering an unprecedented era of stupidity that simultaneously declares utter genius.

God Help Us All [as Rome falls over its own brittle feet (Daniel)]

YahooNews:

European leaders united in anger as they attended a summit overshadowed by reports of widespread U.S. spying on its allies — allegations German Chancellor Angela Merkel said had shattered trust in the Obama administration and undermined the crucial trans-Atlantic relationship.

The latest revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency swept up more than 70 million phone records in France and may have tapped Merkel's own cellphone brought denunciations Thursday from the French and German governments.

Merkel's unusually stern remarks as she arrived at the European Union gathering indicated she wasn't placated by a phone conversation she had Wednesday with President Barack Obama, or his personal assurances that the U.S. is not listening in on her calls now.

"We need trust among allies and partners," Merkel told reporters in Brussels. "Such trust now has to be built anew. This is what we have to think about."

"The United States of America and Europe face common challenges. We are allies," the German leader said. "But such an alliance can only be built on trust. That's why I repeat again: spying among friends, that cannot be."

View gallery."The acting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle … The acting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle speaks after his meeting with the US ambassador … The White House may soon face other irked heads of state and government. The British newspaper The Guardian said Thursday it obtained a confidential memo suggesting the NSA was able to monitor 35 world leaders' communications in 2006. The memo said the NSA encouraged senior officials at the White House, Pentagon and other agencies to share their contacts so the spy agency could add foreign leaders' phone numbers to its surveillance systems, the report said.

The Guardian did not identify who reportedly was eavesdropped on, but said the memo termed the payoff very meager: "Little reportable intelligence" was obtained, it said.

Other European leaders arriving for the 28-nation meeting echoed Merkel's displeasure. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt called it "completely unacceptable" for a country to eavesdrop on an allied leader.

If reports that Merkel's cellphone had been tapped are true, "it is exceptionally serious," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told national broadcaster NOS.

"We want the truth," Italian Premier Enrico Letta told reporters. "It is not in the least bit conceivable that activity of this type could be acceptable."

View gallery."US Ambassador John Emerson, right, gets into his car … US Ambassador John Emerson, right, gets into his car as he leaves after a meeting with German Foreig … Echoing Merkel, Austria's foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, said, "We need to re-establish with the U.S. a relationship of trust, which has certainly suffered from this."

France, which also vocally objected to allies spying on each other, asked that the issue of reinforcing Europeans' privacy in the digital age be added to the agenda of the two-day summit. Before official proceedings got under way, Merkel held a brief one-on-one with French President Francois Hollande, and discussed the spying controversy.

After summit talks that lasted until after 1 a.m. Friday, Herman Van Rompuy, European Council president, announced at a news conference that France and Germany were seeking bilateral talks with the United States to resolve the dispute over electronic spying by "secret services" by the end of this year.

"What is at stake is preserving our relations with the United States," Hollande told reporters at his own early-morning news conference. "They should not be changed because of what has happened. But trust has to be restored and reinforced."

"It's become clear that for the future, something must change — and significantly," Merkel said. "We will put all efforts into forging a joint understanding by the end of the year for the cooperation of the (intelligence) agencies between Germany and the U.S., and France and the U.S., to create a framework for the cooperation."

View gallery."Artist A. Signl, of the artist group Captain Borderline … Artist A. Signl, of the artist group Captain Borderline paints the mural 'Surveillance of the fittes … The Europeans' statements and actions indicated that they hadn't been satisfied with assurances from Washington. On Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama personally assured Merkel that her phone is not being listened to now and won't be in the future.

"I think we are all outraged, across party lines," Wolfgang Bosbach, a prominent German lawmaker from Merkel's party, told Deutschlandfunk radio. "And that also goes for the response that the chancellor's cellphone is not being monitored — because this sentence says nothing about whether the chancellor was monitored in the past."

"This cannot be justified from any point of view by the fight against international terrorism or by averting danger," Bosbach said.

Asked on hursday whether the Americans had monitored Merkel's previous communications, White House spokesman Carney wouldn't rule it out.

"We are not going to comment publicly on every specified alleged intelligence activity," he said.

View gallery."French President Francois Hollande, right, speaks with … French President Francois Hollande, right, speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as they arriv … But while the White House was staying publicly mum, Carney said the Obama administration was discussing Germany's concerns "through diplomatic channels at the highest level," as it was with other U.S. allies worried about the alleged spying.

Obama adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism Lisa Monaco wrote in an editorial for USA Today that the U.S. government is not operating "unrestrained."

The U.S. intelligence community has more restrictions and oversight than any other country, she wrote. "We are not listening to every phone call or reading every e-mail. Far from it."

Monaco noted that a privacy and civil liberties oversight board is reviewing counterterrorism efforts to ensure that privacy and civil liberties are protected.

"Going forward, we will continue to gather the information we need to keep ourselves and our allies safe, while giving even greater focus to ensuring that we are balancing our security needs with the privacy concerns all people share," she wrote.

View gallery."German Chancellor Angela Merkel, second left, and French … German Chancellor Angela Merkel, second left, and French President Francois Hollande, second right, … In the past, much of the official outrage in Europe about revelations of U.S. communications intercepts leaked by former NSA contract worker Edward Snowden seemed designed for internal political consumption in countries that readily acknowledge conducting major spying operations themselves. But there has been a new discernible vein of anger in Europe as the scale of the NSA's reported operations became known, as well as the possible targeting of a prominent leader like Merkel, presumably for inside political or economic information.

"Nobody in Germany will be able to say any longer that NSA surveillance — which is apparently happening worldwide and millions of times — is serving solely intelligence-gathering or defense against Islamic terror or weapons proliferation," said Hans-Christian Strobele, a member of the German parliamentary oversight committee.

Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, said Europe's undermined confidence in the U.S. meant it should suspend negotiations for a two-way free-trade agreement that would account for almost half of the global economy. The Americans, Schulz said, now must prove they can be trusted.

"Let's be honest. If we go to the negotiations and we have the feeling those people with whom we negotiate know everything that we want to deal with in advance, how can we trust each other?" Schulz said.

European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said for many Europeans, eavesdropping on their phone calls or reading their emails is particularly objectionable because it raises the specter of totalitarian regimes of the recent past.

View gallery."German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and French President … German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and French President Francois Hollande, right, arrive for a r … "At least in Europe, we consider the right to privacy a fundamental right and it is a very serious matter. We cannot, let's say, pretend it is just something accessory," Barroso told a presummit news conference.

Referring to the former East Germany's secret police, the feared Stasi, Barroso said, "to speak about Chancellor Merkel, in Germany there was a part of Germany where there was a political police that was spying on people's lives every day. So we know very recently what totalitarianism means. And we know very well what comes, what happens when the state uses powers that intrude in people's lives. So it is a very important issue, not only for Germany but for Europe in general."

In Berlin, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador to stress how seriously it takes the reported spying on Merkel. Germany's defense minister said his country and Europe can't return "to business as usual" with Washington, given the number of reports that the United States has eavesdropped on allied nations.

A German parliamentary committee that oversees the country's intelligence service met to discuss the spying allegations. Its head, Thomas Oppermann, recalled previous reports to the panel that U.S. authorities had denied violating German interests, and said, "we were apparently deceived by the American side."

Meanwhile, two Western diplomats told The Associated Press that U.S. officials have briefed them on documents obtained by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that might expose their respective countries' levels of intelligence cooperation with the U.S.

The diplomats said the briefings came from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The Washington Post said some of the documents Snowden took contain sensitive material about collection programs against adversaries including Iran, Russia and China. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the intelligence briefings publicly.

In this Generation, to label it the "genius's" [like neo-gaonim] would an insult to their intelligence [by dictations of ego]; all that leaves is the Generation of the gods'?

It truly fits...and with that said [as King David and Zohar also qualify] - we may have entered an era of unprecedented Avodah Zara among Men - fitting to the imagery that the Torah illustrates us with as Man will sin in those days by the workings of their hands/fingers. This "i generation" is certainly that, and their Messiah was Steve Jobs [consciousness] that ushered in the blanket permission slip for Man to do as he pleases [against his fellow man]. Today, the dumber it gets, the more genius the ego claims to be.

It is sure to get interesting, as we have just returned to the proverbial sandbox and are being held captive by the kids who eventually cried uncle over their own misery.

Swords Then Plowshares

1 comment

Commenting on the IAF’s hidden strength, and hinting to Iran and other enemies of Israel, Peres said: “The full power of the army and the air force is not visible to the naked eye, but anyone who is disdainful of Israel and plans to attack us, should take this into account.”

At the base, Peres was briefed on defense strategies by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, IAF Commander in Chief Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel and senior officers who showed him the latest innovations in the air force’s defense systems.

Peres expressed his pride in all branches of the IDF and declared the IAF to be the best air force in the world with the most exclusive, advanced technological systems, plus a high quality, dedicated human component.

The Israel Air Force will never rest on its laurels, but will always but will always look forward towards future challenges, said Peres. Air strength, flexibility and capability are more relevant today than before, he added.

Gantz said that Israel is confronted by many challenges including those in the sky and is ready to meet them all 365 days a year, and to react accordingly with intelligence, operational and tactical responses against every threat.

Eshel said that the air force was the most essential and effective branch of the defense forces and was made up of exceptionally talented and devoted personnel.

The Power of Shem and Abraham

No comments

Abraham and Greatness
Who Is Elisha
The Real Ger
Moshiach - Finally Clear
Shabbat - For All
Let The Truth Be Told etc.

Click Here For Article!

Peek a Boo Shem!

1 comment

Parashas Vayeira

Undertones of Torat Shem

Rabbi David Katz

The previous Parasha ends with the circumcision of Abraham and Yishmael, and yet what most readers never find out, was that this was orchestrated by Shem. There are three ways of looking at the Brit of Abraham, and each one appears as he is the master of the art form; in fact, all three are really one in the same. Abraham musters the strength to go at it alone, as he is aided by Hashem, who in turn called upon the selfless Shem to be the facilitator to bring the command to form and function in God’s name. This is just one example of the hidden Shem; the entirety of our Parasha offers more of the same in regards to Shem, and his influence over the all of Jewish history.

With Shem having given circumcision to Abraham, we now have a perfect introduction into our Parasha, and a precedent that Shem never left Abraham’s side from their monumental meeting at the Temple Mount. As one flips the pages and scans each event that will revolve around Abraham, one can see the Shem undertones loud and clear. Up next for example, is the art of praying on behalf of the generation; where Noah would stumble Abraham shined...and perhaps Shem is was and will be the difference, as for the Final Redemption, Shem will be the all too famous Righteous Priest to get things started.

Hashem wastes no time in getting to business with Sedom and Gemorra, as their wicked cries have reached a boiling point for Divine retribution. At the same time, Hashem makes known that He must include Abraham in such matters, and Abraham meets the standard, as he prays for the lives of the righteous among the wicked. Here we see two direct connections to Shem – praying for the generation, and the link between Sedom and Jerusalem.

Where Noah stumbled in uplifting the generation, we can see that Shem rectified the problem, and helped pass the appropriate torch onwards to Abraham. The Zohar accounts that Hashem’s covenant after the Flood was actually inscribed in the merit of Shem. The Zohar also gives account that both Jerusalem and Sedom suffer common fate of destruction. However Shem took Jerusalem in a righteous direction, whereas the rest of the World made Sedom into a spiritual wasteland. That is where the similarities end, as Jerusalem is the one destined to become rebuilt. The Messianic dream of Jerusalem will also include a return of the righteous inhabitants who come as Nobleman who are in the mold of Abraham and are found in every Generation to the number of Thirty-Six. [The Zohar points out that there are 30 like Abraham, another three not included in the count, and three like the three men who appeared to Abraham at the beginning of the Parsha. These thirty-six men uphold the World every generation, and this was the precedent that Abraham prayed for.]

Fast forward to the episode of Lot and his two daughters at the tail end of the Sedom story, and we find the seeds of yet another Shem saga.

As we know, Lot fathered the eventual nation Moav; the same Moav that Ruth is destined to come from. Yet if we trek just a little bit deeper, it is almost common knowledge that the Davidic Kingdom comes out of this. These state of affairs are practically synonymous with not only David, but the Tribe of Judah. For the whole entire Judah – Ger Tzedek relationship is a sect of Torah that laid its first roots of fruition with Tamar and Judah. Tamar of course was Shem’s daughter, and their union would help shape and ferment the eventual Ruth story, along with the other Judah – Ger Tzedek relationships that would occur in close proximity of the Judah lineage. The Torah is about spiritual repair and leverage; for as much as Lot perverted the pathways [with his daughters], Shem sought to purify the World through righteous paths that the impure know not of. Of Judah, Shem, and the myriads of Gerei Tzedek; a word to the wise is sufficient.

The next stop on the Shem train is the encounter between Abraham and AviMelech. To quickly and simply put the story into Noahide context, the Talmud [and all subsequent authorities] understands that AviMelech was [Noahide] wrong for his out of bounds interest of Sarah, the wife of Abraham. To put it bluntly, in any situation [all the more so an openly dodgy situation] one must make it his business to know what is going on. As Hashem said in the Torah [and the Talmud expounded further] – AviMelech was obligated to learn, yet he hadn’t learned. This goes for all situations, places, and people. It was not impossible to know that Sarah was Abraham’s wife, thus he was obligated to make it his business to find out just exactly was going on; the difference being life and death. The Torah precept here is called Derech Eretz, and as is known Derech Eretz comes with Torah, and reminds us of Shem and Abraham on the Temple Mount that was embodied by an inheritance of Torah.

Yet one can expound further, and say that this precept is actually an [binding] invitation to take on Shabbat [something Abraham then did!] for if one is to learn [and incur possible guilt should he not learn] then Shabbat is the ticket! As Jewish Ger relations thicken towards Geulah [in relation to the Judah – Ger Tzedek tree], the two peoples will come into close proximity by nature on and around the Sabbath. Should the Jew entertain his Ger Tzedek [Ger Toshav] friends who have journeyed a great length to partake of his company, they will be obligated to have learned the ins and outs of an acceptable Shabbat. In most cases this is for the sake of the Ger, to know what is appropriate in the relationship, for Scholarship on the Jewish side may be weak as to what the function of the Ger is on Shabbat. [The same as well on the inverse] Accolades again fall upon Shem, for soon after Lech Lecha, we find Torah proof that Abraham was a Shomer Shabbat Ger, in conjunction with the Ger who learns Torah is as a High priest. [Abraham was given the High priesthood from Shem]

The last two locations of Shem in the Parasha are both tailored to Isaac. We find that the life of Isaac was inspired directly from Shem. After Isaac was weaned, the Midrash tells us that Abraham and Sarah had a party, and the generations greatest Men were in attendance. Amidst the congregation, as Sarah was attending to Isaac, she noticed that Shem and Ever had come to pay respects to young Isaac. It is a known wisdom that a nursing mother heavily influences an infant; one can imagine the Awe that Sarah had and imbued into Isaac when she saw Shem and Ever in full bloom and in relation to Abraham. Isaac was destined to be different.

And indeed he was, as after Abraham had succeeded in his 10^th and final test [the Binding of Isaac, upon which both of them merited their higher self], the Midrash again fills in the missing gap, and makes the reader aware, that Isaac left the Mount, and enrolled into Shem’s Yeshiva for advanced learning. This would become the gold standard of the Abrahamic lineage, as Jacob and his sons would also learn from the mouth of Shem. In fact, Torah history would come to be defined by one’s proximity to Shem and the Torah of. Once we meet Malki Tzedek / Shem and Abraham together in Lech Lecha, the Torah’s secret precedent is established.

The lost doctrines of the Ger are not a tale of doom and gloom, for Shem is said to have eaten of the Tree of Life and Lives forever. As much as we find false religions that exploit the ambiguous nature of the Shem – Abraham connection, or in Judaism’s side it has sadly become forgotten, misquoted/learned, or blatantly left out of tradition, Shem certainly does live and thrive even to this day. Every year we have the chance to align ourselves with the Shem undertones in Genesis, and are given the opportunity to heal the Shem – Abraham union in a religious awakening. Whether it be a Ger Shabbat, extended Torah learning, or the classic Love the Ger message, we all have what to gain and learn from seeking out Shem in this new Torah cycle of the current year.

We are all given the choice – do we judge Abraham as the streimel [Chasidic fury head garb] wearing first Jew that he really wasn’t [but if we put enough makeup on him – he can be], or as the Universal message that Shem saw at the Temple Mount, and thus routed the Torah of Creation through him? Abraham makes a great Jew, maybe even the best Jew…but as a Ger, Abraham really was one of a kind, and the best part of the original Ger Tzedek story, is that it finally allows the truth of Shem and his Torah to radiate into our souls. Shem is not mentioned in our Parasha, but don’t be fooled, as Sechel is a Ger in this World. Thank God we have Abraham, the first Ger Tzedek as a constant reminder that all that we have, comes from Shem son of Noah. Thanks to Shem, Abraham goes from being a good Jew [through limited perception], and illuminates into Abraham the father of Chesed…and now, we can merit to know the difference.