What are we waiting for? That is the question.

 

 24 Menahem Av 5784 | כ"ד מנחם אב התשפ"ד

 

To see a part of what we're waiting for, watch this.

 

The rest of the Middle East (not to mention the US, who is playing both sides of this ongoing conflict) is saying lately that we are waiting for them to respond to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh and all the other evil leaders in the Middle East who have been seeking to annihilate us, wipe us off the face of the earth in the most painful and horrible ways.

Yes, we are waiting; but not for what they think. We are not dhimmis, even if they think we are, even those of us who are descendants of people in dhimmitude.

 Besides that, we failed at least one test before that required us to wait. But we didn't; so, when the golden calf was made, we lost the opportunity to rectify the world, back in the days when we were in the desert; and we see the results today.

The other major test where waiting was required was before there was such a thing as Israelites or Jews. It was in the Garden of Eden when the satan-snake came to Hava haRishona (the First Eve) and suggested that she eat the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, that was forbidden to her. 

Yeah, I know. She should have asked her husband. But you know, he wasn't there at the moment, and usually the snake-oil salesman tries to hurry the sale before he loses the customer, before he (in this case, she) had a chance to get confirmation or feedback otherwise. 

What, you didn't know that the satan-snake was the first snake-oil salesman? 😉

Back to what the modern nation of Israel is waiting for, from north to south. No, we're not in any hurry to submit to you, Iran, or even to the rest of the Middle East, to become dhimmi again. It is not for you we wait.

Only for the king of the Jews.

(Yes, we know that someone else had that title, and that something bad happened to him. But that was because he wasn't the real king.)

As I have heard and expressed in writing before, 

A family that is living here right now somewhere in this country holds the distant descendant of King David's unbroken male line, who is the heir to his throne. If he passes away, another will arise from that line; that's how we can say that Mashiah has been available, and could have come to Am Yisrael, in every generation. That's who Mashiah is, and his government will be the only truly legitimate one, recognized by all, here.

Many times in the past, the opportunity arose earlier in the process because there was a qualified descendant in every generation, but the people weren't ready to take advantage of it. Now, that doesn't matter because we are at the end, close to the very, very end. In a few years it will be 210 years before the seventh millennium of the world begins. A lot has to happen before the millennium-long sabbatical, just as, when every week draws to a close, we must prepare for Shabbath.

***

The names of the American hostages in Gaza are: Edan Alexander; Itay Chen, HY"D; Sagui Dekel-Chen; Hersh Goldberg-Polin; Gadi Haggai, HY"D; Judith Weinstein Haggai, HY"D; Omer Neutra and Keith Siegel...since neither the American administration nor the American media are willing to SAY THEIR NAMES. Because Jews?! Pictures of these hostages can be found in the linked article as well.

Many thanks to Varda Meyers Epstein for the link immediately above; I didn't know what all their names were. I hope that all the nations represented in any way by the hostages currently in Gaza are reminding people of where they come from, whether alive or dead.

The HY"D after some of these hostages' names stands for May God avenge his/her blood. It means they were murdered, whether during captivity or beforehand, in this case during the 7 October 2023/Simhath Torah 5784 atrocities. 

A note to clarify: Among the Ten Commandments, the sixth one, which is usually translated "Thou shalt not kill" (lo' tirtzáh לא תרצח), specifically refers to murder. Other kinds of killing have different verbs in Hebrew, and are not included in this commandment. It is the same in both versions presented in the Hebrew Bible. See HERE.

May Mashiah (the king of the Jews) come and be revealed today...שמשיח יבוא ויתגלה היום

***

More reading and viewing:

VIDEO: A man from Judea is suing the Biden Administration. Why?  |  The truth about Jewish Gaza (MAJA: Make Aza Jewish Again!)| Shmuel Sackett: How do we feel when Israel's at war? | Tikva Forum - Advocating the Hostages' Return Responsibly ENG | עבר - Lots of videos! (BTW, I made up the slogan based on their approach as I read it) |

READ: Vic Rosenthal: Do we have an ally in America? or something else? | Rivka Levy: The State of Hizballamerica |  How should Israel act against Hamas after the murder of the [6] hostages? | Why is Israel buying Google's UNRWA searches, and linking them to an information website? | NO state for terrorists | Hamas is executing hostages; "human rights" groups are silent... | Jewish Press: Biden sanctions [cuts off from access to bank and other accounts, etc. - HDG] more Israelis [specifically, JEWS] | Esser Agaroth: Biden continues his excursion into Israel's affairs |

 

Rav Eli J. Mansour: Parashat Debarim — Building the "Bridge" to Redemption

7 Menahem Av 5784 | ז' מנחם אב ה'תשפ"ד

 

 

The original d'var Torah by Rav Mansour was posted in time prior to SHABBAT DEBARIM 5784.
Take the Temple Institute Illustrated Tour of the Holy Temple HERE.

(Holy Temple = Bet Ha'mikdash)

***

On Tisha B'Ab, as we know, we observe a fast and mourn the destruction of the Bet Ha'mikdash.  Although this calamity occurred many generations after the Torah was given, nevertheless, the day of Tisha B'Ab – like everything else – has a source in the Torah.

 This source is revealed to us by the Zohar, in Parashat Vayishlach, where it teaches that the 365 days of the solar year correspond to the 365 Misvot Lo Ta'aseh – prohibitions introduced by the Torah.  Each day of the solar calendar is associated with a different Biblical prohibition.  And the day of Tisha B'Ab, the Zohar writes, corresponds to the prohibition of "Gid Ha'nasheh," which forbids partaking of a certain sinew of animals.  This prohibition commemorates the incident that occurred when Yaakob Abinu was on his way back to Eretz Yisrael after having spent twenty years with his uncle.  On the night before he crossed the river into the Land of Israel, he was attacked by a mysterious assailant, identified by the Sages as the Satan, the angel of Esav.  Yaakob ultimately prevailed, but suffered an injury in his Gid Ha'nasheh.  In commemoration of this struggle, we refrain from eating the Gid Ha'nasheh of animals.  The Zohar teaches us that this prohibition corresponds with Tisha B'Ab.  Just as this command requires us to refrain from eating something to commemorate a foreigner's attack that caused Yaakob a painful injury, on Tisha B'Ab we refrain from eating to commemorate the pain and suffering caused by our enemies on this day.

 The Hatam Sofer (Rav Moshe Sofer, Pressburg, 1762-1839) develops the Zohar's teaching further, establishing that this fight between Yaakob and Esav's angel actually took place on the night of Tisha B'Ab.  That night set the precedent for what would happen many centuries later, when, like then, our enemy would come and deal a painful blow.

 If so, then we can perhaps understand an otherwise peculiar aspect of the Torah's description of the events of that night when the angel attacked Yaakob.

 The Torah relates that on this night, Yaakob brought all his belongings across the river, to the other side ("Va'ya'aber Et Asher Lo" – Bereshit 32:24).  Afterward, he was left alone on his side, and he came under attack.  Rashi explains this verse to mean, "He made himself like a bridge, taking from here and placing it here."  We must wonder, why is this important?  Why did the Torah find it necessary to inform us that Yaakob formed a "bridge" over the river, bringing his possessions from one side to the next?

The answer is that this "bridge" is the secret for how we defeat "Esav" and recover from the destruction and exile that he brings upon us.  In Yaakob's famous dream, he saw a ladder extending from the ground – from the site of the Bet Ha'mikdash – to the heavens.  This is what the Bet Ha'mikdash represents – connecting the earth to the heavens, infusing our physical world and our physical reality with sanctity, with spiritual meaning.  Offering an animal as a sacrifice means taking a physical entity and making it sacred, which is precisely the way we are supposed to live.  This is what the Bet Ha'mikdash represented, and this is the symbolic meaning of Yaakob forming a "bridge" for his material possessions.  When he brought his assets across the river to Eretz Yisrael, he was showing us what religious life means – infusing our physical, worldly existence with holiness.  This is the significance of Yaakob's "bridge" – bridging the gap between heaven and earth, between the sacred and the mundane, between the spiritual and the physical.

 On that night of Tisha B'Ab, which established this occasion as a time of exile, suffering and calamity, Yaakob showed us how we can bring an end to our troubles and earn redemption.  In order to be worthy of the Bet Ha'mikdash, we need to work to make this connection between heaven and earth, between our physical reality and Kedusha.  We need to infuse our mundane activities with spiritual meaning, by directing everything we do toward Torah and Misvot.  We do this by going about all our activities in strict adherence to Halacha, and by devoting time and resources for sacred purposes.  By elevating our worldly existence, and injecting it with holiness, we form the "bridge" that will lead us to the rebuilding of the Bet Ha'mikdash, speedily and in our times, Amen.

***

May haShem bring this about with all due speed; may the upcoming Tisha b'Av become a feast day before our very eyes! 

***

More reading/viewing:

Viewing:

Mashiach, We Are Ready |  עלי חמינאי, יום הדין הגיע (Ali Khamenei, the day of judgment has arrived! Message from Moshe Feiglin) VIDEO (subtitles in English and Farsi) | BBC interviews Moshe Feiglin in English (כתוביות בעברית) | H/t for both of the above videos: an anonymous commenter HERE | Antisemite Francesca Albanese under UN investigation (Hebrew with English subtitles) | Article with video: International controversy: Jews recite Tisha b'Av prayers on Temple Mount (ooooh! Commemoration of the destruction of the Temple at its site is forbidden?!). | At the end of the day: Unbelievable changes on the holiest site | Biden's Blood Libel | Caroline Glick: The revolution happening in Israel that you didn't know about |

Reading:

 

Birth of the Mashiach | In less than an hour: 800 [JEWISH] worshipers ascend Temple Mount | Dozens "break the rules" on Har haBayit by prostrating to HaShem there | Cornell student who threatened Jews sent to prison | Israeli shot by Hamas terrorist released in November hostage deal | Unconfirmed: Hamas claims to have killed a hostage, harmed others | My son died on Oct. 7. This Tisha b'Av, I'm thinking about how our greatest threat comes from within. | Einat Wilf: UK funding of UNRWA makes Gaza peace less likely | JNS: For Israel's progressive elites, the real war is against the enemy within. Brilliant analysis! | Forest Rain: Iran 101: Into the mind of the enemy |