The theme of the Haftarah this past Shabbos is a synopsis of the history of the Jewish people. I have mentioned that we do not learn from history, and Hashem told us all about it through His prophet Jeremiah. First read the Artscroll commentary on the Haftarah:
Haftaras Masei – Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4; 4:1-2
Jeremiah's theme in this passage is Israel's disloyalty to Hashem, Who saved them from slavery, gave them a Torah and a Land and the values upon which to build lives suffused with accomplishment and greatness. Hashem gave Israel springs flowing with vibrantly flowing teachings, but Israel turned away from them and dug itself cisterns to catch the stagnant water of alien beliefs; and even those cisterns were broken and unable to contain their filthy contents, because the dogmas for which Israel exchanged its eternal Torah are themselves always being modified and rejected in favor of other beliefs that do not fulfill their adherents either. Hashem cries out in anguish through the throat of Jeremiah, "For My people have perpetrated two evils: [1] Me they have forsaken, the Source of living waters; [2] to dig for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water," The Sages say that Hashem lamented, "If they had forsaken only Him, but had kept the Torah, its spiritual light would have influenced them to return to the path of righteousness," But they did not. They traded the Torah for false beliefs, and so denied themselves the cure for their malady. What remained? Let your gods save you, if they can, Jeremiah challenged. They could not. The destruction and exile ensued.Does this sound familiar? Throughout our history when we turned to Hashem, all went well; Hashem gave us the goodness of life. When we ignored Hashem’s Torah, His commandments, all was destructive. You may say that we did not have too much of a history of things going well, to which I would say: you are correct because we did not have a history of turning to Hashem and following His ways.
But, as individuals, the system is ours to use, and it is perfect. We have always received measure for measure exactly what we needed. The testing that we received as individuals was still for the merciful purpose of helping us grow and perfect ourselves. Our actual performance, how we turned to Hashem for every detail, was the only way for us to have success and happiness. I have pointed out that even our forefathers and mothers were tested, but it was to strengthen them and give them the most tremendous eternal life possible.
This is exactly what we are going through now. My suggestion that we observe the first ten days of the Hebrew month of Av, is not my suggestion, but is exactly the type of message that Jeremiah told the people thousands of years ago. Listen to Hashem’s teaching and live it instead of following your own misguided beliefs, and the world will change for you to a level beyond your wildest dreams. The end is very close and this is our last chance to get it right, yes this is a limited time offer.
I will only say this a thousand times more (I probably don’t have enough time for a thousand): if you want all to go well for you and your loved ones in this life and forever after, follow Hashem and live His Absolute Truth. If you are enjoying all your problems in life and even want worse problems, do it your way. No speculation here; just thousands of years of proof.
Another hint to a good life. I have mentioned several times that words actually cause energies to flow and good things to happen. I talked about this in my post Prayer Works, 24 Aug 2015. What I am noticing these days is the tremendous amount of improper language and how it is so common in the news, TV, movies, even comments on many videos and articles (I would like to reference some of these, but not when I see the filth that accompanies it). Just as good words are very creative and make positive energies flow, bad words cause destruction. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, destructive weather of any kind can come about by negative energy from improper and unnecessary language.
It is true on an international scale, but also it is true for us as individuals. If you have a tendency to be undisciplined with your words and think it is alright, after all, everyone does it, Hashem says otherwise. Many of your personal problems could come from something so innocent sounding as bad words. Practice saying everything the way Hashem would like to hear it, it will work wonders for you.
Anything significant? Georgia Guidestones (GOG as you'd point out). It's almost as if the NWO is to be blamed for pulling down Planet X / Nibiru to destroy 2/3 of Earth.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1131371/pg1
http://www.conspiracyoutpost.com/topic/12346-planned-world-depopulation-event-on-august-14-2016-georgia-guidestones-judgement-against-mankind/
Thank you, this is a fascinating find. I will be posting this tomorrow with my comments.
DeleteOn Shabbat when we read this Haftorah, when we got to this part: ""If they had forsaken only Him, but had kept the Torah, its spiritual light would have influenced them to return to the path of righteousness,” It came to me that the opposite is really the easier. Today, Israelis BELIEVE in G-D (or a Supreme Being) but have the hardest time keeping the Halachos. At least that is how I see it. In the religious camp, I think we may have even those who actually live up to that saying.
ReplyDeleteThat is the message of Hashem through Jeremiah. Hashem doesn't need anything from us; He is so far above us, there isn't any problem for Hashem if we do not do His will. He provided all this for us. We are the ones who benefit from doing the right thing. As an example: Hashem does not need our prayer, we do. If we want our lives to go well, Hashem's system of prayer works, and is a gift for us.
DeleteThat is why Hashem is saying: "If they had forsaken only Him, but had kept the Torah, its spiritual light would have influenced them to return to the path of righteousness.” That holds true just as much for now as it did in the days of Jeremiah.
Rav, about the law of no music during this week: does that apply only if you cause the music to sound, or in any circunstances? Because lately it's been really difficult for me to carry it on, and there were cases that I had to hear to music and couldn't prevent it. In that case, is it my fault?
ReplyDeleteThere are varying opinions of music. Because we are in a mourning period, music is generally upbeat and happy; that is a problem. Some Rabbis talk only about instruments being the problem, and allow A Capella singing, that isn't joyful and fun. If you are a classical music enthusiast, as me, there are Rabbis that allow dirge or very solemn music.
DeleteThe entire purpose of these ten days is to mourn our history, especially the loss of the two Temples. Music generally is not mournful.
The best approach is to avoid it all together. Everything we do is to help our souls, and show Hashem our feelings towards Him and His Torah. My motto: "When in doubt, leave it out."
If you made the mistake of listening, do Teshuvah, which means asking for forgiveness, and not listening anymore. It is only 5 more days to display our intentions and help ourselves for eternity. If you don't have the discipline to avoid the music altogether, then work on it -- more Teshuvah.