Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Yayeshev Erev Chanukah

A Message to Am Yisrael in the Land and throughout the world

The King of Kings , the Holy One blessed be He, is dismantling and destroying all of the old world! Dismantling and destroying the harsh world of impurity, through forces of nature, through arguments of factions within a country and countries against other countries. This is a plan, a Godly strategy, the hardest there ever was! The Holy One is sifting out who will live and who will not live, which nation will be destroyed and which will survive, is cleansing the evil from the entire world with tweezers. The world is not ending; there will be an end to impurity, the “other side” and to wickedness!

The Creator of the world is bringing the world and Am Yisrael to baseless love! The goyim that will remain outside the borders of Israel – will serve Am Yisrael and will believe in the Holy One! The entire world is in chaos, we don’t know what will happen the next minute, and the craziness is rampant. It is easier for the Holy One to make a flood, just like during the time of Noach, and to leave just a small portion in the world.

All terrible forces of nature will continue.

Anti-Semitism is increasing, particularly in Europe, and is spreading to the United States and America. The Creator is telling all authentic Jews, come urgently to holy Eretz Yisrael! If they don’t come and think “this won’t happen to me” – they will make a severe mistake! There is the “saving by Hashem in the blink of an eye” and there is the destruction of a nation in the blink of an eye! Anti-Semitism has come out in the open against all Jews and Am Yisrael. After the Holocaust they spoke against the Jews in a whisper, in strict privacy. Today they speak against Jews and Eretz Yisrael front and center, in front of the whole world! The United States is protective of Am Yisrael, because Israel is the key to the world! They don’t want any nation protecting the State of Israel – only them! The United States is obligated to help Israel from A to Z, they are not doing any favors – this is an order from the Holy One! This is their merit for remaining in the world! The support of the Palestinians by nations in the United Nations – fuels the anti-Semitism!

All Jews: Return to the Land immediately! In Eretz Yisrael you will find the Holy One, the Shechina and the Mashiach who are guarding every piece of land in Eretz Yisrael. The goyim around us – Mashiach is dealing with them, and if they don’t change – he will destroy them!

In Egypt there will be a huge revolution, it already started and will continue with no end like in Syria – be patient! In Egypt they caught a ship of weapons and ammunition targeted for Hamas – they got the media and photographers to capture it on film, and on the other hand they continue to supply weapons and ammunition to Hamas through the tunnels.

Syria erases itself and will continue to do so. Not one person in the world can stop this process. Whether Assad lives or not, they will continue to fight each other!

In Jordan the “business” is beginning to really boil, there will be a revolution and Jordan will come apart and fall, “they will eat each other up” just like in Syria!

In Gaza, it’s quiet, “as though” there is a cease-fire – it’s all false! They are re-arming with lightening speed for the next time.

Iran “is playing” that she is poor – and in truth, she is poor in a big way! Their president has put all their money into atomic reactors and their economy is going down the drain! The Holy One will dissolve the Iranian president and all his backers with sulfur, because of the edict they wish to impose on Am Yisrael! He can’t do anything! All his atomic works – their swords will enter their own hearts and their arrows will break, if he will ever use them – from Heaven they will use him! The Creator looks upon the president of Iran and the Iranians from above, and is always giving them a shock in the head – he will dissolve them with sulfur! The president of Iran is from the seed of Haman and the Holy One doesn’t like the seed of Haman!

All the political parties: Come down from the high tree, playing with honor – not with the Creator! Pity the waste of money, rather invest the money in the education of our youth! The Holy One confuses all the parties because they have no unity. In the Heavens there is no right and left, Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Haredim, all need to be like the light of the shamash of Chanukah that kindles all the lights! Pity all the time that is wasted!

The State of Israel must not be afraid of any nation, we must be on alert and not apathetic. The Holy One protects and has each Jew covered when he or she is in – the state of Israel!

The world economy – nothing will help, it will come apart, their economy will never be balanced. The Holy One is not interested in them!

The economy in Israel is stable, good and strong! Unemployment is caused by the people and not the government! It’s the people who don’t want to change from their usual jobs and switch to another profession – there is work for everyone, there shouldn’t be unemployment.

Anyone who steals, sins or does things that are not nice or clean – will be revealed in their nakedness, nothing will help, good looking or ugly, poor or rich. The Holy One will make us transparent in front of Am Yisrael!

Any business or company of Jews in Eretz Yisrael, will fall and go broke if they don’t do things properly. Tithes of ma’aser and terumah must be given to the State of Israel, to synagogues, yeshivot, mikva’ot, the needy and the sick – from this will come blessing! Any Jew who says about his money “it is my strength and the power of my hands that all this has come to me”- will go broke. When he acknowledges it is all from the Holy One – there will be great success!

There are many gangs of Arabs in Eretz Yisrael who are preparing kidnappings of soldiers in Tzahal – be careful!

Am Yisrael, Jews living in Eretz Yisrael, instead of fear – keep the ten commandments and cleave to the Holy One! It is very worthwhile, for it is the Holy One who guards and protects Am Yisrael, the end of the evil in the world has arrived! Together with this, Mashiach ben David is cleansing the old world and has begun to open a new world! Very soon he will be revealed! Precious Jews, don’t miss out on the good that is coming! This entire message, and all the messages in the past – is absolute truth! You will see!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Here’s to Your Good Health

I have been asked about solving medical problems, both physical and mental.  Since I have hinted to various procedures that I have used very successfully, I thought I would share some of my secrets with you.  Wait a minute.  You might ask, what does an Electrical Engineer know about solving medical problems?

Let’s begin by describing how most of the body works and what often causes medical ailments.  The body works by electro-chemical reactions that cause signals to flow throughout.  In other words, it is one big electrical circuit.  But, like a battery that creates the electricity through chemical reactions and then allows the flow of electricity by providing a completed a circuit path, the body reacts in a similar way to cause proper functioning.  When the electricity doesn't flow properly (signals getting from brain to the organs and limbs, as an example), medical treatment is needed.  There are two ways to treat such problems: one is to cause proper chemical reactions to affect circuit completion and signal distribution; or, to do some other  procedure to complete the electrical flow.  Most of the world uses the chemical method better known as medicine or drugs.  Why?  Because, there is good money in it.  The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most lucrative industries in the world.  A big reason that the US and many other nations became such a haven for drugs is that we are indoctrinated from birth with the idea that to solve a medical problem all you need is a pill.  The fact is Hashem created the human body with everything it needs to heal itself.  The problem is that medical science has turned the healing process into a multi-billion dollar industry.  They don’t want you to perform self healing – there is no money in it for their stockholders.  I have a lifelong friend who became a detail man for one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.  His job was to visit doctors, hospitals and pharmacies to introduce them to the new products of the company he worked for.  This friend told me much about the medical system in the US.   The item that many of his customers were interested in was placebos.  Why?  Doctors, as an example, knew that the body could cure itself as long as the mind believed there was a cure being administered.  But the sad part was that the doctor was not interested in curing the patient, but just making the person feel comfortable which promotes future business.  The doctor makes much more money by having his patients return than curing them.  Unfortunately, the medical profession is a very lucrative industry that has made many very wealthy.  We lived in Europe for six years and Israel getting close to 10 years.  We have experienced leaving a doctor’s office without a prescription.  In the US most people would say:  “that doctor wasn't any good, he didn't prescribe anything.”  To have a doctor tell you “eat a particular diet, get some rest or do this exercise and the ailment will take care of itself,” is unheard of in the US and, after all, return business is the key to success in the medical field.  (The best thing about the medical services in Israel is that we have no trouble finding a good Jewish doctor).  I thought I would throw in a joke here to demonstrate the system in the US: Obamacare (end of joke).

So what am I recommending as a way of curing your ills that is totally effective and in most cases free of charge.  I got your interest?

Let us break it down into different categories of medical help that is needed and simple techniques that truly work.  The basis for medical problems is emotional instability.  When people are stressed out, worried, out of control, the body reacts with physical problems.  Why?  I’ll tell you later.  Suffice it to say that most medical problems are solved when we become very emotionally stable and happy.  This emotional stability causes the completion of the electrical lines mentioned above and solves many of the physical ailments resulting.  The more technical term that describes this is meridian zones.  Acupuncture, as an example, has been used for thousands of years to realign these meridian lines of energy causing a flow which results in solving medical problems.   What if we had a technique to do acupuncture without the needles and even without a person to administer the treatment, in other words, a self-administered procedure?

Let me introduce you to The Emotional Freedom Technique® or EFT which is an approach to healing that has gained attention from medical professionals and laypersons all over the world and often gets results when nothing else has worked.  There are many excellent websites that tell you all about this technique and the easy procedure to be done to affect healing.  I need not say any more but invite you to look at some of the sites available:

 EFT and Tap for Health

These two sites can introduce you to the concept, and help you get started (there are many more).  The testimonials that exist of all the medical problems that have been solved using EFT are overwhelming.   Stay with it with complete confidence – it works.  It does take persistence and may require several tapping sessions before it works, but it works.  Whenever I use the technique I am usually successful on the first try since I have been using EFT for years and have total confidence that I will succeed.  If you have a negative attitude towards something like this, then as with anything else I have suggested (prayer, meditation, Teshuvah, etc), it will hinder your success.  Complete trust that Hashem has given us bodies that can heal itself with very little effort on our part is essential to success of solving medical problems.  It all starts with the mind being emotionally stable and happy.  The rest is easy.

There is another very important aspect to good health that I have to include -- proper diet.  The chemical part of our wellbeing is enhanced greatly by what we eat.  The biggest diet problems in the world today are the fast food (more appropriately called junk food) that has become a typical diet.  Hashem gave us the gift of our body with instructions to take care of it.  If we think that poisonous junk food is fulfilling the Torah request to take care of Hashem’s gift, then we should not complain when medical problems arise.  Doing the right thing should always include common sense.  This is not rocket science – it is simply using the intelligence that Hashem gave us in His handbook of life and applying it.  Here is a very good video of how diet can help your success in solving medical problems:

The diet that this doctor in the video is suggesting may not be as enjoyable a  pizza, but it is much more enjoyable than medical problems.

I have mentioned several times that we become sick, measure for measure, as a way of giving our soul Tikun (rectification) which is one of our most important purposes of this life on Earth.  The soul actually controls and gives us our sickness to achieve the Tikun.  Why?  To compensate for what we are not doing to accomplish our mission in this life.  There are many techniques that I have not discussed since I feel they are counterproductive to what we are supposed to be doing.  As an example, I have a particular statement that I can make that completely takes away pain.  By talking to my soul and convincing it to not give me pain, I can completely avoid the discomfort, but also lose out on the Tikun that my soul needs and is trying to get.  The soul has a way of robbing Oxygen from an area of the body which results in the pain.  By tricking my soul into believing that it is not necessary, I can cause pain to be completely eliminated.  I once met a man with a slipped disc, a woman with severe migraine headaches, a man with horrible knee pain and many others with chronic pain problems that used this technique and were totally relieved of their pain.  This is how a placebo works.  There are many stories from times of war about injured soldiers that, when pain medication was not available, they were given placebos (basically fake pills) and told to go easy that this is strong medicine and they shouldn’t overdo its application.  The pain greatly subsides by tricking the mind (the soul) of the individual and actually causing the mind to remove the pain signals from flowing.  By teaching this method of using words to control the soul’s ability to not administer pain, the Tikun is not achieved; and, Tikun is more important than having to put up with the pain (most people would disagree with that statement, but life is too short to miss out on ways to make us more perfect – such as trying to achieve temporary relief).

It is far more important and beneficial to remove the cause of the pain or sickness by doing everything to receive Tikun without the soul having to substitute for the lack of service to Hashem.  I have mentioned that prayer works.  That is a very good method of achieving Tikun and is, according to Torah, the way Hashem wants us to help ourselves and others.  To greatly enhance this concept, the study that was done in Russia that researched “why faith healing works” is to me a very important message from Hashem.  A group of scientists found that by simply saying very positive words (even positive sounds such as pleasant music), the DNA of a person can be changed.   Wow, Hashem has really given us all the tools needed for our own wellbeing; all we have to do is use them.  All the tools that I have mentioned so many times (Tefilah, Teshuvah, Tzedukah, mitzvot, Torah study, helping our fellow human being, etc) are more than just good ideas – they are life’s success factor (this life and all eternity).

I have used the techniques mentioned above and know beyond a shadow of a doubt of how tremendous they are.  If you don’t believe it, you are arguing with success.  I am not telling you to not go to doctors anymore.  I am suggesting that if you have a medical or even an emotional problem that doctors have not satisfied, try the more natural approach.  I have not mentioned holistic medicines or exercise programs that are also very enhancing to your medical wellbeing.  My message is simple.  Hashem gave us miraculous ways to solve life’s problems; all we need to do is listen to Him, follow His instructions and, above all, thank Him every day for His help.  The way to a happy, healthy life begins with Torah. 

"Man’s Plans; G-d’s Plans

VAYEISHEV excerpted from Unlocking the Torah Text by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin

Context: While G-d's providence is forever present in our lives, rarely is His silent guidance as evident as in the story of Yosef and his brothers. As Yosef himself maintains, their personal saga serves the higher purpose of effectuating G-d's overall plans of a divinely guided transition from the patriarchal era to the national era of Jewish history.

Questions: G-d's "behind the scenes" involvement, however, raises serious questions about the personal free will of the players in the story. The descent of the Jewish nation into Egypt was preordained generations earlier; how much choice, then, did Yosef and his brothers really have in the unfolding events? Were they simply acting out a predetermined script or can they be justifiably held accountable for their actions?

What does this narrative teach us about the delicate balance -- between G-d's foreknowledge of events, free will and predestination -- which defines our lives?

Approaches: The Jewish view of history, on a global level, mirrors the issues found in the story of Yosef and his brothers.

On the one hand, Jews certainly believe in a measure of preordination on a national level. Such a belief is, in fact, critical to our worldview. One of the Rambam's Thirteen Principles of Faith emphatically states: "I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Moshiach ... I anticipate every day that he will come."

Belief in the Moshiach is belief in a predetermined, inevitable end point to history. Rabbi Soloveitchik maintains that our introduction of the idea of Moshiach signalled a major revolution in the way man thought about his historical journey. The Jewish nation brought to the world the concept of a destiny-driven history. Where others saw history governed only by causality, with each era simply the product of what came before, we saw a march -- with rhyme, reason and a goal to the currents of history -- towards a specific destination, a predetermined, inevitable end point: the messianic era. Where others saw civilization only propelled by the past, we claimed to be pulled, as well, by the future.

On the other hand, our belief in the inevitability of the messianic era does not diminish our acceptance of the role and responsibility that individuals and communities bear in any given generation. While our nation's destination may be clear, the parameters of the journey towards that destination are not. Within the broad brushstrokes of national preordination we each freely choose the role we will play in our people's unfolding story.

That the Moshiach will arrive is clear. When he will arrive, however, how he will arrive, and, most importantly, who among us or among our children will be there to greet him upon his arrival -- all these variables are in our hands.

Much of our people's story remains unwritten. We are the authors of that portion of the story.We can now begin to understand the interplay between free will and predestination as it unfolds in the Yosef story. The descent of Avraham's progeny into a foreign land was predicted by G-d decades before it occurred, but the prophecy granted to the patriarch was general in scope. The place of exile was never mentioned. The mode by which Avraham's descendants would be exiled was never detailed nor was the exact quality of the servitude they would experience. Even the minimal details that were clearly preordained -- such as the duration of the servitude -- were also potentially flexible.

Our ancestors were destined to spend a period of time as strangers persecuted in a strange land. The story, however, did not have to play out exactly as it did. If sibling jealousy had not been the catalysts for our exile, perhaps the exile itself would have been less painful.We, like Yosef and his brothers, in each era, write our own stories, as we freely determine the roles we will play in the unfolding journey of our nation. The stories we author shape the quality of our days and affect the lives of countless generations to come.

See this beautiful idea in its entirety Visit the OU Press website at
www.oupress.org

Additional notes:
I have mentioned before:  Hashem works His will around our will.  We have free will to decide our actions in this world.  Hashem knew every thought, word and action that we would have long before we even existed; and, He shaped history around our free will to insure that it came out to His will being fulfilled.  This is evident by how much imperfection exists in the world, our portion.  Hashem does not start wars -- man does.  Hashem does not cause killing and stealing -- man does.  But, what will result from our actions is measure for measure according to Hashem's will in affecting Tekun Ha'olam.  The coming of Geula and introduction of Moshiach is the final cleaning up of the world (all the mess we made -- so to speak) and bringing about the world of truth as it was meant to be.  We are just about there.  B"H

Happy Chanukah

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Vayishlach

A Message to Am Yisrael in the Land and throughout the world (Translator’s message: May the inspiration gained from this message be for a blessing for the soul of my loving mother, Gertrude Adler, of blessed memory, who departed this world 9 weeks ago and is sorely missed. A sweet, long life to all the readers) The King of kings, the Holy One blessed be He, personally directs this world. Everything begins with Him and ends with Him! Choices made – are in human hands! Tzahal left Gaza just in time! If they didn't agree to a cease-fire with Hamas, Tzahal would have placed its foot soldiers fighting from house to house, in the mud, they would have entered, G-d forbid, an indescribable trap, which would have caused, G-d forbid, heavy toll of life and injury. They have nothing to lose – these are their homes, they prepared everything in advance, the Hamas of 14 years ago is not the Hamas of today. They have many scientists and people from all over the world who are helping them with operating the rockets and the weaponry. No Jewish mother would have wanted even one soldier to be killed or wounded – this is the nature of the Jews. This could have been a year of war, with many casualties and wounded for no reason, given the fact that two months after Tzahal would leave Gaza, everything would go back to where it was before and the Gaza strip would fill up again with weapons as before – and even more. This would have caused Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Jordan and Egypt to battle against Am Yisrael. For them this would have been the opportunity to release their rage, anger and hatred on Am Yisrael. Had Tzahal gone into Gaza, there would have been even more malicious protests against Israel around the world. Thank G-d that the Holy One directed the war and ended the war! Every rocket that was fired from the ‘Iron Dome’, which in Heaven is called “Golden Dome,” was under the personal supervision of the Holy One! All the rockets that flew over Israel were directed by the Holy One! Which rocket will fall in an open area, which rocket will be intercepted by ‘Iron Dome,’ which will fall in Gaza and which in a neighborhood or a building! No one in the world believes that all the firings of the rockets didn’t accomplish anything! There were huge miracles! Miracle of miracles! Everyone feels and says that there is supervision from above! Don’t blame the government of Israel or the general command of Tzahal, that they stopped the war – they left with tremendous honor! The air force and marines, destroyed 70% of the infrastructure and weapons in Gaza! Even the foot soldiers were inside, but in secret. This was the best and most advantageous way, the best and exact time to agree to a cease-fire, to stop the war with Hamas. That’s leadership! That’s strength! This was the very best route for Am Yisrael! Let’s not forget, the Holy One, He conducted the war, He started it and stopped it! Bnei Yisrael needs to continue to be lead in a natural way, continue thanking the Creator, continue the reciting of Tehillim in all synagogues in the Land, continue with acts of kindness in Eretz Yisrael with Jews, and to be exceedingly happy that we “gained” life – a lot of life, with healthy and whole soldiers! Please, Am Yisrael, this is not an embarrassment, it is a show of strength! Hamas got the strongest blow – and the soldiers of Tzahal are healthy and whole! The United States was involved in the efforts of a cease-fire – she wants to keep her place in the Middle East. Egypt allegedly helped in the process, but continues to bring weapons and ammunition into the Gaza strip – they put the cat in charge of the dog. Egypt allegedly made a big public step to effect the cease-fire, but it was not a clean step. Egypt wants to fight against Israel, and the Holy One caused confrontation between Morsi and his nation! Egypt will have a revolution unlike any ever in the world! Iran provoked the rockets that Hamas sent to Israel, they wanted to know what to do to prepare it has an encounter with Israel – she got is all backwards! Iran is scared to death of the Jewish state, knowing she is the strongest nation in the world! The cease-fire doesn’t say anything, the Jewish state benefitted greatly from it! The President of Turkey is crying crocodile tears! He has no pain that Syria is being erased, he is crying allegedly regarding Hamas – it’s his ‘dirty trick!’ What pains him is that Egypt took “center stage” and he was not involved. Syria will continue to be erased. With Assad or without him – it will continue to be erased. The government of Jordan is scared to death. They are afraid that Hamas, the Palestinians and the refugees coming from Syria will topple the government – this will happen, be patient. Nasrallah – in just a bit the Holy One will get to him, he shouldn’t worry! The Sudanese infiltrators must be returned to their country! This is a cold war of the goyim whose aim is to destroy Am Yisrael, similar to drinking hard liquor and taking drugs. There is a huge group of Arab gangs within Eretz Yisrael, who want to kidnap soldiers. Soldiers of Tzahal, beware! All the political parties must unite! They must not be posturing because the goyim don’t differentiate between right and left, they want to erase all of them from the world. The economy in the world will continue to fall and topple! There will be many hard challenges from terrible forces of nature. The hatred and anti-Semitism against the Jews in the world will grow and grow to the point of forcing the Jews out of the diaspora into holy Eretz Yisrael, whether they want to or not, it won’t help them – this is G-d’s plan! The economy in the Jewish state will never ever collapse, it will only get better and better! All the Rabbis must unite and get together, no matter if it’s Ashkenazim, Sephardim, or Charedim! All need to approach Am Yisrael with great shouts and crying! They must strengthen the masses and return everyone back to their Father in Heaven, to cleave to Him and believe in Him! Go from place to place, in order to save the Jews! It’s worthwhile that you should have the merit with the Holy One of saving Jews before the revelation of Mashiach ben David! Every Jew and Jewess who transgressed, or did things that were not clean, all will be revealed one after the other, from aleph to tav – be patient. Every Jew who does one small mitzvah – is worth millions, on earth and in Heaven! Keep the 10 commandments! This is the secret and strength of Am Yisrael – “the voice is the voice of Jacob!” The revelation of King Mashiach has not stopped – on the contrary, it’s speeding up! The world is on a “reef” and we need Mashiach in order to save Am Yisrael the Jewish people and the entire world – those who will be left! Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.