Lazer Beams

The Eretz Yisroel series, part 3: Milk, Honey, and Wild mustard

My love affair with my blessed homeland of Eretz Yisroel is no secret. This land has a soul, a pulse, and breathes like a human. If you listen closely enough, you can hear her singing Hashem's praise all day and all night long. She sings a symphony in a thirty-part harmony that can revive any parched human spirit. She widens one's cognizance; no wonder the Talmud says that the air of Eretz Yisroel makes a person wise.

Yesterday - for the first time in several weeks - the sky over Ashdod was crystal clear and deep blue, like the color of the Heavenly throne described in tractate Menachos. With Hashem's loving grace, the sun emerged from the dispersing cumulus clouds, and literally within a day, a magnificent carpet of yellow flowers covered the countryside east of Ashdod. You don't have to strain your brain to guess where a person could look for yours truly on a day like this.

The pungent aroma of a several concentrated acres of wild mustard flowers is intoxicating. To my surprise, the grapefruit orchards had started to bud and blossom also - a few weeks ahead of time - perfuming the air with no scent that Chanel could ever duplicate. Having past the mustard fields and the orchards, I reached the Lachish River, usually dry for 7 months of the year, but whose bubbling waters were now flowing with the rest of Hashem's symphony. Wild anise and mint were growing by the riverside, a heaven on earth.

My Israel has nothing to do Labor, Likud, Kadima, or the religious parties either. I don't spend 2 seconds a day thinking about the Hamas. Politics and politicians have no place in a such a divine sanctuary. My sweet homeland is a haven of milk, honey, and wild mustard; a place where I can raise my children in Torah, be close to Hashem, and walk out in the fabulous orchards and exquisite fields, sharing the scent of the citrus blossom with the bees and the riverbank with the bullfrogs, where all of creation - the soil, the flowers, the trees, the kingfishers, the jackals, and the deer all join me in the praise of our Creator. In my world - Hashem's Holy Land - things are peaceful and uncomplicated. Life has the flavor of a golden peach in sweet cream.

The Eretz Yisroel Series, Part 2: The Kotel, Emuna, and Redemption

Imagine what it feels like to be here praying in such an atmosphere. Indescribable.

The Divine Presence never leaves the Kotel HaMaaravi, the Western Wall remnant of the holiest place in our history - the Bet HaMikdash. If one needs any kind of salvation, the Divine Presence is available 24/7 - you don't need an appointment. In the holy Land of Israel, especially in Jerusalem, and most of all at the Wall, one feels Hashem's presence.

Our Talmudic sages therefore make a seemingly stiff statement when they say (Kesuvos 110b): "Anyone who lives in Israel resembles a person who has a G-d; anyone who lives outside of Israel resembles a person who has no G-d." Rebbe Nachman of Breslev elaborates on this concept, and teaches (Likutei Moharan 7:1) that emuna, prayer and miracles are dependant on Eretz Yisroel. In other words, outside of Israel, one cannot attain the level of emuna and prayer that one can attain in Israel.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev also teaches (ibid.) that the redemption of our people is dependant on emuna, the pure and complete faith in Hashem. Conversely, lack of faith prolongs the exile and diaspora.

In the same vain, Rebbe Klonimus Kalman, author of "Ma'or VeShemesh" and prime disciple of the Noam Elimelech, writes (Ma'or VeShemesh, parshas Behar) that the material abundance outside of Israel blocks the light of spirituality, and is therefore counterproductive to emuna, whereas in Israel, the brighter lights of spirituality are at the expense of a lower level of materialism.

In light of the above, living in the Land of Israel is conducive to developing higher levels of emuna and spirituality.

According to the above teachings, anyone who strengthens his or her faith, comes to Israel, or does both is making a direct contribution to hastening the Geula, the full redemption of our people Israel, and the rebuilding our our Holy Temple in a united Jerusalem, soon and in our days, amen.

The Kotel and Temple Mount at twilight

The Eretz Yisroel series, Part 1: The Kedusha of Kinneret

The southern end of "Kinneret", the Sea of Galilee, as viewed from the west. The purple hills in the background are the Golan Heights. To the extreme upper right of the photo is Bashan, which is today part of Jordan.

After this morning's prayers, the Melitzer Rebbe shlit'a had a faraway look of yearning in his eyes. He turned to me and said, "It's about time we returned to Rebbe Shimon (Bar Yochai's gravesite at Miron - LB) and thank Hashem for all of our remarkable blessings." Prayers go straight up from Miron. "This time," the Rebbe continued, "I want to go somewhere that overlooks the Kinneret, so we can sit and learn for a few hours before sundown".

Strange, I thought to myself, the Rebbe never expressed such a desire before. He said the word "Kinneret" as if it were his long-lost love.

The Rebbe caught my thoughts, and then revealed something phenominal: "Eretz Yisroel is holier than all other lands (see Mishna, Kelim 1:6 - LB). That holiness manifests itself by seven different spiritual lights that illuminate the seven different sections of the Holy Land, corresponding to the seven spheres of Chessed to Malchus. Kinneret receives her illumination directly from the Shechina, the Divine Presence."

The Rebbe is simply longing for the Shechina; so am I. We're waiting eagerly for the redemption of our people, when the Shechina will illuminate all of Eretz Yisroel in an indescribably exquisite splendor. One look at the Land of Israel in all of her glory will make everyone forget about the senseless and meaningless material idiocies they chased after their entire lives. Soon, very soon, amen.

"Kinneret receives her illumination directly from the Shechina, the Divine Presence." Exquisite photo by Yuri Peress.

The Root of our Ills

A Ukranian peasant felt pain in his left arm. He went to his local village doctor, and the doctor gave him an ointment to rub on his arm. The peasant felt better for a day or two, but soon the pain returned even stronger than before. The peasant returned to the local village doctor, who referred him to a big specialist in Kiev. The peasant made the long journey to Kiev, and after much searching, finally located the specialist's address.

The peasant complained to the specialist about the fierce pain in his arm. The doctor took one look at the arm and told the peasant to take off his shirt. The bewildered peasant asked, "Doctor, why must I remove my shirt if my arm hurts?"

The doctor placed his stethascope on the peasant's chest, smiled patiently, and answered, "I must examine your heart. What you feel in your arm is only radiated pain. The root of the pain is in your heart."

* * * * * * *

There isn't a single one of us who doesn't have a problem that hurts - some have health problems, others have financial difficulties, many have marital issues, quite a few have grief from their children. Some couples don't have children at all, and still others long to find their soulmate and are lonely in the meanwhile. If I have alluded to your particular problem, simply fill in the blank. We all have our ills, whether physical, emotional, spiritual, or interpersonal. Most of us think that an "ointment" of a raise in salary or relief of our localized problem will end our ills. Wrong.

The root of our ills is Jerusalem - the lack of our Holy Temple and the Divine Presence withing our midst. Rather than crying out to Hashem, we are tacitly agreeing to the dissection and ultimate surrender of Jerusalem, the heart of the Jewish people.

My dear friends in London, Melborne, Toronto, Miami Beach, Los Angeles, and elsewhere - don't think that Jerusalem is the Israel's problem alone; it's just as much your problem too. You are limbs that extend from the same heart that is known as Yerushalayim and Bet HaMikdash. When we here at the Beams are crying out for Jerusalem and Moshiach, it's because our national cure depends on a healthy heart - Jerusalem and the full redemption of our people. With the Divine Presence within our midst, there is a limitless blessing of abundance for health, happiness, and everything we need.

Here is a moving film clip that shows pictures of the Westen Wall and the Temple Mount, with the beautiful background music of an Oriental Jewish rendition of Psalm 147, verses 12 and 13, where Jerusalem and Zion praise Hashem. Enjoy it. Please, do yourself a favor and pray for Yerushalayim.

Finally Here

The hate rhetoric and the threats against us are just part of the scenario unfolding before us, that Moshiach is fast on the way. Let the dogs bark. I prefer to enter Shabbat on a more pleasant note.

My good friend Ari Goldwag, with a beautiful voice and a beautiful soul of a young man that learns Torah all day long, expresses our anticipation for Moshiach beautifully in his new song, "Finally Here," which the Beams is happy to share a sneak preview of. Below the lyrics is an mp3 so you can listen and follow Ari's beautiful song. The song also expresses our frustration with our brothers and sisters that are deafened by the noise of materialism, so they can't hear the sound of the Shofar that's getting louder every day.

G-d willing, we hope to do a feature article about Ari in the near future.

FINALLY HERE, lyrics and music by Ari Goldwag

As he walked home from yeshiva,
a sound reached his ears
clear and majestic, unmistakably near
Joy filled his heart
HE'S FINALLY HERE!!! Moshiach's finally here!!!

He ran all the way home
said to his dad,
"Did you hear it - the shofar
or am I going mad?"
"Not now, my son,
can it wait 'til later, when the business news is done."

CHORUS:

Where is our hope, our faith, our pride?
Where's the desire, the love deep inside?
When we say we want Ben Dovid to come
We can't fool ourselves or the Holy One.

She heard it, at first faintly
a note long and clear
steadily the sound grew
'til it was all she could hear
Joy filled her heart
HE'S FINALLY HERE!!! Moshiach's finally here!!!

She rushed to the kitchen,
got on the phone.
"Sister, can you hear it
or is it me alone?"
"Can you call back tonight?
I'm facebooking now, so I hope it's alright..."

CHORUS

When we finally hear the shofar
After all these many years
Our emotions can run deeply
moving us to tears
Joy will fill our hearts
WHEN HE'S FINALLY HERE!!! When Moshiach's finally here!!!

We must strengthen our hope, our faith, our pride.
We can find the desire, the love deep inside.
When we say we want Ben Dovid to come
We can reconnect to the Holy One.

Ari Goldwag: Finally Here

This week's Torah portion is Ki Tisa. Have a wonderful Shabbat, with blessings from the Beams, Emuna Outreach, and BreslovWorld.

Beams-Yerushalayim Facelift

Not a day goes by without someone saying how Jerusalem is already being dissected, G-d forbid, in the smoke-filled back rooms where politicians without a mandate from Hashem or from the Jewish people are negotiating what doesn't belong to them - Jerusalem and the Land of Israel.

King David said (Psalm 137:5), "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand wither!" We here at the Beams don't want any of our dear friends and readers to commit the sin of forgetting Yerushalayim (Hebrew for Jerusalem). So, we've restyled the Beams with a gorgeous panorama of Jerusalem as seen from the Mount of Olives in the east. Notice the symbolic dark cloud that's hovering over the city.

We'd also like to call your attention to the fact that we've removed the links to over 50 CDs from the front page of Lazer Beams, in order to enable the site to load much faster. If you'd like to browse the full selection of Emuna Outreach books and CDs, then please visit our Emuna Beams Book & CD shop.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe on Israel's Security

בן יכבד אב - This post is dedicated to my beloved father of blessed memory, Yaakov ben Yitzchak, whose yahrtzeit is today, Shoshan Purim Katan.

How symbolic - today is "Little Purim" and the Haman of this generation is again threatening to annihilate us. People are now saying what Emuna News has been saying for nearly 2 years now that Iran will soon be in nuke assault mode. No Wonder that IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi is preparing the troops for war.

Now's the time to strengthen our emuna in the generation's true tzaddikim. Notice that every tiniest detail of everything the holy Rebbe said is happening before our very eyes. accordingly, I was thrilled to receive from my friend Yosef K this amazing clip of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's warnings against territorial compromise and concessions. I had shivvers up my spine listening to his every holy word. Listening to the Rebbe's voice and seeing his face can cleanse one's soul. Take a coffee break and see for yourself:

/p

Caught Red-Handed

The difference between the world of Torah and the outside world can be summarized in two sentences: The world of Torah first clarifies what's true, and then builds opinions accordingly. The outside world first forms opinions according to its own interests and bodily appetites, and then builds an ersatz "truth" around those opinions.

We normally don't blow the whistle on Israel's leftist, vehemently anti-religious and self-despising media. Jew haters have to work hard to equal the systematic hatred that the Israeli media sows in the minds of its audience against ultra-religious Jews, settlers, Jewish minorities, and especially ultra-religious settlers. We don't want to send them a single additional reader. Nevertheless, Emuna News finds it necessary to expose what appears to be deliberate misinformation on behalf of Haaretz.com.

Haaretz quotes IDF Home Front Commander General Yair Golan as telling a Knesset committee that "Reinforcing private homes in Sderot is our last priority," basing himself on statistics that during 2006, 1,488 Qassam rockets were fired towards Israel in contrast to the 1,150 that were fired in 2007. In other words, according to Haaretz, General Golan was telling the Knesset that there were 30% less Qassams in 2007 than in 2006. True, but Haaretz conveniently gives half the truth and fails to report that General Golan also gave the stats of Qassams in 2008. Haaretz would like us to think that everything is hunky-dory in Sderot and the nearby kibbutzim and moshavim. They should be required by law to move their editorial offices from Tel Aviv to Sderot for a week.

Debka.com paints a different, unslanted picture. Debka writes, "Homeland Front commander Maj. Gen. Yair Golan reported to a Knesset panel Feb.19 that 400 Qassam missiles were fired at Israeli civilian locations bordering on the Gaza Strip in the first six weeks of 2008. This brings the monthly rate of fire to roughly 265 - more than double that of the last two years. If this rate is sustained, Sderot and its environs will be assaulted by more than 2,500 Palestinian missiles by the end of this year, compared a total of 1,500 missiles in 2006 and 1,150 in 2007. Already the average has risen. Monday, 16 Qassam missiles exploded on the Israeli side of the Gaza border causing heavy damage and tens of shock victims."

Haaretz has been caught red-handed (do you like the pun? I'd laugh if it weren't so sad). They write what they write because they don't have to give a detailed report to Hashem every day accounting for what they've done that day. The problem is that when a person doesn't do daily teshuva, the day comes when all the markers will be called in. Emuna News encourages our non-emuna friends in the Israeli media to do teshuva - now. Where do they start? We suggest they try telling the truth.

Emuna News Op-Ed: Strategic Holiness

It doesn't matter whether an American, British, or French soldier acts in an upright manner. For a Jewish soldier, personal holiness is even more important than a well-lubricated rust-free weapon. It's life or death. The Torah demands that the soldiers of Israel not only conduct themselves in a manner of personal holiness, but that also their camp is conducted in holiness. Here's a practical example: if there's a pornographic picture on a wall in an Israeli barracks, then the Divine presence leaves. The barracks is then rendered completely exposed and vulnerable to the enemy. This is no way to win a war.

"For Hashem your G-d walks in the midst of your camp to rescue you and to deliver your enemies to you, so your camp must be holy, so that He will not see a lewd thing and turn away from you" (Deuteronomy 23:15). Holiness invokes the Divine Presence. No enemy - no matter how superior in men or materiale - can touch a hair on Israel's head as long as Hashem is in our midst. On the other hand, where there's no holiness, there's no Divine Presence. That's bad news.

Better late than never. It's about time that the 32 national religious rabbis woke up to protest the debauchery within the IDF. This is a bigger threat to our national security than Achmedinejad or the Hizbolla. We urge the IDF to maintain modesty and an upright climate anywhere that soldiers are stationed.

We condemn the senseless wagging tongues, both of the army and of the politicians. Rather than doing teshuva and strengthening holiness, military officials announced to the press that they are deploying US-made Patriot missiles near Haifa. Such an announcement, probably intended to calm the fears of a non-emuna public that's worried about Hizbolla's impending revenge of arch-terrorist Mughniyeh's elimination, shows fear rather than strength. It shows not only a lack of emuna, but outright stupidity, especially since the Patriot missiles failed miserably in stopping the barrage of Scud missiles that Sadaam Hussein fired at us in 1991.

Yet, the winner of today's inane speech award is the Prime Minister, who makes demagoguery look like a complimentary word when he praised the 2005 disengagement from Gaza. "Despite the [continuing] Kassam fire, it was a very good move since there are no longer 30,000 soldiers protecting 1,200 citizens," he said. How ridiculous - those soldiers were also protecting the south of Israel, at before the disengagement, Sderot wasn't a ghost town. In the very next sentence, Ollie Folly mentioned Sunday's decision by a ministerial committee he led to approve a budget of NIS 350 million to fortify 3,600 Gaza belt homes against Kassam rockets. He contradicts himself from one moment to the next, for if the soldiers were still there, he wouldn't be spending a third of a billion shekels in iron and concrete.

Jerusalem

Not a day goes by where both Israeli sources and Arab sources claim that negotiations are actively going on that are dissecting our holy city, G-d forbid. Olmert and Livni both deny, but we here at Emuna News wouldn't buy a used car from either of the two.

If Eli Yishai were a Breslever, he'd have to stand before Hashem for an hour a day in personal prayer and explain why Shas still supports a coalition that's carving Jerusalem like a holiday turkey. Just wait and see how the political future of a party that supports an anti-emuna government won't be strutting and gobbling once it loses all of its feathers. Hashem has a sharp sense of humor (see Proverbs 3:34).

You can't fly with eagles if you sit in a government with turkeys.

From Lead Role to Torah Scroll

Shuli Rand is not only the world's most popular Chassidic actor from Ushpizin fame, he's a Torah scholar, a fantastic musician, a student of Rav Shalom Arush, a Baal Teshuva, and a Breslever Chassid. We spent a morning together several weeks ago, when I had the pleasure of interviewing him. Shuli Rand is now coming out with a new musical CD, reaching new vistas in his performing career. Read the entire interview at our sister site, BreslovWorld.

There are more great articles this week at Breslov World. Read what Rebbe Nachman of Breslev says about music. Rav Shalom Arush discusses the best way to pursue your path in life.

This week's Breslev Beams editorial has Emuna News fingerprints all over it, calling for a National Wakeup with Moshiach so fast on the way. Check it out.

Learn Kabbalah with Rav Avraham Greenbaum and Torah's path to character growth with Rav Pinchas Winston. Tzvi Fishman talks more about Torah, Kabbalah, and Sex. Don't miss these three scholars, whom it's a privilege to host on BreslovWorld.

Alice Jonsson gives background about Rabbi Gedalia Fleer's Against All Odds and Rebecca Shapiro treats Breslev Kids with a new episode of the Flakefoot Falcon.

This week's Torah portion is Ki Tisa. There're plenty of stimulating Torah commentaries, including a Chassidic Pearl and a Chassidic Story.

The Beams and BreslevWorld wish you a great week.