North Carolina's Jonah

The Gemara says that sailors are mostly pious people. Why? Sailors see all types of life-threatening tempests and squalls at sea, so not only do they have the fear of The Almighty in their hearts, but they're always calling His Name to save them. 

Scripture tells us that sailors have a sharp sense of spiritual awareness as well. When Jonah tried to run away from Hashem, he boarded a ship at the Jaffa port. At sea, the ship was tossed and turned by monstrous waves. The sailors drew lots, and the short straw fell on Jonah. They realized that Jonah was the reason for the impending catastrophe, for the ship was about to splinter, so they threw him overboard. The sea subsided and the sailors and their ship were saved.

Hashem doesn't do things at random. Why is hurricane Irene advancing toward the good
and decent folks of North Carolina? It's simple - North Carolina has its own Jonah: Jonathan Pollard, rotting away in a cell in Butner for the last 26 years when his crime should have incurred no more than an 8-year sentence. Words can't describe the cruel utterly inhuman way that Pollard has been treated, not being allowed to see his dying father or even attend his funeral.

The USA could save itself billions of impending damage and lives as well by freeing Pollard right now. There's no doubt in my mind or heart that Irene will just disappear if Pollard walks out of Butner. There's proof to what I'm saying in the Gemara - see tractate Brachot 59a: When Hashem sees that his children in exile are in anguish, He sheds two tears in the sea. Hashem's two tears because of Pollard could be what's causing Hurricane Irene to be such a threat right now.

What can you do to help? Phone, fax, or email the White House right now. For the safety of America, demand the immediate release of Jonathan Pollard. 

Cherished friends and family on the US East Coast, you have our incessant prayers for your wellbeing.

Comments

[Daviddavid474]

G d bless you lazer this is your greatest emet insight yet for me , it borders on prophecy for you to realize this . Most jews and even rightous gentiles might be foolish in not realizing this ....

[Yaakov Bar-Nahman]

I don't know how much faxing phoning the white house will do anything as long as bibithewimp et al do nothing to demand the release of JP. As long as they willing fail to point out that the USA has more spies working here for decades stealing secrets & even forwarding them to our enemies & we never did anything like that to them. As long as they willingly fail to point out that JP is being incarcerated for crimes someone else did & that that very someone else arranged his incarceration & that this is all well known by the upper echelons of USA government.

[Shimon Boyer]

When calling, faxing, etc. to the United States government, the message has to be clear that the reason that these unusual things are happening in this country is because of the injustice that it is doing to Jonathan Pollard, and the connections such as Hurricane Jonah to JP's name has to be pointed out. We see that prior to the Exodus, even some of Pharaoh's advisers recognized "Hashem's finger" in the Makkos that visited Egypt.

[www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawkN6EH_OfvpoZo-YEO1qoHq_nkolFJy2TA]

Prayers for the victims of Hurricane Irene.

Not to seem heartless at all but on any scale the event proved not to be as bad as many people thought. Based on kPa, wind speed, longevity and intensity it was probably the 54th most damaging hurricane ever to hit the continental states. I, like many others I'm sure, watched the course of Irene very closely from Friday onwards. What looked like a category 3 monster petered out to a tropical storm. Of course there is an enormous bill waiting and lots of cleaning up to do but this was not another Katrina. President Obama was also on his toes early and FEMA has done a good job. The interesting thing to note was that many people, even in swinging, party hard, materialist New York responded to the calls for caution. From the look of the deserted streets they were almost overcompensating as if they were really scared of what may befall them. Some fear is a good thing. Anyway, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. I'm sure many people are feeling better, more hopeful and positive today in the USA and around the world than they were feeling on Thursday. Things feel less heavy and pressured. The barometer has risen.
The issue of whether or not natural events are related to G-d is a fascinating subject. There is not enough space here for me to discuss my views in detail suffice to say the first, tenth, eleventh and twelfth articles of faith are relevant.

Something about the relationship between collective and individual responsibility...

There is this nagging feeling inside all of us no matter how much we try and bury it that wonders when a difficult situation arises..."What can I do about this situation ?" and "Is there anything I can do to change the situation ?" As Erich Fromm described two of the four components of love are care, i.e. active concern and responsibility, i.e. a willingness to act and intervene. When we feel we can change the world and we have choice we feel empowered. I'm sure G-d cares about us but he wants to also see if we really empathise and care about each other and are not just pretending to. Orientation and intent is everything. Healthy people with some sense of balance and structure in their lives when they put their head down at night will think about all the people they care about around them. Some people’s arc of concern extends no further than their bank balance or the face they see in the mirror in the morning. Didn’t the Baal Shem Tov say to a follower when asked “Where is a person ?”...”A person is where his will is !” What’s the point ? G-d really does know our secret thoughts and feelings.

On one of the many websites I have been in the habit of visiting the last eleven years a lady on the West Coast of America made a warm, kind and really heartfelt comment on Sunday. This was amongst all the friendly ribbing about “Our natural disasters are bigger than yours” etc. She said that she was praying for the people on the East Coast and said that many people would be there for their countrymen if they needed them. Many people knock America but I have always believed that Americans are some of the most generous people on the Planet.

G-d bless America !

Adam Neira
www.wp2050.com