Lazer Beams

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.

The Story of King Chizkiyahu

Hashem wants to redeem us, just as He rescued Chizkiyahu from the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem, as told in the the Book of Kings II, Chapter 19 (also Isaiah, Chapter 37), to teach us what it means to trust in Hashem: