Lazer Beams

A Reflection of One's Spiritual Guide

  We always stress the importance of connecting oneself to the most righteous and upright spiritual guide possible, for one is a reflection of one's spiritual guide.

If "Emuna News" would have reported that one of the people chosen to speak at Obama's inauguration had ties with the the Hamas, we'd undoubtedly receive tons of hate mail within a day. But we didn't say it - Fox News and AP are reporting it in the name of Federal prosecutors.

Barack Hussein Obama has been wiggling to escape his connection with Reverend Wright; looks like he has a few more choice advisors and spiritual guides that we're just now beginning to learn about.

Conclusion? There's no one to trust but Hashem.

Hot Investments

For the last two years, as many of you know, I've been telling those who have asked me to sell their investments and/or real estate in the USA, and to purchase real estate here in Israel. With the acute housing shortage here, real estate prices are shooting sky high. Flats in Ramat Bet Shemesh for example are today worth almost double of what they were selling for two years ago. Now, with the economic crisis, investing in Israeli real estate makes all the more sense, especially since everyone will be clamoring for a place to live here as soon as Moshiach reveals himself.

I can't take credit for the successful advice - Rabbi Eliezer Berland and Rabbi Shalom Arush are on record nearly a year ago for predicting that a major economic crisis would hit the USA right before Rosh Hashanah, 5769 - in other words, now. Today alone, the US Dollar dropped nearly 4% from 3.61 to 3.49.

The closer we get to Moshiach, the more material entities will utterly lose their value. Therefore, one would be best advised to start investing more in spirituality. Emuna is something that will always protect and comfort you, and that no one can ever take away from you. The dollar is the opposite - it will disappoint you and never be faithful to you. Rebbe Nachman used to say that one of two things happens to money - either the money is taken away from the person or the person is taken away from the money. But, they never stay together. Your Torah and your emuna will never leave you. Take your pick.

Double Hypocrisy

If we as Jews want to be a light unto the nations, then we have to stand up for what's morally right in the world, no matter how popular or unpopular this stance may be.

Currently, it is 3:15 pm in Israel, with another five hours remaining in our 25-hour Tisha B'Av fast that commemorates the destruction of our Holy Temple as well as exile from our homeland and diaspora. Meanwhile, an amicable country in the Caucasians - Georgia - is being trampled by the heavy boot of Russian aggression.

Instead of Israel's Foreign Ministry issuing a harsh protest, Foreign Minister Livni is worried about stopping all Israeli support for Georgia. She's afraid of angering the Russian bear. We here at the Beams protest this cowardly and immoral stance. Georgia has always been a good friend to Israel. To forsake her is hypocrisy #1. To lament our own tragedies while condoning a foreign tragedy - Russia's massacre of innocent Georgians - is hypocrisy #2.

To think that such a hypocrite is Kadima's front-running candidate to relace Olmert just shows how much there is to lament this Tisha B'Av. Goodness, do we need the full redemption of our people fast! 

The Rise of Mister V

veneer - a superficially or deceptively attractive appearance, display, or effect (Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, pg. 1387)

barak (Hebrew) - lightning; flash; glitter, shine; veneer

Image, left: Israeli President Peres with Obama, "Mister V"

Mister V is a great code-name for Bara(c)k Hussein Obama for two "V" reasons: First, according to the way we're reading the spiritual map, BHO will be victorious in the upcoming Presidential election. That's right, it looks like he'll be the next President of the United States. Second, he's got the best veneer in town, a smile that Colgate or Crest would pay millions for, and a kaleidoscopic tongue that plays whatever music his listeners want to hear.

Hashem makes drastic changes overnight to expedite the process of Geula, the full redemption of our people. Overnight, an insignificant beer-guzzling Austrian barstool-jockey corporal named Adolph Shicklegruber (aka Hitler) came out of nowhere to become the Fuhrer - the absolute dictator of Europe's most cultured nation that also overnight turned into a country of bloodthirsty savages.

Mister V is part of the Geula blueprint. Hashem took him out of nowhere too. He hasn't even finished his freshman term in the Senate, and he's already the Dem's candidate for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW. How did it happen?

On July 27th, 2004 Senate candidate Barack Obama spoke to delegates during the Democratic National Convention in Boston.  Some call it "The Speech", a 17 minute star-making turn.  Obama walked on stage an unknown, and walked off as a star. Four months after the convention, Obama won the U.S. Senate seat in a landslide.

Now hear this: July 27th, 2004 was the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av, "Tisha B'Av." This is a perpetual day of calamity for the Jewish people when among other disasters, both Holy Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed.

Mister V, finishing up his glittering tour of Israel today, has wrapped all the anti-emuna feeble-brained politicians around his pinky finger. Abu Mazen and Said Ereket of the Palestinian Authority are dying for Mister V to be elected. We know all the triple talk that he said to the Jews, but we don't know a thing of what he said to the Arabs. I wonder why they're so fond of him...

Your friend Lazer says once again that it's high time for teshuva. By teshuva, I don't mean simply going through the motions of Jewish rituals, but establishing a sincere and personal relationship with Hashem.

Don't think that the rocky road to redemption is only our problem over here in Israel. Many thousands of people are waking up here, for there's no lack of stimuli. But, if our beloved brothers and sisters outside of Israel don't wake up on their own, then the Global Jihad just might remind them that it's time to return to Hashem.

Here's a Geula prediction: Mister V will negotiate (and be buddies) with Iran, Syria, and everyone else, and Israel will stand alone with no one to turn to but Hashem. I like Mister V because I'm looking forward to that day. Wait and see how emuna will win and reign. This is getting exciting.

Emuna News Analysis: Red, White & Blue Sellout

US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and the Pentagon's top military officer Admiral Mike Mullen was asked about a potential military flare-up with Iran. He answered, "Right now I'm fighting two wars and I don't need a third one." According to his answer, one might think that Admiral Mullen is fighting the war in Iraq and Afghanistan by himself. But, despite Mullen's annoying egotistical tone, here's food for thought: Iraq is no match for Syria and the Taliban in Afghanistan couldn't defeat the Hizbulla in Lebanon. Without even thinking about Palestinian terror from the Hamastan in Gaza and from the PA in Judea and Samaria, Israel has a more difficult struggle than the USA. Yet, I've never heard Gabi Ashkenazi or any other Israeli Commander in Chief cry and complain, "I'm fighting two wars." Obviously, Mullen's inane comment is policy filtering down from his bosses, namely that a red, white, and blue sellout of Israel is underway. The USA is backing down big-time from the much more cunning Persian bear.

Anti-Israel and pro-Iran lobbies on Capital Hill are celebrating the first fruits of the US change in policy. Despite Bush's declaration two months ago that the US wouldn't negotiate with terrorists and radicals, all of a sudden you have US Undersecretary of State William Burns sitting with Iranian negotiators at the seven-nation nuclear talks in Geneva this past week. Iranian basketball players are now playing in the USA, remindful of the ping-pong diplomacy with China. What has happened?

A Druze scout who I once did recon maneuvers with told me an old Arab expression: "If you want to stab your enemy in the heart, don't fight him. Hug him, then gently insert the dagger into his chest."

In like manner, Achmedinejad has laid a classic trap for the naive USA. All of a sudden, Ahmadinejad's aide, Iranian vice president Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, declared several days ago that "today, Iran is friends with the American and Israeli people. No nation in the world is our enemy, this is an honor." Iran won't stop enriching uranium or building nuclear weapons. But, she's softening the American stance with flattery. Bush, Mullen, Condi, and everybody else has already declared that America won't attack Iran. The futures market went crazy celebrating the new no-more-war message from Tehran. This caused a drop in crude oil prices from $143/barrel to $128/barrel - big money in America's pocket. Behind closed doors, the rednecks in the State Department will tell you that it's cheaper to burn Jews than burn oil. The Iranians have decided to be "nice" to Uncle Sam, who will in turn close his eyes to continued Iranian nuclear development. Down the road, the Ayatollas will slip a dagger into the heart of the USA - wait and see. The USA needs Israel 50 times more than Israel needs the USA - this is the spiritual truth. It could be that America's only right to exist is because of her support of Israel. If she doesn't support Israel, then she just might bcome superfluous in the world. Think about it.

* * * * *

British PM Gordon Brown made a big deal also of about how much of a friend of Israel he is, but also made big waves about freezing the "settlements." He hasn't learned from Condi and Bush. Maybe he wants some floods or other natural catastrophes in his home country? Mr. Brown, please go home to your tea and crumpets, and don't tell the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob where they can live in the Holy Land or where they can't.

* * * * *

America's double-talk is bipartisan. Mr. McCain and Hawaja Barack Hussein Abu-ama, we don't need your empty declarations of support. FDR allowed the first holocaust, and neither of you will lift a finger to avoid a second, G-d forbid. When it comes down to nuclear hi-noon, we won't be able to trust anyone but Hashem. This actually makes me happy that the USA is pulling their support, because the worst-case scenario from an emuna standpoint is if we trust flesh and blood to protect us.

If America is selling us down the river, then that's just fine, for everything Hashem does is for the very best. Don't forget though, the weeds of appeasement will come back to haunt America. In a few years, Iran will have a nuclear missile that can hit New York City. Now you worry, America. I'm going to sleep, because I live in the safest place on earth - right here under Hashem's protective wings. Nighty-night. Shma Yisrael...

Legitimate Claims?

The Charters of both the Hamas and the Hezbollah call for the destruction of Israel. Here are the main 3 points of the Hamas Charter:

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

"The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. "

"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

Some people, mostly Jew-haters (don't kid yourself that anti-Zionist and anti-Israel are anything other than a more socially acceptable term for anti-semitic), think that Hamas and Hezbollah have legitimate claims. Barack Hussein Obama is one of them.

Obama and Aliya

Not only does Hashem do everything for the very best, but Hashem has a fantastic sense of humor.

For example, Haman did more to advance the Teshuva movement among the Jewish people worldwide than any rabbi ever did. Every day in purgatory, Haman is showed how he brought so many Jews closer to Hashem - this for him is the supreme torture.

Hashem continues to laugh. Since Aliya from America is the lowest it has been in years, Hashem has made a presidential candidate out of a slick-tongued freshman senator with no experience that rubs shoulders with a bunch of major-league Jewhaters like General Tony McPeak and Preacher Jeremiah Wright. Obie and his cronies are doing more to encourage Aliya than the Jewish Agency and the Israeli Absorption Ministry combined.

It doesn't matter who you vote for. All the politicians are funny little puppets with Hashem pulling the strings.

Separate-Sex Transportation

Many countries are now initiating separate sex transportation. Mexico City has started a women-only bus service to protect female passengers from groping and verbal abuse common on the city's packed public transportation system.

Women in India's financial capital, Mumbai (Bombay), now have the option of travelling in taxis equipped and run specially for them. London also has joined suit.

In Israel, separate-seating "Mehadrin" busses operate in the Haredi areas of Tzfat, Ashdod, Bet Shemesh, Jerusalem, and Bnai Brak.

Will you survive?

Will you survive the assimilation holocaust?

Bin Ladin, Achmedinejad, the Hamas and the Hizbolla don't make me lose a moment of sleep at night; assimilation does. A holocaust of Hellenism is going on right under our noses. Assimilation is killing far more Jews than disease, terror, and war put together.

In continuation of the above video clip, look at the following table, courtesy of the wonderful people at Simple to Remember.com, which sums up the relationship between Jewish affiliation, intermarriage, and the future of our people. Study it for a moment, for it's an eye-opener. It also gives you a good idea about whether your grandchildren will be Jewish or not. You can read more about intermarriage here.

	Sample Population Count
Affiliation	Average Children Per Family	Inter- marriage Rate	First Genera-tion	Second Gener-ation	Third Gener-ation	Fourth Gener-ation
Orthodox	6.4	3%	100	295	874	2588
Modern Orthodox	3.23	3%	100	151	228	346
Conservative	1.82	37%	100	62	38	24
Reform	1.72	53%	100	51	26	13
Unaffiliated	1.62	72%	100	36	13	5

You can hear a superb audio explanation of the above table here.

Kislev, the month of Chanuka when we celebrate Judaism's victory over the contaminating influences of Hellenism, is a wonderful time to strengthen Jewish identity. Don't let your children be jealous of their non-Jewish neighbors; teach them their own beautiful heritage. Chanuka is Jewish International Anti-assimilation Week.

Jews plant trees: We don't chop them down, and we certainly don't put them in our homes. Let's let the bright lights of the Chanuka candles illuminate our homes and our souls. The light of Chanuka chases away the darkness of assimilation.

People ask why there wasn't enough screaming and yelling in the world when 6 million Jews died in the Nazi holocaust. Do you realize that 2 million Jews have perished in assimilation in the last 30 years alone? That means that over 1200 Jewish souls vanish weekly. The numbers unfortunately are growing. It's time that we all start yelling. G-d willing, you'll hear me raising the subject with Tamar Yonah later today (Sunday) on Israel National Radio, 3:15 PM Israel, 8:15 AM EST.

Pictorial Essay: Yanov, a world that was

During the first 9 days of the Hebrew month of Av, we especially mourn for the destruction of our Holy Temple and our exile. Rebbe Nachman of Breslev says that anywhere Jews live and serve Hashem is holy land as well. As such, this is also the proper time to lament over the Jewish communities around the world that were destroyed. When in the Ukraine recently, I returned to the hometown of my paternal grandfather, Yanov. Half of Yanov's Jews were killed in the pogroms of 1903-1909. My grandfather left the Ukraine for Canada in 1907. The remaining Jews - including many of our cousins - were wiped out by the Nazis in 1942 and are buried in two communal graves of 1000 (Jews of Yanov proper) and 2500 (Jews transported from other areas). There's barely a place in the Ukraine where one can walk without stepping on Jewish blood.

Photo one: The Well on the plot of land that belonged to my family.

Photo two: The Homestead that once belonged to Reb Chatzkel Litvak, ob'm, my great grandfather

Photo 3 - Lake Yanov, where my grandfather used to ice-fish and catch 25-pound carp

Photo 4 - Yanov's 160+ year-old cobblestone street - a road into the past

Photo 5 - The bitter end of Yanov's Jews

Photo 6 - We won! My Chabad friends say, "Didan Notzach." In other words, evil did not succeed in finishing us off. On the contrary, North American assimilation murdered many of my relatives' souls even after they escaped from the Cossacks and from Hitler. Yet, despite it all, here we are back in Yanov, wiping away the break of two generations that slid away from Yiddishkeit, looking, dressing, and acting just like my great grandfather Chatzkel, a Breslover chossid and descendant of Rebbe Itzikel Drovitcher zatza'l. We are certainly the winners, and we shall continue to overcome, by clinging to our unwavering emuna, amen.