Lazer Beams

Game over, or new beginning?

Et tu, Bibi? Now that Bibi is day by day progressively capitulating to Obama's demands, some are saying that the game's over. I disagree; this country doesn't depend on Bibi, thank G-d, but on G-d Himself. Everything that Hashem does is for the absolute best. People now know that no side of secular Zionism - whether Labor, Kadima, or Likud - can ever succeed. The religious Zionist public should now be realizing - especially after Gush Katif - that for years, they bet on the wrong horse. The activism won't do a thing to save Judea, Samaria, or Jerusalem. Politicians can't stop Iran's nuclear ambitions. Torah, teshuva, and prayer can. If you don't believe in prayer, says my beloved teacher and spiritual guide Rav Shalom Arush, you don't believe in Hashem.

Let's not wait for more tribulations to come together in a new unity, rallying around emuna. The growing emuna alliance will flourish, G-d willing, and lead the way to the final redemption of our people, our homeland, and global peace.

We don't yet have the entire picture. As humans, with flesh-and-blood eyes and brains, we don't understand everything that Hashem is doing, namely, why 300,000 Jews are now threatened with exile from their homes, G-d forbid. My very special friend and beloved cousin, Rich Lener of New Jersey, sent me the perfect consolation, a beautiful parable by Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman of blessed memory, who died a heroic marty's death in the Nazi holocaust. Thanks for the following lovely thoughts, Rich:

Once a man who knew nothing at all about agriculture came to a farmer and asked to be taught about farming. The farmer took him to his field and asked him what he saw. “I see a beautiful piece of land, lush with grass, and pleasing to the eye.” Then the visitor stood aghast while the farmer plowed under the grass and turned the beautiful green field into a mass of shallow brown ditches.

“Why did you ruin the field!” he demanded.

“Be patient. You will see,” said the farmer.

The farmer then showed his guest a sackful of plump kernels of wheat and said, “Tell me what you see.” The visitor described the nutritious, inviting grain, and then, once more watched in shock as the farmer ruined something beautiful. This time, he walked up and down the furrows and dropped kernels into the open ground wherever he went. Then he covered the kernels with clods of soil.

“Are you insane?” the man demanded. “First you destroyed the field and then you ruined the grain!”

“Be patient. You will see.”

Time went by, and once more the farmer took his guest out to the field. Now they saw endless, straight rows of green stalks sprouting up from all the furrows. The visitor smiled broadly.

“I apologize. Now I understand what you were doing. You made the field more beautiful than ever. The art of farming is truly marvelous.”

“No,” said the farmer. “We are not done. You must still be patient.”

More time went by and the stalks were fully grown. The farmer came with a sickle and chopped them all down as his visitor watched open-mouthed, seeing how the orderly field became an ugly scene of destruction. The farmer bound the fallen stalks into bundles and decorated the field with them. Later, he took the bundles to another area where he beat and crushed them until they became a mass of straw and loose kernels. Then he separated the kernels from the chaff and piled them up in a huge hill. Always he told his protesting visitor, “We are not done, you must be more patient.”

The farmer came with his wagon and piled it high with grain, which he took to a mill. There, the beautiful grain was ground into formless, choking dust. The visitor complained again. “You have taken grain and transformed it into dirt!” Again, he was told to be patient.

The farmer put the dust into sacks and took it back home. He took some dust and mixed it with water while his guest marveled at the foolishness of making “whitish mud.” Then the farmer fashioned the “mud” into the shape of a loaf. The visitor saw the perfectly formed loaf and smiled broadly, but his happiness did not last. The farmer kindled a fire in an oven and put the loaf into it.

“Now I know you are insane. After all that work, you burn what you have made.”

The farmer looked at him and laughed. “Have I not told you to be patient?” Finally, the farmer opened the oven and took out a freshly baked bread, crisp and brown, with an aroma that made the visitor’s mouth water. “Come,” the farmer said. He led his guest to the kitchen table where he cut the bread and offered his now-pleased visitor a liberally buttered slice. “Now,” the farmer said, “now you understand.”

***********

Hashem is the Farmer and we are the uncomprehending visitors who do not begin to understand His ways or the outcome of His plan. Only when the process is complete and Redemption is a reality will the Jewish people know why all that transpired during this long and bitter exile had to happen. Until then, we must be patient and have faith that everything, even the destructive and painful, is a part of a Divine process that will produce ultimate goodness and beauty.

Winners and Losers - Part 2: Conviction or Compromise?

Carl Lewis not only broke almost every Olympic sprinting and broad-jumping record there is, but he's a gem of a human being. Carl was instrumental in the fight against drugs and against athletes' use of steroids. Carl Lewis doesn't know what the word compromise is - he's all conviction.

Lewis stepped on a lot of toes during his race to truth. "When I was a kid, I always was told, 'if you believe in it, go the extra mile,' " Lewis said. "I knew I was going to be criticized by a lot of people. I knew it was going to be a fight and change would be slow." But he didn't budge from what he believed. And change there was.

Carl Lewis would not have been Carl Lewis if he'd have wolfed down greasy junkfood burgers and fries the night before a race. Nor did he ever allow himself to guzzle beers in a disco. The most significant attribute of Carl Lewis is that his mind and soul govern his body - that's how he became a winner.

With losers, their bodies govern their souls. Some losers who succumb to substances. Others are always eyeballing someone other than their own spouse. Still others are afraid to be called "old-fashioned." All losers give in to what they know is right. Losers are afraid about what the neighbors, the kids at school, or the colleagues at work will say about them. Losers make excuses all the time. Winners never have to make excuses.

If you made a visual continuum of conviction versus compromise, putting compromise on the left side and conviction on the right, you'd find people like Carl Lewis on the right, and people who are afraid to stand up for what they believe on the left.

Now, catch this trick: Many weak people want to be "in", to eat, dress, or act according to "style". When the Torah tells them they may not, for such-and-such food is not kosher or such-and-such style is not modest, they prefer to forsake Torah rather than risk the ridicule of their peers. This is a surrender to epikursis, plus a manifestation of cowardice and lack of conviction. Simply speaking, it's a loser.

When you dress modestly, despite what the other women are wearing, then you're a winner. When you decide to place your trust in Hashem's hands, and refrain from working on Shabbos, you're a gold medalist. When you wake up a few minutes earlier in the morning in order to pray with a group, you're a super hero. Every time you do the slightest act to stand on the conviction of your faith in Hashem, or turn your back to the temptations of the Evil Inclination and his lie-pandering epikursis doctrines, you become a champion who's achievements excede even those of Carl Lewis.

Winners and Losers: The importance of morale.

One must never underestimate the power of morale, especially in a spiritual war like the kind we're fighting today, on the verge of redemption.

Let me take you back to Britain of 1940. Hitler's Luftwaffe was pounding the UK; all of London was in bomb shelters. On September 7th, 1940, a massive 330 tons of bombs were dropped on London. The bombing continued for 57 consecutive nights.

Britain was sorely licking its wounds. Yet, Winston Churchill addressed the nation and said, "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!"

A year later, Churchill said, "Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." The British, strengthened by the words of their leader, held a stiff upper lip and became winners.

How I wish an Israeli leader would tell the world, "We shall never surrender...we shall never give up one tiny letter of the Torah's commandments and principles!"

The more we stand on our convictions to G-d and his Torah, the more we shall defeat the forces of epikursis in the world that are out to destroy us in a spiritual war to the death. By strengthening ourselves daily in the service of Hashem, we are winners. Losers are the ones who sacrifice their principles under pressure. We shall fight for the principles of Torah whatever the cost may be. With Hashem on our side, our morale is forever high. Faith will win - soon.

All for the Best

Probably the biggest buzz on the Israeli web is INN's exclusive item entitled "America Moves Toward Abandonment of Israel." With emuna, you don't have to lose one second of your beauty sleep because of this. Do you know why?

Hashem does everything for the best. Whenever Israel leans on a wobbly reed, Hashem breaks the reed so that Israel will learn to depend on Hashem. This is all part of the scenario of Geula, and all for the best. Have a great Shabbat!

The Land of Miracles

Friday at noon is a time of hustle and bustle in Israel - people are coming home from work and/or from the marketplace, having made last-minute purchases of fresh challas, fruit, and fish for Shabbat. Despite the ongoing war, people here continue to live their lives. There were plenty of pedestrians and vehicles in the area when the Red-Alert alarm sounded; the pedestrians ran for cover. The motorists pulled over to the side of the road. Usually when a terrifying Grad rocket falls, it makes a tremendous boom (from the crash of the missile on the ground), followed by an afterblast from the explosion of its warhead. This missile landed, shaking the earth with an enormous thud, but the afterblast never came. The missile failed to explode. No one was scratched...

Another missile landed near a gas pipeline. The pipeline was undergoing maintenance and had been emptied of gas a few days previously.

Just now, right after midnight on Saturday night, an emotional father from Jerusalem called me and said that he had something important to tell me. His son is an NCO is a special forces unit operating in Gaza. He and his squad were about to storm a house with suspected Hamas terrorists inside. A woman in long black local attire came out and pleaded with them not to storm the house. During the fierce house-to-house fighting, the same woman appeared to the NCO and his unit in three other houses. It turned out that all four houses were booby-trapped.

Who was that woman? Sounds to me like Rachel Imenu...

Hashem is surely giving us wake-up calls, but He's also showing us just how much He loves us.

We had a quiet Shabbat night, but two missiles were fired at us right before Mincha, a 4:10 and 4:15 PM on Shabbat. Both landed in non-populated areas.

Every cloud has a silver lining with Hashem's signature on it. Have a wonderful week.

Serenade, Ashdod Style

 

We usually feature music clips here at the Beams on Fridays, to welcome the Shabbat. But this week, we'll let you share in the "music" of the south of Israel.

Just imagine that you hear the Red Alert siren; the system in Ashdod is fantastic, and there has not been a single false alarm. You know what that means? In 30-45 seconds, a lethal devastating Grad Missile will fall in your vicinity. Just imagine what you feel like in the interim.

  

As you see in the above map, Ashdod - a city of 240,000 - is about 5 kilometers long and 2.5 kilometers wide. The southern side of Ashdod is 24 km from the northern border of Gaza. From where we live on the south side of Ashdod, the Red Alert system gives us 30-35 seconds to take cover in a missile attack. Image Courtesy of Israel Civil Defense.

Many folks have left town. But not the Brodys. We know that Hashem is doing everything for the best. People ask me how in the heck can missile fire from Gaza be for the best? Here're a few reasons:

1. Hashem wants us to strengthen our emuna fast in order to prepare us for Moshiach, otherwise we won't be able to stand the dazzling spiritual light.

2. Hashem wants to teach us to fear only Him, and not to fear anything else.

3. Hashem is showing the pro-disengagement folks that scoffed at us anti-disengagement folks (when we said that missiles from Gaza would rain on the south of Israel) that they owe us an apology.

4. Hashem is showing the politicians that the doctrine of territory for peace will expose Tel Aviv to missile fire from the PA in the West Bank.

5. Hashem is showing us fantastic miracles. Today, for example, the entire top floor of an 8-story apartment building was destroyed by a missile, and no one suffered a scratch.

View of the 8th floor of the apart-ment building in Ashdod hit by a Grad missile yesterday. Image by Avi Rocca, courtesy of ynetnews.com

6. Many people are seeking emuna - especially Rebbe Nachman's teachings. In times of peace, they'd have never bothered.

It's all for the best. Once Moshiach comes, we'll see how Operation Cast Lead was just another stepping stone toward the Geula, the full redemption of our people, soon, amen. Have a wonderful Shabbat .

Postscript: Nizar Rayyan, the Hamas Head Honcho that got blown away yesterday, was behind the Ashdod port bombing that killed 10 people in our city in 2004. He got his due...

Never Despair

My mailbox is full of mail from people who are worried about the future, many on the verge of despair. Here's good news: The President of the United States doesn't run the world - Hashem does. King Solomon says that the hearts of kings and ministers are in Hashem's hand. In other words, Hashem pulls the strings.

The same B.H. Obama can be wonderful for Israel and the Jewish people, or the exact opposite. It depends on us, not on him. If we play our cards right and return to Hashem with complete emuna, Mr. Obama might very well be blessed with helping to build are Holy Temple, just as the king of Persia did in the time of Ezra and Nechemia. But, if we continue in our senseless chase of cheap thrills and material amenities while clinging to the false gods of greenback dollars and anti-emuna ideals, look out...

This is no threat, but a matter of simple choice.

Meanwhile, Rebbe Nachman of Breslev always teaches us that we should never despair. On the contrary, we should be happy always. When tough times come, put a smile on your face and cling to Hashem. That's what emuna's all about.

Here's the "Never Despair" message in music, played by my cherished friend Yosef Karduner:

This week's Torah portion is Lech Lecha. Have a wonderful Shabbat and weekend.

Back On Our Feet

My father, may he rest in peace, was the only Jewish pilot from Western Canada in the RCAF in World War II. He went to flight school flight school at the Edmonon, Alberta training base. He told me that as a trainee, they had quite a few survival and land-navigational exercises. These were led by a mean sergeant major named Macdonald, who despised Jews. My Pop never hid his Judaism.

Once, Macdonald was leading the trainees up a difficult mountain path in the ice. My father slipped and fell, but was instantly back on his feet. Macdonald didn't miss the opportunity and snorted, "You see - you fell because you're a Jew!"

My Pop was quick on the draw too, and more than a bit sassy. "Wrong, sergeant major," he snapped back, not caring about the consequences, "I'm back on my feet because I'm a Jew!"

A Gruelling Test of Emuna

Dear Rabbi Lazer,

I'm sure you remember me from Uman. I'm the tall person with the red beard that spoke to you after your shiur in the Kloiz. That was only two months ago. You gave me much encouragement, but my situation is now much worse. After Yom Kippur, the doctors started the heavy chemo, and in a short time I've developed a moon face and have lost most of my beard and payis. The tumor in my colon isn't any larger, but new spots are showing up on my liver and a few in my lungs. I can't describe the torture I'm going through. I know that we all have to die sometime, but I'm not ready to go at 27. The truth is that I'm scared. I want to live and I want to get better, but when I'm not in the hospital, it's difficult for me to concentrate. My memory is terrible because of the chemo, and all I can do is listen to CDs. Your voice is at my bedside all the time, but I often yell at you with big questions like why Hashem is punishing me so terribly. I feel that I must have failed Him in some way and it drives me crazy. Always, after I yell at you, I break down crying. Why isn't Rebbe Nachman shaking the Heavenly Throne to get me better? Why am I being eaten alive? Few people visit me because they are embarrassed to see someone that has been labelled as a dying man. I know you're busy, but please don't forsake me. Please answer this letter. I apologize if I said anything sacreligious. Eagerly awaiting your answer, Alexander ben Sonia

Dear Alexander,

I most certainly remember you. I remember that you were born in Russia and came to the States at age 11 in 1991 after the Perestroika. I remember your smile and the courage in your eyes.

Alexander, Hashem is certainly not punishing you. Our beloved people Israel and the cherished holy land of our forefathers are now in extreme peril with what's going on in Annapolis and around the world. What's happening down on this earth is only a manifestation of what's happening in the Heavens. Just as our enemies down here are trying to wrench our homes and our ancient inheritence from us, in shamayim the accusing dark-side angels are demanding severe judgments against us, claiming that we don't deserve this cherished land of Israel. They are the best lawyers with tons of factual dossiers, not only against the anti-emuna government but against all the intramural hate, contention, and discrimination among religious Jews themselves. Hashem wants to silence these forces of evil. So, He picks out a special neshama (soul) for a special mission: this neshama is required to ungergo the most excruciating test of emuna imaginable. By doing so, Hashem shows the accusers that His beloved children truly deserve to remain in all parts of our holy homeland.

Alexander - beloved brother - I believe that you are such a neshama. Not only is Hashem not punishing you, He has chosen you to stand in the forefront of the fiercest battle. By accepting your indescribable tribulations with emuna, you are the one that could be tipping the scales in our favor this very moment. You could be the one that is saving 275,000 Jews in Judea and Samaria from exile. Please hold on, Alexander. All eyes look toward you. Before I answered this letter, I cried out in the citrus groves for an hour just begging Hashem on your behalf. I believe with all my heart that you're going to be cured, just put all your trust in Hashem like I said in the very first CD we recorded, Trust in One. This is a rough test for sure, but if you think Rebbe Nachman has forgotten or forsaken you, you're wrong. The Rebbe is surely shaking the heavens in your behalf.

Only Hashem gives life, not the doctors. With whatever strength you have, call out to Hashem, Alexander. Maybe you have a spark of Yitzchak Avinu, and this is your personal Akeda. Alexander ben Sonia, your clinging to your emuna is the biggest show of valor that could possibly be. We're all in your corner. May Hashem send you a speedy, complete, and miraculous recovery. With blessings always, LB

"Ma Lachem Lid'og?!" You Have Nothing to Worry About!

Now that Yom Kippur's over, once you've fasted and made your best effort to repent, don't worry any more about the outcome! Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said, "Ma lachem lid'og, you have nothing to worry about because I'm paving the way for you." Those of us who are connected to the tzaddik know that we must make our best effort, and leave the rest up to the tzaddik, who paves the way for our true and complete soul correction by helping us get closer to Hashem. I shudder to think where I'd be without my beloved Rebbe Nachman. With that in mind, grab your hammer and nails, put a big smile on your face, and start building your succa! Here's a niggun to help you get started: