Hashem listens to all our prayers. That's why I thought that the recently-discovered ancient quarry in Shuafat where Herod carved out the massive gorgeous 20-ton Jerusalem stones that became part of our Second Holy Temple would be a special place to ask Hashem to redeem us quickly and rebuild our Holy Temple. See for yourself:
Our thanks to Reb Nati and Reb Akiva from Mystical Paths for providing us with the recording of Rav Shalom Arush's emergency message:
Here are the Rav's key points:
* Hashem has brought us to a wonderful situation where there is no one to depend on but Him, for there is no political or military solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict.
* Our only power is prayer and emuna.
* Israel is in grave danger, since Hashem has turned His countenance away.
* There's nothing left to do but to cry out to Hashem and to spread emuna far and wide - no Jew in the world is exempt from the obligation to wake up, yell to the Heavens.
* The Lubavitcher Rebbe had 100% holy spirit - his warnings have materialized to the letter. The Rebbe said that the minute you give one millimeter of Eretz Yisrael to the Arabs, the tables will turn - rather than Hashem performing miracles for us, He will turn His countenance on us until we wake up and make teshuva. That's the situation we are in today.
* Hashem loves the people of Israel - that's why He's put us in a situation where no one can help us but Him.
* The martyrs of Mercaz HaRav were a substitute for a harsh judgment that demanded the lives of maybe 80,000 Jews or more.
* The only Israel Defense Force is the army prayer and spreading emuna.
* Emuna is prayer and prayer is talking to Hashem.
* Hashem doesn't want us to retaliate against the Arabs. He doesn't want us to depend on any military might. He only wants prayer, emuna, and teshuva.
* Any immodest Jewish woman or girl delivers our people into the hands of our enemies.
* Listen to Rav Shalom cry his heart out in Track 10 - this is no joke. He's begging all of us to wake up. He addresses the Jews outside of Israel who think they're safe and says, G-d forbid, if anything happens to Israel, your governments will throw you out with nothing.
* Every day is getting worse. We are at war. Everyone is sleeping. The time of Geula has arrived. There's nothing left to do but to wake up and yell to Hashem. Hashem won't forske us, ever. So please wake up, for Hashem is with us and will hear our voices and redeem us, amen.
G-d willing, additional updates forthcoming
Israel faces its greatest existential threat in its history. At this very moment, every single city, town, and village between the northern border and Dimona is a push-button away from oblivion, for the triple menace of missiles from Syria, Hizbollah, and Iran rest like a sharp sword on Israel's Jugular. The fact that the Israeli media and the Israeli government are hiding this unequivocal fact makes it no less acute. One cannot demand from leaders and their mouthpieces that lack principle, conviction, foundation, and a basic common sense to tell the truth to the people.
Our veteran readers and friends know that we are anything but doomsday prophets. Those who know Rav Shalom Arush shlit'a (photo, left) know that he is the happiest of people and always smiling. But of late, as one of this generation's holiest and righteous men, he has taken the burden of the Jewish people, particularly those in Israel, on his shoulders. In the last two months, he has aged ten years. His eyes are bloodshot from crying to Hashem, praying for the people of Israel for hours on end.
Last night, Minister of Commerce and Industry Eli Yishai came to see Rav Shalom. Eli 
Yishai (photo, right) briefed Rav Shalom on the security situation and the missile threats from Iran, Hizbollah in Lebanon, and Syria. He also asked Rav Shalom to pray for the army since one of the Israeli Army's highest ranking generals - a completely non-religious individual - approached Yishai after a Defense Committee meeting in the Knesset and begged him to mobilize the tzaddikim in prayer, because the army has no answer to the missile triple-threat. If the south of Israel has become so vulnerable to home-made Hamas Qassam rockets, then they surely have nothing to answer the threat of Syria, Nasrulla, and Iran.
A reliable Emuna News source told us earlier today that Israel is so badly rushing the USA to expedite the delivery of 100 F35b's with vertical take-off capability because defense authorities are afraid that Israel's airfields will be incapacitated in the first round of missile fire.
Hizbulla's missiles have all of Tel Aviv in the cross-hairs. Yet, Olmert continues to fiddle like Nero and Tel Aviv continues in its campaign to be gay-tourist capital of the world, Heaven forbid.
Just a few days ago, Rav Elyashiv, one of this generation's foremost scholars and lawgivers, said that the current existential threat that Israel faces is greater than the danger on the eve of the Holocaust.
After the Nazi Holocaust, people all over the world shrugged their shoulders and said. "We had no idea!" With everything we've been yelling about here at Emuna News, no one will be able to say, "We didn't know." Folks don't want to know. Knowledge of today's facts necessitates teshuva.
Israel's domestic intelligence chiefs just this week admitted that Abu Mazan and the Fatah are no peace partners, for soon the Hamas will sieze the West Bank also. Emuna News told you that over a year ago. Soon, Hamastan will become a 4th missile threat from right next door to the center of Israel. Yet, the Neroic Olmert-Barak anti-emuna further hastens national suicide by sending more arms to the PA. Like in Gaza, these too will eventually fall into Hamas hands.
Update: Three hours after this post was published, the Jerusalem Post published its leading headline that Defense Minister Barak is afraid of a Hamas takeover in the West Bank. Once again, Emuna News is way ahead of the media and the politicians.
There is nothing in this report that's new other than verifications of what Emuna News has been saying for the last two and a half years since the second Lebanon War when a much weaker Hizbollah than today succeeded in firing 4000 rockets on Israel, which led to a million people fleeing from their homes.
The people of Israel stand in the shadow of a dark cloud of severe judgment. We must drop everything and return to Hashem. For those that think we're daft, pour yourself another expresso and delete the Beams from your favorites list. For those of you that have the slightest trust in me, please do your utmost to strengthen your emuna and do genuine teshuva.
I'd much prefer posting a pleasant musical video clip like we normally do on Fridays. But now's not the time. The people of Israel worldwide must wake up. If you think you'll be cushy in Thornhill or in Great Neck while missiles are falling on Israel, you're wrong this time. Hashem is judging us this very moment. The evening of Shabbat Parah is time to purify ourselves. Let's invoke Divine compassion by turning the tides of assimilation and spiritual contamination with a worldwide return to Hashem. Our lives depend on it.
This week's Torah portion is Shmini and it's also Parshat Parah. Here's a Chassidic Pearl to embellish your Shabbat table too. Shabbat Shalom and blessings always.
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.
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
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.
We at the Beams are optimists. Although we encourage personal growth and strengthening our emuna while shying away from the doomsday prophecies, that doesn't mean that the doomsday prophets aren't right. We simply hope that we can establish a spiritual climate where we'll all safely reach the finish line in the Holy Temple of rebuilt Jerusalem.
My esteemed friend, magnificent scholar, thinker, and writer Rabbi Pinchas Winston, feels just like I do. He always is hoping for what he so cleverly calls "A Safer Redemption." The Beams is happy to present Rabbi Winston's new clip on the subject.
This week's Torah portion is Mishpatim, with some superb commentaries on the parsha, including a Chassidic Pearl and a Baal Shem Tov story for the Shabbat Table. When words of Torah resonate in a home, blessings fill that home. Have a wonderful week and G-d bless always.
Mr. Bush is on his way from the White House to the Holy Land of Israel this week. We here at the Beams have a 2-minute highly educational message for him. I hope he sees it, for the future of his nation depends on it. See for yourself:
There's so much intrinsic wisdom within an egg, just like there is in all of Hashem's creatures and creations; all we have to do is to open our eyes and observe.
Eggs are closely tied to the "Three Weeks", the period between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av, or Tisha B'Av. This period is an annual time of mourning for the Jewish people because of all the calamaties that occurred throughout our history, most notably and tragic - the destruction of our First and Second Holy Temples in Jerusalem. Interestingly, hard-boiled eggs are the food that is fed to mourners, since the round egg represents the life cycle which is also round.
Most remarkable is that the period between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av consists of 21 days. The incubation span of an egg is - by no coincidence - 21 days. 21 is also the gematria of Hashem's Holy Name Ehye'h, which according to tradition is the Name that signifies personal Divine providence. This means that even our troubles are the product of Hashem's Divine providence, especially tailored to the minutest detail for our ultimate best.
At the completion of the 21 day cycle, the egg hatches and a baby chick - a new life - emerges. We too pray that at the termination of this difficult 21-day period, the new and eternal Holy Temple will emerge as well, shining Hashem's holy light to the far corners of the earth, amen.
Later today, the Winograd report with its initial assessments of Israeli Government functioning during the Lebanon war of last summer is slated for release. As one Emuna News source said, "Halutz is out, Peretz is on the way out, but Olmert is a cat with 9 lives and expected to survive."
One asks, how does a politician survive such miserable mismanagement, corruption, and total breakdown as exhibited by the anti-emuna regime that he leads? The answer is simple: Get the USA on your side, especially the State Department and 1601 Pennsylvania Avenue, placate the leftist oligarchy that controls the high courts in Israel, and you stay in power, even if you have a Pandora's Box the size of a 20-ton Zim-Lines export container (adjacent photo). Arik Sharon weathered several nasty dossiers of clandestine dealings by appeasing the left with the sellout of Gush Katif. The result: Qassam rockets continue to fall deeper inside Israel.
Ollie hopes to do the same thing; one reliable Emuna News source says that he has already agreed to a total sellout of Judea and Samaria to save his own skin, with the Golan thrown in if necessary. The bigger the Pandora Box, the bigger the sellout. What does a self-serving politician care if a few hundred thousand additional Jews lose their homes in the Land of Israel? How low can one go? Where there's no fear of Hashem, the abyss is pretty deep.
In all fairness, the Prime Minister doesn't want to be the sucker that surrenders enormous parts of Eretz Yisroel to bloodthirsty enemies. Yet, his Pandora Box renders him easy prey for blackmail and allows the Backroom Boys to pull his strings with ease. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister's prime concern is the Prime Minister. Therefore, he won't sacrifice his chair in government for the future of Torah, the Jewish people, or the Land of Israel.
We all cry out for the world to remember the holocaust. Yet, many of us fail to remember the catastrophe that befell our brothers and sisters in Gush Katif less than 2 years ago.
Anita Tucker, the well-loved unofficial spokesperson for Gush Katif and one of the founders of Netzer Hazani, recently wrote me several poignant thoughts:
We were left totally on our own in the final days with the army not intervening. No one outside realized the fact that the IDF was not being permitted to act and protect Israeli citizens in Gush Katif. So with no one caring and protecting us, we had no options and learned to depend and turn only to Hashem. Now we can realize what a privilege that really was, how good it was to learn emuna and feel so close to HIM... Often, on the way to the export packing house with my celery, I as others left my gun at home and repeated as a mantra all the way there and back in the hard times "Kuma Hashem -Vefutzu oivecha" (Rise Hashem and disperse Your enemies). Under the shooting attacks when somehow we stayed alive and the IDF was not permitted to react, each of us shouted "shifchi Kamayim Libech nochech Pnei Hashem" (spill your heart out to Hashem) with great sincerity. By experiencing all this, we now understand that Hashem was in fact preparing us for this difficult period of the disengagement...
Some people talk a good emuna game; others live their emuna.
We here at the Beams have no political stance - left, center, or right. The Torah is our platform, and spreading emuna in the world is our main concern. Emuna brings peace and happiness to the world and assures a future of hope for subsequent generations on this planet. Emuna, like the emuna of the Tucker family and the exiles of Netzer Hazani, will help secure that future.
The more folks remember the tragedy of Gush Katif, the more G-d willing we'll be able to prevent such future tragedies in the future. Therefore, we'd like you to take a 4-minute break, and see this clip about the final minutes of Netzer Hazani before the expulsion of the Jews from Gaza. Please, remember these images. Pray that such things don't happen in the future, and that Hashem spoil the clandestine designs of the back-room padded-pocket thugs, amen.
When you strengthen your observance of the Torah in Melborne, Australia, in Montgomery, Alabama, in Denver or in Saskatoon, you strengthen the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. When you learn another 5 minutes of Torah in Monsey or in Toronto, a Qassam rocket either falls in an empty field or blows up in the face of the terrorists that are firing it.
The more we strengthen our emuna now, the easier we'll be able to withstand the additional tests of emuna that we're likely to encounter on the way to the full redemption of our people, soon, amen.
A delightful story by Rabbi Lazer Brody and beautifully written and illustrated by Rebecca Shapiro, the Worry Worm teaches children the concept of emuna. This book is now offered at a subsidized price to enable more and more children to learn that there's a Master to this Universe.
This is the internationally best-selling life-coaching manual by Rabbi Shalom Arush and translated by Rabbi Lazer Brody that's taking the world by storm. You owe yourself the gratification that this book will give you. (Softcover, 251 pages)
280 pages. "This book turns you into the best person you can be." (Tamar Yonah, Israel National Radio - Arutz 7)
Here's the delightful family book of the weekly Torah portions, enhanced with Rav Lazer Brody's original parables. A must for every Shabbat table! Kalcom Publishing, 254 pages.
