Lazer Beams

The Price of a Miracle

We often take for granted the fact that we, the Jewish people, live on miracles. The Jewish people in Israel especially exist on a higher-than-nature plateau that defies any natural course of events. Only an idiot would attribute Israel's existence to military might and so forth. On a military level, as we evr-so-painfully see despite the recent Gaza war, Israel still has no technological/military answer to missile warfare, with missiles still falling in the south of Israel, from Ashkelon to Sderot and all points in between. The Hamas missiles are a tiny threat compared to the quantity and quality of the Hizbolla, Syrian, and Iranian missiles aimed at every square centimeter of our beloved Holy Land this very moment.

People have the mistaken impression that we can sit back and do nothing while Hashem gives us miracles. That's wrong. The miracle of Purim was only after Esther said to Mordechai (Esther 4:16), "Go gather all the Jews... fast for me, don't eat or drink for 3 days and 3 nights; I and my handmaidens shall fast likewise." In other words, the entire Jewish people made complete teshuva and returned to Hashem.

The existential threat of this generation is just as bad as it was in the time of Haman. Achmedinejad and Assad's designs together with their proxies Hamas and Hisbolla, as well as global Islamofascist objectives, are no different than Haman's platform. Although we don't know what our own politicians stand for, since they promise one thing before elections and quickly change their minds after the elections for political expediency, our neighbors are not politically expedient. They have a clear political and military agenda that's based on the destruction of the Jewish people, just like Haman. The words "Israel" and Zionism" are only excuses for the desire to kill Jews.

Every Adar, Hashem renews the of the miracle of our survival. That's what the joy of Purim is all about. Yet, miracles have a price tag - they behoove us. When there's no teshuva to pay for the miracle, Hashem must take a public sacrifice from the greatest and purest tzaddikim of our generation. That explains the brutal murder of Erez Levanon during his personal prayer to Hashem exactly two years ago in Adar, and the barbaric massacre of the 8 Mercaz HaRav boys during their Torah study last year on Rosh Chodesh Adar.

Who needs more martyrs? Let's gather all the Jews and commit to genuine teshuva. If that's too hard, let's help spread emuna in the world. We can start by teaching the bedtime "Shma Yisrael" prayer to every Jewish child we know. Here is the The Shma Prayer in PDF with the original Hebrew, transliteration, and translation; send it to everyone you know. Our sages tell us that the mitzva of saying Shma Yisrael" alone is enough to save us from any and all calamity. Happy Purim week.

A Comprehensive Solution to National Security

"We're on a collision course with Syria, a high probability of a confrontation," said  Amos Gilad, head of the Israel Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau, earlier today.

Gilad has an accurate assessment of the current situation, but his conclusions lack any semblance of spiritual awareness. He claims that Israel "would have no choice but try to reach an agreement with Syria in the near future" - that's naive, defeatist, and it means surrendering the Golan to Syria as if he learned nothing from the lessons of Gaza. Accurately though, he notes that failing to achieve such a peace would create a far more dangerous front for Israel, which in two years would include a nuclear Iran, Syria's rocket array and a well-equipped Hizbullah. The question is peace with whom? Gilad made the comments during a panel debate of former IDF major generals.

True, we face a dangerous hostile axis of Iran-Syria-Hizbullah. But, it's not the Golan that must be surrendered - it's our material lusts and appetites that prevent us from making teshuva that we should surrender. Nor is it peace we need with Syria - we need peace with Hashem. As in this week's Torah portion, once we make peace with Hashem, He solves the problem of our hostile neighbors. The comprehensive solution to our national security is that simple.

With elections only a week away, there's not a single party that has put the word "emuna" in their platform. Who to vote for? I've not yet found anyone that's selflessly and uncompromisingly loyal to Hashem, His Torah, the Land of Israel, and the Jewish people. If there's a politician and a party that can fill that bill, let them stand up and identify themselves. Don't forget to bring your voting record; past performance speaks louder than empty and meaningless future promises.

This is our enemy, and this is how they fight

Beams Weekend Feature: The Spiritual War

The Midrash tells us (Breishit Raba 65:20) that when the voice of Jacob sings out in prayer and Torah learning, the hands of Esau lose all of their power. King David says specifically in Psalm 20, verse 8: "Some have their chariots and some have their horses, but we shall call the out the Name of Hashem." Whereas Israel's true power is in Torah and prayer, Ishmael was blessed (or cursed) to live by his sword. The winner of the war will be whoever does his job best.

Here's the essence of the real war that's more than 33 centuries old. See the difference between the "Jihad" kids of Gaza and the Torah kids of Jerusalem:

Jihad Kids:

Torah Kids:

Ask a child in the south of Israel what he'd like for Shabbat; there's a 9 to 1 chance that he'll say, "A quiet Shabbat with no sirens or bombs." Have a peaceful Shabbat Vayichi.

The Iranian Gamble

Hamas wanted a truce long ago. Seven or Eight of its top ten villains no longer see the light of day. Yet, they're still fighting and succeeding to fire more rockets at Southern Israel. Who's egging them on? Ideology? Hatred? Both true, but only a partial answer. The #1 interested party of continued strife in the Middle East is Iran, for two big reasons:

1. Iran is going broke with crude oil at $40/barrel, when they need a minimum price of $90/barrel. Historically, oil prices skyrocket whenever there's war over here. So the deal is that we get Grad missiles on our children's kindergartens so that Achmedinejad can balance his budget. Now, dear friends - how would you feel if Achmedinejad and the Hamas had you in the shelters?

2. While the whole world is focused on us, Achmedinejad and Iran are in the final stages of assembling their first nuclear weapon. Not long after the coming ceasefire in Gaza, we'll have to face up to Iranian Nukes and their Lebanese proxy.

3. The Iranians are the most cunning strategists in the world. They know that Obama, for the sake of peace, quiet, and "objectivity," will sell Israel down the river. Israel has no choice but to defend itself; Iran's prime pupils - the Hizbolla and Hamas - both fight behind human shields of populated areas, especially mosques, schools, and hospitals. Israel had to neutralize missile and mortar fire from the UNWRA school, or else subject its soldiers and citizens to more danger. Obama's condemnations of us - the first stage of the sellout - are only 2 weeks away.

Iran's gamble is working. Achmedinejad is definitely on a high roll laughing all the way to the bank while the lower than low Hamas does his dirty work. The dedicated IDF can't win this battle, because it's a spiritual struggle against arch-evil. Only Teshuva can. What can you do? Say Shema Yisrael with your children at night. Learn about Emuna. Be a little bit better than yesterday.

Tomorrow, G-d willing, the Beams will be sending a surprise gift for your children's bedroom...

Let Hashem take care of Achmedinejad

Iran needs for the price of crude to be $90/barrel in order to balance its budget. Hashem has knocked the price of crude down to $35 before the futures market closed for winter holiday. With elections coming up and public unrest and disgruntlement on the rise, Achmedinejad is hurtin' for certain, which just goes to show us that we should all do what we're supposed to do, and just let Hashem take care of everything else. Let's get back to our Gemaras...

Regards from Qatar

Here's a reminder that our weekly Emuna Update on Tamar Yonah's weekend edition of Israel National Radio is every Sunday at 3:10 PM Israel time (8:10 AM EDT).

I have always believed that true peace in the world can only be attained by people of Emuna, pure and simple faith in Hashem. I was therefore surprised and delighted when Tamar Yonah forwarded me the following email:

 

Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:00:54 -0000 (GMT)
Subject: Rabbi Brody's weekly spot
From: abujalad@
To: TamarY@IsraelNationalRadio.com
User-Agent: SquirrelMail/1.5.0

Dear Ms. Yonah,
As a journalist here in the Gulf, I like to follow the different streams
of opinion in Israel, ranging from Haaretz to Arutz 7. I am amazed at your
Rabbi Brody. Although he seems to be an extreme right-winger at first
glance, he is a man of truth that defies labels. His courage in speaking
out against the regime is honorable and his analyses of world events are
simply superb. Where are your Rabbi Brodys in the government and at the
peace table? You sorely need leaders like him. Sincerely, Abu Jalad, Qatar

I'm sorry to disappoint Abu Jalad, but I have no political aspirations. Nevertheless, I sincerely appreciate his thoughts. He seems like a good partner for a peace dialogue. Time will tell...

Fooling a Fool

One of the characteristics of fools is they want to be fooled. Fools exercise their power of free choice to ignore the truth, or to distort it in order to fit the mold of their foolish ideology.

At this moment, Haaretz.com (Israel's Leftist newspaper and website) features a photo of Hamas leader Khaled Meshal with the following caption underneath: "Hamas leader Khaled Meshal in Damascus in June. Meshal's relocation to Sudan is seen as a sign of Syria's commitment to peace talks with Israel."

Meanwhile, Hamas vigorously denies that Meshal has left Syria, and reaffirms its strong ties to Syria.

Israel's corrupt leadership and the self-hating Israeli left are going out of there way to prove that Syria's President Assad is more benign that Winnie the Pooh and just as innocent (see above photos - in case you don't know, Winnie is the image on the left and Assad the one on the right). Syrian expatriate Farid Ghadry, head of the Syrian Reform Party, doesn't seem to think so. He says, "Notice how fast, in the middle of peace negotiations with Israel, Assad has jumped to Moscow to attempt to conclude an arms deal that would make his regime exponentially more dangerous regardless of whether peace with Israel is a certainty or a game of showmanship. Notice as well how impulsively Assad ignited further the precarious Georgian-Russian situation by reminding the world that Cold War era may not be over. I ask Israel: Is there any doubt in your mind as to Assad's danger and reckless behavior?"

Don't forget that Syria is arming to the gills. Don't forget that Syria is smuggling thousands of tons of lethal weapons into Lebanon and the hands of Hizbolla. Don't forget that Syria continues to strengthen its ties with its closest ally Iran. That notwithstanding, the foolish anti-emuna anti-truth Israeli government and leftist media want us to believe their silly "sign of Syria's commitment to peace talks with Israel." Any fool that believes such nonsense deserves to be fooled. May Hashem save us from such foolishness.

Syria, Iran, and the Uncle-Tom Media

The anti-emuna Uncle-Tom Israeli media in its smug arrogance truly believes that the average reader is an imbecile. While preparing public opinion to accept a suicide Golan surrender to Syria, the Jerusalem Post is quoting Maariv in its headline that says "Syria is willing to cut Iran ties for peace with Israel." After the banner headline, the Jerusalem Post hints their own article lacks credibility and says, "The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report." What journalism...

Meanwhile, just walk across the street to the Arab media, and you'll find Syrian leader Assad in Tehran hugging Achmedinejad, while both are looking for new ways to enhance Syrian-Iranian cooperation. Duh...

Be very selective about what you read, and even more selective about what you believe.

Islam and Jerusalem: Dr. Mordechai Kedar on Al Jazeera

A bright Beams blessing to my dear friend Dr. Marc R. from Haifa for providing the tip to this post:

The corruption and moral decadence of Israeli politics, especially in recent years, has left us all rather numb. It's therefore heartwarming to hear a courageous Jew speak the truth these days right in the face of our enemies. We would never hear such words from the self-serving anti-emuna mafia that runs our country.

"We were here when your forefathers were drinking wine, burying their daughters alive and worshipping idols!" This was just one of the verbal knockout punches that Bar Ilan University Arab-studies professor Dr. Mordechai Kedar landed on the face of an Al Jazeera interviewer two weeks ago, in an interview that has received raving reviews from Israel-lovers the world over for its forcefulness.

Speaking perfect literary Arabic peppered with local jargon, Dr. Kedar also exposed the interviewer's ignorance by pointing out that Jerusalem is not even mentioned once in the Koran. People like Dr. Kedar are what we need here at the helm of government. We thank you, Dr. Kedar!

Here's the entire amazing interview on Al Jazeera with Dr. Mordechai Kedar with English subtitles - this is a must view: