Lazer Beams

Will Obama outlaw the Eighteen Benedictions?

We say to Hashem thrice daily in the Amida prayer, "And to Jerusalem Your city return in mercy, and dwell within as You promised," invoking Hashem to return and rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Hold on folks, there's a problem here: The Holy Temple Mount is in East Jerusalem. Obama wants a total freeze on Jewish east Jerusalem, including natural growth, much less additional construction.

Will Obama outlaw the Eighteen Benedictions (Amida, or "Shmona Esrei") because of the Jerusalem benediction? According to Obama, G-d is potentially an illegal settler in Jerusalem Who must be stopped!

Obama has therefore told G-d that He may not build the Third Temple, and He certainly may not dwell there. Hashem is violating the settlement freeze by bringing Moshiach and building Bet HaMikdash.

Up until now, few were so cheeky as to blaspheme Hashem. Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, and Titus did, and each had a very tragic ending.

Mr. Obama, telling families in Modiin Illit and Beitar Illit that they cannot have more children is blaspheming Hashem. For the good of your country, back off, sir; you are playing with an all-consuming fire. Wait and see.

The Kotel

Any nation that is foolish enough to attempt severing any part of the Temple Mount and Jerusalem from the Jewish people hasn't learned the lessons of history:

Jerusalem, if i forget you...

The US Consul General Jake Walles asserts that Israel has already agreed in negotiations to cede control over east Jerusalem. Prime Minister Olmert says, "We have not yet begun to negotiate on Jerusalem."  Somebody's not telling the truth.

So what are we going to do about it? I'm going to cry my eyes out to Hashem, and between reciting Psalm 137 over and over again, beg Him in personal prayer not to divide Jerusalem. See the following clip of Psalm 137 put to music with scenes of Jerusalem in the background, and you'll undoubtedly join me.

Emuna News OpEd: Cop in Every Cupboard

Less than three weeks after a terrorist-driven bulldozer killed three and maimed dozens in Jerusalem, an almost carbon-copy attack took place in another downtown area of Jerusalem hours ago, directly across the street from the King David hotel.

Like it or not, terrorist attacks are the result of stern judgments incurred by our transgressions. They don't happen for no reason. The arena of today's attack is the exact location of last month's abomination called the gay-pride parade. Coincidence? There's no such thing in Hashem's universe. You may recall that we wrote, "Jerusalem is Hashem's palace, but with 2,000 unclad gays flaunting their debauchery in the streets of Jerusalem, Hashem won't be there. When Hashem leaves, the Samech-mem (Satan) walks in the front door... a bulldozer gone berserk - is proof that the Satan himself planned the attack."

Unfortunately, nothing has changed. Rather than ask themselves what the nature of Hashem's message is and respond accordingly with national tshuva, a strengthening of holiness, and a firm commitment to improve, the anti-emuna regime and its internal security organ have come up with other conclusions: just as they sent 2000 cops to protect the 2000 gays against the 25 demonstrators, they now plan to send 2000 cops to police the building sites where Arab workers are employed. This in their opinion will stop terror.

It's scary how inane people are without emuna. No teshuva. No modesty. No asking Hashem's forgiveness. Continued corruption. Business as usual. Eureka, more cops! That's the answer!?! Do PM Olmert and internal security Minister Dichter believe that they can assign a cop to every angel of vengeance that Hashem sends to arouse and/or discipline a nation that snores in a deep spiritual slumber? At this rate, there will soon be a cop in every cupboard - Heaven forbid, this is what's called anti-emuna prosperity.

When people live their lives according to Torah, one doesn't need a single cop on the street. Quality of life means that you don't have to lock your front door, because there are no terrorists and no thieves.

Doesn't anyone understand that we are in serious trouble, and that there's no solution other than teshuva? Nobody seems to care. That's what scares me more than the terror. G-d forbid, if we don't wake up now and cry out to Hashem, especially during this period of the Three Weeks, who knows what subsequent wake-up calls could be?

Teshuva in every heart is a lot better than a cop in every cupboard.

Sweet Home, Jerusalem

Here's a little surprise of something sweet on the way from Israel's (and maybe the world's) favorite guitarist, Menachem Herman:

Sweet Home, Jerusalem

Lyrics By Rabbi Lazer Brody

(Edited By Steve Gasner)

 

Eagles wings keep on flyin'

Carry me home to see The King

Singing songs about my City,

Jerusalem you're in my dreams  

And I'm gonna sing, yes.  

 

Well I heard the UN talk about her

But a Jewish boy won't drink this brew

Uncle Sam please remember, that

"Jerusalem won't be split in two!"

 

Sweet Home, Sweet Jerusalem

Where the skies are so blue

Sweet Home, Sweet Jerusalem

L-rd I'm coming home to you.

 

We're all waiting for Mashiach (OOH OOH OOH)

You can bet he's coming soon

We'll all be dancing in Jerusalem

And we'll all be singing the same tune

Now that's the truth

 

Sweet Home, Sweet Jerusalem

Where the skies are so blue

Sweet Home, Sweet Jerusalem

L-rd I'm coming home to you.

 

The wise men of the Holy City

They've been known to pick a song or two

They help my soul when I'm hurting

They give me joy when I'm feeling blue

Now how about you?

 

Sweet Home, Sweet Jerusalem

Where the skies are so blue

Sweet Home, Sweet Jerusalem

L-rd I'm coming home to you.

 

Sweet Home, Sweet Jerusalem

Where the skies are so blue

Sweet Home, Sweet Jerusalem

L-rd I'm coming home to you.

 

* * * * * 

 

G-d willing, Menachem Herman's new CD album "Emuna Reigns" will be released before Rosh Hashana.

 

This week's Torah portion is Pinchas. A wonderful Shabbat and weekend to everyone!

 

 

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:

Reflections about a Berserk Bulldozer

"For Hashem your G-d walks within your camp to rescue you and to give you your enemies, so your camp shall be holy and there shall be no impure thing, lest He turn away from you (Dvorim 23:15)."

The Divine Presence and impurity - debauchery, immodesty, lewdness, and abominations - are mutually exclusive. When the Divine Presence leaves, Heaven forbid, the dark side and stern judgments (sitra achra v'din kasheh) fill the void. Like in the material world, there is no void in the spiritual world. There's either holiness or the opposite.

Just three days ago on my weekly Sunday slot on Israel National Radio, I spoke about the connections between the San Francisco gay parade and the wildfires all across Northern California. With a lump in my throat I added, "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones," trembling at what might happen after the Israeli government and Supreme Court allowed a public display of abomination in the streets of Jerusalem and hoping that the emuna revolution in Israel would be enough to get us off the hook.

Jerusalem is Hashem's palace, but with 2,000 unclad gays flaunting their debauchery in the streets of Jerusalem, Hashem won't be there. When Hashem leaves, the Samech-mem (Satan) walks in the front door.

The mode of operation in yesterday's gruesome Kafkaesque terror attack - a bulldozer gone berserk - is proof that the Satan himself planned the attack. Nobody could imagine such a scenario. Guns, knives, bombs, poison - but a bulldozer? The Samech-mem's fingerprints are all over the place.

This is a war. Those of you who follow the Beams know that I've been speaking extensively about holiness and modesty in recent weeks. No one can defeat Israel as long as our camp is holy.

The location of the bulldozer massacre was very symbolic - right on the corner of Yafo and Sarei Yisrael Streets. This is in effect the border between the religious and non-religious neighborhoods. What's Hashem telling us? Don't just blame the gays and the impurade. When religious women's hemlines go up and necklines go down, when they wear tight fitting clothes with a long blond wig that reaches vertebrae #8 and clicky spike heels, then the Divine Presence also says bye-bye. Hashem demands much more from the religious sector who should know better. When Haredi women start following Paris designers instead of rabbinical ordinances, that shows that they couldn't care less about holiness.

The Gemara in tractate Shabbat says (page 106a), "If one of the group dies, then the entire group should worry." It's not enough that we blow the whistle on the anti-emuna regime's sanctioning of filth on our streets. We have to blow the whistle on anything improper in our own camp. We should all do teshuva for breaches in holiness. And yes, we are all responsible for one another. If a Jewish women in Connecticut doesn't cover her hair, then another terrorist is born in East Jerusalem.

Imagine, after your 120 years on earth, you're summoned to the Heavenly Court and accused of aiding and abetting the bulldozer terrorist. You protest and say, "What do you mean? I was in the USA at the time!" The Heavenly Tribunal then shows that your flirting/looking at another person's spouse created an evil angel (stern judgment) that destroyed people in Jerusalem. This is no joke.

I had tremendous inner turmoil about whether to post this or not. I showed it to the Melitzer Rebbe shlit'a, who said, "Post it - it's all true."

It's time for truth. Self evaluation and teshuva are the order of the day. Our lives depend on it.

Jerusalem is Hashem's holy palace. You can get away with certain things in a cow shed, but they won't be tolerated in the palace. 

Holiness will win Jerusalem. The opposite is national suicide. Our camp must be pure.

Emuna News Bulletin: Terror Strikes in Jerusalem

update, 16:30 Israel (9:30 AM EDT)

Several hours ago, right after noon local time, Palestinian terror surfaced its ugly head once more in downtown Jerusalem (left, image by Reuters). This time, in a mode of operation that caught security forces completely off guard, Arab terrorist Hossam Dawiath, 31, from the village of Zur Bahar near East Jerusalem, went beserk with a bulldozer, trampling pedestrians and vehicles and plowing into two buses.

Conflicting reports list 3 or 4 dead,  and 44 to 57 wounded.

The terrorist was shot at close range by Moshe Klessner, 18, a religious off-duty soldier who is the brother in law of David Shapira, the man who shot the terrorist who carried out the attack in Mercaz Harav Yeshiva on March 6. After Klessner shot the man, Eli Mizrachi, a tzitzit-wearing member of the Yasam police elite anti-terror unit shot the terrorist several more times, killing him. You can see footage of this on Tamar Yonah's blog.

We'll be back in a few hours, G-d willing, with a spiritual analysis of this tragic event.

Preparing to Rebuild the Holy Temple

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: