Inspiration - When It Seems Too Much to Bear

bs"d

This article appeared in Country Yossi Family Magazine November 2005 page 39.

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and G-d appeared. Hashem told the man He had work for him to do and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.

G-d explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this the man did, day after day. For many weeks he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might.

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Since the man was showing discouragement, the Satan decided to place adverse thouhts into his weary mind. "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't moved."

Thus he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.

Satan said, "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time giving the minimum effort, and that will be good enough."

That's what the weary man planned to do; but decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to G-d. "Hashem" he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

Hashem responded compassionately, "My child, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Ner once did I mention that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. Is that really so?

Look at yourself.

"Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass those which you used to have.

"True, you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my child, will move the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from G-d, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what G-d wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, excercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still Hashem who moves the mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong...just P.U.S.H.!

When people don't act the way you think they should ... just P.U.S.H.

When the money is "gone" and the bills are due...just P.U.S.H.!

When people just don't understand you... just P.U.S.H.

P - Pray
U - Until
S - Something
H - Happens.

Agudah Convention - Activism for Eretz Yisroel

bs"d

This past Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend I attended the Agudah Convention together with Evelyn Haies of Rachel's Children Reclamation Foundation. From past years we knew that the sessions and speakers are of high quality. We suspected that advocacy on behalf of the people of Gush Katif, or against the Roadmap would be on the back burner. We were hoping to at least raise awareness.

We sat in the activism session. Other sessions included infertility, shiduchim, kiruv etc. We got a chance to speak up. Evelyn spoke up about Kever Rochel and about her work for Rachel's Children Reclamation Foundation. I spoke about how impressed I was of the Organization Agudath Yisroel and how powerful a voice they would be if Rav Shteinman and Rav Eliashiv would make a statement (Kol Korei) that Eretz Yisroel is promised exclusively to the seed of Avrahom Yitzchok and Yaakov and we in turn must keep the commandments. This Covenant is in direct conflict with the Roadmap Plan. The Covenant and the Roadmap are mutually exclusive. When I went over to Chaim Dovid Zwiebel who was one of the chairs of the session he pretty much said that unless the Rabbanim in Eretz Yisroel speak up, they are paralyzed to do anything.

After the session we passed around literature to the attendees. I passed around a letter which I wrote to the Rabbanim of Agudath Yisroel.

bs"d

An open letter to the Rabbanim of Agudas Yisroel,

G-d in his Covenant with Avraham Yitzchok and Yaakov says that the Land is for the people of Israel exclusively. Am Yisroel in turn is obligated in the Mitzvot.

Tachlis. Can the Agudah make a public statement (Kol Korei) supporting this statement?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting Proofs for those of you who enjoy Geometry:

Hypotheses: The Roadmap Plan and the Covenant are mutually exclusive.

1. Given: The Covenant says that G-d gives the Land of Israel to the Nation of Israel as an eternal inheritance exclusively.
2. Given: The boundaries of the Land of Israel are promised to Abraham and then promised to Moshe and Yehoshua and is spelled out in Tanach.
3. Given: The Roadmap calls for an Independent Palestinian State within the recognized territorial boundaries of the Land of Israel including Judea, Samaria and Gaza which are a subset of the boundaries intersected by the various boundaries spelled out in Tanach
4. The Roadmap Plan and the Covenant are mutually exclusive

Either the Roadmap is the way to go or the Covenant is the way to go. If we choose the Covenant we must oppose the Roadmap. If we choose the Roadmap then by extension we oppose the Covenant. What do our Rabbi's or Jewish Leaders choose? I would first ask Rav Shteinman and Rav Eliashiv. I would also ask the Rebbe of Belz, the Gerrer Rebbe, the Vishnitz Rebbe and all the Chasidic Rebbe's.

No protest to the Roadmap is implicit agreement with the Roadmap or interpreted by the hundreds of thousands of followers as such.

Sincerely,

Robin Ticker
faigerayzel@aol.com

---------------------------------------
Another Hypothesis: The Blessings on the world can only come about when Israel has rights to the Land.

Given A: The Land of Israel is promised in a Covenant between G-d and Avraham Yitzchok and Yakov as an eternal inheritance of their seed.
Given B: Am Yisroel are obligated to keep the Mitzvoth of the Torah
Given C: Many Mitzvoth can only be done on the Land of Israel.
Given D: Only Am Yisroel is obligated to keep the Mitzvoth that can only be done on the Land of Israel
Given E: The Nations of the world will be blessed via Am Yisroel when they keep the Mitzvoth of the Torah

1. Only Am Yisroel are obligated to keep these Mitzvoth. (given D)
2. Am Yisroel must have the Land in order to keep these Mitzvoth and by extension if Am Yisroel does not have access to the Land then they are unable to keep these Mitzvoth(Given C)
3. The Blessings of the World can only come when Am Yisroel keep the Mitzvot. (given E)
4, Therefore, the only way Blessings can come to the world is if the Land of Israel is in the hands of Am Yisroel.


Once we have the Land of Israel then potentially we can bring Blessings to the world.

Once we have the Land of Israel and keep the Mitzvoth then the world will be blessed.

The next question is:

When we owned the Land how do we keep the Mitzvoth that are pertaining to the Land as prescribed by the Torah.

How do we follow the Mitzvoth pertaining to the 7 year Shmita cycle as best as possible?

Bikurim - What do we do when there is no Beis Hamikdash and the Kohanim are dispersed?
Leket Shikcha and Peeh? Do the poor (Ger Yasom and Almonah)have easy access to the fields
Year 1 and Year 2 Maaser Rishon and Maaser Sheni. Maaser Rishon. What do we do when we do not have a Beis Hamikdash and the Leviyim are not exactly working their shifts? Support Torah Institutions? Also, for Maaser Sheni should we opt for trips to Israel/Jerusalem in these years rather than support orphanages and widows and strangers?
Year 3 Maaaser Rishon and Maaser Ani
Year 4 Vidui Maaser
Year 4 and Year 5 Maaser Rishon and Maaser Sheni,
Year 6 Maaser Rishon Maaser Ani
Year 7 Shmita without Pruzbul and Heter Mechira, Vidui Maaser
Hakhel (Sukkot following Shmita year)
Yovel May Moshiach come and tell us which tribes we belong to. Then we will all be displaced.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I am in the middle of reading Worldstorm by Roy S. Neuberger. I am finding it fascinating.

In this book he says, that it is G-d that makes the rules. When man chooses to make up his own rules that circumvent or defy G-d's rules he gets into deep trouble.

Parshas Toldos - Yitzchok in Gerar, Eretz Pelishtim - Isn't that Gush Katif?

bs"d

This post comes from my evening Chavrusa with my 7 year old son. We read Little Midrash Says on the Parsha of the Week. There was a famine in the Land of Israel. Yitzchok wanted to go to Mitzraim like his father had done but Hashem says not to. Yitzchok has a special Kedusha because of the Akeida he was an Olah Temima (Rashi) and can not leave Eretz Yisroel. Hashem reiterates to Yitzchok the covenant that he gave to Avraham Aveinu after the Akeida and again reiterates that the gift of the Land is attributed to Avraham's loyalty in obeying the word of Hashem. He is sent to Gerar which I believe is Gush Katif. Therefore it must be part of Eretz Yisroel. The Parsha discusses how Avimelech realizes that indeed Yitchok is married to Rivka and restrains himself from taking Rivka knowing from the former Avimelech's experience what the consequences of such an action would be. He puts forth a warning for all not to do anything to hurt Yitzchok and Rivka or else they will die. Yitzcok plants and is blessed hundred fold. Rashi says he was scrupulous in keeping meticulous records in order to tithe properly (Maaser). Yitzchok digs wells in the valley of Gerrar that were originally built by his father Avraham and were closed up (Breishis Perek 26 Pasuk 18). The were fights between the shepherds of Yitzchok and the Pelishtim over the wells. Yitzchok's servents dug and the Pelishtim stole it. The wells dried up for the Pelishtim. The Pelishtim gave it back to Yitzchok. Here we see a foreshadowing of future history. In Avraham's time, wells that were built were closed up. Wells Yitzchok built were stolen, again to be given back to their rightful owner. The wells didn't produce for the Pelishtim and they were useless. They only produced for Yitzchok.

Here, once again the Torah is very explicit in tying the gift of the Land with Avarham's loyalty in obeying the word of Hashem. Perek 26 Pasuck 5. "Because Abraham obeyed my voice, observed my safeguards, my commandments, my decrees, My Torah's".

May Hashem give us the courage and fotitude to follow in the footsteps of our forefathers to keep the Mitzvoth of the Torah so that we too will merit al the blessings.

Disengaged?

Are you disengaged?

My daugther's Bat Mitzvah

This Blog is primarily about a personal connection with the Mitzvah of Shemittah. Posts here may seem irrevelant to the Mitzvah of Shemittah. They are not. At the end of the post I will try to tie in the connection.

bs"d

On Sunday was my daughter's Bat Mitzva. It was in Prospect Park yeshiva and there were around 100 women and girls of all ages. The Bat Mitzvah was in solidarity with the people of Gush Katif. There was the usual singing, dancing and fun but there was also solidarity with the people of Gush Katif.The girls really got into writing letters and including 99Cent items in their packages to Gush Katif. You can see the intensity in their expressions and their understanding that this chesed is real. They really wanted those girls from Gush Katif to in some way know them that they care. They won tickets from dancing etc and with their tickets they bought prizes which they could keep or send to the people of Gush Katif. It was l'ilui Nishmas my Father z"l Yosef Zeev ben Moshe who in his lifetimes had many startovers. His first family was wiped out in the Holocaust. He remarried my Mother and had us. He tried various businesses until he became a zipper manufacturer. At age 65 he liquidated because selling the business wasn't an option because of the competition from the East. He started a the bottom this time as an employee and worked his way up. 15 years later at the age of 80 he suffered a stroke and once again, started over with OT and PT his new job. He relearned to walk and do steps and went to shul twice a day and wrote Tzedaka checks as well as bookkeeping. For 8 years he was productive in this way. His last year it was downhill but he really gave it all he had. The Bat Mitzva was also Li'lui my mother-in-law who was 15 years old at the time Nazi Germany took over Poland and was in the Warsaw Ghetto and Concentrations camps for 4 years at least. She too started over always with a love of life and full of hope.

I rewatch the TV video of the expulsion of Neve Dekalim and I cry. "Al Tastir Paneicha Mimeni". We pray that once again we will be zocheh that Hashem will shine his face upon us and we will be saved. - Vehair Panecha venivashea" as we say after lichtbenching.

Connection to Shemittah: The expulsion of Gush Katif resulted in the destruction of personal property. People lost their material possessions. Now everyone is in the process of sharing their wealth. The shemittah year is a year when ownership of produce in the field is shared by all.(shemitas karka). We are asked to give poor people whatever they need and they don't have to pay back. (shemittas kesafim). The girls at the Bat Mitzvah shared what they had.