The cause of all causes - Deep Torah insights
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Friday, June 26, 2026
The cause of all causes - Deep Torah insights: Balak - Realise your potential by walking with - ...
The cause of all causes - Deep Torah insights: Balak - Realise your potential by walking with - ...: B”SD PARASHA BALAK This past week’s Parasha gives a tremendous indication of the power of speech and how we need to guard ou...
Monday, May 23, 2016
Insights into the Havdalah prayer said when the Sabbath departs
BS”D
THE BEN ISH CHAI ON HAVDALAH
Today’s insight is posted in memory of my late Grandmother Shaina bas Jeruchem who has a Yortziet being the 15 Iyar, 5776 may her soul be elevated:
The Havdalah prayer is said at the departure of the Sabbath on Saturday night. Man is unique in his ability to discern thereby separating between holy and mundane concepts. Many claim the tradition of the Havdalah prayer was handed down by G-d to Moses at Sinai.
We say this special prayer at the end of Sabbath in doing so Jews recite blessings using the faculties of the highest and most elevated part of a person, that is our head. I think this is why the head was created by our creator the cause of all causes placing it on the top of a human being, it is because the head houses the highest of our faculties.
The human being is potentially the greatest of G-d’s creations evident from being the only mammal that walks completely upright. Man is named Adam in Hebrew, not surprisingly in Hebrew Adama means ground,it is ground that holds the ultimate potential for growth within.
Background before the insights
of the Ben Ish Chai of blessed memory:
Havadalah consist of 4
blessings:
The first is said over a cup
of wine, or a beverage that is served to important guests.
The second blessing is said
after smelling spices.
The third blessing is said looking at the fingernails or the shadow of the fingers under the light of the flames of a candle.
The fourth blessing praises G-D for separating holy and secular.
This week I was reading a
book an Anthology of the challenges of
Wealth and Poverty which contains insights from the great Sage the Ben Ish
Chai.
The book tells of a time
when this holy sage was a young boy, he and his sister were arguing at the end of the
Sabbath over who would hold the candle while the blessings were being said. Their holy father decided to resolve the
matter by suggesting the child who understood this “mitzvah” (command) best would get to
hold the candle.
Despite being a very young
boy the Ben Ish Chai told his father that he understood there was a reason for the particular order of the
blessings. He explained at this tender age, that he saw in
the blessing an ascending order of the highest human faculties bestowed on us by our creator. We use our mouth, then our nose, after our eyes and finally our brain.
The blessing over wine or
an important beverage is done using the mouth – we drink and taste.
The next moving up is done using the nose that is positioned above the mouth – we smell spices.
The third blessing is
performed with our eyes seeing the shadow of our fingers under the candle light – sight.
The final blessing is said
using the brain which is situated above the eyes and provides man
with the ability to distinguish between holy and mundane matters –
intellect and thought.
What he also pointed out was the faculties used by the head become more delicate or abstract as you ascend the face, I interpret this to mean they move from the most physical to spiritual aspects. Taste which involves substance, to smell which resides in the air, to sight less tangible and physical, to the most intransient being thoughts which reside completely in the brain.
What he also pointed out was the faculties used by the head become more delicate or abstract as you ascend the face, I interpret this to mean they move from the most physical to spiritual aspects. Taste which involves substance, to smell which resides in the air, to sight less tangible and physical, to the most intransient being thoughts which reside completely in the brain.
Amazing a young boy of
Sephardic decent who was destined for greatness, was so in touch with his Creator, this boy became the renowned Ben Ish Chai, may his
memory be for blessing.
Today he is recognized as a great sage by all Orthodox Jewry.
Today he is recognized as a great sage by all Orthodox Jewry.
Have a good week.
What I learnt at a wedding of my niece from a Talmud Scholar brought done by a famous Rabbi's Rabeinu is that the Four Brochas are an re-enactment of creation.
Lets examine the second verse in the Torah describing creation:
The four blessings we say over:
1. Wine is from the vine which grows on Land.
2. Spices are smelt with a Ruach, a spirit(wind).
3. The candle or light we see.
4. The separation between holy and secular.
What I learnt at a wedding of my niece from a Talmud Scholar brought done by a famous Rabbi's Rabeinu is that the Four Brochas are an re-enactment of creation.
Lets examine the second verse in the Torah describing creation:
The four blessings we say over:
1. Wine is from the vine which grows on Land.
2. Spices are smelt with a Ruach, a spirit(wind).
3. The candle or light we see.
4. The separation between holy and secular.
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אבְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ:
2Now the earth was astonishingly empty, and
darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over
the face of the water.
בוְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחשֶׁךְ עַל פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ
אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם:
גוַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי אוֹר:
4And God saw the light that it was good, and God
separated between the light and between the darkness.
דוַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאוֹר כִּי טוֹב וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים בֵּין הָאוֹר
וּבֵין הַחשֶׁךְ:
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G-d Bless
Monday, June 8, 2015
Parsha Behaalotscha short insight- The signs to Bnei Yisrael to Journey.
BS"D
The Signs to travel a short Torah insight heard from Rabbi Aurbach this past Shabbos:
We Read in Numbers chapter 9 v 17
"And whenever the cloud was lifted from atop the Tent, afterwards the Children of Israel would journey..."
Chapter 9 v 23
"According to the word of Hashem would they journey, the charge of Hashem they would safeguard, according to the word of Hashem through the hand of Moses."
Chapter 10 v 1
"Hashem spoke to Moses saying, Make for yourself two silver trumpets - make them hammered out, and they shall be yours for summoning of the assembly and to cause the camps to Journey" it goes on to say to be used in your generation an eternal decree. The specific trumpets could only be used in that generation, the next generations leader would need their own trumpets.
Incredible 3 different signs were given to the children of Israel to let Bnei Yisrael know it was time to Journey but why do we need 3 signs what does each represent?
The answer told over by Rabbi Aurbach is insightful, the first sign was a cloud - this represents the G-d given Torah it is a sign from above, the second sign was through the Hand of Moses - it represents the charge and instructions taught to Moses and given over by him that were not written down but taught directly and verbally to his students and through the generations. The last sign was from the trumpets which were hand made and blown by the leader to tell Bnei Israel to journey this sign was to teach us the way to go to follow the correct path by attaching ourselves to our Leaders those charged by Hashem to guide us through the various generations. The trumpets represent the leader of the generation who understands the specific dynamics of the current generation and proficient in applying Hashem and Moses's teachings.
Fantastic I thought - have a good week
G-d Bless
Michael.
The Signs to travel a short Torah insight heard from Rabbi Aurbach this past Shabbos:
We Read in Numbers chapter 9 v 17
"And whenever the cloud was lifted from atop the Tent, afterwards the Children of Israel would journey..."
Chapter 9 v 23
"According to the word of Hashem would they journey, the charge of Hashem they would safeguard, according to the word of Hashem through the hand of Moses."
Chapter 10 v 1
"Hashem spoke to Moses saying, Make for yourself two silver trumpets - make them hammered out, and they shall be yours for summoning of the assembly and to cause the camps to Journey" it goes on to say to be used in your generation an eternal decree. The specific trumpets could only be used in that generation, the next generations leader would need their own trumpets.
Incredible 3 different signs were given to the children of Israel to let Bnei Yisrael know it was time to Journey but why do we need 3 signs what does each represent?
The answer told over by Rabbi Aurbach is insightful, the first sign was a cloud - this represents the G-d given Torah it is a sign from above, the second sign was through the Hand of Moses - it represents the charge and instructions taught to Moses and given over by him that were not written down but taught directly and verbally to his students and through the generations. The last sign was from the trumpets which were hand made and blown by the leader to tell Bnei Israel to journey this sign was to teach us the way to go to follow the correct path by attaching ourselves to our Leaders those charged by Hashem to guide us through the various generations. The trumpets represent the leader of the generation who understands the specific dynamics of the current generation and proficient in applying Hashem and Moses's teachings.
Fantastic I thought - have a good week
G-d Bless
Michael.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
A lesson in humility, the reason we were created with channels and ducts?
BS”D
This Sabbath my youngest daughter (recently turned 5) saw my father in law’s dog not well, with perpetual defecation due to a stomach problem he was having, she turned to me and sweetly asked "Abba (father) why did Hashem make creatures have to ... " I just smiled, not wanting to go into the finer details of the working human body, but later in the afternoon I realised this is actually a deep question worthy of exploration. I sat in our synagogue library and opened the Chafetz Chaim’s (Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan’s z.t.l lived from 1838-1933) commentary on the siddur. Low and behold I came across a passage where he spoke about the blessing the Jewish people make after relieving themselves in the bathroom and it spoke to my daughter’s question!
The blessing marvels at the wisdom of the human body an intricate
and precise creation filled with systems of ducts, channels and openings that
if closed or ruptured we mere flesh and blood could not survive and stand before the glory of the cause of all causes. The blessing concludes acknowledging the
wonders of creation i.e. the joining of the lowly animal soul to the holy
G-dly soul, that has the
ability to acknowledge the greatness of the creation within which it dwells.
Blessed are You Hashem our G-d the King of the Universe
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May You be increasingly recognized in
the world, that more people will live their lives according to Your will.
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Who fashioned man with wisdom
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We are created with a physical body
and a Holy Soul - therefor we have a double use of (Nekavim and Chalulim).
That for every physical organ, we also have a spiritual organ.
Hashem created man and gave him wisdom, and Hashem used wisdom to create man. This is demonstrated in the precise balance of man's organs and functions. |
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He created within man many openings
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For each physical opening there is a
spiritual one. An example of an opening is our mouth, ears....
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And many cavities
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For each physical cavity there is a
spiritual one. The cavities are the inner hollows that contain such organs as
the lungs, heart, stomach, and brain.
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It is openly known before Your Throne of Glory
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The angels that bring sickness to the
world know the potential dangers in the body. Our being able to exist, body
(Guf) and soul (Neshama) together as a human being, shows G-d's wondrous
acts.
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That if one of the organs which is closed should open
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These are usually closed, should G-d
forbid they open...
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Or if one of the open ones should close
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These are usually open, such as the
lungs.
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It would be impossible to exist and stand before you
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From the time that man is born if what needs to open stays closed, or
what needs to close stays open - one could not live.
When one is sick and needs to constantly go to the bathroom - he is
unable to stand before Hashem in Prayer, even though he can exist in the
world.
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Blessed are You Hashem who heals all flesh
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we thank Hashem for healthy working bodies that he gives to ALL his
creatures.
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And acts wondrously
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Here we talk only about man - That Hashem has attached the highest
form of spirituality (Neshama) to the lowest level of physicality (Guf -
one's physical needs). These two complete opposites stay together even though
we have many openings in our body!
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(Adapted from - Rav Scwab on Prayer and other Seforim based on the
importance of this Beracha, Rav Paysach Khron audio recording, Artscroll
Siddur, Erachim)
Ezekiel ch 28 is a Prophecy against the King of Tyre
It starts…
“In the pride of your heart
you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
in the heart of the seas.”
But you are a mere mortal and not a god…”
you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
in the heart of the seas.”
But you are a mere mortal and not a god…”
Rabbi Israel Meir of blessed memory points out a word from the
blessing said after using the toilet a word in common with one used by the
prophet Ezekiel Ch 28 v 13 reads
“the workmanship of thy instruments and of thy cavities and openings
was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created”
Note the word in red is the
same one as used in the blessing said after relieving oneself highlighted in red on the table above.
An
extract of the prophecy from v13:
“Thou
hast been in Eden the garden of G-d; every precious stone was thy covering, the
sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the
sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy instruments and of thy openings and cavities
was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the
anointed cherub (meaning guardian over a kingdom) that covereth; and I have set
thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of G-d; thou hast walked up and down
in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day
that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of
thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast
sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of G-d: and I
will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy
beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will
cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold
thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities,
by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the
midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the
earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.”
We see from above King of Tyre became full of himself due to
his power and status, allowing himself to become haughty and full of
pride. The Chofetz Chaim thus explains
that now we can understand why Hashem (G-d) made man that he would need to
relieve himself, it is as a regular reminder for one who reflects that he is a mere
man. We see also from here the
regularity of the need would not occur once a month or even twice a month, or even
once a week, but that we need a regular reminder, that our bodies are but mere
flesh and blood similar to an animal, so no matter what we achieve in life or
how high we climb on the ladder of success and achieve status and glory amongst our fellow men, there is no
place for pride, not at all we are reminded daily let not pride enter into your
hearts: The Chafez Chaim states we need a regular reminder so man should
not come to pride, or let pride enter into his heart for even an instant!
Have a good week and
Shabbos
G-d Bless
Michael.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Parasha Vayeishev - Faith is understanding we cant always understand!
I have obtained permission to publish the weekly parashah addition of Rabbi Shloime Mannes on my Blog should you wish to subscribe directly please email him directly Shloime Mannes email: <mannes.sh@gmail.com>
Enjoy I love his insights!
BSD
Vayeishev 5775
Tzadik V'Rah Lo
Two travelers each prepared themselves a rucksack with
food and then set out on their trek to the next town. After walking for a few
hours they decided to stop for a lunch. One of them had taken along three
loaves of bread for the journey while the other one was only carrying two
loaves of bread with him. While they were about to eat they were joined by a
third person who explained that he didn’t have any food with him and enquired
whether it would be possible to partake from their food. They readily agreed to
share their bread with the stranger, and they cut up the loaves and ate. After
the guest had finished eating his share, he stood up, thanked them for allowing
him to partake from their meal and handed them five coins to pay for his share
and before they had a chance to ask his intentions he disappeared. They started
arguing how much money each one of them should receive. The one that brought
along the three loaves felt that he should get three of the coins and his
partner only two; while the other one claimed that they had divided up their
food therefore they should divide up the money equally. As they were unable to
come to any sort of agreement, the only thing left to agree about was to take
their case to a judge and accept his ruling. They stood before the judge and each
party laid out their claim to the money. The judge listened carefully to both
sides, questioned them and then handed down his verdict. They looked at each
other in dismay not believing what they had just heard, sure that either he had
misunderstood the situation or maybe he was showing early signs of senility or alzheimer.
The judge ruled that the person that had three loaves should receive four of
the coins while the other person will receive the remaining coin. They tried
explaining, arguing, cajoling, but to no avail, the judge wasn’t willing to
budge even a centimeter. Seeing no way forward with their saga and positive
that this judge lacked common sense or understanding of the law they turned to
the Ibn Ezra for help. They started berating the judge, and began to
question how had Hashem had allowed such a stupid illogical person to
achieve such an important position. After the Ibn Ezra had heard both
sides he turned the parties and asked them one simple question "Did you
all eat an equal share of the loaves?", to which they answered
"Yes". He then exclaimed loudly, "You think you understand
Divine calculations and therefore have the authority to question Hashem's decisions
when you can't even work out simple equations. The judge was 100 percent correct
in his judgment; the fault lies with you two. Now let me explain to you the
verdict. You told me that you all ate an equal portion of the loaves. The only
way to achieve this is if each of the loaves were divided into three equal
pieces. Therefore the person that brought along the three loaves ended up with
nine pieces, while the one who brought two breads has six pieces, together
making it 15 pieces of bread. We can therefore conclude that each one of you must
have eaten five pieces of bread. The person that had three loaves ate five of
his pieces and gave the stranger the four remaining pieces, while his friend
ate five of his own pieces giving the remaining piece to the stranger, thus the
person who gave away four pieces deserves to be rewarded with four coins and
the other one deserves only one coin, and that is what my dear friend the judge
awarded to each of you". They both left the Ibn Ezra with the
mouths hanging wide open after coming to the realisation that what sometimes
might seem unfair, illogical and sometimes even cruel, often there is a very
simple explanation and more to the matter than meets the naked eye.
We often
wonder to ourselves why is it that righteous and pious people seem to experience
much suffering and hardships during their lives, while on the other hand some
of the wicked and evil people seem to lead happy, content and successful lives.
Yacov wished to live out his days in peace after so many years of tribulation,
first being persecuted by his brother Esau and then his father-in-law Lavan
swindling him, and then the abduction of his daughter Dinah. He
now desired to settle down in tranquility but the anguish of Yosef's kidnapping
pounced upon him. Though the righteous seek serenity, Hashem says
"Are the righteous not satisfied with what awaits them in the World to
Come that they expect to live at ease in This World too. We can reasonably
assume that Yacov didn’t wish to sit on his laurels, lounging in the sun
with a cocktail in his hands, rather he wanted to use his days for the service
of Hashem, however we are not able to fathom nor understand Divine
calculations; we have to realise that what we see isn’t always the entire
picture and we shouldn’t question it nor try to comprehend it because it is all
above our grasp as we are mere mortals.
Yosef was
taken down to Egypt and sold as a slave to Potiphar. After being in the
household for a year and becoming successful in his work, the lady of the house
set eyes on him and tried to entice him in every possible way to sin with her; using
threats, humiliation, varying her dress and offering money but to no avail as Yosef
had no intention to commit adultery. Then there came an opportune day, a
festival where all the members of the family went to give gratitude to their
idol and she feigned illness in order to stay at home and subdue Yosef to
consort with her. Yosef overcame the temptation and escaped. Yosef was
sure that by not yielding to the Evil Inclination and escaping from the
clutches of his master's wife, Hashem would compensate him accordingly
and hopefully this saga will come to an end and he will now be allowed to
return home to his father's open arms. However a surprise lay in store for him
and instead of being sent to his freedom he descended to an even lower ranking and
he ended up residing in the local jail which was no more than a pit under the
ground. He had to wait for any sort of reward for 12 years, however once the reward
came it was definitely worth waiting for because being thrown in the prison is eventually
what led to him being appointed viceroy of Egypt. A person will always receive
the remuneration that he deserves in spite of the situation looking as though it
will only get worse, but it might just take time to reach the person; sometimes
we imagine the righteous person and his future looks bleak, let us not forget
the lesson that Yosef himself learnt from this episode; nobody is ever
denied their reward, he might only receive it far into the future or only in
the World to Come.
We don’t
understand the Heavenly calculations; however we must have belief and faith
that all our acts are recorded in Heaven and we will be rewarded greatly for
them, however we mustn’t allow ourselves to become disheartened if we see
others suffering as their reward in the World to Come will now become even more
substantial due to their hardships.
Good Shabbos,
Shloime Mannes.
Monday, October 6, 2014
A beautiful inspiring story
B"SD
IN MEMORY OF THE LATE RABBI MOSHE SHER ZTL
IN MEMORY OF THE LATE RABBI MOSHE SHER ZTL
I went to the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Sher before Rosh Ha
Shana, during the burial his grave was circled by large birds flying extremely high
above the burial plot. He was a Mohel he did over 6000 milas in his life time. The Rabbi said while we are alive we do what we can but the crown of
life is death as this is the time when Hashem calls for our return to bask in
the light we have created in this human existence, i just needed to share one of the stories he tells which convinced him of this fact below:
My help is from Hashem. An extract from Rabbi Moshe Sher's
book
We were all very excited about our December holiday home in
the Wilderness overlooking the sea. Before we left, my mother of blessed
memory, kept on reminding me to be careful with my son Ezra in the sea. Ezra
was about nine years old and although we had given him many swimming lessons,
he still could not swim. I told my mother that we would take every care in the
sea. The fist time we went to swim on one of the Wilderness beaches, we
realised that the swimming was very dangerous because there were strong
currents even in the shallow water which made swimming uncomfortable. We
enquired if there was a safer beach nearby and we were told the swimming at
Vicoria Bay was safe and pleasant. There was a scenic drive from
the main road down to Victoria Bay which was surrounded on both sides by high
rising mountains which protected the bay from currents. Our children enjoyed
their visits to Victoria Bay where the swimming was safe. One afternoon,
returning from a visit to the Cango Caves, we stopped at Victoria Bay to
swim and cool off from the hot day. It was already late in the afternoon and
the life savers had left. The beach was deserted and so we had the Bay to
ourselves. Our son Avi was 19 years old at the time and his younger
brother Ron was 16. Avi and Ron dashed into the sea. They were quite good
swimmers and were able to hold their own. I came down to the edge of the water
with Ezra who enjoyed playing in the small waves. After a while, I decided to
join Avi and Ron who were swimming further out. I made a terrible mistake when
I said to Ezra, "You carry on playing in the shallow water while I swim
with your brothers. " it was totally irresponsible to leave Ezra on his
own, but I did not realise it at the time. As I approached Avi and
Ron, I turned around to see if Ezra was safe on his own. It was only a
minute later and I could not believe that the child had disappeared! I looked
to the left of the Bay and there was no one to be seen. I then looked to
the right and I got the fright of my life! There was Ezra, floating out to sea
on the high waves. When he took swimming lessons, his teacher
taught him that if he ever got into trouble in the water he should raise his
hand in the hope that someone would see him. I saw a raised hand and I
understood that the child was being swept out to sea. I did my best to
run, swim and jump as fast as I could to intercept the child. As I came very
close to Ezra, he held out his hand to me and I put out my hand to him.
Unfortunately he passed me and continued to drift out to sea. Avi also
tried to intercept him but once again the high waves pushed the child even
further out to sea. I will never forget Avi's courage as he started
swimming out to sea to try and catch his younger brother. Hereby, he was
endangering his own life and it was quite obvious that his attitude was the
same as the attitude of Sampson in the bible. Before Sampson
pulled down the pillars of the Philistine temple he said, "Tamut nafshi im
Plishtim" - If I have to die I will take the Philistines with me."
This is precisely what Avi's actions declared, "if my brother has to
go, I will do my best to save him even if it means that I have to go with
him!" His courage and determination to save his brother were unbelievable!
Avi succeeded in reaching Ezra and put him on his back.
Ezra held Avi around his neck with such desperation that he almost
chocked Avi. Both of them disappeared under the water and a short while later
they resurfaced. Avi swallowed so much water that the water was just
pouring out of his mouth. At that point the currents pulled me under the
water and I knew that there was no way that I could ever come up. I was fully
aware that I was about to die by drowning. How long can an exhausted
person hold his breath under water? I thought, "What a terrible death to
die by drowning. Just imagine the trauma, pain and
suffering..." The moment had arrived for me to die and I was most
surprised that there was no pain and suffering. A miraculous
transformation took place and I just slipped into the Next World. This
was the most sacred moment of my life, because Hashem gave me a glimpse of the
life of the World to Come. The atmosphere was so spiritually uplifting and
there was a wonderful brightness all around. It was a special privilege to have
such a rare experience. I truly felt that I was so close to Hashems
Divine Presence. I do not know how long I was there but all of a sudden,
in a flash, everthing changed and I was walking out of the sea with
the water below my knees.
As I mentioned above, Avi and Ezra were swept considerably
further out to sea than myself. However, they were walking out of
the water in front of me. I could not understand how they got out of such an
impossible situation. As I walked out of the sea, I could still
feel a very special atmosphere around me which I can only describe as part of
Hashem's Divine Presence. This special atmosphere subsided as I walked
onto the beach and once again I felt a normal atmosphere around me.
We returned to the house where we were staying I
looked at the calander and noted that the day was 6 Kislev. The numerical
value of 6 is 'Vav' which means hook. This is exactly how we felt we had been
hooked out of the sea. I seated the children around the table. I asked
Ezra, "How did you get swept out to sea?
He replied, "I also wanted to get a little more wet and
therefore I took a few steps forward. Suddenly, a wave lifted me up and I
began to drift out to sea."
"How did you keep afloat above the high waves if you
cannot swim?" I continued.
He answered, "I felt as if there was a tube
around my waist which prevented me from sinking! "
Ezra had no such tube and it was only the hand of Hashem
that had kept him afloat.
I asked Avi how he got back to the beach, considering that
he had been swept so far out to sea. He replied, Aba, I did not know you were
so strong. I will never forget how you came and put your hand behind me and
then, with Ezra on my back, you pushed both of us to the edge of the
sea!"
I explained to Avi that his suggestion was impossible
because I myself was drowning at the same time. Once again the miracle
was that Hashem's Mighty Hand had rested upon the children and saved them.
I then asked Ron what he had seen and he replied, "Aba,
you disappeared under the water and then Avi and Ezra also disappeared. I
became so afraid that I started running out of the water and then all of a
sudden I saw the three of you walking out and I could not understand how you
got there "
This was our own personal 'Kri-at Yam-Suf- Splitting of the
Sea.'
There is no logical explaination as to how we were saved.
The only explaination is that we were privileged to experience an open
miracle which reminds us that Kevodo Malei Olam- Hashem's Divine Presence
fills every tiny corner of the world and that Hashem is constantly aware of all
our thoughts and actions.
That experience taught me that the moment of death is the
crown of life because death is the call of the King and what greater honour
could be bestowed upon any human being? As long as we have life, we must
utilise every moment to the maximum, but when we are called by our Creator, we
must be ready to go with happiness and gratitude for all the blessings that
were bestowed upon us in this world.
A few years later, I happened to spend a Shabbos at
the Kensington Shul in Johannesburg where I grew up as a child. My Rabbi
was the late Rabbi Baruch Rabinowitz who instilled in me a deep love of Torah
and Juadaism. I happened to notice a plaque on the wall in the foyer
which was a tribute to his 25years of devoted service to the congregation.
I read on and was suddenly deeply moved when I saw that the plaque
indicated that he passed away on 6 Kislev, precisely the same day as our
experience in the sea! It occurred to me that perhaps in Gan Eden, each
soul is given an additional strength on the day of its Yahrzeit. There
was a very strong feeling within me that my Rebbe said to Hashem, " My
children are drowning in the sea on the day of my Yahrzeit- please save
them!"
This idea highlights the saying of the Rabbis in Pirkei Avot
- Asei Lecha Rav. Each person must have his own Rabbi who will guide and
protect him both in this world and in the World to Come.
Monday, August 4, 2014
The Apple insights from Rabbi Avigdor Miller
Have you ever considered the thought in the creation of an
apple, the attractive colour, the sweet taste … the waterproof skin that as
soon as cut the inside of the apple begins to rot, the fact that once eaten you
arrive at the seeds, which when planted coded to grow into new trees –, A
baby protected by a crib, thinks the crib is just there, and does not recognise
it was manufactured to protect him by a carpenter. This self-sustaining
world is testimony to a creator… is it not?
Do you know why a baby teeths, it is to teach us that this
is often a world of pain, a baby was made to start experiencing suffering from
a young age to prepare him for the challenges that will present themselves
later in life.
Make sense
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