Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Perceptions - Parshas Shoftim

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

Rabbi Pinchas Winston and Torah.org?

So that through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

	Perceptions
	by Rabbi Pinchas Winston
	Print Version

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Parshas Shoftim

Under God's Control

When you go to war against an enemy, and you see horses, chariots, and a nation that outnumbers you, do not feel intimidated . . . (Devarim 20:1)

While doing research on the last 2,000 years of anti-Semitism for a project of mine, I noticed a somewhat frightening pattern. In some periods of history over the last two millennia, anti-Semitism has basically been non-stop; only recently, has it slackened a bit so that Jews are treated, for the most part, as equals, at least in some parts of the Western world. Anti-Semitism will never go away completely before the Messianic Era, but in some parts of the world, it has become submerged—for the time being.

However, even during times in the past when acts of anti-Semitism never stopped, some periods were “milder” than others. Catastrophic levels of anti-Semitism could last for years, but very often, after they ended, there was somewhat or a reprieve before another catastrophic anti-Semitic event occurred, and very often that reprieve lasted about 70 years. Seventy is a familiar number, for a couple of reasons. To begin with, it was the number of years foretold both by Yeshayahu and Yirmiyahu that the Jewish people were destined to be exiled in Babylonia, the first exile. This, as Rashi explains, corresponded to the number of Shmittah cycles the Jewish people did not keep before being exiled.

It is also the gematria of sod, which means secret and which refers to Kabbalah, and the Hebrew word for wine, resulting in the following connection:

Anyone who becomes settled through wine has the knowledge—da’as—of his Creator . . . has the knowledge—da’as—of the Seventy Elders. Wine was given with 70 letters (i.e., it has a gematria of 70) and Sod was given with 70 letters (i.e., it has a gematria of 70): when wine goes in, secrets go out. (Eiruvin 65a)

However, the Talmud attaches another level of significance to the number 70:

Rebi Chanina said: Once every 60 or 70 years The Holy One, Blessed is He, brings something to the world to destroy the mamzerim and takes the kosher people with them so as to not publicize their sins . . . This teaches you that even when The Holy One, Blessed is He, brings evil to the world, He does it with wisdom. (Yerushalmi, Yevamos 49b)

This would be a rather disturbing concept if not for the fact that you can be assured that when the “kosher people” die as well, it is because it is their time. And, even the way they die has to be part of their personal tikun—rectification, otherwise they would not have die in that manner. Part of being God is being able to orchestrate history in such a way that things that seem impossible to coordinate are perfectly coordinated.

Hence it says that when God brings evil to Creation, He does it with wisdom, meaning in such a way that everything that has to be accomplished for the sake of fulfilling the ultimate goals of Creation is accomplished, no matter how chaotic and out of control history seems to get. This way free-will can be maintained since no one is the wiser that what is occurring is part of God’s way of cleaning house.

Why every 60 or 70 years specifically? Aside from the Kabbalistic significance of the number, if you think about it, less than this would be too much for Creation to bear, and more than this, few people would be around to emotionally remember what has happened previously in order to be able to warn others about what might be coming up. It is the Holocaust survivors today who are concerned about the direction of events, because they have seen what results from that, while those of who were born after the war live with the illusion that as bad as things are, it will always get better before it gets worse.

The Talmud doesn’t say if the 60 or 70 years is counted from the beginning of the previous catastrophe, or from the end of it. If from the end of it, then 60 years would be the year 2005, and 70 years would be the year 2015. If the time is counted from the beginning of the previous catastrophe, then 60 years would 2002, and 70 years would be 2012, the current year. Hmm.

Technically, a mamzer is a child born from a relationship that the Torah forbids for which the punishment is either kores—excision—or misas Bais Din, death by the Bais Din, that is, capital punishment. Examples of such relationships include having a child from a sister, or from a married woman before she has been halachically divorced (even if she has already been granted a divorce by the secular courts).

Clearly, when the Talmud speaks about mamzerim, it means the real thing. However, perhaps, in the process of ridding the world of actual mamzerim, other less-than-desirable elements are removed from the gene pool at the same time, even if they were born in a kosher manner, which can include more people than we might care to consider.

Essentially, that is what the War of Gog and Magog is supposed to be about. In fact, we find an example of it in history, when Assyria attacked the Jewish people, and laid siege to Jerusalem. The leader of the army was Sancheriv, and he commanded 185,000 officers, who controlled countless others taken from different countries around the world of that time.

As they joyfully lay in wait for their sacking of Jerusalem during daylight hours the next day, a plague broke out the night before and decimated their ranks (Sanhedrin 94a). This forced Sancheriv to flee for his life, which he lost anyhow when his own sons assassinated him. Without lifting a finger, Chizkiah HaMelech defeated a massive army by simply trusting in God and going to bed that night.

We know about the miraculous defeat from Tanach. What we do not know about is how God went about selecting each soldier, and all of the personnel necessary to support such a massive war effort, who were destined to die by the plague. We can’t see how God put the idea to attack the Jewish people into Sancheriv’s head, which caused him to recruit his army, one that included soldiers from other nations as well, so that they would all come to Jerusalem as a single, massive unit.

This might have been hard to imagine, but you can watch science videos that show you how the world may work, right down to sub-atomic strings that vibrate at different frequencies in to make up the complex matter of which this entire physical universe is composed.

Too hard to fathom how one can lead to the other? Well, that these so-called strings can result in a Creation as complex and diverse as ours, while at the same time allowing for life, mankind, and even free-will, is completely beyond comprehension. And, as awed as all of the scientists might be by their conclusions, many of which, amazingly, are arrived at purely through mathematics, they have nothing on us, since they take for granted that it is the way it is, whereas we hold that God is orchestrating the entire show every single moment. You can blow a couple of mental fuses just thinking about the idea.

This idea sheds a different light on the following:

The law-enforcers should then ask, “Is there one who has built a new house but has yet to dedicate it? Let him go and return to his house, in case he dies in battle and another man dedicates it [instead]. Is there one who planted a vineyard, but has yet to eat from it? Let him also return, in case he dies in battle, and another eats from it [instead]. Is there one who became engaged to a woman, but did not yet marry her? Let him return, in case he dies in battle, and another man marries her.” The law-enforcer then adds, “If anyone is fainthearted, he too should return to his house, otherwise he will [affect the rest of the people who fight with him], making them fainthearted too.” (Devarim 20:5-8)

At first this might seem quite unfair, especially the last one. War is tough on everyone, and there are probably at least a dozen other good reasons besides the ones mentioned here for a soldier to consider himself exempt from army duty. Why should these people be sent home while their brothers go off and risk their lives on behalf of the Jewish nation?

The answer has to do with Hashgochah Pratis—Divine Providence. This was not just any army, but the Jewish army. And, unlike the Jewish army of today, in those times, everyone was a believer, and relatively learned as well. They not only believed in God and Torah from Sinai, they also believed that God ran the world, and every aspect of it. Man may wage war, but God is the One who arranges it, and determines who will die in battle, when, and how. Men may strategize beyond friendly lines, but it is Heaven that draws up the true battle plan, arranging success and failure according to the Master Plan of Creation.

Hence, if someone was sent home from the battlefield, then it was Hashgochah Pratis. If someone had to go and fight, then that was Divine Providence as well. The guy who was sent home could end up dying in an accident on the way home, while the soldier who fought dangerous battles survives to tell the story countless times the rest of his long life.

At the end of the day, everything is orchestrated by God, every last detail, every last second. Whether the world is quiet and orderly or loud and chaotic, it is all really the same thing, since God has His fingers on all the buttons at all times. The only question is how man perceives the situation, the result of which either makes him act responsibly or recklessly. Order breeds order, and chaos breeds chaos, but one who believes that God is the Maestro running the show at all times knows and sees both as a function of Divine will, and acts accordingly.

Seventy years since the last catastrophe is coming up soon, if it hasn’t already. It may be the reason why the world seems to be so unstable, promising to become more chaotic as time moves forward. However, whatever happens, it is from God, and even the most chaotic situations are under His control. The one who finds comfort in that idea may find safety as well since it leads to trust in God, and as the Leshem points out, nothing stands in the way of trust in God.

Perceptions, Copyright &copy 2012 by Rabbi Pinchas Winston and Torah.org.

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Please Say Yes to Abba Yahweh and His Laws.

It is written in the Koran:
‘1. Surah Al-Fatihah:

1. In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
2. All the praises and thanks are to Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).
3. The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
4. The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)
5. You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).
6. Guide us to the Straight Way
7. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians).

This is the 'start' in the Koran......

For more, what the Koran is teaching about: ‘Muslims Hate Jews, Christians all other faiths’ ‘Their Guide Book says to kill, behead and burn all non-believers’ click:
Index of The Quran (Satanic Verses of violence to us)

For more information about the development of these ‘Chaldean’ in our days go to our News-Blog: http://thewatchmenfromisraelnews.blogspot.co.il/

Please read the Mitzvoth go to: Positive Commandments and the Negative Commandments), easy to read. It is very important to know them. I don’t ask you this to become a good Jew! But to learn who you really are. That you can find your real identity. In a good understanding of the rest of The Scriptures. And that you understand that Rabbi Shaul is talking to a real Israel,

1Co 10:1 I do not want you to be without da'as (knowledge), Achim (brothers) b(in) 'Moshiach, that Avoteinu (our fore Fathers, you Yehudah and Ephraim! Nobody else.) all were under the anan (cloud),

(‘Achim (brothers) b(in)Moshiach are Yehudah and Ephraim who were all under the anan (cloud). The seed (literal) of Abraham, Yitzhak and Ya’acob) read it for yourself :)

Exo 13:21 And Yahweh went before them (Yehudah and Ephraim -Israel) by day in an ammud anan (‘Pillar of a cloud), to guide them haderech (the Way); and by lailah (night) in an ammud eish (‘Pillar of fire), to give them ohr (light); so they could travel yomam valailah (day or night);

Exo 13:22 He took not away the amud heanan (‘Pillar of a cloud) by day, nor the ammud haeish (‘Pillar of fire) by night, from before HaAm (the people, Yehudah and Ephraim) and passed through the sea.
Exo 14:22 And the Bnei Yisroel (Yehudah and Ephraim) then went into the middle of the yam (sea) upon the yabashah (dry land); and the mayim (waters) were a chomah (wall) unto them on their right, and on their left.

Exo 14:23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the middle of the yam (sea), even kol sus (all horses) Pharaoh, his chariots, and his parash (rider).

Exo 14:24 So it came to pass, that when came the watch of the boker (morning), Yahweh looked down on the machaneh Mitzrayim (camp of Egypt) through the ammud eish (pillar of fire) and of the anan (cloud), and caused confusion over the machaneh Mitzrayim (camp of Egypt),

Exo 14:25 And turned awry their chariot wheels, that they drove them with difficulty; so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the presence of Yisroel (really when Yehudah and Ephraim where together, not like today); because Yahweh fighting for them against the Egyptians,
So let we further listen what Rabbi Shaul has really to say:)

1Co 10:2 And all into Moshe Rabbenu were given tevilah (a ‘mikwah’ immersed) in the anan (cloud) and in the sea,

1Co 10:3 And all of the same spiritual okhel (food) ate [SHEMOT 16:4,35; DEVARIM 8:3; TEHILLIM 78:24-29],

1Co 10:4 And all of the same spiritual drink drank, for they were drinking from a spiritual TZUR (Rock) following them [SHEMOT 17:6; BAMIDBAR 20:11; TEHILLIM 78:15; 105:41], and that TZUR was Moshiach (Yeshuah – Yeshuah Yahweh).

And now one of our neviim:

Hab 2:3 For the chazon (vision) is yet for a mo’ed (an appointed time); it speaks of HaKetz (the End), and does not lie; though it tarry, wait for him

Moshiach— see: Sanhedrin 97b, ‘It has been taught; R. Nathan said: This verse pierces and descends to the very abyss:11 For the Vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though he tarry, wait for him (Moshiach); because it will surely come, it will not tarry.12]; because he (Moshiach) will surely come, and will not tarry.

(11) Just as the bottom of an abyss cannot be reached, so is it impossible to grasp the full purport of this verse (Rashi).
(12) Hab. II, 3.

Believe…..

Hab 2:4 Hinei (behold), his nashamah (soul) which is puffed up is not upright in him; but the tzaddik (righteous) shall live by his emunah (believe).

Through Moshiach, Yeshuah from Yahweh who give you emunah (believe)…..

Gen 15:6 And he believed in Yahweh; and He credited emunah (faith)] to him as tzedakah (righteousness).

Please read the whole book of HaNavi Habakuk?

The Koran teaches us that you have to die…….

But, please Yudah (Jews) and Ephraim (most Christians) Listen to His Voice:

Hab 1:12 Art thou not mikedem

(‘everlasting’ also said of Moshiach, indicating Moshiach’s eternal divine nature: Dan 7:14 And there was given Him (Moshiach) dominion, and honor, and sovereignty, that all people, Goyim, tongues, should pey-lammed-chet. [1] (worship as deity) (see Dan 3:12, serve, reverence as deity Him (Moshiach). His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His (Messianic) Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.] see Michah 5:1[2];)

Yahweh Elohai (my Elohim) Kedoshi (my Holy One)? We shall not die. Yahweh, Thou hast appointed them (these Chaldean) for mishpat (ordinance); O Tzur (Rock), Thou hast ordained them (these Chaldean) for reproof.

Maran Rabbeinu Yeshuah and Rabbeinu Shaul are teaching that you, Yehudah and Ephraim all Israel, come together to the same point as where you were when you said:

Deu 5:27 Go thou near, and hear all that Yahweh Eloheinu (our Elohim) shall say; and speak thou unto us all that Yahweh Eloheinu shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.

But don’t ‘make’ from one of them Rabbeinu Yeshuah, Rabbeinu Shaul or Rabbeinu Mosheh another ‘mighty one’ but accept them in your live for what they really are….

Please take it serious what Abba Yahweh is telling us in:

Deu 18:15 Yahweh Eloheicha (your Elohim) will raise up unto thee a Navi (prophet) from among thee, of thy achim (bretheren), kamoni (like me.....

Exo 32:30 The next day Moshe said to the people, "You have committed a terrible sin. Now I will go up to Yahweh; maybe I will be able to atone for your sin."); unto him ye must listen;

Deu 18:16 According to all that thou desired of Yahweh Eloheicha (your Elohimin) Chorev (to be burnt dried up, ruined, wasted) in the Yom HaKahal (day of the congregation), saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Yahweh Elohav (your Elohim), neither let me see this eish hagedolah (‘great fire’) any more, that I die not.

Deu 18:17 And Yahweh said unto me, They have well-spoken that which they have spoken.

Deu 18:18 I will raise them up a Navi (prophet) from among their achim (brethren), like unto thee, and will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

Joh 10:18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have samchut (authority) to lay it down, and I have samchut to receive it again. This mitzvah I received from HaAv (the Father).

Deu 18:19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not listen unto My words which he shall speak Bishmi (in My Name), I will require it of him.

Joh 8:28 Therefore, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, When you perform the hagbah (lifting up) of the Ben HaAdam, you will have da'as (knowledge) that Ani Hu [YESHAYAH 41:4; SHEMOT 3:14-16], and from myself I do nothing, but as HaAv (the Father) of me taught me, these things I speak.

Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiah Yeshuah – is Yeshuah Yahweh. Like it is said in:

Gen_49:18 I have waited for Thy Yeshuah (Salvation), Yahweh.

Exo_15:2 Yahweh is my oz and zimrah (song of praise), and He is become to me Yeshuah (salvation); He is Eli (my Elohim), and I will praise Him; Elohei Avi (the Elohim of my Father), and I will exalt Him.

And not a half-god, or another mighty-one who came between HaShem and us! (Not, ‘It Suph’!) I believe many of us (Jews and Ephraimites!) have to learn that!

[1] Dictionary of the Talmud. M. Jastrow p. 1178 פלח

Please let us come together in Prayer (by singing/praying The Song of Moshe and The Song of The Lamb) and Teshuvah in the Love of Yeshuath YHWH. Yehudah, Ephraim and all 'the called out ones',
Until comes in fulfillment,

Zec 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David (The whole House of Israel, Jews and Ephraim), and upon the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourned for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Isa 11:13 And the envy of Ephrayim shall turn aside, and the adversaries of Yehudah be cut off. Ephrayim shall not envy Yehudah, and Yehudah not trouble Ephrayim.
If you have a Prayer Request for yourself, family, friends, kehilah or the State of Israel. It can be brought to the Feet of The Mountain of Yahweh. (For Free) Click: Prayer Request