We see around, and in, us what men look like hiding from their Spiritual Compass & Spiritual Backbone. A simple change in mindset will bring productive action and amazing results for every person.
Rabbi Smith. I wish I was such an optimistic person like you. But I'm not. I am sorely disappointed in my Jewish brethren who believe in all this hogwash about the so-called virus. Since I am Jewish I hold my own people to a higher standard even though I recognize this brainwashing is a worldwide phenomena.
Clearly this allegiance to the "public health" narrative is a modern form of IDOLATRY. Didn't Moses react with extreme anger when he saw his flock worshiping the golden calf? What was his subsequent attitude? Was he optimistic (like you are) that the people would eventually find their way? Was his expectation that Hashem would be merciful? Or is this the time to simply LAMENT the peoples' fall from grace and point out the turning away from the Almighty in our present time?
Moses our Teacher was indeed very upset about the worshiping of the golden calf.
YET, he PLEADED with G-d Al-mighty to forgive the Jewish People and not destroy the Jewish People and when G-d declared that the Jewish People would be eliminated in favor a better bunch consisting solely of Moses and his descendants, Moses responded that it was not negotiable and he wanted to having nothing to do with such an idea.
Indeed, he was on the whole very optimistic. The entire book of Deuteronomy is his loving plea to the Jewish People to stay on track and get back on track if they should, G-d forbid, lose their way.
And, his expectation was that G-d would be merciful bringing the Jewish People back to the Holy Land from the scattering to the farthest corners of the earth.
So, in our present time, instead of pointing out the turning away from the Almighty, we need to lovingly point everyone back to the Almighty!
The following חז"ל would clarify some things, but I believe you would do a better job explaining this in English.
"אחז"ל (ע"ז ד:) לא חטאו ישראל אלא להורות תשובה לרבים" or
"וא"ר יהושע בן לוי לא עשו ישראל את העגל אלא ליתן פתחון פה לבעלי תשובה"
Another statement that I would point out, people aren't bad, but it's easier for them to follow the narrative despite all the nonsense going on. Once one decides to think for himself, many people feel lonely, isolated etc. It seems like they forget the lesson that we have to take from אברהם אבינו ע"ה
"אחד הי' אברהם"
""ויגד לאברם העברי", רבי יהודה ורבי נחמיה ורבותינו. רבי יהודה אומר: כל העולם כולו מעבר אחד והוא מעבר אחד."
Then again we see the same thing by יוסף הצדיק, when he was sold & later when he was thrown into jail, that was (most likely going to be) the end of him, but he didn't give up not even for a split second, & look what happened to him at the end.
Miracles upon miracles.
But we usually read them, when we know already the outcome, so we don't realize how significant the actions of these great men were. If we should just stop for a moment whenever we learn these פרשיות & think "what would I do in this situation? Would I be able to handle it?" Then but only then, can we start realizing מקצת שבמקצת who they were. & what these פרשיות are us מחייב.
I have more to say/write but I'll be מקצר for now.
These are very beautiful points, Rabbi Fishman, and so important to highlight. Perhaps you can add at least a basic translation of the quotations for the benefit of the other readers.
Thank you. I see you as a modern day Moses. But will the people turn away from worshiping the Virus? Again, I wish I could be as optimistic as you are but as of right now the people have lost their way!
That's kind of you to write. Actually, as the Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya each has in him a spark of Moses! The idolatrous beliefs that every person gravitates to extend way beyond one current issue. I encourage you to sign up a RabbiSmith.org and join our weekly learning of Rabbi Steif's Mitzvos Hashem and the Divine guidance for every human being. You can also see some of the videos here: Mitzvos Hashem of Rabbi Steif for Bnai Noach https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtlCA-UZzfchuDuBmgLIVhIY573NHSoSI
To my mind, Medical Tyranny in our current age is the #1 idolatrous belief that has captured the minds of so many. Because of their false dark theory of contagion, supposedly normal people have been transformed into vicious petty tyrants who will stop at nothing to scapegoat innocent people. As you well know, the Nazis began their mad campaign of genocide on the pretext of a public health emergency. All those who are able to let the "spark of Moses" out within themselves, should be trying to alert as many as possible to this campaign of evil that has so sadly transfixed so many.
The Code of Jewish Law has discussions about fleeing a city during a plague. The Maharam Padva explains that those people who are scared of a plague should flee the city so they don't spread their fear to those city residents who have confidence in G-d Al-mighty and therefore do not need to flee.
Fascinating. I wish they had fled. But actually they weren't really afraid. Deep down they knew it wasn't a real plague. They used it for virtue signaling. As long as you believed in the IDEA of a deadly virus that provided proof that you were down with the program so to speak. As long as you bowed to "expert opinion" without questioning the real science behind it, you were then showing how you were saving others from a deadly contagion. Now you could also congratulate yourself for embracing the "cure"--the MRNA injection which ironically has brought suffering to so many.
It just struck me as odd. Take some common wisdom, like love thy neighbor, be kind to animals, honor your wife, or husband, respect your parents. And then take that common wisdom and say it’s Jewish or Christian, or Muslim. And then go out into the world, and preach your Christian wisdom, which is actually universal wisdom, but you call it Christian wisdom. That’s a very clever way to put your brand, your stamp, on the thing which is not yours. There would be less conflict between religious groups, if they would stop claiming common wisdom, shared by everyone, as their own.
Hello, John! Common wisdom works if a person knows that it has a Divine Source. If we just think it's nice thing or a good habit, it will quickly disappear, drowned out by those that insist that they can prove that G-d abandoned the world or the world and all in it is an accidental creation, G-d forbid.
In fact, common sense is really G-d Al-mighty speaking to us.
The Torah teaches us to listen to that voice inside of us and that no one has a monopoly on it.
Incredibly, the Torah teaches that even if a human being never learned the Divine Torah principles that apply to every human being, he still can, and must, figure them out by observing the Creation and paying attention. In other words - there is no monopoly on Divine Wisdom.
It's available to us all. The innovation of Abraham, Our Father, was to take upon himself a driven responsibility to bring that message to every human being for their benefit and he inculcated that in his son, Isaac, and grandson, Jacob, and to their offspring, which prompted the Rambam to write what he did and me to make this post.
Rabbi Smith. I wish I was such an optimistic person like you. But I'm not. I am sorely disappointed in my Jewish brethren who believe in all this hogwash about the so-called virus. Since I am Jewish I hold my own people to a higher standard even though I recognize this brainwashing is a worldwide phenomena.
Clearly this allegiance to the "public health" narrative is a modern form of IDOLATRY. Didn't Moses react with extreme anger when he saw his flock worshiping the golden calf? What was his subsequent attitude? Was he optimistic (like you are) that the people would eventually find their way? Was his expectation that Hashem would be merciful? Or is this the time to simply LAMENT the peoples' fall from grace and point out the turning away from the Almighty in our present time?
Thanks for writing Turfseer!
Moses our Teacher was indeed very upset about the worshiping of the golden calf.
YET, he PLEADED with G-d Al-mighty to forgive the Jewish People and not destroy the Jewish People and when G-d declared that the Jewish People would be eliminated in favor a better bunch consisting solely of Moses and his descendants, Moses responded that it was not negotiable and he wanted to having nothing to do with such an idea.
Indeed, he was on the whole very optimistic. The entire book of Deuteronomy is his loving plea to the Jewish People to stay on track and get back on track if they should, G-d forbid, lose their way.
And, his expectation was that G-d would be merciful bringing the Jewish People back to the Holy Land from the scattering to the farthest corners of the earth.
So, in our present time, instead of pointing out the turning away from the Almighty, we need to lovingly point everyone back to the Almighty!
With blessings!
Dear Rabbi Smith,
The following חז"ל would clarify some things, but I believe you would do a better job explaining this in English.
"אחז"ל (ע"ז ד:) לא חטאו ישראל אלא להורות תשובה לרבים" or
"וא"ר יהושע בן לוי לא עשו ישראל את העגל אלא ליתן פתחון פה לבעלי תשובה"
Another statement that I would point out, people aren't bad, but it's easier for them to follow the narrative despite all the nonsense going on. Once one decides to think for himself, many people feel lonely, isolated etc. It seems like they forget the lesson that we have to take from אברהם אבינו ע"ה
"אחד הי' אברהם"
""ויגד לאברם העברי", רבי יהודה ורבי נחמיה ורבותינו. רבי יהודה אומר: כל העולם כולו מעבר אחד והוא מעבר אחד."
Then again we see the same thing by יוסף הצדיק, when he was sold & later when he was thrown into jail, that was (most likely going to be) the end of him, but he didn't give up not even for a split second, & look what happened to him at the end.
Miracles upon miracles.
But we usually read them, when we know already the outcome, so we don't realize how significant the actions of these great men were. If we should just stop for a moment whenever we learn these פרשיות & think "what would I do in this situation? Would I be able to handle it?" Then but only then, can we start realizing מקצת שבמקצת who they were. & what these פרשיות are us מחייב.
I have more to say/write but I'll be מקצר for now.
These are very beautiful points, Rabbi Fishman, and so important to highlight. Perhaps you can add at least a basic translation of the quotations for the benefit of the other readers.
Thank you. I see you as a modern day Moses. But will the people turn away from worshiping the Virus? Again, I wish I could be as optimistic as you are but as of right now the people have lost their way!
That's kind of you to write. Actually, as the Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya each has in him a spark of Moses! The idolatrous beliefs that every person gravitates to extend way beyond one current issue. I encourage you to sign up a RabbiSmith.org and join our weekly learning of Rabbi Steif's Mitzvos Hashem and the Divine guidance for every human being. You can also see some of the videos here: Mitzvos Hashem of Rabbi Steif for Bnai Noach https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtlCA-UZzfchuDuBmgLIVhIY573NHSoSI
To my mind, Medical Tyranny in our current age is the #1 idolatrous belief that has captured the minds of so many. Because of their false dark theory of contagion, supposedly normal people have been transformed into vicious petty tyrants who will stop at nothing to scapegoat innocent people. As you well know, the Nazis began their mad campaign of genocide on the pretext of a public health emergency. All those who are able to let the "spark of Moses" out within themselves, should be trying to alert as many as possible to this campaign of evil that has so sadly transfixed so many.
The Code of Jewish Law has discussions about fleeing a city during a plague. The Maharam Padva explains that those people who are scared of a plague should flee the city so they don't spread their fear to those city residents who have confidence in G-d Al-mighty and therefore do not need to flee.
Fascinating. I wish they had fled. But actually they weren't really afraid. Deep down they knew it wasn't a real plague. They used it for virtue signaling. As long as you believed in the IDEA of a deadly virus that provided proof that you were down with the program so to speak. As long as you bowed to "expert opinion" without questioning the real science behind it, you were then showing how you were saving others from a deadly contagion. Now you could also congratulate yourself for embracing the "cure"--the MRNA injection which ironically has brought suffering to so many.
If you have not already, I encourage you to watch this interview, particularly the ending where I speak about how to reach people and awaken their spark: https://rabbismith.substack.com/p/interview-prayer-is-warfare
It just struck me as odd. Take some common wisdom, like love thy neighbor, be kind to animals, honor your wife, or husband, respect your parents. And then take that common wisdom and say it’s Jewish or Christian, or Muslim. And then go out into the world, and preach your Christian wisdom, which is actually universal wisdom, but you call it Christian wisdom. That’s a very clever way to put your brand, your stamp, on the thing which is not yours. There would be less conflict between religious groups, if they would stop claiming common wisdom, shared by everyone, as their own.
I’m in over my head but I’m not drowning. Yet.
Hello, John! Common wisdom works if a person knows that it has a Divine Source. If we just think it's nice thing or a good habit, it will quickly disappear, drowned out by those that insist that they can prove that G-d abandoned the world or the world and all in it is an accidental creation, G-d forbid.
In fact, common sense is really G-d Al-mighty speaking to us.
The Torah teaches us to listen to that voice inside of us and that no one has a monopoly on it.
Incredibly, the Torah teaches that even if a human being never learned the Divine Torah principles that apply to every human being, he still can, and must, figure them out by observing the Creation and paying attention. In other words - there is no monopoly on Divine Wisdom.
It's available to us all. The innovation of Abraham, Our Father, was to take upon himself a driven responsibility to bring that message to every human being for their benefit and he inculcated that in his son, Isaac, and grandson, Jacob, and to their offspring, which prompted the Rambam to write what he did and me to make this post.
G-d bless you!
G-d bless you, too