Prominent Kabbalist: The Russian Invasion of Crimea is a sign of Impending Redemption

On Purim (Monday March 17th), Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, Head of the Rabbinical Court of Jerusalem, allowed a secret to slip out. He peeled back the curtain and offered a peek into a tradition handed down from his grandfather, the Vilna Gaon, a prominent 18th-century Kabbalist:

“Even though I am careful not to share the mysteries, I feel that this is something I am permitted to reveal..This was something Rabbi Isaac had received directly from those who heard it from the mouth of the Vilna Gaon, who said, shortly before his passing:

“'When you hear that the Russians have invaded Crimea, you will know that the bells of Redemption have begun to ring. When you hear that the Russians have reached Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey, as it is called today), you can already don Sabbath clothes and await the appearance of Moshiach.'

“Last week the Russians invaded Crimea and the world slept… According to our tradition from the Vilna Gaon, this is a sign of impending redemption … Perhaps what the Gaon meant by 'bells of the redemption' is like a bell that signals the arrival of someone or something.”

Adapted for easier understanding for readers of all level of familiarity with the tradition from the presentation and translation of the teaching in English by Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

An article in Hebrew on the Purim sermon can be found here.

Update: The version recorded in the writings of the Vilna Gaon's students' is as follows:

When the Russian ships cross the Dardanelles, it is already time to don Sabbath garments  


היא כי כאשר יעברו ציים רוסיים במיצרי הדרדנלים, אפשר כבר ללבוש בגדי שבת...
 

Fireball over Northeast US

‘Fireball’ seen streaking across sky over Northampton; reports from all over Northeast  

“It was way brighter than any meteorite I’ve seen.” Similar reports from people all over New England, New York and New Jersey flooded Twitter and the website of the National Meteor Society soon afterward. Of the 90 reports of the bright object on the website, called a meteorite or fireball by many, 17 were from Massachusetts, including one from Amherst.Connolly said the fireball was about five times bigger and hundreds of times brighter than most meteorites he has seen. He said it glowed blue and orange as it traveled for three or four seconds northeast across the sky before disappearing behind clouds.He noted that it was not completely dark out at the time, and usually meteors are only visible when it is completely dark. “This was very bright, as bright as the moon,” he said.Neither he or his wife heard any noise when they saw the fireball, he said.
A report from Rollingsford, N.H., said the fireball appeared to be about the size of a quarter when held at arm’s length and had a trail of sparks. Others commented that it left a green trail and appeared low in the sky.

Meteor sighting reported by hundreds on East Coast

"reports of a green fireball were reported by drivers on Routes 128 and 495 in Massachusetts just after 5 p.m."
Other reports came from Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.  There were also reported sightings in Europe.

Mashiach in Our Times

The Rebbe explains that missing an opportunity to bring Mashiach eventually results in an even higher manner of his revelation than was previously possible. The fact that the Rebbe's physical presence is hidden from us (although, as Chassidut teaches, the tzimtzum -- withdrawal -- is not truly real) can be understood as a "descent for the sake of subsequent ascent," meant to awaken the messianic spark within us.

It is crucial to consider what factors brought about this descent and what exactly the coming ascent should be. It is not enough to simply proceed with the same type of messianic activism in which we engaged before Gimel Tamuz or even to increase it. We must continue to raise Mashiach consciousness, but in a new and totally different manner. 

More here

* 

The revelation of the light of no bounds whatsoever happens necessarily on the heels of the narrow straits, and therefore 'if you see corrupt generation after corrupt generation, then anticipate the footsteps of Mashiach", for then will be the true revelation of the light of no bounds whatsoever, which is much higher than the revelation of the Exodus, as it says "like in the days of your leaving Egypt, I will show you wonders", when wonders in Hebrew is combined of the words "50 miracles" 

~ the Rebbe 

* 

After the exodus from Egypt, 86 sparks of Chaos that had splintered off the highest lights in the dawn of creation remained in need of sifting out from within the husks of the other side. These were clarified throughout the long, two-thousand-year exile "with sweat and blood", and in the late twentieth century, all that remain are "small canisters" of sparks, that are still in need of clarification. Therefore we are wise in these times to accept every circumstance that the Holy Blessed One brings us, even if it seemingly takes us away from our "spiritual work", since the main purpose of the final moments before Mashiach arrives is the extraction of the highest concentrations of light in the most unlikely of places, where they have been hiding literally with no caring glance since the first moments of time. The secret of this work is to declare valiantly with all of the heart "When I soar to the heavens there you are; when I reach the depths, it is none but you!" This type of work is not for the masses, but the Ba'al Shem Tov was told that when all are able to do this work, Mashiach will arrive. He was so disheartened when hearing this, knowing how difficult it was to remain rooted in one's higher being, and at the same time know there is nothing other than Him, that he fell into a deep depression upon hearing this prophecy. He eventually recovered, consoled by the greatness of the soul of Mashiach. 

(Based on the Rebbe's writings) 

Astrological chart of Menachem Mendel Schneerson and Gimmel Tammuz, his moment of passing: The dark rift of a Rebbe and of the cosmos

*** Note to readers: the perspective of this blog has gone through a transformation; please indulge as you wish! *** 

Astrological chart of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, the "King of Egypt" of Holiness, the carrier of the generational messianic spark of the generation in the last half of the 20th century 

This chart is the Rebbe's birth chart, born 18 April 1902 in Nikolayev, Russia. The Rebbe's birth time is reconstructed as 7:54pm by an Israeli astrologer (a different birth time would affect only some data in the interpretation such as house placements and moon degrees).

In honor of today, the anniversary of the Rebbe's passing, this chart also includes transits for 1:50 am 12 June 1994, the moment that the Rebbe transitioned to the world of spirit and is now available to all beyond the boundaries of time and space.

Some interesting things to note about the Rebbe's chart, with transits for his day of passing:

* The Rebbe's chart features a grand cross between Pluto in the 8th house (17 Gemini), Venus in the 4th house (11 Pisces), Uranus in Sagittarius, and the Moon in Virgo (10th house). The grand cross is a marker of unique individuals and can also be viewed three-dimensionally as a pyramid that creates a pathway to higher destiny if the individual can overcome the quadrupled tensions between planetary forces that plays out within. In the case of the Rebbe, this higher destiny involved his work in the outside world (10th house), his roots and past (4th house), connection to the feminine (his association with the sefira of Malchut) and unity consciousness (Venus in Pisces), and intellectual versatility and genius in applying ancient wisdom to the highly dynamic context of the late 20th century (Uranus in Sagittarius), bridging old (Venus in 4th) and new (Uranus). For any individual the existence of a capacity for change and revolution along with a deep embedding in a chain of succession of leaders and expectations could create conflict (squares), but with G-d's help such an individual can capitalize on the highly discordant energies to translate the divergent forces within the soul to the birth of something entirely new in the world outside, such as a new movement that brought together the spirit of the age of Aquarius/Mashiach with the deepest teachings of Kabbalah of ancient days, without sacrificing neither an iota of piety and the fire of authentic observance nor a thread of human sensitivity and empathic attitude towards his fellow man and woman. Such a soul seeks not peace but continuous growth and upliftment in oneself and in the world around him or her.

* On the day of the Rebbe's passing, 12 June 1994, a day of great loss for the world, when the sheep lost their shepherd, there were two yods in the sky. A Yod is a rare astrological formation highlighting times of a severe buildup of tension that moves a process entirely to a different realm on which the tensions at hand can be resolved by the birth of something new and unheard of. The yods on this day quite interestingly were pointing at the Sun, the most important planetary force for our world and solar system. One had Uranus in Capricorn and Pluto in Scorpio as its base, indicating monumental worldly fueling pernicious messianic fervor and vice versa. Yet both these energies were quincunx with the Sun, the natural order of things, and perhaps something needed to shift to another level, another epoch, the Twin Sun, the Hidden Light, that which can be revealed only in the absence of the leader and in the shattering of the light of the leader into thousands, millions of sparks of light in the souls of all who he had touched, all of whom become lightbearers, invigorated if by nothing but deep remorse and longing to use the small flame inside themselves that had been lit to illuminate further corners of darkness, which light can so often attract and find itself painfully in. The second yod had as its base the node or karmic destiny in Scorpio or the messianic yearning, and Neptune in Capricorn, indicating that perhaps there was also a personal breaking point, echoing what the Rebbe had said a decade earlier, "I have done all I can do to bring Mashiach; now it lies in your hands". Both of the yods pointed, or drove pressure, towards the Rebbe's very own Pluto in Gemini, the other-worldly axis of his own grand cross, in the 8th house of reincarnation and transitioning. It was as if the Rebbe was being called, just as the logs of the energies he had cultivated in this world and global events were producing enough sparks to tilt the scales, it was time for the instigator to move from seen to unseen, and bring the entire process to a new level.

* At the time the Rebbe departed there was also a Grand Water Trine between Saturn in Pisces, Jupiter in Scorpio, and Mercury in Cancer, indicating that there was some resilient if not solid structure which was being left behind, built from the long-standing chain of tradition transcending time and space that would not cease, the agents of redemption that stood ready to deploy to their next task, and the ancient brilliance of the indwelling presence of G-d and spirit of prophecy that no longer lay bounded in a patriarchal and hierarchical power structure. The power of the movement now lay in the emissaries stationed around the globe and in any man or woman who chose to represent the Rebbe through his teachings and ideas and even dare to introduce new teachings in the prophetic tradition that had been through death and rebirth so many times, there was almost an indication that with such a loss as this at such a potent time as this, the words "she has fallen and will not rise again" would be read rather as they are in the Zohar: she will not fall again; now, rise up

* Seeing as the yods in the Rebbe's birth chart with passing transits point towards the 8th house of reincarnation it could be suggested that the soul of Mashiach which the Rebbe carried was returning to its celestial house of study, preparing for its next incarnation. The culmination of the story then lies in the point opposite the apex of the yod, which can be found in the degrees between Sagittarius and Capricorn, which is the site of the Dark Rift and the origin of the cosmos. When the world as we know it was formed, we are told the spirit of Mashiach already existed; the destiny of rebirth and the eternal golden age existed even before the fall; the power of return is the power on which the world is based. In this sense the departure of the Rebbe and his transition to the world of the unseen was a milestone of experience for his flock that that would culminate shortly in the realignment of the cosmos with its own birth point, now infused with self-consciousness, now ready as an awakened being colored by history and knowledge to experience the dream which had eluded it as an infant creation, as it must have been: now, with da'at (knowledge through experience), it would re-encounter the tasting of the Tree of Life, on the eve of Sabbath, in the garden of Eden, amidst peace and brotherhood between all Life, and the full activation and aliveness of all human and natural faculties without any weakness or death. Just as the Rebbe departed through the transpersonal 8th house, the universe will realign with its own zero point.

Tonight, Gimmel Tammuz, marks 19 years since the Rebbe's passing. Nineteen years is a sacred number in the history of the Rebbe's lineage, and the 19th of the month of Sagittarius (Kislev) is new year's day for the new inner revelation of scripture that is birthed each solar year. Tonight there are three grand water trines in the sky to celebrate the resilient flow of prophecy that echoes in the Rebbe's chilling absence. They are led on one side between Neptune in Pisces and Saturn in Scorpio, creating a harmony between the inner self-direction of the soul and the authorities that must sanction the arrival of the long-awaited age. On the other the deep wounds of Chiron in Pisces, the absence of the leaders and the leaderless flocks, are galvanized and alchemized into miraculous self-healers and miracle-workers, led by the nodal scorpio, the messianic tug within each soul which awakens in the hour of need when the flock must heal itself and when the darkness itself must illumine, because this is how the system was built, that no darkness could be impenetrable, since darkness itself has always contained light, since darkness is destined to give light, but only when it must, only when, we are left 19 years after with no other way, with no other consolation, other than the alchemizing of wound and loss into scars, and scars into reseviors of self-illumination and beacons of light.

This is the deeper meaning of the seating of the Rebbe in Brooklyn, at the gates of Romi, the perch of the self-healer at the precipice between exile and redemption, removing but one bandage at a time from his many wounds, so that, if the moment comes when it is time, he will not have to reapply the bandages all at once, but will have only one to reapply and will thus not tarry. If we are to understand the many wounds of the healer of the generation as the sufferings he experiences as penitence for the generation out of his great natural love for closeness between humanity and G-d, and the wounds of the generation as they reverberate through the collective soul as Chiron, which holds as well the potential for alchemizing wound into self-illumination and the drawing down of all G-dly powers into the flesh, we see that the application of the bandage is the discovery of the self-healing and Godly rivers within the soul, which, once they begin to flow, are infinite and therefore ready to heal all wounds of self and other, which are one and the same. Because all wounds result from the disconnection between the infinite and finite, and the reconnection of the link between the two found through the wounds of the healer are enough to ignite the connection for the soul of humanity as a whole. This is the importance of the soul of each generation which has within it the blueprint of all souls, and of the spark of each soul which is united in the collective soul. When the darkness of the collective souls illumines, the white fire behind the black fire of the letters of the Torah shines and the root of all people in Torah is revealed, and new waters of the miracle of the soul, of knowledge, of wisdom, of humanity and of creation flow down onto the world and onto the souls of all who desire wisdom, all who have reached the point at which such a revelation is inevitable, built into the very structure of the universe, instigated by the removal of the last beacon of light, and the dawning of the revelation of the great ones as never before. 

Planetary positions for today can be seen here. 

3 Cheshvan ~ R' Yisrael of Rozhin

Torah scroll crown from the court of Rabbi Israel Ruzhin

The mere mention of the word "Ruzhin" is enough to conjure up stories of fabulous wealth and undreamed of treasures. Indeed, the Rebbe of Ruzhin was already a legend in his own lifetime. All of his personal belongings, even his everyday cutlery, were made of the most expensive materials. The buttons on his bekeshes were made of solid gold, studded with diamonds,

and his pillowcase was woven from pure gold thread. Even though the reasons for the Rebbe's conduct were not understood by most people, he was regarded as one of the greatest tzaddikim of his time.

As a small child his phenomenal level of kedusha was noticeable. When he was only a few years old he would often cry bitter tears but would refuse to disclose the reason for his crying. When his father told him that as a father he has the right to decree that his son tell him the reason for his tears, he answered, "I am thinking to myself how many times I have lifted up my hands today not for the sake of heaven."

Wherever the Rebbe went crowds came to see him. The Rebbe travelled in a beautiful carriage drawn by four white horses. On one occasion, the Rebbe was asked how he keeps himself from having haughty thoughts when he sees the many people pushing to see him. The Rebbe answered the question with a parable.

There was once a king who ruled over a country which was too big for him to control by himself. He therefore appointed a governor over each province. One day the king decided to visit one of his faraway provinces that he had never been to before. When the king arrived he asked the governor to accompany him for a stroll through the main street of the area. As they walked down the street together, crowds began to push each other to get a better view of their governor. The king, however, was not recognized by anyone. In the commotion to see the governor, the king got pushed and shoved around along with everyone else. Can you imagine how embarrassed the governor must have been? His importance came only from the king, he must have felt terrible to see that the kiwas getting pushed around. "Similarly", ended the Ruzhiner, "When I see the way people try to honor me, I think to myself, if only they would honor Hashem like this as well, and it makes me so upset that the idea of becoming haughty doesn't even occur to me!"

Although from the outside it appeared that the Rebbe enjoyed all the comforts of this world, nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, the Rebbe afflicted himself terribly, denying his body even the basic necessities. This point is illustrated by the famous story of the Rebbe's boots. The Rebbe used to wear a magnificent pair of boots. It was rumored that even the Czar of Russia was jealous of these boots. Made of solid gold and studded with diamonds and other precious stones, they were the envy of all who beheld them. Once on a bitterly cold night the Rebbe went out in his boots to sanctify the New Moon. The Rebbe stood for a long time in the snow davening. When he left, the chassidim noticed blood where he had been standing.

An investigation of the Rebbe's boots revealed that they had no sole. Every time the Rebbe wore them he was really walking barefoot and when he stood on the snow his feet became stuck to the icy ground, causing them to bleed when he left. When this story became known, even those people who had until then been opposed to his extravagant life style, bowed their heads in deference, acknowledging that the Rebbe's every action was only for the sake of Heaven and not for his own pleasure.

On one occasion he commented that when the time came for him to be born, his soul did not want to descend into this lowly world until the body promised the soul that it would not partake of this world, only what it would need for its basic survival.

The Rebbe sought to lighten the heavy burden of the Jews as much as possible. When it was decreed that all the Jews had to change their way of dress to that of the non-Jews, most of the authorities of the time held that a person should give up his life rather than change his mode of dress. When the Rebbe was asked what he held, he answered, "Jacob received Isaac's blessing when dressed in Esau's clothes."

On one occasion the Rebbe spoke about the final geula and said that it would begin with the gradual emigration of Jews to Israel. Just as in the times of Ezra there was no miraculous redemption as in Egypt, similarly in our times if the generation will not be worthy, the redemption will also take place in a natural way.

The countries of the world will decide to give the Land of Israel to the Jewish people as a land of their own, and the Jewish people will come back and rebuild the land. There will be great miracles but they will be hidden in the circle of nature, and after this we will see the final redemption. As the Rebbe finished these words he sighed and said, "Of course it bothers us that the geula should start in such a way, but we have no more strength to wait. However it will be, let it start already."

Source: The Golden Dynasty, The Lives and Times of the Rizhniner Rebbes

Tzedakah miracle in Ir HaKodesh, week of Shabbos Chazon 5772

Reposted from facebook: 

last night i decided to take a walk around 1am. on my way back a sweet old lady approached me asking if i knew where a certain hotel was. i must note that since leaving my house i was filled with this expansive sense of love and suddenly the situation struck me as very odd that an elderly woman was roaming the streets looking for a place to stay for the night. i told her i did not know where the hotel was but i knew of a hostel nearby. we walked there but there was no room. then we tried another hotel, long story, it turned out the rooms there were $200/night, more than the woman had. at this point the woman began looking at stairwells and considering just sitting somewhere for the remaining night hours. the situation was heartbraking. i even offered to let her stay in my room on a mattress, but she did not want to impose. at this point we were in the ultra-orthodox jewish neighborhood of jerusalem, and i thought, perhaps someone knows of somewhere she could rest for the night, perhaps in a syngagogue or house of study. without really thinking i told her to wait and ran after one of the ultra-orthodox men walking the streets. i explained the situation and asked if he knew of a place she could rest, he said no..no..i began to give up..then he said, that he has money, if that could help. as if to reject it i said no, the only room is $200, but thank you. he preceded as if i had said $5, pulled $150 out of his wallet and handed it to the woman while quoting from the talmud that the temple was destroyed because of a lack of love between people. together we giddily walked to the luxury hotel, only to find out that there were no rooms available! the man then said to the woman that it is not right to ask for charity back after it has been given, so the money is now hers. we considered several other hotels and the man walked off. as soon as he walked off the woman took my hand and we walked into an alleyway. she was beaming with excitement, she said, i will go to the local hospital and sit there for the night, now i have money for the whole week, i can stay somewhere nice while i find an apartment, maybe even save it for shabbos. in other words, hashem orchestrated a miracle..nothing could have turned out better. when i told a friend about this he said i had met the souls of abraham and sarah roaming the streets of jerusalem. now i know why i felt compelled to take a walk, sometimes we are but vehicles for the miracles that are scheduled to take place..

May the inherent righteousness and goodness of all our souls be revealed in full and hasten our full redemption, and may we merit to see the third temple speedily in our days, as one people with one heart.

Mesiras Nefesh for the inner teachings of Torah

"And Pinchas the son of Elazar saw" (Bamidbar 25:7)

Pinchas endangered not only his body (the tribe of Simeon threatened to kill him) but also his soul (what he did was against the sages' will), all to remove G-d's wrath from the people. 

Once, a fire broke out at the home of the Alter Rebbe, and one booklet of Chassidus was burnt. After the fire was extinguished, the Rebbe asked if anyone had studied the booklet. His son, the Mittler Rebbe, answered: But father, you had written on it, 'No one should open this book, not in this world, and not in the world to come!' The Rebbe replied: Where is your mesirus nefesh - your total desire, to the point of self-sacrifice - for Chassidus..?


(Likkutei Sichot 18, p. 319)

To order Dvar Malchut, a weekly collection of the Rebbe's teachings on the parsha in Hebrew, go to http://www.dvarmalchus.org