The peel must precede the fruit

וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו

On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 

 (Leviticus 12:3) 

A baby must endure seven "foreskin days", and only on the eighth day is he circumcised. This can be compared to the Land of Israel, which originally was in the hands of the Canaanites, and only afterwards was given to Israel. In the same way, the world existed for 26 generations without Torah, and only after this was the Torah given, because in each case, the peel must precede the fruit.

The truth is, even when the peel that precedes the fruit rules, during the days of the foreskin, when the Land of Israel is in the hands of the Canaanites, and in the 26 generations before the Torah was given, then too the world receives life-force from Hashem, who enlivens everything out of His great lovingkindness. This is the aspect of Hidden Torah. And this is the essence of the world's existence.

When a person sins and God forbid damages the Holy Covenant (i.e. commits a sexual sin h"v),  the foreskin that hovers over the Covenant is drawn down into the world. At this point, it would be appropriate that the world, God forbid, revert to chaos, because the essence of the world's existence is the Fixing of the Covenant (tikkun habrit), as it says: "If not for My covenant day and night, the ordinances of heaven and earth I have not established." (Jeremiah 33:25) For the essence of the entire Torah is guarding the Holy Covenant, as expanded upon in Zohar and elsewhere. 

Yet Hashem desires good, and therefore He created the world such that the peel comes before the fruit, and seven days of foreskin precede the circumcision, to show that also in the days of foreskin, Hashem sustains all through His great lovingkindness, the Hidden Torah. Thus even if a person sins God forbid and damages the Covenant, Hashem sustains him out of His lovingkindness, from the Hidden Torah, and He is patient with him, until he returns.

This too explains what it says in the Zohar, that Teshuva cannot fix sins of the Covenant. The deepest truth (ha'emet l'amito) is that teshuva can fix everything, but according to all the revealed Torah, teshuva indeed does not help in the case of an emission. However, there is also Hidden Torah, which is chesed chinam - Hashem's unconditional love - the kindness beyond our grasp - by which the world was able to exist before the Torah was given, and even during the days of foreskin. 

And with this level of Chesed, Teshuva can fix everything.

(Rebbe Natan of Nemirov, Likkutei Halachot, Yoreh Deah - Laws of Circumcision 3:4)

Glenn Beck: God's not dead

Okay, so it's no secret that I love Glenn Beck. Beck is one of the only voices in American media calling attention to the real threats Israel faces, and informing the American public about the danger of the latest Arab revolutions bringing about an Islamist Middle East. Beck brings moral clarity into the news.

Chazak v'amatz, Beck! But Yidden! We can't leave it all to Beck. We also have to speak up without fear that there is a right and wrong in this conflict and more importantly, that Chai Hashem - God is present, in our lives and in the news.

P.S. It's a long video, so consider leaving it on while you do some early Pesach cleaning. =0)

Will millions of Muslims march to Israel?

Remember the 2 million people in Tahrir Sq chanting to liberate Jerusalem?

It seems as if Amnon Yitzchak's warning that millions of Arabs could march to Israel has now gone viral...in the Arab world, that is. Facebook may have taken down a page calling for a third intifada, but two new pages are up, calling for a mass invasion of Israel by millions of Arabs on May 15th, the date marking the establishment of the state of Israel.

The Maseera 2011 page reads (translated by INN from Arabic):

Our goal is to carry out the march of the Right of Return in both word and deed to Palestine on May 15 2011 from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, in order to penetrate the borders of Palestine and return to the homeland and validate the right of return in word and deed...

If this takes off, unrest in the Muslim world is not looking good for Israel.  But not to worry, thanks to the lunar calendar, Israel's Independence day falls nearly a week before the march, so there will be plenty of time to celebrate before the madness begins.

Twitter and Facebook so far have been portrayed as neutral tools harnessed by the Arab populace against dictatorships. Yet now that Zuckerberg has agreed to take down the page calling for a violent uprising against Israel, Ishmael and social networking find themselves at somewhat of a standoff. I wonder how long this page will last.

Palestinian Intifada Facebook page posts Amnon Yitzchak video

The Facebook page calling for a 3rd intifada on May 15, 2011 (11 Iyar), in the spirit of other uprisings in the Muslim world, posted a video today of Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak (with Arabic subtitles) warning that uprisings in the Muslim world will come to Israel too. If you thought these were uprisings only in these countries and we are only watching, know that if the regimes change and they are Islamists, we will be in a serious problem. What will happen if millions decide to march to Israel? 

Guess what they also posted? Haaretz: Israel can't use force against the next Palestinian uprising

Half a million march in London

The UK Daily Mail reports that half a million people marched in London on Saturday in mass demonstrations against proposed budget cuts by Britain's Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. Masked and hooded anarchists threw ammonia-lightbulbs and paintbombs at police officers, smashed the windows of hotels and banks, and ignited fires around the city.

Daily Mail: Union leader warns 'anything is possible when people are angry'

Britain must brace itself for a crippling series of strikes, protests and widespread civil disobedience, the leader of the country’s biggest union warned yesterday. Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, said the anger felt by millions of hard-working families towards the Government’s cuts ‘needs to find a release’. In a call to arms, the 60-year-old said: ‘I don’t believe that we should rule anything in or anything out.’ He said the painful impact on people’s lives of everything from unemployment to pay cuts and changes in working conditions, means many are ‘surviving, not living’.

Last week, Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi hinted that the old world order is crumbling into pieces all across the world, preparing the way for the geulah.

Tefillos Needed! Names of children in critical condition after Jerusalem bombing

URGENT!! There are still a number of children who are in critical condition after the terror attack on Wednesday. Tragically, the terrorists yimach shmam v'zichram detonated the bomb as many young people waited for the bus, including three 8th-graders from a cheder in Netivot had been in Yerushalayim for an exam to get into yeshiva. The One Family Fund has issued a call to pray for their quick and complete recovery (via Arutz Sheva).

• Odelia Nechama bat Michal suffered serious head injuries and is in intensive care. Her life is still in danger.
• Natan Daniel ben Shulamit, a 17-year-old student, suffered massive internal injuries and has had a number of internal organs removed.
• Leah Bracha bat Shoshana, a 19-year-old seminary student, suffered burns to her legs and arms as well as serious shock.
• David Amoyal (David ben Sara), the owner of the snack stand next to the bus stop who told the people who were in the area to run away and then called the police, and was on the phone with them when the bomb exploded.  Amoyal suffered injuries to his legs, feet and lower body and is listed in moderate condition.
• Sasson ben Shulamit suffered lower body injuries and serious post-traumatic symptoms.
• Ad Shapira, an 18-year-old who is about to complete high school, suffered light orthopedic injuries and is in good condition in hospital.
• Shilo ben Ofra, 15 years old, suffered burns and fractures to his legs and lower abdomen.  He is sedated in intensive care.
• Daniel ben Nurit, 13 years old, suffered lacerations and shrapnel injuries to his lower extremities, and is likely to be released from the hospital before Shabbat.
• Elchanan ben Alona, 14 years old, suffered serious injuries to his feet. One ankle and three of his toes were crushed. He has had one operation and will require more surgery. He will likely be in the hospital at least 2-3 weeks.
• Netanel ben Shlomit, an 18-year-old who works as a security guard at the bus station, was injured in the abdomen had surgery.  He is now recuperating in the hospital.
• Yisrael ben Dina - 8th-grader from Netivot (via I'm a mother forum) 
• Shaindel bat Raizel - Another seminary (post high school) girl learning in Israel this year was operated on last night from the Jerusalem bombing yesterday. (from the Har Nof list via I'm a mother forum)

To pray for the victims:

• Say a chapter or several chapters of Tehillim - Psalms (especially Pslams 6, 10, 20, 41, 121, or if you have more time, say the verses of Psalm 119 corresponding to the letters of the name of the victim), and then after your reading, say the following: Please, Ribbono shel Olam (Master of the World), may the merit of saying these Psalms go to the healing of Odelia Nechama bas Michal and...

• Write their names on a slip of paper, and insert them in the 5th blessing of the Amidah (Refa'enu), right before the words 'ki el rofe'. Before the names, if your siddur does not have it, you can say: Yehi Ratzon Milfanecha Adonai Eloheinu v'Elohei Avoteinu, shetishlach mehera refuah shlema min hashamayim, refuat hanefesh u'refuat haguf lacholah [name of a girl] v'lacholeh [name of a boy]... (and so on v'lacholah or v'lacholeh followed by the names)

• Women: write their names on a slip of paper, and pray for them when you light the Shabbos candles. You can also ask for their healing in the memory of the Baba Sali, the great tzaddik who did much chessed for Am Yisrael from the town Netivot, where some of the boys are from. If you don't do so already, consider starting to light Shabbos candles (18 minustes before sunset on Friday evening) for the healing of these children.

May Hashem send all of the injured a complete and speedy healing, and in the merit of these children and all of the tefillos, mitzvas, and yesurim b'ahava (sufferings of love) of Am Yisrael, may we merit to see a complete and speedy geulah, with no delay!! To stay strong during these times, see Shirat Devorah on the Rebbe's prophecy unfolding before our very eyes.

Mary Jane Gardner, 55, Bible Translator

Note: For the names off the victims of the Jerusalem bombing, many of whom are children in critical condition, see here.

The name of the woman who was killed in the attack has been released. Mary Jane Gardner, 55, was a Scottish woman studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

According to the Telegraph, Ms. Gardner was a well-regarded Bible translator, who came to Israel in January to study Hebrew. She was working on a project to translate the New Testament int Ife, a language spoken in Togo, West Africa, most likely for missionary purposes. Although the students from her school are normally bussed to school and back for security, Ms. Gardner was in town to meet a friend at a restaurant, and passed the scene on foot the moment the bomb exploded.

After learning of her tragic death, the founder of the Home for Bible Translators where Ms. Gardner was studying said: "The shock of the evil behind the killing of civilians for the sake of killing is hard to take."

Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad claims that the Palestinian Authority arrested two of the group's members on the suspicion that they were involved in yesterday's bombing in Jerusalem. (Galei Tzahal Radio)

DEBKA, however, claims the following:

DEBKAfile's counter-terror sources report that the attack was professionally executed by a team of three to five with local aid from East Jerusalem Palestinians. While the authorities have reassured the city that it was a one-off attack, intelligence and terror experts are certain a terrorist organization activated trained bombers and may do so again.

Harmful levels of radiation detected outside 30km evac zone

NHK World reports:

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says computer forecasts show that radiation leaking from a nuclear plant could pose a hazard to people outside its 30-kilometer zone.

Edano said at a news conference on Wednesday that a computer forecast system has shown that radiation levels in some areas outside the 30-kilometer zone would exceed 100 millisieverts, which is the level that could affect the human thyroid if a person is exposed to it outdoors for 24 hours.

Edano cited a lack of data and the need for more precise calculations, and said there is no need for immediate evacuation or to seek shelter indoors.

At the same time, he urged people living downwind from the plant to stay indoors as much as possible and keep the windows shut as a precaution.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail is reporting that 5 of the 50 workers who stayed behind to save the plant are now believed to be dead.

Victims of the Jerusalem attack

Update: Please see latest post: Tefillos Needed! Names of Children in critical condition after Jerusalem bombing

 Update: The woman killed in the Jerusalem bombing was Mary Jane Gardner, 55, a Scottish Bible translator studying at the Hebrew University.

Update: Thank you for your tefillos! Arutz Sheva reports that Thursday morning there are still five injured at Beit Holim Hadassah Ein Karem, two of them in critical condition. In other hospitals around the city there are still nine injured victims who sustained moderate to light injuries. Meanwhile, the 60-year-old woman who was killed in the attack has been identified by the UK foreign office as a British national. Her name has still not been released to the press. 

Arutz Sheva reports:

One of the many people wounded in a bombing in Jerusalem on Wednesday was also wounded in a terrorist attack eight years earlier, outside Cafe Rimon in downtown Jerusalem. The man, Sasson Tzedaka [correction: Tzedka], spoke to Arutz Sheva from his bed in Bikur Cholim Hospital. After the bombing Wednesday “I saw images from the first terror attack, and I was sure it was a flashback. I didn't think that I was in a second attack,” he said. Tzedaka said he believes he was saved in the merit of his grandfather, Rabbi Yehudah Tzedaka [Tzedka].

From Facebook:

Please pray for an American seminary girl who was hit by shrapnel from the terrorist attack this morning @ the central bus station in Jerusalem. She is in surgery now. Leah Bracha bas Shoshana Basya.

The Yeshiva World reader comments confirm that Leah Bracha bas Shoshana Basya is from the Cleveland area, and was on Bus #74, which goes to her seminary in Har Nof, when the bomb right outside exploded.

The following names of victims of the attack are also provided by one reader (with additional info from I'm a mother):

Odalia Nechama bat Michal - 14-year-old frum girl, badly injured
Shilo ben Zehava Ophra - 8th grader, his legs are badly injured
Daniel Yehuda ben Rachel Nurit
Elchanan Ovadia ben Alona
Yisrael ben Dina
Oriya bat Michal
David ben Zohara (this may be the David below, not sure)
Sheindel bat Raizel
Daniel Natan ben Shulamit 
Sasson (ben Sarah) - described above

Another man severely injured by the attack, David Amuyal (according to the Hebrew press, or Amuyav according to JPost), was working at his brother-in-law's store at the time of the attack. Amuyal noticed the suspicious bag and started warning people nearby, including a large group of boys, to move away from the area. As he called the police to report the bag, the bomb exploded. This man's alacrity and heroism saved many lives today, and prevented a horrific attack from being much worse.

Meanwhile, schools and daycare centers will be closed Thursday in Be'er Sheva, Ashdod, and Ashkelon. Now reports are that the market in Ashdod will be closed as well, after fifteen more mortars fell on the Western Negev today. MK Silvan Shalom told Channel 2 news tonight that the rocket that hit Beer Sheba this morning fell 50 meters from his childhood shul. A miracle occurred: the Shaliach Tzibbur was delayed in approaching the amud, and before he stepped up, the rocket fell, and the windows of the shul were smashed and no one was injured.

May Hashem have mercy and send all the victims a complete and speedy refuah!

Terror attack in Jerusalem, 1 woman killed

(updated) A terror attack occurred at 3:05pm at Binyanei HaUma in Jerusalem. One woman was killed in the attack and thirty-nine people have been injured. Two of the injured were pregnant women, and a hospital spokesman said many of the injured are young. The bomb was in a suitcase left near a telephone booth next to the a bus stop across from Binyanei HaUma. Channel 1 has reported there is a suspicion that the bomb came from Hevron. A police spokesman is now saying that this is uncharacteristic of Hamas.

We are a bit shocked here.

God, do not be silent and do not be still, O God
For behold, Your enemies stir, and those who hate You raise their heads
Against Your people they plot cunningly, and they take counsel against Your protected ones.
They said, "Come, let us destroy them from being a nation, and the name of Israel will no longer be remembered.
For they have taken counsel with one accord; against You they form a pact...

Do to them as to Midian; as to Sisera, as to Jabin in the brook Kishon. 
They were destroyed in En-Dor; they were as dung on the ground.

Make them, their nobles, as Oreb and as Zeeb, and as Zebah and as Zalmuna all their princes
Who said, "Let us inherit for ourselves the dwellings of God."
My God, make them like thistles, like stubble before the wind.
As a fire that burns in a forest and as a flame that burns mountains.
So will You pursue them with Your tempest, and with Your whirlwind You will terrify them.
Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek Your countenance, O Lord.
Let them be ashamed and terrified forever; let them be disgraced and perish.
Let them know that You-Your name alone is the Lord, Most High over all the earth (Psalm 83)

Libyan journalist: widespread support for Qaddafi

BBC reports: 

Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has widespread support in the capital Tripoli, according to a journalist in the city who spoke to the BBC.

The man, named only Saleh to protect his identity, said that people there were afraid of what would happen in the coming days.

His comments came after Col Gaddafi made his first public appearance in a week to rally his supporters.

In a speech apparently from a compound hit by coalition air strikes on Sunday, he urged "all Islamic armies" to join him, saying: "We will be victorious."

Enter Hamas. Since the Libya war began, we've seen the biggest rocket provocation since Operation Cast Lead. Hamas knows where the doomed Libya war is going. For the audience in the Arab world it will turn in to a West against the rest spectacle, and Hamas wants to jump on the momentum. For Islamic fundamentalists, conflict between the West and Muslims in Africa -- even if there are protesters and dictators among them -- is a springboard to showdown Hamas wants: the end of Israel and the rise of Islam on the world stage. For the West this may have begun as concern for the Libyan people, but there are larger forces at play.

Hashem is with us, but Am Yisrael has to do teshuva!

Syria kills 6, including doctor, in attack on protest mosque

Syrian forces have killed six people in an attack on a mosque full of anti-Assad protestors in the southern city of Dara on late Tuesday, Gulf News reports. Among the dead is a doctor from a well-known family who was in the mosque to help victims of the attack. Ten people have now been killed after a week of demonstrations. Like Egypt, Syria has had emergency law in place since 1963, banning any opposition and entrenching a nationalized economy.

According to Haaretz, the IDF is preparing for the possibility that instability in Assad's regime will lead to an attack on Israel (h"v):

The Israel Defense Forces is readying for the possibility that Syria might create a provocation along the northern border to divert attention from the growing protests against President Bashar Assad's regime. Nevertheless, the defense establishment views this as unlikely.

...The IDF is also preparing for the possibility that Damascus might use Hezbollah or other militant organizations in Lebanon to heat up that front to divert attention from events in Syria. But one senior officer said that Assad and his people appear to be too busy suppressing the domestic unrest to have time for that. So for now, most preparations are at the intelligence level, and there is currently no plan to beef up IDF forces along the border.

Now that the US has attacked Libya, protesters around the world are all the more emboldened. I wonder if the US will make a stop in Yemen or Syria while they're out here?

On Israel radio today, an expert said the street in Syria is not as hostile to Israel as the regime. On the one hand, ousting Assad could open the door for a more moderate regime. On the other hand, Hezbollah in Lebanon could easily take advantage of the chaos and expand their sphere of influence.

Meanwhile, some MK's also voiced support today for an Operation Cast Lead 2.

Nancy Grace: State of emergency declared in California

Nancy Grace insists that the governor of California governor has declared a state of emergency following the nuclear radiation hazard from Japan. Her weatherman disagrees.

Nancy Grace may not be a scientific authority, but she is asking the questions that no one else is. Last week the IAEA said if the radiation in Japan continues, the health hazard to the US would have to be reassessed. This week temperatures at Fukushima are rising and the radiation continues. Who's reassessing the threat?

Yesterday, the EPA measured an aberration in Hawaii radiation levels:

As of 6:30pm (EDT) preliminary monitor results in Hawaii detected minuscule levels of an isotope that is consistent with the Japanese nuclear incident. This detection varies from background and historical data in Hawaii. This isotope was detected at our fixed monitor in Hawaii, and it is far below any level of concern for human health. The sampling filter from this monitor is being sent to our national radiation lab for further analysis.

California's state of emergency may be complicated by nuclear fallout, but at this point it's weather-related. The governor declared a state of emergency in California following heavy rainstorms across six counties. According to forecasts, the strongest part of the storm is set to hit California Wednesday morning. Two have already died from the storm.

Is California taking the next hit? A few months back, scientists warned of a deadly California superstorm in the state's future. Now a Newsweek columnist says after Chile, New Zealand and Japan, California is next up for a major quake.

And today, March 23rd, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's two tsunami warning centers in Alaska and Hawaii will be simulating earthquake and tsunami warnings along major Pacific ocean fault lines.

Operation Cast Lead 2?

Haaretz: 'Israel may have to launch a fresh operation against Gaza'

Vice Premier Silvan Shalom told Israel Radio that the situation recalled the run-up to Israel's 2008-2009 Gaza war, which killed around 1,400 Palestinians. Hamas had mostly held fire from the enclave since. "We may have to consider a return to that operation," Shalom told Israel Radio. "I say this despite the fact that I know such a thing would, of course, bring the region to a far more combustible situation." If the rocket fire continues, Israel would have to embark on a wide-scale operation to topple the Hamas regime, Shalom told Israeli Radio. The operation would have to target leaders and commanders of terrorist movements, said Shalom, rather than just tunnels and open areas.

Culture Minister Limor Livnat echoed Shalom's remarks, saying Israel may have no choice but to launch Operation Cast Lead 2 if the rocket fire continued.

Haaretz: A small war is starting along the Gaza border

The more time that passes and the larger the number of casualties, the harder it will be to stop the escalation.

A grad rocket fired from Gaza hit Be'er Sheva early Wednesday morning. It landed in a parking lot one person was moderately wounded.

Last night, terrorists launched a first grad rocket onto Ashdod. Residents of southern Israel were warned earlier to stay near shelters in anticipation of such an attack. The Islamic Jihad y"s took responsibility for both rockets.

Ashdod is even further north of Ashkelon, where a rocket struck earlier this evening.

Also this evening, the IDF attacked a terror cell preparing to launch a rocket into Israel, killing four known terrorists.

Is Hamas looking for trouble while the US invades Libya? Would an Israeli incursion into Gaza achieve the effect of presenting the West/Israel against the Arab world across the Mediterranean? 

We'll follow this closely. 

Newsweek columnist says Cali Earthquake next

Source: US Geological Survey

Simon Winchester at Newsweek claims that earthquakes come in clusters, and that after Chile, New Zealand and Japan, California is next to be hit by a major quake:

Even more worrisome than geography and topography, though, is geological history. For this event cannot be viewed in isolation. There was a horrifically destructive Pacific earthquake in New Zealand on Feb. 22, and an even more violent magnitude-8.8 event in Chile almost exactly a year before. All three phenomena involved more or less the same family of circum-Pacific fault lines and plate boundaries—and though there is still no hard scientific evidence to explain why, there is little doubt now that earthquakes do tend to occur in clusters: a significant event on one side of a major tectonic plate is often—not invariably, but often enough to be noticeable—followed some weeks or months later by another on the plate’s far side. It is as though the earth becomes like a great brass bell, which when struck by an enormous hammer blow on one side sets to vibrating and ringing from all over. Now there have been catastrophic events at three corners of the Pacific Plate—one in the northwest, on Friday; one in the southwest, last month; one in the southeast, last year.

That leaves just one corner unaffected—the northeast. And the fault line in the northeast of the Pacific Plate is the San Andreas Fault, underpinning the city of San Francisco...There are in consequence a lot of thoughtful people in the American West who are very nervous indeed—wondering, as they often must do, whether the consent that permits them to inhabit so pleasant a place might be about to be withdrawn, sooner than they have supposed.

According to the USGS seismologist Robert Williams, the Hayward fault is more likely to "slip" than the San Andreas fault:

The real threat to the San Francisco Bay region over the next 30 years comes not from a 1906-type earthquake, but from smaller (magnitude about 7) earthquakes occurring on the Hayward fault, the Peninsula segment of the San Andreas fault, or the Rodgers Creek fault.

Couple that with former USGS geologist Berkland's warning of a West Coast earthquake this week.

Meanwhile, an unusually strong earthquake of 6.1 magnitude hit smack dab in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, between South America and Africa earlier today. A 5.1 earthquake followed in the exact same place.

Japan supported Iran's nuclear program, promised fuel rods

The foreign ministers on Japan and Iran met in Tehran in late February

Today, the Fukushima reactor's spent fuel rod pool reached boiling point, raising new fears that the pool's water will evaporate and the fuel rods will become exposed, which could lead to dangerous radiation emission levels. Last week the IAEA warned that if the reactor continued to emit radiation, the health hazard to the USA may have to be reassessed.

Before Japan's nuclear crisis, the world was facing a less hyped, although potentially even more dangerous nuclear crisis -- the threat of a nuclear Iran. An unstable, whimsical, boisterous dictator was engaging in a covert nuclear weapons program, while calling freely to wipe the Jewish state off the map -- and the world barely blinked an eye.

Isn't it interesting then, to discover that the two nuclear crises are related.

Several weeks before the Fukushima accident, Japanese deputy minister for foreign affairs Bessho Koro visited Tehran to meet with Iranian Foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi and carry the message of a pro-Iran Japan (after all, if it's profitable, why not?):

The Japanese deputy foreign minister said Japan supports Iran's nuclear energy program and added that Iran has the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. He went on to say that Tokyo is determined to develop ties with Tehran. Salehi and Koro also discussed the latest regional developments and called for the expansion of cooperation between the two countries in all spheres.

What exactly are the latest regional developments? Iran suppressing democratic protests? The threat of Iranian-funded terrorism taking hold in the new chaos facing the Middle East? Gaza firing Iranian rockets on Israel? Where exactly are the regional developments that create an environment conducive between anything resembling the 21st-century world with one of the most oppressive and unstable regimes on the planet?!

And here's what was in the works last February (via Israel Matzav):

Politico: Japan emerges as key player on Iran

Under the alleged compromise fuel swap deal that Japanese diplomats quietly briefed U.S. officials on earlier this month, some 70% of Iran’s low enriched uranium stockpile would be moved to Japan, according to what one Washington source, speaking anonymously, was told by the Japanese. Japan would then take responsibility for the stockpile, and ensure the delivery to Iran of fuel rods for nuclear medical use.

If there were any plans in the works for Japan to supply Iran with fuel rods for "medical use", the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis "wiped them off the face of the earth", so to speak. In the Politico article, there's an interesting fact mentioned that creates an eerie connection between the future of Egypt and the latest nuclear crisis:

In addition, in November, a Japanese diplomat, Yukio Amano, succeeded Mohamed ElBaradei to become director general of the IAEA, in effect the top international nuclear negotiator in the world.

El Baradei, or the soft-on-Iran nuclear watchdog impostor, and the poster child for the Muslim Brotherhood's PR campaign in seizing control of the new Egypt. Hashem works in interesting ways...


Meanwhile, Bill Koenig has tracked Japan's deplorable track record of denying Israel's right to build and defend itself. Check out what the Japanese foreign ministry had to say on March 11, 2010 - exactly one year to the day prior to when the earthquake and tsunami hit:

The Government of Japan deplores the decisions of the Government of Israel to give permission for the construction of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem in addition to 112 units in West Bank just after the Israeli and Palestinian leadership’s acceptance of the start of indirect talks. The Government of Japan does not recognize any act that prejudges the final status of Jerusalem and the territories in the pre-1967 borders. Japan demands that the plans should not be implemented.

One message does seem to be clear from recent disasters: hey, idyllic countries far off there: stop using your God-given blessings to pick on Israel. God's kingship in today's world may be the most hidden it has ever been, but those with a pure and deep faith, a faith bequeathed to us from our ancestors, rooted deep in the the Jewish soul, cultivated throughout the ages precisely for days such as these, know without a shadow of a doubt that lo yanum v'lo yishan Shomer Yisroel -- no, the Guardian of Israel does not slumber! -- and even though galus feels like a state of slumber and abandonment, we know without a doubt that God is right here, about to save us from all our enemies, as present and as real as He was when He spoke to our people at Sinai, aware of our suffering and clearing the way for our geulah. The days are near when all the words of all the prophets regarding the Jewish people -- and the fall of their enemies -- will come true before our very eyes. May it be so speedily in our days. 

Japan's nuclear crisis far from over: Spent fuel rod reactor pool at boiling point

Anyone else frustrated by the daily assurances that the situation in Japan is under control, only to be followed by more doom? The latest emergency as reported by CTV:

In a reminder that the battle to stop the spread of radiation at the plant is still not over, officials said Tuesday that a pool holding spent nuclear fuel had heated up to around the boiling point.

Even spent fuel rods can generate intense heat and dangerous radiation. The rods need to be stored in a water-filled pool for a year or more to allow them to cool, and the heat from the pools needs to be constantly removed.

The worry at the overheating Fukushima fuel pool is that if it's not cooled down soon, radioactive steam will be emitted. And if the situation worsens, the water within could boil away, exposing the fuel rods, which would throw up much more radiation. 

Last week, the IAEA warned that if the reactor in Japan continues to emit radiation, the health hazard to the USA would have to be reexamined.

Meanwhile, AP reported that steam was seen rising from reactor No. 2, and white haze from reactor No. 3, as radiation at both units spiked briefly.

Palin prays in the Kotel tunnels, reaffirms connection with Israel

From the Jerusalem Post:

Palin was told that Jews were not allowed to pray openly on the Temple Mount and about the Arab riots that accompanied Netanyahu’s decision to authorize the creation of an exit from the Western Wall tunnels in 1996. “Why are you apologizing all the time?” Palin asked her guides.

...Rabinowitz said that Palin prayed at the point closest to the Holy of Holies and left a note with a personal prayer....When Rabinowitz shared the story of Purim with Palin, she told him it was especially meaningful to be at the Kotel on Purim.

Danon said that Palin’s visit to the Western Wall Tunnels was very exciting. “She really connected to the story of the Jewish nation,” Danon said. “She knows the material but there’s nothing like standing in front of those big stones and hearing about the connection. I know that she loves Israel, and after a visit like this, she has a personal connection to the Western Wall."

...She didn’t go into diplomatic issues, but I can clearly say from the questions she asked in relation to our conflict here with the Muslims in these holy sites that she knows that we are right and that the Muslims are just claiming things for provocation and they’re not right,” Danon said. 

Meanwhile, J Street was offended after Netanyahu rejected a meeting with them, and chose Palin instead.

A modern-day Esther? Palin and Netanyahu to dine on Purim

Sheya points out that Palin's dinner with Netanyahu is scheduled for Monday evening, when it is still Purim in Jerusalem...does this mean Palin is participating in a Purim seudah?

The traditional Purim seudah was a celebration to mark Esther's extraordinary efforts on behalf of the Jewish people to foil Haman's (Ahmedinijad's?) evil schemes. Esther was able to have such influence by virtue of her incognito royal role, which she landed as a result of her exquisite beauty and charm.

Is there any woman more active today than Sarah Palin in standing up for Israel? Palin has supported Israel's right to build from the beginning, citing that "more and more Jewish people will be flocking to Israel in the days and weeks and months ahead." In that case, it's quite fitting that she dine with the 'king' of Israel on this auspicious day.

Is Palin being prepared by Hashem for a key role on the world stage for the good of the Jewish people? For more on this, see Shirat Devorah: Sarah Palin, A Sign of Mashiach

And more importantly, is Sarah Palin Jewish?! This site suggests Palin's mother's maternal grandfather was a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant.

A freilichin Purim

ומרדכי יצא מלפני המלך בלבוש מלכות ועטרת זהב

ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר כן תהיה לנו!!!!!

Purim Sameyach

Will Sarah Palin understand?

In honor of Purim (Sunday, or Monday in Jerusalem), here's an excerpt from an interesting vort from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin on the power of Klal Yisrael during the messianic era:

For the Zohar, every nuptial is derived from the sacred union between the Almighty and His bride, Israel. In biblical times, when Israel was still in her infancy, God had to take center stage in our redemption from Egypt. However, in the ultimate Redemption with the coming of the Messiah, “the woman – the Jewish people, Klal Yisrael [all Israel] – will run circuits around and dominate the Almighty,” by taking the initiative in bringing about the coming of the Messiah.

This process of redemption initiated by Bride Israel began in the time with the period of the Second Temple, when the Oral Law, dominated by our rabbinical leaders of our people, gained sway over the Written Torah – dominated by God Himself. Whereas God’s name appears in virtually every verse of the Bible, it is the rabbis Rava and Abaye, Ravina and Rav Ashi whose names fill the pages of the Talmud (Mishna and Gemara).

The victory over Haman was magnificently orchestrated by Esther, who placed her life on the line to save her people; “The woman ran circuits around the man,” when Esther, rather than God, is given credit for initiating the victory. Hence God’s name doesn’t appear in the scroll. Yes, He plays a crucial role behind the scenes, but the perceived leader is Esther, aided by Mordecai and the coming together of all the Jews in Persia.

This Purim happens as a war is declared on Libya, as a global nuclear crisis unfolds in Japan, and as the modern-day champion of the rights of the Jewish people, Sarah Palin, dines with the 'king of Israel' in Jerusalem. 

May this be the year when the Jewish people, with the help of Hashem, do everything in our power to usher in the geulah!

A Freilichin Purim

World war 3?

Has Obama just started WW3?

Latest Updates: 

• Qaddafi: This will be a long war; Libya will destroy "this entire Christian pact." (YNet) 

• The African Union called on Sunday for an "immediate stop" to all attacks on Qaddafi's forces.

• Libya's Gadhafi calls on Africans, Arabs, Latin Americans, Asians to stand by Libyan people against the enemy (Reuters)  

• Qaddafi warns Mediterranean has turned into a "battlefield"

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said the Mediterranean has turned into a "real battlefield" after Western air strikes. He has even opened arms depots for his people to defend the country. Gaddafi, in a brief audio message broadcast on state television, condemned the allied Western attacks on Libya as "barbaric, unjustified Crusaders' aggression." He vowed to retaliate with military and civilian targets in the Mediterranean, warning that the interests of Mediterranean and North African countries were now "in danger." "The Mediterranean region has become a real battlefield," he said. "Arms depots have been opened and all the Libyan people are being armed" to defend the country against Western forces. (Nine News)

In light of the West's military intervention in Libya, I am reposting some information on Libya in end-of-days prophecies in the Bible, followed by some potential scenarios.

Libya is one of the countries featured in Ezekiel 38, which describes the war of Gog and Magog, the global struggle which Ezekiel foresees preceding the final redemption of the Jewish people and the world. Among the nations who rise up are:

פָּרַס כּוּשׁ וּפוּט, אִתָּם; כֻּלָּם, מָגֵן וְכוֹבָע

Persia, Kush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet

Persia, which also features in the Purim story which Jews read and commemorate this month, is modern-day Iran, which has made no secret of its stride against Israel at any cost. Kush is Ethiopia, which is also experiencing unrest. In the book of Genesis, Put is the name of the third son of Ham, son of Noah, brother of Kush, Egypt and Canaan. Put is identified in biblical history as the father of the Libyan nation.

In the books of Ezekiel, Daniel and Nahum, Libya joins forces with Egypt, Gog and Tyre against Israel in the end of days, and falls.

כִּי-קָרוֹב יוֹם, וְקָרוֹב יוֹם לַיהוָה:  יוֹם עָנָן, עֵת גּוֹיִם יִהְיֶה.

וּבָאָה חֶרֶב, בְּמִצְרַיִם, וְהָיְתָה חַלְחָלָה בְּכוּשׁ, בִּנְפֹל חָלָל בְּמִצְרָיִם; וְלָקְחוּ הֲמוֹנָהּ, וְנֶהֶרְסוּ יְסֹדוֹתֶיהָ.

כּוּשׁ וּפוּט וְלוּד וְכָל-הָעֶרֶב וְכוּב, וּבְנֵי אֶרֶץ הַבְּרִית--אִתָּם, בַּחֶרֶב יִפֹּלוּ 

For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a day of clouds, it shall be the time of the nations. 

And a sword shall come upon Egypt, and convulsion shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; 

And they shall take away her abundance, and her foundation shall be broken down. 

Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all the mingled people, and Cub, and the children of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

In other words, Libya plays a major role in a final showdown between Israel and her enemies.

How will Qaddafi react to the West's attack? If Qaddafi can shoot at his own people, what will he do when everything is at stake against in his final grasp for power against his ultimate Western enemies, against whom he has amassed power for years on end?

Qaddafi doesn't have many friends left, but there are a few nations who fall in the category of his all-too-convenient enemies' enemies:

Update: Turns out Qaddafi does have at least one friend - Louis Farrakhan yimach shmo who has asked Obama 'Who do you think you are?'

Other countries who could potentially oppose the Western alliance:

- Russia: Russia abstained from the UN vote, and expressed concern at the decision to intervene in Libya. Could Russia side with Qaddafi if things get out of hand?

- Iran: Several weeks ago, Iran's US ambassador warned against foreign intervention in Libya. If a coalition forms against the Western powers, Iran will be the first to provide weapons, regardless of whether they are rallying around Qaddafi or not. And this is where it gets scary. If Iran gets involved, is Israel is harm's way (h"v)?

- The Arab world - Qatar and the UAE are part of the international coalition attacking Libya, and the Arab League is the body that initially pushed for the no-fly zone. But the pro-West Arab elite is not without enemies, especially among non-state actors. Will anti-West forces in the Arab world, such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda, see an opportunity to side--publicly or privately--with Qaddafi?

- Venezuela - On Saturday, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez criticized Western military action in Libya, claiming the West's "men of war" are ultimately seeking control of Libya's oil fields. Is it just a coincidence Obama is in South America now, or does he know that South America is a minefield of financial and military support for radical anti-Western leaders?

- Turkey - During a visit to Germany in February, Turkey's PM Erdogan said a NATO intervention in Libya would be "unthinkable" and "absurd". Turkey has enjoyed flexing its political and diplomatic muscle in the region even, and especially, when its interests conflict with the US. According to Professor David Passig, as Turkey gains power, it will split from the U.S. and become self-sufficient as a regional power and as a support for Arab states in the region. Is this Turkey's moment?

Update: Turkey has announced it will make the necessary contribution to enforce the UN-approved no-fly zone, citing that the resolution is binding on all countries.

This war may have begun with all the moral clout on the side of the Western attack, but it could easily unravel into a "struggle against the West", if a rising anti-Western power seizes the opportunity for control over lucrative oil resources and status on the world stage. Keep in mind - Obama started this war without congressional approval or stated support of the American people. As the saying goes - We know where wars start, but we rarely know where they will end. This war started on Purim, but we have no clue where it is going.

IAEA: Health hazard to USA may have to be reassessed

- Radionuclides from Fukushima nuclear reactors found in Sacramento, CA (current levels not harmful to human health)

- IAEA expert: If Japan reactor continues to emit radiation, situation "may have to be reassessed"

CNN reports:

A radiation monitor in California has detected a trace of radioactive material from the stricken nuclear power plant in Japan, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization said Friday.

The exact amounts were not available, but the test ban organization's executive secretary, Tibor Toth, said the measurements were below what would be considered harmful to human health.

The treaty organization's chief press officer, Annika Thunborg, said its officials were "absolutely certain" that the radiation detected in California is from Fukushima because the isotypes were consistent with those emitted by the Fukushima reactors, and the timing of their detection is consistent with projections.

...The Sacramento monitor detected minute amounts of radionuclides -- substances that emit radiation -- which had been expected, Toth said.

The EPA, in a statement, confirmed that a monitoring station in Sacramento that feeds into the treaty organization's monitoring system "detected minuscule quantities of the radioactive isotope xenon-133, a gas that is produced during nuclear fission. The origin was determined to be consistent with a release from the Fukushima reactors in northern Japan.

See video at CNN


ABS-CBN News: Fukushima cloud now at Atlantic

The plume from Fukushima has now reached the western Atlantic but its radioactivity is likely to be "extremely low" and have no impact on health or the environment, France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) said on Saturday.

"As of yesterday, the cloud covered most of North America and northeastern Siberia. It is currently passing over the North Atlantic," it said, naming French terroritories in the Caribbean and off Canada's eastern coast.

The cloud has been progressively thinning as it heads eastwards around the northern hemisphere at high altitude and will reach mainland Europe on Wednesday or Thursday, it said, citing a computer model jointly compiled with the French weather service, Meteo France.

"The concentrations of caesium 137 in the air over land traversed by the plume are expected to be extremely low," it said.

Also see earlier post, Will radioactive materials from Japan reach the US?

Meanwhile, 200,000 US troops are being evacuated from Japan to Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco and L.A.

BREAKING: US fires missiles into Libya

Times are GMT+2 (Jerusalem, Libya)

23:32 Drudge report headline reads WAR NO. 3: US FIRES MISSILES INTO LIBYA

22:46 110+ Tomahawk missiles from US, British ships have struck 20 Libyan targets (Breaking News - Headline only) 

21:57 BREAKING: US launches cruise missiles against Qaddafi's air defenses

The U.S. Navy fires the first U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles against Libyan leader's Muammar al-Qaddafi's air defenses Saturday, a military source tells Fox News.

The U.S. military strikes clear the way for European and other planes to enforce a no-fly zone designed to ground Qaddafi's air force and cripple his ability to inflict further violence on rebels, U.S. officials said.

21:46 BREAKING: US launches first military strike inside Libya (NBC)

Obama will be delivering a statement shortly from Brazil (how convenient), followed by a White House press conference, which will both be available live here

21:30 U.S. has 3 submarines preparing for operations against Libya - official. Developing. (MSN)

Earlier today, French planes opened fire and destroyed several of Qaddafi's tanks and armored vehicles.

US experts fear dire, irreparable Fukushima reactor breach

 LA Times reports:

U.S. government nuclear experts believe a spent fuel pool at Japan's crippled Fukushima reactor complex has a breach in the wall or floor, a situation that creates a major obstacle to refilling the pool with cooling water and keeping dangerous levels of radiation from escaping.

That assessment by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials is based on the sequence of events since the earthquake and information provided by key American contractors who were in the plant at the time, said government officials familiar with the evaluation. It was compelling evidence, they said, that the wall of the No. 4 reactor pool has a significant hole or crack.

Unlike the reactor itself, the spent fuel pool does not have its own containment vessel, and any radioactive particles and gases can more easily spew into the environment if the uranium fuel begins to burn. In addition, the pool, which contains 130 tons of uranium fuel, is housed in a building that Japanese authorities say appears to have been damaged by fire or explosions.

A breach in the pool would leave engineers with a problem that has no precedent or ready-made solution, said Edwin Lyman, a physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"My intuition is that this is a terrible situation and it is only going to get worse," he said. "There may not be any way to deal with it."

US, Britain, France, Italy prepare for air raid on Libya

Update: Again Shabbos is coming in as a global crisis unfolds...Shabbat shalom, and have kavanah to bring mashaich while you eat your shabbos meal!

 Update: The Telegraph reports:

Moussa Koussa, the Libya foreign minister, announced that the ceasefire would be "immediate" and would result in "an immediate stop to all military operations".

"(Libya) takes great interest in protecting civilians," he said, adding that the country would also protect all foreigners and foreign assets in Libya.

The announcement came as David Cameron said RAF warplanes would be in places in the "coming hours".

From an earlier article:

RAF warplanes will be in place “in the coming hours”, the Prime Minister told MPs.

As Gaddafi’s forces regain ground from rebel forces, Britain “cannot stand back” and let the Libyan dictator kill his people indiscriminately, he said.

“Any decision to put the men and women of our armed services in harm’s way should only ever be taken when it’s absolutely necessary,” Mr Cameron said. “But we simply can not stand back and let a dictator whose people have rejected him, kill his people indiscriminately.”

RAF Tornadoes and Typhoons will take part in operations over Libya, Mr Cameron said. British refuelling and reconnaissance aircraft will also be deployed.

“In the coming hours they will move to airbases where they can start to take the necessary action,” he said.

Update: Canada to send six CF-18 fighter jets to join American, British, French and other forces.

Update: Germany will not take part in a military operation against Libya. Qaddafi has warned he will strike civilian targets in response to foreign intervention.

The UN Security council has approved a no-fly zone over Libya and has authorized "all necessary measures" to protect civilians there. The measure passed 10-0, with Russia and China abstaining. According to the BBC, British and French warplanes could make air raids on Libya as early as Friday night UK time, although the raids may be spearheaded by Qatar or the UAE.

This can only mean one thing. Another global crisis unfolding right as Shabbat comes in in Israel (Carmel fire, fall of Mubarak, the Japan tsunami...)

But seriously, there's more. According to the Wall Street Journal, Egypt is also shipping weapons to Libyan rebels, and Obama knows about it. In other words, what we have here is a potential alliance between Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, Libyan rebels, France, Britain and the US--against Qaddafi. Will Russia and China bolster Qaddafi behind the scenes? How will this play out for Saudi forces in Bahrain? Will Qaddafi do teshuva?

What we have unfolding is a very messy Middle East in an already tense global environment, as nuclear threat from Japan looms. The world is changing, fast. 

Note that Egypt and Libya both play a role in the Gog and Magog final showdown as described by Ezekiel, although that war ends up being against Israel.

Japan exposing more workers to harmful radiation levels to offset nuclear disaster

Bloomberg reports a devestating situation at Fukushima:

The utility increased its workforce at the Fukushima Dai- Ichi plant to 322 yesterday from 180 on March 16 as it tried to douse water over exposed nuclear fuel rods to prevent melting and leaking lethal radiation.

...“They have an access time of 10 to 25 hours at the most,” Price, 60, said in a telephone interview yesterday. “At that rate, you are going to go through workers very fast.”

Workers are being ordered to leave the plant, located 135 miles (220 kilometers) north of Tokyo, before radiation dosages reach the maximum permissible level, said a spokesman for the utility who declined to give his name.

Radiation exposure levels are measured in millisieverts. Exposure totaling 100 millisieverts over a year is the lowest level at which any increase in cancer is evident, according to the World Nuclear Association in London. The cumulative maximum level for nuclear workers was increased to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts by Japan’s health ministry on March 15.

“Once they have reached that limit, they can’t go in the plant anymore,” Price said. “You shouldn’t be doing that sort of work ever again.”

One plant worker was exposed to 106.3 millisieverts, Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said in a website posting yesterday.

See here for the latest on the USA health hazard

Tamar Fogel asks Livni to take action on behalf of Pollard

The amazing middot (character) of 12-year-old Tamar Fogel, the orphan whose parents, brother and sister were murdered by Palestinians last Friday night, are coming to light. Last week, she said she would be strong and overcome, and be the mother of her brothers. 

In the video above, Tamar Fogel speaks in her first interview, hardly mentioning herself and her own pain, but speaking with all of her heart about the importance of unity between all parts of the Jewish people, settling the entirety of the land of Israel, and justice for Jonathan Pollard.

The Jerusalem Post reports on Tamar's special plea for Pollard:

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni made a pledge to 12-year-old orphan Tamar Fogel on Wednesday to work to bring about the release of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard.

Pollard's wife Esther visited the shiva house earlier and presented teddy bears from her husband to Tamar and her two surviving siblings. Tamar showed the bear to Livni and asked her to take action on behalf of Pollard, who has served more than 25 years of a life sentence.

Livni responded that she has worked to bring about Pollard's release and would continue to do so. She commended Tamar for her selflessness.

"Despite all your pain, you are thinking about the pain of others,” Livni told Tamar. “This is heartbreaking and amazing.”

Amazing indeed. May Hashem comfort and protect this extraordinary young woman and may her emunah and middot be an example for all of am yisrael.

See here for a commentary on the contemporary manifestation of Amalek-Haman.

Tokyo governor: Tsunami needed to wipe out Japanese egoism

On Monday, Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara said the tsunami was needed “to wipe out egoism, which has rusted onto the mentality of Japanese over a long period of time...I think [the disaster] is tembatsu (Japanese for divine punishment), although I feel sorry for disaster victims." On Tuesday, he issued an apology.

On Sunday, Korean pastor David Yonggi Cho said: “Because the Japanese people shun God in terms of their faith and follow idol worship, atheism, and materialism, it makes me wonder if this was not God’s warning to them."

* *

This week's Dvar Malchut (p. 23) brings a piece of advice from Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya, on how to fight doubt, the inner manifestation of the Jewish enemy of Amalek-Haman:

Sometimes, disappointment at one's own flaws and shortcomings become a great obstacle's in one's service. Yet rather than be frustrated in the face of imperfection, we should instead be astounded and overjoyed that God's light, in the form of words of prayer and Torah, can dwell in such darkness. To become angry or depressed over the discovery of a flaw while serving God indicates that we attribute excessive importance to our own selves. If we approach Torah and mitzvot out of a love for God, then a flaw in ourselves only enhances our awe of God's ways, how his light can extend to all places. Rather than build up an illusion of grandiosity, we know we are imperfect, and we focus on the miraculous kindness God has for us in giving us his own toolbox to improve.


At the end of the teaching, the Alter Rebbe says: "And this is the notion of heisech da'at - by way of distraction - that one distracts one's mind from the place he is to the wisdom of Torah and avodat Hashem (serving God)."

אין משיח בא אלא בהיסח דעת

Mashiach comes by way of distraction (Sanhedrin 97a)

Sometimes, the sentence above from the Talmud is understood as referring to Mashiach coming while we are not paying attention, i.e. from the place we least expect. Here, the Alter Rebbe may be hinting that the inyan (matter) of Mashiach is connected with the tremendous power we have to divert our attention from the seemingly all-powerful and all-inclusive sense of self to a state of consciousness in which God and His infinite wisdom are at the center.

In other words, when you find a flaw in yourself, you can actually use it to actually transcend yourself. So long as we are operating under the illusion that we are all-powerful agents on a road to perfection, even if we are doing mitzvot and learning Torah, it can all be feeding our ego, and ultimately, eclipsing God. But when we stumble, God is nudging us to break down our own idols of ourselves and focus on the true perfection - the light found in Torah, prayer and the mitzvot, whose light is even more striking when it shows up in little-old-me.

The Ba'al Shem taught that the Hebrew letters אני ("I") are the same letters as the word אין (Ayin, "Nothingness", a name of God). The secret is transforming the self into nothingness, and there finding God.

How then, can we understand the occurrence of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe in the vacinity of the world's largest city and the epicenter of finance, technology and the modern spun-out-of-control lifestyle? On an individual level, every person is engaged in effort to bring kiddush Hashem, or sanctification of God's name, into one's own mind and heart, by making room for God in an ego-dominated consciousness. On a world scale, there are nations that represent the unimpeded strive of the ego, which eclipse God and bolster an illusion of human omnipotence, which is the worst form of idol worship. In the age of Mashiach, this mistake will be corrected, and in the place that egoism and human triumphalism stands, God's glory and kingship will be acknowledged for all to see. Events in Japan are a warning for the entire world, a preparation for the day on which knowledge of God will fill the land as water fills the sea. 

Will radioactive materials from Japan reach the US? (updates)

New: See latest post, IAEA: Health hazard to USA may have to be reassessed

Update 2: Mike Adams, the Health Ranger from Natural News, clarifies that the real danger is a full meltdown in the Japan reactors, which would release a large amount of radiation into the atmosphere, which according to UN calculations, would send a powerful nuclear cloud towards the US West Coast. This has not happened yet, but at Natural News, they are taking the approach that it is better to be prepared than to be kept in the dark by government caution. Adams tells us the role of government in this situation is to keep the public calm until there is no choice but to tell LA it has 3 days to evacuate. So, don't panic, but remember this website and these tips in case things get worse.

Update 1: US boosts radiation-sniffing system

Federal agencies are beefing up their radiation-monitoring capabilities at home and abroad, even as they insist that significant amounts of fallout won’t waft from Japan onto U.S. territory. At home, the Environmental Protection Agency said it's adding seven monitors in Alaska, Hawaii and Guam to its RadNet radiation-tracking system, which operates about 100 air-sniffing stations nationwide. Putting in those extra stations "allows us to gather data from a position closer to Japan," EPA said in an online question-and-answer guide.

The combination of the earthquake and the tsunami has botched the emergency cooling systems at the Fukushima power plant, leading to a drying-up of the spent fuel pools at units 3 and 4, raising fears of nuclear meltdown.

According to Professor Menachem Luria of Hebrew University, the situation in Japan could be more dangerous than Chernobyl in terms of the spread of radioactive materials:

This is very worrying. There is no doubt that we have not seen anything like this in years, perhaps ever since nuclear experiments were conducted in the atmosphere in the 1950s. From what we can gather, this disaster is even more dangerous than Chernobyl, both from the standpoint of the population's exposure to radioactive material and the spread of radioactive contamination in the area. Once there is an uncontrollable heating up, the nuclear fuel undergoes a metamorphosis into the gaseous phase. Since we are talking about metals and solid items, they turn into particles that are capable of traveling great distances. They can wander thousands of kilometers.

Yossi Melman of Haaretz, who quoted Professor Luria, explains:

If these gases are indeed emitted into the atmosphere in large quantities, the wind regime could carry them all the way to China, South Korea, and eastern Russia, or in the other direction, toward Hawaii and the west coast of the United States.

Melman qualifies this doomsday prospect by saying that the likelihood of this is not high. But check out this map on AccuWeather:

And these estimated time spans for the arrival of radioactive materials to the US West Coast:

Calculated time for radioactive particles to cross the Pacific from the power plants in Japan to big West Coast cities if the particles take a direct path and move at a speed of 20 mph:

Cities	Approx. Distance (miles)	Approx. Time to Cross Pacific (days)
Anchorage	3,457	7
Honolulu	3,847	8
Seattle	4,792	10
Los Angeles	5,477	11

While this article from Agence France-Presse downplays the public health threats to the US, it indicates current wind direction would blow a potential radioactive cloud across the Pacific (see also the NYT forecast):

Experts have suggested that, if there were a reactor meltdown or major leak at Fukushima, the radioactive cloud would likely be blown out east across the Pacific, towards the US West Coast. “The wind direction for the time being seems to point the (nuclear) pollution towards the Pacific,” said Andre-Claude Lacoste of the French Nuclear Safety Authority, briefing journalists in Paris on the Japanese crisis.

The question of course is how much radiation will be released in Japan, and until that is known, no one can say with 100% assurance that harmful levels will not reach the US. If Japan faces nuclear meltdown at multiple plants - a scenario which is not ruled out by the way things are going - officials will began to change their tone.

Needless to say, experts in the US and Japan have an interest in playing down the situation and keeping the public calm until the evidence is rock-hard, but the truth is that right now no one knows where the situation in Japan is heading, and as the studies suggest above, intercontinental movement of airborne particles is a phenomenon we are just beginning to understand. That's why the prediction of the Israeli scientist above and the article from the French press are particularly telling.

There's also a deeper message here: Until now, it seems as if most disasters have hit the so-called "periphery", yet the Japan earthquake-tsunami-nuclear-power-emergency disaster marks a key shift. On Sunday morning, many Californians woke up to a warning they had never heard before: Tsunami alert along the coast. Many West-Coasters were shocked that events in Japan could ripple (literally) to the serene California coastline. Sure, we always knew Hawaii and Alaska were kinda close to Japan, but for most of the US, what happens in the far East and really in all of the developed world is in the category of "really sad things that happen to such unfortunate countries".

We all know Tom Friedman's theory: global interconnectedness will eliminate poverty and war, one Facebook friend at a time. Friedman's writing is dangerous, misguided and naive, but he is right about one thing: What happens in one place affects another, whether immediately in the delivery of an email or over 11 days in the case of the spread of radiocative particles. As disasters grow in their proportions, they are less about "people out there" and more about "how this can affect you".

For Jewish readers, my best guess is that moving to Eretz Yisrael is the safest choice. But even more important, prayer and teshuva where you are, as best you can. Remember that Hashem is in charge.