Deal for Shalit release now on the table

Shana tova to my fellow geulah bloggers and readers! 

With the onset of 5772 we have received a ray of sunlight of good news (yes, this blog may be known for doomsday posts, but who knows, maybe this will change in 5772?)...Israel and Hamas are said to have reached a deal that will secure the RELEASE OF GILAD SHALIT B"H. The deal is part of a "brief window of opportunity" on the background of changes across the Arab world. As with previous deals, this will entail the release of prisoners by Israel as well, although this deal includes the most strict requirements yet for the exile of prisoners from Israel and the West Bank (although some may return to Gaza - Israeli press). The Israeli cabinet is meeting now (Tuesday 8 p.m. Israel time) to vote on the deal.

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You may want to take this time to read the verses of Psalm 119 that spell Gilad's Hebrew name. When praying for Gilad's release keep in mind that Hashem is capable of anything and everything...and that we pray for the immediate, unconditional release of Gilad! You may want to visualize Gilad sitting in the sukkah with his family...talk about the unbounded joy of Sukkot!

גְּמֹל עַל-עַבְדְּךָ אֶחְיֶה;    וְאֶשְׁמְרָה דְבָרֶךָ.
גַּל-עֵינַי וְאַבִּיטָה--    נִפְלָאוֹת, מִתּוֹרָתֶךָ.
גֵּר אָנֹכִי בָאָרֶץ;    אַל-תַּסְתֵּר מִמֶּנִּי, מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.
גָּרְסָה נַפְשִׁי לְתַאֲבָה--    אֶל-מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ בְכָל-עֵת.
גָּעַרְתָּ, זֵדִים אֲרוּרִים--    הַשֹּׁגִים, מִמִּצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.
גַּל מֵעָלַי, חֶרְפָּה וָבוּז:    כִּי עֵדֹתֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי.
גַּם יָשְׁבוּ שָׂרִים, בִּי נִדְבָּרוּ--    עַבְדְּךָ, יָשִׂיחַ בְּחֻקֶּיךָ.
גַּם-עֵדֹתֶיךָ, שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי--    אַנְשֵׁי עֲצָתִי.

לְעוֹלָם יְהוָה--    דְּבָרְךָ, נִצָּב בַּשָּׁמָיִם.
לְדֹר וָדֹר, אֱמוּנָתֶךָ;    כּוֹנַנְתָּ אֶרֶץ, וַתַּעֲמֹד.
לְמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, עָמְדוּ הַיּוֹם:    כִּי הַכֹּל עֲבָדֶיךָ.
לוּלֵי תוֹרָתְךָ, שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי--    אָז, אָבַדְתִּי בְעָנְיִי.
לְעוֹלָם, לֹא-אֶשְׁכַּח פִּקּוּדֶיךָ:    כִּי בָם, חִיִּיתָנִי.
לְךָ-אֲנִי, הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי:    כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ דָרָשְׁתִּי.
לִי קִוּוּ רְשָׁעִים לְאַבְּדֵנִי;    עֵדֹתֶיךָ, אֶתְבּוֹנָן.
לְכָל-תִּכְלָה, רָאִיתִי קֵץ;    רְחָבָה מִצְוָתְךָ מְאֹד.

עָשִׂיתִי, מִשְׁפָּט וָצֶדֶק;    בַּל-תַּנִּיחֵנִי, לְעֹשְׁקָי.

עֲרֹב עַבְדְּךָ לְטוֹב;    אַל-יַעַשְׁקֻנִי זֵדִים.

עֵינַי, כָּלוּ לִישׁוּעָתֶךָ;    וּלְאִמְרַת צִדְקֶךָ.
עֲשֵׂה עִם-עַבְדְּךָ כְחַסְדֶּךָ;    וְחֻקֶּיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי.
עַבְדְּךָ-אָנִי הֲבִינֵנִי;    וְאֵדְעָה, עֵדֹתֶיךָ.
עֵת, לַעֲשׂוֹת לַיהוָה--    הֵפֵרוּ, תּוֹרָתֶךָ.
עַל-כֵּן, אָהַבְתִּי מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ--    מִזָּהָב וּמִפָּז.
עַל-כֵּן, כָּל-פִּקּוּדֵי כֹל יִשָּׁרְתִּי;    כָּל-אֹרַח שֶׁקֶר שָׂנֵאתִי.

דָּבְקָה לֶעָפָר נַפְשִׁי;    חַיֵּנִי, כִּדְבָרֶךָ.
דְּרָכַי סִפַּרְתִּי, וַתַּעֲנֵנִי;    לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ.
דֶּרֶךְ-פִּקּוּדֶיךָ הֲבִינֵנִי;    וְאָשִׂיחָה, בְּנִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ.
דָּלְפָה נַפְשִׁי, מִתּוּגָה;    קַיְּמֵנִי, כִּדְבָרֶךָ.
דֶּרֶךְ-שֶׁקֶר, הָסֵר מִמֶּנִּי;    וְתוֹרָתְךָ חָנֵּנִי.
דֶּרֶךְ-אֱמוּנָה בָחָרְתִּי;    מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ שִׁוִּיתִי.
דָּבַקְתִּי בְעֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ;    יְהוָה, אַל-תְּבִישֵׁנִי.
דֶּרֶךְ-מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ אָרוּץ:    כִּי תַרְחִיב לִבִּי.

בַּמֶּה יְזַכֶּה-נַּעַר, אֶת-אָרְחוֹ--    לִשְׁמֹר, כִּדְבָרֶךָ.
בְּכָל-לִבִּי דְרַשְׁתִּיךָ;    אַל-תַּשְׁגֵּנִי, מִמִּצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.
בְּלִבִּי, צָפַנְתִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ--    לְמַעַן, לֹא אֶחֱטָא-לָךְ.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה--    לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ.
בִּשְׂפָתַי סִפַּרְתִּי--    כֹּל, מִשְׁפְּטֵי-פִיךָ.
בְּדֶרֶךְ עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ שַׂשְׂתִּי--    כְּעַל כָּל-הוֹן.
בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה;    וְאַבִּיטָה, אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ.
בְּחֻקֹּתֶיךָ אֶשְׁתַּעֲשָׁע;    לֹא אֶשְׁכַּח דְּבָרֶךָ.

נֵר-לְרַגְלִי דְבָרֶךָ;    וְאוֹר, לִנְתִיבָתִי.
נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי וָאֲקַיֵּמָה--    לִשְׁמֹר, מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ.
נַעֲנֵיתִי עַד-מְאֹד;    יְהוָה, חַיֵּנִי כִדְבָרֶךָ.
נִדְבוֹת פִּי, רְצֵה-נָא יְהוָה;    וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי.
נַפְשִׁי בְכַפִּי תָמִיד;    וְתוֹרָתְךָ, לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי.
נָתְנוּ רְשָׁעִים פַּח לִי;    וּמִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ, לֹא תָעִיתִי.
נָחַלְתִּי עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ לְעוֹלָם:    כִּי-שְׂשׂוֹן לִבִּי הֵמָּה.
נָטִיתִי לִבִּי, לַעֲשׂוֹת חֻקֶּיךָ--    לְעוֹלָם עֵקֶב.

אַשְׁרֵי תְמִימֵי-דָרֶךְ--    הַהֹלְכִים, בְּתוֹרַת יְהוָה.
אַשְׁרֵי, נֹצְרֵי עֵדֹתָיו;    בְּכָל-לֵב יִדְרְשׁוּהוּ.
אַף, לֹא-פָעֲלוּ עַוְלָה;    בִּדְרָכָיו הָלָכוּ.
אַתָּה, צִוִּיתָה פִקֻּדֶיךָ--    לִשְׁמֹר מְאֹד.
אַחֲלַי, יִכֹּנוּ דְרָכָי--    לִשְׁמֹר חֻקֶּיךָ.
אָז לֹא-אֵבוֹשׁ--    בְּהַבִּיטִי, אֶל-כָּל-מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.
אוֹדְךָ, בְּיֹשֶׁר לֵבָב--    בְּלָמְדִי, מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ.
אֶת-חֻקֶּיךָ אֶשְׁמֹר;    אַל-תַּעַזְבֵנִי עַד-מְאֹד.

בַּמֶּה יְזַכֶּה-נַּעַר, אֶת-אָרְחוֹ--    לִשְׁמֹר, כִּדְבָרֶךָ.
בְּכָל-לִבִּי דְרַשְׁתִּיךָ;    אַל-תַּשְׁגֵּנִי, מִמִּצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.
בְּלִבִּי, צָפַנְתִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ--    לְמַעַן, לֹא אֶחֱטָא-לָךְ.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה--    לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ.
בִּשְׂפָתַי סִפַּרְתִּי--    כֹּל, מִשְׁפְּטֵי-פִיךָ.
בְּדֶרֶךְ עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ שַׂשְׂתִּי--    כְּעַל כָּל-הוֹן.
בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה;    וְאַבִּיטָה, אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ.
בְּחֻקֹּתֶיךָ אֶשְׁתַּעֲשָׁע;    לֹא אֶשְׁכַּח דְּבָרֶךָ.

יָדֶיךָ עָשׂוּנִי, וַיְכוֹנְנוּנִי;    הֲבִינֵנִי, וְאֶלְמְדָה מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.
יְרֵאֶיךָ, יִרְאוּנִי וְיִשְׂמָחוּ:    כִּי לִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי.
יָדַעְתִּי יְהוָה, כִּי-צֶדֶק מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ;    וֶאֱמוּנָה, עִנִּיתָנִי.
יְהִי-נָא חַסְדְּךָ לְנַחֲמֵנִי--    כְּאִמְרָתְךָ לְעַבְדֶּךָ.
יְבֹאוּנִי רַחֲמֶיךָ וְאֶחְיֶה:    כִּי-תוֹרָתְךָ, שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי.
יֵבֹשׁוּ זֵדִים, כִּי-שֶׁקֶר עִוְּתוּנִי;    אֲנִי, אָשִׂיחַ בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ.
יָשׁוּבוּ לִי יְרֵאֶיךָ;    וידעו (וְיֹדְעֵי), עֵדֹתֶיךָ.
יְהִי-לִבִּי תָמִים בְּחֻקֶּיךָ--    לְמַעַן, לֹא אֵבוֹשׁ.

בַּמֶּה יְזַכֶּה-נַּעַר, אֶת-אָרְחוֹ--    לִשְׁמֹר, כִּדְבָרֶךָ.
בְּכָל-לִבִּי דְרַשְׁתִּיךָ;    אַל-תַּשְׁגֵּנִי, מִמִּצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.
בְּלִבִּי, צָפַנְתִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ--    לְמַעַן, לֹא אֶחֱטָא-לָךְ.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה--    לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ.
בִּשְׂפָתַי סִפַּרְתִּי--    כֹּל, מִשְׁפְּטֵי-פִיךָ.
בְּדֶרֶךְ עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ שַׂשְׂתִּי--    כְּעַל כָּל-הוֹן.
בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה;    וְאַבִּיטָה, אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ.
בְּחֻקֹּתֶיךָ אֶשְׁתַּעֲשָׁע;    לֹא אֶשְׁכַּח דְּבָרֶךָ.

הוֹרֵנִי יְהוָה, דֶּרֶךְ חֻקֶּיךָ;    וְאֶצְּרֶנָּה עֵקֶב.
הֲבִינֵנִי, וְאֶצְּרָה תוֹרָתֶךָ;    וְאֶשְׁמְרֶנָּה בְכָל-לֵב.

הַדְרִיכֵנִי, בִּנְתִיב מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ:    כִּי-בוֹ חָפָצְתִּי.
הַט-לִבִּי, אֶל-עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ;    וְאַל אֶל-בָּצַע.
הַעֲבֵר עֵינַי, מֵרְאוֹת שָׁוְא;    בִּדְרָכֶךָ חַיֵּנִי.
הָקֵם לְעַבְדְּךָ, אִמְרָתֶךָ--    אֲשֶׁר, לְיִרְאָתֶךָ.
הַעֲבֵר חֶרְפָּתִי, אֲשֶׁר יָגֹרְתִּי:    כִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ טוֹבִים.
הִנֵּה, תָּאַבְתִּי לְפִקֻּדֶיךָ;    בְּצִדְקָתְךָ חַיֵּנִי.

Some pearls of wisdom from Rebbetzin Jungreis

I had the pleasure of hearing Rebbetzin Jungreis speak on Shabbos and wanted to share with you a few pearls of wisdom from her talk:

• The most important thing to look for in a marriage partner is a good heart. All other qualities (intelligence, sense of humor, financial situation, physical appearance, commonalities) can be either built-up or h"v corrupted by a good heart or a bad heart. 

• In order to truly take in advice we need to cultivate a lev shomea. When Shlomo HaMelech was granted one wish from an angel, he asked for a listening heart. Most people listen with their ears; listening with your heart means that the advice or Torah will truly integrate with your personality and start to materialize. 

• The answer of the Jewish people to all that has befallen us is rising up again and building bayit ne'eman b'Yisrael - raising a Jewish home. When praying for a soulmate, one should not seek to address merely their own loneliness, but rather one should pray to Hashem to have the opportunity to raise children and grandchildren who will be steeped in Torah and mitzvot. (On this note, Rebbetzin Jungreis speaks of children and grandchildren broadly and spoke to the whole audience as her grandchildren).

• How often do we walk around Yerushalayim, crying out of the beauty and amazement that we are here, back in our land in great numbers? The rise of the state of Israel is the fulfillment of the prophecies of all the sages, and we are on the path towards our ultimate redemption, may it come speedily in our days.  

 

Measure for measure

A generation after the Arizal, the Jerusalem Kabbalist Rabbi Nathan Shapira wrote the book Tuv Ha'aretz on the supreme value of the land of Israel according to the Arizal and the Zohar. Rabbi Shapira himself made aliyah from Krakow, but spent the end of his life on shlichus in Italy. In another sefer, Emek HaMelech, Rabbi Shapira wrotes that "were it not for the prayers of the people of Jerusalem who pray at the Kotel in tears and supplication, these are the perushim and the great chasidim, the world would not exist G-d forbid, and for them it says Mount Zion will be a refuge, these are the Jews who live there and occupy themselves with the world to come." (Emek HaMelech p. 116c)

In one passage in Tuv Ha'aretz, Rabbi Nathan writes a bold critique of the rich stratum of his people living in the diaspora, extolling the special status of living in the land of Israel before Mashiach (my best translation):

Know that a tradition is in our hands that on the day when Mashiach will come with the ingathering of the exiles to the land of Israel, on that very day there will be seven thousand of the children of Israel, and on that very day the dead of the Land will live, and on that very day the walls of fire in Jerusalem will depart...and on that very day the dead of of the Land of Israel will return in the time of their life (b'et chiyutam) [and become] a new spiritual being, and the seven thousand who are alive will all become a new being (bria chadasha), a spiritual body, like the body of the primordial human who sinned and like the body of Moshe Rabbeinu, and all will hover in the air and soar like eagles, and all this before the eyes of the ingathered exiles.

And when the ingathered exiles see that their brothers have become a new being and hover in the air to go and dwell in the lower Garden of Eden to learn Torah from His mouth, blessed be He, then the ingathered exiles will fell a tremor in their hearts and feel great anguish and will ֿbecome incensed with the King Mashiach and will say: For are not we children of Israel like them? From where did they merit to become spiritual in body and soul and not us?

And the King Mashiach will say: It is already well-known that all the attributes of the Holy Blessed one [operate according to the principle of] measure for measure. Those who lived outside of the Land of Israel and made an effort to come to the Land so as to merit a pure soul, who did not take refuge in their wealth nor in their physical body, who came by sea and by land and did not fear to drown in the sea or become captive to harsh masters, in return for treating their spirit and their soul as essential, and not their body and their money, for this they returned as spiritual, measure for measure. 

Yet you, who could have come to the Land like them, but neglected to come because of love of money (chemdat mamon), who worried for your wealth and your body, treating them as essential, and your soul and spirit as marginal, for this, in the same way, you have remained physical, measure for measure...

And for the money that you desired hereby God blessed be He will give you money...and they who did not worry themselves over their body and their money, but over their spirit alone, God will make them into a new being, and usher them into the lower Garden of Eden.

The onset of the Birthpangs of Mashiach, circa 1495

A key milestone in our people's reflection on the relationship between the reality at hand and the redemption described and promised by the Prophets was a comment made by Rabbi Yosef Shaltiel the end of the kabbalistic text Sefer HaPliah ('The Book of Wonder'), a book he wrote in double exile from the Island of Rhodes. In the year 1495, equivalent to 5255, or resh nun heh on the Jewish calendar, the penultimate year he ascribes to the great tragedy of the Spanish Inquisition to European Jewry, he writes the following:

I think that the tragedy faced by the Jews in all kingdoms of Edom from the year resh nun of the sixth millennium through the year resh nun heh are a time of trouble for Jacob, out of which he will be saved, these are the birthpangs of Mashiach.

According to the modern scholar of Judaism Gershom Scholem, Shaltiel's and others' reflection on the catastrophe of the Spanish Inquisition marked the beginning of interpreting reality as a prism for chevlei mashiach - the catastrophe out of which a new era will be born. Which can only mean one thing...there is one very large baby on the other end of this 516-year-long labor.

Check this out: Ditch your calculator and try adding 516 to 1495 on paper. Could there be any more 1's? Maybe that's why Hashem loves the number [20]11.

Also, the number of years between when Rabbi Shaltiel announced the beginning of chevlei mashiach in Sefer HaPliah and today is the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word תיקו, which means [it's a] 'tie' in Talmudic discourse. According to prophecy Mashiach is destined to resolve all of the instances of a Talmudic tie and ascertain truth where it has been split in two.

The God-given destiny of the Jewish people is to turn darkness into light by revealing the unity behind creation. What is the meaning of the verse a time of trouble for Jacob, out of which he will be saved? From the trouble itself the salvation is churned and born. Enduring narrow straits produces a light so bright that it eclipses the darkness, stage after stage, until all darkness has been revealed --through what may be felt as great duress -- as condensed light.

For what better time for the light of moon to shine as bright as the sun than on the background of the darkest night of the year?

All that remains is to say 

ad masai 

until - when

as if your these were the lyrics with which your heart beats

kind of like 

when you call a travel agent in Eretz Yisrael, 

and after you tell them when you want to depart, they respond,

ad matai?

Rectifying the sin of the spies

Mountains around Jerusalem

This post is my own commentary on some of the passages brought in Rav Kook Torah on the Parsha, a weekly teaching assembled and translated by Rabbi Chanan Morrison.

In 1908, Rav Kook wrote that we still suffer from the sin of the spies today, and that in our hands lies the opportunity to rectify the spies' error and enter the land of Israel with all our gusto. 

The glory of the land of Israel can be hidden at times; it is our job to clear away the clutter and announce to ourselves and others the boundless light that lies in Eretz Yisrael's beauty and holiness. A hidden paradise on earth has been bequeathed to us, each generation since 1948 more than the one before it, b"H. Rav Kook emphasized not only the physical beauty apparent in the Land, but also the unique air of Israel (avira d'eretz yisrael) that from time immemorial was the raw material of prophecy:

The quality of delightful holiness that Torah scholars seeking the holy may find in the Land of Israel does not exist at all outside the Land. I myself can attest to this unique quality, to a degree commensurate with my small worth. (Igrot HaRe'iyah, vol. I, pp. 112-113)

How many of us deliberate (including myself) the pros and cons of living in Israel, as if a decision pertaining to the most delicate levels of the soul can be approached like a business deal? Well, you get a year of aliyah payments, free tuition, free health care and a discount on property tax. On the other hand, you have to buy all new furniture, deal with heap-loads of bureaucracy, lower your standards for your first job or two, and get through an August. But can you really approach the question of aliyah like this (I ask myself)? Can you really approach love like this? How silly would it sound if you overheard a conversation weighing marriage over such considerations? How humiliating to a heart testifying to true love! 

The truth is, love is a creative force - the love of the Jewish people for Israel is an integral part of the land's holiness. According to Rabbi Judah HaLevi, the Jewish people, the commandments, the land of Israel, the building of the Temple and the Hebrew language are all parts of a well-oiled machine which when assembled properly over millenia of Jewish history, produces prophecy - prophecy in the sense of the return of the living, Divine presence to the hearts and minds of the Jewish people, through their writings, their art, their blogs and their prayers, their Torah and their love for one another. Without any one of these components, the machine cannot work. The land is barren without its people, and the people are homeless without their land. 

It is told that once a Jewish tourist shared with the Rav his calculation of the albeit very real pros and cons of moving to Israel, concluding in the end that it was not worthwhile. In his characteristic non-confrontational but bold and thought-provoking response, the Rav responded:

Before the Israelites entered the Land in the time of Moses, they first needed to kill Sichon, the king of Heshbon. This teaches us that one should come to the Land of Israel bli heshbon - without making calculations.

An from where does our love for Eretz Yisrael spring? It is irreducible to explanation, because explanation is based on things that you can define and limit, and the holiness of Eretz Yisrael originates in the place from where the limits themselves originate...And yet even so, how can such love be expressed, to others, and to the object of affection? Through action. The secret of teshuva, expressed most extensively in the writings of the first Chabad Rebbe, Reb Schenur Zalman of Liadi, is that physical acts - in the form of mitzvot - involving the body and objects and senses of the physical world - can be vessels for the most sublime of sensitivities of the human soul and of the supernal realms - those that evade our mental thought processes and linguistic capacities. Those who come to Israel and can do nothing but let their knees fall in thanksgiving and adoration for the land upon which the soles of their feet can step, know how such a process of rectification begins:

The Talmud records that Rabbi Abba would demonstrate his great love for the Land of Israel by kissing the rocks of Acre (Ketubot 112a) as he returned to the Land. What was so special about these rocks that Rabbi Abba would kiss them?

Rav Kook explained that if Rabbi Abba had kissed the soil of Eretz Yisrael, we would understand that his love for the Land was due to the special mitzvot that are fulfilled with its fruit - tithes, first fruits, the sabbatical year, and so on. The soil, which produces fruit, signifies the importance and holiness of the Land through the mitzvot ha-teluyot ba'aretz.

But Rabbi Abba's love for the Land was not dependent on any external factors - not even its special mitzvot (see Avot 5:16; Orot p. 9). Rabbi Abba cherished the intrinsic holiness of Eretz Yisrael. He recognized that the special qualities of the Land – such as its receptivity to prophecy and enlightenment - go far beyond the holiness of those mitzvot connected to agriculture. Therefore, he made a point of kissing its barren rocks and stones. 

May each and every soul and body of the Jewish people be rounded up speedily to reunite and congregate in the land that is our inheritance from our holy fathers and mothers, and may we soon sing a new song in Jerusalem to the living God, whose love and justice will be apparent for all to see and contemplate like water fills the seas!

Why are we still in exile?

Here is historic footage from Hoshanah Rabbah 5744, September 28, 1983. After Maariv the Rebbe turns to address the crowd. More than just a Sicha (speech), the Rebbe launches into an impassioned plea: Why the Golus? The Rebbe's voice is broken with emotion. The Almighty can surely find a way to give us all of the benefits of Golus without the Golus. The crowd is silent, stunned, every eye is moved to tears. How can Hashem ignore such a plea! (From WeJew)

Humanity for Pollard

Kudos to the San Francisco Chronicle for publishing a press release on the launching of Humanity for Pollard, a new organization dedicated to achieving clemency for former US Navy intelligence officer Jonathan Pollard, who is now serving his 26th year in prison. Pollard was convicted on one count of providing classified information (the threat of Iraqi biological and chemical weapons) to an ally (Israel) -- a charge which has never before led to a life sentence.

According to the press release, the new organization "seeks to reignite social awareness of the issue, and through public support, encourage President Obama to commute Pollard's sentence based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds."

The organization's launch features the ba'al teshuva (in the true sense of the word) rapper Shyne of Def Jam records:

In a video message to President Obama, Shyne, an artist with Def Jam Records, spoke out in support of Jonathan Pollard, saying, “As a human being, we've all made mistakes, and we've all done things that we regret... but I think we, as human beings, have to be given the opportunity to atone, and to redeem ourselves, and to be forgiven, be given a second chance... He has paid his debt to society.”

The press release maintains that public awareness of Pollard's plight is essential is bringing about a resolution under Obama's presidency. It also highlights the participation of delegated figures such as Henry Kissinger, John McCain and Barney Frank in public calls for his release.

Eager to join the new effort? From the group's website, you can call Obama, send a letter to the White House, email Humanity for Pollard and have them send a letter on your behalf, or agree to be filmed.

Last June, after the former chief rabbi of Israel, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu z"l passed away, Jonathan Pollard's wife Esther the following about the significance of Jonathan Pollard's release from captivity:

Over time, the Rav shared with us and with a few others who were very close to him that Jonathan’s release is the key to the redemption of all of Am Yisrael.

In 2006, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu z"l, who had a special relationship with Jonathan Pollard, compared his captivity to that of biblical Joseph. Below is a video in Hebrew, followed by an English transcript of his words.

This week, we read in the weekly Torah portion about the actions taken by Avraham Avinu to save a captive, to save Lot who had gone to Sodom. He went to Sodom and he was undeserving (of rescue); yet Avraham Avinu spared no effort to save him. 

There is a Jew - a very dear Jew - who did so much for the Nation of Israel all over the world and who did so much for the Land of Israel, to save us from some very harsh things --the worst that could happen!

This Jew is named Jonathan Pollard.

His wife, Esther, has worked endlessly to try to get him out from where he is held in prison. I myself have appealed to several Presidents of the United States: to Regan, to Bush, to Bush's father, to Cardinal Law and to a host of others. To whomever I could turn, I have appealed to them, asking that they act to take him out of there and bring him here to The Land.

And I told them - also told them here in The Land - if they what they are afraid of is that he will talk, then I will be his guarantor that he will not say a word. He won't say anything. On the contrary! He will praise everyone; he will praise the presidents.

In any case, what we want is this: He is our brother! He must come home to the Land of Israel - and at once!

Many have pointed to the Pollard case as a cause that unites Jews across "divisions" of denomination (Reform/Conservative/Orthodox), nationality (American/Israeli), political persuasion (Israeli left/Right). Only last week, Meretz Youth, a (far) left-wing Israeli political organization issued a statement on the eve of Shimon Peres' upcoming meeting with Obama.

In fact, as I write this sentence, Peres is meeting with Obama in Washington. Before his departure, Peres had what was reported as a very emotional meeting with Esther Pollard. Following their meeting, she made a special plea to all of Am Yisrael:

Please dedicate at least part of this time to prayer, hope and thinking about Yehonatan ben [son of] Malka

Prayers for Jonathan Pollard's release are available here. A prayer to insert at the end of the amidah is available here in Hebrew, and is reprinted below in English:

May it be Your will HaShem, our G-d and G-d of our forefathers, that with the might of the twenty-two letters of Your Holy Torah, which we received at Mount Sinai, that You open the Heavenly Gates for Yehonatan Ben Malka: the Gates of Healing and Cures; the Gates of Health; the Gates of Joy; the Gates of Redemption; the Gates of Freedom; the Gates of Splendor and Glory; the Gates of Merit; the Gates of Compassion; the Gates of Gladness; the Gates of Goodness; the Gates of Salvation; the Gates of Atonement; the Gates of Good Heartedness; the Gates of Forgiveness; the Gates of Pleasantness; the Gates of Reliance; The Gates of Assistance; the Gates of Liberty; the Gates of Righteousness; the Gates of Holiness; the Gates of Mercy; the Gates of Happiness; and the Gates of Return. May all of the righteous deeds he has done for the Nation of Israel be remembered before You and may they rise before Your Throne of Mercy to plead for good for him; and may he be granted the merit, along with his wife, Esther Yocheved bat Rayzl Bracha, to build a Faithful Home in Israel; and may they be blessed with whole and healthy sons and daughters, and Your Name will be Sanctified publicly! May the verse "Take me out of confinement to praise Your Name" (Psalms 142) be fulfilled for him! Do so for the sake of Your Right Hand; do so for the sake of Your Righteousness; do so for the sake of Your Holiness; do so for the sake of Your Divine Presence; do so for Your own Name's Sake; do so for the sake of Your Torah. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your Presence, Eternal! my Rock and my Redeemer!

May Hashem hear your prayer and bring about the speedy release of Yonatan ben Malka, Gilad ben Aviva, Sholom Mordechai ben Rivka and all captives, and may their release herald the redemption of all of Am Yisrael.

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

March 9, 2011: Turning Point?

I don't know about you, but I have been feeling very weird all week. Today (Wednesday Israel time) has been the peak. I had to take a day off from my normal duties so as to face rather than suppress what I'm feeling. Overall, I have a sense that something is ending and something new is being born, but what is being born has not yet materialized, so it's a very unsettling in-between feeling. Also, the weather here (Israel) is crazy: strong winds, quick bouts of rain interspersed with bright rays of sun...oh, and now, hail!

As a yid I know this has to do with Mashiach. It's Adar II, days before Purim, after events have been heating up for months. As Rebbe Nachman says, all beginnings are from Purim. Last Purim I moved back to Israel after 7 years away, when I left abruptly after becoming religious. On a personal level, it's as if my inner clock knows Purim 5771 is a milestone, and is trying to lower the volume on everything that is irrelevant in order to hone in on what's real.

On a global/environmental level, something is churning as well. On Tuesday, millions of anchovies washed up dead on the shores of the marina at Redondo Beach, California (amazing video). According to recent events, mass animal deaths right sometimes precede earthquakes, such as in the case of Chile and New Zealand. On top of that, all week small earthquakes have hit the California and Oregon coast. Is a quake heading to the Pacific Northwest? Former US Geologist Jim Berkland thinks so. (Coincidentally, my family in California, who are not religious, are flying out of the country on Purim for two weeks). Meanwhile, in North Japan a 7.2 earthquake has hit and a tsunami warning has been issued. Seismic activity worldwide can be viewed here.

On the Mayan calendar, today is the first day of a period called the Ninth Wave, the dawn of "universal consciousness", and the most compressed and accelerated phase of the calendar--the "final stretch" before 2012. Denise Le Fay describes the period on the Mayan Calendar that begins today:

March 9, 2011: We officially enter the last, the shortest, and no doubt the most compressed and accelerated phase within the Mayan calendar. Tomorrow humanity and Earth enters the Ninth Wave and quite literally we and reality will never be the same again...To the integrated, no longer polarized mind, tomorrow is another major turning point energetically. To the non-polarized mind and heart, entering the Ninth Wave phase tomorrow is entering the final stretch and seeing the finish line only a short few yards in front of us....the Ninth Wave phase will trigger us individually in exactly the way/ways we most need to correct, adjust, integrate and more fully release or let go of whatever within ourselves. I’ve been living this much more consciously the past few weeks and have paid close attention to the last-minute things I need to let go of so I’m free to BE instead of constantly externalized and focused (either mentally, emotionally, or physically) in old but highly familiar DOINGS. What I’ve realized over the past few weeks is what this transition from the Eighth Wave (which began Jan. 5, 1999) into the Ninth Wave (March 9, 2011) is for us....Pay attention to whatever you too may need to cast-off and permanently let go of so that you can more easily BE.

According to the Mayan calendar, there are nine stages of universal evolution. The sixth began in 3115 BCE, when writing began and Egyptian civilization consolidated. In Jewish history we know this period as parallel to the lifetime of Enoch, a key figure in eschatology. The seventh wave, which brought about global consciousness, began in 1755 BCE, which marks the beginning of the spread of Jewish mysticism according to the Ba'al Shem Tov's prophecy, that Mashiach will arrive when the Besht's teachings (Chassidus, the inner dimension of the Torah and the opening of Kabbalah to all) would spread to all corners of the globe. The Ba'al Shem Tov passed away in 1760, and his teachings began to spread widely and rapidly shortly before his death, by means of his main student, the Maggid of Mezerich. The eighth wave - galactic consciousness -  began on January 5 (17 Tevet), 1999 (around the time when the internet really took off), and the ninth - universal consciousness - begins today.

While at this blog we don't necessarily hold by the Mayan calendar and other end-of-days timelines, we do believe that Mashiach is something that spiritually attuned people everywhere will pick up on in its various stages, something that will be reflected by changes in nature, humanity and space. One important difference is that we firmly believe that Mashiach can come at any moment (even right now!) The phrase be'ita achishena (in it's time I will hasten it) encapsulates the paradox of anticipating the redemption: on the one hand, it has a "time", and it is certain; on the other hand, it can be hastened at any moment, if we rise to the occasion.

What is the significance of March 9, 2011 on the Jewish calendar? Well, for one, today, Adar 3 is the day ion which the Second Temple was completed in Jerusalem in the Jewish year 3412 (349 BCE):

The joyous dedication of the second Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash) on the site of the 1st Temple in Jerusalem, was celebrated on the 3rd of Adar of the year 3412 from creation (349 BCE), after four years of work. The First Temple, built by King Solomon in 833 BCE, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 423 BCE. At that time, the prophet Jeremiah prophesied: "Thus says the L-rd: After seventy years for Babylon will I visit you... and return you to this place." In 371 the Persian emperor Cyrus permitted the Jews to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple, but the construction was halted the next year when the Samarians persuaded Cyrus to withdraw permission. Achashverosh II (of Purim fame) upheld the moratorium. Only in 353 -- exactly 70 years after the destruction -- did the building of the Temple resume under Darius II. (Chabad)

As important as Purim is, it is Adar 3 that marks the ultimate success of the Mordechai and Esther: the consturction of beis hamikdash. King Achashverosh had enforced a building moratorium (sound familiar?), and only after the Purim saga did the state of the Jews improve under the Persian empire, ultimately leading to their return to Israel under Darius. Adar 3 marks the beginning of the second era in which Beis HaMikdash stood in Jerusalem, emanating spiritual and material blessing to all peoples and all of creation. Maybe this is why the Mayan Calendar sees this date in 5771 as crucial in terms of the beginning of the final era before ultimate transformation.

The inner dimension of mashiach - the upheaval that is going on in each of our souls and lives - everyone knows on a personal basis. The global dimension - earthquakes, animal deaths, bizarre weather - reminds us that something larger is taking place. Ultimately, Hashem is in charge, and everything that happens is for the sake of tefillah and teshuva.

משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה

Maharal on Earthquakes

In the wake of a 5.9 Earthquake that hit the geopolitical and economic epicenter that is the Suez Canal, now New Zealand has been hit by devastating and fatal earthquake in urban areas.

UPDATE: According to Chabad.org, the earthquake in New Zealand has toppled the city's central Chabad center. The center's director, Rabbi Shmuel Friedman, reported that they were inside the building when the quake hit, but that everyone ran out as it was falling down, and B"H everyone is okay!

Yesterday I posted some comments on the meaning of earthquakes. Today I want to add one more source: The Maharal teaches that earthquakes are a wake-up sign for the world, a sign that Hashem is about to intervene, in a big and revealed way.

The Slonimer Rebbe adopts the view of Maharal and the Maggid of Kozhnitz in Kuntres Ha-Harugoh Alecha in his masterpiece, Netivot Shalom. The following is taken from Rav Tamir Granot's lecture on Netivot Shalom on Suffering and Evil from Yeshivat Har Etzion's lecture series on Faith and the Holocaust:

First, I introduce the words of the holy Maggid of Kozhenitz in his glosses to Maharal of Prague's Be'er Ha-Golah (fourth be'er):   

Regarding his [Maharal's] question about the statement in Perek Ha-Ro'eh, When the Holy One, blessed be He, recalls that His children are suffering among the nations, He weeps two tears into the Great Sea and the noise they make is heard…and this is an earthquake

This makes sense [asks Maharal] after the destruction [of the Temple], but earthquakes existed always, even before the destruction.   

I will explain: Ever since the six days of creation, there is nothing new before Him.  Before creation He looked ahead to the end of history in His world and arranged every incident that will happen on earth according to a timetable, as the Sages interpreted the verse: 

והארץ היתה תוהו ובהו וחשך על פני תהום ורוח אלוהים מרחפת על פני המים

And the earth was tohu va'vohu (in chaos and disorder) and darkness upon the depths and the spirit of God hovered upon the water

as alluding to the four exiles and the rucho shel mashiach (the ru'ach = spirit, soul, breeze of the Mashiach) [Yalkut Shim'oni, Bereshit, No.4].  (In other words, the second verse of Genesis foresees the history of the Jewish people over the next 6000 years: the Egyptian exile,  the Persian exile, the Babylonian exile, and the exile of Edom - the longest, most drawn-out, most challenging, in which we are currently holding on, which will be followed by rucho shel mashiach - not (just) the blog, but the Mashiach, b'chvodo uv'atzmo, and may it be so with no delay)

The Holy One, blessed be He, also created another system within the system of natural order, like a wheel within a wheel, powered by the will of the Jewish People. When they choose to obey Hashem and fulfill His Torah and His mitzvot, the system is affected by their service and the timetable is altered...'There is a time for every thing…a time to cast stones' – when Hadrian arose…to smash the stones of the Temple – 'and a time to gather in stones' – when it will be rebuilt by the Holy One, blessed be He [Devarim Rabba 3:13 citing Kohelet 3:5].  

From all this, we learn that the Creator has a timetable for history from the six days of creation until the end of the world and its people, yet He structured it to be affected by human choices.  For example, if Adam Ha-rishon had withstood his test and had not eaten form the forbidden tree, then all the worlds would have attained their perfection and we would not have required all the exiles and all the sufferings that make up out past…  But since that did not happen, the timetable remained in effect and all that has transpired followed.

See the rest of his discussion there about this lofty matter, for it explains many deliberately hidden statements of Chazal.  This is the approach to understanding their statement regarding the ten [righteous sages] martyred by the [Roman] kingdom that the Holy One, blessed be He, said, [from the liturgical poem Eileh ezkeroh in the Mussaf of Yom Kippur]:  "That is My original intent.  If you don't accept My penalty, I will return the world to chaos."  For the entire tragedy of the ten martyrs was set in the timetable established at creation; it is one of the secrets of creation, without which the world could not exist and would therefore return to chaos.  (Netivot Shalom, Kuntres Ha-Harugoh Alecha pp. 27-29)

Suez Canal hit by Earthquake (or: Earthquakes and Redemption)

At 3 a.m. on Monday morning, a 5.9 earthquake hit the Suez Canal entry and surrounding areas, 48 hours before two Iranian ships are expected to transit the canal to the Mediterranean. The quake lasted for a half hour and caused no damage. Originally, the ships were going to pass through the Canal Monday morning. Now, the ships are scheduled to make the passage early Tuesday morning.

The Suez Canal is the modern-day body of water that connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea. It is the strategic and economic asset in the region. All of Israel's wars have involved economic or military threats via Suez. Iran's warships are carrying missiles to Syria, but their more significant goal is to take advantage of turmoil in the Middle East to stage a display of power and influence in the region by navigating the various bodies of water unencumbered. If Iran can sail freely through the Mediterranean and deliver weapons to Israel's northern enemies, it might as well be crowned King of the Middle East.

In this highly tense situation, what is the significance of an earthquake, hours before Iran's attempted ascent? In Ezekiel, a large earthquake in Israel is predicted during the war of Gog and Magog. Many have theorized that Iran is the prime aggressor in this apocalyptic war, having made no secret of its stride against Israel. 



According to one interpretation, the Splitting of the Red Sea, the miracle by which the Israelites crossed from Egypt to the Sinai desert to receive the Torah and proceed to the Promised Land, was in fact a tidal earthquake. In 1068, an earthquake in Ramla, Israel was documented in Jewish historical texts as causing water to disappear entirely from the River Jordan, while the Mediterranean "turned to land for two days". Interestingly enough, the earthquake this morning occurred in the Suez Canal, which is the body of water which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, or the sphere of Egypt's influence to the sphere of Israel's influence, which could be seen as a modern-day parallel to the Exodus route.



In Greek thought and polytheistic belief, earthquakes are related to the rage of the gods against humans. In Jewish thought, earthquakes are directly related to moral behavior of human beings. In the Jerusalem Talmud (Berachot 64a), earthquakes are understood as divine retribution for sins of failing to adequately fulfill the commandments associated with living in the Land of Israel, such as tithing, for building mass entertainment hubs on the background of the destruction of the Temple, and for the sin of homosexuality. Furthermore, all sages agree that earthquakes are caused by fissures, divides and arguments among the Jewish people.



Perhaps the most important lesson on earthquakes is found in a famous phrase from Isaiah's description of an earthquake during God's judgment of the earth in the end of days:

רֹעָה הִתְרֹעֲעָה, הָאָרֶץ; פּוֹר הִתְפּוֹרְרָה אֶרֶץ, מוֹט הִתְמוֹטְטָה אָרֶץ. נוֹעַ תָּנוּעַ אֶרֶץ כַּשִּׁכּוֹר, וְהִתְנוֹדְדָה כַּמְּלוּנָה; וְכָבַד עָלֶיהָ פִּשְׁעָהּ, וְנָפְלָה וְלֹא-תֹסִיף קוּם. וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, יִפְקֹד יְהוָה עַל-צְבָא הַמָּרוֹם בַּמָּרוֹם; וְעַל-מַלְכֵי הָאֲדָמָה, עַל-הָאֲדָמָה(ישעיה כ"ד י"ט-כ"א)

The earth has broken; the earth has crumbled; the earth shakes. The earth sways like a drunken man, and it sways like a lodge, and its transgression shall weigh down upon it, and it shall fall and not continue to rise. And it shall come to pass on that day, that the Lord shall visit punishment upon the host of heaven on high and upon the kings of the earth on the earth. (Isaiah 24:19-21)

The phrase 'It shall fall and not continue to rise' is a theme throughout Jewish exegesis, whose major current is the spiritual and national revival of Israel. The same phrase appears in the book of Amos, this time seemingly describing Israel herself as falling irreparably (in the Hebrew, the Land and the People are feminine subjects that both take feminine verbs and are therefore used interchangeably in the two verses):

נָפְלָה לֹא תוֹסִיף קוּם בְּתוּלַת יִשְׂרָאֵל נִטְּשָׁה עַל אַדְמָתָהּ אֵין מְקִימָהּ.

She has fallen, shall not continue to rise; the virgin of Israel is abandoned on her soil, there is none to raise her up. (Amos 5,2)

In the Talmud, this verse is interpreted with a profound twist, which turns the deep fall into a deeper rise. In the opening of Masechet Brachot, Rabbi Yochanan explains that the letter Nun (נ) is missing from the acrostic Pslam 145 (Ashrei) because the verse that would have begun with Nun describes the fall of Israel's enemies, as it says in the verse: "She fell and will not rise again": In the West, he explains, this verse was interpreted by parsing the phrase differently: Rather than "She fell, will not continue to rise, Virgin of Israel", the verse is read (which works according to the Hebrew grammar) 'To fall - she will not continue. Rise, Virgin of Israel!" Rabbi Nachman Bar Yitzchak then says that King David knew this teaching by divine prophecy, as the next line he wrote begins with the words: God supports all the fallen.

And this is exactly the dynamic that enables the transition from the seemingly irreparable state of downtroddenness to reattained heights. In Tikkunei Zohar, this very verse is used over and over as signaling Israel's final redemption, which will come from above, when Israel is weak from exile and has almost given up, and in need of divine intervention.

נָפְלָה לֹא תוֹסִיף קוּם, וְלֵית לֵיהּ עִלּוּי וְסִלּוּק אֶלָּא בִידָא דְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, דְאָזִיל שְׁמָא קַדִּישָׁא לִימִינָא וְאוֹקִים לָהּ. (תיקוני זהר נ,א)

She fell and will not rise again, and she has no way to rise other than in the hands of the Holy Blessed One, whose holy name comes to her right and lifts her up. (Tikkunei Zohar 50,1)

דִּבְזִמְנָא דְאִינוּן יִשְׂרָאֵל מְלוּכְלָכִין בְּטִנּוּפִין דִּשְׁאָר עַמִּין, נִשְׁמָתָא דְאִיהִי שְׁכִינְתָּא אָמְרַת, (שיר א, ו) אַל תִּרְאוּנִי שֶׁאֲנִי שְׁחַרְחֹרֶת, וּצְלוֹתָא נָפְלַת, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (עמוס ה, ב) נָפְלָה לֹא תוֹסִיף קוּם בְּתוּלַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְכַד נָפְלַת שְׁכִיבַת לְעַפְרָא בֵּין רַגְלִין, וְהָא אוּקְמוּהוּ (רות ג, ז) וַתְּגַל מַרְגְּלוֹתָיו וַתִּשְׁכָּב, וְאִיהִי מְצַלֵּי לְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא דְיוֹקִים לָהּ מֵעַפְרָא, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (שם, ט) וּפָרַשְׂתָּ כְנָפֶךָ עַל אֲמָתְךָ כִּי גוֹאֵל אָתָּה. (תיקוני זהר נ,ב)

When Israel are filthy in the dirt of the nations, the soul of the Shechina (the lowest of the 10 divine emanations of God, the Divine Presence in this world) says: Do not look at me, that I am blackened, that prayer has fallen (i.e. the people do not even have the strength or the voice to pray, to call out to God for help), as it is written: 'She has fallen and will not rise again virgin of Israel," and when she fell to lie in the dust between the legs, as it says: "She revealed his ankles and lay down" (Book of Ruth 3:7) -- this is prayer to the Holy Blessed One, He Who Lifts her up from the dust, as it says "And you spread your wings on your servant, for You are a Redeemer" (Ruth 3:9) (Tikkunei Zohar 50,2)

In the Zohar, feet and legs are often metaphors for the Shechina, the last of the ten Divine Emanations (Sefirot) which brought this world into being. Shechina is also associated with speech, prayer and expression, which is both the Divine and human mechanism for bringing worlds into being: for God, through creation, and for humans, through prayer and study. Therefore, according to the Zohar's read, when Ruth revealed Boaz's ankles, this is a metaphor for finding a voice with which to pray, uncovering that which covers God's presence and closeness in any and every situation, and this revelation and expression is what lifts her up form the dust in which she had lay down, signifying her ultimate redemption, as alluded to by the use of the root of 'geulah' = redemption, throughout the book of Ruth.

From these passages we learn that an earthquake is related to the notion of falling. Although the verse from Amos' harsh prophecy seems to paint a doomed picture for Israel, deeper interpretations reveal that it actually signals the LAST fall, the fall from which she will be raised, this time in God's hands. The impetus to the rise that will inevitably follow the fall is prayer, as described by a metaphor of revealing that which is hidden, which brings about the transition from the lying in the dust to coming under God's wings. In summary, an earthquake raises all of these associations, ultimately indicating that the current state of Israel and the Jewish people is but a vehicle for us to reach out to God and rise in an elevation after which there will be no further fall.

In the Kuzari, Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi tells King Kuzar that the Jewish people are in a closer state to God than they would be if they were not in exile (Part 1, 114). The King challenges him: Perhaps I would believe you if Your humility were voluntary, but this sounds like an after-the-fact justification, i.e. you are only "explaining away" your suffering, but surely you would do without it, if you were so able. The Jew responds:

You have touched our weak spot, King of the Kuzar. If the majority of us, as you say, would learn humility towards God and His law from our low station, Providence would not have forced us to bear it for such a long period. Only the smallest portion among us thinks thus. Yet the majority may expect a reward, because they bear their degradation partly from necessity, partly of their own free will. For whoever wishes to do so can become the friend and equal of his oppressor by uttering one word, and without any difficulty. Such conduct does not escape the just Judge. If we bear our exile and degradation for God's sake, as is meet, we shall be the pride of the generation which will come with the Messiah, and accelerate the day of the deliverance we hope for.

The "weak spot" that the Jew describes in the face of the King of Kuzar is one of two times in the Kuzari in which the Jew admits that the King's questions and challenges are accurate. The other place is when the Jew is asked by the King why the people did not jump to return to the Land of Israel:

The King: If what you say is true, surely the Jewish people have fallen short of their duty by not endeavoring to reach that place? Your founding fathers chose it as an abode in preference to their birth places, and lived there as strangers rather than as citizens in their own country. This they did at a time even before the Shechinah was visible, when the country was full of unchastity, impurity, and idolatry; nor did they leave it in times of dearth and famine except through God’s explicit permission, they even directed their bones to be buried there. Yet when Ezra and Nehemiah called the people to return home during the time of the Second Temple they simply weren’t interested in leaving the exile, how could that be?

The Rabbi: Indeed your reproach is a severe one; it is in fact this lack of reaction that ultimately kept the Divine promise with regard to the Second Temple from being fulfilled. Divine Providence was ready to restore everything as it had been at first, if all of our people had willingly consented to return, but only a part was ready to do so, whilst the majority and the aristocracy remained in Babylon, preferring dependence and slavery, and unwilling to leave their houses and their affairs.

Could it be that Hashem is ready to redeem us, and all we have to do is let it happen?

אמר רבי יוחנן מפני מה לא נאמר נו"ן באשרי מפני שיש בה מפלתן של שונאי ישראל דכתיב (עמוס ה, ב) נפלה לא תוסיף קום בתולת ישראל במערבא מתרצי לה הכי נפלה ולא תוסיף לנפול עוד קום בתולת ישראל אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק אפילו הכי חזר דוד וסמכן ברוח הקדש שנא' (תהלים קמה, יד) סומך ה' לכל הנופלים:

It all started from Mitzrayim (updated)

The Pyramids, which the Egyptians forced the Jewish people to build
under conditions of starvation, human suffering and moral depravity,
demoralizing them to the point that they could barely still cry out to God

With regime change underway in Egypt, it's a better time than ever to start looking realistically at what's gonna happen next. Mitzrayim (Egypt) was the first nation nation that subjugated the Jews,  and therefore the redemption is opening with them.

Chabad communities sing the following line every Shabbos and Yom Tov during Mussaf of Kedusha. The Rebbe taught this song to the Chasidim on Simchas Torah 5724-1963. A video of the Rebbe leading the song in 1987 can be seen here (highly recommended!!)

הוא אלקינו, הוא אבינו, הוא מלכנו, הוא מושיענו, הוא יושיענו ויגאלנו שנית בקרוב, וישמיענו ברחמיו לעיני כל חי לאמר: הן גאלתי אתכם אחרית כבראשית להיות לכם לאלקים

He is our G-d, He is our father, He is our King, He is our Redeemer, He is our Deliverer! 

He will deliver us, and redeem us a second time, soon* 

And in His mercy, He will have us hear, in the presence of ALL living things, proclaiming; 

Behold, I have redeemed you 

at the end of time as in the beginning, 

to be to you for your G-d

* the Rebbe instructed his followers to emphasize this part, and that this was more important than the niggun itself

In other words: the final redemption will follow the pattern of the 1st redemption, but it will also be like nothing the world has ever experienced.

NOTE: Thursday Night / Friday day is ZAYIN ADAR, the day of the birth and death of Moshe Rabbeinu, our redeemer, whose all-encompassing soul returns in every generation and who will redeem us now as in the past.

On the ground: Soon Egypt will be cast into a power struggle between Islamists, who will emerge victorious, and reformers, who will give into the Islamists for Egyptian honor and power and unity. Of course since Egypt needs to continue receiving US military aid, this will probably happen in the guise of a 'coalition government' or a power-sharing arrangement, which the Brotherhood will hold the reins of until it steadily comes into their hands, with the help of their satellite chapters in Iran and Syria. 

Isaiah, the prophet who tells of Israel's redemption and comfort, tells us what is in store (I first read the Isaiah 19 connection at Mashiach is Coming). Note: Egypt is also symbolic of the view at large in the West that science governs all and that nothing is more powerful than human genius and innovation, as represented by the facade of all-powerful Egyptian sorcery and divinators. Oh and at the end, Egypt does teshuva.

Isaiah 19

1. The harsh prophecy of Egypt; Behold the Lord is riding on a light cloud and He shall come to Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall quake from before Him and the heart of the Egyptians shall melt in their midst.   
2. And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they shall war one man against his brother, and a man against his friend, a city against a city and a province against a province.
3. And the spirit of Egypt shall empty out in its midst, and I will thwart its counsel, and they shall turn to the idols and to the sorcerers and to the necromancers and to those who divine by the jidoa bone. 

4. And I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of a harsh master, and a mighty king shall rule over them; so says the Master, the Lord of Hosts.
5. And water from the sea shall dry up, and the river shall dry up and become arid.
6. And they shall abandon the rivers; the deep canals shall become impoverished and dried up; reeds and rushes shall be cut off.
7. The well-rooted plants by the stream, by the brink of the stream, and all that is planted by the stream shall dry up, be driven away, and be no more.
8. And the fisherman shall lament and mourn, all who cast fishhooks into the stream; and those who spread nets on the surface of the water shall be cut off.
9. And those who work at flax to be combed and those who weave nets shall be ashamed.
10. And its foundations shall be crushed, all who make dams for still ponds.
11. Indeed, the princes of Zoan are fools, the wise advisors of Pharaoh have foolish counsel; how do you say to Pharaoh, "I am a son of the wise, a son of the kings of old."
12. Where then are your wise men who will tell you now, and who will know what the Lord of Hosts planned concerning Egypt?
13. The princes of Zoan have become foolish; the princes of Noph have been misled; they have misled Egypt, the cornerstone of its tribes.

14. The Lord has poured into its midst a spirit of perverseness, and they have misled Egypt in all its deeds as a drunkard strays in his vomit.
15. And Egypt shall not have any deed that either the head or the tail, the branch or the rush shall do.
16. On that day, Egypt shall be like women, and it shall quake and dread the raising of the hand of the Lord of Hosts, which He shall raise over it.
17. And the land of Judah shall be to Egypt for a dread; anyone who mentions it to him, he will dread, because of the plan of the Lord of Hosts, which He is planting against him.
18. On that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing to the Lord of Hosts, one of which will be called "the city of Heres."
19. On that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a monument beside its border, to the Lord.
20. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt, for they shall cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, and He shall send them a savior and a prince, and he shall save them.
21. And the Lord shall be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord on that day, and they shall serve [with] a sacrifice and a meal offering, and they shall make vows to the Lord and they shall fulfill [them].
22. And the Lord shall plague Egypt, plaguing and healing, and they shall return to the Lord, and He shall accept their prayer and heal them.
23. On that day there shall be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria shall come upon Egypt, and Egypt shall come upon Assyria, and Egypt shall serve with Assyria.
24. On that day, Israel shall be a third to Egypt and to Assyria; a blessing in the midst of the land.
25. Which the Lord of Hosts blessed them, saying, "Blessed is My people Egypt, and the work of My hands Assyria, and My heritage Israel."  (reprinted from Chabad.org)

The Importance of Eretz Yisrael for Am Yisrael

The entire life of the Jewish people revolves around the question of our existence in Israel -- whether we are in a state of exile or a state of redemption. Even after the Giving of the Torah, the complete fulfillment of the commandments began only after entering the Land, conquering, and dividing it -- after the Jewish people settled in the Land. The purpose of giving the Torah at Mt Sinai -- the moment at which we became a people -- is the fulfillmenet of the Torah and the commandments in the Land.

Why is Land of Israel essential to Jewish people? In the writings of Rabbi Isaac of Homil zt"l it is explained in several places that the settlement of the Jewish people in their land and the establishment of their kingdom is, in the language of Kabbalah, 'raising the aspect of Rachel'. Rabbi Isaac explains that the raising of the aspect of Rachel means revealing and shaping the true Jewish nature. In exile we can fulfill commandments and even establish Jewish community, but it is all still part of 'the aspect of Leah' - the world of conscious thought. Outside of the Land, Judaism is an intellectual and thought-out exercise; only in Israel Judaism is revealed as the Jewish soul's natural impulse, and natural expression of Jewish nature in the fulfillment of the commandments comes to light.

from Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, The Jewish Nature: The Way to Natural Consciousness

רחל מבכה על בניה מאנה להתנחם כי איננו

ושבו בנים לגבולם