Shavua Tov!

Another day with azekot, here in Jerusalem. Nothing is being reported on the news, but there was a lot of noise, today.

I decided after Shabbat I need to go and get a new bottle of rescue remedy, just to see if I can do something to help myself sleep a bit better and more restfully.

Who knows how long the reshaim are planning to keep this latest war going…

I am hanging on to what the Rav said, that it’s over by Pesach, at the latest – and I’m really praying it’s Pesach 5786, because this level of stress is not really do-able, long term.

The Kotel has been shut for two weeks already.

The Old City is off limits to most people, downtown is a ghost town over Shabbat, as the crowds that usually go to the Kotel have disappeared.

Tov.

I am trying to keep as upbeat as I can, but I am feeling pretty soul-tired again the last couple of days.

I cannot wait for the world of lies to fall, I literally can’t take it any more.

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In the meantime, some very interesting comments from the Rav.

He made these comments the night after he returned from Ukraine [Uman? He stated he went to Haditch, which is where the Alter Rebbe is buried, but as to Uman, we still don’t know if the Rav got there, even though he got into Ukraine.]

The Rav came back two days before Operation ‘Roar of the Lion’ began.

And gave a long one and a half hour shiur, that the comments below are excerpted from. See if you can spot a few clues, about what is going on right now.

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Excerpt of comments from Adar 7, 5786, just when the Rav returned from the Ukraine

It’s written that in Sdom, it was also forbidden to say the word ‘charity’. Whoever said the word ‘charity’, they burnt them, it’s the same Sdomnikim.

It’s written that the judges of today are the judges of Sdom.

That’s what the Megillah Amukot brings down, and also the ARI, that the judges of Korach were the judges in Sdom….

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{Skipping some.}

All the walls fell down, when Yehuda shouted with a loud voice.

Bring a Gemara, Chullin.

It’s the same thing by Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananya, that the walls felld own. One cry, the walls fell down. One single shout of Yehuda, and all the walls fell down, and all the pregnant women miscarried, and Yosef fell off his chair and Pharoah fell off his chair, both of them fell.

And also the ‘heroes’. There were around 200 giborim standing there, 300 giborim, and all their faces were turned backwards, and they couldn’t ever turn them back again. It stayed that way for the rest of their lives, and didn’t get back into place until the day they died.

This is what Yehuda was prepared to do [to destroy Egypt, when Yosef threatened to keep Binyamin.]

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These are the ‘Jewish terrorists’.

And so, everyone hates the Jews, because just one shout that Yehuda gave, and the whole world turned over, their faces all got turned backwards.

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Now, we’ll read in Chullin, 59, about the tigers.

It’s all stories about tigers, you haven’t seen them. We went to do hitbodedut in Moscow, we wanted to look for tigers, this is all in Russia, that you have tigers.[1] In another place, you don’t have.

But back then, we didn’t find them, we said that it seems they’d run away. They saw Shuvu Banim, so they ran off. We went with Moshe Beninstock to do hitbodedut there, and we didn’t find the tigers. The tiger is the Siberian leopard, the most dangerous in the world.

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So, the Caesar wanted to see.

This was Hadrian. He wanted to see a tiger. He said, show me a tiger! They said to him, how? If he gives one roar, you’ll fall off your throne and the walls of Rome will fall, all the pregnant women will miscarry.

He said, I still want you to show me one.

Here, on page [Chullin] 59b, the Caesar said to R’ Yehoshua ben Hananya, show me a tiger!…

His length is 100  metres. If it has 16 amot [cubits] then it’s only a stag, the Siberian stag.

These are all animals that lived in Siberia. There, there are forests 20,000 km deep, the animals are the most savage, the stag, the tiger – everything is found in Siberia.

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The Caesar said to R’ Yehoshua ben Hananya, this was Hadrian.

You say: the lion roars, who won’t be afraid? But, a man can fight a lion.

Now, someone fought with a leopard, he strangled him.

A lion roars – who wouldn’t be afraid?

But – a single man can overcome a lion. What’s the big deal?

A horseman [knight?] can kill a lion.

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They said to him, not a lion like ours, we’re talking about a lion from Siberia, that’s 100 metres long.

You can’t see it. If it would give just one roar, you’d fall off your throne, even if he was 400 parsangs away!

Siberia is 2,000 km away. Every parsa is 5km.

Nevertheless – show me!

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He gave one roar, and the walls of Rome fell in.

He retreated 300 parsangs, and then all the teeth of the giborim fell out, and all the pregnant ones miscarried.

And the Caesar himself fell off his throne to the ground.

They said, yallah, put him back!

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There are stories about tigers, and about snakes – interesting stories, a whole zoo’s worth.

You don’t need a zoo, it’s possible to learn about every type of animal, just from the Gemara. Every type of animal that exists in the world.

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Translated from Shivivei Or, 449.

[1] ‘Tigris’ in Hebrew means both ‘tiger’, and the River Tigris.

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PS: Don’t forget:

Pesach is coming… and before you know it, we’ll all be caught up in the shopping, cleaning, cooking, and pressure of getting everything done (while there is a war going on…)

It’s not easy prepping for Pesach at the best of times, and this year is definitely not in that category. We all need as much help as we can get, to get into the Pesach mindset of joy and liberation….

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A small dose of inspiration before Pesach can change the entire experience of the holiday.

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