I’ve been having an interesting email exchange, and I wanted to share bits of it more widely here.

***UPDATES***

It revolves around the very crucial discussion about ‘who we can trust’ right now.

First, here’s a brief overview of what my correspondent is ‘noticing’:

So much of the “media” (including “alternative”, blogs, etc) that were so “smart” to figure out the “truth” about Covid (which is a huge spectrum) – are in large part coming out very anti-Israel and anti-Jewish. Perhaps it’s because they’re “Libertarian” – whatever it is, it feels / sounds like there are a lot of Jews who were “on board” a lot of “Covid-truth” that are now feeling confused and abandonded…

If they were “right” about Covid, how can they be so wrong about Jews? If they’re so wrong about Jews, were they really so smart / right about Covid?

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And also this:

A lot of the “anti-Charedi agenda” seems to be kind of quietly being moved forward during this time (enlistment in the IDF and breaking the taboo).

Also, all of the huge fundraising for soldiers, etc., especially from chutz l’aretz is ignoring the Charedi education and establishments that are already and will soon be sorely lacking funds.

This means all of the “lomdei Torah” and children, etc., will be severely underfunded. This is hundreds of millions of shekels, combined with general financial hardships due to the war, etc., it’s easy to imagine a huge shift in Charedi employment vs. learning, etc.

People like Rabbi Schwartz from Bilvavi [are] writing that to separate from the Erev Rav means not even saying prayers for IDF soldiers – which to most people (even who are not pro-State), that really goes against the grain.

Again, is he right about everything else and “wrong” about praying for Jewish soldiers to be safe and to be successful protecting us, since it “mixes” us with the Erev Rav (and therefore “Yesh” Od Milvado)?

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This is touching on so many important ideas, that all circle around the idea of ‘who and what can we trust’ right now.

So, here’s the rules of thumb that I have been using to guide me throughout this journey, this process, but let’s be clear that the more truth a person is living in their own life, the easier it becomes to see through the lies and deceptions on the outside.

If a person is basically living a lie in some area of their own life, they will be unable to distinguish ‘lie from truth’ externally, where their internal lies are resonating with the external lies.

That’s the starting point.

And we only get there with some real, hard, honest teshuva, and via regularly talking to God to clarify the truth vs the lies within ourselves.

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So now, let’s turn to the three specific issues above.

1. Right about ‘Covid’ and totally wrong about Jews

People in this category have to understand that ‘Covid’ was just another symptom, another tool, being used by the satanists who are anti-Torah and anti-God, and who are fighting a big war against Hashem and humanity.

Sadly, some of those satanists have Jewish names and even big yichus….

And the evils who are behind all this make sure that those ‘Jewish satanists’ are always front and centre in their plots, because that’s how they ‘win’ whatever the outcome.

If people figure out something bad is going on – it’s all the joooossss…..

And if they don’t figure it out….. no-one cares anyway, right?

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Once you get get past the ‘poster boy Jewish satanists’ that are the designated fall guys for all this, you’ll start to understand that there are no ‘states’.

There are no ‘countries’.

There are no ‘good politicians vs bad politicians’.

There is no ‘independent, honest media’.

There are just good people versus bad people.

And no-one in a position of serious influence and power today, even on social media channels like ‘Telegram’, would be allowed to stay there if they weren’t corrupted in some way, and part of the machine.

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To break this down further:

We have to get out of the ‘all or nothing’ mindset.

Even the obvious evils are telling a little bit of the truth some of the time.

In fact, that’s one of the key ways they get ‘the truth’ out there in a way that no-one takes it seriously.

When they have Nasrallah telling us all that America is directly responsible for this current war in Israel, it’s just a laughable figment of his imagination….

Right?

So, the information itself has to be evaluated on its own merits, with a lot of hitbodedut and begging Hashem to show us the truth, whatever it’s source.

This is really the key to understanding what is going on here.

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2. Pushing forward the ‘anti-Chareidi’ agenda in Israel

If I’m honest, this is currently very low down the list of things that are bothering me.

We are literally in the middle of an existential threat. Thousands, tens of thousands, of Israeli residents have left the country, and gone to chul.

Most of them are not religious.

Nearly all the ‘religious’ people I know in Israel are staying put, and not going anywhere.

Even if they have three passports and family members begging them to leave.

Whatever is going on right now, Israeli society is going to be totally changed ‘the day after’ – and I highly doubt there will be any ‘Knesset’, or any arguments over budgets happening at that point.

If we learnt anything this last month, it’s that we are actually still just one people, whatever ‘label’ we are given or sport ourselves.

And our enemies are literally trying to kill us all right now.

So, let’s put this to one side, and go to the last point.

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People like Rabbi Schwartz from Bilvavi [are] writing that to separate from the Erev Rav means not even saying prayers for IDF soldiers – which to most people (even who are not pro-State), that really goes against the grain.

Again, is he right about everything else and “wrong” about praying for Jewish soldiers to be safe and to be successful protecting us, since it “mixes” us with the Erev Rav (and therefore “Yesh” Od Milvado)?

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It goes against the grain to not pray for our soldiers, who are risking their lives every single day, fighting for you and me, even though they are being misled and endangered by the most disgusting people in the world, BECAUSE IT’S JUST TOTALLY WRONG.

Who in their right mind can suggest that praying for a fellow Jew in danger is something that God wouldn’t want?

This boggles my mind.

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Does that mean ‘Bilvavi’ is wrong about everything else?

Absolutely not.

It comes back to getting out of that ‘all or nothing’ mindset, and understanding that EACH PIECE OF INFO HAS TO BE EVALUATED ON ITS OWN MERITS.

Until you are 100000% sure that the person you are dealing with is actually a real tzaddik, you have to keep your ability to scrutinise what you are being told screwed up to the highest possible level.

Our community has been infiltrated by fakers at every single level, including on the ‘religious’ side, and some of those fakers are extremely convincing and have been ‘maneuvred’ into positions of wielding massive influence.

And at the same time – there are still 36 (and some say, 72) Lamed Vav tzaddikim in every generation.

It’s a very narrow bridge.

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Personally, whenever I see anyone getting lots of air time on government propaganda sites like the Yeshiva World News and A7, I immediately suspect them of being fakers.

The more fawning stories I read about a person being ‘the Gadol HaDor’ who is telling people to [do exactly what the government wants, with no questions asked] – the red flag goes up immediately.

Ditto, if I see people fronting endless charidee campaigns on these sites.

Or just being ‘puffed’ generally, as the saintliest person who ever lived.

Those sites are all run by people affiliated with the evils.

The content is designed to manipulate and control people into doing what the evils want – and to steer them AWAY from coming close to the real tzaddikim.

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So, do your own birur.

And do it very carefully.

The most important part of that is just to get honest about your own bad middot and ‘issues’, because as long as we ourselves are caught in things like anger, vengeance, panic, despair and hatred, we will be unable to distinguish who and what is also coming from these ‘bad places’.

May God help us all to do this birur.

And to figure out, going forward, who and what to trust.

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UPDATE:

These are screenshots of what was actually written on the Bilvavi site:

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Each person should pray on this, and do their own birur.

Lots of people being labelled as ‘seculars’ still believe in God and lots of people being labelled as ‘charedim’ and ‘religious’ don’t.

UPDATE 2:

From another reader;