UN Watch Oral Statement Delivered by Colonel Richard Kemp UN Human Rights Council 12th Special Session, 16 October 2009 Debate on Goldstone Report

Saw this link on thinkinginsights.blogspot.com. The Colonel saves the day and tells the truth about Israel.

Climategate: the final nail in the coffin of 'Anthropogenic Global Warming'?

Climategate: the final nail in the coffin of 'Anthropogenic Global Warming'?

if you want a real cause bring Moshiach.

Lamplighters by Moshe Hecht (audio)

Lamplighters by Moshe Hecht

A nice song about people who go around lighting other people's lamps (souls).

A great newly heard Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg story.

A great new Holtzberg story was heard recently from the shliach who took over the Chabad House for the Holtzbergs. A woman asked the Holtzberg for help, she had been asking her estranged husband for a get (bill of divorce) for 20 or 25 years and he wouldn't give one. The man was living in India. He was living in a very far away place in India which was very hard to get to. So Rabbi Gavriel  Holtzberg went with another man to find the man. They traveled for many hours and it was hard to get it and they had to walk for a while. They got to a place which was well secured and finally found the place where the the man was whom they were looking for. They came in and the man pointed a gun straight at them and said that he knows why they are here and that its not going to happen. Holtzbergs friend found a way to run away from the man. Holtzberg stood there without moving and said back to the man with the gun the story of the Freidecher Rebbe when he was in prison. This gun he said can scare a person who believes in one world and in many gods but not one who who believes in two worlds and one G-d. The man was very impressed and after speaking more with Rabbi Holtzbers he eventually signed the get.
The new shliach also commented that Rabbi Holtzber's shoes are not easy shoes to fill.

Jerusalem Stone and the Genocide of Titus

Jerusalem Stone and the Genocide of Titus

"But now Obama has done the quarrelsome Israelis a favor...sort of. Ninety-six percent of the Israeli population believes that Obama is a threat to their survival. Israel is uniting against a common threat. Thank you, Mr. Obama"

Historic videos of Yidden singing Yechi to the Lubavithcher Rebbe in 770 in the early 1990's.

Historic videos of Yidden singing Yechi to the Lubavithcher Rebbe in 770 in the early 1990's. Some people probably have a hundred and one opinions on what this means or doesn't mean. But it's good to see what happened as recorded on these videos, this way most people won't claim that it never happened.

Also Mazel Tov on God-World's 100s blog post!

International Conference of Chabad Lubavitch Emissaries

International Conference of Chabad Lubavitch Emissaries

Torah in Brief: Chayei Sarah

This week's Torah portion is "Chayei Sarah" -- "The Life of Sarah" -- which opens with the passing of the first Matriarch. "The life of Sarah was one hundred years, twenty years and seven years; the years of Sarah's life." Rashi comments that the odd language teaches us that at age one hundred, Sarah was as innocent and as beautiful as a young girl. Her death immediately follows the Binding of Isaac. Rashi explains that this is because she heard "the news that her son was readied for slaughter and was nearly slaughtered." There are two ways of understanding what Rashi meant. According to one opinion, this means that Sarah was so distraught over the news that her son was about to be slaughtered, and then so overjoyed that he was rescued, that her soul "flew from her body". According to another interpretation, she had faith that her husband wouldn't do such a thing unless commanded by G-d, but then erroneously inferred that her husband had failed to carry out his divine mission and so she passed away.

After his wife's death, Abraham sought to purchase a certain cave for her, the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron (a.k.a. -- Kiriath-Arba). This holy site was the burial place of Adam and Eve, and would later serve as the resting place of all the Patriarchs and Matriarchs but for Rachel. Abraham said to the Hittite chieftains in his area, "I am an alien and a resident among you; grant me an estate for the burial with you, that I may bury my dead from before me." (Gen. 23:4) The seemingly contradictory terms "alien" and "resident" demonstrates the duality of a Jew: while a Jew should be a loyal citizen who prays for the welfare of his nation of residence, his primary allegiance is always to G-d; "G-d and country" in that order.

Though Ephron the Hittite offered the land for free, Abraham insisted on paying full price. Abraham didn't want there to be any dispute as to the true ownership of the land. Likewise, King David purchased the threshing floor of Aravna at full price, even though Aravna offered to give the land for free and the king could have taken it by right (I Chronicles 21:24, II Samuel 24:24). On that site, King David built the altar around which his son, King Solomon, built the First Holy Temple. (It's sad to note that these two indisputably Jewish holy sites have since been conquered by others who deny their true history and ownership.)

After Abraham buried Sarah, he tasked his trusted servant, Eliezer, with finding a suitable wife for his son, Isaac. Abraham had Eliezer take an oath that he would not allow Isaac to marry a Canaanite girl, but charged him to find Isaac a wife from among his relatives in Haran. According to Rabbi Sampson Rafael Hirsch, this wasn't merely because the Canaanites were idolatrous, for so were Abraham's relatives; rather, the inhabitants of Canaan were morally degenerate. Eliezer swore to his master, and set out for the city of Nahor.

Upon arriving, Eliezer asked G-d to send him a sign. He decided to stand by a well and wait for a girl to approached to draw water, then he would ask her for a sip. If she would agree and even offer to water his camels, this would prove that she possessed the necessary compassion and moral character to marry Isaac. Eliezer had not even finished praying when Rebecca approached, carrying a water jug. Sure enough, when asked for a sip, she even offered to water his camels. Overjoyed, Eliezer gave her a ring weighing a beka, two bracelets, and ten gold shekels (coins), symbolizing the future annual donations to the Temple (which weighed a beka), the two Tablets, and the Ten Commandments.

Eliezer then inquired as to the girl's family, and she brought him to her home. Excited about Rebecca's new jewelry, her brother Laban ran to greet the strange visitor and offered him a place to stay. The Bible then records Eliezer's recounting of this entire episode, spurring the Amora (Sage of the Talmudic era), Rabbi Acha, to comment, "The conversation of the servants of the Patriarchs is more pleasing before the Omnipresent than the Torah of their descendants, for the episode of Eliezer is doubled in the Torah, while many essential elements of the Torah were given only by allusion."

Upon hearing Eliezer's words, Rebecca's family is convinced that it is divine providence that she marry Isaac. Eliezer prepares to take her back to Isaac, but her family requests that she stay for a year or at least ten months. Eliezer insists that he return immediately, so they ask Rebecca her opinion, and she states, "I will go." Rashi cites a Midrash stating that this teaches that we may not marry off a woman without her consent. With that, her family blessed her and she went with Eliezer.

They arrived home just as Isaac was finishing his afternoon prayers in the field. Rebecca noticed Isaac and inquired of Eliezer about him, then took her veil and covered herself out of modesty. Eliezer recounted to Isaac all that had happened, then Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent of his mother, Sarah. During Sarah's lifetime, three miracles took place in her tent: a candle burned from Sabbath to Sabbath, her dough was blessed, and a cloud provided shade over the tent. These miracles had ceased when Sarah died, but they returned upon the arrival of Rebecca, proof that she shared her predecessor's righteousness. Isaac "married Rebecca, she became his wife, and he loved her; and thus was Isaac consoled after his mother." (Gen. 24:67)

The final section discusses Abraham's other children, whom his wife Keturah bore to him. According to tradition, this was Hagar's second name, which was given because her deeds were beautiful like the incense (ketores). Abraham "gave all that was his" to Isaac, but he sent his other sons to the East with gifts. Noting the apparent contradiction (if Abraham gave everything to Isaac, what "gifts" were left for his other children?), the sages explain that Abraham gave his other sons spiritual gifts, hidden wisdom which grew into the Eastern religions. The covenant, however, passed through Isaac.

At 175 years old, Abraham died "at a good old age, mature and content, and he was gathered to his people." (Gen. 25:8) His sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried him with Sarah in the cave of Machpelah. Ishmael repented in his later years, and he passed away at 137 years old.

written by Yehoshua Jason Bedrick, chosid of the Rebbe.

The Economic Collapse and a Torah Solution

Torah can help guide our financial system

By Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan

The financial crisis is absorbing the attention of the country. How will the crisis unfold? What will the solution be? Who will be the winners and the losers?

Where the crisis originated and what is the root cause is receiving scant attention, and that is what I want to address.

In human economic affairs, there is a built-in paradox. On one hand, if economic activity is tightly regulated and controlled by the government, as in the communist module, then all initiative, energy and drive is sucked out of the system and it ultimately collapses, as we witnessed in the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

On the other hand, if we do not have any (or only minimal) regulation and permit an unfettered free market, then greed becomes the dominant drive in the system, which ultimately is also doomed to fail, as is happening before our eyes in the U.S. today.

read more here

Peace in Israel Short Video

so many problems in the world and the world just insists on focusing on Israel as if it's the main problem. when will they just let us live?

Torah in Brief: Vayeira, Part I

This week's Torah portion, Vayeira, contains some of the most well-known stories in the Bible. The portion opens with G-d visiting Abraham before three angels disguised as humans arrive to inform him that Sarah will give birth to a son in one year. Afterward, G-d informs Abraham that he intends to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham pleads with the Supernal Judge to do justice, sparing the cities for the sake of any righteous people within them. The Bible continues with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's wife turns to a pillar of salt, Lot's folly, Abimelech's abduction and release of Sarah, the birth of Isaac, the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael, a covenant between Abraham and Abimelech, and finally the binding of Isaac.

Each of these stories is rich in lessons for us, but I won't be able to give each its due. There are many perplexing occurances as well which require detailed explanation. Feel free to ask me anything about the sections I've glossed over as well as those I discuss below.

Psalm 128:1 says, "Blessed is the one who fears the L-rd, who walks in His ways." Yet how can we possibly follow His ways? Isaiah 55:8 states: "your ways are not My ways"! The sages teach us that we must emulate G-d's acts of kindness. For example, we must clothe the naked just as G-d clothed Adam and Eve after He expelled them from the Garden of Eden, and we must bury the dead just as G-d buried Moses.

In the opening verses of Vayeira, G-d appears to Abraham. Rashi explains that this was the third day after his circumcision, and G-d had come to comfort him, serving as a model for us to visit the sick. Just then, three travelers arrive at Abraham's tent, which was open on all four sides so that travelers approaching from any direction would feel welcome. Abraham took leave from G-d to greet the guests, demonstrating that "the mitzvah of housing travelers is greater than greeting the Divine Presence."

Not knowing that these guests were really angels who don't require food, Abraham set about making a great feast for them. It was Abraham's practice to feed guests, then teach them how to pray to G-d in thanksgiving. As we've discussed previously, anything our patriarch's did was a portent for future generations. Just as Abraham served his guests bread and meat, G-d fed the Israelites manna and quail in the desert. Just as Abraham sent a servant to serve them water, G-d sent Moses to bring forth water from a rock. And just as Abraham escorted his guests as they left, G-d escorted the Israelites through the desert as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

One angel had come to inform Abraham and Sarah that she would bear a child. The other two went to Sodom. G-d informed Abraham of that He intended to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah "for their sin is very grave" (Gen. 18:20) and Abraham vigorously protested. "Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?" (Gen. 18:25) However, only Lot's family was worthy of being saved.

When the two incognito angels arrived in Sodom, Lot offered to take them into his home. Soon, a large mob of Sodomite arrive, demanding that Lot send out his guests "that we may know them" ("know" in the biblical sense). Lot protests, heroically risking his own life... then he does something perplexing and horrific: he offers the mob his own virgin daughters instead. Fortunately, the crowd rejects this offer and as they break down the door, the angels strike them with blindness. In the Tanchuma, G-d rebukes Lot for this sin, which directly leads to a second sin with his daughters.

After Lot escapes with his family, the fire and brimstone rain down upon Sodom and Gomorrah, utterly destroying them. Against the command of the angels who saved them, Lot's wife looks back at the destruction of the cities and turns into a pillar of salt. According to some commentaries, she was pining to return to the wicked cities. Alone in a cave after the destruction, Lot's daughters mistakenly believe they are alone in the world, just as Noah's family after the Flood. In a striking parallel to Noah's being disgraced after falling into a drunken stupor, Lot's daughters give their father wine until he is utterly inebriated, then they sleep with him and conceive. The older daughter calls her son Moab (meaning "from my father") and the younger daughter gives birth to Ammon; the two sons lead tribes bearing their names which dwell in Canaan until the era of kings.

In Part II, we'll pick up with the abduction of Sarah and the birth of Isaac!

by: Yehoshua Jason Bedrick

Interesting Naohides video

saw this link on the Beis Moshiach website.

General Eisenhower Warned Us

Got this in my in box today;

It is a matter of history that when the Supreme Commander of the Allied
Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he
ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people
from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to
bury the dead.

He did this because he said in words to this effect:

'Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses
-because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get
up and say that this never happened'.

This week, the UK debated whether to remove The Holocaust from its school
curriculum because it 'offends' the Muslim population which claims it never
occurred. It is not removed as yet. However, this is a frightening portent
of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is
giving into it.

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europeended.
This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the, 6 million
Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians, and 1,900 Catholic
priests.

Who were 'murdered, raped, burned, starved, beat, experimented on and
humiliated' while the German people looked the other way!

Now, more than ever, with Iran , among others, claiming the Holocaust to be
'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets.



This e-mail is intended to reach 400 million people! Be a link in the
memorial chain and help distribute this around the world.

How many years will it be before the attack on the World Trade Center .

'NEVER HAPPENED'

because it offends some Muslim in the U.S.???


Do not just delete this message; it will take only a minute to pass this
along to another 20 or 30 or more.
FREEDOM ISN'T FREE . . . SOMEONE HAD TO PAY FOR IT

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
-Sir Winston Churchill

Torah in Brief: Lech L'cha.

by Yehoshua Jason Bedrick

Our weekly Torah portion opens with G-d's command to Abram (Abraham's original name) to leave his homeland, and His promise that He will bless him and make of him a great nation:

"Go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation; I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you, I will curse." (Gen. 12:1-3)

Abram takes his wife, Sarai, and nephew, Lot, to the land of Canaan. They also travel with "the souls they made in Haran" which is often interpreted as their slaves, though some sages say it refers to the converts they made.

Even in Canaan, Abram lives a nomadic life, constantly pitching his tent further and further south in the land. At one point, there's a famine in the land, so Abram briefly descends to Egypt. Fearful that the immoral Egyptians will kill him and take his wife, they pretend that they are siblings. Pharaoh treats Abram well on account of his "sister", whom he takes into his own home. G-d then afflicts Pharaoh's household with a severe plague, which tips off Pharaoh that something is amiss. He discovers that Sarai is already married, and he sends the couple away.

Abram returns to Canaan and flourishes, but his shepherds quarrel with Lot's shepherds. Abram offers to part ways to make room for each other, so Lot moves to Sodom. Once again, G-d promises the childless Abram that He will make a great nation of him in this land, as innumerable as the dust of the earth. Abram then builds an altar in Hebron. Though the Jewish people was never so large at any given time, their incredible longevity fulfills this promise. The Midrash notes that just as dust outlives all who tread upon it, so G-d promised Abraham that his offspring would outlive all the nations that would persecute them.

At one point, five local kings go to war with four other kings. Caught in the crossfire, Lot and his family are taken captive. A fugitive informs Abram, who immediately springs into action and rescues his kinsman and many others with a small force of a few hundred men. After Abram's success, Malchizedek, King of Salem (a.k.a. - Jerusalem), a priest of G-d, greets Abram and gives him bread and wine, an allusion to the sacrificial offerings Abram's descendants would offer there. Abram then tithes to Malchizedek. The king of Sodom offers Abram all of the loot, but Abram refuses, taking only supplies for his servants. Abram did not want anyone to mistakenly conclude that the wicked king of Sodom had made him wealthy; his good fortune was entirely a divine blessing.

After these events, G-d reiterates his promise to Abram. Abram protests that he remains childless, and G-d responds with a specific promise that he will bear children. G-d sent Abram outside and tells him to gaze into the heavens, promising that his descendants will be as innumerable as the stars. Rashi comments that G-d was also telling Abram to ignore the astrology by which he had determined that he was destined to remain childless.

They then seal a covenant with an animal sacrifice. Afterward, Abram falls into a deep sleep, and G-d continues to speak to him. G-d reveals to Abram that his descendants will live in exile for 400 years, that they will be oppressed by a foreign nation, but that they will be redeemed and leave with great wealth. (See: Book of Exodus. G-d, however, showed mercy in calculating the exile from the time of Isaac's birth -- the exile in Egypt was commuted to 210 years.)

Sarai, frustrated at her barrenness, asks her husband to bear a child through her maidservant, Hagar. Hagar conceived and began acting haughtily to her mistress. Sarai complains bitterly to Abram, who grants her permission to treat Hagar as she sees fit. Sarai disciplines Hagar, who then flees. An angel appears to Hagar and directs her to return to submit herself to Sarai. He also reveals to her that she will bear a son, Ishmael. There is a concept in Torah study that everything written about our ancestors applies to us as well. Of Ishmael, ancestor of the Arabs, the angel tells Hagar: "He shall be a wild ass of a man; his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him."

Abram was 86 when Hagar bore Ishmael. When Abram was 99, G-d sealed another covenant with Abram. G-d changed his name, Abram ("father of Aram") to Abraham ("father of a multitude"). G-d seals this "everlasting covenant" in Abraham's very flesh, commanding him to circumcise himself, and commanding that all his male descendants be circumcised at the age of eight days.

The circumcision is called both "My covenant" and "the sign of the covenant." According to Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, this expresses a fundamental principle. The Artscroll Chumash summarizes his view: "A commandment consists of two parts: the physical act and its underlying moral or spiritual teaching -- and neither is complete without the other."

G-d also changes Sarai's name -- "my princess" -- to Sarah, signifying "princess over all nations". Previously, her greatness was only attached to her husband's, but now her limitations were removed. G-d informs Abraham that he will bear a child with Sarah named Isaac, and that the covenant would pass through him, though Ishmael would also become a vast nation.

Abraham then circumcises himself, his 13-year-old son Ishmael, and his entire household.

Torah in Brief: Bereishis

By Yehoshua Jason Bedrick

I'm going to try to write a short synopsis of each week's Torah portion, with a little bit of commentary along the way (in addition to a more in-depth analysis of one concept). Your questions or comments are welcome and appreciated.

Last week's Torah portion, Bereishis, is the first portion of the Torah (Gen. 1:1-6:8). Genesis famously begins "In the beginning, when G-d created the heavens and the earth..." The first chapter details the six days of Creation and ends with the seventh day, upon which G-d "rested".* In his commentary, Rashi wonders why the Bible opens with the creation of the world (as opposed to a commandment, which would be expected since the Torah is not primarily a history book, but an "instruction manual"). Rashi then explains that this is because people would one day accuse the Israelites of stealing the land from the Canaanites, but Genesis allows them to retort that G-d created the world and therefore He may give it to whomever He sees fit. (There are echoes of this ancient accusation in the modern claim that the Israelis are "settlers" on native Palestinian land -- despite thousands of years of Jewish residence in the Holy Land.)

The second chapter details G-d's creation of Adam and Eve. The Talmud explains that G-d created only one man at first so that we should know that if we save one life, it is as though we saved the entire world. Noting that "it is not good for Man to be alone," G-d created an "ezer k'negdo" for Adam -- literally, "a helper opposite him." Rashi comments that if the man is worthy, his wife will be a "helper" but if he is unworthy, she will be "opposite him". After Adam finds Eve pleasing in his eyes, the narrative concludes: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife and they shall become one flesh."

The third chapter depicts their subsequent fall after eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. G-d punishes them and expels them from the Garden of Eden, but He makes them warm clothes before He sends them away, a sign that He still loves humanity.

The fourth chapter opens with the birth of Cain and Abel. Cain becomes a farmer and Abel a shepherd, but G-d accepts Abel's sacrifices while rejecting Cain's. In a fit of jealous anger, Cain murders his brother. When G-d inquires about Abel, Cain infamously asks: "Am I my brother's keeper?" G-d curses Cain, but allows him to live seven generations, albeit with the "mark of Cain". The chapter concludes with details about Cain's descendants and the birth of Adam and Eve's third son, Seth.

The fifth chapter is the list of Adam's descendants through Noah. While many people prefer to skip over the "begot" sections ("And Enoch begot Methuselah..."), these sections are filled with meaning. Here's an example I learned from Rabbi Daniel Lapin: Keinan begot Mehallalel, who begot Jared (Yered). Their names mean, "acquired", "praised gods", and "descent" respectively. Each represents the trend of their generation: an acquisitive and materialistic generation (Keinan) is followed by a generation which seeks spirituality in all the wrong places (Mehallalel) which is then followed by a generation of decline.**

Parshas Bereishis concludes with the first part of chapter six, which describes the descent of humanity into depravity. G-d decides to destroy all of humanity, but the Torah portion ends on a positive note: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of G-d."

With G-d's help, we'll continue with Noah and Parshas Noach later this week!


*The chapters commonly used are of Christian origin and include the seventh day at the beginning of the 2nd chapter, but it is included as a part of the first "aliyah" in the Jewish reckoning.

**For greater depth on this point (and a whole lot more), pick up a copy of Rabbi Lapin's "The Gathering Storm: Decoding the Secrets of Noah".

Got God? In New York City?

God in New York City
They gave out these newspapers in New York City yesterday and there I was to pick one up and read it. They are putting ads in the subway systems which claim that one million new yorkers are okay with out God. The paper says that they take their numbers from a survey done a few years back in which 15% of people answered not affiliated to some sort of religious serve. Now I haven't seen the survey but I don't think that a person who checked unaffiliated necessarily means he doesn't believe in God. It could just mean that he is not affiliated with any formal religion but he does believe in the One, Transcended God, which would probably make him a Noahide of some sort. Well whatever the story is I love the picture and headline.

Btw, its parshas Noah! All is by Divine providence all the time.

Hidden messages are found in NYC parking signs

by Yosef Aaronsohn

An administrative law judge found last month in a ruling on September 11, 2009 that there is a hidden message in one of the parking signs posted on many of the New York City streets. Even more curious is that all drivers are supposed to know what that message means. The mysterious sign in question has a blue background with white lettering that states: "NYC Parking Cards Available". There is a picture of three choices of parking cards to choose from. At the bottom of the sign it says: "For information visit wwv.nyc.gov or call 311".

So, what is the hidden message in that sign?

I had no idea what the message was when I parked by it. I've shown the picture of the sign to several people since and no one fully got what the sign was about.

People who are familiar with NYC parking believed that the sign means that you need to pay something if you want to park there. People who are unfamiliar with parking in NYC only read that some kind of a parking card is available and you can visit a website or call a number if you want more information about acquiring it. None of those questioned had ever heard of a parking card. Maybe part of what the city is trying to do by posting it is to inform people that these cards are available.

The hidden message according to the young administrative law judge that heard my case is that you need to pay at a muni-meter for the right to park in the area of that sign.

He stated in his decision:

"Claim signs were not clear as the sign in front of Respondent's vehicle stated NYC parking card available, however further down the block there was a clearer sign stating pay at muni meter with arrow showing such and photo displayed as well is not a valid defense that sign was not clear, since as long as there is 1 legible sign on the block that is sufficient restriction in effect on the entire block. Guilty."

I was expecting the judge to recognize that there was no mention of a muni-meter on the sign by my car and since there would be no way for me to know about a muni-meter he would reverse the decision and remove the $65 fine. What I didn't consider is that a ruling in my favor would be admitting that the city inadvertantly left out an important piece of information on one of their signs. This could turn out to be an expensive ruling for the city. It was easier to pass the responsibility on to someone else instead of jeopardizing his name being attached to such an unnecessary expense to the City of New York.

The sign further down the block did state clearly to Pay at Muni-Meter but that was not the sign closest to my car. The sign closest to my car had a sign indicating that you can park on the street for up to one hour from 9 AM to 7 PM except Sunday. Which I did. I parked between 4 PM to 5 PM on a monday.

The blue sign was found just below the one-hour parking sign. The city actually wants you to make the connection between the blue sign and the muni-meter supposedly in place to govern the block. These were the only two signs posted on that particular signpost.

I contested the $65 penalty for failing to display a proper muni-meter receipt on my dashboard. The judge applied a well known rule called the one-sign-in-a-block rule. Enough people have been found guilty based on this one-sign-in-a-block rule that it has become a commonly known rule among drivers. I think this rule was incorrectly applied to my situation.

The one-sign-in-a-block rule basically states that if there is an unreadable sign near where a car is to be parked (and obviously if there is no sign at all) then it is the driver's responsibility to check the entire block for a more readable sign before assuming that it is okay to park there. This makes sense for governing the roads. One sign is enough to rule the whole block and nobody has to go past the end of the block in order to figure out what the restrictions are for parking.

But after you see a readable sign on a block and it aparantly applies to the area where you are parking, it's not the responsibility of the driver to check for more restrictive or conflicting signs all the way up and down the block (or at least it shouldn't be). The one-sign-in-a-block rule is only if you are faced with an unreadable or missing sign. Then you need to look further. And as long as there is one authorized regulatory sign describing what the parking situation is, you cannot later claim to a judge that the signs were not clear.

In the case of the mysterious blue sign that mentions nothing about a muni-meter, directly under a sign saying when it is acceptable to park, there is no reason to check further. When I parked by this sign I was glad there was no cost for parking at this location but was bothered that I could only stay for one hour. I looked up and down the block and saw cars parked in every space. There were no parking meters at all on the block and there was no fire hydrant within 15 feet of my spot. When I checked for a hydrant I noticed that just ahead of my spot were two short poles protecting a large box. This looked like an electrical box or the kind of box that Cablevision uses so I didn't concern myself with it. I assumed the poles were there to protect the box from a veering car. As long as there was no meter by my spot and no fire hydrant close by I parked according to what the sign said. I parked for an hour.

The City is assuming that people understand the blue sign to mean "Pay at Muni-Meter" (that is the hidden message). The other two signs on the block say this explicitly. I happened to park right at the one sign that did not say "Pay at Muni-Meter". The city probably left it out because it was so close to a muni-meter that they didn't know how to point to it. Instead of leaving out the arrows they left out the whole phrase. Since I never had the occasion to use a muni-meter before I would not have known what it looked like. It could have been right next to my car and it would have gone unnoticed because there is no obvious marking on the side that faces the road to indicate that it is any different from other utility boxes often seen by the curb. You have to already be looking for a muni-meter before you find it. And there's no reason to look for it unless the sign governing the parking spot says to look for it.

This logic was missed by the young administrative law judge who heard my case. He stuck his hand out when I plead not guilty and said, "Do you have a receipt?"

I said, "No" and handed him a picture of the sign. "But the sign that I saw didn't say anything about a muni-meter. There was no way for me to know from this sign that I needed to pay money at a muni-meter."

He went ahead and typed up the rather unclear statement of his decision: "Claim signs were not clear..."

I have to wonder if the judges are instructed to write everything they want to say about the decision in one long run-on sentence. Or was it just the style of this judge. I was amazed at his use of the two fingered method of typing. I was very impressed with the speed of his two fingered typing. But unimpressed with his last sentence: Guilty. I was disappointed that he justified his decision of guilty with the one-sign-in-a-block rule. It seemed to make his day to be able to pull this rule out the hat and apply it to this case. Guilty.

As I got up to leave I asked him how I was supposed to know about the other signs. He said, "That would be a good thing to mention in an appeal."

I followed up with an appeal. The two or three minutes spent with this judge seemed long compared with the length of time the two judges must have spent on scribbling out the notice upholding the judges decision on appeal. The form letter sent back to me had a mark next to the line saying: Upon review of the entire record before us, we find no error of fact or law. The Judge's decision is upheld.

There was wavy line passed through the other choice which reads: Upon review of the entire record before us, we find error. The decision is reversed and the prior payment will be returned. I get the feeling that this line gets crossed out most of the time.

So now I have three judges that signed on board agreeing that the decision to charge me $65 was not in error.

The New York City government would like drivers to simply know that a muni-meter is in effect whenever they post the blue sign with the parking card information on it. They evidently don't care that it doesn't explicitly say that a fee is required. The most disturbing part of this is how submissive New Yorkers have become when they are presented with a half a story. They have become trained to accept an incomplete sign and take for granted what the city wants them to believe about it. Even when it makes no logical sense.

Moses looking out over Eretz Yisroel.

Video of google earth showing Moshe Rabbeinu looking out over the land of Israel.

Philosophy vs. Chasidus

In the summer of 5688 my father was in Marienbad. One of the elders of the "Enlightenment" was staying there s well and he came to visit my father. Hes asked my father about some profound subject and my father replied with an explanation according to chasidic doctrine.

The elder was pleased with answer and explanation and he said, "This is Chasidus?! It seems like a deep philosophical concept. What, then, is the difference between the logic of philosophy and that of Chasidus?"

My father replied: "My brother, Rabbis Zalman Aaron , once gave the following answer too that question. 'When a person studies philosophy, he ultimately sheds his tallis kattan and hat. And when a person studies Chasidus, he ultimately puts on a gartel and a yarmulke'.

"This is the truth.. Everything depends on the introduction and preparation for study. Philosophy is generally studied in a spirit of cynicism born of a desire to cast off the yoke of heaven. But Chasidus is studied in a spirit of warmth born of belief and acceptance of the yoke of Heaven and an awe of Heaven.

"This," my father concluded, "its the fruit of the devotion of the early chasidim to Chasidus. they bequeathed to their children and their children's children some spiritual lachuchis (moisture)(referring to an intuitive sense and warm regard for Chasidus.) so that a chasidic concept stick to them. A chasidic axiom is absorbed well by them and places them on the path of truth."

Taken from The Chasidic Heritage Series The four Wolds a letter by Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Schneersohn of Lubavitch. Kehot Publication Society.

Moshiach will build the Beis Hamikdash in its place.

One mights suggest that this idea that the Beit Hamikdash will begin its return to Jerusalem from its place in exile is alluded to in Maimonoide’s description of Moshiach: ”If he…built the Beit Hamikdash in its place…. he is definitely Moshiach.” Why are the words “in its place” necessary? And if they are necessary, why does Maimonides not name the place explicitly by saying, “if he… built the Beit Hamikdash in Jerusalem?”

The answer is that since, grammatically, “in its place” can also be read as “in his place,” it is an allusion to Moshiach’s place in exile* – that is, before he achieves the status of Moshiach vadai (Definite Moshiach). While still in exile, Moshiach builds a Small temple – a microcosm and a model of the Beit Hamikdash. This is a preparation for the future Beit Hamikdash. This Small Temple will be revealed first there, in exile, and will then return (with G-d and the Jewish people) to Jerusalem.

*On a simpler level, Moshiach's knowledge of the precise location of the Beit Hamikdash is one of the things that prove he is Moshiach Vadai (the Definite Moshiach). (See footnote in Likkutei Sichot, vol. 8, p. 362. See Also footnote in Likkutei Sichot, vol. 24, p. 652.)

From the book: Kuntres Beis Rabenu Shebebavel (The Holy temple In Transit) By the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. Translated by Rabbi Alexander Zushe Kohn.

A sheep is safe amongst seventy wolves - the sheep has a Mighty Sheperd.

It's curious to me that i find on the blogosphere (and not really anywhere else) talks that there will be a destruction of Jewry especially in America G-d forbid. I think that this line of thinking is a tremendous mistake. The non-Jews in America are in the geder of the righteous amongst the nations of the world. They support and uphold justice, fight evil, give more to charity than other nations. I think that these thoughts about the opposite of good in America is a total misrepresentation of the facts on the ground. There has been no oppression or signs of oppression towards Jews, G-d should protect us always from such things.

It seems to me that the reason why a Jew might feel this way is because Jews are accustomed to feel that they are in exile and oppressed and that we must look over our shoulders to make sure no enemy is coming from behind.

The reality is that the nations of the world are ready for the imminent redemption and are simply waiting for us Yidden to open our mouth and tell them that the redemption has arrived. So the world stands ready for geuala and we are still looking around and feeling that we are in exile. It is my belief that fears over our safety, Hashem saves us from such thoughts is coming from a deep inner and a personal golus. A golus heart, a golus mind and a golus mentality.

Wake up yidden and realize that the world is not what it was, is not what it used to be and it's not going back to the old world order. You are living in the days of the redemption and no evil will ever befall the Jews, for God is with us and we shall not fear.

The same holds by the land of Israel, as soon as Jews decide to open their mouths and declare to the world that Israel is a Holy Land and it belong to Jews and that we are ready to defend it with our military might, the nations will have no more claims against us. The claims only come when we are ready to negotiate. But the land is not something which is negotiable, it is G-d's gift to the Jewish people.

I have seen that under American presidents who are very "pro Israel" and American Presidents who are not so "pro Isreal", Isreal acts the same way. Meaning it doesn't help Israel what the American president thinks. The only thing that can help Israel is what the Yidden in Isreal and all over think and what Israel's politicians speak and put in as policy in Isreal.

We should all have a gmar chasima tova and celebrate Yom Kuppur with The Lubavitcher Rebbe Melech Ha Moshiach in Jerusalem.



This is a picture of 770 Eastern Parkway, Beis Rabbenu in exile.

Sefirot Tree.

A generation completely righteous or completely not righteous.

i heard a nice vort the other day. it says somewhere that Moshiach will come in a generation which is completely righteous or a generation that is completer wicked. so the question is how can Moshiach come now its not completely to one side either way.

So really you can say that if you compare us to the past generations we are completely wicked. Our learning compared to them is nothing. Our good acts are self motivated. Our davening is superficial and so on and so forth. And behlal look at whats going on out there with the hefker velt attitudes.

On the other hand look at how the world is. And look at how much troubles and pains the Yidden have gone truth rahmona litzlan and besides it all look at us! We are davening and learning and going out on Mivztoim to bring fellow yidden closer to Torah and Mitzvos. So when we look at at in this way we see that in reality every Jew is completely righteous and meritorious and Moshiach can come right now problem

This was based on a teshuva of Rav Moshe Feinstein ztl.





Every Jew and non Jew should be blessed for a Good and Sweet year, and we should have the main blessing of the complete revelation of the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach!!!

Yechi Adonenu Marenu Vrabenu Melech Hamoshiach Leolam Voed.

Drawing of Chassidim Farbrengen.

Chassidim Farbrengen.

Drawing of Chassidim Dancing.

Two Chassidim Dancing.