Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called “Israel’s Mysterious 7 Watershed Moments.” G-d works in mysterious ways, but occasionally He reveals Himself to us to impart His holiness and perfection to the world.
As we know, seven represents the miraculous days of G-d’s creation of the heavens and earth and his rest on the holy seventh day of Shabbat. Additionally, in Kabbalah, seven represents the number of lower sephirot, which are the divine manifestations or emanations of G-d present in this world.
We shall see that many of Israel’s watershed moments have happened over many decades in years ending in the number seven (7).
This book is about the incredible Jewish homeland of Israel. As the prophet Isaiah states (11:12), “He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.” This work is a reflection of my deep love and yearning for our Promised Land. This book is anchored in G-d’s Biblical promise to the Jewish people for this amazing land, the decades of persecution culminating in the Holocaust that the Jews have endured, our miraculous national resurrection and return, the blossoming of the deserts and metamorphosis into a scientific, technological and military world power, and the hope and prayer for all us to be able to make Aliyah and for the completion of the Redemption and the coming of the Mashiach.
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called “7 & the Redemption.”
There can be no doubt that the long-awaited completion of our redemption and the coming of the Mashiach by the Jewish year 6,000 (the beginning of the seventh millennium) is established no less than the Shabbat, which is the seventh day of every week for us. The Shabbat, in fact, is considered a covenant between G-d and the Jewish people, and so too, according to Maimonides’ “13 Principles of Faith,” we trust in the coming of Mashiach.
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called “A Beautiful Song From The Guardians of Zion.”I was very moved by the Israeli police, who have dangerous jobs defending the borders and the cities of the Holy Land, yet singing unburdened about our home and heart!
The Jewish people are an incredible tapestry of amazing people from all over the world.
If some “religious” people do the wrong thing, disrespect their fellow Jews, hate on them, curse them, defile their prayers, that doesn’t mean they are really religious. Rather to the contrary — they are the irreligious religious!
Holy warriors that turn their gaze upwards to our Heavenly Father. In joy and tears. By song and dance. With an uplifted heart and a yearning soul. Soldiers of the Holy Land. They stand before G-d Almighty. Ready to lay down their lives in complete faith. The Redemption is here. Just open your eyes. Oh L-rd, return us to the Promised Land. In joy and tears. By song and dance. With an uplifted heart and a yearning soul. To serve You, and only You.
I sometimes get very scared when we don’t give Hashem the proper credit for our incredible accomplishments and military successes, but rather we talk about our own “self-reliance.” To a certain extent, the calls for self-reliance is understandable amidst broad-based anti-Semitism in the world, calls for Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, and near constant United Nations resolutions again us. Of course, in these circumstances and with our history of suffering persecution, pogroms, and Holocaust, we may look to insulate and protect ourselves from the world’s incessant and irrational hatred of Jews.
Most importantly though, we have to recognize that G-d is in charge. As a small people in a tiny (albeit marvelous) land, surrounded by enemies, we can never forget that remaining sovereign over Israel and defeating our enemies that rise up against us time and again is nothing but completely miraculous. Our enemies are 1,000 to 1 against us, and yet G-d makes them run from before us.
When it comes to Russia’s real world military fighting doctrine, no one and nothing is safe until their objectives are met, even if that means World War III, as Russia’s foreign minister has stated. Russia is already formidable and the largest country in the world with 11% of the world’s landmass, and that is almost double that of the next largest country. Further, with a solidifying partnership of superpower countries Russia-China, coupled with alliances with authoritarian regimes of Iran and North Korea, an extremely dangerous Axis of Evil is developing that may soon threaten global stability and peace. Many are starting to question whether we are now entering the times of Gog and Magog, the devastating “end of times” war as prophesied in Ezekiel (38-39) before the coming of the Messiah and the Third Temple. Indeed, the term “Rosh” as in Gog’s Chief Prince has been compared to “Rus” for Russia or I would say to “Rasha” (wicked, evil one). Further, Russia is coming directly from “the far north” of Israel, and Iran is compared to “Persia” in the war of Gog and Magog. Strangely enough, the timing is coming now, the week of Purim, with the U.S. desiring to finalize the end of sanctions on Iran and rejoin the grossly ineffective Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) paving the way for Iran and their radical mullahs to go nuclear in the future.
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called “Calling On The Vatican.”Historically, the holy city of Jerusalem was captured, and the second Jewish Temple was destroyed in 70 CE by the Roman Army led by Titus and his father Emperor Vespasian. Later, in the year 81 CE, the Arch of Titus (pictured above) was erected to commemorate Titus’s victory over the Jews and depicts the plunder the Roman Army carried back in their ceremonial march. Clearly carved in the arch are the Temple menorah, trumpets, and the table for the showbread—a sampling of the Temple spoils that the Romans carried off back to their home.
I want to beseech the Pope and the Vatican to return the items that they have from the Jewish Temple that rightfully belong to the Jewish people. These items sitting idly in the Vatican vaults and archives hold enormous sanctity to the Jewish people who crafted and worshipped with them over the duration of 1,400 years from the Tabernacle to the First and Second Temples. In the spirit of love and brotherhood between Christians and Jews, and in the name of G-d who commands all mankind not to steal from one another, and to return lost items to their rightful owner, I say to the Pope, it is high time to do the right thing and return our holy Temple vessels to Israel.(Source Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/forum-romanum-arch-titus-relief-883849/)
andyblumenthal 