Get to Heaven Keep the Seven

Everybody wants spirituality. To be a good person means to walk in G-d's ways. How does that translate to reality? The only guidebook to spirituality that has stood the test of time is the Hebrew Bible. The Bible says that the Jews will be a light onto the nations. But if you are not a born Jew, you have to convert, which is not so easy!! If you do convert, it is a lot of work to be a Jew (three times a day prayer, keeping kosher, observing the Sabbath).

This blog will show you how to be Jewish without the work!!

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Watch: Thousands Write Thank You Postcards to IDF Wounded Veterans

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Yehuda Lave, Spiritual Advisor and Counselor

Feel Grateful for every Pleasure


Every single time you have some pleasure, even a very slight one such as gaining a small profit, feel grateful to the Almighty. Every day we have numerous such occasions which are easily overlooked. They are lessons to teach awareness of the Almighty's Divine Providence.

Love Yehuda Lave

Number of Jews at Exodus

Thank you very much for all your wise and interesting writings. For the last two years, I've been teaching an adult seminar called "Discovering the Beauty of Judaism" at a Reform congregation, and I use Aish HaTorah material.

Now my question: I remember that the number of Jews leaving Egypt was 600,000. But I read recently that the number was in the millions! Is this true?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

 

It is written in the Torah, "The Children of Israel journeyed... 600,000 adult males on foot, besides the children." (Exodus 12:37)

Since the verse only includes the number of men who were 20 years of age and over, we can extrapolate the total population by including the women and children as well.

According to Rabbi Yonasan ben Uziel (circa 1st century CE, author of an Aramaic translation of the Five Books of Moses), there were 3 million Jews in total who witnessed the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. (see Targum Yonasan – Exodus 12:37) It is probable that a comparable number of Jews left Egypt.

By the way, the Talmud says that 80 percent of the Jews never even left Egypt. They were so steeped in Egyptian culture that they were unwilling to join the Exodus. As such, they were lost to the Jewish nation forever.

Best of luck in your Torah studies – and teaching!

Watch: Thousands Write Thank You Postcards to IDF Wounded Veterans

During the past week, thousands of people throughout the country marched and participated in moving ceremonies and educational events marking the National Day of Recognition of Israel's wounded veterans and victims of terror attacks, which is officially commemorated on November 25th.

Around the world, thousands of kids chose to show their love and support by writing thank you postcards to Tzahal wounded veterans – turning this wonderful initiative into a truly world-wide effort.

The great solidarity showed by the public gives us the strength to continue this important mission, whose sole objective is to express our gratitude, embrace and render tribute to Zahal disabled veterans for their sacrifice for keeping us and the land of Israel safe.

The Israeli government declared by Law the National Day of Recognition of Israel's Wounded Veterans and Victims of Terror Attacks, in honor of those who paid the heavy price in defense of the State of Israel and its citizens.

This special day gives us the opportunity to connect with the wounded veterans and learn about the difficult events and injuries they suffered, their personal story of bravery, and about their daily struggles with the physical and emotional wounds. Above all, the encounter with the wounded heroes is a vivid reminder that we are here thanks to them. 

Shirel, a 9th grader from Herzliya, movingly said: "This day was enormously important for me; it helped me realize that enjoying a safe life should not be taken for granted. It taught me that many people had to experience very difficult moments so that we can feel protected and live safely."

Haim Bar, ZDVO Chairman, affirmed: "This event is a great source of pride for the State of Israel. We are here to show our appreciation and pay tribute to those who fought to defend our country and protect our people, highlighting the values of brotherhood, camaraderie and mutual help. Today, we are here to give them what they deserve – our gratitude and respect."

Please sign this page to support Israel's wounded veterans and victims of terror attacks http://bit.ly/2Kv1uz1 

  RBP

   The  lady confidently walked around the room with a raised glass of water  while leading a seminar and explaining stress management to her audience.

 Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'Half empty or half full?

' She fooled them all.

"How heavy is this glass of water?" she inquired with a smile.   Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. To 20 oz.  She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it.    

If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.   If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."  She continued: and that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on.

 As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced.   So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night. Pick them up again tomorrow if you must. 

 1. Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue! 

 2. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

  3. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. 

4. Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

  5. If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. 

 6. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it. 

7. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. 

 8. Never buy a car you can't push.  

9. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

 10. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

 11. Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late. 

 12. The second mouse gets the cheese.

 13. When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. 

 14. Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.  

15. Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once. 

 16. We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

  17. A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

 18. Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today. 

  AND MOST IMPORTANTLY  Save the earth..... It's the only planet with beer and fine wine!  

Efendi Hotel and views in Acre

I learned from the Jerusalem Post about this 12 room boutique hotel in the Center of the old city of Acre. We were walking in the rain and I discovered it. They advetise that they treat you like an Efendi (an Arab Prince) and they do. Beautiful rooms and lobbies that make you feel like a Prince or Princess. Not Kosher, but they don't have any food anyway

Also on the trip to the North on Chanukah 2018 (December 5, 2018)

Archaeology and the Exodus

I am in touch with someone who is interested in Judaism, but wants to understand its validity from a historic and archeological perspective. He is very bright, a Ph.D. in mathematics.

He made me a challenge that he would take Judaism seriously if I could prove that historically the Exodus story is true. He says that based on historians and archeologists, there is no evidence of a Jewish people enslaved in Egypt under the pharaohs. He claims that scholars state that Egyptian record keeping and other artifacts (or lack thereof) prove this.

My friend is looking for hard scholarly evidence, as opposed to what he calls "some white-bearded rabbi who is quoting from the Jewish texts." What documentation can you provide?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

 

Since my beard is not white, I suppose I qualify to answer.

In 2001, a storm of debate erupted in the Jewish world, following the assertion by Rabbi David Wolpe of Los Angeles that "the way the Bible describes the Exodus is not the way it happened, if it happened at all." Wolpe made his declaration before 2,000 worshippers at the Conservative Sinai Temple, and the speech was reported on the front page of the Los Angeles Times. The article, entitled "Doubting the Story of Exodus," asserts that archaeology disproves the validity of the biblical account.

While people don't usually get worked up about archaeology, the debate about archaeology and the Bible is often passionate and vitriolic.

Biblical Archaeology is often divided into two camps: The "minimalists" tend to downplay the historical accuracy of the Bible, while the "maximalists," who are in the majority and are by and large not religious, tend to suggest that archaeological evidence supports the basic historicity of the Bible text.

As a science, we must understand what archaeology is and what it isn't.

Archaeology consists of two components: the excavation of ancient artifacts, and the interpretation of those artifacts. While the excavation component is more of a mechanical skill, the interpretive component is very subjective. Presented with the same artifact, two world-class archaeologists will often come to different conclusions – particularly when ego, politics and religious beliefs enter the equation.

In the subjective field of Biblical Archaeology, anyone making a definitive statement like "archaeology has proven..." has probably chosen to take sides and is not presenting the whole picture. When the Los Angeles Times writes that "the rabbi was merely telling his flock what scholars have known for more than a decade," it is revealing an anti-biblical bias.

Admittedly, however, there is a shortage of Egyptian documentation of the Exodus period. Why?

We need to understand how the ancient world viewed the whole idea of recorded history. The vast majority of inscriptions found in the ancient world have a specific agenda – to glorify the deeds of the king and to show his full military power.

The British Museum in London displays inscriptions from the walls of the palace of the Assyrian Emperor, Sancheriv. These show scenes from Sancheriv's military campaigns from the 8th century BCE, including graphic depictions of destroyed enemies (decapitations, impalings, etc.). Sancheriv himself is depicted as larger than life.

But one element is missing from these inscriptions: There are no dead Assyrians! That is consistent with the ancient "historical" style – negative events, failures and flaws are not depicted at all. When a nation suffers an embarrassing defeat, they usually whitewash the mistakes and destroy the evidence.

The earliest known "objective historian," in our modern definition of the term, was the Greek writer Herodotus. He is generally considered the "father of historians" for his attempt to compile a dispassionate historical record of the war between the Greeks and Persians – 800 years after the Exodus (dated 13th century BCE).

This does not mean that early civilizations did not record events. It's just that their purpose was more propaganda than creating any kind of objective historical record.

This idea has significant ramifications for archeology and the Exodus. The last thing the ancient Egyptians wanted to record is the embarrassment of being completely destroyed by the God of a puny slave nation. Would the Egyptians ever want to preserve details of the destruction of fields, flocks, and first borns – plus the death of Pharaoh and the entire Egyptian army at the Red Sea?

In other words, we wouldn't expect to find prominent attention to Moses' humiliation of Pharaoh – even if it certainly occurred.

In one major event, the battle of Kadesh on the Orantes River between the Hitites and the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, both sides record it as a major victory, and is depicted as such.

Interestingly, the Torah is unique among all ancient national literature in that it portrays its people in both victory and defeat. The Jews – and sometimes their leaders – are shown as rebels, complainers, idol-builders, and yes, descended from slaves. This objective portrayal lends the Torah great credibility. As the writer Israel Zangwill said: "The Bible is an anti-Semitic book. Israel is the villain, not the hero, of his own story. Alone among the epics, it is out for truth, not heroics."

Another factor here is that the archeological process is tedious and expensive. To date, only a tiny fraction of archeological sites related to the Bible have been excavated.

This thin archeological record means that conclusions are based on speculation and projection. Archeology can only prove the existence of artifacts unearthed, not disprove that which hasn't been found. Lack of evidence... is no evidence of lack.

Yet that has not stopped some archeologists from making bold assertions. In the 1950s, world-renowned archeologist Kathleen Kenyon dug in one small section of Jericho, looking for remnants of habitation at the time of Joshua's conquest of the land in 1272 BCE. She found no evidence, and concluded on that basis that the Bible was false.

The problem is that Kenyon dug only one small section of Jericho, basing her conclusion on that limited information. Today, though the controversy lingers, many archeologists claim there is indeed clear evidence of habitation in Jericho from the time of Joshua.

Archeology is a new science, and the record is far from complete. We have only begun to scratch the surface.

The Los Angeles Times makes another mistake in reading the biblical text without the accompanying Talmudic explanation. For example, in trying to demonstrate Biblical inconsistency, the Times writes: "One passage in Exodus says that the bodies of the Pharaoh's charioteers were found on the shore, while the next verse says they sank to the bottom of the sea." The Times unfortunately did not consult the preeminent Bible commentary, Rashi, who explains that after the Egyptians drowned, the sea threw them onto the shore, so that the Jewish people could be relieved at the knowledge that their enemies would no longer be in pursuit. (Exodus 14:30)

The credibility of the Times' article is further eroded by its quoting another Los Angeles rabbi who mistakenly asserts that it does not matter "whether we [Jews] built the pyramids." As it says clearly in Exodus 1:11 (and in the Passover Haggadah), the Jews "built the store-cities of Pitom and Ramses." Jews never built any pyramids, which were built in 2500 BCE – about 1200 years before the Exodus.

The Los Angeles Times asserts: "[M]ost congregants, along with secular Jews and several rabbis interviewed, said that whether the Exodus is historically true or not is almost beside the point."

We would disagree. The truth of the text is precisely the point. By attacking the veracity of the Exodus, and reducing it to mere fable, this knocks out the most basic Jewish principal of the past 3,300 years. Belief in God is predicated on the Exodus experience: "I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery" (Exodus 20:2).

The Jewish people have survived for thousands of years, against all odds, because we knew clearly the truth of Torah. When Jews in the Crusades chose to be burned at the stake rather than convert, they were not subscribing to some weak fable. To suggest otherwise is an insult to the millions of Jews who have died for our beliefs.

Whether layperson or rabbi, for those who reject the truth of Torah and the obligatory nature of commandments, rejecting the Torah's historical accounts follows suit.

For over 3,000 years, the Jewish people have faithfully transmitted the Exodus story, unique in the annals of world history. From parent to child, and teacher to student, it is an unbroken chain of transmission. Is it true?

To explore this topic, I recommend attending a Discovery Seminar, which presents an excellent overview of the gamut of Jewish history, philosophy, and literature. For a current schedule, go to: http://www.aish.com/dis/

See you Tomorrow

Love Yehuda Lave

Rabbi Yehuda Lave

2850 Womble Road, Suite 100-619, San Diego
United States

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