Egged

Welcome to the seventies

Since we're now in the seventies, (5770), can I wear bell bottoms?

Obesessed

I have embedded the 3rd Jihad onto my site. I haven't watched it yet - I have better things to do in Ellul, but I can't help but wander if it wouldn't be better to worry about what we are getting up to rather than the members of a different religion. Do we take Yomim HaNoraim seriously? Do we learn properly? Do we mean what we daven?
Enjoy

EXCLUSIVE! - Michael Jackson Assassinated by the Eda Charedis!

I was having a conversation with somebody who claims to be involved in the Eda HaCharedit this week, he dropped this bombshell into the course of conversation:

“Michael Jackson was a member of the Jew-hating Nation of Islam. He wanted to destroy Klal Yisroel. He managed to work himself into the confidence of the Jerusalem municipality through his reputation and fortune and was prepared to support and encourage the opening of further carparks on Shabbat. This was the support that the municipality needed to get the edge over us, the fight would have been over, he had to go. Some of our contacts in up state New York managed his removal from the equation.”

I was absolutely shocked at this comment. One of the worlds best loved entertainers has lost his life in the battle for Shabbos!

9th Av and Sefiras HaOmer

Tisha b'Av, (and the three weeks as a whole), share many dinim in common with Sefiras HaOmer.
Tisha B'Av mourns the destruction of the Beis HaMikdosh, the dwelling place for the Shechinah. Miracles were performed there daily as part of the functioning of the sacrificial service. Tisha B'Av mourns the destruction of that place where Shamayim came down to this physical world. This could be analoguos to Torah Sh'Bksav, written Torah, which was transmitted from Hashem through Nevua without human analysis and extrapolation.
In the previous post, the Chassam Sofer said that the laws of mourning on 9th Av are there to prevent one from removing their thoughts from the churban, however anybody who is truly connected to Hashem, is anyway in mourning at the catastrophy of the assault on Hashem's Presence here and Written Torah. Perhaps the same could be said of Sefiras HaOmer, such a person will automatically be sensitised to the devestation of Torah Sh'Bal Peh, Oral Torah that occurred throught the plague which wiped out Rabbi Akiva's students, who were engaged in interpereting the Torah and ruling practical Halocho.
Thus the similarity in dinim relects a similarity in what we are mourning, assault on Written Torah in Av and an assault of Oral Torah in Sefirah.

THe Week of 9th Av

During the days of mourning, (the week in which 9th Av falls), anyone whose heart is completely faithful to Hashem his Lord feels the spiritual sensation through which the mourners of Tzion Shel Maalah, (the spiritual Jerusalem), arouse themselves to crying and lamenting, …. etc. and automatically every person of Yisroel will mourn and be saddened in his heart, therefore, there was no requirement to command mourning, rather to forbid laudering and hair cutting which bring somebody to remove his mind from mourning………..

Chassam Sofer - drashos

Mourning the Churban

We don’t understand in our great iniquity, the greatness of cleaving to Hashem and the greatness of the in gathering of the dispersed of Yisroel and thus our awaiting of the Geula (redemption), is merely due to our desire to satiate our thirst and eat its fruits and top be satisfied from its goodness and to exempt ourselves from the yoke of exile. And how can it be that we aren’t embarrassed by our crying and lamenting over our lack of sustenance, for we should cry out, “Where is our Lord”! We have forgotten how bad and how bitter it is that we have been exiled from the table of our Father in Shamayim, (“Heaven”), may his name be blessed. We have forgotten His Torah and the desecration of His Great Name and our wailing day and night is merely over our lack of sustenance. No one considers to mourn over the exile and due to this the Shechinah, (Hashem’s presence), gourds itself in sackcloth and wails and cries over it’s children, that they don’t wail.

Chassam Sofer - Drashos