Hashomer Ministries

So said Hillel the Elder: ‘That Which Is Hateful to You, Do Not Do to Your Fellow! That is the Whole Torah; The Rest is Interpretation’

Sadly, in today’s debate, we are not seeing a defense of the goals laid out for the UN, but rather an indifference to Hamas’s charter, which, like the N***s, is committed to the genocide of the Jewish People. We see an attempt to create a false moral equivalence, an immoral equivalence, between Israel, a democracy that seeks peace and abides by international law, and a murderous terrorist organization with an ideology similar to ISIS, that is carrying out the double war crime of firing at Israeli civilians while hiding its weapons behind Palestinian civilians, using them as human shields--Gilad Erdan, Israel’s UN and US ambassador.

While it may be true that 'He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep' ; it is each of our responsibilities to stand with Israel during her time of crisis. No peace, no shabbat shalom. ☹

BRIEF REPORT ON WAR (from Carolyn)

ALL IS WELL WITH ME. OUR DAYS AND NIGHTS CHANGED MONDAY MAY 10 AT 6 PM. WE ISRAEL WAS ORDERED TO CLEAR ALL POLICE AND SOLDIERS OFF TEMPLE MOUNT - RAMADAN AND COUSINS WERE RESTLESS AND AGGRESSIVE AS USUAL BUT MORE SO DUE TO RAMADAN.

FIREWORKS HAD BEEN SET OF BY THEM AND A PINE TREE CAUGHT FIRE. OF COURSE THE WORD WENT OUT THAT ISRAEL HAD TRIED TO BURN THE MOSQUE AND THEN THE FUN BEGAN.

ROCKETS FROM GAZA INTO ISRAEL. AT 9 PM HAMAS ANNOUNCED MORE ROCKETS AND BOOM. JUST KNOW THAT BY THE NEXT MORNING TUESDAY OVER 345 FIRED AT ISRAEL AND THAT INCLUDED ASHKELON. SO MANY SINCE THEN THAT KEEPING THE FACTS STRAIGHT IS DIFFICULT.

IN THE AFTERNOON TUESDAY THEY FIRED 137 ROCKETS AT US IN FIVE MINUTES AND THEN DID ANOTHER BARRAGE. THE GOAL WAS TO FIRE MORE THAN THE IRON DOME COULD SHOOT OUT OF THE SKY. IT WORKED. I USUALLY STAND JUST OUTSIDE MY BEDROOM IN A BIT OF HALL AWAY FROM ALL WINDOWS. JOHN RUNS TO THE WINDOW THAT FACES SOUTH TOWARDS GAZA AND FILMS THE ACTION. I JUST REMIND GOD OF PSALM 91 AND PROMISE OF PROTECTION. NO TIME TO QUOTE IT AND IF I HAD TO QUOTE IT THEN HOW COULD HE HELP IF HE DID NOT REMEMBER IT!!!

I HAD JUST RECENTLY WATCHED LIVE CLIPS OF THE BLITZ IN LONDON DURING WW II WHERE OLD PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN LITTLE KIDS SHARED THEIR MEMORIES. I KEPT REMINDING MYSELF THAT WHAT WE HAD WAS NOT AS BAD AS THE BLITZ.

THEN A ROCKET SLAMMED INTO THE ROOF OF AN APT JUST NEXT DOOR. MY TUMMY WENT ALL FUNNY THEN AND I HAD TO TAKE SOMETHING MILD FOR MY NERVES. LIKE TO RIDE THINGS OUT AND HAVE NOT REALLY NEEDED ANYTHING SINCE BEING HERE IN ISRAEL. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY THE STREET FILLED WITH FIRST RESPONDERS AND A FIRE ENGINE AND STREET TAPED OFF. I AM LEANING OUT MY WINDOW TAKING PHOTOS. WHEN MORE ROCKETS WENT OFF I WENT BACK TO MY SAFE PLACE BUT THEY HAD NO PLACE TO RUN. FORTUNATELY NO ONE WAS HURT AND THEY ALL LEFT. WE HAVE A WALL AROUND OUR FLAT ROOFS SO ONE DOES NOT FALL OFF AND THAT WAS HIT. DON'T KNOW IF DAMAGE WENT INTO THE APT BELOW. RUBBLE BLOWN ONTO THE GROUND. WILL GO TAKE A LOOK WHEN THINGS CALM DOWN.

TUESDAY EVENING HAMAS DIRECTED THEIR GUNS ON TEL AVIV AND ASHDOD AND CAUSED MAJOR DAMAGE TO AREAS THAT HAD NEVER EXPEREINCED ROCKET FIRE. I HAVE MY PHONE ON BUZZ IF ROCKETS FIRED AND IT NEVER STOPPED BUZZING. MAYBE THIS WAS WHEN THE FIRE HAPPENED ON TEMPLE MOUNT CAUSE ARABS WENT WILD AND STARTED TO HURT JEWS ALL OVER ISRAEL.

WARNINGS WENT OUT BY OUR SIDE FOR ALL JEWS TO GUARD AGAINST CAR JACKINGS OR STABBINGS, ETC. (GET YOUR EYES OFF YOUR CELL PHONES AND BE SUPER ALERT) IMPOSSIBLE TO SLEEP CAUSE JUST FOR GIGGLES ROCKETS WOULD COME OUT WAY THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. FINALLY JUST SAT AND WATCHED TV NEWS REPORTS. GOT MORE TIRED GETTING UP AND DOWN FROM BED TO HALL TO BED TO HALL. AS I TYPE THIS BARRAGES ARE BEING FIRED AND COULD FEEL THE CONCUSSION BUT NO SIRENS SO MAYBE US HITTING GAZA AT 4.40 PM WED.

FINALLY THINGS GOT QUIET AND I WENT TO BED LAST NIGHT I THINK AT 5 AM AND GOT GOOD REST AND UP AT 8.30 AM THIS MORNING FEELING RESTED. NOT MUCH SLEEP MONDAY NIGHT AND QUICK NAP BEFORE TUESDAY FELL APART.

BERESHEVA GETTING POUNDED FOR TWO DAYS AND HOMES ALL ALONG THE GAZA BORDER. A LOT OF THE ROCKETS ARE HOME MADE AND MALFUNCTION, FALLING BACK INTO GAZA AND KILLING THEIR OWN PEOPLE. OF COURSE THE BODIES ARE PARADED AND DECLARED ISRAEL KILLS AND THE ENTIRE ARAB WORLD FALLS APART OVER THE LIES. IN WAR OF 2014 THEY WERE KNOWN TO USE THE SAME BODIES OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

AS I TRY TO PUT THE EVENTS IN SOME SORT OF AN ORDER I SHALL KEEP THIS REPORT FOR MYSELF. THE NEW FUN THING TO DO IS FIRE ROCKETS UP THE COAST FROM GAZA TO TEL AVIV AND HITTING TOWNS ALL ALONG THE COAST.

SO FAR IT HAS BEEN JUST THE ODD ROCKET AND SIREN TODAY. DID GET WARNING FROM HAMAS IN EARLY AFTERNOON THAT THEY WERE GOING TO FIRE FIFTY ROCKETS IN FIVE MINUTES AND THEN ANOTHER FIFTY AT ASHKELON. HEARD BOOMS BUT NOT LIKE YESTERDAY AND OUR SIRENS WERE QUIET. I WAS HANGING CLOTHES AND JOHN GAVE ME THE REPORT BUT FINISHED QUICKLY.

FOR FIRST TIME FUZZYBUTT HAS BEEN BOTHERED BY THE NOISE. SHE VANISHES IN APT AND THEN JOHN HAS TO HUNT HER. SHE IS 13 AND GOT SO SHE COULD NOT P**P, EAT OR DRINK. HAD MAJOR SURGERY SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. SEEMS SHE HAD A HERNIA IN DIAPHRAM AND HER INTESTINES MOVED UP INTO LUNG AREA SO TROUBLE BREATHING AS WELL.

ALL HER PARTS BACK TOGETHER AGAIN BUT SHE STILL GETS CONSTIPATED ABOUT EVERY 2 WEEKS AND GOES TO VET FOR E***A. HAS SPECIAL FOODS AND IS HER NORMAL SELF TIL SHE GETS BACKED UP AGAIN. SHE HAS BEEN WITH JOHN THROUGH EVERY SURGERY AND HE WANTS TO STAND BY HER AS LONG AS SHE MAINTAINS QUALITY OF LIFE.

JOHN WILL REPORT ON HEBREW NEWS AND I WATCH ENGLISH NEWS. ONE FORMER MILITARY PERSON MADE THIS VERY INTERESTING COMMENT

""THE STATE OF GAZA ATTACKED THE STATE OF ISRAEL. THE GAZA GOVERNMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS. THE STATE OF GAZA NEEDS TO ELECT A NEW GOVERNMENT.""

HAMAS AND PLO BOTH WANT CONTROL. HAMAS DEFINITELY WON HUGE CREDIT WITH ARAB WORLD AND IS DOING WELL. ISRAEL IS DETERMINED TO COME OUT ON TOP AND MUST STOP HAMAS AND NOT STOP FIGHTING. HAMAS IS ALREADY WANTING CEASE FIRE WHILE AHEAD OF THE GAME. WITH ISRAEL.

ELECTIONS SCREWED UP THEY MUST MAKE A STAND THAT SHOWS THEY ARE IN CONTROL. AND EVERYONE WANTS THE SAME PIECE OF REAL ESTATE ALONE AND NOT SHARE ONE INCH OF IT!!!

SO IT IS AND SO IT SHALL BE UNTIL GOD FINALLY TAKES TOTAL CONTROL OVER HIS LAND AT A TIME DETERMINED BY HIM.

GAS PIPE HIT BY ROCKETS YESTERDAY IN ASHKELON BURNS BRIGHTLY. WE HAVE POUNDED GAZA SINCE LAST NIGHT AND STILL ACTIVELY DOING SO. REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHAT THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND NIGHTS WILL BRING.

WE HAVE BOTH BEEN OFFERED PLACES TO STAY OUTSIDE OF ASHKELON. BUT THE ROCKETS CAN GO EVERYWHERE WHICH HAMAS HAS BEEN KEEN TO DEMONSTRATE. HOWEVER ASHKELON IS OUR HOME AND ONE DOES NOT WANT HAMAS TO CONTROL OUR DESTINY WHICH IS BOUND UP WITH ISRAEL IN ASHKELON.

YOU HAVE CHRISTIAN ARABS WHO LIVE AND WORK IN ISRAEL. THEY ARE NOT PART OF THE TERROR EVEN THOUGH WHERE THEY LIVE IS OFTEN POORLY MAINTAINED BY ISRAEL. YOU HAVE MUSLIM ARABS WHO HATE ISRAEL. THEN THERE ARE THOSE WHO PROFIT FROM THE STRIFE.

END OF REPORT WRITTEN TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. FEEL FREE TO SHARE.

MUCH LOVE

RUTH IN ASHKELON

AFTER TOTAL LOCKDOWN FOR A YEAR, WE WERE JUST BEGINNING TO ENJOY UNHEARD OF FREEDOM AND NOW LOCKED DOWN AGAIN SINCE WE NEED TO STAY NEAR SHELTERS OR GO TO STAIRWELLS IN APTS. I CHOOSE TO STAY IN A LITTLE SAFE AREA INSIDE APT. ONLY 30 SECONDS TO GET TO SAFETY FROM SIREN TO EXPLOSION AND I DON'T MOVE SO FAST ANY MORE. SLEEPING WITH LIGHT ON. SIREN SCREAMS AND I GRAB GLASSES, PHONE, SHOES AND GO INTO HALL. OLDER APTS DONT HAVE SHELTERS. HOMES ALONG BORDER AND OTHER HOMES HAVE SAFE ROOM INSIDE. THEY ONLY HAVE 15 SECONDS TO GRAB KIDS AND RUN TO SHELTER OR JUST SLEEP IN SHELTER. I CAN HEAR PEOPLE OUTSIDE OUR APT ON THE STAIRS

Sadness in Meron at Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's grave.
He taught: "Anyone who helps a fellow Jew is considered as if he helped God himself."
May the Almighty empower each of us to aid our fellows in their time of need.

Relax for Shabbat.

Wishing you and your families a safe and joyous Rosh Hashanah.

After a long hiatus, perhaps a rebirth. Some changes here and there, and a rebranding is in order. It's almost time for -- The Bible : Redux.

Shabbat slalom

Shabbat Shalom

Each of our daily endeavors should try to achieve the fusion of the loftiest spiritual heights with the most mundane physicality. In other words, “the highest with the lowest”.
The concept is not only radical but powerful: It means I can be myself, living a “down to earth” existence, and yet fulfilling a transcendental goal. It means that there is nothing we are trying to escape —other than the notion that we must escape something. We don’t run away from this world to join a higher one, instead we work to fuse the two. We aren’t in the business of “making it to heaven”—we’re busy bringing heaven down to earth.

The home should be perceived as a microcosm of the universe:
The harmony that permeates the home and the family extends beyond, fostering harmony between families, communities and ultimately, the nations of the world. In the absence of harmony between one's own family, we can hardly expect to find harmony between strangers.

Darkness, no matter how ominous and intimidating, is not a thing or force: it is merely the absence of light.
So light need not combat and overpower darkness in order to displace it. Where light is, darkness is not. A thimbleful of light will therefore banish a roomful of darkness.
The same is true of good and evil: evil is not a thing or force, but merely the absence or concealment of good. One need not "defeat" the evil in the world; one need only bring to light its inherent goodness.

Faith in God is deeply engraved in the human heart and soul; all that is necessary is to bring it forth to the surface so that it permeates the daily life in all its aspects.
This means that one ought always to feel reassured and convinced that God will help overcome all difficulties in life, both material and spiritual, since "God is my light and my salvation" (Psalms 27:1). One must feel especially certain that they are able to carry out their intended purpose in life, and to do so with joy, with the assurance of God's light, help and fortitude to carry out this mission.

According to the Talmud, "Sleep is one sixtieth of death."
If sleep is a form of death, then it is also true that death is a form of sleep.
Sleep is not a termination or even an interruption of life. Rather, it is a time of growth and development, the means by which body and soul recoup their energies for a fresh and refreshed onslaught upon the coming day. So is death. Death is a "descent for the sake of ascent," a retraction of the arrow of life so that it can be impelled by the bow of vacuity with redoubled force.

The human being is a composite of body and soul. Consequently, all our affairs and activities likewise contain elements of both body and soul--the material and the spiritual. Each one of us is a microcosm of all Creation. The achievement of harmony between one's soul and one's material life, is the achievement of harmony between the heaven and earth.

There is a perpetual struggle between the spiritual and the material in man and in creation.
Within the human being, this conflict takes the form of a battle between the “animal soul” and the “Godly soul.” The animal soul is our physical self—the drive to be and exist, the instinct for self-preservation, self-fulfillment and self-enhancement. The Godly soul is the source of our spirituality—our drive for self-transcendence, our yearning to escape the confines of our material existence and connect to the infinite and the eternal. Life is the war between these two opposing drives: every act we do, every word we utter, even every thought we think, is an outcome of this inner struggle, representing the victory of one of the two selves vying to express itself and further its aims via the body and faculties which they share.

In essence, every mitzvah is as supra-rational as the law of the Red Heifer. It is only that the divine will is revealed to us in varying degrees of rational "garments".

Purim sameach.

The truly humble soul recognizes that its mission in life lies in the pragmatic aspect of Torah, both in studying it for himself and explaining it to others; and in doing acts of material kindness by lending an empathizing mind and counsel from afar regarding household concerns, though the majority, if not all, of these concerns are things of falsehood. For the loftiest beginnings are rooted in the end.

Before a king enters the city, the people of the city go out to greet him in the field. There, everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him; he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all. And when he goes to the city, they follow him there. Later, however, after he enters his royal palace, none can enter into his presence except by appointment, and only special people and select individuals. So, too, by analogy, the month of Elul (which precedes God's "coronation" as King on Rosh Hashanah) is when we meet God in the field.

Rabbi Schneur Zalman's disciples would say: Our Rebbe revives the dead. What is a co**se? Something cold and unfeeling. Life is movement, warmth, excitement. Is there anything as frozen in self-absorption, as cold and unfeeling as the mind? And when the cold-blooded mind understands, comprehends, and is excited by a Godly idea - is this not a revival of the dead?

The life of a tzaddik is not a life of the flesh, but a spiritual life consisting wholly of faith, awe, and love of God.

"One who is satisfied with his lot" (Ethics of the Fathers 4:1) describes a tremendous virtue in material matters, and a tremendous failing in all that pertains to one's spiritual attainments.

The era of Moshiach is the fulfillment and culmination of the creation of the world, for which purpose it was originally created. Something of this revelation has been experienced once before on earth, at the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai when "To you it has been shown, to know that the Lord is God; there is none else beside Him" (Deuteronomy 4:35). Godliness was then perceived with physical vision.... Subsquently, however, sin coarsened both them and the world - until the era of Moshiach, when the physicality of the body and the world will be refined, and we will be able to apprehend the revealed Divine light which will shine forth to Israel by means of the Torah.... "The glory of God will be revealed; and all flesh will see that the mouth of God has spoken" (Isaiah 40:5)... This all depends on our deeds and labor throughout the duration of the exile... When a person does a mitzvah, he draws down a flow of Divine light into the world, to be suffused and integrated into the material reality...

"Forever, O God, Your word stands firm in the heavens" (Psalms 119:89). This means: Your word which you uttered, "Let there be a firmament..." (Genesis 1:6), these very words and letters stand firmly forever within the firmament of heaven and are forever clothed within the heavens to give them life and existence... And so it is with all created things, down to the most corporeal and inanimate of substances. If the letters of the "ten utterances" by which the world was created during the six days of creation were to depart from it for but an instant, God forbid, it would revert to absolute nothingness.

When one's body is viewed with scorn and contempt, and one's joy is in the soul alone, this constitutes a direct and simple way to fulfill the commandment "Love your fellow as yourself" toward every person, great or small... For the source of their souls is in the One God, and they are divided only by virtue of their bodies. Therefore, those who give priority to their body over their soul, find it impossible to share true love and brotherhood except that which is conditional on some benefit. This is what Hillel the Elder meant when he said about this commandment [the love of Israel]: "This is the whole Torah; and the rest is commentary." For the foundation and source of all Torah is to elevate and give ascendancy to the soul over the body ...

If the human eye were allowed to see the spiritual vitality flowing from the utterance of God's mouth into every creation, we would not see the materiality, grossness and tangibility of the creation, for it would be utterly nullified in relation to this divine life-force.

The body is likened to a small city: like two kings who wage war over a city, each desiring to capture it and rule over it, that is, to govern its inhabitants according to his will so that they obey him in all that he decrees for them, so do the two souls - the Godly [soul] and the animal [soul] - wage war against each other over the body and all its organs and limbs. The desire and will of the Godly soul is that it alone should rule over the person and direct him, and that all his limbs should obey it and surrender themselves completely to it and become a vehicle for it, and serve as a vehicle for its ten faculties [of intellect and emotion] and three "garments" [thought, speech and action]... and the entire body should be permeated with them alone, to the exclusion of any alien influence, God forbid... While the animal soul desires the very opposite...