Everything G-d does, He does for us.

I was in Hebron this last Shabbat and it was beautiful.  From the Cave of the Patriarchs to the Avraham Avinu (Abraham Our Father) Synagogue, the Shabbat was spiritual and uplifting.  After being pogrammed by the Arabs and exiled by the British, Jews have finally returned home to Hebron, one of our holiest and most historic cities.  With this and other events happening, one can see the stage for redemption being set by G-d.  History is speeding up to bring us to redemption.  We can either gather our things and board the train, or languish in our rooms and stick to our old routines.  One thing is for sure, times are changing at a rapid speed.  In one morning on Sept. 11, 2001, the world changed.  The world was in shock at the unprovoked attack. In another moment out of nowhere, the Bear, Russia, moved in on Georgia and the world is now being rocked with anticipation of a widening war. Like a magnet, Poland, the Czeck Republic, the Ukraine, the USA, Israel and other countries are being pulled into the conflict, a war that was not expected. 

It is said that WWI which also led to WWII,  started on Tisha B'Av, the Jewish holiday commemorating the destruction of the Holy Temple and other disasters for the Jewish People.  The Russian -Georgian war started on or around Tisha B'Av this year as well.  On Friday, the news proclaimed a 'conflict' between Russia and Georgia, by Sunday, the day of the Tisha B'Av fast, it was already being called a 'war'.  Is this now the beginning of WWIII?

I once read somewhere that in the end of days, it will be a time when everyone will have to choose sides.  There will be no more fence-sitting, no more cheering from the sidelines.  Either you will decide to ACTIVELY choose G-D and do your best to live by His Torah, or you will choose your ego, your desires, your comfrot zone.   This doesn't mean that those who choose G-d will all of a sudden be a tzadik, a rightous person.  It just means he will be desiring to be holy and do his/her best to do so. Life may be scary and not to our terms, but there is great reward for those who choose G-d's will rather than their own will. 

Everything G-d does, He does for us. 

(Make the time to watch this movie.  Make the time.)

If the movie doesn't play, you can watch it by clicking HERE.

If the video doesn't play, click HERE to watch on bigger screen.

Everything G-d does, He does for us.

And The Holy One says to Israel, "My children, don't be afraid.  Everything I have done, I have done only for you.  Why are you scared? Don't be afraid.  The time of redemption is here."  

Don't be afraid Mike. Don't be afraid SK.  The time for redemption is coming.  You must not wait and not demand first class seats on the train that will soon have passed your station.  The ride may be bumpy, but we are going towards G-d's destination for us.  A good place, a good time, a good age, a good future.  Don't miss the train because you may not like the conditions.  History is speeding up, and if you do not grab hold now, it may be too late. 

Thrown To The Dogs

VIDEO addition to this blog:

Below is footage of a Georgian news reporter who was shot LIVE on TV while giving her report. Tamara Urushadze from Georgia's state-owned news agency, was grazed by a bullet while reporting from a highway near Gori.  She was hit in her lower arm.  After a few moments, she continues her report while still bleeding.  Brave woman.

Russian Invasion Into Georgia.

I am just wondering, doesn't it seem a bit like deja vu with the Russian invasion of Georgia and the German invasion of Czechoslovakia?  It seems as if the Georgians are looking to the West for help, but, aside from nice words, are essentially being thrown to the dogs.

See this article:    Russia: 'Forget' Georgian Territorial Integrity
By Christopher Torchia, A P Writer

"GORI, Georgia - Russia's foreign minister declared Thursday that the world "can forget about" Georgia's territorial integrity, and officials said Russia targeted military infrastructure and equipment — including radars and patrol boats at a Black Sea naval base and oil hub.
Two American military planes delivered cargos of aid — including food and medicine — to Georgia's wounded and refugees. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he sees no need to invoke U.S. military force in the war between Russia and Georgia. He warned, however, that U.S.-Russian relations could suffer for "years to come" if Moscow doesn't retreat.  …"

So, is this the friendship and support the West decides to throw Georgia's way, to wag their fingers at Russia and say, relations COULD suffer for years to come if they swallow their southern neighbor?  'Could' ?  Gee, that should make the Russians shiver in their boots and make them run back to mommy.

With friends like those, I think Israel should re-think its relationship with its Western alliances.  Israel should retain our good relations, but not depend on them to come to our rescue or broker deals which promise peace, but deliver instead, bloodshed and loss of integral territory and our holy heritage.  We can't rely on the West like Czechoslovakia & Georgia, and we certainly can't rely on the Eastern block.  That leaves us to our own means, to gear ourselves up for a possible battle with those who wish to see our destruction, and, to lift our eyes towards heaven, and acknowledge G-d's omnipresence.  We are after all, a nation that dwells alone (Numbers 23: 9 "it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations."

Israel's leaders are following the tail of the dog in front of us which is chasing wealth and power.  We should be leading them, instead, towards light and righteousness.  We are after all, the first-born of the nations.   As it says in the Torah when God sends Moses to tell Pharaoh, the leader of the world at that time, in  Exodus 4:22 "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh: Thus saith the LORD: Israel is My son, My first-born."

Israel should not be another Czechoslovakia or another Georgia, thrown to the dogs.  We are G-d's first born, ...and we should act that way.

Dividing Jerusalem? Been There, Done That.

Been there, done that.

Recently, our leaders, with the guidance of the Bush administration, the International Community and their vision of a 'New Middle East' through the Road Map, have been bandying about with the bright new idea that a divided Jerusalem would bring peace and security to its Jewish inhabitants from Arab terror.  See PM Olmert's latest statement to the People of Israel:

Olmert: Undivided Jerusalem Means More Terrorism   Prime Minister Ehud Olmert maintained Monday that retaining Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel would lead to more terrorism. "Whoever thinks it is possible to live with 270,000 Arabs in Jerusalem must take into account that there will be more bulldozers, more tractors, and more cars carrying out attacks," he said. Three eastern Jerusalem Arabs carried out terrorist attacks in the capital this year; two of them used a bulldozer and a tractor.

The only problem is that it's been done before.  Jerusalem WAS divided back from 1949-1967, and there was no peace, no quiet, no security for the Jerusalem residents near its border.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Please view below these photos, which anyone can find on the internet, and see what Jerusalem looked like when she was cut in two with ugly barbed wire fences.  Take a look at the buildings in Jerusalem that were under constant sniper fire from the Arab side.  Imagine how it must have been to try to get from one part of the city to another when it was divided and no Israeli security was able to neutralize the Arab snipers.

Tall fence (far left) with barbed wire.  Jerusalem cordoned off by the British (before 1949). 

Moshe Dayan walks through the newly liberated part of the eastern section of Jerusalem, 1967.

Anti-Sniper Wall by the Notre Dame Monastery, Jerusalem, 1949 (photo: Marli Shamir)

The wall that once divided Jerusalem. Photo from Reuters.

(Above) Shot up and pock-holed Jewish building on the periphery of Jerusalem by Arabs from the other side of the border fence.

If we fell for this 'new' old idea of dividing the city and ceding land, would we once again see ourselves taking positions like these in Jerusalem? Will Jerusalem once again look like this?

The future, according to our prophets, promises a united Israel, peace, and the building of the Third Temple, which will be in the eastern part of the city.  The Road Map and any plans to re-divide Jerusalem is counter to that lofty goal.  Somehow, people today forget why those of us who were exiled have been brought back to Israel.  Re-dividing Jerusalem is a formula that will not work.  Mr Olmert, Mr Bush, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL you are building.

Fighters of the past who died to liberate and re-unite Jerusalem, thanks, but no thanks.  Bush & Olmert want to give it away to our enemies. - Oh, and you can cancel the holiday that celebrates the re-unification of the city called 'Jerusalem Day'.  It will be redundant.  How can we celebrate a liberation and re-unification when we have given it away? 

So, the next time you hear anyone speak about dividing Jerusalem, just tell them, 'Been there, done that, and it didn't work."