I would like to clear up any confusion about my being a rabbi or not. I am not a rabbi. Whenever people are misled by my beard and call me “Rabbi,” I immediately correct them, by saying that I am not a rabbi.

Not everyone with a beard is a rabbi

True, I have been studying Torah for the last 30 years, but I am not a rabbi. I have written, and co-written, and ghostwritten a number of books on Jewish Studies, but I am not a rabbi. I have written scores and scores of articles and thousands of pages on Judaism, read by hundreds of thousands of Jews all over the world, but I am not a rabbi. I have learned with and counseled numerous initiates to Judaism, but I am not a rabbi. I have dedicated thousands of hours to Jewish Education, but I am not a rabbi.

I suppose I could study for and pass the test that would grant me the certified status of a rabbi, but I have never liked tests, not in high school nor college, so I have never made an effort in that direction. I don’t need the title of rabbi to make a living, so why should I become a rabbi?

Additionally, the holy Torah giant, the Ohr HaChaim, writes that, in the time to come, the rabbis will be brought to judgment for not encouraging the Jews to abandon the exile and go to rebuild the nation of Israel in Eretz Yisrael at the time of the awakening of the Redemption (Parshat “Behar,” end of Ch. 25).

Accordingly, I am afraid that perhaps I don’t do everything that I should do to encourage Jews to come on aliyah, so it’s better not being a rabbi, since they hold the brunt of the responsibility.

Also, regarding “Shmirat HaBrit,” the holy Zohar teaches that it is the rabbis who will be held to account for not warning the people about the necessity of guarding the sanctity of their sexual lives, as it states:

“The leaders of the nation who know this, and yet do not actively protest, are the first to be punished… The leaders of the people are deemed responsible in every generation for transgressions to the sexual covenant, if they know of such, yet are not zealous in stamping it out. For they are required to be zealous in G-d’s behalf against this transgression, for this is the Covenant” (Zohar, Shemot, 3B).

So, in case I haven’t done my part in teaching my fellow Jews about the importance of safeguarding the Brit, I’d rather not be a rabbi.

I hope this is clear.

May the Almighty grace all of our Torah leaders with courage and wisdom, and bless their efforts to inspire our People to lead holier lives – in Eretz Yisrael.   

and for those of you who like politics....

I WONDER WHO'S SIDE HUSSEIN OBAMA IS GOING TO TAKE?

Here's a photo of him bowing down to the King of Saudi Arabia. Later he claimed that it was just a spontaneous reaction, wanting to shine the King's shoes.

And here's a blog sent to me this morning by Yocheved Miriam Russo, http://bagelnosher.blogspot.com/, an accomplice in the trade:

Before Tzvi Fishman moved to Israel in 1984, he was a successful Hollywood screenwriter. He also wrote one of my favorite books, the delightful “Tuvia in the Promised Land” which takes up where “Fiddler on the Roof” left off.

Fishman now writes a blog on Israel National News called, “Hollywood to the Holy Land”.

Back on November 19, 2007, Reb Fishman asked an interesting question, “What will happen to Ehud Olmert?”

At that time, as you may or may not remember, Ehud Olmert was Prime Minister of Israel and was intent on punishing Jews who lived in Judea and Samaria, and was trying as hard as he could to give away parts of Israel to its most dedicated enemies.

In Fishman’s words, Olmert had “… ordered a stop to all settlement, and (was) scheming to divide Jerusalem and surrender all of the heartland of Biblical Israel to murderers, liars and thieves.”

“What will be with Ehud Olmert?” Fishman asked, and then set forth a concise chronicle of what had happened to former Israeli Prime Ministers who had tried to alienate Jews from their homeland.

 Menachem Begin, he noted, razed the Jewish settlement of Yamit and surrendered Sinai to the Egyptians. After that, Begin’s beloved wife passed away and he ended his days a broken man, in a deep and terrible depression.

 Yitzhak Rabin, Fishman noted, had given guns and chunks of the Holy Land to arch terrorist Yasser Arafat. Following that, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated.

 Ariel Sharon -- who to this day lies in PVS (permanent vegetative state) – had his brain destroyed after the disastrous “disengagement” in which he gave Aza to the Hamas terrorists and destroyed settlements in Samaria.

So back in November, 2007, as then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plotted to divide Jerusalem and turn over Judea and Samaria to our enemies, Fishman wondered: So what will happen to Ehud Olmert?

Well, now we know.

At this writing, Ehud Olmert is in a US hospital undergoing cancer surgery. Not only that, but his corrupt dealings during his political career have not been forgotten. Just the other day, his attorneys petitioned the court to have further hearings on just one of his nefarious schemes delayed while Olmert is hospitalized, but this time the court ruled no, the hearing could no longer be deferred.

Suffering from cancer and knowing that for the rest of his life, however long he lives, he will either be in prison for his misdeeds, or daily facing a cadre of lawyers as he struggles to stay out, Olmert has joined his predecessors. The chickens have come home to roost for Ehud Olmert, too.

Tsk, tsk.

So now I wonder: What will happen to the mighty Barack Obama, as he too tries to savage little Israel, and demands an end to settlements?

You’d think that by now, world leaders would be a little wary, wouldn’t you?

You’d think they could learn from history, even if they’ve never heard of Genesis 12:

“And those who bless you, I will bless; and those who curse you, I will curse—and blessing and goodness will come to all the families of the earth, through you."  

 *******

Food for thought. Maybe we should sign her up at Arutz 7?