Batya Ayala Darmon

Pride of Lions

Western society is undergoing a profound upheaval. Long-held assumptions about identity, freedom, security, and human expression are being challenged and, in many cases, discarded. And yet, we hold the answers.

The Bibas brothers Hy"d

The ascension of the purest souls of Israel needed no red heifer

In the absence of the Temple, perhaps we can pray that the ascension of the purest souls of Israel, the Bibas babes, was a kapara for the sake of the nation. We do not know the ways of Hashem.

Likutei Maharan:

The poisonous eye

Israel must not stoop to the level of its evil foes, but the regret at eliminating a killer shark does not mean allowing it to survive and roam freely on a public beach, unchecked and free to pursue its bloodthirsty instincts.

We have already won

When the hostages were paraded before their release, clear faces to the sun, surrounded by an armed, masked, brutal, dark multitude, I thought “we have already won.” And the holy blood of 14-year-old shepherd Benjamin Achimeir Hy"d and others does not negate that victory.

When the Nations whisper

Today, we can see how Israel represents both tremendous power and military and moral might, as well as its antithesis, vulnerability and frailty.

The struggle with Ishmael: 'tselem elokim' or 'pere adam'

Ishmael was also created be-tselem Elokim (in the image of G-d), but skewed this through the acts of a pere adam who destroys G-d’s precious creations while proclaiming to be His messenger, violating natural laws of ethics, love and compassion.

Ruach Se'Arah (Storm Wind) in the thought of Rebbe Nachman

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, quoting Prophets and Psalms as well as the Zohar, explains that the wicked channel their life force from mighty, impure forces that expand outwards for a brief time, following which they are left spent and destroyed.

Makhtub (Arabic)- divinely ordained

The Prophet Amos describes the punishment of Gaza for its sins. May we be privileged to see the fire that devours Gaza.

"A fountain will flow from the house of God."

The brutal attack of Israel by Hamas has had the effect of shifting our level of consciousness, so that we can now see and understand things that always existed but were not revealed to us.

Know thy enemy

Hamas ' acts and those of the Gazans who came in their wake and cheered them on are a violation of the very foundation of the essence of what it means to be a human being. In fact, they are the essence of Amalek.