Lazer Beams

Through the Eyes of a Deer

There's much to learn from this noble animal that survives and thrives by focusing on its good points, natural talents and aptitudes. Let's view life through its eyes...

Emuna News Analysis: Israel in Check

Hashem is moving nations and current events like pieces on a chess board, and Israel is in check.

Israel cannot attack Iran, for it would trigger World War III. But if it doesn't make a preemptive strike, in a matter of weeks, it will be looking down the barrel of an atomic weapon aimed at it from the vicinity of Tehran.

Russia is pouring weapons into Syria. Israel fears that some of these advanced, game-changing surface to air missiles will reach the hands of Hizbulla in Lebanon, and threatens to continue to make more preemptive strikes to prevent such an occurrence. Assad threatens that Israel's next aggressive act will be answered by a barrage of missiles on Tel Aviv. 

Bibi failed to halt the latest weapons sales from Russia to Syria. Not only that, but Russia has made it clear that an attack on Syria will be considered an attack on Russia. So now, Israel is held in check, especially with five Russian warships already cruising in the Mediterranean off the coast of Lebanon. As with Iran, Israel cannot perform a preemptive strike on Syria; it cannot allow Russian/Iranian/Syrian missiles to reach Hizbulla in Lebanon either. Again, Israel is held in check...

The tension here is high. All day long, we here the sporadic roar of F16s overhead.

As we predicted weeks before, Assad is regaining strength with the help of Iran and Hizbulla. A fierce battle is raging in Syria's Qusair province, but the Assad-loyal troops are gaining ground.

Choosing between an Assad-Shiite victory in Syria and between a Jihad-Sunni victory is like choosing between a poisonous snake and a deadly scorpion. Neither scenario is to Israel's liking.

To make matters worse, domestic violence is rampant. Five were killed in a Beer Sheva bank robbery yesterday. A soldier was killed on maneuvers. Two little girls were found dead in a forest.

What on earth is happening?

The Melitzer Rebbe shlit'a told me today that the Torah is the tree of life, so when one attacks the world of Torah, it threatens the tree of life.

The Israeli Government just doesn't get it. The only way out of "check" is to stop the evil decrees, the incessant discrimination and the venomous propaganda against the world of Torah and those here who devote their lives to Torah. If not, any person with the slightest measure of spiritual awareness shudders to think of the consequences.

We must all pray for our country, particularly that Hashem opens up our leaders' clogged hearts to the light of teshuva and emuna, amen!

This Week's Live Broadcast - No Crystal Ball

With Hashem's loving grace, our weekly emuna lesson and live broadcast will take place as usual this Wednesday evening at 7:15 PM local time, at our Chut Shel Chessed Yeshiva, 13 Shmuel Hanavi Street, Jerusalem, in the main sanctuary. Everyone is welcome, both men and women. 

This week's lesson and live broadcast is entitled "No Crystal Ball" and it will help us understand how badly and mistakenly many of us judge other people...

Father in Heaven

Just a little thank You, Father in Heaven, for Your magnificent world and all You do for me...

A Worthy Vessel

Our desire - the will, efforts, and yearning to seek Hashem - is a prime vessel for the Divine illumination of emuna just as a crystal goblet is for a fine wine. We wouldn't want to pour a thirty year-old Chateau de Rothschild Cabernet wine in a broken or dirty glass, for the wine would either spill on the floor or become ruined. A fine wine necessitates a whole and immaculately clean goblet. By the same token, without proper vessels, a person can't receive Divine illumination. Hashem doesn't want to spill His "fine wine" on the floor – we must be able to contain it. 

The Master Nurseryman

Did you ever wonder why a greenhouse is also called a nursery, and the horticulturalist (also known as greenhouseman or plant farmer) is also referred to as a nurseryman?

Any plant farmer with a soul knows that his plants have souls. He cares for each plant like a baby, no matter how big his greenhouse is or how many plants he has. The same goes for a tree farmer with a soul; no matter how big his orchard is, he treats each tree as an individual, which in spirituality, it truly is.

In the photo above, taken from a greenhouse in the Samarian Hills, you see a classic example of drip irrigation. An individual hose and dripper reaches every plant, feeding it water and liquid nutrients just like a baby. The plants in the greenhouse are just like babies in a nursery. That's why the plant farmer is called a nurseryman, watering and feeding each one of his green "babies."

Don't worry about where your next meal will come from. Hashem is a much more loving Nurseryman than the best of tree farmers. He has His own method of drip irrigation to give us exactly what we need when we need it.

Overwatering and excess nutrients can kill a plant; Hashem knows also that excesses are not good for us, so we should always be happy with what we have. The Master Nurseryman knows what's best for each of us.

A Glimpse at a Chassidic Bar Mitzva

In Chassidic Israel, a Bar Mitzva is very simple. We don't make tremendous receptions in lavish halls. The Bar Mitzva boy puts on his new tefillin in the morning and gets called up to the Torah (if it's a Monday or Thursday). In the evening, we have a festive meal with family and friends, and sometimes a musician, and the Bar Mitzva boy gives a speech, usually a Talmudic elaboration with an important ethics message. The budget is very low but the joy is very high. Here's a clip from the Bar Mitzva of my grandson Yaacov Yosef, the son of my first-born, Rabbi BenTzion Brody of Jerusalem. Enjoy it and have a wonderful Shabbat!