Lazer Brody's Blog, page 322

War in the South - Injuries in Ashdod

My beloved city of Ashdod has been under siege this morning.

The first Red Alert siren was at 5:45 AM - we could here two muffled explosions from about a mile outside of town in an open area.

The second Red Alert was at 7:45 AM; I was praying Shacharit with the Melitzer Rebbe's minyan. Again, we heard another muffled explosion from about a mile outside of town, once more in an open area.

The third Red Alert was at 8:14 AM; this time we heard two strong explosions and a third which made the floor shudder. This was a GRAD missile that landed about 800 meters from my home in the courtyard of the "Lev Simcha" Gerrer Yeshiva. At this time, we know of two very seriously injured and 8 more with light shrapnel wounds. 

Daily life is changing immediately. Our gorgeous beach has been closed for lack of a proper bomb shelter or take-cover area. Vacationers are leaving our beautiful coastal city.

My heart tells me that things won't go back to normal. We all are being called upon to change. More love of our fellow human. More modesty and holiness. More Torah and less aimless waste of time. Those who fail to wake up now - I shudder to think of what coming wake-up calls will be.

Yes, here in Ashdod, the Katyushas are falling. But in the USA, the stock market is falling through the floor. Hashem speaks to each of us in the language we best understand. I repeat what I've been saying every day now - there's no more business as usual. We must prepare ourselves for the dazzling bright lights of a much more spiritual world that's fast on the way. But don't forget - the same light that heals the worthy, burns the unworthy. We all have to get to work and make ourselves worthy vessels for that light. Hashem has patience, but it's high time we get our act together. "Dati" or "Haredi" doesn't mean a thing if your heart is far from Hashem. The way to maintain a healthy heart is to give that heart to Hashem.   

 

A Time to Give

Thursday evening: Lazer giving blood at Ashdod's MDA station for wounded soldiers and civilians in today's terrorist attacks

The closer we get to Moshiach, the more we are behooved to give of ourselves. The Zohar teaches that giving is holiness, while taking is the dark side.

The feeling now in the South of Israel is that things are liable to blow up into a full-scale conflict. Not a single Jew in the world has the right to relax, now. Learn, pray, do a mitzva or whatever you can in behalf of your people in the south of Israel, who are now licking painful wounds.

Just because the Three Weeks are over, that doesn't mean that it's business as usual. The untimely death of the prodigious tzaddik Baba Elazar from Beer Sheva has left the south of Israel very vulnerable, as we've seen by Thursday's terrorist attacks. We can't go back to the intramural hatred mode, where I'll only donate to my own cronies and I won't speak to anyone that is associated with a different group. That "golut" garbage has to go - now.

There was a long line of people waiting to give blood in Ashdod this evening; only two had kipas on their head. So who can possibly so a word against a seemingly non-observant Jew?

Being 'religious" doesn't cut the mustard any more. We must be givers. We must see every wounded soldier as a wounded son or brother. If we want to see Moshiach without the Katyushas screeching above our heads (which at the time of this writing, they are; everyone in the South of Israel has been instructed to stay close to home), then we had better begin to give to each other - with all our hearts and with all our souls.

Few people will listen to me. But the few who do will turn the scales in our favor, hopefully, G-d willing. Have a wonderful and peaceful Shabbat! 

Update: We've just been informed that Chief Warrant Officer Paskal Avrahami, 49 and a father of three, of the Israel Police's Special Ops Unit, has been killed in a skirmish with terrorists. He is the eight Israeli martyr of the day, HY"D.

Beams Bulletin: Israel's South Hit by Multiple Terrorist Attacks

We've just received word about multiple terrorist attacks here in the south of Israel. Although details are still scant, here's what we know at this time:

1. Shortly after Noon Israel time, Egged bus number 392, carrying soldiers and traveling from Beersheba to the southern resort city of Eilat was ambushed by a three-man terror cell. Over a dozen people were wounded in the attack, which took place on Highway 12, about 30km north of Eilat, near the Ein Netafim junction. Although unconfirmed as yet, this looks like the work of Hamas terrorists from Gaza who penetrated the Eilat area by way of Sinai, an area that Egypt has not been able to control.

2. Several minutes later, a number of bombs went off next to an IDF patrol traveling along the border with Egypt. There were also reports of mortar fire from Egypt into Israel. 

3. A third incident was reported shortly after 1pm, involving yet another shooting on a bus and a private vehicle traveling south. Five people reportedly suffered mortal wounds in the attack, although we have no info as yet as to the exact number and nature of the casualties. 

We just now received word that two of the the three terrorists in the first attack have been killed in the chase and firefight that followed the attack.

We pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded and for better tidings.

Update, 14:28 - Israel time

Ynet reports that there are at least 5 dead, may Hashem avenge their martyred blood, and 26 wounded, may Hashem heal them, amen. 

Update, 17:25 - Israel time

The terrorists' intent was to kidnap Israeli civilians. The death toll is now up to 8. There is a call all over the south of Israel to donate blood. Israel threatens a harsh response, and Hamas threatens a harsh retaliation.

The Lesson of the Reeds

Here in Israel, we're now in our hottest and driest month of the year. Come join us in the dry wadi of what in winter is the Lachish river in the south of Israel, to see what we can learn from a clump of reeds there.

Judean Dawn

People spend tens of thousands of bucks on vacation, and come home unhappy.

My vacations are the lowest budget you can imagine, and they're usually 24-hour recharges of body and soul, for my schedule doesn't allow for much more. But, they're better than any exotic vacation that money can buy.

Imagine this: You're sleeping in a little one-room cabin on top of a mountain in the Judean Hills. Despite the Israeli summers, nights are a delightful chill with angelic cool breezes from the northwest. You wake up at the crack of dawn, and walk down a path to a mountain-spring natural mikva and immerse in the purifying and chilling waters the same way that King David did. You walk back up the mountain to the tunes of hummingbirds and turtle doves, and the air smells like fresh hyssop. You pray with the rising sun, while the orange and crimson hues change colors in a magnificent morning light show that praises Hashem's glorious Name. After praying, you pick some fresh sage - still covered by the tiny silver dew drops of morn - and make yourself an exquisite herbal tea while you learn your daily page of Gemara. Sound like a dream? This was my morning yesterday. No trillionaire can much an Eretz-Yisrael emuna lifestyle. Want a piece of the action? We're waiting for you with open arms...

No Easy Way Out

Dear Rabbi Brody,
I'm not religious, but I get a kick out of your column and your broadcasts, even though I disagree with you plenty. One thing I particularly don't like is the fact that you're always hounding Jews about keeping all of the 613 commandments. So what if I'm Jewish? Why can't I just keep the seven Noahide commandments like you tell the non-Jews to? How come you're so nice to the non-Jews, and you're all over the case of the Jews. That doesn't seem fair. Please explain. Thank you, GA from Ohio

Dear GA,

Diesel fuel is fine for a diesel engine, but it won't propel a jet engine. The spiritual profile of a Jew differs that of a non-Jew. Therefore, the spiritual diet that can keep a non-Jew healthy won't get a Jew off the ground. A non-Jew can eat shrimp and lobsters all day long, and as long as he/she observes the seven Noahide laws, he/she is considered righteous. If you eat 28 grams of shrimp, you put a gaping hole in your soul. Whenever you turn on a light bulb with a tiny flick of the finger on the Sabbath, you cut yourself off from Hashem. On the other hand, a non-Jew can do whatever he or she pleases on their Saturday.

If a Jew keeps 612 out of the Torah's 613 commandments, and willfully breaks #613, he or she is considered a transgressor. Not fair? Consider this - if a grain of sand lands on your hand, nothing happens. But, if it lands in your eye, you suffer excruciating pain. Not fair? A hand and an eye - while both being very necessary parts of the body - are built differently with different strengths and sensitivities; the same goes for a Jew and a non-Jew. While both are Hashem's beloved creations, they have different strengths and different sensitivities because of their different tasks in the world. Yet, like an eye and a hand, both are vital.

Since you're a Jew - whether you like it or not - the only way for you to guarantee yourself true happiness in this world and in the next is to keep all 613 mitzvas. There's no easy way out. We all came down to this lowly world to perform a difficult task, and not to have fun and games. Yes, I will continue to get on your cage for your own good - if that's so distasteful for you, why do keep on reading the Beams? I'll tell you why, GC - deep down, it makes your soul feel good. Think about it, GC. If you add some emuna to your life, you'll feel great. With smiles & blessings, Lazer Brody

The Emuna Platoon

"Sometimes Hashem gives you a day that feels like the most special day of your life. That's just the way I felt when  I had the rare privilege of accompanying Rabbi Lazer Brody on a visit to the Gaza border near the Erez Crossing, where a platoon of the famed Golani Brigade's finest infantrymen are on 24-hour combat alert.  The Gaza border is certainly no walk in a tulip garden; a mere few hundred meters from where we were lie Hamas terrorists waiting to seize the very moment when Israel drops her guard. Fortunately, Hashem - the Guardian of Israel - shall not slumber. Largely by the fact that you can find now a copy of Rabbi Shalom Arush's Garden of Emuna in virtually every tank and ATC (armored troop carrier, affectionately nicknamed "Zelda" in the IDF) on the Gaza border, Israeli soldiers are learning more and more to depend on 'The Guardian'..."

Continue reading about the "Emuna Platoon" in this week's exciting issue of Breslev Israel web magazine. Also, be sure to see the inspiring 3-minute film clip of the Emuna Platoon, featuring David Bader's exquisite photos, a Breslev Israel-Lazer Beams exclusive.

Also this week:

Rabbi Shalom Arush - A Time for Love

Rabbi Lazer Brody - Cash Only

Rabbi Baruch Gartner - Service With a Smile

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach - Moving to Israel

Zev Ballen - Dual Process Thinking

Rivka Levy - Killer Tomatoes

Racheli Reckles - Killing Us Softly

Dovber HaLevy - Beneath the Narrow Bridge

Chaya Ovadia - Mouse in the House

Yocheved Golani - Triumph Over Tumor

Have a wonderful week!

The Price of a Habit

Dear Rabbi Lazer,

I don't know what to do. My legs have become terribly swollen and I have a problem with varicose veins. The doctor gave me a diuretic a year ago; the swelling has cut back but now it seems that my kidneys are affected. My doctor wants to add another med to protect the kidneys. Is there some kind of spiritual remedy? Janet from DC

LB answers: Do you drink soft drinks, diet soft drinks, or coffee, and how much per day? 

Janet responds: I only drink 2-3 Diet Cokes and maybe 4 cups of decaf coffee. I only use good artificial sweeteners.

LB: Diet soft drinks are poison. So is processed decaf coffee. Get rid of all these beverages and all artificial sweeteners and replace them with mineral water, club soda, and herbal tea. Within three weeks, you'll see a dramatic change in the swelling and in the vein problems. Be sure to walk a half hour a day. Just stop and think about the price your body pays for the diet-Coke habit or for the artificial sweeteners. You could be saving a load on doctors and meds if you only kick the habits that are detrimental to your health. There's no better spiritual remedy than overcoming bodily urges that are detrimental to the gift of health that Hashem gives us. Have a great week! Blessings always, LB

R & R, Judean Style

A few people have been asking me what I do to relax: the answer is one of 3 things - learn Torah, speak to Hashem, and play my flute. Once or twice a year, I sneak away to the hills for 24 hours to recharge my battery. Photographer David Bader - my special friend - accompanied me to a solitary cabin up in the Judean Hills, in the same holy area where King David grazed his sheep, played his flute, and composed the Psalms while speaking to Hashem. Let's let David Bader's camera do the talking: 

Image 1: R & R, Judean-Hill style - 

 

Image 2: Lazer's 24-hour hideout in the Judean Hills

 

Image 3: Judean Hills

Image 4: Playing a Shepherd's Flute, made in Judea

Image 5: Returning from Personal Prayer

You too could be enjoying our holy homeland; what are you waiting for? Have a wonderful Shabbat Nachamu!

Yetzer Hara Warriors