Lazer Brody's Blog, page 337

Don't Act Like a Bulldog

How in the world does a person want marital peace if he comes home with the expression of a bulldog on his face?

Deed to the Promised Land

 

Lately, the Arab world has been in such turmoil that it hasn't had much of a chance to think about us. Even the Hamas in Gaza, the Hizbulla in Beirut and Assad's regime in Damascus had their hands full with breaking up demonstrations and dealing with domestic disgruntlement.

The Israelis who decided that they could now relax and sip espresso in a Tel Aviv sidewalk café were soon shaken back to stark reality. The Israeli Navy intercepted the merchant ship "Victoria" which had been loaded to the gills with Iranian weapons destined for Gaza, including state-of-the-art radar guided ground-to-sea missiles with a 35-kilometer range.

 No, our enemies have not forgotten about us. The painful blast in Jerusalem this past Wednesday and the recent Grad and Kassam missile attacks in Beersheva, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Sderot, and the Gaza-area villages are stark reminders.

With all the inconvenience of a constant threat in the background, our enemies don't concern me; after all, they're only sticks in Hashem's hands. But the lack of faith we have in ourselves and the way we kowtow to the nations of the world both scares me and breaks my heart.

We live in the Land of Israel by virtue of the Torah. It's therefore easy to understand that without Torah, one has no justification or motivation for living in Hashem's promised land. King David says emphatically (Psalm 105:44-45), "And He gave them the lands of the nations, and they inherited the peoples' acquisitions; So that they would keep His statutes, and observe His laws." King David, King of Israel, Hashem's anointed, and great grandfather of Moshiach is revealing to us that Hashem gave us the Land of Israel for the sole purpose of living by His Torah and observing His commandments. One can easily understand how those among us that don't live by the Torah can so readily destroy Jewish settlements in the Land of Israel and offer to make concessions to the hostile neighbors that encircle us.

Continue reading Deed to the Promised Land at this week's issue of Breslev Israel web magazine.

My beloved teacher Rav Shalom Arush asks Who Stole the Joy. Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach of blessed memory quotes our beloved master Rebbe Nachman on Joy.

Gila David talks about Past, Present, and Facebook. Yehudit Levy says how we can succeed in Making a Difference.  Zev Ballen writes about the virtues of Believers. Chaya Ovadia starts her Countdown to Passover.

Abyss is part 60 of Warriors of Transcendence by Rabbi Erez Moshe Doron.

This week's Torah portion is Tazria. Have a wonderful week!

Iron Dome System Goes Operational

Two Iron Dome missile defense systems are now becoming operational, the first in Beer Sheva as of this morning, and the second soon in Ashdod. Here's a clip that the Beams just received from the IDF:

Nineveh News

Today's 40-minute emuna lesson gives us a much better perspective about what's going on in the world. Thank G-d, we had a quiet and restful Shabbat in Ashdod. Have a great week!

If you have trouble seeing the above video, click here.

Siezing of the Victoria: Another Big Reason to Thank Hashem

The siezing of the Victoria on March 15th, the merchant ship that was full of Iranian weapons intended for the Hamas in Gaza, is another big reason to thank Hashem. Many of those weapons, including the ground-to-sea missiles, were intended to hit such strategic targets as the port of Ashdod. In the clip below, which was sent to us by our friends in the IDF, you'll see Ashdod port and some of the many weapons that were confiscated. Once again, thank You, Hashem! Have a wonderful week.

It's Good to Thank Hashem

There's so much to thank Hashem for. The Grad missiles that were aimed at Ashdod this week all fell in open lots so there were no casualties. Syrian hands are tied; Assad and his henchmen are preoccupied with killing their own people while trying to squash anti-regime demonstrations, so they're too busy to back up a Hizbulla confrontation with us. Hamas had hoped that the Hizbulla would open hostilities in the North to make Israel deal with two fronts, but Nasrulla sent his Hizbullies ran to help the tyrant Assad break skulls in Deraa, most likely on orders from big brother Achmedinejad in Tehran. So, with Hizbully hands tied, the Hamas and Jihad dreams of help from the direction of Lebanon were washed away by the blessed rainfall we've received in the last 48 hours.

Thank You, Hashem. Tov Lehodot - It's good to thank You, like King David says in Psalm 92. May we all have a peaceful and restful Shabbat, amen.

Ashdod Humor

Here's a taste of Israeli humor under fire:

An young man reports into a Tel Aviv hospital and says, "Please treat me - I'm suffering from shell shock."

The nurse at the admissions desk asks for his ID, looks at it, and says, "Hey, you live here in Tel Aviv! What kind of shell shock are you talking about? There are no rocket attacks here."

"You don't understand," pleads the young man. "My mother-in-law from Ashdod just called. She's coming to stay with us for a month..."

Another Rocket Attack on Ashdod

The Red Alert siren went off in Ashdod shortly before 3PM local time. The consequent explosion sounded as it were about 2 kilometers away, to the north of my neighborhood, but we still have no details; apparently there are no casualties, thank G-d.

Defense sources maintain that the Islamic Jihad is responsible both for the recent missile attacks against Ashdod and for the Jerusalem bombing from yesterday.

Our very capable mayor, Dr. Yehiel Lasri, decided to close schools today in Ashdod until the security situation becomes clearer. This has turned out to be a very wise decision.

Update, 4:23 PM Israel time - the rocket has fallen in an open lot in Ashdod's north side, a definite indication that the Hamas and Jihad are firing either Syrian or Iranian upgraded Grad missiles. A few people have been treated for shock, but thank G-d there are no other casualties.

Imagine...

Imagine that you're at work in the middle of the day, and your wife and baby are travelling on a bus somewhere downtown. You hear a sudden news bulletin that a terrorist bomb has exploded near a bus station in the center of town. Your heart skips a beat and you feel a surge of adrenalin pounding at your temples. You dial your wife's cellphone, and no one answers. Your blood pressure skyrockets and your pace quickens. Now what do you do?

Thousands of people in Jerusalem lived the above scenario yesterday.

Now imagine that you're shopping in the supermarket just when the kids would be walking home from school. You hear two tremendous explosions that come from the direction of your neighborhood several blocks away. What goes through your mind?

Ask thousands of Beersheba parents what went through their mind yesterday, when the Grad-Katyusha missiles were falling.

Just once more, imagine that your children are safely tucked in bed for the night, and that you and your spouse just turned the lights off. It's midnight, and you curl up under your comfy and cozy quilt. Suddenly, you hear the wail of a Red-alert siren; you have 35 seconds to get yourself out of bed, get your babies out of bed, and to get everyone down to the bomb shelter three flights down the stairs. Do you think you can do it without panicking?

Thousands of parents in Ashdod did, and they didn't panic.

Imagine, if the Jewish People would make sincere teshuva, we wouldn't have to imagine what we'd do under fire. Why? If we all made sincere teshuva, there would be no "under fire" situations in the first place. May Hashem open our hearts, amen! Let's do teshuva while we still can. Don't wait until tomorrow. 

More Terror - This Time, Jerusalem

The escalation of terror has now reached Jerusalem. At 3 PM local time, a bomb exploded outside Egged bus number 74 at a station opposite the Jerusalem Conference Center (Binyanei Ha'uma) in the center of town. So far, the grim casualty count is one dead and 39 wounded.

Emuna Outreach activist Dr. Arie Keehn is an anesthesiologist at Shaarei Tzedek hospital, which is treating several of the seriously wounded at this time. May Hashem help Dr. Arie and all the other physicians in their holy task of saving lives.