Messianic Labor Pains

We live in awesome times – anyone who doesn't strengthen himself in emuna could be an immediate candidate for stress, anxiety, and even worse, Heaven forbid.

Just this past Sabbath evening (Friday night, 11.3.11), terrorist murderers brutally stabbed to death the Fogel Family of Itamar - Rabbi Udi (36), his wife Ruth (35), and their children Yoav (11), Elad (4) and Hadas, 3 months. Words cannot describe the loss and the pain of these beautiful souls who symbolized everything beautiful about the Jewish People and the Land of Israel.

Even though there's much room to criticize how the self-deprecating non-emuna government and the media have forsaken our beloved brothers and sisters in Judea and Samaria, and even though we know that there is no difference whatsoever between the Hamas murderers in Gaza and the Western-supported murderers known as the Palestinian Authority, we here at the Beams and Breslev Israel don't play blame games or point fingers. Why? Everything is from Hashem and He wants us to open our eyes.

After seeing the 8.9-level earthquake in Japan and the subsequent tsunami that tossed merchant ships up in the air like toy boats, does anyone still doubt Hashem's might? The media's declared fatality rate of some 9700 is a joke as well, because entire square miles of rubble have not yet been cleared. At the time of this writing, at least one nuclear plant in Japan has been damaged by the quake and is leaking radiation - how much, no one yet knows...

The Arab world continues to be ablaze from Morocco in the west to Yemen in the east. World powerhouse names Mubarrak are become nothing more than chaff in the wind. And, if the political upheavals aren't enough, just look at all the recent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and typhoons, mudslides, and the abnormally harsh winter the world just experienced. Something is happening; people can no longer ignore what's going on in the world, sticking their heads in the ground like an ostrich because the ground is trembling…

What's happening in the world, and why? What's the connection between the chaos in the camps of Ishmael in the Middle East (which will eventually spread to the camps of Ishmael in Europe and other points west) and between all the natural disasters? The answer is simple: the earth is trembling, and all the trembling are Messianic labor pains. As in labor before childbirth, the world now experiences excruciating contractions and pains, which ultimately lead to the birth of a new and more spiritual world, the world of Moshiach, Redemption, and our Holy Temple, soon and in our days, amen. That's why our sages called this era chevlei Moshiach, or the era of Messianic labor pains, for the challenges of this generation resemble the pains of childbirth.

In light of the above, we should ask ourselves two questions:

1. What's our task with all the chaos surrounding us?

2. How can we safely weather these difficult times?

Continue reading Messianic Labor Pains at this week's edition of Breslev Israel web magazine.

My beloved rabbi, teacher and spiritual guide Rav Shalom Arush has an important message on child education in Hijackers of the Soul.

Breslev Israel is proud and priveleged to host Rabbi Nissan Dovid Kivak who gives us an eye-opening lesson about Purim in The Turnaround.

In these difficult times, Adi Aharon and Tal Rotem write about The Breslev Melodies of Old to sooth our aching souls. There are sample tracks to hear, too - don't miss them at the bottom of the article.

What a great staff of writers we have. Rivka Levy writes From the Heart. Dovber HaLevi doesn't need a Loyalty Check. Racheli Reckles could have been Miss Miami if she wanted to, but she chose the path of Shomer Nagiah - Touchguard. Yehudit Levy is just as special off as she is On the Playing Field.

The Deathliners is Part 58 of Warriors of Transcendence, by Rabbi Erez Moshe Doron.

This week's Torah portion is Tzav. Let's hope for a week of joy and better tidings, amen.