Monday, November 20, 2023

Sitrep: Monday in the Sefer Yitzirah etc.

 בס"ד

🌲 Safe night, thank God, here in Beit Shemesh.

🗡️ The war, its nervousness, and uncertainties grinds on.


FROM THE SEFER YETZIRAH:

Monday 

In the world the moon.

In the body the right ear

It was made with the letter gimmel ג

It is king over wealth and the opposite of wealth is poverty.

On the tree of life it connects wisdom with kindness. 




ASTRONOMY:

Jupiter and Saturn are bright in the east at sunset.

Hanuka is in less than 3 weeks.

Chore today at 1:00, electrician coming for adjacent apartment.

IBAN transfers from USA to Israel by my brother Danny and Securian insurance, successful and surprisingly not so difficult.

Long sleeve and long pants weather in Israel has arrived.

November 20 in history: In 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.

7 Kislev, 5784 in Jewish history: Jehoaikim, King of Judah, burnt a scroll dictated by the prophet Jeremiah and written by his disciple Baruch son of Neriah. This scroll was the book of Lamentations, and was written to forewarn the king of the imminent destruction of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah ch. 36).

My weight this morning was at 72.1 kg. I prefer to be between 69 and 71 kilos, not so easy. My health is generally good.

Emotionally I'm cheerful. This war has given me the opportunity to say what's on my mind. However there are subjects I must be careful about. Also people are coming around to my way of thinking. Even so, it's horrible what's happening to the soldiers and the people in the combat zones. 



Wednesday, November 15, 2023

My Social Criticisms

בס"ד 


It was a safe day today here in Beit Shemesh. 

The Iron Swords special military operation continues to confound and constern. There are hostile missile attacks in Tel Aviv, close to Gaza, and the Lebanese border. In addition the Arab cities within Israel are increasingly restive. However, here in Beit Shemesh it is basically calm. The world wide rising anger against the Jews typically is deeply foreboding. The fear is that there will be a major bloodbath. To be talking about survival seems to be premature. Nevertheless that seems to be on everybody's mind. 

It seems to me the key to peace of mind and even survival itself is a person’s fundamental values. This includes their physical application plus the mentality and attitudes they inspire.

These are some of my social criticisms (the list may be added to or changed):

  1. The Tanakh requires far greater emphasis.

  2. The Gemara needs to be deemphasized 

  3. The halacha needs to better reflect the precepts of the Torah of Moshe and the words of the prophets.

  4. Topics that are popular among the nations need to be studied and publicized. Such as

    1. For the Arabs - Agada and philosophy

    2. For Iran - The book of Ezra and those dealing with the Babylonian exile, the return to Israel, and the building of the Second Temple.

    3. For Europe and America - the gospels of Jesus.

  5. Israel must stop being a western colony and should become a bridge between the west and the east.

  6. Promiscuity needs to be discouraged and virginity encouraged both for women and men.

  7. Military force should not be a value in and of itself and even then should be every low key.

  8. Emphasis on discussion and debate needs to be emphasized.

  9. People who wish to use sacred plants should be encouraged to do so, especially for pleasure and enlightenment. The proper vehicle would be along the lines of Elusian mysteries and the practice of the shamans by the indigenous people of America.

  10.  The Jews in the diaspora should be encouraged to immigrate to Israel.

  11.  The Arabs that do not wish to live in a Jewish state should be encouraged to emigrate.

  12.  We should be prepared to execute a bloodbath in Gaza and Syria.

  13. The criminal justice system needs to be overhauled. Only God fearing, truthful, social minded people should be permitted to be part of it.

  14. The political system needs to be elitist with emphasis on education and good character.

  15. Demonstrations should be discouraged.