What does the Torah say about The Great American Solar Eclipse?

Rabbi Yaron Reuven

Click here to see Map of Total Solar Eclipse 21 August 2017

The Effects of a Solar Eclipse

HT Avrohom Alter


Rabbi Avigdor Miller on solar eclipses: 

The gemara says that a solar eclipse is a sign of ill fortune for the gentiles. [A lunar eclipse is a sign of ill fortune for Jews]

So this gentleman asks, rightly, how can it be a sign of ill fortune if it happens according to mathematical precision? And the answer is as follows. 

Any change in the fortunes of the world is foreseen by Hashem. Nothing happens by itself. Hashem ordains when some good fortune should happen to the world, or chalila when some misfortune should happen, and He makes it turn out on certain auspicious dates. 

When He plans a misfortune for the umos haolam [nations of the world], He makes it happen at the time of a solar eclipse. 

A solar eclipse is to let you know that this is planned by Hashem and it’s not an accident. Let’s say at the time of a solar eclipse something happens in a far off country like Tibet where there are no Jews. You shouldn’t say that one thing has nothing to do with the other. The reason that it happened then was to bring your attention to it and make you aware that Hashem is in charge of the world. He made it turn out at the time of the solar eclipse... 

Therefore, it’s not that the solar eclipse is made to happen at a time of some misfortune to the gentiles, the misfortune to the gentiles is made to happen at the time of the solar eclipse. Why? In order to label it, to let us know that it’s the yad [hand of] Hashem. – 

Abraham and Lot [#046]

Blessings in Disguise

Art Mike Worrall

"See! I am giving to you today a blessing and a curse" [Re'eh 11:26]

Hashem did not want the soul to eat "bread of shame" [i.e. sustenance given gratuitously, without having been earned by the recipient]; He therefore made it possible for man to serve Him in a meaningful way with toil of body and soul. Through our endeavors in avodah [service of G-d] we are Divinely enabled to earn all manner of goodness.

The difficulties, trials, and tests of life are themselves the means by which we are to attain our ultimate objective - that the soul achieve the lofty spiritual level it once possessed before it descended into the body: "The soul that you have given me is pure."  The purpose of life is for the soul to regain that level of original "purity" and even transcend it - for one hour of teshuvah [repentance] and good deeds in this world is worth more than all the lifetime of the spiritual World to Come [Olam HaBa].

So you see that life's trials, tragedies, and difficulties actually bring us closer to our goal, our raison d'etre; they are part of the Divine system of toil and endeavour enabling us, finite mortals, to reach the highest levels of rewards and goodness - which can only be earned by meaningful "labor" and effort.  It follows that one must not allow the difficulties of life's trials [or even one's failure from time to time] to overcome the double joy of being G-d's children and of having received His promise "Your people are all righteous".

Source: Excerpt from a letter written by the Lubavitcher Rebbe

The Presence of G-d in Creation

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President Trump's Wake Up Call - North Korea

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Hashem Will Bless You

Text by Rabbi David Hanania Pinto Shlita

It is written, “Because of this thing, Hashem your G-d will bless you” [Re'eh 15:10].

The term hazeh (“this”) has a numerical value of 17.

The Sages say, “He who gives a small coin to a poor man obtains six blessings, and he who speaks comforting words to him obtains eleven blessings” [Bava Batra 9b]. 

Hence the verse states, “Because of hazeh [this] thing, Hashem your G-d will bless you.”

Source – Kol Eliyahu

Eikev

Written by Yehuda Katz

וְהָיָה | עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה 
And it will be, because [eikev] you will heed these ordinances...
[Eikev 7:12]

Rashi comments that when the Torah uses the word "Eikev" [Hebrew], it teaches us that this is referring to the Mitzvoth that man usually neglects. Eikev in Hebrew can also mean the heel of feet, meaning the commandments that a person might "step" on because he considers them to be minor.

We find in Genesis 25:26 that Yaakov was named his name because he held onto Esav's heel when he emerged from his mother's womb. Yaakov comes from the Hebrew root "eikev" meaning heel. 

A question can be asked, What's the connection between "Yaakov's" name and "Eikev" found in our verse?   I would like to propose the following original answer as follows, Bezrat Hashem: When Yaakov held on to Esav's heel, he was telling the world that the very things Esav tramples on are in fact "held" in high esteem by Yaakov. These are the very attributes that Yaakov considers important, namely modesty, humility, honesty, etc. Yaakov knew their value, and held on to them. Esav on the other hand "stepped" on them with his heel.....

This is precisely where Yaakov has the greatest power over Esav and the manner in which he conducts his life. Israel will always be able to defeat Esav as long as they are capable of upholding the attributes Esav tramples on. 

In Kabbalistic thought Esav represents the evil inclination. We are all constantly seeking out methods to conquer that which ails us spiritually, yet here lies the key to our victory. Let us all grasp the very attributes that the Evil inclination abhors, and hold them in high esteem as our forefather Yaakov had done at the time of his birth. Let us all be more humble, modest and gracious to our fellow man.

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And  here is the famous video of Rabbi Levi Saadia Nachmani zt''l, speaking in 1994 [about a month before he passed away], warning us about Korea's nukes.

15 Av - Rabbi Nachum Ish Gam Zu

Nachum of Gimzo, a teacher of Rabbi Akiva, was a Tanna of the 2nd generation [1st century]. In the Talmud he is called "ish gam zu" [the man of "gam zu"], and this name is explained as referring to Nachum's motto. It is said that on every occasion, no matter how unpleasant the circumstance, he exclaimed "Gam zu le-ṭovah" [This, too, will be for the best].

Due to the miraculous events which continually punctuated the life of Nachum Ish Gamzu, he was nominated to present the Emperor with a gift. This journey to Rome posed many hazards, and the man who would undertake it would need to be accustomed to miracles which would be necessary on this dangerous mission. At one of the inns where he stayed, the innkeeper decided to investigate the contents of the Rabbi Ish Gam Zu's box, and when he discovered the jewels and precious stones inside, he stole them and replaced the contents with earth from his garden.

So Rabbi Ish Gam Zu arrived at the Emperor's palace with a box of earth. When the Emperor found the box to contain nothing but earth, he had Nachum Ish Gamzu thrown into jail. Nachum accepted this with his usual 'Gam Zu le'Tovah' - and a miracle occurred, in the form of a visit from Eliyahu ha'Navi, who suggested to the Emperor that this might be special earth from Avraham the father of the Jews, who, during the battle against the four kings, threw earth at them which turned into swords (and straw which turned into arrows).

The Emperor tried it out on an enemy whom he had hitherto found invincible. When the Emperor was victorious, he set Nachum Ish Gamzu free, filled the box with jewels and precious stones and sent him home with great honor. When the innkeeper realized what had happened - he demolished his house and brought the dust to the Emperor as a gift (thinking that all the earth on their property was special 'miracle earth'). But of course, nothing happened with the earth that they brought, and the Emperor had them killed for mocking him.

Everything that happens in life is for the best, even if we don't perceive it that way until much later. Later we can look back and realise that it really was "gam zu l'tova".

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Complete English subtitles: Rabbi Ofer Erez

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For those who thought Rabbi Zitron spoke too fast... here's a nice laid-back shiur, questions and answers on the topic of Moshiach from Rav Dror.

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