Miracles and Wonders

Chasdei shamayim I found 2 beautiful segulot which I can personally testify I saw amazing salvation and wanted to share with you, as follows:

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Merimanovben Yosef, zs'kl, promises:
"Whomever will light a candle in my honor every Tuesday, I will personally operate for his salvation"It is a great talisman for salvation in all areas, miracles and wonders, to light a candle in honor of the Tzaddik every Tuesday. Rabbi Meir Abuhatzera, zs'kl, said: "Just to mention the name of the Tzaddik already operates salvation."

The second talisman is lighting candles for Rabbi Matya ben Charash, zs'kl.
From the Medrash Yalkut Shimoni, Vayechi

THE FOLLOWING STORY HAPPENED TO RABBI MATYA BEN CHARASH WHO WOULD ALWAYS BE SITTING IN THE BET HAMIDRASH ENGAGED IN TORAH STUDY AND THE BRILLIANCE OF HIS FACE RESEMBLED THE SUN AND THE APPEARANCE OF HIS FACE RESEMBLED THAT OF THE MINISTERING ANGELS, BECAUSE HE HAD NEVER RAISED HIS EYES TO LOOK AT WOMEN.

Once the Satan fixed his sight on this Tzaddik and said to himself: "Is it possible that this man does not sin? " Then the Satan went and asked G-d: "How do you consider Rabbi Masya Ben Charash?" And G-d replied: "He is a perfect Tzaddik" The Satan said to G-d: "Give me permission to put him to the test". G-d told the Satan: "Go".

The Satan appeared to the Rabbi as a beautiful woman the like of which there had never been in the world. When the Tzaddik saw he immediately turned his face away from the woman. Then the woman quickly moved to the side where Rabbi Matya had turned his face to, and he quickly again turned his face away from that woman. Then the Tzaddik said: "I am afraid that my Yetzer hara (evil inclination) will overpower me and will cause me to sin". What did the Tzaddik do? He called a student that was there with him and ordered him to bring him fire with nails. The student brought him nails and the Tzaddik put them to his eyes and became blind. When the Satan saw this he trembled and fell on his back.

At that time The Holy One Blessed be He called the angel Raphael (for he is in charge of healing) and told him: "Go and heal Rabbi Matya Ben Charash". Then Raphael came in front of the Rabbi and he asked: "Who are you?" and he replied: "I am Raphael the angel, I came for G-d sent me to cure your eyes". And Rabbi Matya replied: "Leave me alone, what is already done is what will be". Raphael returned before the Holy One Blessed be He and said: "Master of the World, thus spoke Matya". G-d said to him: "Go back to him and tell him that I will personally guarantee that the Yetzer Hara will have no power over him". Immediately Raphael went and cured Matya. From here Our Sages said: "All those that are careful not to look at women, the Yetzer hara has no power over them".

Light 18 candles in honor of Rabbi Matya Ben Charash and say Tehillim chapter 86 eighteen (18) times and ask for whatever you need - guaranteed, b'h, you will see miracles!!!!

Bat Aliya

Bat Aliyah is the place where, for years, the blogger wrote about longing to come Home to Israel, even though they were not able to leave America just yet. Then, when they finally made the decision to make aliyah, they began writing about the process of detaching from decades of life in America. Now, B"H, they're finally Home, and write about life as a new immigrant as well as translated messaged from Harav Nir ben Artzi. Check it out at http://bataliyah.blogspot.com/

Shabbat.com

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Connect the Dots

Guest post by Reb Eliyahu Neyman

The story goes something like this - a religious man got into a taxi cab in Israel and some time into the ride the driver of the cab told the man (his passenger) that he has a friend who also become "religious". Interesting... the passenger thought, and he proceeded to ask the taxi driver what was it that inspired his friend to take on the path of Torah?

The taxi driver then shared the amazing story of how him and his friend where on a camping trip in the wilderness and one night they awoke to the feeling of sheer terror. A huge snake had managed to slither into their quarters and had wrapped itself around the taxi driver's friend's neck! Panic struck and realizing the victim was about to suffocate to death (G-d forbid) the secular young men remembered that before a Jew dies he should say the Shema Yisrael prayer one last time, so in a frantic mode the friend did just that and said the Shema Yisrael almost sure of his impending death in seconds.

After he finished the quick prayer with what was probably a whisper everyone around was witness to a most amazing sight: the snake loosened it's hold and uncoiled from his neck before slithering away entirely!

After that event, the taxi cab driver proceeded to relate, his friend became "religious".

Impressed, inspired and bewildered the passenger of the cab couldn't help but ask one more question - Why aren't you religious then?

The cab driver responded in a short, matter-of-fact and explanatory-tone -- the snake wrapped itself around his friend's neck, not his!

Sadly, how many of us can relate in some way, shape or form to the above true story? No explanation is necessary..

We have now begun the month of Elul and have less than 30 days before Rosh Hashana (The New Year & Jewish Judgement Day).

Rabbi Lazer Brody gave a very insightful Emuna lesson last week based on Torah and current events. I want to share just a few points he presented in his talk live from Yerushalayim. I will try to relate it as best I can with a few quick notes, and a few additions. Please forgive me in advance for any unintentional misrepresentation.

Last week's Parsha was Re'Eh - Hebrew meaning "Look" "See!" The prophet tells us during Shabbos Chazon a few weeks ago that problems arise because we don't open our eyes and look at what Hashem is doing! Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches us that we as Jews have to look at the wisdom in Creation and understand that what is happening in the world are really messages from Hashem. A person could be learning Torah all day long but if he/she doesn't relate it to the world at large they are truly disconnected and missing the main point of G-d's active involvement in the world He created and runs, a core principle of our Torah.

Almost two weeks ago the Gaza rocket blitz began in Israel following a deadly and brutal terrorist sabotage and massacre in Eilat. The following week a near magnitude 6 earthquake shook much of the Eastern US. The unprecedentant quake was felt from Atlanta Georgia to Toronto Canada. The two most astonishing impacts were seen right away - damage to the United States National Cathedral in Washington DC that took the form of the top spires (crosses) being knocked off, and a big crack developed in the Washington monument at the Capitol. Speaking of which, both the Capitol and the Pentagon were urgently evacuated as staff feared another attack was in progress (earthquakes just don't happen like that in those parts). With a proverbial snap of the fingers Hashem showed how He can empty out the most powerful nation's capital and pentagon in mere seconds and we don't even have to wait for the next elections!

Note - this quake hit on the exact day (Tuesday) that we read the Torah portion of the day dealing with how to deal with the "false prophet" and a city of idol worship. You connect the dots.

Days later as talk of the quake was still fresh Hurricane Irene paid the Eastern seaboard a tropical visit. Some 65 million people were in the crosshairs of the storm and this week plenty of people are STILL without power around New York.

The Gemara points out that Hashem brings tremors to the world to straighten out crooked hearts. Rebbe Nachman explains that one with a straight heart is happy and the Pittsburgher Rebbe illustrates that a person with a straight heart is on a higher level than a tzaddik! Remember, happiness is synonymous with holiness. Don't be fooled by "religious" looking people who chronically walk around with a frown and constantly look down on others. Where happiness is lacking, holiness is as well. Besides, anyone can wear a costume and it's easier to grow out a beard than to change a negative character trait. But Hashem wants the heart and He's not fooled by outward appearance.

Hashem then sometimes has to intervene and straighten out our hearts if we don't do it ourselves.

A religious community in Israel hired a contractor to build a new shul. Well, the contractor decided to cut a few corners and save some time and money in a not-so-honest way. In effect, instead of the traditional method of making a solid concrete foundation on top of sand and only then topping it off with a tile floor he went ahead and quietly put the tile onto the sand. When the religious community found out although too late to do anything about it, they became angry and quite upset at the contractor. They didn't realize that according to the first principle of Emuna it was Hashem and NOT the contractor who decided their shul was going to be built like that.

This latest rocket barrage that affected Israel demonstrated the big picture quite well...one of the warheads fired from Gaza went through the roof of that shul during morning prayers, pierced the paper thin tile floor of the synagogue, hit the sand underneath and DID NOT EXPLODE! Had their been a layer of concrete, which would normally be the case in an 'honest job' that shell would have most likely detonated and G-d forbid what would have been. Nobody was hurt that day in that synagogue.

Rabbi Shalom Arush Shlita says that if the UN recognizes a Palestinian State this month, then it looks like we're headed toward an almost certain war situation, G-d forbid.

It's no longer business as usual, the world is changing fast. Hashem wants to bring Moshiach and change the world into a place of true peace and spirituality. But for that to happen we have to work on becoming proper vessels for that light and that new reality.

It is said that the miracles of the Final Redemption will make the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt look like Sesame Street in comparison. Apparently we are going to need those miracles with the way things have been stacking up in the world.

It is now the second day of Elul, we are less than 30 days from Rosh Hashana and this last month of the year is perhaps the most conducive time on the Jewish calendar for Teshuva. This word Teshuva, sometimes referred to by "repentance" actually means to "Return", to "come home". Our task is to bring our hearts back to Hashem. Hashem is our Loving Father and He is waiting for us. He wants to give us the satisfaction of initiating the relationship with Him.

A core spiritual principle is when we arouse ourselves here below the spiritual cause and effect initiates an arousal of Heavenly mercy from Above onto the Jewish people.

So what's it mean to wake up? We have to ask ourselves: Do I have the same prejudices as I did last year? Do I love every Jew?

Our free choice in life really boils down to one point: Desire - Ratzon (Hebrew)

We must ask ourselves - Do we desire to do Hashem's will? Do we desire to get closer to Hashem?

Do I really love You?

Do I really want to eat kosher?

Do I really want to keep the Shabbat?

Hashem wants our heart, Hashem wants our Desire.

Let's do our part to work on our Desire and do all we can to make Hashem's Desire a reality - a world of peace, harmony and love. A world guided by the light of Divine inspiration where humanity is busy with doing the Will of its Maker and busy learning about Hashem.

G-d created all of the spiritual worlds and yet he Desired to have a dwelling place right here, in the lowest of all worlds - our physical world. It's our job to do our part. We know He will do the rest!

Chodesh Tov and may you and your family be inscribed for a Holy, Happy & Healthy New Year!

Terrorist Attacks

I work about 200 ft from where the bomb exploded and at about 3 pm we felt a huge force and heard a loud explosion. Never been exposed to bombings, I was sure it was purim firecrackers... . Someone with more experience said that it sounds like a terrorist bombing... I didn't believe that it could even be a possibility...

We started hearing loud sirens coming from all directions and saw people running... My co worker went outside and called my cell to tell me it was a terrorist bomb and I should stay put in the office... It took me about an hour to calm down till I was able to gather myself to go outside... The streets were closed to traffic and people for security reasons. I just wanted to get away from the havoc. I found a sidestreet that was somewhat less crowded and people were allowed to go thru. I walked and walked and walked thanking HKB'H that I'm alive and able to thank Him. When I finally got home I just wanted to get into bed... I just wanted to sleep... B'h, this morning was easier and went to work normally b'h.

May we only hear good news and may the Geula come with much needed mercy, amen.
ברוך אתה הטוב והמטיב

Divine Providence

The brand new Rabbi and his wife were newly assigned to their first congregation to reopen a Shul in suburban Brooklyn. They arrived in early February excited about their opportunities. When they saw their Shul, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Erev Puirm. They worked hard, repairing aged pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on 8th of the Adar (February 17th) they were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On February 19 a terrible snowstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the Rabbi went over to the Shul. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The Rabbi cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Erev Purim service, headed home.

On the way home, he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity, so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Mogen David embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the Shul. By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The Rabbi invited her to wait in the warm Shul for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the Rabbi while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The Rabbi could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then the Rabbi noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Rabbi, "she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The Rabbi explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Poland. The woman could hardly believe it as the Rabbi told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth".

The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Poland. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to a camp and never saw her husband or her home again. The Rabbi wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the Rabbi keep it for the Shul. The Rabbi insisted on driving her home. That was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Erev Purim . The Shul was almost full. The Service was great. At the end of the service, the Rabbi and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the Rabbi recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the Rabbi wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Poland before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the Rabbi how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a camp. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years between.

The Rabbi asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the Rabbi had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Erev Purim reunion he could ever imagine.

Based on a true story; God does work in mysterious ways!

Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply say the following small prayer:

"Hashem, bless all my friends and family in what ever it is that You know they may be needing this day! May their lives be full of Your peace, prosperity and power as they seek to have a closer relationship with You. Amen."

Parshat Man

Our scholars teach us that saying Parshat Man the 3rd day of the week of Parshat Beshalach is a very special Segula for livlihood.

שמות פרק טז פסוּק ד
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה הִנְנִי מַמְטִיר לָכֶם לֶחֶם מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם
Exodus Chapter 16;4
Till the last passuk, וְהָעֹמֶר, עֲשִׂרִית הָאֵיפָה הוּא.
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0216.htm

After saying Parshat HaMann, say the following prayer for livlihood:

Carmel Disaster

קטעים במלכים א', י"ח
וַיִּשְׁלַח אַחְאָב בְּכָל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּקְבֹּץ אֶת הַנְּבִיאִים אֶל הַר הַכַּרְמֶל...
וַתִּפֹּל אֵשׁ יְהֹוָה וַתֹּאכַל אֶת הָעֹלָה וְאֶת הָעֵצִים וְאֶת הָאֲבָנִים
וְאֶת הֶעָפָר וְאֶת הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר בַּתְּעָלָה לִחֵכָה:
וַיַּרְא כָּל הָעָם וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל פְּנֵיהֶם וַיֹּאמְרוּ יְהֹוָה הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים ...
וַיְהִי עַד כֹּה וְעַד כֹּה וְהַשָּׁמַיִם הִתְקַדְּרוּ עָבִים וְרוּחַ וַיְהִי גֶּשֶׁם גָּדוֹל ...

From Kings I, 18
...Ahab sent for all the children of Israel and got the prophets together at Mount Carmel
...Then the fire of HaShem came down burning up the offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and drinking up the water in the drain.
...And when the people saw it they all went down on their faces and said HaShem is the Elokim.
...And after a very little time, the heaven became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.

The Tefillin

As per Tamar Yonah's request, the following true story was told by the Rabbi of the shul ...

After serving 3 long years in the Israeli army, he decided that it was time to travel the world and experience the freedom he so desperately needed. He packed his bags and kissed his family goodbye. At the airport his father handed him his Tefillin (phylacteries) bag and told him that even though it's been years since he last put on his Tefillin, he should start putting them on every day and this will be his protection. The son promised his dad that every morning regardless where he will be, he will put on the Tefillin.

A week passed, 10 days passed, 2 weeks passed, and finally the son called his family to let them know that everything's ok. His dad asked him if he puts on the Tefillin and the son assured his father that it's the first thing he does upon awakening up. The son continued with his travelling and from time to time called his family. In every phone conversation the father asked the son if he puts on Tefillin and the son would answer the same thing every time, "Yes father. I put on the Tefillin every morning".

Three months went by and the travel money was dwindling. The son called his father to send him more money and the father wanted to know if the son was putting on Tefillin. The son got angry at his father for asking the same question every time and hung up the phone angrily. Having no choice and no money, the son returned to Israel feeling that the sudden slash of his travel experience was his father's fault and decided that he is no longer speaking to his father.

A day after his return to Israel, his father asked the son if he put on Tefillin and the son yelled at his father that he puts it on everyday and to stop asking him the same question all the time. The father asked his son to give him the Tefillin bag and the son angrily handed it to him. The father's hand was shaking as he opened his son's Tefillin bag and suddenly out of the bag he pulled out a bundle of money. The father told his son, "If you would have put on the Tefillin as you said you did, you would have found the $5,000 I sent you for additional travelling expenses".

Since that day the son attends daily morning prayer and puts on his Tefillin. He hasn't missed one minyan since...

Life and Death are in the Hands of the Tongue

Life and death are in the hands of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Sometimes we do not take this biblical phrase literally, because talking about other people may have become a pastime. We can feel good about ourselves by noting other people’s faults. Gossip can help us prove that we are the better one. And sometimes, it’s easier to learn Torah and pray.

If we stopped for a moment and realized that the above biblical phrase is literal, we would make a more conscious effort to think every time we uttered a word. If we realized that every word that goes out of our mouth goes straight up to Heaven and creates a negative prosecution for the person we are speaking about, we may think twice. Particularly if the person we are speaking about is someone close to us. If we also realized that the person can come to harm if he or she has enough negative prosecutions, then we may prefer to remain silent.

In the Chofetz Chaim: A Lesson a Day we read, “Satan, the Heavenly Prosecutor, is always ready with his accusation, but he needs a second witness to set the judicial process in motion. Hashem has granted each Jew the power to act as a witness and thus take part in opening a case against another Jew. Loshon hara has the drastic effect of turning oneself into Satan’s corroborating witness.” In other words, when we speak about another person, Satan has what he needs to begin prosecution against the person we are speaking about. The Zohar takes this one step further and tells us that the words we use here are the same words Satan uses in Heaven.

Let’s say we are angry with our spouse. Today he or she may have left a small mess after dinner. We become angry and may inadvertently mouth off a string of unpleasant words. The following day, this happens again and we follow the same routine. Then, at work, his or her co-workers are angry because the job they expected finished wasn’t. Then he may enter the synagogue and have a disagreement with one of the members. Finally, when he comes home, he is sick, or he discovers that a deal he had so hoped would help his finances has fallen through. Could it be that our negative words or feelings actually harm our spouse, children, parents, and friends? Could it be that some of the words we used against them are the same words used in prosecution against them?

When one person is angry with another person, he can also get a group of people to empathize with his predicament, and then create several negative prosecutions in Heaven all at once to the determent of the person spoken about. Often when we have negative feelings, we don’t connect them to their effects. And often, we don’t wish our fellow Jew harm, especially not those closest to us. But in Heaven, every word and every thought counts. At the Bedtime Shema, we tell God that we forgive every Jew, those who have wronged us through speech, deed, thought, or notion.

The Vilna Gaon tells us that “…the mouth is the Holy of Holies;” holier, in fact, than Torah learning. If the whole Torah is based on loving our neighbor as ourselves, this is not surprising. If we can change circumstances with fervent prayer, then we can create negative effects with derogatory speech. This ability comes with the free will we have on earth. Every moment is a choice.

There is a purpose for speech, although, and that is to praise God by prayer and daily blessings. “This people I formed for Myself; they shall recite My praise. (Yeshayahu 43:21). There is a worldwide awakening toward this trend. People are beginning to practice gratitude and praise. Judaism is a leader in praise, as this is the way of life for a practicing Jew. We praise almost every movement we make throughout the day. Psalm 150 details a future redemptive era of pure praise when the whole world will be praising God. If we remember this throughout the day, then we may remember to choose to use speech to praise God so that we may come closer to greeting Moshiach in our day.