Dreaming of Moshiach

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Woe to us on the Day of Judgment

Asher (Maso'od) Biton is a popular resident of Kiryat Shmona. He made Aliya from Morocco at the age of 6 and at the age of 13 he began working in Chevre Kadisha. Asher loved his work so much, he continues till today. Many can testify that Asher works Leshem Shamayim with much love and happiness. It's strange to see a 13-year-old boy digging graves, "As a child, I was physically strong and anything that was needed, I was first to volunteer. I learned the entire system of Chevre Kadisha." People that know Asher describe him as a simple, modest, and humble person. Always smiling and very optimistic. What happened to him shocked the city and all prayed that his health return to him.

Clinical Dead
"A person cannot know what will happen tomorrow," quotes Asher when he begins describing what occurred to him. "It was a beautiful bright day but my body was feeling strange, I felt something unnatural happening to me." Asher drove to his parent's grave and asked them for forgiveness for hurting them. "I knew something is going to happen to me."

"At 10:30 am, I arrived at the cemetery and felt excruciating pain in the chest. I felt my left arm very heavy and was unable to lift it. I told Machluf (Ochana, his cousin: Chevre Kadisha manager) that I'm in pain and they took me to HMO (health center). When we entered the elevator, I suddenly was unable to see, I became blind. Everything was dark and my head was spinning and unable to breathe. The Doctor immediately did an EKG and discovered that I had an heart attack. During treatment, I cried and said to my cousin Machluf, "Please forgive me. I am dying today." That minute I had a heart attack and died.

"My soul exited my body and was floating 2 meters above my body. I saw and heard everything. Machluf hugged my body and said, "My brother, goodbye." Doctor Boris Sidlekovsky didn't give up. He gave my body electric shots and after 5 attempts, he ruled I was dead.

Did you feel the electric shots?
"I felt turbulence. It was difficult and was crying and praying they should have mercy on this body."

You say that you floated over your body. What did you see?
I was dead for 45 minutes and during this time, I entered different worlds.

Heavenly Court
"I left Kiryat Shmona, Israel, the world and entered the world of truth," continues Asher.

How did the soul arrive there?
I felt a very strong wind pulling me to a small river that expanded during my upward 'flight'. During this time I felt a very special air that is indescribable, it cannot be described in this world. From there I saw a light that slowly became stronger - an infinite light with many colors. Suddenly I saw 4 images, 2 from each side and they were grabbing my arms.

What did they look like?
Their eyes were glazing fire. Suddenly they called, "Maso'od Biton!" 3 time and said, 'go to Heavenly court.' On the way there I saw many images in black with red eyes. In the background I hear, "Come to heavenly court."

In this place, did you have a body or a face?
Nothing. I felt I was in space. Like a small sheep against 70 wolves. When I arrived at the heavenly court, the black images were staring at me in a cruel way and were screaming and yelling, "Wicked, wicked, wicked."

What did you do? Are you wicked?
(Asher began crying and his breathing became difficult. I waited...) I was unable to answer them. It was prohibited for me to speak.

Why?
Because one is prohibited to speak in the heavenly court. They began bringing all my files. I see the black images running back and forth, they wanted me and I felt so ashamed.

Who are these black images?
They are angels of destruction. Their gaze is very cruel and eyes blazing fire. They showed me my signatures. Meaning, they were showing me all the transgressions I committed. They whispered between themselves and decided that my judgment is Gehenom. They continued screaming, "Wicked, wicked, wicked." I felt so disgraced and shamed. I now understood the meaning of "Woe to us on the Day of Judgment".

Asher continues to describe the heavenly court. Four images of young children in white surrounded him. "They defended me. They demanded we approach the Rabbinic Heavenly Court and claimed that it's not fair that that I was judged so quickly to Gehenom without anyone hearing the good deeds I did."

From there we went to a different world. A world that is a copy of this world. We arrived at the IDF cemetery of Kiryat Shmona. We saw five rows of soldiers of IDF, all were wearing white.

Do you remember the soldiers you saw?
Of course. I know all of them. Eli Ochana ben Rachel, Mordechai Pinchas, Uri Azulai - he died sanctifying HaShem's great name. I saw him with the same smile he used to smile. I saw Eyal ben Margi and many other soldiers. They are saints. They were all dressed in white. When they saw me, I heard them happily chanting, "Masu'ud arrived". They were very excited.

I don't understand - when you saw them, were you in this world, our world?
I saw my body in this world but my soul was in the upper worlds. We all went to the Rabbinical Heavenly Court. The soldiers defended me against the black images (the angels of destruction) and said to them, "Leave him alone, he is with us."

What does the Rabbinical Heavenly Court look like?
There are 71 judges. Their faces has an infinite light. Their beauty is indescribable.

Do you whom they are?
Yes but am not allowed to reveal. The first four Tzaddikim I recognized - two of them are alive and breathing and the other two passed away in our generation.

Asher describes important details of his judgment, tens of young children, angels, and many more details but to describe all this a book is needed to be written, not an article. In the Rabbinical Heavenly Court there are scales and on one side is weighed the person's good deeds and on the other side are weighed the transgressions. After placing all the good deeds vs. the transgressions, it is judged which side is heavier. This procedure is done only after a soul entered the pure Mikveh in the upper world. This Mikveh is the place where all transgressions are cleansed. The details are without a doubt very scary but in a place of reward and punishment, one pays for his transgressions and this place is very just, to put it mildly.

During his suffering in this place, he heard loud screaming at him, "Wicked, this is what happens to a person that speaks in shul!" After all the suffering for his transgressions, they continued to hurt him, "Wicked, why did you speak in shul?" (As Asher was describing the pain and shame, he almost choked while crying).

Where you not able to defend yourself?
No and even worse, they showed a 'movie' of my life from the minute I was born till I died.

How did you see the 'movie'; on a TV screen?
I don't know how to describe it but to differentiate between holiness and secular, it's like a screen. You see everything including my Bar Mitzvah, what I did in total privacy, in public, everything! And like I said, I was punished severely for speaking in shul. I was shown how many time I spoke, with whom I spoke, who spoke to me and how I replied...

What other punishments did you receive?
Many. Including desecration of the holy Shabbat. Such as crying, getting angry, and being sad on Shabbat. One of the most severe punishments is for desecrating the holy Shabbat.

What about the little details of desecrating the holy Shabbat, such as sorting, carrying, etc.?
Of course. Even though I was very careful not to carry anything, I was accused of these transgressions because I was told that I did not properly learn these Mitzvot.

After viewing the 'movie' of his life, Asher was returned to the Rabbinic Heavenly Court. The court is conducted in a method of judging good deeds (credit) vs. obligations (debit). "When I arrived, they brought a jar full of water and said to me, "This is all your tears collected from the pain you endured.' Everything is counted for in the upper world. They took the suffering I endured vs. the tears and placed it on the scales. You must understand that I was petrified. I didn't understand what is happening to me, what they are going to do with me. After weighing the good deeds and obligations, I was judged that I have more good deeds.

Two persons wearing white took me to the purifying Mikveh. They 'showered' me and took me to a large Mikveh and dunked me and it was then that I was permitted to enter the lower Gan Eden. It's a place you can enjoy eternally and every minute and second is pleasurable.

Who was there?
I saw my parents, including David Marco and my brother Eli. They were all so happy and asked me, "Why did you come here?" I saw most of my family members, may they rest in peace. I saw everyone. I also saw a row of Tzaddikim and Rabbanim with crown on their heads and learning Torah and Gemara.

What were you thinking and feeling?
It was an indescribable pleasure. I did not want to return to this world. I wanted to remain there. You must understand that I was allowed entrance to Gan Eden only after long stormy arguments between the images in white and images in black and the images in black were 100 times more than the images in white. But after I was judged entrance to Gan Eden, the images in black disappeared like they were never there. They showed me a table of gold and said to me, "these are your sins." They showed me a large green garden with all sorts of plants and fruits, all in green, and told me "this is your portion."

How did you return to this world?
I was shown a very holy man and light come forth from his face. I was staring at him for a long time. He told me in an angry tone, "I don't want to see you here. I want to see you in Miron." He repeated this 3 times. He hit me on my forehead where we place the Tefillin of the head with his right hand. From there, I was taken while accompanied by persons wearing white to an enormously large room. Suddenly I felt someone pushing me and immediately I was returned to my body in the operating room. I felt I was floating on top of my body and crying, "Help me, help me" and entered my body.

Since returning to his body, Asher Biton's health is slowly returning. Chasdei Shamayim, he is now able to do things independently. He began writing a book on his heavenly court experience and publicly speaks about it.

Doctor Boris Sidlekovsky, the doctor that treated Asher says, "After the 5 electric shots I gave Asher, I gave up but something in me could not give up. I called Rav Amram Afergan Shlita from Kiryat Ata and told him the situation. He asked that I give Asher one more electric shot and said we will see a miracle. As a believing person, I believe in miracles but to actually see Asher Biton return to life after 45 minutes, is something totally different.

Did you believe he can return to the living?
If I did not believe, I would have not called the Rav. But when it actually happened, I pinched myself and asked if this is real. It was a very difficult situation because Asher had a heart attack and he was clinically dead. The person did not breathe. All the doctors gave up and when he began breathing again, we were all shocked! There is no other word to describe except a miracle. A true miracle.

Comment: Asher continues to go to shul and can be found in Vradim shul in Kiryat Shmona. Anyone can ask him questions and more details.

Translated from http://www.kr8.co.il/BRPortal/br/P102.jsp?arc=29107

Additional comments:
The Kaf HaChaim (ibid. Siman 151:8) describes the severity of the sin of talking in Shul and says that one who talks in Shul would be better off not coming at all. He also criticizes even people who learn Torah and discuss it publicly during davening; he concludes that one must be even more diligent about all of this on Shabbos.
The Chayei Adam (Klal 17 Sif 6) writes that the Mitzvah to revere a Shul is MideOraisa and quotes that one who talks in Shul is as though he denies Hashem.
The Magen Avraham (ibid. Sif Katan 3) notes that the AriZal was very careful to say only words of Tefillah in Shul, avoiding even discussions of Mussar and Teshuvah, lest he be led by them to improper topics.
The Mishnah Berurah ( ibid. Siman 124 Sif Katan 28) indicates that one should educate and train one's children by encouraging them to display the proper feelings in awe in Shul, and adds that it would be better if children who run back and forth and play in Shul would not be brought there at all because they will grow up having bad habits in Shul and because they disturb other people.

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והיה השם למלך על כל הארץ, ביום ההוא יהיה השם אחד - ושמו אחד ישתבח שמו לעד לנצח נצחים בכל העולמות Blessed is His name for eternity in all worlds אין עוד מלבדו