LUNAR ECLIPSE

There is going to be a SUPER LUNAR ECLIPSE this coming December 10, 2011. There are many ideas that spring from stories about it. Here is one that seems to have bearing on the lives of people who believe in YHWH like myself. The sun, moon, and stars were not created for their light alone. Eclipses - the absence of the light of these luminary bodies - serve an important function, as well. In fact, this function is listed in the passuk before their responsibility to provide light to the world: "And Hashem said, 'Let their be luminaries in the heavens...and they will serve as signs,'" which, as Rashi explains, refers to eclipses which are seen as a bad sign for the world, "...and they shall be luminaries in the heaven," understood by Rashi as referring to the light which they provide. Rashi writes "When you perform the will of the Al-mighty, you need not worry from disaster [during the eclipses]." Hazal have taught us specifically regarding what we need to be careful: "Because of four things eclipses occur - false tale-bearers, false witnesses, those who raise small cattle [and allow the sheep to destroy other people's property], and those who cut down good trees [meaning, fruit-bearing trees, an act which demonstrates his lack of appreciation to Hashem]..." What is the common denominator of these four violations? Each of them, in its own way, constitutes an "eclipse" of its own, a transformation of light into darkness. There is no greater eclipse of light than by darkening one's reputation through false rumors, allegations, and testimonies. Similarly, sending one's sheep into the property of another, ruining his trees for some immediate need, chopping down a tree and showing disrespect for the great kindness of our Creator - all these activities serve to eclipse our value system. When an actual, astronomical eclipse occurs, there opens, as it were, room for the prosecutor to bring us to task for these moral eclipses... The continuing battles being fought through mass media, words transmitted verbally and electronically - who can possibly begin to imagine the amount of degradation, humiliation, scorn and contempt which is continually passed through these means of communication? False rumors, created from thin air, substantiated by false testimonies with no sense of common decency and concern for others - and all this captures the attention of a more-than-eager readership! Perhaps the eclipse thus arrives at the perfect time, to turn our attention to the moral eclipses which occur in our lives on a daily basis. Source: http://www.shemayisrael.co.il Jerusalem, Israel 972-2-532-4191

A Chassidishe farbrengen: On viewing sin and sinners

A Chassidishe farbrengen: On viewing sin and sinners: The Tanya[1] speaks of a “ kal shebekalim ,” a person who lives a sinful, corrupt lifestyle. When we view him, we might jump to judge and co...

THE PLACE

Some pictures taken by my brother recently when he went to Camp Phillips Bukidnon where we grew up as kids. Many places have changed in appearance. There are some pictures where I studied in high school. Some pictures of the pineapple fields and of the Mount Kitanglad seen in the distance. The last is of the church where I used to go when I am sad and just sit there praying and savoring the silence. It has changed. The steeple wasn't there already. Now it was modernized which was unfortunate. I like its former appearance, anyway, I don't go to such church anymore. My father worked in Del Monte, Philippines for many years until he retired. I really still miss the place. A very cold place where the trees and plants are abundant which give it a fresh and healthy view. I hope I could ave a chance to visit it even for once.

THE FIESTA MUST GO ON

Some pictures I took during a parade in our place. The city had its Fiesta last November 20 & 21 in honor of their Patron saint.This is a unique Filipino trait, crisis or no, the Fiesta must go on. Since we are government employees, we all must show our faces in the parade in the middle of the noontime heat of the sun where I took the chance to get photos to share to everyone who cares to browse through here.

EVIL EYE

Matthew 6:23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! The belief in Ayin Hara is not a superstition but is well founded on references from the earliest Jewish texts. Sarah "gives" Hagar an Ayin Hara, causing her to miscarry her first pregnancy. Yaakov warns his sons not to be seen together so as not to incur Ayin Hara. Another example is King Saul's jealousy of the future King David who is credited with greater military prowess and "gives" him an Ayin Hara. Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler in a letter to his father asked "Where is the justice in a system that causes people to suffer for the jealousies of others?" Rabbi Dessler answered that what happens is the following: One person who has what another person lacks is "careless" and lets the other person see what he has. This causes pain to the other person, and his cry goes up to the Heavenly court. The lesson in all of this is that we must learn to be sensitive to others, and not flaunt what we have. Many people yearn to have what others have, and suffer real pain when they see others casually flaunt those things. True, they shouldn't be jealous, but we cannot expect everyone to be a Tzaddik. Divine justice demands retribution for causing this pain to another person. The best protection is to behave modestly and with a genuine concern for the feelings of others. Source Ohr Somayach Intitutions, Jerusalem, Israel

RABIES

Rabies is a viral disease that affects the nervous system of mammals, including humans. Animals and people can get rabies when they come into contact with the saliva of, or most often through the bite of an infected animal. If a person is bitten by, or exposed to an animal that may have rabies, he or she must receive appropriate medical care immediately in order to prevent rabies disease. Vaccination of household pets, along with immediate medical care for humans who are exposed to rabies, are critical components of rabies prevention and control. My niece was severely bitten by our neighbor's dog, so we had taken her for injection at the hospital. And as for our neighbor they denied that it was their dog who attacked my niece so they never offered to shoulder the expenses for the anti-rabbies and anti-tetanus injections. My niece sustained multiple bites on the hands, legs and even stomach. The nurse at the health center said that the month of November is the usual time of year wherein dogs are most inclined to bite. Maybe they are angrier on this month. Could it be possible that people also are on this month more prone to be more fierce and violent? I think so. News seems to confirm this.

AT THE VORTEX

Many years back we had fellowship with the Sabbath keeping group of people. The group's name was Worldwide Church Of God, whose leader was Herbert W. Armstrong. We went with them for a time until such time that the leadership was changed since Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong died of old age. The group WCG under Joseph Tkach shifted to Sunday keeping instead of Saturday. They split into two because of the issue of Sabbath keeping and Sunday keeping thus the Philadelphia Church of God was born that adhered to the teachings of the late leader Herbert W. Armstrong, while the Worldwide Church of God under the new leadership of Joseph Tkach shifted to Sunday keeping. I was of course dismayed of their split so the time came when we stopped our fellowship with them as the Philadelphia group went to another location. So we decided to stay home during Sabbaths. One lady came to us who was my aunt from my father's side, she invited us to fellowship with them. They are the Pentecostal group. I promised to attend with them next Sunday if I have time. I was troubled because I would then be attending Sunday service with them instead of the Sabbath. I said to myself that I could still keep the Sabbath, only that by next day I will be attending Sunday service with them. I wondered if it is acceptable to God. At that time I still called God as God since that was what we commonly called Him even though I know that YHWH is the correct name of God as it is sometimes mentioned in some Bible verses. I decided to pray about it to ask for His permission. I prayed that night that He would show a sign that it's okay to attend the Sunday keeping invitation by making next day a very sunny day and then when it will rain in the middle of it, not just a slight rain but a strong one that would really wet the ground, then I would understand that it is alright. After praying that, I promptly went to sleep. The next day, I forgot about it. It was indeed an unusually bright and sunny day. I was busy doing my chores around the house when it suddenly rained in midday. I was amazed because while the sun was shining yet it rained hard for maybe five minutes that it made puddles of water on the ground. Just then I remembered suddenly my prayer that night about God giving a sign through a rain in the middle of a bright day. I tended to think that it was just a simple coincidence but I stopped myself from thinking that way. Why would not I believe it when it was me who asked for that sign? I would be a fool to disbelieve it. I would be setting myself up for YHWH's displeasure and even a curse if I disbelieved it, so I told myself. So when Sunday came, I promptly attended their worship service. When I was there, I found how warm and caring they were with each other. I see their fervor and their dedication in their worship to God. I concluded therefore that YHWH does not disregard their worship even if they keep Sunday. They shared to each other what they have. I was amazed by their humility and their love for each other. They may worship in Sunday now but later on when YHWH will choose it is time to reveal the correct day of worship, nothing can stop it. The wheel of time is still turning, many things can still happen. It's not the end of the line for them yet. We should not belittle them for error they are in. There is a right time, a season for everything. At that juncture in their spiritual level, they are still spiritual babes that is true, but then their growth will continue until they will be matured enough to accept 'adult foods'. So we should not try to pluck out the milk from them to avoid stunting their growth. One day they will go look for the mature spiritual food when they're old enough. YHWH's timing, I know will never go wrong. In the end we all will meet at the vortex to meet YHWH on the Judgment Day.