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‘Ma’aseh Avot Siman Labanim’ – Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Charlap on Chayei Sarah

A New Beginning

Parshas 

Posted on November 1, 2018 (5779) By Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein | Series:  | Level: 

Let him grant me the Machpelah Cave which is his.[2]

We are sometimes called Hashem’s children, while at other times we are called his servants. Which is better? We pride ourselves on being called banim/ children, for the closeness that it implies. Yet, in praising Moshe, the best honorific that the Torah comes up with is “servant of G-d.” The answer, it turns out, is similar to the one we use to find a way out of other contradictions. In short – it depends.

We often speak of the revealed and the hidden aspects of things, especially more esoteric matters that relate to Hashem Himself. We are used to assuming that the revealed portions are a small fraction of the larger entity or concept. This larger portion remains remote and inaccessible. In truth, this is an inaccurate approximation, because the hidden element is often something that is infinite, and we cannot really speak of a fraction or portion of the infinite!

The kedushah of the Jewish people is one of those areas. In its revealed part, we readily discern righteous Jews, average Jews, and evil Jews. Not so regarding the hidden part. There, “Your people are all righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.”[3] No distinctions here. This more hidden, essential kedushah is not so sullied by our misdeeds. It persists despite them.

Here we arrive at the true difference between son and servant. The eved of the Bible is wholly in the possession of his master, as if his core essence does not belong to him. Now, in looking at the “revealed,” open, manifest elements of being, we look at a son as far more elevated in distinction than a servant. But the latter has something that the former does not. The eved – all of him, including his more hidden dimensions – belongs wholly to another. So, too, it is in our relationship with HKBH. With concern to the more “external” parts of a relationship, we are like children. That is the more distinguished place to be. With respect to the more hidden parts of ourselves, however, we much more resemble avadim, who are wholly possessed by the Master. The hidden dimensions of our being are also His. If you are looking for the place of our most profound connection to Hashem, it is in those regions.

Avrohom rose to a level in which all of his thoughts were a kind of minor prophecy. Having rid himself of all evil, his mind operated in synch with that of Hashem, at least to the extent that the only thoughts that came to him were those that coincided with the Will of HKBH. This was the basis for his observing the Torah well before it was given. Because he had developed a strong sense that he was to act in a certain way, i.e. to perform the various mitzvah activities, he knew that this was also the Will of his Creator.

For this reason as well, he waited as long as he did before attempting to marry off Yitzchok. He had never developed a strong sense before that this is what he was to do. Without that sense, he knew that it could not be what Hashem wanted of him at that time!

Around the time of the Akeidah, however, this led to strong self-doubt. Having almost lost Yitzchok, he realized that if his son had married and had children, there would have been a possibility of continuity for his work and the berachah he had earlier received from Hashem. But if this now seemed so clear, why had he not had the strong sense of direction that he had always had before about how he should act? He began worrying that he had somehow stumbled and slipped, and lost this capacity to sense the Divine Will. He had to be reassured by Hashem that this was not the case. Avrohom had remained on the same madregah. He had not sensed a compelling need to marry off Yitzchok only because a suitable mate had not yet been born!

This itself requires explanation. It begins with the premise that part of the mission of the Jewish people is to banish the conventional form of death. When that goal would be accomplished, death as a horrible end to life would disappear. It would be replaced by what we know as death-by-neshikah, the Divine kiss, as it were. Neshikah is not a tragic finality, but rather a wonderful beginning. It means that all parts of the person rise step by step in perpetuity. The elements of the person that we mentioned above – the profound, mysterious inner core elements – become revealed, and know their greatest gains.

This process is part of our existence after the resurrection of the dead. For it to occur, it had to be made part of our national being at the earliest stage of our history. This happened through the Akeidah. Yitzchok, in effect, died and was reborn. Techiyas ha-meisim became part of us for all time.

Because Yitzchok had to die and, in essence, begin anew, he was not destined to marry before this event. His mate was to join him only in the second stage of his life, the one he began after the Akeidah, so that his progeny could all bear the imprint of his transition.

This elevated form of death was now made available to Soro, and eventually to Avraham as well. No burial plot had been secured for any of them prior to the Akeidah, because the Land of Israel was meant to support this higher form of death, not the ordinary kind. Once this aspect had become part of the First Family, their subsequent deaths could find an appropriate location.

That place was the Ma’aras Ha-Machpelah. It is not called kepeilah, or double, but machpelah, that which doubles. The two-tiered cave certainly hints at a doubled life, one if which we spend some time in mortal existence, and then the rest of eternity in the next stage – a spiritual life. The cave is also machpelah, connoting doubling, meaning that the acquisitions of the soul are multiplied in value after what we ordinarily call death, especially as the more hidden parts of our neshamos are allowed to flourish and openly thrive.

At the time that tehiyas ha-meisim will become a widespread event, the nations of the world will attach themselves to the Jewish mission. They will gladly assume positions of support to a Jewish strategy for the world, subjugating themselves to its message. In our passage, this is why the Bnei Cheis as a group participate in the sale. It is a harbinger of the day in which the nations will validate the mission of Avraham’s children, and attach themselves to it.

  1. Based on Mei Marom, Bereishis, Maamar 31 ↑
  2. Bereishis 23:9 ↑
  3. Isaiah 60:2 ↑

From Torah.org, here.

Mr. Lew Rockwell Makes the Case Against Public Libraries

Sell the Public Libraries

By 

August 22, 2002

On the ballot in Steve County, Washington, is a referendum to cut off tax-funded (public) libraries in rural areas. We are supposed to find this a horrible and vicious thing to have on the ballot, a clear sign that antigovernment sentiment in the West (might it spread?) is getting so out of hand that it is even attacking literacy itself.

The public libraries being the earliest and perhaps ultimate symbol of the turn-of-century social uplift movement, the attempt to get rid of themu2014the first that has ever been documentedu2014is being denounced as flagrantly reactionary and dangerous. Indeed, we can look forward to 80 solid days of hysteria on this issue, starting now.

The New York Times, in reporting on the referendum, notes that the anti-public library movement is supported by people who want to “end all property taxes” and desire “government based on biblical tenets.” If the specter of the Christian Right attempting to close libraries isn’t scary enough for you, the Times further notes that the voting population in question includes “small but persistent groups of people who are strongly antigovernment, even some militia supporters.”

And this is only mid-August! By November, the good-government liberals at the Times, in their passionate fervor to save universal literacy from extinction, will probably discover that the referendum supporters are antigay, racist, and secessionist, with probable ties to the Oklahoma City bombing and perhaps even 9-11. They can say so with no more evidence than they currently give for the claim that the militias are somehow anti-library.

And in a very odd twist, the Times has suddenly shifted from its usual anti-homeschooling bias to invoking the cause of homeschoolers, who turn out to be some of the main users of public libraries. How can the antigovernment movement be so cruel hearted as to dream of ripping the library cards out of the hands of hard-working homeschooling moms? Will they stop at nothing to destroy every vestige of civilization in America?

Well, you know what? Many public libraries have been a disgrace for decades. Like most public institutions, they are architectural monstrosities. They have terrible hours, which they blame on underfunding. Their selection is often severely limited, vacillating between being out of date and carrying only the latest, tackiest bestsellers. Others have gradually purged all books that offer ideas the ruling regime rejects.

In an effort to attract more users, they have become the leading distributors of videos, CDs, and DVDs, thereby competing with for-profit businesses and doing so at taxpayer expense. And it was the public libraries, with their computers and net access, that managed to shut down the internet café business of the mid-1990s. With public libraries offering the same services for free, why should anyone pay?

Of course, we do pay, just indirectly. As with every publicly financed operation, libraries are voracious consumers of tax dollars. No matter how much money you throw at them, it is never enough. No one can whine about budgets like a public librarian. This is the main grounds on which the Stevens County libraries are being denounced. The salaries are too high, it seems, and those who benefit from the libraries are not paying the costs, while those who do pay for them have superior alternatives.

In arguing against public libraries, one might bring into question fundamental doctrines of the civic religion, like the claim that universal literacy is essential to a thriving civilization. This was the view that led Andrew Carnegie to bribe thousands of communities into building these tax-siphoning book warehouses in the first place. It was an early version of the same nonsense spouted in the 1990s that if everyone would just get on the internet, we would all be smart.

We might raise such questions, but it is not necessary to do so. Clearly, public libraries of some sort have broad support. And that is precisely the point: an institution this beloved and this desired by the public can be supported privately on a for-profit or non-profit basis. Cut the tie to government, and you would find that the services offered by libraries would be better targeted, more rationally organized, and less expensive.

A for-profit library? Why not? For nearly a hundred years, these public libraries have crowded out what might have been a thriving entrepreneurial sector of for-profit libraries. A for-profit library might, for example, have different lending policies based on a fee schedule. Why should all books be due in three weeks? Why shouldn’t customers who pay more enjoy a longer lending period?

I recall in my childhood near Boston a used bookstore that lent bestsellers for a dime a day. It was a thriving service that brought people into the store, a mutual benefit for the public and the firm. But then the public library horned in on this small bookstore’s business, and did so at public expense, forcing it out of business. In a small but serious way, it was the triumph of book socialism.

The complaint is raised that pro-profit libraries serve only narrow interests. But why should one library attempt to serve all the people? In a for-profit world, there might be children’s libraries, fiction libraries, romance-novel libraries, religious libraries, and technical libraries. If it seems implausible, consider that for-profit video-lending business got a huge headstart on the public libraries in providing the same service.

Continue reading…

From LRC, here.

There Are Lies, Stats Lies… and Then There Are Corona Vaccine Lies

BREAKING: Israeli physicians, scientists advise FDA of ‘severe concerns’ regarding reliability and legality of official Israeli COVID vaccine data

An independent Israeli group of physicians, lawyers, scientists, and researchers called the Professional Ethics Front today advised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the upcoming FDA discussion on administering COVID-19 vaccines to children aged 5-11, expressing “severe concerns” regarding the reliability and legality of official Israeli COVID vaccine data.

“We are aware that the state of Israel is perceived as ‘the world laboratory’ regarding the safety and efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as reflected by statements made by Dr. Albert Bourla, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and other senior figures in leading health authorities throughout the world,” the letter reads. “It is therefore our understanding that the data and information coming from Israel play a crucial role in critical decision-making processes in regards to COVID-19 vaccination policies. We thus see it of utmost importance to convey a message of warning and raise our major concerns regarding potential flaws in the reliability of the Israeli data with respect to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as well as many significant legal and ethical violations that accompany the data collection processes.”

The letter elaborates: “We believe that the significant failures underlying the Israeli database, which have been brought to our attention by numerous testimonies, impair its reliability and legality to such an extent that it should not be used for making any critical decisions regarding the COVID-19 vaccines.”

Continue reading…

From America’s Frontline Doctors, here.

The Corona Vaccine’s Risks for Women Are Being Suppressed

Why won’t the US medical establishment “believe women”? Covid-19 vaccines do not warn about menstrual disruption

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Amid rising reports of vaccine-related menstrual disruptions, the CDC and FDA are dismissing women’s concerns and denying them information while corporate media pathologizes them in sexist fashion.

This August 11, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) overhauled its COVID-19 vaccine guidance for pregnant women, now “urging” them to accept their shots.

Just 23% of pregnant women in the US have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Only something like 11.1% have been fully vaccinated.

The CDC is seeking to drive these numbers up, but it is not doing the one thing that would, perhaps more than anything else, assuage the “hesitations” of these so-called “anti-vaxxers”: investigate and explain widespread reports of menstrual disruption post-Covid 19 vaccine – and, if necessary, add a warning about it.

Why?

I have five female friends who, after receiving Covid-19 vaccines, experienced disruption to their menstrual cycles. Their symptoms have included hemorrhagic bleeding lasting more than a month; heavy intermittent bleeding for four months; passing golf-ball size clots of blood; and extreme cramping, serious enough to land one friend in the ER.

Most of these women are in their 20s and 30s, and at least one of them thinks she might want to have children. She now worries that her symptoms might be the harbinger of long-term fertility problems. At least two of my friends have symptoms that have not resolved. All are feminists and have throughout the years been consistent Democratic Party voters.

Other women of childbearing age have reported becoming temporarily “postmenopausal” after their second mRNA shot; conversely, women in menopause are reporting suddenly beginning to bleed again; trans men on hormone therapy have also reported sudden bleeding. Apparently, the number of vaccinated women around the world reporting alarmingly disrupted menstruation is, to be conservative, in the tens of thousands.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), however, does not warn women who get the shots that they may experience a disrupted menstrual cycle.

Why is this? In part because even though menstruation is sometimes called the sixth vital sign and directly implicates fertility, and the fact that women on average suffer higher rates of adverse reaction to vaccines of all sorts and medication in general, the effects of Covid vaccines on women’s health specifically, including the menstrual cycle, were not studied as part of the Emergency Use Authorization process.

Impacts on menstrual cycles are, it turns out, very rarely studied in clinical vaccine trials. Stated another way, the quality of COVID-19 vaccine safety data is better for men than it is for women, yet across the country, vaccine mandates make no sex-distinction and in practicality, actually fall more heavily on majority-women industries. In this way, it could be argued, women are not being treated equally under U.S. law.

And now, despite widespread reports of post-vaccine menstrual disruption, it does not appear the CDC or FDA are taking the issue seriously. I contacted the FDA press office with specific and detailed questions about widespread reports of menstrual dysregulation after Covid vaccination. After some back and forth, an FDA spokesperson responded with an official statement:  boilerplate jibber-jabber that did not even speak to the issue of menstruation, much less state that all such reports had been investigated and dismissed.

One of my friends says, “I probably would have still gotten the vaccine, but I wish there had been research, a warning, something. My symptoms have been unpleasant and disconcerting, and it doesn’t seem like public health officials care. I think the way this is being handled will haunt me forever.”

Another, who is trying hard to not “freak out,” says “I wish I would have known about these side effects prior to receiving the vaccine. I would have been more cautious about receiving it. I hope the FDA takes these reports seriously and warns others about these side effects – after all, safety and regulation is their main responsibility.”

The fact that there is no warning, nor any urgent research into whether there should be a warning, seems jarringly sexist when you consider that the FDA has established and does warn that the mRNA Covid vaccines may cause rather trivial short-term side effects including the following: rashes, itching, hives, injection site pain, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, fever, nausea, swollen lymph nodes, diarrhea, vomiting; plus the recently added and potentially lethal conditions myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining outside the heart), which primarily affect young men.

In other words, the FDA sees fit to warn that you might get itchy after the shot but has not deemed it important to determine, and if necessary, tell women – women who might be trying to conceive – that getting the shot could, at least in the short term, scramble their cycle.

Spare a thought for the tens of thousands of women undergoing expensive, invasive fertility treatments like egg retrieval and in vitro fertilization. According to Pew Research, about one third of all American women will undergo fertility treatment at some point. Most health insurance plans do not cover these difficult procedures, so many women pay out-of-pocket, sometimes dropping tens of thousands of dollars. Surely such female medical consumers have a right to know if an mRNA vaccine can trigger, for example, spontaneous prolonged bleeding that disrupts their reproductive efforts.

Covid-19 is a real and potentially lethal virus. I do not need to be convinced of this. And I understand that any healthy society has the right to protect itself, and relatedly, to regulate its members. I have empathy for public officials charged with weighing competing interests and having to make difficult calls in navigating this crisis. Even more, I empathize with American families doing their very best to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities, often in the face of profound and disorienting loss.

But it is also true that members of any healthy society have the right to demand that such regulations be based on trustworthy evidence and moral reason; and where such regulations implicate fundamental liberties, to demand that they are no more invasive than absolutely necessary.

The severity of COVID-19 does not negate women’s need for a rigorous and trustworthy scientific appraisal of the benefits and risks they face if they accept a COVID-19 vaccine.

Women deserve an immediate and thorough investigation into reports of post-vaccine menstrual dysregulation, clear and honest explanations of the findings, medical guidance for restoring menstrual health, restitution where necessary, a redoubled commitment to the principle of informed consent moving forward, and (like everyone else) access to reasonable, clearly-communicated, non-punitive accommodations if they decline a COVID-19 vaccine at this time.

Instead, women concerned about the health effects of Covid-19 vaccines have been subjected to 1950’s-style dismissals and demonization in blatantly sexist terms that stand at odds with #MeToo era calls to “believe women.”

They now face the prospect of being barred from their educational institutions, prohibited from entering public accommodations, and losing their jobs unless they “choose” a medical therapy that has not even been fully approved by the Food & Drug Administration, which has left more than an insignificant number of their friends and loved ones struggling, alone, with surprise menstrual side effects, against which pharmaceutical industries enjoy a complete, multi-layered liability shield.

From a purely bioethical standpoint, this situation should be enough to give us pause, from those concerned with women’s health; to those concerned about fundamental civil liberties like the right to privacy, equal protection, free association, and free speech; to those concerned about fighting “vaccine hesitancy”; to those concerned about the continued (yet threatened) legitimacy of foundational U.S. institutions. But it seems many in our political class only care about or understand the DC horse race. So let us put it in those terms: this issue will show up in 2022.

Zero published studies on the effects of Covid vaccines on women’s reproductive systems

By early spring 2021, anecdotal testimonies of sudden, early, disturbingly prolonged, abruptly absent, extremely painful, or unusually heavy and clot-filled menstrual cycles post-Covid 19 vaccination were circulating on social media. By May 17th, the UK’s Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency had received 4,000 reports of post-vaccine menstruation disruption. By early July, that agency had received 13,000 such reports. Similar reports emerged from other countries like Canada and India.

In the U.S., adverse reactions to vaccines are tracked by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which was created in 1987 and is co-managed by the FDA and the CDC. As of July 26, VAERS showed many thousands of reports of various menstruation disorders, most related to mRNA Covid-19 vaccines.

There had been 1,624 reports of “menstruation irregular” logged; 1,352 reports of “menstrual disorder”; 563 reports of “menstruation delayed”; 803 reports of “vaginal hemorrhaging”; 239 reports of “postmenopausal hemorrhage”; 95 reports of “hemorrhage urinary tract”; 57 reports of “abnormal uterine bleeding”; and 41 reports of “hemorrhage in pregnancy.” Even more seriously, there were 691 reports of “abortion spontaneous”; 88 reports of “fetal death”; and 25 reports of “stillbirth.” The CDC claims rates of miscarriage by vaccinated women is within the normal range.

Continue reading…

From The Gray Zone, here.