Tisha B'Av: the Children are Ready

The children are ready to see the Holy Temple, and so are the Jewish people, and so are the righteous gentiles, and so is the whole world. Ready and waiting with great anticipation. Looking forward to days of joy and happiness.

Rabbi's Amazing Recovery: Miracle or Medical Breakthrough?

Was huge turnaround helped by the prayers of thousands of yeshiva students?


As seen on Aish.com (submitted by E. R. Milchtein)
July 12, 2012
"There is no doubt that a great drama is taking place here." - Doctor, Hadassah Medical Center, Israel




Rabbi Rafoel Shmuelevitz, the rosh yeshiva of Mir who suffers from ALS, remarkably improves, signaling a medical breakthrough.

What took place this past month at Hadassah Hospital’s Department of Neurology was not expected even by the most senior neurologists.

An ALS patient, a chronic disease with no known cure that causes a slow and painful process of muscular dystrophy- who was wheelchair-bound and had difficulty speaking and breathing, underwent an complete turnaround. From being handicapped and dependent on others for his most basic daily needs, suddenly Rabbi Rafoel Shmuelevitz stood on his feet, and returned to teaching at the flagship Mir Yeshiva, which he heads.

The treatment that is responsible, it appears, for the dramatic improvement in his condition was developed by the Israeli biotechnology company Brainstorm, and is based on stem cells. This is the first time that someone who has been treated with stem cells has regained abilities which were previously lost. Despite the great caution that is guiding the doctors as they discuss the rabbi’s condition, it is difficult to ignore the excitement which surrounds even the most stern of staff members when they talk about the turnaround that the rabbi has experienced…

Rabbi Rafoel Shmuelevitz recalls, “I couldn’t talk. It was difficult for me to breathe, and my lack of balance made it impossible to get up from my wheelchair. Even when they supported me I was able to walk only with difficulty. My students couldn’t understand me when I spoke.”…

In 2010, after a series of tests at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic, his doctors told him the difficult news, Rabbi Shmuelevitz had ALS [also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease], which is considered the most severe known neuromuscular disease. ALS patients gradually lose all of their motor abilities, until they eventually lose their ability to breathe and die from suffocation. The vast majority of patients die within three to five years following diagnosis. A small number of patients, for example physicist Stephen Hawking, manage to survive for years, but are almost unable to function.

“The American doctors and the Israeli doctor who treats me, Professor Menachem Sade of Wolfson Hospital, agreed that the only possible way to improve my condition would be to receive stem cell treatment at Hadassah,” explains the rabbi. “That was my final hope.”

“A few days after the treatment, my whole life began to change.”

Last May, the Ministry of Health granted approval to the Israeli biotechnology company Brainstorm, specializing in the development of technologies and medications based on stem cells, and the Hadassit company associated with Hadassah Medical Center, to begin a clinical trial of a new treatment based on cell therapy, which is meant to delay or stop the degeneration of nerve cells in ALS patients…This is the first treatment of its kind in history.

A month ago, the rabbi was given the treatment for the first time, and the effect on him was incredible. “A few days after the treatment, my whole life began to change,” he says with a smiling face. “My speech began to improve, it became easier to breathe and I began to walk unassisted. I am even able to climb stairs. My students understand every word I say. It’s truly a miracle from Heaven. I am a new person as a result of the treatment I received.”

“It’s hard to describe the excitement that took hold of us as a result of the amazing results of this treatment,” says Brainstorm president Chaim Leibovitch…

Also the doctors could not remain apathetic to the amazing effect of the treatment on the rabbi’s condition. “The change that occurred in him was huge, and also the objective improvement in his functioning was extremely impressive,” explains one of the hospital’s doctors with excitement. “From being handicapped, a person who couldn’t walk and couldn’t talk, a significant amount of his abilities have returned…There is no doubt that a great drama is taking place here. We need to remember that we are talking about a single isolated case. On the other hand, even isolated reports like this can also signal a medical breakthrough.”

Encouraging results, even if they are on a smaller scale, have also been witnessed among some of the 12 patients participating in the clinical trial…

As is the way of the world, the rabbi and his students see things a little differently [from the doctors]. His students talk about “Mass prayer rallies” and “A miracle.” At the same time that top medical minds were laboring to rehabilitate the rabbi’s systems at the hospital, at the Mir Yeshiva the top minds were constantly reading Psalms for his recovery, and learning pages of gemara in order to “tip the scale” in the upper worlds in favor of the 74-year-old rabbi, who has stood for close to 30 years at the head of one of the largest yeshivot in the world (with over 7000 students).

Such a dramatic improvement in such a nearly hopeless situation has very rarely ever been witnessed.

“The rabbi’s family decided when they started treatment to turn to all of the yeshivot in the world to request assistance,” says the rabbi’s assistant. An emotional plea went out in the name of important rabbis to pray for the rabbi’s recovery, and his full name was released for special “Mee Sheberach” prayers worldwide. When the rabbi was lying on the treatment table at the hospital, thousands of students gathered to read Psalms at the Lakewood Yeshiva in New Jersey, at the Ponevitch Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, and at Jerusalem’s Mir Yeshiva.

“The rabbi saw the announcement that went out with his name and broke out into tears,” his assistant says. “During the two or three days that he was at the hospital, the prayers didn’t stop. After that we returned home, and an extreme improvement began in his condition. He got up and started walking, even without support…Everyone who saw him said that this was a revealed miracle, that this is simply a new human being.”

At this stage, of course, it is still difficult to state whether we are talking about a miracle or just a historic medical breakthrough, which will grant hope to patients suffering from one of the most difficult and cruel diseases that exists. But about one thing nobody is arguing: such a dramatic improvement in such a nearly hopeless situation has very rarely ever been witnessed in the natural world.

This article originally appeared in Yediot Achranot. With thanks toJewishmom.com

War in Syria A Sign of the Final Redemption

An ancient source confirms that the brutal civil war in Syria is a sign of the final Redemption, as per the Rebbe's prophecy in 1991, "The time of your Redemption has arrived." The Rashbi, as cited below, is Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, one of the greatest sages who ever lived, who introduced the mystical dimension of the Torah into the world in his book, the Zohar. It is said that the Jewish people will go out of Exile with the Zohar in their hand.

Source: Chabad.info

What Did The Angel Tell Rashbi About Syria?

In Otzar Midrashim (Eisenstein) he brings a Medrash describing the process of redemption as was related to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai by an angel, while he was hiding in the cave ● The words of the angel about the fall of a King in Damascus seem to relate to the current situation unfolding in Syria ● 

1 Av 5772 (20.07.2012)

In Otzar Midrashim (Eisenstein) Vol. 2 page 556-557 he brings a Medrash describing the process of redemption as was related to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai by an angel, while he was hiding in the cave:

...This is the sign [that the redemption is imminent]: When you see the fall of the King of the East in Damascus, the Eastern Kingdom will fall, and then the Jews will experience salvation, and Moshiach Ben David will arrive, and they [the Jews] will ascend to Jerusalem and enjoy it, as it says [in Tehillim 37:11] But the humble will inherit the land and delight themselves with the abundant peace. May G-d have mercy on us and send us the redeemer speedily in our days, Amen.

Helping Teens Make a Difference

In 1991 when CNN asked the Rebbe, "What is your message to the world?," the Rebbe responded, "Moshiach is ready to come now. It is only on our part to add something additional in the realm of goodness and kindness." Since then billionaires encourage each other to give away their money, and websites on acts of kindness abound. In this recent example in the Wall Street Journal, a mother founded a website to help teens make decisions about how to donate their time and money.

A 'Broader Perspective' on Giving

Wall Street Journal 

By MELANIE GRAYCE WEST, May 2, 2012

Over the past few years, Jill E. Braufman noticed there was something missing in the process of introducing teenagers to philanthropy and volunteering.

As her two daughters and their friends sought to fulfill the high-school service requirements required in many public and private schools—and sometimes required by religious organizations— she saw that many young people had no information about the nonprofit sector. "I was watching kids tick these requirements off without developing a broader perspective," says Ms. Braufman, adding that very often "requirements or obligations are opportunities."

JILL E. BRAUFMAN

So, Ms. Braufman, 50 years old and a New Yorker, developed a philanthropy guide and website called Service Giving. The seven-page guide covers the broad business of philanthropy: how much people give, volunteering, finding your passion, how to evaluate a nonprofit, vocabulary of philanthropy and where to look for more information on charities.


There are lots of teens making real impacts on their communities through service projects. Here is an inspiring example.

“My grandparents always taught me that you have to be able to give because you never know when you’ll be in need…”

HANNAH STEINBERG

Hannah, now 16 and a junior at the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, NY, wanted to do something about which she felt passionate. “Do you know the show, ‘Extreme Couponing?’” she asks. “I was inspired by the show, and realized that I could turn it into a community-service project.”

Hannah seeded the project with $500 she’d earned babysitting, and contacted the Coachman Family Center in White Plains, which provides temporary housing for up to 100 homeless families, and asked if she could work with them. Then, she started coupon-ing like crazy.

Every Sunday, she’d get the circulars from Walgreens, CVS, Target, and the like, and also look for coupons online. She’d type up a list of what she was going to buy, which coupons she’d use, and how much money it would cost. Then, she’d go to the stores and shop.

“When I originally started the project, I would bring a bottle of conditioner and a couple of candy bars. It was nothing big,” Hannah says. “As I had more time in the summer, I was able to devote more time to it. And when school season came around I found these great deals for school supplies. I was able to donate huge masses of stuff.”

As the project grew, Hannah says, she realized that each dollar from her babysitting money could buy $5 worth of stuff for the families at Coachman. She decided to fundraise to make the project bigger, asking for donations from her family, her neighbors and her parents’ friends. “I do it on a much bigger level now,” Hannah says. “I buy like 70 cans of soup at a time, but I’ll get it really cheap. I’ve donated around $10,000 worth of product. I’ve given them food, shampoos, toiletries, games. I was able to give them a PlayStation 3. When I came in September with this stuff, they were blown away.”

Hannah figures she’ll keep the volunteer project going throughout high school, spending down the funds she’s raised, and that she’ll always do some form of community service. “My grandparents always taught me that you have to be able to give because you never know when you’ll be in need, and Schechter instills those values, too,” Hannah says. “That’s ingrained in me. I know that I have to do it. It’s my duty to do it. I will do community service my whole life.”

To visit Service Giving site, please click here:

The Ultimate Victory for the Previous Rebbe: Russian President Prays for Redemption at the Western Wall.

"....the redemption of Yud-Beis Tammuz left its impact not only on the lives of Lubavitcher chassidim, nor only on those devoted to the study of the Torah, nor only on the religiously obser­vant. For the ripples of change produced by Yud-Beis Tam­muz are unbounded in scope, influencing the future of our entire people."

                                    -The Rebbe MhM
Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. VIII, p. 329-330; Vol. XVIII, Yud-Beis Tammuz; and other sources

In 1927 by a miracle, the Soviet Union first nullified a death sentence, then a prison sentence, and then commuted a decree of exile for the Previous Rebbe. His crime was keeping the flame of Yiddishkeit burning with particular attention to the education of children. Soon thereafter, with the help of the U.S. government, he came to America where he laid the groundwork for the final Redemption. The fruits of his superhuman defiance of the Soviet regime can be seen in this visit by Russian President
Putin to the Western Wall to pray for the restoration of the Holy Temple.The timing was right before the 84th anniversary of the Previous Rebbe's release on the 12th & 13th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz (this year July 2 & 3).

Chabad.info

Putin Prays At Western Wall For Moshiach

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Western Wall overnight Tuesday. Putin arrived at the Western Wall at 2:00am ● At the end of his visit he turned to one of the Russian Jews present and said: "I came here to pray that the temple should be rebuilt, and i wish that your prayers will be fullfilled" ●

6 Tamuz 5772 (26.06.2012)

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Western Wall overnight Tuesday. Putin arrived at the Western Wall at 2:00am, accompanied by his good friend and Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar, and by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the Rabbi of the Kotel.

Throughout the visit, Putin demonstrated curiosity, asked many questions on the history of the place, and spoke about the Jewish connection to the holy site: "You can see how the Jewish past is engraved in the Jerusalem stone," he said.

At the end of his visit he turned to one of the Russian Jews present and said: "I came here to pray that the temple should be rebuilt, and i wish that your prayers will be fullfilled."