אנשי אמנה

Abraham Sarfatij and Franciska Weening married in Amsterdam, Holland, on 29 August 1925. Abraham was a Chazan in a Portuguese-Israelite synagogue. Here is what happened to them, and to their six children. Their oldest son, Joseph Sarfatij, born 21 December 1926, was murdered in Sobibor, Poland, on 21 May 1943. He was 16 years old. The other children, Rosa, Israel Abraham, Annetta, Benjamin, Ruth Clara were transported to Oświęcim, Poland, together with their parents, Abraham and Franciska. Oświęcim is also known as Auschwitz. There they were collectively murdered, on 27 August 1943. There is no remnant of this family. I will show grace to whom I shall show grace. I will be merciful to whom I shall be merciful. I will be who I shall be (Shemot 33:19, 3:14).

Abraham Hoorenman and Claartje Hartog IJzer were first cousins. Their parents were Godschalk Abraham Hoorenman and Judik Abraham IJzer Levie, and Hartog Abraham IJzer and Boela Mozes van Oesteren, respectively. Abraham and Claartje married on 18 November 1863 in Amsterdam, Holland. Abraham was a diamant cutter. Here is what happened to their children and grandchildren, and in-laws. My name is Clara Coronel. My husband's name is Abraham Vischschraper. My parents were Benjamin Coronel and Judith Hoorenman. I was born 5 September 1895, in Amsterdam. I was murdered in Oświęcim, Poland, on 19 November 1943. I was 48 years old. My name is Abraham Vischschraper. My wife's name is Clara Coronel. My parents were Benjamin Vischschraper and Esther Piemontel. I was born on 22 August 1886, in Antwerp, Belgium. I was murdered in Oświęcim, Poland, on 19 November 1943. I was 57 years old. My name is Hanna Beem. My husband's name is David Coronel. My parents were Abraham Beem and Blancha...

I discovered that Sefaria has Rav Kook's book לנבוכי הדור also in English , but the English translation stops exactly where it gets interesting, after the first part of chapter 26; see my translation here . Did the translator get tired exactly at this point? I wonder if this has anything to do with the contents of the sequel . Did the translator get confused by the contents? Or did he follow censorship politics? A subtle kind of censorship, just for the public that does not read Hebrew? At Pesach, we cherish our freedom, freedom from outside oppressors, freedom from inside oppressors. May the translator finish his job, and let us have a beautiful Pesach! Pesach Sameach!

And, yes, there are claims that are distributed that claim their will to actually destroy. And there are claims that come from a source that is corrupted by an evil spirit, that wants evil and ugliness. But there are also claims whose very purpose is straight and present, but, there are great hindrances in the nature of life that make it totally impossible that these claims would become realized in the present or in the past, and there are those that will be realized in the future, in varieties that are more whole than the claimants think, but the claimant's limited knowledge in the nature of life, and the rash of pushing the end (the end pushing), cause the same imaginary destructions, that if they would be realized they would destroy the world, and now that they are only said and written down they are blurring them, and make their hearts are dumbed, and it turns off the light of the divine and healthy soul. We will now picture a man that lived a natural and healthy life, but he ...

The idea of Savlanut is, for most, confused. Many think that is not a good idea to be strong in one's opinion and in one's inclination, because when place is also made for every opinion and inclination, there will also be place for the opposite of one's opinion and inclination. That is a good thing and it is true, but it should be questioned, together with that, when will Savlanut give good fruit to the nation? Exactly when the awareness is coming forth also about the opposite inclinations, to reach a complete recognition. While there are good parts and beneficial inclinations that are close to my heart, there are also beneficial inclinations in the ways of people that differ from my thoughts, according to the correct view that "there is no thing that has no place." However, that explanation cannot, in a good way, lessen the force of the clarification and the energy of the striving to the essential goal that gets clear to a man as added repair and building of th...

There is no religious heretic, no matter what nation and the language is, that is forced so much by his heresy, to forge his national history, and to adopt a fake picture of his nation's program, and to force upon her great dishonor, and to steal from her all respect and glory in the national sense, as a Jewish heretic. To a Jewish heretic, it is impossible that he does what he does, only because of incomplete views using only rational ideas, he has to be a great cripple and mentally ill. He must be completely deprived from the real national feeling, and with that also from the feeling of real integrity, that is in every pure heart that searches for the truth. Surely, mental illnesses can have their origin in many different circumstances, and there are also those with a ruined state of body and soul which bring a person to such an unclear view that he cannot ever believe, and will be also crazy because of he sees. The explanation is simple, that the disease that is more malignant t...

Rav Cherlow proposes something strange in his Teshuva to the man who is sitting on the edge of becoming Chiloni, with an urgent question: How can a person who is convinced of the truth of Bikoret Hamikra continue, in my words, his Kesher with Hashem? He says that he will look for a great figure that can answer his question, and if he also cannot answer, he will look for a Rav greater than him, and so forth, until they will find the right answer. The question is whether he, who is sitting on the edge, is prepared to go this way with Rav Cherlow. The proposal seems weird. The question is clear. If a great figure has the answer, why not tell his name, or give the answer already. But if the great figure is Rav Kook, it becomes clear. Rav Kook does give an answer that is helpful to the questioner but it is hard to cite him, as the answer is hidden in his writing, which is partly in the form of a parody, and partly is a Mashal. In the posts that follow, I will give my English translation o...

At the beginning it is the "Kofer" who is described as mentally ill, wanting to hurt the Nation, which is healthy and knows the truth through healthy self-reflection. This is the voice of the people. Then we get a lesson about patience, Savlanut, regarding the "Kofer", who nevertheless has some truth, and we get the realization that the opposite of an intellectual position which has some truth, is often also a intellectual position that has some truth. If so, both must be pursued, to make Israel whole. The principle s applied to the Ma'anar itself, and we end up with the truth that it is opposite. It is the nation of Israel that is sick, being the victim of perennial anti-Semitism, which is the sickness of the world. The "Kofer" comes to add to the sickness of Israel, even though he comes from a position of health and posits the truth. And it is because of this sickness that he is rejected no matter how pure, and sensitive, he brings his findings. Y...

By Rav Kook , continued: לנבוכי הדור כ"ז ב עניני הבקרת, שבימינו נתפרסמו ביותר גם על הענינים היותר נשגבים ויותר עקריים, צריכים להסתכל כל מי שרוצה להיות מהמשיבים באופן הראוי להמציא באמת רפואה להמחלות הרוחניות שבאו לעולם לרגלי הטענות שיסודן על כל פנים מהבנה שטחית בלתי נשלמת, כלל אחד עיקרי, והוא, שבין הטענות שהן פונות נגד תורתנו הקדושה, בין תורה שבכתב בין תורה שבעל פה, ישנם דברים כאלה שסיבת טעותם היא הבנה רעועה בעניני התורה, ויש מהן שסיבתן היא הבנה רעועה בענין המושכל או המציאות שממנו הן באות לסתור ולהרוס. וצריך המשיב להזהר מאד בעיון יפה לחפש את מקור הטעות אם הוא בהבנת המציאות הרוחנית, השכלית, המוסרית, או החומרית, או שהוא מונח בהבנה משובשת בתורה. בין שתהיה ההבנה המוטעית מיוחדת רק לטוענים לבדם, או שתהיה ההבנה המפורסמת לרבים גם כן זולתם, על כל פנים משובשת, אבל בשני האופנים הנה החצי ממנו והלאה. וכן ישנן תביעות מחולקות שטוענים החפצים בהירוס מעשי. ישנן תביעות כאלה שהן נובעות ממקור משחת מנפש רעה החפצה ברע ובכיעור. וישנן גם כן תביעות שעצם המטרה שלהן היא ישרה ונכחה , אלא, שישנן מניעות ...

By Rav Kook , continued: לנבוכי הדור כ"ו, חלק ב מושג הסבלנות הוא על פי רוב משובש. הרבה חושבים שאין ראוי להיות חזק כל כך בדעה ובנטיה, כי אם פונה גם כן מקום לכל דעה וכל נטיה, תהיה גם כן הפוכה מדעתו ונטייתו. זהו אמנם דבר טוב ואמת, אבל יש לציין ביחוד שאימתי תתן הסבלנות פרי טוב לאומה? דוקא כשתבא הסברת הפנים גם כן להנטיות ההפכיות מפני ההכרה השלמה, שכשם שיש חלקים טובים ונטיות מועילות באותם הקרובים לליבי, כן ישנן גם כן נטיות מועילות בדרכים שבהם מתגדרים אחרים הרחוקים ממחשבותי, בדעת הנכון ש״אין לך דבר שאין לו מקום״. אבל אותה ההסברה לא תוכל באופן ההגון למעט את כח הבירור והאנרגיה של השאיפה למטרה העקרית שנתבררה לאדם בתור הוספת תיקון ובנין באומה. על כן צריך רק להשכיל שכל ההתנגדות צריכה להיות על הגרעון וההרס, אבל לא על הבנין והוספת הכח. ואז כאשר יתרומם האדם למעלה זאת, להבין בכל תנועה כללית גם הרחוקה מדרכו את הצד המחייב שלה, יכיר כי גם התנועות השוללות והמהרסות נוסדו גם כן לתכלית הטבת הבנין והחיוב, וממילא יכיר את תעודתן ויבין להטותן לחפץ התיקון והבנין. למשל, השלילה הכפרנית היא המחלה היותר...

The original Sin of religious zionism, by Rav Kook : לנבוכי הדור כ"ו, חלק א אין לך כופר בדת, מכל אומה ולשון שתהיה, שיהיה מוכרח כל כך לרגלי כפרנותו לזייף את ההיסתוריה הלאומית שלו ולרכוש לו תמונה מזוייפת מתוכנה של אומתו, ועם זה להעטות עליה חרפה רבה, ולגזול ממנה את כל כבודה והדרה במובן הלאומי, כמו אפיקורוס ישראל. אפיקורוס ישראל אי אפשר לו שיעשה מה שהוא רק בשביל השקפות בלתי שלמות במושגים השכליים לבדם, כי אם הוא צריך להיות בעל מום גדול ולקוי מאד בנפשו . הוא צריך להיות משולל מהרגש הלאומי האמיתי כליל, ועמו גם כן מרגש היושר האמיתי השוכן בכל לב טהור הדורש אמת. אמנם, הלקויים הנפשיים יכולים לבא מסיבות שונות ויש גם כן אשר מצב הגוף והנפש ההרוס יביא את האדם למצב השקפה מטושטשת כזאת שלא יוכל להאמין בחייו, ויהיה משוגע גם כן ממראה עיניו. הביאור הוא פשוט, המחלה היותר ממארת ששמה משטרה בחולי היאוש והכפירה שבדורנו, היא באמת, אחר מיצוי עומק הדין, רק אותו הפקפוק שבא מידי מהרסים אחדים למחנה ישראל בצורת בקרת כתבי הקודש , לאיחר את כתיבת התורה מימי המאורעות הכתובים בה. כי בקיום ואמונת יציאת מצרים ותהל...

On Shabbat Zachor we will surely remember the three wars that Amalek has fought against Israel. The expression Ayil Meshulash is from the Pasuk Bereshit 15:9 , which mentions three sacrifices, the Eglah Meshuleshet, the Ez Meshuleshet, and the Ayil Meshulash, which correspond to three three-fold "wars" in our time . One of the three fits the three parts of Ayil Meshulash , and the other two three-fold wars are as follows. The first three-fold war is Eglah Meshuleshet. The first part of it is the war of independence. It was "predicted" to be related to טצ"ץ, in the sense that the gematria of the date is 999 . Indeed, year 5708 is the year that 999/2 was reached by the exile count. Likewise, the other great wars, the six-day war of 5727, and the Yom Kippur war of 5734 were טצ"ץ wars. In short, all of the above wars were in the years in which the three counts, the exile count, the count of Din, and the count of Chesed, reached the value 999/2. The...

Last night I attended an evening to the memory of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, may Hashem revenge his death. Naturally, he concept of Hester Panim came up, the hiding of the face of G-d. I feel that Hester Panim is partly self-imposed. As we read in Shemot 20:19: "And they said to Moshe: You shall speak with us so we may listen, but let G-d not speak with us or else we will die." We don't want Hashem to speak with us. We are blocking Him from speaking with us. This is very relevant in our days, when the time has finally come for the truth to be known, through the internet revolution. What is our reply? The reply of Rav Raziel was to be Machmir, it appears. The group to which he seemed to belong, promotes the blocking of free internet access, to avoid temptation. People that go by that Psak , give up on the basic human freedom to decide what is good and what is bad. Moreover, they are blocking the truth. This is serious stuff. It says in Devarim 31:17-18: Is it not because my G...

In Shemot 24:9-14, we read about Moshe plus selected individuals, and the seventy elders, the men of truth, seeing the G-d of Israel. The selected individuals are Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and/or, according to 24:14, Yehoshua and Chur. There are thus roughly three levels, the level of Moshe, the level of the people, and in between, the level of the seventy elders and the selected individuals. It seems that all saw a different side of the G-d of Israel, each according to his level. Like the seventy elders that saw Him, there are seventy faces to the Torah, which is therefore likened to "Yayin," which is seventy in gematria. What then is so unique to the level of Moshe? I suggest that it is to see, in peace, all seventy faces simultaneously. Similarly, it says in Shir HaShirim Rabba, "שקול משה כנגד ששים ריבוא." Seeing G-d like He is, Moshe is the soul of the Sanhedrin . הֲלוֹא כֹה דְבָרִי כָּאֵשׁ, נְאֻם-יְהוָה; וּכְפַטִּישׁ, יְפֹצֵץ סָלַע (Yeremyahu 23:29)

In Shemot 18, in a dialogue between Moshe and Yitro a matter is settled that would prove to be essential for Jewish history. In Shemot 18:15, Yitro asks Moshe why from morning till evening the people are standing before him. In Shemot 18:16, Moshe tells Yitro that the purpose is to make known G-d's laws and His Torah. Because Moshe is the only one that can judge according to Emet, the Truth, he is the one to do this. Yitro replies that this is impossible. Rather, Moshe should take it upon himself to determine G-d's laws and His Torah at a general level (Shemot 18:19,20,21). Moshe should leave it to worthy men, who fear G-d, men of truth, who hate bribery, to apply the general Torah in individual cases. Thus the compromise was born. The Torah at a general level became the Halacha, הַדֶּרֶךְ יֵלְכוּ בָהּ. For Moshe, the Halacha did not exist. He would seek divine help in every case. For Moshe, G-d is Keter, Emet, for the people G-d is Hashem. Moshe is the Sanhedrin of the Truth...

This article touches the kernel, orthodox Jews are a social group. This was what the GR"A wanted to prevent and change, but he failed. The article makes a distinction between "lernen" and learning. The distinction is kind of nice, though at first there was of course no difference, and in Hebrew both are the same, ללמוד. The difference arose when modern knowledge came up, and was rejected by the orthodox. That is when they became a mere social group. Although there are differences, all orthodox groups today are mere social groups. Because even the religious Zionists do not accept all science. The truth together with a little conscious lie is barely different from a big lie, and if one goes according to this "truth," one does not go, from one perspective, according to the truth at all. It is all or nothing with the truth. But the truth keeps knocking on the door, because Orthodoxy implies that it knows the truth, although it does not. The Orthodox even ruled o...

Where is the traffic police !? What are the authorities doing !?

I made the final app , the Shechem app. It implements: public static Gauss gauss(int year, int n) { return new Gauss (year, n, 0); } This makes seven calendars in total: Baharad (the old Hebrew calendar), Eretz Yisrael , Shechem, Yerushalayim , Da'at, Keter, and the new Hebrew calendar ( Bizared ). The Shechem calendar is also a Baharad calendar, the same data for the Moladim of Tishrei and Nissan of year 1 apply. But it is identical to the Bizared calendar between the years 1000 and 7333. These are the seven options, as I see them, for the Sanhedrin, the Sanhedrin of the truth, to implement the "first Mitzvah" (see Rashi), in our days (Shemot 12:2): הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם, רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים: רִאשׁוֹן הוּא לָכֶם, לְחָדְשֵׁי הַשָּׁנָה

At the summit stands the Keter calendar. It is defined by public static Gauss gauss(int year, int n) { return new Gauss (year, n, 642 + ((int) ((10 + n - (10 + n) % 19)/19) - ((10 + n >=0)?0:1))*1080*12); } This is the bravest choice. It keeps the 642 Chalakim of Ben Meir and adds to it the z/2 term that we know from the new Hebrew calendar. Of course, I made a Keter app for you. The Keter calendar also synchronizes on 1 Tishrei of year 1., as we saw for the other calendars. The Molad of Tishrei of the year 1 is at day ב, at ט"ז hours and 642 Chalakim. The Molad Nissan of year 1 is at day ו, at ט hours, and 793 Chalakim. Then there is the Da'at calendar, defined by public static Gauss gauss(int year, int n) { return new Gauss (year, n, - 642 + ((int) ((10 + n - (10 + n) % 19)/19) - ((10 + n >=0)?0:1))*1080*12); } This is the least ambitious choice of the upper realm. It has the 642 term with the opposite sign. The Da'at calendar also synchronizes on 1 T...

All four calendars synchronize on the first day, 1 Tishrei of the year 1, 1 Tisrei 1, and in fact they synchronize until 29 Adar (I). After that, the Yerushalayim calendar and the new Hebrew calendar have a month of Adar Beth, whereas the Eretz Yisrael and the old Hebrew calendar have the month of Nissan. In jargon, year 1 is an LA2 year for the Yerushalayim and the new Hebrew calendar and a CA2 year for the Eretz Yisrael and the old Hebrew calendar. This is the Molad of Tishrei of year 1, according to the four calendars. In the old Hebrew calendar, it is at day ב, at ה hours and 204 Chalakim. In both the calendars of Yerushalayim and Eretz Yisrael, the Molad of Tishrei 1 is at day ב, at ד hours and 642 Chalakim. The new Hebrew calendar has the first Molad at day ב, at י"ז hours, and 204 Chalakim. And this is the Molad of Nissan of year 1, according to the four calendars. According to the old Hebrew calendar, it is at day ד, at ט hours and 642 Chalakim. According to the calenda...

On 30 Cheshvan 5785, in the usual Hebrew calendar, there will be a divergence from the calendar according to Ben Meir , the calendar of Eretz Yisrael . In the latter calendar, this day is called Kislev 1, 1985. To say it differently, the year 1985, a CA5 year in the usual calendar, is a CR5 year in the calendar of Eretz Yisrael. The last day of divergence, in this millennium, is 29 Kislev in 5790. The year 5790 is an LD2 year in the usual calendar, but an LA7 year in the calendar of Eretz Yisrael. So, from 30 Cheshvan 5785 to 29 Kislev 5790 , there is an opportunity for the level of Klal Yisrael to rise up, by annulling the Cherem of Ben Meir, and similar bans throughout history, perpetrated on individual, well-meaning Jews. More often than not, these Jews were right, and we lost the opportunity to learn from them, and even if they were not right, the issuing of a Cherem did not help in our quest for the truth. Yes , we must change the calendar. We must not change to the calendar of...

We have to do Teshuva. The Cherem of Ben Meir was wrong. The Cherem of Spinoza was wrong. The Cherem of Ramchal was wrong. There are many more. We have made mistakes. We have caused agony, untold agony. We, Israel as a nation, are responsible, because the awful sins against members of our nation and against the Truth that were perpetrated on our behalf. Maybe, if we change our ways, the Truth will forgive us. We have to, formally and loudly, revoke all these bans. And we have to do more. We have to make sure that it will happen no more that people feel banned from society, because today we ban people in many ways. Our government organizations have grown corrupt. They are only interested in the perpetuation of their power over the people. Gone is the idealism that once was, and it shows, on the roads, with the horrendous misbehavior in traffic. Where is the government organization that is in charge? The deeds of the fathers are sign for the sons. Moshe said, in Shemot 2:14: "The...

I made another app , the Eretz Yisrael app, that allows you to verify my claims . The Eretz Yisrael calendar is equally old and equally authoritative as the "old" Hebrew calendar, hence the quotes. The app is in the public domain. Download the code here . The code differs only in one place from the "old" Hebrew calendar, it subtracts the 642 Chalakim of Aharon Ben Meir . That is, in technical terms , it implements: public static Gauss gauss(int year, int n) { return new Gauss (year, 0, 642); } As you can see, it has, focusing on Rosh Hashanah, a divergence from the usual calendar in 4683, 4683, and 4688. This is the direct reason of the dispute that erupted in 4681 . Finally, the "third Hebrew calendar" is naturally called the Yerushalayim calendar. In technical terms , is has the full treatment of the generational parameter n, and it has Ben-Meir shift of 642 Chalakim: public static Gauss gauss(int year, int n) { return new Gauss (year, n, 642);...

The light of Moshiach ben Yosef shone again. In the Chassidic camp, in the Polish village of Kotzk. His name was rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgensztern, the Kotzker Rebbe. The Kotzker Rebbe was an utterly non-Chassidic Chassid, very much into learning, and he wanted Talmidim that were very much into learning. And he wanted the Truth. Citing Rabbi Gavin Michal , who also has a blog here : "His obsession with Truth was just too much for mere mortals. A movement based on an unconditional commitment to Truth is doomed to fail before it even starts." According to the Zohar, year 5600 was the year the gates are opened for the sources of the wisdom from below and the wisdom from above. This was also the time that the Kotzker Rebbe had penetrated so far into the world of Truth, the place where the soul of Moshiach is rooted, that it had dawned upon him that there is no Halachah in the world of Truth, though there is Halachah in the world below. The Halachah was therefore extraneous to h...

The calendar of Eretz Yisrael , proposed by Aharon Ben Meir, is very close to the usual Hebrew calendar. Until the year 6000, there is only one short period in which the calendar of Eretz Yisrael differs from the usual one, the old Hebrew calendar. Focusing on Rosh Hashanah, it will be around 1 Tishrei 5786 that there is one day of difference, 1 Tishrei 5786 is one day earlier according to the calendar of Eretz Yisrael. Likewise, there are two days of difference around 1 Tishrei 5789 and 1 Tishrei 5790. For students of the GR"A and Ramchal, this should ring a bell . On Kislev 1, in the year 5600, the calendar of Eretz Yisrael also departed from the usual Hebrew calendar. Concentrating on Rosh Hashanah, we have that the calendar of Eretz Yisrael had 1 Tishei 5601 and 1 Tishrei 5605 two days early, compared to the usual calendar. These five years, years 5601, 5605, 5786, 5789, 5790 are the only years of difference in the range from 5500 till 6000. I find that very interesting, a...

The new Hebrew calendar can be seen as the endpoint of four calendars, against the four worlds . In order to present them we change the scale of the parameter z, from days to Chalakim. That is, we change, in the Gauss algorithm , the line m0 = T - (10. + n) * K + L + 14. - z/2.; into m0 = T - (10. + n) * K + L + 14. - (z/1080.)/24.; and we simultaneously change in the algorithm of the new Hebrew calendar the function gauss into: public static Gauss gauss(int year, int n) { return new Gauss (year, n, ((int) ((10 + n - (10 + n) % 19)/19) - ((10 + n >=0)?0:1))*1080*12); } We call this the fourth Hebrew calendar. The third Hebrew calendar is the calendar obtained from this by replacing the long expression that is the third argument, for the value 642: public static Gauss gauss(int year, int n) { return new Gauss (year, n, 642); } The second Hebrew calendar is obtained from the previous one by ignoring parameter n. This actually was the calendar proposed by Aharon Ben Meir...

The two Hebrew calendars start on the same day: 1 Tishrei of year 1. In the old system, it was on a Monday, at day ב, at ה hours and 204 (ר"ד) Chalakim, בהר"ד, Baharad, the first Molad. The new system had the first Molad half a day later, at day ב, at י"ז hours, and 204 (ר"ד) Chalakim. The new system is therefore called ביזר"ד, Bizared. The first Molad was just short of 18 hours, which would have postponed Rosh HaShanah to Tuesday. The first year, in the Bizared system, is an abundant leap year, LA2. In the Baharad system, however, it is an abundant common year, CA2. The result is that 1 Tisrei of year 2 according to Bizared, is 1 Cheshvan of year 2 according to Baharad. So, here one sees the difference, and it is, by the way, one that fatally undermines any creation narrative that one might have to substantiate one calendar or another. The date 1 Tishrei of year 1 is the same in both Hebrew calendars. That is, the Bizared and Baharad systems agree. One can...

Many know it by heart. The leap years are the seven years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, 19 of the cycle of 19 years. There is a formula for these years. The seven leap years, out of 19 years, satisfy (year*7 + 1)%19 where x%19 is the remainder after division by 19. The value of x%19 can thus be 0,1,...,18. There is an alternative formula for the leap years. The seven leap years, out of 19 years, also satisfy (year*12 + 17)%19 >= 12, preferring positive numbers. The formulae can be naturally adapted to include the generational parameter n: (year*7 + 1 - n)%19 or (year*12 + 17 + n)%19 >=12. For n=4 we have, preferring positive numbers, (year*7 + 16)%19 =12. Anyway, they are the seven years 1, 4, 6, 9, 12, 14, 17 of the cycle of 19 years that should be leap years at this time.

I made another app , that allows one to convert a date according to the new Hebrew calendar, to a date according to the old Hebrew calendar. Or vica versa. The app computes the date simultaneously in the Gregorian calendar, and in a whole bunch of other calendars. It is also possible to choose any other date, the Gregorian date, the Islamic date, and so forth, and to compute the two Hebrew dates. The app is a toy, a joy for Chanukkah. The Oeviyah (LD7, CD7, CR5, CA2, LA2, et cetera) that appears next to the old and new Hebrew dates, is in fact a complete characterization of the year. For details, see the book The Jewish Calendar and the Torah: Introduction - 2nd Edition , of James A. Shneer . The app is in the public domain. Download the code here . Chag Chanukkah Sameach!

The lighting of the Chanukkah candles is seemingly superficial. Nevertheless the matter points to something deep. But what is it? The lighting of the candles is said to be for Pirsuma Nissa, the publication of the miracle. What would the miracle be? According to straightforward thinking, the miracle would be the events which occurred in the time of the Chashmona'im, the wonderful victory against the Greeks, or the (non-historical) miracle of the oil which lasted eight days. But, the miracle of our days is so much bigger. What miracle? The state of Israel is the miracle. It is more than a Agada, it is history. Now, we don't have the right perspective yet, because the Exile is still with us, in us. But the Light of the Big Aleph , the Truth, will shine the Exile out of existence, and that is the ultimate reason for the celebration of Chanukkah. The Light comes step by step, like the light of the Channukah candle. Think about the Light of the Truth being revealed when you light t...

I made an app , an interactive tool that allows one to calculate the date of Pesach, according to the proposed Hebrew calendar, for any year up till 35333. The app computes the date simultaneously in the existing Hebrew calendar, in the Gregorian calendar, and in a whole bunch of other calendars. For years 1000 until 7333, the date of Pesach, according to the proposed Hebrew calendar, is exactly Nissan 15, or it is one month removed from Nissan 15. When the "Pesach" date is one month before Nissan 15, that date is Hemshech Purim . Next to the year appears the Oeviya (CR5, CA2, et cetera), which is a complete characterization of the year. For details, see the book The Jewish Calendar and the Torah: Introduction - 2nd Edition , of Shneer . It is also possible, thanks to John Walker , to use the app as a date converter from Gregorian to Hebrew, and vice versa. The app is in the public domain. Download its code here .

In the year 4681, a dispute erupted between Aharon Ben Meir , Nasi of the Sanhedrin in Eretz Yisrael, who insisted that Molad Nissan of year 1 should be on Wednesday at 9 hours exactly, at 4:9:0, and Rav Saadya Gaon , of Bavel, who insisted that Molad Tishrei after that, was on Friday, at 14 hours exactly, at 6:14:0 (and at 2:5:204 - BaHaRaD - one year earlier). The two differ by 642 Chalakim. That is, according to Rav Saadya, Molad Nissan is at 4:9:642. In the end, Ben Meir seems to have given up and since then the Halacha is according to Rav Saadya. About what was the dispute? Probably, Ben Meir and his tradition felt that Nissan was more important than Tishrei. Is Nissan not the first month? But, let us be fair. To insist that either Molad Nissan or Molad Tishrei of year 1 or 2 must be a round number, is nonsense. When he was excommunicated by the exilarch of Bavel, Ben Meir could have repaid in kind, but he did not, in the end. He must have understood that, as Israel was in the ...

To a searcher of Truth, the orthodox position is anathema. It may be that a certain teaching finds a place, a priori, in one's heart, or to the contrary, a certain teaching causes disgust in one's heart, but that can be of no influence on the search for the Truth. Going for the Truth means going for the Truth and nothing else. It means laying down all assumptions. It may be that in the end there is a certain agreement between the Truth and a priori positions, but that is after the fact, and not before. Mind you, such an enterprise is not for the faint-hearted. This is the 800th post in the series of my blogs. The series shows an evolution from ideas that were informed by orthodox teaching, to a position were such a priori ideas are avoided. All in all, I think it is fair to say that we started from the "Chiloni truth" and accepted "all the sciences," and we accepted "the Zionist enterprise." And then we researched the Torah, the ancient scripture....

We have assumed the GRA-oriented timing of the Rap'ach years, the 288 years from 5501. It is also possible that the 288 years are to be counted from the year 5493, because that was the year that 127 years ended from year 5366. In this case, 288 years will end in the year 5781. This will be the end of Moshiach ben Yosef, in a certain way, that will lead to Moshiach ben Benyamin, Moshiach ben Yamin. This scenario does not have the stimulated emission idea of the counting to 288, yet it is something to take into account. In this scenario, it seems there will be a Moshiach ben David going for the throne, but Moshiach ben Yamin will beat him. Perhaps both types of counting to 288, and both connections to the count from 5366, are valid simultaneously. The wise will understand.

The students of the GR"A lost the universal aspect of Moshiach ben Yosef to the scientists. To mention just a few names: Newton, Gauss, Darwin, Wellhausen, and the Jewish ones, Einstein, Feynman, Freud, Friedman. The particularistic aspect of Moshiach ben Yosef they lost to the Zionists. To mention just a few names: Jabotinsky, Ben Gurion, Begin, Netanyahu. The students of the GR"A chose for the line of Moshiach ben David, which is the line of Halacha. There is hatred between the line of Yosef and the line of David. But fortunately, there is another line, the line of "religious Zionists," who believe in Torah and Mad'ah. They believe in the combination of Torah, all the sciences, and the Zionist enterprise. Given the hatred between the two lines, it seems like a ridiculous position, filled with contradictions, in the brunt of hatred. It is not sufficiently known, but there is a secret to their success. The secret is that there is another line, the line of Beny...

In the previous post I ended with a quote of Carl Friedrich Gauss. Here is a more elaborate set of quotes of him that cause one to think. It is worthwhile to study this person and read the whole list . Because what he did was extraordinary. He took the queen of wisdom, "in the eyes of the nations," and simplified it. That is wisdom. What can be the explanation of the Gauss phenomenon? What can be his role in history? We have to say that he was a holy spark of the Light, created by "breaking of the vessels," that fell among the K'lipot of the nations. The failure of the students of the GR"A was thus for a purpose, the gathering of the holy sparks. That is awesome. is the queen of sciences and number theory is the queen of mathematics. For the soul there is a satisfaction of a higher type; the material is not at all necessary. Whether I apply mathematics to a couple of clods of dirt, which we call planets, or to purely arithmetical problems, it s just th...

It says in the Talmud {Shabbat 75a}: Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, in the name of Bar Kappara: "Anyone who knows how to calculate the cycles and the planetary movements and he does not calculate, it is written about him: And the work of G-d they do not regard and the action of His hands they do not see (Yeshaya 5:12)." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: "From where do we know that it is incumbent upon a person to calculate the cycles and the planetary movements? For it is stated: You shall safeguard and perform them, for it is your wisdom and discernment in the eyes of the nations (Devarim 4:6). What wisdom and discernment is in the eyes of the nations? You have to say this is the calculation of the cycles and the planetary movements." In other words, the calculation of the cycles based on the movements of the Moon and the Sun is the primary example of Chochma and Bina, "in the eyes of the na...