The gashmius is killing us

Message from Ben Golden 16 Adar

I want to express to Am Yisrael how my heart aches over our present sad situation. I really was not planning on giving another message, since we have been getting more than enough direct and very difficult messages straight from Shamayim.

However, there is something I do feel I need to say and that is:

Am Yisrael, Am Yisrael; open your eyes! Why are you sleeping? Why?! The world around us is falling apart, and Am Yisrael, Hakadosh Baruch Hu's bride is soundly sleeping in the filth of the olam hazeh (this world).

Secular Jews, religious Jews and Charedi Jews; open your eyes!

Within a very short time period we have witnessed highly unnatural acts of nature. On Purim there was a snow blizzard in America that covered a very large territory, a very unusual phenomenon. At that same time, here in Israel we had some very good rain, baruch Hashem, but the rainstorms were so strong they caused some difficulties and various problems for a lot of people.

There was an enormous earthquake across the coast of Chile which led to a great fear throughout a quarter of the world of the threat of a possible tsunami, and made the planet Earth jump. Not long before that, there was the earthquake in Haiti which led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions homeless, a very rare situation. And we don't need to remind you the rate at which the north and south poles of the world are melting.

Throughout the world nature is acting up in very strange and often horrifying ways.  And these are only the things that are on the surface. In addition to this there are many strange and horrible illnesses; the hospitals are filled with patients having all sorts of diseases of the worst kind, may we never know of such things.

Children and adults have diseases that were never before heard of.  And no matter how much knowledge there supposedly is, in medicine, the doctors have no idea how to treat these illnesses ["Rabbi yochanan said: if you have seen a generation that is full of troubles, wait for him as it says, ‘for it will come like a narrow river, the spirit of Hashem entered him... and a redeemer has come to Zion..." Sanhedrin 98].

The reason for all the troubles and disasters, Am Yisrael, is the gashmius (materialism).  The gashmius is killing us; it's killing our spirituality. It is causing the increase in aveiros and a decrease in mitzvos and the merits on our behalf. It is killing the emunah and bitachon (faith) in Hashem ["if a person is drawn to this world and moves away from his Creator, he is ruined and he ruins the world along with him" (Mesillas Yesharim chap. 1)], and is bringing us down to the lowest level of the goyim ["Rabbi Yehuda bar Elayi said... this nation is drawn into the dust.. when they go down, they go (so far) down into the dust" (Megilla 16)].

And yet, with everything that is happening, Am Yisrael still does not wake up!

The world is now on the verge of a terrible war ["and it was in all the land the word of Hashem, two parts will be cut off and will die, and a third will remain" (Zecharia 13)].

In Israel we have the terrible and very serious threats of the Arabs against us - with all of the most technologically advanced, deadly weapons that exist in the world. Together with the support of other countries, amongst whom is Russia, who supplies most of the armory the Arabs have today...

The president of Iran, yimach shmo, is barking and howling against the Jews. Throughout the world anti-Semitism is thriving and according to all opinions, the present situation is similar to the one that took place before WWII. The state of Israel has not even one friend. No country is prepared to befriend Israel or the Jewish people. [We can see the materialization of the words of our sages z"l: "Rashbi said, "it is a known fact that Esav hates Yaacov"].

So how is it that we are still asleep? How?!

America is also not in a simple situation with a twisted government whose only concern is a most mysterious and destructive plot they are presently working on. A world on the verge of a disastrous war but aside from being against Israel, it is not clear who is against whom. And still Am Yisrael sleeps! 

Don't you realize that without Hakadosh Baruch Hu, there is NO HOPE [see Psalms 127]? And with the way we are all behaving, where He will not be saving very many of us, if we don't do real teshuva, He will not save us, chas vesholom ["there cannot be salvation whilst we are sinning, since He exiled us because of our sins... will He return us before we have rectified ourselves?... but those who lived before us, z"l (Sanhedrin 97) said that terrible troubles will befall us and we will opt to do teshuva for them and thus be worthy of redemption" (Rabbi Saadiah Gaon, emunos ve'deos 8)].

And how do we do real teshuva? It is not sufficient to just recite a few chapters of Psalms; the present situation is much too harsh for that. Our spiritual level is too low. We must, in the most serious way possible [just as the people of Ninveh became very serious and their actions resulted in the nullification of the harsh decree sent upon them], cry, wear a sack on our body and put ashes on our heads and cry, asking Hashem to forgive all our sins ["Return to me with all your hearts, fasting, crying and with eulogy" (Yoel 2)].

What is teshuva? That the person should stop performing that sin, he should take it out of his mind and firmly decide that he will not do it again as it says... and he will be comforted for what he did as it says... "and the one who knows all secrets will attest to the fact that he will not return to that sin again etc. The person has to confess aloud and say what he has decided in his heart to do" (Rambam, hilchos teshuva, Chap. 2)].

We must ask Hashem to forgive us for making a plastic yiddishkeit, without a heart, without a soul ["And it is said about the people who do not focus their thoughts on constant yiras Hashem (Yeshayah 29): "and their fear of Me is a commandment of men leaned by rote; Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people" (Shaarei Teshuva 3; 15), "and he should not do like one who customarily does things  and speaks words without reasoning of the heart and because of this Hashem became angry with His people and sent upon us in the hands of Yeshaya, etc."].

We must do teshuva for all of our sins, all of us, the whole nation, and then, if the teshuva is real and sincere, we will merit, be'ezras Hashem, receiving Moshiach Tzidkenu. But the way we are now - making jokes out of all the warnings Hashem has been sending us [the natural disasters, etc.] our future is questionable.

All of the Jews have to open their eyes and see the danger we are in. We are in both physical danger, which is the risk of being killed off, as well as spiritual danger, which is the risk of losing our chance of eternity.

Oh, Am Yisrael, what will be? How many will survive all this? ["And I will take you, one from a city and two per family and I will bring you to Zion" (Yirmiyahu 3)] How many are seeing the truth, that we need to run away from the olam hazeh (this world and its vanities), where everything is built upon materialism and deceit, things that disappear in the grave [as is clarified in Derech Hashem part 1 chap. 4, 1-3].

I really don't know how many people will survive [in Mitzraim only a fifth came out and possibly much less, see in the book Chessed Le'Avraham (3;22) where it says that only seven thousand Jews will remain in Eretz Yisrael]. Yet, even if only a few Jews survive, with that few Hakadosh Baruch Hu will build the world of Moshiach followed by the Olam Haba [i.e. eternity].  

Daniel:

I would like to add how sad I, too, feel. I am very worried and pray to Hashem that something will wake up the Jews. But I have to say that Hashem is going to bring more disasters upon the world [see Yechezkel 20, 32 - 42] in order to wake up His people.

Nothing means more to Hakadosh Baruch Hu than His people, Am Yisrael [who are the whole purpose of creation as our Rabbis taught: "for Israel who are called "reishis" - "the beginning" (Rashi Bereishis 1) and this is clarified further in Derech Hashem (p 1, chap. 2)].

Unfortunately, however, Am Yisrael have all sorts of toys [the vanities of this world, which is similar to the words of the prophet: "And the Lord Hashem tzevakos called on that day for eulogy, weeping and shaving the head and wearing a sack - and behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep. eating meat and drinking wine, ‘Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we will die'. And Hashem Tzevakos revealed himself in my ears "Surely this iniquity will not be atoned by you till you die" (Yeshayah 22) and see Yoma chap. 6].

Yet, with all this, Hashem is still going to do everything possible in order to bring His kallah (bride) back to the chuppah [see Yechezkel 36, 22-36].

Hakadosh Baruch Hu is completing His world

Message from Daniel 13 Adar 5770

We are approaching the end of the history of the world as we know it. Hakadosh Baruch Hu created this world and the World to Come [Gan Eden, Gehennom, etc]. He created everything and we are still in the midst of the process of completing the world.

The war between good and evil, between truth and sheker (deceit) is reaching its peak. In the end, the evil and the sheker will disappear forever, and the good and the truth will remain.

The final war will be the most difficult.

According to the present situation of Am Yisrael, there are going to be far more victims than survivors [see above what was written by Chessed Le'Avraham].

Only the few pure people will remain ["And I will leave in your midst an afflicted and poor people and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord" (zephania 3)], and they will be the foundation upon which the world of Moshiach will be built and after that, the Olam Haba.

In order to be a part of this foundation, which will continue forever, every Jew must return to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. He must cut himself off from all the gashmius, something which belongs to the culture of the goyim. He must also disconnect from the ways of the secular Jews and return to the ways of true yiddishkeit, doing only the will of Hashem.

Whoever lives this way, or at least makes the utmost effort to live this way will receive Moshiach Tzidkenu and the Geula (Redemption). Whoever does not, will disappear together with the sheker.

To be close to Hakadosh Baruch Hu means to live the emes (truth) and to completely cling to Hashem with humility. Whoever does this will get through the upcoming difficult tests and suffering that is about to befall us and the rest of the world.
["And you who cling to Hashem, your G-d, shall all live today" (Devarim 7)]. And be'ezras Hashem we will reach the shleimus (completeness), we will receive Moshiach Tzidkenu and bring korbanos (sacrifices) to the third Beis Hamikdash.

Is everything really "as usual"??

 A message from Daniel, Adar 5770

Question: It seems as though the world is moving along as usual. The newspaper headlines are saying the same things. The stock market is improving; the magazines are filled with promotional ads about vacations for the upcoming Pesach, and so on. The future looks bright. So how can you claim that we are on the verge of a major catastrophe?

Daniel: Before WWII broke out, the Nazis, yimach shmam, were making threats against Europe and then against the rest of the world.

They had already begun attacking Jews and their army was all ready to go to war and the whole world knew about it.

Yet, then, as today, people didn't want to think about that reality. They wanted to have a good time [enjoying the olam hazeh]. There were people then, newspapers, government leaders and so on, who were all aware of the danger but most of the people just did not want to know. That is also today's current situation.

For example, before WWII, Warsaw was a quiet and happy town. People went shopping, as usual, took care of their kids, went to work... Everything was as usual, up until the German planes started bombing the town.

Then, in a matter of seconds, reality changed. Life was normal, nice and friendly with people planning future vacations, births, scheduling dental appointments, etc.  In an instant their whole world turned black. Parents and children were killed, lo aleinu! There was no food and the river was polluted from the deaths of all the horses and people killed by the bombs. The world entered a dark period of death, destruction and terror. Over five years of pure gehennom (hell).

Now, too, the world seems to be going on as usual. But one day, in the not too distant future, the reality we know will turn into an entirely different reality. Hashem is already reminding us that we are living in exile, in the fiftieth gate of tumaa (impurity) [as explained in Or HaChaim hakadosh, Shemos 3;8], the darkest galus (exile).

At the end of history, all of the wicked people and heretics will know at the very last moment that "there is no other besides Him". But it won't help them. Their time has run out and they are going to disappear from reality ["and He will destroy all the wicked" (end of "ashrei" prayer)].