ON THE THRESHOLD OF REDEMPTION
A MESSAGE FROM BINYAMIN GOLDEN, AN AUTISTIC MAN
6 TAMUZ 5768
The world is presently in a most frightening situation. The secular Jews are prepared to sell their portion in the World to Come in exchange for a little materialism. As for the Modern Orthodox, most of them want the secular world wrapped up in a bit of Yiddishkeit (Judaism). However Truth and falsehood are impossible to combine.
The Haredim could save the world because the Haredim are able to illuminate the world [See Radak Yeshaya 51:4 "my laws are a light to the nations etc."]. They are the closest to the Truth, to Hashem. The Haredim (so-called "Ultra Orthodox") should bring the rest of the Jewish people to the Redemption with simcha (joy) and shleimus (completeness). They should bring the world to the highest spiritual level and closeness to Hashem [As is explained in Mesillas Yesharim 1 "He rises higher and the world rises higher with him etc."]
Unfortunately in reality the situation is completely different. In reality, at present many Haredim are not only not elevating the world to higher levels; they are actually bringing the world close to total destruction [See Koheles Raba 6 and Mesillas Yesharim 1 "Be careful that you don't ruin and destroy my world etc."]
Many Haredim have been attracted to the secular way of life. Haredim have been exposed to the impure outside world in various ways; whether it is by traveling or living abroad, whether it is through relationships with secular people or by reading newspapers and all sorts of books, listening to the radio, internet etc. Whichever way, they have tasted the secular "culture" and as a result, many of them are drowning in gashmius [materialism] and worldliness, which has made them distant from Hakadosh Baruch Hu [G-d].
This non-Jewish lifestyle of these Haredim nowadays usually comes with some sort of 'hechsher'. These Haredim who have strayed from the right path don't usually go looking for a hechsher for all their hearts' desires, but since a lot of money can be made from it, some Jews have taken the initiative to arrange "hechshers" for many things that are in fact the opposite of what is really kosher. The truth is that many hechshers and rabbinical approvals are actually worthless because they were influenced by money [See Gemara Shabbos 139a].
Almost everything is being influenced by the Egel Hazahav [the "Golden Calf" excessive materialism and the ways of the non-Jews]. Everything we eat has a hechsher but how much of what we eat is really kosher? How much of it is fit to be eaten by a Jew who wants truly kosher food?
And even if the food is kosher, often the wrapper or the advertisement is not kosher. That is a catastrophe because once the wrapper is not kosher the whole thing is not kosher. Because this exposes the Jew and his family to non-kosher images and foreign attitudes that can damage their spirituality, G-d forbid. This endangers their eternal life.
Ice cream, potato chips, hamburgers, chewing gum, pizzas and so on - all that junk has no place in the life of a Jew. This brings the lusts and impurity of the street inside the Jew. Coca-cola, Seven-up, Jump, etc., it's all non-kosher since it is part of the desires and lusts of the goyim [non-Jews].
Even if the ingredients are kosher, the whole street-like style is forbidden. It is similar to Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge: it causes the Evil Inclination and impurities of the non-Jewish nations to come inside us. It changes us both physically and spiritually.
In addition, frequently the actual ingredients are not kosher. Much of the meat we buy today is really not kosher, or at least not on the level of kashrus a true Jew should insist upon eating. And I am not referring only to Israel, America or Europe. In this matter, there are problems the world over.
Everything is potentially problematic; the vegetables, the meat, the milk, all the various baked goods etc. Everything can be problematic because everything is influenced by huge profits. [However it is important to understand that all these and other problems are also important reasons for strengthening and encouragement, because they are signs that our Redemption is very close, and with it the rectification of all problems in the world, as promised by many prophesies in the Bible, see Isaiah 2, Mahral Netsach Yisrael chapter 35, etc. etc.].
A Jew must eat kosher. But he does not need to eat pizza, parve foods that taste like meat, parve foods that taste like cheese, all sorts of ice cream and sweets and so on. These are all part of the lusts of the gentile world.
We must be modest in everything, including in what we eat. We need to eat simple food without too many ingredients that is made at home. It is much easier to be sure of the Kashrus of homemade food, and obviously such food is much healthier for the body and for the soul.
Baruch Hashem, there are still people who have kept the truth of the Torah and try to follow the will of Hashem. However there is little hope for their future and their children's future, since most of the frum community is taking enormous steps downwards - and dragging everyone down the drain with them, whether they like it or not [see Ramabam Dayos 6:1 and Hagra on Mishlei 18:11. This is also explained at length in Or Yechezkel "Middos" page 284-92].
Another matter that is really endangering the world is the lack of modesty. The present situation is bringing the Jewish people down to the lowest levels of tumah (impurity). The situation today is so bad that even in a Haredi neighborhood a man who wants to get from one place to another simply cannot. He has to shield his eyes so much that he cannot even see where he is going.
Even if he lowers his eyes to the sidewalk, he'll still see women's legs without proper stockings or wearing open shoes etc., which attract the eye, the heart and the Evil Inclination. Even in a Haredi neighborhood a man needs a seeing-eye dog like blind people use, in order to be saved from the Orthodox Jewish pritzus [see Yoma 9b that this kind of immodesty caused the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, as this is a form of gilui arayos].
A man who is a real tzadik will feel this impurity even without looking. It is real impurity, a very great impurity, terrible klipos [see Yoma 74b that looking at women is worse that adultery], and he will in nevertheless suffer because of this.
Today, the streets of Jerusalem - the Haredi parts of Jerusalem, Meah Sharim, Geula, etc. - and in Bnai Braq, Rabbi Akiva street and so on and so on, are filled with immodest women. Extremely immodest. Including wives of Torah scholars who are considered righteous women, who teach in Beis Yaakov and are respected. Woe to them and their husbands.
Whoever allows his wife to walk around like that apparently enjoys the fact that other men are looking at her, Hashem have mercy. After all, it is very difficult not to look at a woman dressed immodestly, a woman who is considered "pretty" by goyish (gentile) standards. Some of them don't even realize that they look like goyish women. Really goyish, like from Paris, New York, London, etc.
A husband who allows his wife to go around looking like that will sit in Gehenom (Purgatory) together with her ["one who causes his neighbor to sin will be punished like him." Sifri and Rashi, Bamidbar 30:16]. Every Jew whose wife wears a short skirt, tight clothes or things like a long wig, transparent stockings, loud high heel shoes, necklaces, long dangling earrings, makeup, perfume, etc. will certainly suffer from harsh judgment in the World to Come. And if he is a Torah learning man, his Torah is simply not Torah.
My words are harsh but that is only because our sins have brought us to the verge of a great catastrophe [unless we change our ways]. The present situation is that many Jews who are considered Haredi are going to lose their Eternity. Do you hear what I am saying? They will lose their Eternity! Why? Because they know the Truth but don't want to live according to it.
And now there is a new problem: hechshers are being given to stores that sell women's clothes which are appropriate only for a lowly goyah in Paris. Givald, givald! And there are even hechshers given for wigs. Who can give a hechsher on today's wigs? Long beautiful wigs that really look like the hair of non-Jewish women of the worst kind, the most immodest [see Rashi, Isaiah 3:12].
How can such a thing have a hechsher? It is outright murder - it's to destroy the souls of Am Yisrael in cold blood [This is similar to Bilam's plan to destroy the Jewish people. See also Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah, 157:1].
Today's wigs are treif, completely treif. Maybe they are not actual avodah zarah (idolatry) but this is nevertheless a form of avodah zarah. Because today the wigs are so elegant that they are connected to the "Golden Calf" which is real avodah zara. It is obvious that a married woman must not look like a single woman. One who wears such a wig looks unmarried and this causes a lot of problems. This has led to many divorces and broken families.
The reality of the situation is catastrophic and I am sitting and weeping day and night over Am Yisrael. Filth is flooding our streets and filth even comes with a hechsher. One can now see even women with black head coverings wearing short, tight skirts, speaking loudly on their cell phones in the middle of the street and eating in the street.
Whoever heard of such a thing? A Jewish woman from Meah Shearim eating in the street and no one says a word? There was a time when tomatoes and eggs would have been thrown at her and she would have been very seriously rebuked. Not today. Today there is silence and everything seems permissible. And today this is called Yiddishkeit. Woe to us, woe to us.
Hashem commanded us "kedoshim tihiyu" (be holy) but today most of the population of the world and even many Orthodox Jews are immersed in the materialistic world with all of it's greed and lusts [the "Golden Calf"] - which is the exact opposite of kedusha (holiness). This excessive materialism destroys the essence of Yiddishkeit: the Jewish home and the close connection with Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
This constant pursuit of olam hazeh (the vanities of this world) progressively destroys our family life and causes the Jews to commit the sins of ancient Egypt. We have guarded our families throughout the entire long galus (exile). We have guarded the purity of the Jewish family but all this lustfulness and immodesty destroys the most important thing for Am Yisrael, which is the kedusha of Am Yisrael. And all the stupidity of the lustful goyish foods destroys the mind and the ability to learn Torah properly - even if these foods have the best hechsher.
As a result of all this, the Jewish family is at risk of total destruction. Nowadays frequently the mother is not a mother and the father is not a father. The mother wants to be a career woman, supposedly so that her husband will sit and learn Torah all day. Yet very often it does not work out this way.
The situation is so bad that a woman who is supporting her husband to learn Torah, very often learns many subjects that are not appropriate for a bas Yisrael (Jewish daughter) in order to get various diplomas that will allow her to get into the materialistic goyish job market. Although outwardly her work place may appear to be Haredi, in reality its essence is goyish and these people are striving for materialism and the lusts of "this world".
The men also enjoy olam hazeh, even though they are learning Torah. Certainly not all of them, but many. Nowadays people generally have a very strong attachment to the excesses of the materialistic world. Men frequently insist upon receiving an apartment, support, etc., etc. and their minds are very much occupied with gashmius instead of ruchnius [spirituality].Even many men who learn a lot of Torah are still immersed in olam hazeh [which is the opposite of the Torah way, see Avos 6:4: "such is the way of the Torah: eat bread with salt, drink water and sleep upon the ground"].
However, there are still many couples that truly sacrifice themselves for the sacred purpose of the husband learning Torah. The wife takes care of the home and usually the family lives very frugally and they make great efforts to raise the children properly. Yet even such people have little chance for success because the world around them is so corrupt [see above the words of the Rambam and Hagra].
Haredi jews who have become modernized frequently support generously yeshivas, collels, etc. and thereby often set a standard of watered down "Judaism" for the Haredi world. They are used to a lack of modesty and their openness to the gashmiusdik materialistic world brings to the worst transgressions.
Even in yeshivas there is danger. An innocent boy who enters yeshiva can come out with an education that is not Torahdik. A girl who goes to Beis Yaacov has a very good chance of coming out immodest. Even in yeshivas there are serious transgressions taking place, sometimes almost daily. Often the attitude of the Rosh Yeshivah towards these transgressions is mild.
In the past, if such a thing happened the boy would have been thrown out of Yeshiva, no matter where he would end up going. Such a boy was already damaged and would certainly endanger other boys. The main thing is that he should not negatively influence others. Then only the good boys would remain and those with tendencies for improper behavior would be gone. This makes clear to the other boys that there are fences that cannot be crossed. These transgressions are against the Torah and totally unacceptable.
However, nowadays there is often tolerance for many things that are not in keeping with the ways of the Torah. Why? Once again, often because of money. Some yeshivas are also a matter of business. They have a lot of Rabbis, Rosh Yeshivas, etc. and everyone has to make a living from the yeshiva. Therefore they need a lot of students and don't want to get rid of boys. They need these boys even if they are sinners, so they overlook their sins.
There was a scandal in America with meat that was supposedly kosher. How could it be that such an important Jew was for years and years selling treif meat to so many innocent Jews? How could it be? It's very simple; money. Greed for money causes much corruption and destruction.
There are righteous people who fight against these things and go to great efforts to eat meat that is really kosher. But once again, they don't really stand a chance because most of the Haredi world is so strongly attached to the "Golden Calf". The situation is worse than bad. There has never been such a sad situation in the entire history of the Jewish people.
Am Yisrael, again I say, my words are harsh, but I have not even said a small part of what there is to say. It is not be easy to live according to the will of Hashem today' because we do not have a strong leader who will stand up and guide us on how to live our lives and speak the truth and actually have an effect on the people [See Rashi Devarim 32:36, that this is one of the signs of the impending Redemption].
Therefore, Am Yisrael, Hashem in His great wisdom has created a situation where each person will have to do it by himself [freewill]. Every person will have to bring himself to teshuva (repentance). Each person must do self-examination and self-judgment and firmly decide: "I am now returning to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Even if my friends make fun of me, my children and my wife, it doesn't matter ["better to be called a fool all my life than to do one of sin" - Eduyos 5:6]. I live to serve Hashem. I am alive only to do His will and nothing else. There is no other reason to live other than to fulfill His will. This world is just the vestibule to prepare oneself for the World to Come" [Avos 4:15 & Mesillas Yesharim chapter 1]."
We are the lowest generation there has ever been and because of that we are very close to the coming of Moshiach [see Maharal, Netzach Yisrael, chap. 32 on "right before the coming of the Redeemer Israel's lowliness will be lower than ever before..."] - and he is already almost here.
Over the past few months, everyone could see how many incredible changes the world underwent. In the near future, the world is going to undergo several more changes and there is going to be a terrible fear.
Now, at this very moment, every Jew must take hold of himself and bring himself to the house of Hashem. He must be ready to receive our righteous Moshiach and not disappear lose his eternity, G-d forbid. He must not follow his eyes and heart [Bamidbar 15:39], which are causing us to lose the entire olam hazeh (this world) as well as our entire olam haba (World to Come), G-d forbid.
Am Yisrael, what more is there to say? We must do teshuva, we must return to the Truth. And everyone will have to do this by himself.
AN ADDITION TO BINYAMIN'S MESSAGE FROM THE AUTIST DANIEL:
I only want to add a little bit because Binyamin has already said very much Truth and I only have a little bit more to add: Hashem does not want to destroy His people.
He loves His people. Am Yisrael is His bride. The bride ran away from Him under the chupah and consorted with many foreign cultures and tried living like the goyim. Now Hashem wants his bride back [See Hoshaya 2].
There are some parts of the Jewish nation that are willing to return to Hashem. But He wants all of His precious bride back; not just her foot, or her head. He wants it all. The heart, the mind, everything.
Although at this moment in time, the bride looks wounded, lame and very wretched. However if she returns to Him, even in her present unfortunate state, He will still accept her.
But she should not come back looking like an immodest woman. She should look like a modest woman, fit to be a queen. She should be dressed as a bride - even if she is a little skinny and wretched -for a queen she will be.
Am Yisrael I implore you, understand: you must, must return to the Truth. Do you want to lose your eternity? I don't understand. Do you love the filth of the street so much that you prefer to eat out of a garbage can rather then to gain sustenance from the mitzvos and the will of Hashem, from all the deeds Hashem asks us to perform? Do you prefer to wallow in the dirt rather then to return to Hashem, your Groom who awaits you under the chupah?
Am Yisrael, come back. I ask you with all my heart: Return, return, return.
