From: Gary S. Gevisser
Sent:
Friday, December 26, 2003 11:58 AM
To: 'shragasweekly@aish.com'
Cc:
Jeff (jrk@class-action-law.com); dianah@nytimes.com; Po-Li (dplist@cloud9.net); Kingdelmar (Kingdelmar@aol.com); Ghurst (ghurst@hurst-hurst.com)
Subject: Next Symposium:) RE: Shraga's Weekly - Mikeitz

 

To whom it may concern:

 

I am still waiting a reply tu my E-mail of December 10th, Rabbi Weinberg like Rabbi Dennis Prager while soliciting monies from me 4 sum reason not “caring” either 4 my style of writing,

 

Or

 

more likely though sum of my expression,

 

Sum

Things

Are

Built tTOo

Last.

Evolution?

 

Perhaps, not seeing the distinct difference between Matthew 5.5., The meek shall inherit the earth, and my The meek WITH TEETH shall inherit the earth with a slight twist as in

 

The meek

With teeth

Inherit

Shall

The earth

 

altho I cannot be certain that Dennis Prager the nationally syndicated radio talk show host and possibly today big time TV network executive with quite the following of both Jewish people as well as gentiles actually had much of a say in his wife, Fran Prager’s decision tu ignore my rather straight forward request,

 

Dear Mrs. Prager,

 

Could you please tell how big an audience you will be getting to see Dennis honored? Also how may kids attend the Conejo Jewish Day School? My message of tribute is simple,

 

THE MEEK WITH TEETH SHeLL INHERIT THE EARTH.

 

I would also like a hyperlink to my website NextraTerrestrial.com.

 

Please get back to me at your earliest convenience also letting me know how much this message will cost me, blah blah.

 

This request in reply tu Mrs. Prager seeking monies while asking clearly 4 what I thought were words of wisdom declaring her husband nothing short of a G-D of sorts coming on January 11th of this year, commemorating the 1st anniversary of Professor “Richhard Kleins” [sic] quote appearing in the Los Angeles Times, “Is it art, or sum Jew with a stone tool just sitting there scratching his tochas?” [sic].

 

At last night’s Xmess dinner, in addition tu a representative sampling of the Dion clan of Montreal, Canada, were too guests, our next door neighbor Mary who is a retired composer and concert pianist and Dr. John Pollard who brought along sum 1979 Port leaving, however, well short of midnight, 4warned that my pal Davide+friends might possibly show up, departing tho, under his own power just be4 sincerely thanking us all 4 what was nothing short of the most splendid evening, “debauchery” at it’s best, nothing quite like one amazing meal filled in with the delightful conversation.

 

Mary, like the Dions who are only recently becoming acquainted with my style of “doing business” starting from the Bottom Up, Schools currently not much more than day care centers for kids suffering from Absent Parenting Disease got tu hear my rendition of how the game of chess should be played, the evening be4 watching the Robert Redford movie, the Castle, where there is this so often reference tu life being nothing more than a game of chess, agree?

 

And by the time I had completed my “rendering” although making it perfectly clear I have yet tu play chess against a master chess player, chess which scholarly people like u would know is very much like the game of life, getting your opponent tu play tu your advantage, Mary’s comment, “you are wise… when did u first begin playing chess?” not exactly falling on “deaf ears”, my wife Marie, my saving grace, keeping me 4ever grounded, in the process saving everyone from what could have been further “deafening silences” had I begun tu give my rendition of why as folks who have allowed their formal education tu interfere with their learning get older so does the vacuum of space between their ears take over tu the point that it “can ends up being has-id-ous” [sic] tu the health of those within an earshot given the ringing of bells that result in so many instances from folks having tu conform with what is nothing short of the Bell Shaped Curve, one’s pawns tu be protected at all cost, short-circuits abound when one begins tu take on tasks better performed by computers, bearing in mind that in a perfect vacuum environment such as Deep Space one cannot hear sound, my brother-in-law Jean Dion hitting me with nothing short of a “KO” punch when commenting while he and I began the clean up phase of this exercise, this incredible dinner helping immensely in putting the finishing touches tu my book Manager Minute One with, “It is a computer game not a chess game and we can delete u at will” [sic].

 

After sum 9 odd years together  Marie Dion and I were married on April 22nd of this year the entire wedding and catered 4 reception costing each of us $106.50 including marriage certificate just hours be4 I received this email below the mounting evidence suggesting that Ms. Kathryn Murry whose name appears in the “send” section very possibly had a hand tu play in my feeling the need tu thank this out-of-control mother of 3 children, 4, “increasing the circle of those people dependant upon my communications for their insight and analysis of the events of the day. This is a very affirmative and positive step on your part that is highly appreciated..”

 

From: Kathryn Murray [mailto:sendavis468@yahoo.com]
Sent:
Tuesday, April 22, 2003 7:58 PM
To: gsg@sellnext.com
Subject: Greetings

 

Greetings, Mr. G. Gevisser:

 

Please be advised, all future e-mail transmittals originating from any or all e-mail adresses created for your personal and/or business purposes, are being monitored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

 

 

Due to numerous political references and deprecatory remarks directed towards elected officials and private citizens, you are now on a "Watch List" of certain individuals whom are considered a security risk.

 

You have been duly notified.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Florence Hopkins

 

Secretary to the Hon. Senator Davis

 

Ms. Murry is copied on this email as well as a statistically valid sample of the world’s population including Matthew Margo an attorney at Westinghouse’s “holy owned” [sic] subsidiary, CBS, the clock ticking down as things begin tu slow down, the financial markets everywhere on the brink of total collapse, there is right now nothing more than a lull in the storm that began big time yesterday here in Del Mar, California, coming from a south westerly direction eventually reaching Wall Street which those of us in the know know only to well is about tu head into the biggest tailspin unimaginable in the annals of history, folks everywhere getting more in tune with my Bottoms Up Schooling tu the point that even if 60 Minutes were tu call as Mr. Jeffrey R. Krinsk Esq. and I lunch in sum 15 minutes from now on the deck of The Plaza located in downtown Del Mar, the odds of my willing tu give these yoyos a live interview getting slimmer and slimmer, nothing like getting folks attention by calling sumone a “phatso” [sic], agree?

 

The level of disconnects between the written word of G-D and those such as Rabbis Prager, Weinberg tu mention little of Professor Doctor Rabbi Abner Weiss providing their fukukta interpretations not only being more and more cystal clear tu the masses who have not let their formal education interfere with their learning but more importantly are beginning tu band together like never be4 in an effort tu start a new tribe based on the principles of Truth and Justice 4 all, as opposed tu looking 4 lost tribes, my Marie and Mary agreeing that the name 27th Street Tribe quite appropriate, agree?

 

And who can truly can take a “phatso” [sic] seriously unless they can provide scientific evidence that they were born with a defective gene and not simply consumed with their own fricken self-importance as they go about eating like there is no tomorrow blasting those around them like there was tomorrow so fricken sielf indulgent forgetting most of all the words of God as in, “Hear O Israel, I am the Lord thy G-D, G-D is one”, agree?

 

And instead of watching their waistline stick it tu the masses with nothing butt bullshit, Marie Dion’s ex-husband, The Sperm donor obviously feeling “the pinch” telling my brother-in-law yesterday how much he looks forward tu attending a “spinning” class with Jean Dion, quite the Iron Man, who despite reading perhaps more than most “my renderings” as in healthy mind, healthy body, got a taste of me as he put me through the paces on our run yesterday from the beach house on 27th street tu the top of Torrey Pines and back, just a hop-jump-and-skip when compared tu the watts put out when competing in places like Austria and Florianopolis, Brazil, my deciding tu beat the time it took getting tu the half way mark just a “hop-jump-and-a-scotch” [sic] from the Torrey Pines public golf course by sliding down the backside on the mud laiden path leading tu the ocean, completing the back section in 46 minutes, 3 minutes less than the time it took reaching the halfway mark, Jean Dion being generous in deducting the few minutes I spent talking tu Dr. John Pollard a character I often run into in the incredible stretch of sand between 15th Street and the north Torrey Pines parking, just a hop-jump-and-a-skip be4 the condominium development that resulted in the creation of the all omnipotent California Coastal Commission, agree?

 

Hyprocrisy is now being spelled out loud and clear tu anyone with sufficient intelligence tu hear, my gifts this Xmess-Chanukah more than I could ever have wished, our Danielle giving me an incredibly beautiful painted cystal ball not that I need help in reading the future, the writing so clear on the wall, the beginnings thou of my new wardrobe courtesy of all members of my amazing new family who like all of us on this earth raised in and amongst the most deprived not those starving who don’t have their basic needs met but the rich, mostly those sitting on top of ill-gotten gains, carry it seems more than perhaps their “fair share” of guilt, agree?

 

Time tu put aside our differences, never forgetting the past but making absolutely certain we tell the whole truth and nothing butt the truth “so help me G-d” those who are with us or those who have passed on who we know as certain as anyone can be, requiring a deep rooted search tu gather all the available evidence, usurped their limited authority, should be taken to the trash heap and dumped on from now until eternity, Mr. George “Money Talks” Hurst Esq. the Sperm Donor’s attorney, in due course receiving from me what will amount tu nothing short of a “class action complaint” my giving at this time serious consideration in putting out tu auction my claims against Dr. Sperm Donor JBS et al, agree?

 

Talk is cheap, much like candy, nothing worse than sugar coating evil particularly when it impacts the youth who are all our futures, agree?

 

The world thou is endless, what goes around comes around, nothing quite like a slingshot returning with a vengeance, the inhumanity heaped on the likes of the Indian peoples everywhere particularly here in the Americas an injustice that is getting worse with each tick of the clock as the likes of Sol Kersner enter into “strategic alliances” with Indian Chiefs bought and paid 4 on the north and south American landscape, no different tu how Sol Kersner bought and paid off African despots surrogates of the ruling Nationalist Nazi regime of South Africa who ruled with an iron-fist 4 sum 40+ years from the time the State of Israel was founded in 1948.

 

The instant we turn a blind, the moment we take the position that “The means justifies the end” we begin tu go down a spirally path where we begin tu think that our shit doesn’t stink, just this morning our Maggie after eating like a horse yesterday evacuated her bowls beginning right under the Christmas Tree coming up just short of the end of the 9ft+ mahogany “problem solving” table eventually leading tu possibly a tailor coming along convincing us that he has spun a magic garment that only the most intelligent of the intelligent can c, agree?

 

Nothing quite like having a number of Emperors without clothing in our midst, the Napoleon Bonapartes of the world being born and raised each and every day in neighborhoods spread throughout the world, Jean Dion Snr telling us all this morning about sumthing he learned as a kid growing up in northern Canada about how when Napoleon finding himself in sumwhat of a trough in his “Russian campaign” told his troops “drop your paints” and despite being the only one remaining standing, Napoleon found himself in “deep shit up tu his neck” agree?

 

Naturally, why the need tu hold incheck wrongdoers the instant they rear their ugly heads, leaving it tu a loving G-D tu deliver final justice, agree?

 

Up tu each one of us, however, collectively, tu play “Solomon”, the concept of it taking a village tu raise a child needing tu be reintroduced into our psyche like never be4, The Internet, however, the G-D-Send many of us have been anxiously waiting 4, the backbone needed tu hold each and everyone in check from “cradle till grave”, nothing quite like having at one’s side a woman such as Marie Dion who knows who she is, needing little if any “comforting” from anyone, other than of course our Pypeetoe who seems “tu bridge” any gap that may exist between me and my incredible travel-partner on a 10 year amazing journey through life-death and back again, and again.

 

Time running out, needing tu really speed things up.

 

The need tu go after imbeciles like Professor Brown and his wife and eraider.com’s pitiful board of directors-moderators as important as going after the Ronald “The Finagle” King Perelman’s of the world, agree?

 

A new world order is beginning tu take hold, careful thou should we be in throwing out the baby with the dirty bath water, ever so weary as tu misjudge the offspring of those deprived over controlling parents who were allowed tu get out of control, the time for each one of us tu examine our lives ever so carefully tu c how we can make a difference tu improve this incredible gift of G-d, who may have decided just yesterday tu join us, agree?

 

Thank G-D is all I can say 4 having gifted us such an amazing President as George W. Bush, his wife, nothing short of the greatest gift only a loving G-D would deliver.

 

We are getting down tu the final strokes, ever so careful with our brush strokes, mindful not tu paint with to broad a brush stroke, at times thou, it is essential in getting the wicked tu “standout”, agree?

 

My Xmess gift tu my wife was getting off the computer 4 just one day, each day, each one of us thinking more and more of living our lives like it is our last.

 

Take care,

 

Gary S. Gevisser

 

The Rattlesnake aka Homey G

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Aish.com [mailto:newsletterServer@aish.com]
Sent:
Thursday, December 25, 2003 7:20 AM
To: gsg@sellnext.com
Subject: Shraga's Weekly - Mikeitz

 

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Listen to Rabbi Shraga's Inspiring Audio Minute -- a quick audio idea based on the weekly Torah portion. All-new material, not included in the "Shraga's Weekly" articles.

To listen to this week’s Audio Minute, click on this link -- http://www.aish.com/a/r/audio.asp

Mikeitz (Genesis 41:1-44:17)
Exile and Return (part two)

The Sages enumerate four separate "exiles" that the Jewish People have endured since first settling the Land of Israel 3000 years ago. Each of these exiles is qualitatively different, in the sense that the oppressors focused on uprooting different aspects of Jewish life and practice. The four exiles are:

  • "Nafshi" (Emotional) - Babylonian tyrant Nebechudnezzer wanted the Jewish people to emotionally submit themselves to him and his idolatry. They refused, so Nebechudnezzer destroyed the First Temple and sent the Jews packing to Babylon.
  • "Gufani" (Bodily) - While living under Persian domination, the Jews experienced an exile which threatened to wipe them out through the genocidal machinations of Haman, the villain of the Purim story.
  • "Sichli" (Intellectual) - Under the rulership of the Greeks, the Jews were subject to attack not on their bodies, but rather to decrees prohibiting their connection to God and Torah. The tide of Greek philosophy and culture - chronicled in the Chanukah story - threatened an extinction of Jewish intellectual thought.
  • "HaKol" (Combination) - The current exile began 2000 years ago with the Roman destruction of the Second Temple and the disbursement of Jews to four corners of the globe. During this time, Jews have been subjected to a horrific combination of all other exiles - perpetual and irrational violence, persecution, expulsion, torture, humiliation, mass murder, and more.

WINK OF AN EYE

In one sense, this is terribly depressing. Though this week's Parsha - read each year during Chanukah - contains a message which will inspire and enlighten.

The Parsha begins with Joseph sitting in a dungeon prison in Egypt. Cold, hungry, unbathed and unshaven. Meanwhile, upstairs in the palace, King Pharaoh is having esoteric dreams that nobody is able to interpret. Then the Butler speaks up and recommends Joseph as a possible solution. The Torah (paraphrased from Genesis 41:14-46) describes what happens next:

"So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they rushed him out of the dungeon. He shaved, changed his clothes, and was brought to Pharaoh. Joseph proceeded to interpret the dreams properly. Pharaoh was impressed... put a gold chain around his neck, and accorded him the title of Prime Minister."

We see here an amazing turn of events. From prison to palace in two minutes flat.

Even more, Joseph's experience is an arbiter of things to come. As the Midrash says: "Maase Avot Siman L'Banim" - the events of the forefathers foretells future events of their children.

A few hundred years later, the Jews eat Matzah on their way out of Egypt. Why? Because they left in such a hurry and didn't have time for the bread to rise. The redemption happened in moments. It was a 180-degree turnaround from slavery to freedom.

The Chafetz Chaim explains that this is how the future redemption will happen as well, as the verse says, "God saves as quick as the wink of an eye." In fact, the Talmud says that if someone takes a vow, for example, "not to drink wine on the day the Messiah arrives," then this person is forbidden to drink wine. Why? Because the Messiah could come any day! As Maimonides records in his "13 Principles of Faith:" "I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may delay, nevertheless I anticipate every day that he will come."


REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

What is the key to reversing exile and bringing about redemption?

As noted, the four Jewish exiles are represented by the words "Nafshi" (Emotional), "Gufani" (Bodily), "Sichli" (Intellectual), and "HaKol" (Combination). The beginning letters of each of these four Hebrew words are Nun, Gimmel, Shin and Hey - precisely the same four letters on the Chanukah dreidel. (On the dreidel, the letters stand for "Nase Gadol Haya Sham" - a great miracle happened there.)

How did the Maccabees reverse the forces of exile? By counteracting the Greek strategy for destroying Judaism. Surprisingly, when the Greeks attacked Jerusalem, they didn't try to destroy the Temple or burn it down. Rather, they defiled it. They offered pig sacrifices and placed a statue of Zeus in the Temple. No longer did light stream from the Temple; the word of God was silenced.

The Greeks didn't want to totally destroy Judaism. Rather, they sought "li-Challel" - literally, to make it empty. They wanted to defile Jewish holy objects. To tear the heart and meaning out of Judaism. To take away the depth and reduce it to symbolism. To sap its spiritual core and to render it impotent.

This explains why the Greeks carefully scoured the Temple grounds searching for pure flasks of oil (bearing the seal of the High Priest). They knew that defiling the oil would silence the light of the Menorah - the light of Torah which reflects the depth and meaning of Jewish national and religious life. The Greeks knew this was the way to best "conquer" the Jewish nation.

Therefore, the reversal of such an attack is to put the meaning back in Judaism.

Our forefather Jacob knew this lesson well. In Genesis 46:28, before bringing his entire family down to Egypt for what will become a brutal period of slavery, Jacob sent Judah ahead to make preparation in Goshen. The Talmud asks: What preparations did Judah make? He built a yeshiva, a house of Torah study. Through learning Torah and uncovering the depth of meaning, we pour light into the world and drive away the darkness of exile.


LIGHT AND DARK

Chanukah, it so happens, is the auspicious time to pour light into the world. Jewish law states that ideally, the Menorah should be placed outside your front door, on the left side as you enter. Besides doing a splendid job of publicizing the miracle, this also has deeper significance. Since the Mezuzah is located outside your door on the right side, by adding the Menorah to the left side, the home is now "surrounded by mitzvahs." What greater proclamation of Jewish pride could there be!?

Chanukah takes place in the winter, the season when the least amount of light is physically present each day. Likewise, the events of Chanukah tell us about the Jewish people reconnecting to God at a time when a majority of the Jews felt lost in darkness. Each night, as we slowly increase the number of candles kindled on the Menorah, we symbolically increase our commitment to bring spiritual light into our lives.

Amazingly, the four letters of exile - Nun, Gimmel, Shin, Hey - letter-spacing: are the same four letters of the dreidel, and are also the same four letters of the word "Goshna." This is where Judah built the yeshiva in Egypt! Reversal of our exile letter-spacing: is achieved through the light of Torah.

There is a fascinating twist to this idea of dreidel letters. Dreidels in Israel today have one letter different - Nun, Gimmel, Shin, Pey, spelling "Nase Gadol Haya Po" - a great miracle happened HERE. So instead of the four letters forming the word "Goshna," an Israeli dreidel spells "Gofna" - meaning "wine."

Amazingly, when Jacob blesses his sons before he dies, the blessing he gives to Judah - from which the Messiah descends - is a blessing of "Gofna" (Genesis 49:10). And the Talmud (Brachos 57a) says that a dream of wine foretells the coming of the Messiah!


CONQUERING EXILE

The world can be a depressing place. Confusion, anger, jealousy and greed dominate the news, and often our social and commercial dealings as well. The ozone layer, corruption in government, teenage pregnancy. Things look bleak.

We need the hope of redemption.

In 1943 in the Bergen Belsen concentration camp, devout Jews secretly gathered to light the Chanukah candles. After chanting the blessing " Who made miracles for our forefathers, in those days at this season," the Bluzhever Rebbe broke into sobs, for he had already lost his wife, his 10 children, and his grandchildren.

The Rebbe said: "We may wonder as we stand here in the Nazi pit of death, where are the miracles for us today? Yet of one thing I am certain: Just as God pulled the Maccabees from darkness, and just as He has preserved the Jewish people throughout the ages, so will the Jewish people survive this, too."

Rabbi Azriel Tauber, a businessman and Torah scholar in New York, says he was able to survive the Holocaust because every day, his father would encourage him and say: "Don't despair, my son, for redemption can come at any moment."

The message should be loud and clear: Keep focused on the Torah, for it is the voice of reason in our world of insanity. And in the merit of lighting the Chanukah candles, may we wipe out the exile once and for all.

STAY TUNED NEXT WEEK FOR PART THREE OF "EXILE AND RETURN"

 

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shraga Simmons

 


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Rabbi Shraga Simmons spent his childhood trekking through snow in Buffalo, New York. He has worked in the fields of journalism and public relations, and is now the Co-editor of Aish.com in Jerusalem.

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