Derech HaShem (Part 3) Regarding sorcery: And so in this way, just as He brought about a way for man to acquire emanation, understanding and the holy spirit in a supernatural way beyond the physical; so too was it necessary to bring about the opposite of this great good, such that man could bring down darkness, murkiness and a spirit of impurity in a supernatural way. And this is the matter of the impurities of sorcery and the seeking out of the dead from which the Torah distanced us. And its content is the bringing down of the influences of impurity and pollution by the mentioning of words under given conditions - which is really the greatest distancing from Him, may He be blessed, and truly the opposite of cleaving to Him. And the thing is brought down from those forces of evil that we mentioned in Part I, Chapter 5 (On the Spiritual Realm 8), upon which He, may He be blessed, decreed names through which given levels of impurity would be brought down in a supernatural way. Accordingly, supernatural acts can be done through them, like the acts of the Egyptian magicians and others, according to what is placed into their hand to act within the limits that were placed upon them. Likewise can they do acts like this through demons, according to what is given to them within the specific limits governing them. And so - within the measure allowed by their ability to act - the Master blessed be He, decreed that they push away the appointees over nature that preserve the matters of the world in their natural state and all of the angels that bring influences according to the arranged order. And about them, they, may their memory be blessed, said (Chullin 7b), "Keshafim (Sorcery)? It is [an acronym for] makhchishin pamalya shel ma'alah (they diminish the heavenly entourage)." However that is only within that measure and no more. And even within that measure, it is yet possible that they be pushed off by a force more powerful than them, and that their action be prevented by His decree, may He be blessed. And about this they said, "There is none like Him, and even in the case osorcery." And they explained that this is for [a person] who has great merit, such that they will save him and push off those who want to do bad to him, from the Heavens. And this is what is written, "Rabbi Ḥannina is different, because his merit is great."
Friday, September 23, 2022
Arizona’s Blake Masters’ claim of open borders and Democratic amnesty plans
On the day that the murder of 10 people in Buffalo, New York, led to an online racist tract that spoke of people of color replacing white people, Arizona U.S. Senate Republican candidate Blake Masters tweeted his opposition to what he described as Democratic immigration policies.
"The Democrats want open borders so they can bring in and amnesty tens of millions of illegal aliens — that’s their electoral strategy," tweeted Masters May 14.
Thursday, September 22, 2022
What you need to know about the complex legal challenges to Ron DeSantis’s migrant flights
But the flights have elicited uproar on the left and among immigration advocates. Some of the migrants have filed a class-action suit against DeSantis, other Democratic politicians have implied he has committed crimes, and even a Texas sheriff has gotten involved.
DeSantis appears adamant that there will be more flights.
Here are the main legal issues.
Trump Wanted to Bus Murderers to Democrat Cities—Former DHS Chief of Staff
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-wanted-bus-murderers-democrat-cities-former-dhs-chief-staff-1744773
"In January and February of 2019, Donald Trump directed us to go and take immigrants from the border and quote, 'bus and dump them into Democratic cities and blue states.'"
But Trump was "much more specific," Taylor added.
"He wanted us to identify the murderers, the rapists, and the criminals and in particular, make sure we did not incarcerate them, and we put them in those cities."
Appeals court allows DOJ to resume review of classified records in Trump case
A three-judge appeals court panel on Wednesday granted the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to continue its review of classified documents seized in an FBI search as part of an investigation of former President Trump’s potential mishandling of the information.
The judges, two of whom were appointed by Trump and one of whom was appointed by former President Obama, also indicated in their opinion that there appeared to be no evidence that Trump declassified the documents while he was still president and that his legal team “resisted” in providing any evidence that he did so using officials channels.
They also questioned why Trump would “have an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings.”
Trump claims presidents can declassify documents ‘even by thinking about it’
“There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying, ‘It’s declassified.’ Even by thinking about it.”
“There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be. You’re the president. You make that decision. So when you send it, it’s declassified,” Trump added. “I declassified everything.”
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: 'The man running for Senate is not Dr. Oz'
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/360226
“The man running for Senate is not Dr. Oz. This person is unrecognizable to me,” Boteach told Rolling Stone. Oz, he said, has become an “election-denying, genocide-denying caricature of an extremist.”
Who is 'Orange Jesus' and why is he trending? Spoiler alert: It's Trump
https://www.jpost.com/omg/article-717648
The choice of phrase is humorous in and of itself, as it references how many people consider Trump as being "orange" in color, as well as his position of power and influence among Republicans. However, it also reflects what many consider to be a serious problem among the GOP.
DOJ can resume criminal probe of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago, appeals court says
A federal appeals court is allowing the Justice Department to continue looking at documents marked as classified that were seized from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and resort.
The emergency intervention upends a trial judge's order over those documents that had blocked federal investigators' work on the documents, and is a strong rebuke of the Trump team's attempt to suggest without evidence that materials were somehow declassified. Trump's options to block the criminal investigation are now dimming with one of his only remaining possibilities being an emergency request to the Supreme Court.
The ruling was issued by a three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals -- two of whom were nominated by Trump.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Why is Earth spherical?
Ohr HaChaim (Bereishis 2:1) Heaven and earth were completed. I have heard from Torah scholars (who were my teachers) that the reason G'd made the earth spherical is to enable its various parts to endure with equal ease. The rabbis meant that of all the desires, urges and feelings of love in the universe nothing matches in intensity the urge of the spirit which has recognised the light of G'd and its desire to cleave to G'd's light. Every living soul which has been fortunate enough to recognise even a small amount of that light longs to behold visions of the pleasantness that is G'd. Know that G'd has endowed each category of His creatures with a two-tiered intelligence. One tier is the power to perceive, the other tier is the power to analyse. Human beings, i.e. creatures who are endowed with the power of speech, as well as all lower forms of life or even the inert part of nature, all received a degree of intelligence commensurate with their status in the universe which enables them to recognise their Creator. By means of this intelligence we know that the globe continues to exist without faltering. G'd has revealed some of this secret to those who revere Him and by means of these explanations these facts became translated to our senses The force holding up the globe is G'd's beautiful and all-embracing light which surrounds the globe in equal measure. Every section of the revolving earth derives additional strength from the power of the fiery urge that burns within it urging it to cling to the manifestations of G'd's spirit. This is why the globe remains in its position in the universe.
Holy people transcend and can change Nature
Sefer HaIkkarim (1:21) We do find that the devotees of the Torah came into such close intellectual union with God that they were able to change the laws of nature, cause the latter to do their bidding and perform miracles against the laws of nature. Thus we find that the prophets proposed and God carried out their proposals. Elijah caused fire to descend, which is contrary to its own nature. He said, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven …, and it was so. He also divided the waters of the Jordan. Elisha cured Naaman’s leprosy and brought a dead body back to life during his own life time and also after his death. Many such incidents happened to him and the other prophets. The same thing is true of all believers. Pious men, even if they are not prophets, can change the laws of nature by prayer. Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were cast into the fire and were not burned. Rabbi Hanina the son of Dosa and Rabbi Phinehas the son of Yair made certain temporary changes in the nature and conduct of the world.
Sefer HaIkkarim (1:21) This shows that one who believes in God and in His Torah is above nature and not subject to natural law. On the contrary, the laws of nature are subject to him, and he can change them as he pleases.