Point of Pinchas: November 2008

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Shmittah Calendar: Month of Kislev 5769

The month of Kislev 5769 began Friday.

Right now is Motzei Shmittah and items, starting with vegetables start to lose their Kedushat Shevi'it. Many items will still retain Kedushah, however, for quite some time.

The following list is not fully comprehensive at all but includes some common everyday produce most people use. It is largely based on Rabbi Marcus's "Shmittah 5768: A Pratical Guide" (which we recommend you order for yourself here) and other sources. For more information on what these dates mean see here.

Kedushat Shevi'it Starts

There are no items that Kedushat Shevi'it starts this month.

Kedushat Shevi'it for these items remains in effect (with *ed items in Sefichim):

Almonds
Apples
Apricots
Avocado
Barley*
Butternut Squash*
Carob
Chickpeas*
Cucumbers*
Dates
Etrog
Figs
Garlic*
Grapefruit
Grapes
Grapes for Wine
Guava
Kiwi
Lemon
Litchi
Mango
Medlar (Shesek)
Mustard*
Nectarine
Olives
Onions*
Paprika*
Peaches
Pears
Pecan
Peanuts*
Persimmon
Plums (Euro Longated)
Plums (Japanese Round)
Pomegranate
Pomelo
Popcorn*
Pumpkin*
Sabra
Sunflower Seeds*

Kedushat Shevi'it Ends

On 1 Kislev:
Scallion

On 15 Kislev:
Parsley

On 20 Kislev:
Beets

On 25 Kislev:
Artichoke
Asparagus
Banana
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cabbage (Red)
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Coriander
Corn (Fresh)
Eggplant
Fennel
Horseradish
Kohlrabi
Melon
Peas (in pod)
Pepper (Jalapeno)
Peppers
Pineapple
Potatoes
Strawberries
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Turnip
Watermelon

------------------
Sefichim Begins

There are no items that Sefuchim begins anymore.

Additionally Sefichim remain in effect for the following:

Barley
Butternut Squash
Chickpeas
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Garlic
Mustard
Onions
Paprika
Peanuts
Popcorn
Pumpkin
Sunflower Seeds

Sefichim Ends

Sefichim ends for the following this month:

On 1 Kislev:
Scallions

On 15 Kislev:
Parsley

On 25 Kislev:
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cabbage (Red)
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Coriander
Corn (Fresh)
Dill
Fennel
Horseradish
Kohlrabi
Melon
Pepper (Jalapeno)
Peppers
Potatoes
Strawberries
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Turnip
Watermelon

------------------
Biur

On 1 Kislev 5769:
Barley
Nectarine
Paprika
Peaches
Popcorn
Pumpkin

On 11 Kislev 5769:
Chickpeas
Sunflower seeds

On 15 Kislev 5769:
Kiwi
Plums (Japanese Round)

On 16 Kislev 5769:
Guava

On 25 Kislev 5769:
Figs

Note: The following items already required Biur:

On 1 Shevat 5768:
Fennel

On 14 Adar Bet 5768:
Sweet Potatoes

On 15 Iyar 5768:

Broccoli

On 1 Sivan 5768:

Medlar (Shesak)
Peas in Pod

On 1 Tamuz 5768:
Artichoke

On 19 Tamuz 5768:
Apricots

On 1 Av 5768:
Mustard

On 15 Tishrei 5769:
Butternut Squash

On 1 Cheshvan 5769:
Pears
Sabra

On 20 Cheshvan 5769:
Peanuts
Plums (Euro Longated)

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Obama In The Torah Codes

Okay, here we go. Yes, whether you believe in the Torah Codes or not, this one is interesting. Or not. Well let's just say it (since it's already spreading all over the blogosphere.)

The name Obama spelled אובאמה appears exactly two times in all of Tanach having a 7 letter skip forward pattern. (A 7 skip forward pattern is considered the most significant kind in Bible Code land.)

The first place is in ~~Yermiyahu 30:10-11~~. Yermiyahu 46:27-28. (See "Update" at bottom.)

This is how it reads:

וְאַתָּה אַל תִּירָא עַבְדִּי יַעֲקֹב נְאֻם יְקֹוָק וְאַל תֵּחַת יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי הִנְנִי מוֹשִׁיעֲךָ מֵרָחוֹק וְאֶת זַרְעֲךָ מֵאֶרֶץ שִׁבְיָם וְשָׁב יַעֲקוֹב וְשָׁקַט וְשַׁאֲנַן וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד: אַתָּה אַל תִּירָא עַבְדִּי יַעֲקֹב נְאֻם יְקֹוָק כִּי אִתְּךָ אָנִי כִּי אֶעֱשֶׂה כָלָה בְּכָל הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר הִדַּחְתִּיךָ שָׁמָּה וְאֹתְךָ לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה כָלָה וְיִסַּרְתִּיךָ לַמִּשְׁפָּט וְנַקֵּה לֹא אֲנַקֶּךָּ

This is how it translates:

10 27 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the L-RD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
11 28 For I am with thee, saith the L-RD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee; but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

Okay, so it sounds like now is a good time to make Aliyah. Shall we go on to the second place it's found?

The second place is in Yechezkel 38:2-3.

It reads:

בֶּן אָדָם שִׂים פָּנֶיךָ אֶל גּוֹג אֶרֶץ הַמָּגוֹג נְשִׂיא רֹאשׁ מֶשֶׁךְ וְתֻבָל וְהִנָּבֵא עָלָיו: וְאָמַרְתָּ כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי י-ה-וִה הִנְנִי אֵלֶיךָ גּוֹג נְשִׂיא רֹאשׁ מֶשֶׁךְ וְתֻבָל

Which translates as:

2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him
3 and say: 'This is what the Sovereign L-RD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

Okay, so maybe not only is it a good time to make Aliyah... but you better make it quick!

This is the code that is being emailed around and what was posted here.

Okay - now for the debunking part. The first code simply doesn't work unless you spell Yaakov with a vav - which we don't. There are only 6 letters skipped between the second letter and the third letter. So that's out... but the second code still works... and amazingly the code starts on the letter aleph of the word נְשִׂיא which besides meaning prince also means President!

Is Obama Gog?

UPDATE: The site I linked corrected their error. It seems there are two places in Yermiyahu where almost identical verses appear. There is one difference. The second time Yaakov, for some reason is indeed spelled with an extra vav. And that extra letter does allow the 7 letter skipping to spell out Obama. I have corrected the error above.

Hatip: Moshi