The Wake Up Call

There is a story from the Talmud about Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.  He and his friends were talking about the Romans who had taken over their city, Jerusalem. The Romans had taken over and were making themselves at home.  They paved roads, built bath houses, set up market places.

Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, one of his friends, said, "How nice of the Romans that they built the city so much! Now we have bath houses, bridges, paved roads!"

Rabbi Yossi, another friend stayed quiet.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai protested, "They did all these things for themselves!"

A third friend who had Romans in his family, went back and told them what had happened.  Word got around and finally the Governor heard this and sought to punish them.

Rabbi Yossi was caught and as punishment for not speaking up for the Romans, he was banished to a far away land.  Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, because he spoke nicely, was given a spokesperson position for the Romans.  And Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was to be executed!

So, **ahem** in light of this story, I'd like to sing the praises of social media! Social media has help Black folks to sound the Wake Up Call to our brothers and sisters.

Because of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, WhatsApp, including the recent Blaggenuf and everything else out there, Black folks are learning at an exponential pace.  The many things that were kept hidden from us, we are discovering and passing along to each other.  Inventors, warriors, scholars, song writers are all coming out from hiding.  We are learning and we are finding each other, our long lost cousins in Africa, in AFro-Mexico, not yet Asia though, but give it some more time.

Now we have unity.  Despite the people who are lamenting about unity, we should know we have at least two handfuls of people who are united.  But unity is not enough. The next step is organizing.

It's not enough to clump up in a jumbled bunch.  Each braid needs three strands... the strands must be separated before it can get intertwined to form a braid.

This is our new task now, Melanated Folks. Create the strands to form the braids.  A slight bit of separation in order to really come together.

Fixing the World This Moment

Dr. Sebi called indigenous people, aboriginal people, black folks, Africans, he called them all "organic people."  Before that I didn't have a word for them and I called them all "earth people."  

Clearly we both knew that there was something significantly same with these types of people. 

But the big question is why are they all oppressed?  And even more importantly, how can they achieve self-autonomy again?

One thing these people have in common is many of their religions or spirituality is animist.  They believe that all things have a soul.  Many African-Americans believe more in Christianity.

Animists

In the case of animist, when there is an enemy, they will respond with force.  Head on.  They will boldly fight this enemy until the problem is gone.  That is the honorable way.  But when dealing with colonizers, that is not the right way.  They usually come with friendly smiles and gifts.  They come as cowards do pretending and relying on the person's good nature to receive them in kind.

This is the most important thing to drill in the youth's understanding.  That colonizers come in sheep's clothing.  Only when that attempt doesn't work, then they bring out the iron.

One thing that all these people have in common is that many are prone to reactive behavior.  They feel an emotion and immediately react with it.  It's as if they cannot control the spirit or emotion that they feel.  But that is natural.  Many are not even told that they can control their emotions.  It just feels like the right behavior at the moment.  No thought is given to it.

But if anything is to change, this must be learned!

Emotions are like spirits.  It's as if the spirits enters the body via the various glands and just like water is a conduit for electricity, the hormones are a conduit for the spirits that have entered.  Then the person feels the urge to react.  To do something that they feel "compelled" to do.

But it is important to hone and sharpen the rational mind so that it remains in control even over the emotions.  The rational mind must always be in control.

It almost seem as if this has been a fight for a long, long time.  In the Bible, there are many stories.  One interesting one is where God supposedly hardens Pharaoh's heart.  And then send Moses to convince him to release the Hebrew slaves.  It's almost as if Pharaoh had to understand in a cerebral way that the Hebrew slaves needed to go, rather than feel in his heart, or be moved by any spirit.  In the end of that story, however, he did pass the test.  He had to sacrifice a lot.  Many plagues befell him and his nation, he lost is son (God forbid), his land was ravaged, many, many people died.  Let's hope that we don't need to sacrifice so much.  We can all learn from this story, and take it as our own.  To see things with a rational mind is important and can save us a lot of suffering and afflictions.

And yet these same organic or earth people are the same ones who tend to have many deities or spirits that they worship and/or appease.  There's the spirit of the wind, the spirit of water, all manners of deities.  While this was fine before, there is a problem with it nowadays.

Christians

Christians, on the other hand, believe in one god, but that one god looks eerily like their oppressor.  There's an obvious problem with that as well.  But one often looked-over problem with this is that not only is the god supposedly just like their oppressors, they also seem to think of the Satan as on equal footing as the god.  It's as if Satan and god are competing and are equally powerful. 

This idea brings them right back to the level of the animists.

"The Name"

The Creator, the Beginning, The Root, God, The Universe -- whatever you want to call it -- for the sake of simplicity, let's use "The Name."

So, "The Name" creates the world.  He -- and any leader -- would never create something as equal as themselves.  Basic.  Why create a competitor?  The Satan is a spirit.  It is possibly on the same level of other spirits, but definitely not on the same level as "The Name" who created it.

The best model of a man is the Black man, the organic people, the earthy people.  They are 50 percent spirit and 50 percent animal. 

Both sides has its needs. 

The Animal Side:

The animal side needs strict discipline.  The more animal, the more discipline, rules, boundaries, restrictions, laws, and limitations.  This may not seem intuitive, but examine the dog.  They do much better in a home where they are taken for walks every day, they are communicated where their boundaries are, they know what they're allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do. 

Now see a dog without these limits.  Usually, Americans who love their dogs, know nothing about their dogs.  They just love them and decided in their mind that they're little babies.  As a result, these dogs don't know to not to jump on people; they think that is the way to be.  They don't know when to bark and bark incessantly.  The dog can become anxious and nervous in various situations because they don't know what is expected of them.  Everything is a free for all.  You don't know what to expect from such an animal.

For the animal side:  the person can either give the body that needed discipline.  Or not.  When they don't tame the animal side, then obesity sets in, over eating, under eating, oversleeping, under sleeping.  The body begins to pull the spirit in its direction.  Greed sets in in order to get more food, more money, more sleep, more everything, all manners of bad values and negative emotions are summoned to help the body in its flight against discipline.

The Spiritual Side:

The spiritual side of a person is the part that connects to the abstract world.  It keeps us connected to "The Name" and helps us to connect with other people, especially those that have the same spirituality as us -- not same religion, but same emotions, same value system, same character traits.  For this reason, it is very important to expose ourselves to good people, people with "good" values -- values that will be beneficial to the world, to people, animals, plants -- to life.

The spiritual part is like a light.  The body, the animal side is also a light, but a more coarse light.

So say the spirit was able to look at a body, a soul-less body propped up, it would see that propped up body, but in addition, the spirit would see a shadow.  When a bright light is put next to a dimmer, coarser light, you get shadows.

Shadows connote darkness, evil, something lurking, wicked.  Etc.  This is the understanding of clean versus unclean.  Christians got it in that they think the body is "wicked" and needs to be disciplined.  Wicked is a bit of a stretch, but it certainly does need discipline.  And discipline doesn't mean a beating or whipping. 

For the spiritual side:  The person can connect with good values that promotes life.  Or not.  If they do not connect with good values, then they can connect to the wicked values that lead to destruction of the body, destruction of the spirit, and death.

Black folks:

But being the 50/50 human is the best and most optimal.  This person can do amazing things!  This is the Black person.  One of the -- if not THE oldest Homo sapiens.  They can hone both their spiritual and physical parts and really expand their abilities. 

This can be seen from the medical advancements, architectural expertise, and spiritual understandings in ancient African civilizations.  This can be seen in the building of "Wall Street" by African-Americans not to long from when they had literally nothing and their ingenuity which is only recently getting exposed.

The Imbalanced Ones:

Any different percentage creates an imbalance.  Then one side pulls on the other side.  One side taxes the other side.  They are like a walking battlefield.

The oppressors and colonizers tend to be mainly spiritual and not very animal.  When you have someone that is more spiritual than animal, that person doesn't value discipline, laws, or rules.  They scoff at such things and feel they are above it all.  But they would be big on attaching to other spirits and emotions.

This is why when they see the organic people, they think of them as "animals" and "plants" or even "fauna."  This is why when they look at earthy people, they can see a shadow and think they are the wicked ones.

Combined this with the fact that spirits are like vectors, they tend not to look back where they came from.  Not looking back means no repentance and no recognition of the Creator that created them.

This is why they are not "down to earth" and would prefer illusions, falsehood, and lies.  Down to earth is for the body, the animal side.  Many earthy/organic people walk barefoot upon the earth and stay connected to Truth, to wisdom, to knowledge.  Intuitively, we know this and call people who are practical and truthful as "down to earth."

But the oppressors and colonizers are not very animal.  They are very spiritual.  As a result, the good news for them is that they really appreciate emotions and spirits.  When they see a gathering of organic/earthy people filled with heightened and honed spiritual expression, or dancing, they want to be a part of it.  They try to wear their garb, wear their hairstyles, and talk like them.  We would call that cultural appropriation.

The spiritual bad news is that it only takes a bit of evil, a bit of bad to ruin the cluster of spirits.  So if there is bad amongst them, then very quickly the whole group becomes wicked. 

The good news physically, is that they are not caring too much about bodily comforts.  They can discard the body, inject implants, remove this, add that attachment to the body, it is not a big deal.

The bad news for them is that they have a disregard for discipline.  They can do a mock show of discipline, such as always being on time, on the clock.  Having a court system, police, clocking in and out of work on time, and so on.  But that is all a show.  With every people they have been involved with, they commit genocide, they oppress, they torture, they enslave, murder, in every way they have tried to kill that society of people and bring them to death. 

They have attached themselves to the worst spirits and emotions flying around and might as well be called the Satan now.  This cluster of negative spirits and emotions is like a wrecking ball everywhere it goes.  But if the organic/earth people rely on spirits, then the Satan has an equal chance of winning and the struggles goes on endlessly.

End the War:

It's time to end this war.  And the only way to end it is to rise above just appeasing spirits, calling out deities.  We need to reach to the Creator with no intermediaries.

This requires great amount of preparedness and boldness.

Preparedness:  Can you surmount emotions?  Can you rise above these deities, these spirits?  That will be needed before you can reach "The Name".  The only way that you will be able to mark that you have overcome your own emotions and spirits, is if you can hear an insult and not be affected.  This is not the same as hearing an insult and calming down your boiling blood.  Not being affected means understanding that they are trying to insult you in a rational way, but not having any movement in the spiritual realm.

Someone calling you a "ni**er" should have the same effect as someone calling you a "tree."

The rational mind must be developed.  And each day we are given a chance to work on it, be it fortunately or unfortunately.

Boldness:  Once you have achieved the preparedness level at least once or twice, then you know you are capable.  The next step is to be bold.  To boldly push for the needs of your people.  To think out of the box to achieve what needs to be achieved.  But what are you pushing against?  The will of the various spirits, the cluster of wicked spirits.  Previously, if a will was very strong, a storm wind, it was thought that its strength should be rewarded by conceding victory to it.  NO!  Not anymore.  No matter how hard the storm wind blows, it must be pushed against for its entire duration until it blows over.

The best and simplest way to do that is to say thank you to "The Name".  To envision the next need, put it out to "The Name" and to say thank you for that.  Each thank you is a step up the spiritual ladder.  But in order to do that, we must discard those that simply cannot go, those that have been too entrenched in the evil and have become like them.

Another tip is to nullify and minimize the evil.  This means if something can be reduced to 1/60th, then it becomes insignificant.  For example, if someone has a family member that is hurtful.  When it's time for a get together, the person invites an extraordinary amount of family members for the feast so that that hurtful one is rendered only 1/60th of all the people.  He becomes an insignificant amount compared to the whole.

Balancing the Imbalanced:

And if there are those amongst them who truly do want to end all the oppression, all the murder, all the negativity and death, it may be helpful for them to be disciplined with their bodies. To take on rules, statutes, and limitations despite what their spirit is saying.

Future Vision:

It is my hope that in this journey of life, we don't settle for eternal struggles.  But that we find concise and definite ways of ending problems and restoring paradise once again.

Where is Bnei Hham's Torah? Part 3

It is a bold step to compare a Black man's skin with Torah -- or really, to imply that there are instructions embedded there.  It is a probably jarring for most who are used to hearing the typical mainstream talk.  But let's explore this for a minute, shall we?

Because they have Torah/Instruction, intrinsicly, (1) their behavior may seem bizarre for someone who doesn't know Torah and (2) they may endure harsher punishments when they stray away from this inner knowledge because it's such a part of them.

Bizarre Behavior in the USA:

For example, in the USA alone, mass incarceration is the name of the game.  Many Black men are thrown in jail for the slightest of reasons, they were shamed and miseducated in schools.  It was an attempt to kill them.

In response, the women still had children -- but out of wedlock.  Even though so many Black men were broken or thrown in jail, the women found a way to keep the peoplehood going.

This story is reminiscent of Israel.  When in Egypt, Pharaoh decided to kill all the Hebrew baby boys lest one arises to save them.  In retaliation, Amram, Moses' father, decided that all couples should separate.  That way, no one will have children and no babies will be killed.

Amram's daughter, Miriam, thought differently.  She accused Pharaoh of trying to kill all the boys and Amram for trying to kill both boys and girls!  Since no children would be born the future looked bleak.  Everyone saw her reasoning and concurred.  So they had babies and tried to hide them and hope for the best if it was a boy.  Some may have even tried to dress their boys as girls.

Now Black women are fighting to have babies even though "the system" is trying to kill their boys.  Some men/boys even resort to behaving extra soft so as not to appear to pose a threat. Certainly, they may have not raised many correctly.  But thankfully, there are living boys to work with.


Another bizarre behavior is this phenomenon that Black people will stand by and march for everyone else's problems.  Many within the community complain about that and wonder why don't they just stick with their own problems.

"Whoever prays for mercy on behalf of his friend, and he needs the same thing, will be answered first." (Baba Kama 92a)

But because of the "hidden Torah" within the Black people, that may explain why they see the bigger picture and tend to be self-sacrificing.

There is the bizarre behavior of Black folks thinking they are gods or kings and their women are goddesses or queens.  In Kabbalah, there is a teaching that G-d and the Torah are as one -- meaning, they are very connected in a very close way.  So he who has Torah -- learning it, loving it, living it, etc,. it's as if he is almost one with G-d.  So therefore, Black folks with Torah written on their skin may feel very much as if they are G-d if not extremely close to The Most High.

Harsher Punishments:

Again, sticking with USA history, there is no need to elaborate on the harsher punishment and treatment that Black folks are enduring.  Not even in the USA alone, but all over South America, Africa, the Arab world, everywhere.

It behooves us all to take a moment of meditation and appreciate who we are and how we are and to use it for maximum good for ourselves and for the world. With so much propaganda and constant distraction everywhere and continuously bombarding us, its very hard to find a place of nature and quiet to meditate and "read" our Torah.  But we should be reading it every day. 

Its would be more beneficial to read this "instruction book" away from burnt metal, petrified wood, beaten rocks, which is the "forest" of the non-melanated people.  Rather, it would be best to go into the forest, nature, greenery, place of life and the living and meditate.

To be continued...

Where is Ham's Torah part 2

The Precious Stone:

In the story of Noah and the ark, at the top of the ark was something to bring light into it.  Some say it was a window, some say it was a precious sapphire stone.  If it was a window then it would only shine light when it was day.  But since it was very stormy, probably definitely rainy weather, a precious stone may have been in order.

What is so special about a precious stone?  It really enhances the beauty of something.  Crowns in particular are decked out with precious stones.  But it's not coincidental, just something pretty to decorate a crown with.  No, it's purposeful.

Keter means crown in Hebrew.  According to some, the precious gems on the crowns allows one to actually peer to what's above -- the next spiritual/astrological level.  Kind of like a crystal ball. Or like the Urim v'Thummim -- the breastplate of the Cohen/High Priest. The king wearing such a crown can boast that they were meant to be the leader because now they have access to "higher information" from above and special spiritual help. 

Also just as we place hot stones on human bodies during massages to open blocks, the sapphire stone is know for opening mental blocks.

So there was Noah and the three sons and their wives all encased in the ark with a precious sapphire stone shining above, calling to whomever will engaged with it.  Calling for 40 days.

The Intercourse:

When Adam mated with Eve, it's written Adam "knew" Eve.  In fact, this "knowing" is a way of intimately getting familiar with someone -- or even something or a concept.  When it is taught that Ham had "intercourse" in the ark, he broke a glass ceiling and gained intimate knowledge.  In addition, he actually had intercourse in the physical sense.  Canaan may have been the product of this union (which would explain why Noah took his anger out on Ham)..

There were others who also "had intercourse in the ark"  under the sapphire stone, according to the sages; the dog and the raven.  As a result, the dog was made to be tied and the raven was made to expectorate (spit).  Interestingly, the dog is, in fact, tied by humans.  It is now closer to the human plane than most animals.  In some countries it's known as a "man's best friend." 

As for the raven, interestingly, it can actually use speech much better than the well-known parrot.  Speech is a very human characteristic.  Maybe the raven can't "spit a rythm" but it can definitely speak which is a  human trait.  That combined with their great intelligence (ravens are said to be as smart as a seven year old human child).  Both the dog and the raven were brought up to a higher level away from their previous animal plane and very close to the human plane.

The dog and the raven were both brought up to a higher level.  Slightly away from the animals, and closer to the humans.  Ham was already human.  So with his new gift he also rose from human to something near the angels.  Its not uncommon to hear Black folks, particularly African Americans referring to themselves as gods and their women as godesses.

Romancing the Stone:

In the ark, Ham gazed at the precious stone and from gazing he peered through, like looking through a crystal ball, and gained intimate knowledge - as is known, sapphire stones open mental blocks.  What is this knowledge that Ham gained?

As a result of this act, he is said to have gotten stricken in the skin.

In a different section of the Jewish Torah is the story of Moses who was told to "speak to the rock" so that it would render water for the people.  Moses heard these instructions, but yet went and hit the rock instead!

This also reminds me of parents.  When a parent says to do something, they say it calmly.  If that is not heeded, the parent shouts and speaks loudly.  If that doesn't work, then the parent may give the child a smack.  A strike.   As if a strike is physical -- very loud -- word.

So Ham was "stricken" in the skin.  Another big bang just happpened.  Gd spoke strongly into Ham's skin.

Black skin is black because of the high amounts of carbon in it.  Carbon is one of the basic building blocks of life.  Nothing that is living is without carbon.  Black skin has a factor that is almost like the chlorophyll in plants.  Plants use a process called photosynthesis to convert light energy into chemical energy for fuel.  As well, melanin is a process that converts light energy from the sun into chemical energy for fuel.  That's on a physical plane.

On a different plane, let's talk about light.  In every synagogue, there is a light that is forever shining above the ark which contains the Torah.  Let that sink for a minute...  So from within the ark, Hham who was contained within the ark stared up at the light shining constantly from the precious stone and as a result was stricken in the skin ( given a Torah - instruction within the skin).

The Torah can only be written on skin.  Traditionally, it's been written in cow hide (cows are another one with high melanin in their skin).

To be continued...

Where is Ham's Torah (Instructions)?

Many will argue that the original Jews were Black or Brown people.  And that seems pretty logical.  But I want to focus my attention on Ham.  They are also a Black/Brown people.  But they get a bad rap.  It's as if they are almost the exact opposite of the Jews!

One is considered blessed.  The other is considered cursed.  Now I would like to introduce a new idea:  that perhaps both are blessed/cursed depending on what they do with their gifts.

Let's review the stories:

In the case of the Jewish people:

They left Egypt, traveled through the desert and come on the Mountain Sinai.  There, they heard lightening and saw thunder -- miracles and Moses came down with the Torah Tablets which some say is made of sapphire.  Now this Torah can only be written on skin -- usually it's written on cow skin.  They said na'ase v'nishma (we will do and we will hear).  Then anti-semitism came into the world.

In the case of  Ham:

Ham left with his family to enter the ark.  There there was a precious sapphire stone above to send down light.  Ham had intercourse (please note, very often when they talk about "intercourse" its like a form of getting to know something. So we can say he gained some knowledge very intimately there).  Because of this he is stricken in the skin.  He comes out of the ark and witnesses Noah drunk and naked.  He does something to Noah - some say he castrated him and then calls his brothers.  Noah wakes up from his stupor and curses out Ham and/or Canaan.

Let's compare:

Jewish people go up Mt. Sinai
Ham people go into the ark

Jewish people have a revelation
Ham people gain intimate understanding

Jewish people are given a Torah that can only be written on skin
Ham people are stricken in the skin as a result of this intimate knowledge

Jewish people say na'ase v'nishma (we will do and we will hear)
Ham people did an act and listened (to his brothers)

Jewish people got anti-semitism
Ham people got racism

Their histories are very similar, But why is one considered cursed and the other blessed?  Answer:  because someone wants to be the narrator of history.  And that someone is Esav.  He wants full ownership of our imagination.  That way you will think only as far as he wants you to think and have the capacity to do only as much as he wants you to do.   They want to play G-d.  And as such, they play one against the other.

Someone can easily look at the Jew's history and not think they were blessed; every country they've been in people have tried to kill them or stop them from performing their Torah ordained deeds.  Many have been slaughtered simply for being Jewish.  Their place of origin was taken from them and should they attempt to get it back, they are shamed and fought against.

Someone can easily look at  Ham's history and think they were blessed -- they were blessed to live in African continent, such a fertile land envied by all.  Endless sunshine and resources scattered about their land in great demand then and now.  Exotic animals, rain forests, their melanin and the abilities that come with it, etc..

But one thing is for sure, both groups hold on tight to life.  But now its time to turn on the light for the Black world. To dispell this image of cursedness and to turn on the "light" -- the "אוֹר" or the "עור" to our Torah. Interestingly, both the Hebrew word for light and the Hebrew word for skin sound exactly the same.  The first Hebrew word means light, spelled with an Alef Vav Dalet.  The second Hebrew word means skin, spelled with an Ayin VAv Dalet.  But they are both pronounced Ohr. 

Both the skin and the light have some kind of connection.

It is also interesting that in the synagogues, the Torah can only be written on skin.  And it is placed in the ark in the center of the synagogue where there is a light that should always be forever kept lit.

This reminds me of Ham who was in the ark.  The ark was continuously lit by a sapphire stone above.  This was where Ham was "stricken in the skin" after having biblical intercourse.



To be continued...

P.S  A word on Noah.  He was said to be a righteous man "of his generation"?  What does that mean.  Meaning he was the best of the worse.  He was not a righteous man.  He was only the least evil of his generation.

When Ham had the revelation in the ark, that placed Ham above Noah, and that brought jealousy.  /In fact, it seems as though Noah became jealous at everyone who had intercourse in ark.  According to the Oral traditions, there is a teaching that Noah didn't send the raven out to see if there was no more water, he sent the raven out because he was trying to kill it.  but the raven was smart and kept  flying back to the ark.  According to the Oral tradition, The raven protested with his new found speech ability and said, "you are only trying to kill me out of prejudice so you can take my wife."  And a voice in Heaven confirmed that the raven was right.

Gorilla vs Boy vs Stupid

As you all know in the Cinncinatti zoo, a small boy of 4 years old managed to get into the gorilla's sanctuary and fell right near the gorilla.  The zookeepers followed protocol and shot the gorilla.

If it was a white family -- the mother of the boy was a white lady, I think that would have been the end of the story.  but since its a Black family, people are seriously upset that the gorilla was killed because of a little Black boy -- as if it was a waste of a death.

Not even giving a second thought to the fact that maybe the gorilla shouldn't be locked up in captivity for their viewing pleasures.

Investigations are being made on the family! All their past wrongs are being put out in the media. SMH.  And if anyone dare call out racism, then the collective will roll their collective eyes as in, "why'd you have to bring that up?"  Burst their bubble of pretend.  They are being racist!

It almost makes me wonder if they are not sad that a gorilla was harmed.  Rather they are sad that their pleasure got taken away from them for the sake of a Black boy.  They would harm another gorilla to capture it and replace Harambe when all this dies down.

Heck! Once upon a time they had Black folks in zoos!

Rest in peace Harambe.  Sad that you were captured and caged and sad about the whole incident.

Thankfully, the boy is okay.  The family is probably going through hot waters right now with lots of emotions, lots of spirits around them.  Send vibes of goodness towards them. If you can write good for them.  Keep that light on.

Why Racism is So Hard to Fight

Racism is a behavior based on the value of cruelty.  This value -- as all values is not a tangible thing.  It's just part of a belief system.  Not something you can "kill."  You can merely surround yourself with people who do not possess cruelty as a value.

In the society that we are in -- namely, the USA, I'm afraid that they do not even comprehend ethics.  They are literally like children with no ethics.  Of course, they are not as cute as children when you see the police brutality, the lynching, the economic oppression that they wrought the cute-factor is not there.

(I guess another way is to shame them into behaving out of fear of punishment.  That's something, however, it only means the behavior will become more concealed the next time.  And is that what we really want?)

The United States is so lacking in ethics that even the court system is not based on it. In the court system, the question is simply did you break an assigned rule for the citizen?  It's not whether you did wrong or not.  So many people go into court ready to defend themselves based on ethics and values only to lose miserably in court because the judge is not looking for that.  They just want to see if you, as a citizen of the State, were within your rights to do x or if you violated a barrier they placed.

The problem of cruelty is compounded in that it is surrounded with lies.  The racists create an excuse as to why the victim is deserving of this cruelty.  In their anger, they can't even see the wider picture and don't care that their reasoning may be contradicting an opposing reason that had been stated earlier as to why the victim is deserving of the cruelty.  His pants were sagging, he seemed like a thug; he was behaving so uppity with that suit, and the list can go on and on.

That's the tier #1.  The next surrounding lies is the denial of any malicious action happening.  That is tier #2 lie.  It's a concealment within a concealment.  What do you do with someone like that?  If you're not careful, you can spend years fighting this lie -- falsehood -- something that doesn't even exist.  You can spend years fighting for the admittance that you really are a good person, that you come from good ancestry, that you have good in you, that you didn't do anything wrong.  And as long as no one validates, the fight -- the struggle -- will go on endlessly.  You're not really fighting anything but an illusion and the racists fight back by simply being passive and letting us run around in circles.  Say, "Black Lives Matter!"  and you will be met with either silence or diffusion (all lives matter!). (We have to have the psychological fortitude to not need their validation).

It's such an illusion that when the police come, they have to wait and hope that the Black person trips up and does something to give them a reason to fall into their cruel, frenzied attack.  Because there really isn't anything wrong with that person.

So for this reason, I don't think that racism can end anytime soon if we wait on them to come around.  However, we must embrace the fact that we have ethics, we have values and morals, we have a compass that tells us what's right and what's wrong, and we need to obey that "teacher" inside us.

So how to have an ethical life in the midst of this exile surrounded by non-ethical people?  The only way I can think of is to have safe havens.  Just like Chinatown has its little enclave where the people can live and exercise their own ethics, just like the Italians have their "little Italy" where they practice their own set of values, so the Black community must also work on that.  And have a buffer -- an organization that will come to their defense when a member has to deal with the outside buffer zone.  An organization that knows the laws, keep track of the changes in the laws, puts out public service messages, and figures out how best to avoid, circumvent, or otherwise benefit despite the laws.

To conclude, racism is not a tangible thing so no physical weapon can strike and kill it.  However, it can be tempered by avoiding its "carriers" when possible and having a buffer or shield to protect oneself should the need arise to deal with the racists.

Making the World go Round

The sages teach us that the world stands on three things:

• Gemilut Chasadim/Acts of Kindness
• Torah/Instructions from Above/Within
• Avodah/Godly service 

Gemilut chasadim/Acts of Kindness:  This is the easiest thing to do.  It entails opening one's heart to another and doing for them what we want for ourselves...or not doing to them what we wouldn't want done to ourselves.  It is a very positive energy and makes people smile.

The flipside of that -- the negative energy associated with this is being truthful.  Having wisdom.  Keeping it real.

Both are needed, but there must be that in-between to keep it functioning properly which is conviction, perseverance, determination.  That opens up a conductive path (grace) of self confidence so that things will flow.

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Torah/Instructions:  Everyone has instructions from the Creator.  Some wrote it down into a book and study that book.  Some teach through word of mouth.

But that is one side.  The other side of this is dancing and clapping with joy.

Like a battery.... 

...these two are like negative energy (Torah/Instruction) and positive energy (dancing and clapping) going to each other.  So with the negative (anode) energy being the Torah/Instruction, and the positive (cathode) energy being the dancing and clapping, what is the electrolyte?  It's staying humble.

Staying humble creates something metaphysical... a conduit path that makes the "battery" work.

It's not an easy route to go.  Being humble is frowned upon in arrogant societies and you'd have to have an iron backbone to go this route.

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Avodah/Godly service:  That means doing godly things. Praying.  Actually following the instructions given down from the ancestors, forefathers, parents, or the Creator.  That is the positive side of things.

The "negative" energy to that is having zeal.  Zealots are not looked upon kindly, but this type of enthusiasm is needed to make things move.

And the middle part, or the grace producer, or the electrolyte for this "battery" parts is staying connected to our ancestors, forefathers, parents, the Creator.

So there are basically three batteries that can spin the world and move it.  Pick your place and let's get "moving"!!

Be Kind!!

News close to my Heart

A whole group of people in Madagascar has turned to Judaism!  Yep.  They are on their way to conversion and Kulanu seems to be willing to get orthodox beit din to come and do the conversion.

People from Zimbabwe and Cameroon are travelling to pioneer rabb, Rabbi Riskin to learn more Torah.  They will bring back what they know to help their community to grow.

Rabbi Harry Rozenberg decided to take on Brother Po-light, from the black conscious community.  Who won the debate?  You decide.

Good Response to Beyonce's haters

At the NFL half time, Beyonce came out with a song and video that honors her heritage and turned it into an entertainment piece.  Here it is:



People became so outraged.  It's almost fascinating to see how the veil is kinda slipping off the head and truth is being revealed in such a blatant manner.

Here is  a good response to all the haters...




It's really worth it to understand that what the media gives you is not always the truth...The portray the Black Panthers and Malcolm X as such violent people, but if you actually learn the truth about them, you will see there wasn't much violence going on.  True, one Black Panther member was accused of killing a cop, but he was later acquitted.  Malcolm X was very pro-Black and that was portrayed as a grave danger.

The media has its own agenda...

A Case for Kindness

I know what I want to say... just not sure how to say it right...here goes:

WHY BE KIND?

I would like to offer a logical reason why it's imperative for us to be kind to one another.

Kindness is a very fluid thing that can take on all sorts of shapes, methods, and ways.  I can comfort someone and that's kindness.  Give a needy person some food, give an encouraging word to another, or pay someone's way through college.  All these are acts of kindness.  All these are forms of kindness or forms of charity.  Interestingly, one way that kindness can manifest is via money.  If I don't know what mode of kindness is best to do for someone -- I don't know if they need a kind word, or new shoes, or whatever, then I can just use a common denominator which is money and give them charity money.  With money the person can go and buy most things (therapy session, food, whatever).

THE MONEY CONNECTION

Money is a strong manifestation of kindness.  But it's the one who's doing the giving (of a product or service) who is being kind; the one who is consuming is being kind also -- more like gratitude.  The giver is the one who will be more blessed than the receiver.  Putting out a product to the world is a kindness.

So if people don't like you, they will not be kind to you -- they may not give you access to a product or service.  Or, even worse, if people don't like you, they may still be kind and give you access because they realize that the kindness is for them, but they may not want anything from your hands -- except maybe what they just gave you -- in other words,  if you try to offer a good or a service they may insist on cornering you into a "buyer's market" where they "give" you the amount they want to pay -- which is usually lower than your asking price.  

The highest form of kindness exchange would be where people put out whatever excess goods they have in a certain area and also come and get whatever they need.  Like giving charity anonymously and receiving charity anonymously.  I think many Native American Indians did it this way.  But that's not always possible.

THE TRAP

I have noticed and have learned from our great shepherds (May their memories be a blessing for us!) that in America especially, people do not want us to be producers.  They want us to be consumers -- to give away our kindness -- our money -- to work and earn kindness/money and give that away.   And give it away to those who don't like us, don't appreciate us, and would not give us an opportunity if we wanted.   But they don't want to receive products from us -- straight from our guts.  Things we create.  Businesses we begin.  They don't want us to give -- to partake in the blessing of kindness. And without kindness we get no money, no wealth blessings.  They would rather colonize a Black nation and suck the wealth out as if they were the givers.  Even many black folks don't want to participate in the kindness exchange with other Black folks.

So how do we make it in a system that is rigged for us to not be providers, producers or givers and to only consume (like saying thank you, oh, thank you forever and feeling indebted always)?

KINDNESS IS THE ANSWER

We have to use our wisdom and understanding to know that we only have ourselves right now.  We need to be kind to each other -- in other words, we need to give money to each other.  There is a campaign out there called Buy Black.  That is an awesome start.  But I want us to understand why we need to buy black and not just do it while the sun is shining.  If we give kindness to each other, that will bring wealth and yes, money as well.

Kindness comes in many forms.  I once saw a post on Facebook about a million dollar sandal.  Million dollar sandal!  It had carvings of animals on the strap, intricate jewelry, etc.  But showcasing the sandal was a Black person.  The only comments that post had was how ashy the feet was, how the toe nail was badly clipped. Nothing about the intricacies of the sandal.  Nothing about anything except criticism of the black guy's foot.   It was a sad sign.  There was zero kindness given, zero grace for that person.  Kindness is looking at someone with a positive eye.  We don't have to overlook a wrong, but be judicious in what we do with it.  Same goes with the "smDh" who has a damned head? And referring to one another as "yo a$$" -- why the backside?  Why the side of judgement? If not out of true love, then out of the wisdom of understanding that without the exchange of kindness we remain far from wealth and yet more blessings that await us.

THE STARVING ARTIST

And then you have the starving artist syndrome.  The one who does want to produce and does! But nothing seems to work.  They are starving and still trying to give of their kindness, sell their creation -- something that they made straight from their heart.  What now?  What is missing?

JUSTICE

The flipside of all this kindness is to keep it real.  To be truthful no matter how much it hurts.  And the truth is that probably nobody deserves an act of kindness.  Everyone has fallen short of being perfect and is probably deserving of punishment -- or at least no kindness.

That is a righteous way of looking at things. It's just.  But do we need justice at this point?  Yes!! We do.  As things stand right now there is no justice.  We see our fellow getting killed daily -- by the police at that!  There is no one to turn to.  No one to call.  What used to be the court is no longer a place of justice.  The media is the new court system.  And the media has never found us innocent -- always guilty.  The actual court system seems more like a farce or a ritual to keep everyone calm. 

But we shouldn't wait for criminals to give us a court system.  We should create a court system with our elders for ourselves and agree to abide by those rules.  We judge ourselves so that we not be judged Above.

With the combination of Truth and Justice, we will feel truly free and confident to move forward.  There should be no more doubt of undeservedness.  No more secret fear that we shouldn't have something or shouldn’t become something.  No question that we ought to move forward.

GRACE

I believe conviction, perseverance and determination is what will give us the grace that's needed for people to be receptive to gifts of kindness.  The giver themselves have to truly believe that what they have to offer is something so valuable that the world may crash if it's not given!  Then they won't be shy or have to worry about self-confidence because it will be a matter of urgency.

A MATTER OF URGENCY

And I want to tell you that what you have to offer is a matter of urgency.  We need black doctors, plumbers, carpenters, computer programmers, import/exporter everything...literally everything to create a functioning Black world.  If you close your eyes and imagine a functioning Black world how big would that world be?  To me it seems very vast and empty --where are the bank owners?  The water purifying companies?  The airlines?  Who is connecting to Afro-Cuba?  Who is connecting to Afro-Brazil?  To Afro-Asians (assuming they have embraced their Africaness) we need more people to populate it and we should give their businesses patronage -We are our economy.  May we be vessels for the Creator to bring goodness for our people.

Be kind.