How are you?

We’re so happy to be connected to you through this amazing 40-day prayer partnership.

I have to admit something now.  I am enamored with the concept of Mashiach coming and the war of Gog and Magog.  So, whenever I have some extra time, I research the newest revelations about our time period and how close it is to the grand finale – what’s going to happen, when and what do I do to prepare for it.

I decided I would share some of what I found with you.

Now many of us know that Mashiach has been predicted in many periods throughout history.  From false prophecies to actual false self-proclaimed Mashiachs.  So, whenever I speak of what people say, it is always in context with the fact that it really doesn’t matter – we have a mitzva to believe that Mashiach is coming tomorrow and we know with absolute certainty that he will eventually come.  That’s it. With that in mind, here are some recent revelations.

October and November of this year were a peak period for revelations of our day.

Rav Kanievsky of B’nei Brak was recently quoted as telling an Argentinian Jew to immigrate his family to Israel now because soon there won’t be room on the planes. The Rav also told Rabbi Chizkiyahu Mishkovsky that “we are in one of the most critical hours for the nation of Israel. We are on the threshold of the Messiah, and the Messiah is standing just outside the door, and the only way to be saved is through learning Torah, and through acts of loving-kindness.” Another Rav was told to go from town to town to yell that Mashiach is on the doorstep.

Rav Shlomo Amar, one of the chief Rabbis of Jerusalem, in mid November attended a Chabad farbrengen after a gathering of Chabad shlichim.  One of the Rabbis reminded him that 25 years prior, the Lubavitcher Rebbe asked Rav Amar to issue a psak din about Mashiach.  In that moment, 25 years later, Rav Amar decided that it was time.  He held the hands of the 2 closest to him and issued a psak din that G-d was to speedily reveal Mashiach now and hasten the end.

A 15 year old secular Jew named Natan had a near-death experience in Israel after Succot and came back to tell the world about all that he saw (there are many of his videos online).  He saw that Gog and Magog started around Rosh Hashanah this year and that if we don’t improve our ways, it will culminate in a show-down in Jerusalem and the only way to be saved is through learning Torah and acts of loving-kindness wherever in the world you are.

A holy Rabbi in Ashdod had a vision in Oct/Nov that Gog and Magog had started and Mashiach was on the way.  He was told to tell everyone to do teshuva for the things that they do that no one knows. To increase kibud av, to let go of pride and to learn Torah with vigor.

Rabbi Sholom Berger, the Mishkolitz Rebbe, had a sweeter interpretation.  He said just after Simchas Torah that Gog and Magog was currently happening in Syria.  He said that G-d sweetened the judgment to move the war from Jerusalem to Damascus as shown from the pasuk:

“Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid. The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 17:1-14)

There are many others, including the political non-Jewish leaders of the world whispering the possibility of World War III stemming from Syria.

So what can we get from all of this? Panic? Confusion? Joy?  Depends where we are holding.  Definitely, it is a kick in the pants.  Wake up everyone!  Now is the time to focus your efforts away from shopping and towards being real – about who you are and where you want to be, and putting one foot in front of the other in the direction that you want to go spiritually. That’s it. Just one foot at a time.

We are here to help!!! After all, we are right beside the Kotel and G-d’s giant ‘ears’ on this planet.

Pray for me for the special days of tefila through Purim and Pesach!!(If you have not yet signed up…)

I’m happy to be writing you from a relatively quiet Old City today. Every day that I see this city becoming more and more built up with Torah and Jews serving Hashem, I become more grateful to be a part of it. And of course, I really appreciate enabling you to be a part of its building, through getting prayers at the Kotel and providing the Torah community with jobs that help them continue to learn here, and you to thrive abroad. In the ancient spirit of Zevulun and Yissachar (where one working tribe supported the other learning tribe and both shared in its merits in the next world) we continue this partnership in a more creative modern way.

Rav Sonnenfeld zt”l, the great Torah sage of yester-year said that every Jew in the Diaspora will be accountable for what they did to build up Eretz Yisroel. You and I can do our part here.

Right now we are trying hard to enjoy the spirit of Adar amidst the plethora of shiva calls and prayers for healing for so many. A particularly amazing quality of Am Yisroel is the ability to live, build and laugh, while also crying, empathizing and feeling pain for ourselves and for others. Have you ever gone to a wedding right after a funeral? Sad for the deceased and the family but then have to put your face together to be happy for the chatan and kallah? That’s a Jew and that’s something to celebrate.

That’s life!  Happiness and pain. That also makes a great drama.Can you imagine going to a performance that was just …….fine? Hum drum. Nothing bad or problematic happens. No crescendo. No suspense.

You would wonder – no struggle? No tears? Some show! No thanks.

G-d is the ultimate Director.

Action. Suspense. Terror. Excitement. Good. Bad.

And, the best part is that we are ALL the leading characters. Fighting evil within ourselves and outside to come out of it our best. And, when we succeed, we transform all that is around us.

Purim is just around the corner. The masks we wear are there to help us remember that we are just playing a character in this drama called Life. Don’t take what happens so seriously!! It’s just a test. It’s just the scenery.

Do your job. Be kind. Give the benefit of the doubt – to others and to G-d. Do what the Torah says. And let go…. The rest is not up to you. It’s up to the Director. Trust Him. He knows what He is doing…

We are here to daven for you at the Kotel for the very powerful 40 days from the Fast of Esther through Pesach to help with whatever you need.

This is also your chance to do your part in building the Torah community of Eretz Yisroel and specifically Jerusalem.

Pray for Me!

These people got their prayers answered! Help others! Share this video!

With blessings and gratitude,

Batya

Happy post-Chanukah pre-Purim time!

As I write this email, a few beautiful souls are partaking in a community melava malka, just outside the Old City gates, exactly where knife-wielding terrorists killed 2 Jews and severely injured 1 more less than 3 weeks ago. Only Am Yisroel, victims of constant onslaught from all sides, still perseveres to make light where there is darkness.  How could Hashem not have nachat from us?

It is said that in the times before Mashiach, Hashem will shake a rope, and it will be up to each of us to grab onto that rope as it swings, if we want to make it.  We grab onto this rope with Emunah.

So too with our personal tests.  The first step is to know that it is a test tailor-made for us and not just random suffering.  If we want to pass, we should focus on first accepting our circumstances.  Then we beg Hashem to help us, knowing that it was brought in order to bring out untapped inner strength and beauty.  Then comes patience.  We have to be patient with Hashem, but impatient with ourselves.  To look inside and see in what way we can grow from the hardship, while at the same time pray and pray for help.  If we do it right, at some point we may not even perceive that we have the hardship anymore.

And on a lighter note, we have a gift for you.  You may remember that there is a Shidduch Segula to hang your name around an almond tree for the whole of Tu Bi’shvat.  After Tu Bi’shvat, the name is taken down and kept by the person at all times (either under their pillow or in their purse/wallet).  Hamodia wrote about this Segula a few years ago here.

If you’d like us to do this for you or a friend in the Holy Land, it would be our pleasure. This year, rather than mailing an envelope, you can just fill in your details and prepay the postage online and we’ll mail you the almond-tree wrapped paper directly.  Tu Bi’shvat falls on January 25th  this year.  Just click here to sign up and feel free to post/send to friends.

With blessings that we all tap into our potential and grab onto the Geula rope,

Batya

On my way home into a very barren Old City last night (save for the dozens of border policemen), I ran into a neighbor and friend. He told me a very disturbing story. 2 weeks ago as he was walking from the Kotel into the Muslim quarter with his friend, the friend suddenly fell to the ground before him unconscious. Looking down, he saw a knife in his friend’s back and an 18 year old Arab girl – who looked more like 15 – full of rage trying to continue to stab him and grab his gun on the side of his body. 

Batya

Brachot from the holiest place on earth!

This is not the usual post-Succot message letting you know about the crowds of tourists and excitement here. This is not the usual pre-Chanukah coming down from an incredible spiritual high update. This is a message to let you know about our life here, and our duty here and abroad to continue our incredible project to keep Jewish prayers and people at the Kotel where we belong.

As you have surely heard, the terrorist stabbings in the Old City and all over Israel update every several hours now. The Old City is a ghost-town compared to the last 10 years, save for a few brave non-Jewish tourists and Old City locals and shopkeepers. Police in riot gear pass us on the way to our kindergartens, park and neighborhood excursions on weekdays and shabbosim. Helicopters circle. And we continue praying, learning, living and educating our children. Our prayers increase. Our hearts feel for all of our friends and neighbors who live and walk daily in the most dangerous area (the Muslim quarter near the entrance to the Kotel).

But, the true irony is that the Jewish quarter of the Old City, thankfully and bli ayin hara, remains the safest place to be. We go to the Kotel daily just through the Jewish routes and are saddened that the media has convinced most people that this route is too dangerous, when this is simply not true. So we WILL be there for you for your prayers. And we urge you to continue supporting Jews praying at the Kotel where we belong!

Now to the good news…

Mazel tov to Roshan, whose baby girl born at 22 weeks and 460 grams survived 10 blood transfusions, 2 infections and 4 months on ventilator support – appropriately named Nasya (miracle of Hashem) after 2 rounds of 40-day prayers at the Kotel. We are so happy and relieved to hear that mommy and baby are reunited in good health.

Congratulations also to Andrea, whose son got himself a job after our 40 days and to Lewis whose career reputation was saved when the truth came to light about his job performance during our 40 days. Please keep your good news coming – we love sharing in your joy after being there for you in your sorrow.

And if you still don’t see your prayers taking fruit – try not to despair. Keep your head held high. The key is to trust and know that each prayer is doing something and each trial is a blessing in disguise to build you. If you don’t feel this, push yourself to a place of mind over matter. This is your test – to think it anyway. If you can’t, ask G-d to help you trust that what you are going through is for the best. Tell Him that you want to believe this and to help you believe this. At the same time, keep praying for what you want and pushing as hard as you can. Both are necessary. This is your avoda (work) as a Jew and the formula to get your prayers answered.

Rosh Hashanah’s power is not over yet! There is still time to influence the judgment! The sources say that on Zos Chanukah, a regular person can accomplish what only a tzaddik can accomplish on Yom Kippur. 40 days leading up to this special day start in just three weeks on November 5th.

We will be there praying for you G-d-willing!

With blessings from a very grateful Old City dweller…

Batya

Thank G-d, Elul is off to a beautiful start, with thousands filling the Kotel plaza daily from all walks of life and places, trying to connect, forgive, be forgiven and merit goodness.

It is a time to re-focus, re-sensitize, and let go of that which is holding us back from true connection with Hashem. I met a friend of mine the other day and was so happy to see such a beautiful change in her – many years of stress seemed to have fallen off her face. She said, “I just came back from Uman.”  It made me want to go myself :-).

But as I don’t have that luxury this Rosh Hashanah – I decided to send a Torah scholar to pray for me instead. You can too! We are sending a few of our Jerusalem learners to Rebbe Nachman’s tomb in Uman, Ukraine to say the special Tikun HaKlali prayer (10 specific psalms said in a certain order) specifically for each prayer request on Erev Rosh Hashanah.

Rebbe Nachman was known to have said that he will help whoever comes to his tomb and says the tikun to get out of gehenom. The Rebbe also said that on Erev Rosh Hashanah he has the ability to do extra tikkunim unavailable during the rest of the year. What once was a strictly Breslev tradition has spread to much of the Jewish world because of the great inspiration experienced there.

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to affect your upcoming year!

Pray for me in Uman!
(Under “Prayer Option” at the bottom of the page, choose “($36) Uman – Erev Rosh Hashanah Tikun Haklali”)

You should be signed and sealed for a Sweet New Year!

Batya

It’s very exciting, and nerve-wracking to some extent.  The year 5776 is almost here.

What do you want this year to look like?
Who do you want to be?
What do you want to happen?  For you?  Family?  A friend?

This is your chance to have us beg Hashem for you at the place where all prayer goes up and the future site of the Beit HaMikdash!!! (If you haven’t already signed up.)

May all of our prayers be quickly answered!

With great love and brachos for a beautiful year ahead for you, and a b’sha’ah tova to Shira who we hope will hold on long enough to get your prayers out in time. 🙂

Batya

Shalom,

Thank G-d I am happy to be writing you from a peaceful Jerusalem despite the plans of our enemies – may we continue to be protected!

First the good news… Mazel Tov to ‘Sara’ who started dating her husband on the first day her prayer agent went to the Kotel, to ‘Binyamin’ who got a job on day 37 at the Kotel, to ‘Bracha’ who gave birth to a healthy baby after our prayers and to ‘Vicky’ whose husband’s court case was incredibly successful. Keep sending in your stories! We love hearing them and we feel a special privilege to be part of the most sensitive aspects of your lives.

Well…it’s almost Elul. It’s almost Judgment Day. Life is almost starting again and anything can happen.

The future is ours to create, the past is ours to erase. There’s strength in numbers and in partnerships and we can help each other to be more successful!

The verse from Shir HaShirim, “Ani L’dodi V’dodi Li” (“I am to my beloved as my beloved is to me”) alludes to the time between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur when Moshe went up to Har Sinai to pray for the forgiveness of the Jewish people. This is so because the total gematria of the last letter of each word equals exactly 40 (the number of days Moshe ascended to pray).

There is a very special power to praying these 40 days from R”Ch Elul to Yom Kippur. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to have a talmid chacham pray for you at the Kotel!

What will be – only Hashem knows. But what can be depends largely on the efforts you put forth towards it.

Reserve your spot at the Kotel NOW!

Thank you for partnering with us in supporting Torah in the most important place in the world! I only pray that Hashem keeps rewarding you and blessing us to be the channel through which your prayers are soon answered!

Shana Tova u’Metuka!

Batya

Click to read: Connecting Heaven and Earth – A Conversation with Mrs. Batya Burd

This is it. Almost another new year. I usually write a mass email text and work very hard to first feel, and then transmit to you the spiritual energy in Jerusalem and the impending awe that we are supposed to feel in the upcoming weeks because of the severity and weight of what is going to take place based on the chaggim ahead. I bring the notes into play in my head, the growth of Elul, the help and closeness we have with Hashem, and then as if with a Mozart crescendo, finalize it in the Yom HaDin, duh duh. Can you feel it? Are you scared?

And then now, this year, I can’t imagine doing such a thing again knowing where I stand vis-a-vis the Master of the World based on my last year’s din.
There is no stepping into the role here anymore. There is just humility. I can’t tell you how much is decided in these 2 days. I can’t tell you just how much a person’s life can change for the better or for the worse in these two seemingly innocent and mouth-stuffing days. I can’t tell you just how much one day can change to the next and mazal can switch in an instant. You can read it all over my blog.

And then if you didn’t ask, you must have thought – well didn’t she daven at the Kotel last year for a good din? Didn’t she have someone daven at Rebbe Nachman’s kever in Uman last year? And the answer is .. yes she did.

A few years ago when her late husband got the job of executive director at Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah and was now single-handedly responsible for an almost million dollar a year budget, she went to the kotel for 40 days between Elul and Yom Kippur to daven that he would raise all the money he needed without travelling. At his shloshim it was revealed that in all the years he worked and succeeded at his job, he was the one fundraiser in the history of Jerusalem yeshivot that never had to travel (as far as we knew).

A few years before that when we were forced to move out of the Old City, she also went to daven 40 days at the Kotel for a place to live near her husband’s yeshiva and the world bent over backwards to give them an apartment exactly where they needed.

And so on, and so on…

This year I am back for those 40 days not only because I know it’s a mitzva to daven, but because I believe in the power of prayer and I see the power of these special days and place and segula.

Speaking to a group of beginner Torah-learners the other day I described prayer like a choose-your-own adventure book.
The author writes a book, and the reader can choose many different directions based on their decisions. If they choose option A, they have the potential to get all the way to the mazel the author wrote would happen in option A. Same with option B, C and D based on the reader’s choices. Let’s say the reader wants a different option and davens very very hard for that option? Let’s say the option is for instance, winning the lottery. If winning the lottery is within the written options that the author wrote in his book, then he has a good chance of getting it. But let’s say this option doesn’t exist in his potential mazalim, in any of the choose your own adventure paths? It is not in his book at all. Like a blind person davening hard to see….
Did Hashem not answer his prayers?

Really, Hashem didn’t set forth those potential options to be actualized through prayer in his life. It was not a potential mazal.

So, those prayers will instead be redirected to an option that is good and is available in their book or their future generation’s books.

Gershon z”l living past his 40th birthday was not an option in our book. But Gershon becoming a hero for the way he did live was an option. My family and I being showered with kindness and getting the strength to overcome this tragedy was also an option and I thank each one of you for your prayers in making this happen.

With love and blessings from Jerusalem and with brachos to be signed and sealed for a sweet new year,

Batya