Ben Artzi disappeared for a while (4 years I think), supposedly he was abducted. He came back, or was released, over a year ago, but has mostly kept out of the limelight since then, not making public appearances.
He has now made his first public prediction since the abduction. Here is what he said:
People should minimize their travel, even stop it completely, if possible. The whole world is in danger. if one must travel for work, parnassah, or for a miztva or for bringing Jews back to Eretz Yisrael, that is fine. But not just for travel - there is no protection because the shechina is not in chutz la'aretz.
He then claimed the strange weather in the USA is a result of the demands on Israel to freeze construction. They first demanded it, so Hashem froze over New York. They demanded again, so He froze over New Jersey. Whenever they talk about a freeze, Hashem brings to them strong winds for them to have to deal with.
The floods are increasing in Australia. More countries will be flooded over and disappear from the world. There are problems with airplanes and flights, causing mix ups and confusion. Many radar systems and satellites have been messed up. Strange things will continue to occur around the world, birds falling out of the air, fish washing up out of the sea. All this is the hand of Hashem. Nobody can stop Him.
The economy around the world will continue to fall apart. The Chinese think they will conquer the world, but they will soon be hit badly. China was strengthened in order to bring about the downfall of the American, Russian and European economies, but then China will also come apart. (source: Bechadrei)
What do we do with this type of information, besides for changing travel plans? Believe it? Ignore it? I guess a good idea is to use it, whether true or not, even if skeptical, as an impetus for teshuva.
Whose teshuva? Mine ahead of these catastrophes, or his for infraction of diber 3.
ReplyDeleteIf you want people to be truly inspired with Frumkeit, the Rabbis should silence such drivel.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that they do not, is yet another blot on frum life.
whats diber3?
ReplyDeleteif he is a fruitcake, do the rabbonim need to speak up every time some fruitcake says something strange?
ReplyDeleteExplaining past events to fit a given worldview, no matter how convincingly, is not the same as a making a prediction. Muslim Imams for example, can, and indeed do, do the same.
ReplyDeleteAlso, making vague predictions which come true isn't convincing, since for any vague prediction (e.g., more strange things will happen, traveling will become dangerous), especially if no specific timeframe is given, there will be some future event that can be pointed to as a fulfillment thereof. For example, strange things will definitely happen in the future, but you don't need to be a kabbalist to predict that.
It's also noteworthy that many of his predictions are similar to what some scientists are saying will be the result of global climate change, and saying that the world is an increasingly dangerous place doesn't take a genius to figure out.
I'm not C"V saying he's a charlatan, but his "predictions" seem to have many of the characteristics of those that charlatans make.
As a side note, is his "prediction" of 9/11 being touted as proof that Israel was behind the attacks? (Otherwise, how could he have known about it before?)
Rafi, it's not that they need to speak up every time, It's that they never speak up. (The only one who I recall did speak up was Rabbi Eli Teitlebaum.)
ReplyDeletea documentary very interesting
ReplyDeletehttp://vimeo.com/9043755
Even the Xians claimed the strange weather in the USA is a result of the demands on Israel to freeze construction.
ReplyDeleteBen Artzi has been saying what the austistics have been saying on their websites. There is nothing new under the sun.
The problem is with the media, including geula bloggers, who are advertising this man to be someone he isn't or shouldn't be.
How is he any more a charlatan than those who put up pashkevilim and issue psakim that have no connection to Torah?
ReplyDeleteHe can't be any worse than the group of rabbonim who warmly welcomed Leib Tropper.
He is no less delusional than local rabbis who consider themselves the mouthpiece of G-d and wish to dictate all aspects of their followers lives.
He's just more colorful.
I have a prediction! Rafi will post more of these loony things on his site in the effort to get more traffic!
ReplyDeletethat is something you can be sure of. you must be a navi!
ReplyDelete