More on the Iceland volcano and the gate of Gehenom

Our earlier post has received an unprecedented amount of "hits" - especially after it was mentioned in a number of popular blogs. The following post appeared on one of those - "Yeranen Yaakov" - and will be of interest to our readers.

Thanks to Shirat Devorah for pointing me to a blog called AJNWatch, which posted the image above. In it, Rav Yaakov Emden in Migdal Oz quotes the Gemara in Eiruvin 19a that says that there are 3 openings to Gehinnom: 1 in the desert, 1 at sea, and 1 in Yerushalayim. He tries to reconcile this with the Zohar that says that there are really 7 openings to Gehinnom. He therefore says that there are really 3 categories of openings to Gehinnom. There are 3 at sea: Hekla, Etna, and Vesuvius. (He goes on to say that there are 2 more on each side of India, plus 1 in the desert and 1 in Yerushalayim.) He specifically refers to Hekla (which Wikipedia says is the most active volcano in Iceland) as one which constantly spews fire like a river of sulfur, and near it, one can hear a wailing sound and a great roar.

What does this have to do with the Eyjafjallajokull volcano?
Well, 2 things: 1)some scientists say that Hekla may follow and 2) it's close to Hekla.

This article says that R' Yaakov Emden is not the only one that calls it the "Gateway to Hell":

Hekla’s Volcanic Activity

The Iceland volcano - Gehenom's entrance...

That's what Rav Yaakov Emden zt''l (born Altona, Germany June 4, 1697;
 niftar April 19, 1776) wrote a long time ago.  (Hat tip Rabbi B.)

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European air chaos creates havoc for yeshiva and seminary students

There'll be a more than few Yeshiva bachurim and sem girls missing start of the new 'zeman'.

And here's a quip going around in London:
After the recent crash of their banks, Europe asked Iceland for cash. 
Instead, Iceland sent them ash.