Esser Agaroth

The Myth Of Egalitarianism

2012-01-28T18:41:00.004+02:00

Motza'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Bo 5772

Nope. Egalitarianism is not in the Torah,...not even close.

This is a Western concept, not a Jewish one.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Haveil Havalim #343 Is Up!

2012-01-16T17:09:00.004+02:00

21 of the Tenth Month 5772

This week's edition of Haveil Havalim is now up at Just Call Me Chaviva!

It's entitled "Alas, Tebow Loses."

Check it out!

Also, check out our new Facebook group, now being used to communicate more efficiently amongst carnival hosts and participants!

Haredi Backlash From The Nachla'ot Abuse Cases?

2012-01-09T19:20:00.002+02:00

15 of the Tenth Month 5772

No doubt, you have already heard about the in the Nachla'ot neighborhood in Jerusalem. If you want to learn more about it, you can read this post by A Mother In Israel.

In the meantime, I will focus on one of the implications, I have yet to see in the news.

What kind of backlash and sinath hinam (baseless hatred) will the Haredi community at large have to endure as a result of this mess?

If anyone had not noticed, the Israeli government is no friend of Torah oriented communities, unless, of course, there are gains in K'nesseth seats involved. Even Shimon Peres knows the right time to put on (and take off) a kippah.

While countless children suffer from the trauma of past events, I can only imagine certain government officials licking their lips at the opportunity presented to them to demonize Haredi across the board.

Enter the Erev Rav controlled government's front line soldiers, the social workers, specially trained to see illness in strict Torah observance, and mental instability in disloyalty to the State.

(*There are many good and decent social workers in Israel. I am speaking here in general terms.)

We have already had a taste of these social workers actions in neighborhoods, but mostly in Jewish communities within Yehudah, Shomron, & previously in Azza (Judea, Samaria, & Gaza).

Threats of removal from the home due to parent and sibling involvement in anti-government protests and (mostly) women leaving the Torah world and divorcing after receiving "counseling," are only two examples of their handiwork.

The government does not see any difference between trying to prevent an unnecessary autopsy or trying to prevent the relinquishing of Jewish lands.

News reports and editorials of how "sick" the insulation of Haredi communities is, and the need to break it down forcibly will appear, if they haven't already.

Soon after that, expect the Israeli controlled press, as well as the Christian-loving/Haredi & hard-core settler bashing, Jerusalem Post to talk about how primitive Haredim are

Attempts will be made to increase fear of Haredim among the modern orthodox and traditional Jews, as was done during the last Jerusalem mayoral elections. "Do you really want Jerusalem to become a Haredi city??" Praise will also be doled out to those whose approach to Torah observance is deemed by the government to be "normal."

I am definitely against the strict insulation of some communities. I believe that it is better to prepare our children for the reality of the outside world, and how to defend themselves from all of the anti-Jewish crap out there pushed on us as Jewish.

Nonetheless, I would also not welcome any intervention from the Israeli government, whose motivations are based on an anti-Torah agenda. Jews who fear HaShem more than the government and its minyons, and who hold to the Torah over any man-made laws are considered to be dangerous and uncontrollable by the likes of Shimon Peres (with or without a kippah) and his gang of snooty "we know better than you" maskilim (self-righteous, anti-religious intellectuals).

Imagine that. Haredim, as well as quite a few Torah Zionist Jews, are considered to be dangerous? Something to think about, but not too much. It might too late!

May The Holy One, Blessed Be He, heal all those children who have been abused, attacked, neglected, and otherwise hurt. May He bring helpful people into their lives, and keep away the bad ones.

May they also receive the support they need to meet the spiritual challenges they will one day, undoubtedly face.

May we all wake up, and learn, from this horrendous experience in Nachla'oth.

Thousands Of U. S. Troops Land In Israel!

2012-01-07T19:40:00.003+02:00

Motza'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Wayehi 5772

I received the following article from Geulah Girl. I have posted the entire article below, in case it disappears.

The question remains, "What is the real reason they are here?"

This is not the first time American Troops have landed on Israel's soil.

In the early 2000's, they were here to "defend" us from the possible return of scud missile attacks from Iraq, by manning the Patriot Missile defense system.

Mysteriously, records of 100% of the troops departure is absent.

Now, they are back, to "defend" us against a possible attack from Iran.

My theory still stands.

Foreign (non-Israeli) troops will be used to remove settlers from their homes in Yehudah & Shomron (Judea & Samaria).

After the psychological disaster on IDF troops, the Israeli Government most likely sees foreign troops as an increasingly viable option. Foreign troops will not have the same apprehension as Israeli troops about throwing Jews out of their homes. In addition, even mamlakhti (undying State-loyalist) settlers will have much less qualms about defending their homes and themselves, by lifting hands against non-Israelis than Israelis.

Their defensive measures will undoubtedly egg on the foreign troops to me even more vigorous about their task to expel Jews from their homes, and to aid in the mesirah (sinful handing over) of our Holy Homeland to goyim.

Who knows? Maybe the U. S. has even been promised a few acres here and there. You know, for "security" reasons, or in order to conduct out of country interrogations, or even a place to bring President Obama's unwanted, overly passionate Christians, who would jump at the chance to grab some land in Israel.

The possible implications of the presence of U. S. Troops in Israel are endless.

What are you going to do about it? Still think that the U. S. is Israel's best friend?

Thousands of US troops land in Israel. Aircraft carrier coming soon
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 6, 2012, 6:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tags: US-Israel war exercise Iranian war game Iran nuclear Strait of Hormuz Britain

US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System

Thousands of US troops began descending on Israel this week. Senior US military sources told DEBKAfile Friday, Jan. 6 that many would be staying up to the end of the year as part of the US-IDF deployment in readiness for a military engagement with Iran and its possible escalation into a regional conflict. They will be joined by a US aircraft carrier. The warplanes on its decks will fly missions with Israeli Air Force jets. The 9,000 US servicemen gathering in Israel in the coming weeks are mostly airmen, missile interceptor teams, marines, seamen, technicians and intelligence officers.

The incoming American soldiers are officially categorized as participants in Austere Challenge 12, the biggest joint US-Israeli war game ever held.

The maneuver was originally designated Juniper Stallion 2012. However, the altered name plus the comment heard from the exercise's commander, US Third Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, during his visit two weeks ago, that the coming event is more a "deployment" than an "exercise," confirmed that Washington has expanded its mission. The joint force will now be in place ready for a decision to attack Iran's nuclear installations or any war emergency.

Our sources disclose that it was decided at the last minute in Washington and Jerusalem to announce the forthcoming Austere Challenge 12 on Thursday night, Jan. 5, ahead of the bulletin released by Tehran about another Iranian naval exercise at the Strait of Hormuz to take place in February, although its 10-day drill in the same arena only ended Monday, Jan. 2.

The early release was decided in consultations among US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the two army chiefs, US Gen. Martin Dempsey and Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz.

British Defense Minister Phillip Hammond, on a visit to Washington, was brought into the discussion.

The handout circulated to US correspondents from Hammond's talks in the US capital affirmed that Britain stands ready to strike Iran if the Strait of Hormuz is closed.

However, that phrase was omitted from the British minister's remarks at a news conference, following a last-minute request from Panetta, signifying the Obama administration's interest of keeping a low profile on plans for attacking Iran.

Tehran too is walking a taut tightrope. It is staging military's maneuvers every few days to assuring the Iranian people that its leaders are fully prepared to defend the country against an American or Israeli strike on its national nuclear program. By this stratagem, Iran's ground, sea and air forces are maintained constantly at top war readiness to thwart any surprise attack.

The joint US-Israeli drill will test multiple Israeli and US air defense systems against incoming missiles and rockets, according to the official communiqué.

DEBKAfile's military sources add that they will also practice intercepting missiles and rockets coming in from Syria, Hizballah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

It will not be the first time a US aircraft carrier docks in Israel for joint operations with the Israeli Air Force. On June 9, 2010, the USS Truman dropped anchor opposite Israel to test a joint deployment against Iran and its allies. The carrier and its air and naval strike force then staged joint firing practices with the Israeli Air Force over the Negev in the South.

Washington and Jerusalem are doing their utmost to present a perfectly synchronized military front against Iran: American officers are stationed at IDF command centers and Israeli officers posted at the US European Command-EUCOM. At the same time, DEBKAfile's military sources disclose that full consensus has not been reached on every last particular of shared operation against Iran, should one go forward.

Now Do You Believe That Yishmaelites Are Liars?

2012-01-07T18:43:00.001+02:00

Motza'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Wayehi 5772

YNET: Brotherhood: We Did Not Promise To Honor Israeli Peace Treaty

Egyptian Islamist movement denies US State Department claim it had promised to honor 1979 peace deal. 'No one has the right to speak for Egyptian people,' party official says.

Roi Kais, January 7, 2012

The Muslim Brotherhood denied on Saturday that it had assured Washington it would uphold the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters on Thursday that the Islamist movement, the clear victor in the first round of elections for the Egyptian Parliament, pledged to honor the various treaties signed by previous Cairo governments, including the peace deal with Israel....

Who is lying? Yishma'el (Arabs) or Esau (The West)?

Jews need to wake up.

They both are.

In the meantime, I pray that Jews in Israel will wake up from their numbed out state of mind, and get prepared to defend themselves, from Egypt, from the additional Arab States who would surely follow, AND from the Leftist dupes who think that just talking more, and giving up more land will lead to peace, and from their nefarious, Leftist leadership who would like to see the Arabs win.

Haveil Havalim #341 - The Hanukkah 5772 Edition

2011-12-25T22:00:00.002+02:00

30 of the Ninth Month 5772
6th Night of Hanukkah

Well, as my laptop screen went out, and I still do not have an Internet connection at home (long story, don't ask...), I sit here on the third floor of the Jerusalem Central Bus Station in Cafe Neto, whose name I hope needs no further explanation.

OK, I know it's a chain, and chains are tacky. But, a commitment is a commitment, and I had nowhere else to go. I might add that the coffee isn't any worse or expensive than anywhere else in Jerusalem, and I hear that they make a really good toast (toasted sandwich).

At a suggestion from Batya, and an e-mail from Jack this morning, I was able to obtain a long selection of your posts, via BlogCarnival.com's "insta-carnival," dating back to I don't know when. (...at least one of its features appears to be working,...for now) You would be amazed at the spam which was received, mostly from Christians, who did not even try to pretend it was Israel-related. They may be steadily infiltrating the Shomron (Samaria), but they will not make it into Haveil Havalim, as long as I am a host! ...unless they are super, industrial strength, sneaky.

But, I digress....

A few of you appear to be continuing your blind post submission, without knowing that something has been seriously wrong with BlogCarnival.com's on-line submission process, for quite sometime now. Does that mean you have not been following the news of this mentioned in the editions themselves? (raised eyebrow)

This all being said, I am afraid (no, not really) that I no choice but to limit the posts to those from this week, with the exception of a few which captured my attention.

If you end up disliking this edition of Haveil Havalim, that has the potential to turn into a positive thing.

Why?

Well, if you really dislike how I have presented this edition, and, say, left out your EXTREMELY important post, then perhaps that will motivate you to volunteer to host an edition yourself.

See what I mean?

Haveil Havalim is dying, folks. If you do not want it to die, then you will have to step up to the plate, and volunteer to host. Just try it once. If you hate it then 1) you'll appreciate the work of the hosts more, even of those hosts you dislike, and 2) you'll never have to host again.

Contact Fearless Leader Jack directly at talktojacknow@gmail.com.

The next thing which I believe needs to happen is that we all give up on BlogCarnival.com's on-line submission system. If you are like me, you will not want everyone and his brother (& sister) to be in possession of your e-mail address.

So, until we find a more reliable way to communicate with each other, I suggest that you join the Haveil Havalim Facebook Group I set up. The old, inactive one is set to be archived soon. So, it will be of no use to us. Let me know if you would like to be an administrator, too. Besides Jack, I suggest we have a few more, from diverse points of view.

And so, with all of that meta-blogging "processing" behind us, and without further ado, here is the Hanukkah 5772 Edition of the Haveil Havalim Blog Carnival.

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means"Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

Torah

Here is a sneak peak at Parshat Vayigash from Josh at the Parsha Blog.

Geulah Girl suggests we back up to Parshat Vayishlach for a moment, to remind us of what us is going on at this time of year, besides Hanukkah, and of the need to keep our eyes open.

Hanukkah

The Jewish Fist shares his Reflection On Chanukah with us. According to him, Chanukah is the most misunderstood of all the Jewish Festivals.

Samantha at The Israel Situation presents her Zionist Perspective On Chanukah.

I throw in my Esser Agaroth on the Jewish Federation's "Inner Maccabee" Hanukkah Video.

Tomer Devorah reprints Rabbi Kahane's hy"d classic Down With Chanukah (1972) for us.

Velveteen Rabbi brings us Chanukah Remixed.

Miryummy brings us every Hanukkah video on line there is, or so it seems, in Chanuka, oh Hannukkah. Thanks, Miryummy!

Last but not least, not exactly a Hanukkah post, but when you see Jameel @ The Muqata's Maybe It's Time To Move To Israel, you'll know exactly why I put it here. This is a must see photo!

Israel

Jewish Israel reports on the continual attempts by Christian "friends of Israel" to implant themselves both within the Land, and even within normative Judaism in The Other Side Of Torah. Duped members of Kenesset and various mesmerized "rabbis" appear to be to blame.

Nobody seems to remember that Abbas Used To Be A Member Of The Muslim Brotherhood. According to Daled Amos, it shows.

Batya, our Shilo Muse, reports that Givat Asaf Is Vulnerable In More Ways Than One.

Sharon A at The Real Jerusalem Streets presents her take on the Jerusalem Light Rail, and with photos, too!

Fun Joel's Israel presents This is Not a Political Post Fun Joel’s Israel. What do YOU know about the "Mughrabi Bridge controversy?" It all seems to be covered here. He also brings us Israel Mystery Photo #16, the next in an ongoing series of photos taken in Israel. In each post Fun Joel presents the new "Mystery Photo" and gives further information on the previous photo in the series.

David at Israelity brings us Exposing Tel Aviv Fashion Week. This post also caught my eye, as I have recently been having my fashion conscious past and artistic upbringing triggered at every turn, including an opportunity to model for some photos last week,...if you can believe it. Believe it! It happened! I'll let you know if my shots make the cut.

The Apple Never Falls Far From The Tree comes from Anthony at The Israel Situation. See what Israel is getting before any other country.

Hutz la'Aretz
(Outside of Israel)

Daled Amos believes that Jonathan Pollard May Become An Election Issue.

Allison Josephs at Jew In The City presents Cultivating a Soul: What Farming Can Teach You About Personal Growth Jew In The City. This was one of those posts which caught my eye. Alison should come visit all of the present-day farms in Yehudah, Binyamin, the Shomron, and elsewhere. Nope. Farming is not what we used to do. And... Soon, many of us may have to return to it whether we like or not. This spring will be a good time to make an actual start on those vegetable gardens you've only been thinking about.

Food

OK. I just HAD to put this one in. Tripple Peppermint Chocolate Brownies from Yosef at This American Bite. Anything with "Chocolate" and "Tripple" in the name HAS to be good, right?

Health

Make sure to read Rick's Mom's Playing “Aunt Loretta.”

Personal

Mystery Woman presents When Children Die.

To Kiss A Mezuzah presents There Is No Such Thing As A Good Stereotype.

Spotlight

Here are some blogs recommended this month for you to check out!

Check out A Jew In The Rain: If you'd like to post on the blog, please read the first post, and send your observations, musings, art, tutorials, and fiction or non-fictionthe poetry inherent in a Torah life.

Next, help Efraim find a wife... Check out his blog here, to find out more!

And, finally, check out the Kislev Edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival is being hosted at Me-Ander.

Technorati tags:

haveil havalim, blog carnival

Carnival Of Krembos #1

2011-12-24T20:10:00.002+02:00

Motza'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Miqetz 5772
5th Night of Hanukkah

Just over a month ago, I put out a call for posts about Krembos.

Well, there wasn't that much a response. But, the response I did get included some very well thought out posts about Krembos, Israel's favorite winter treat.

Here is a bit of background, the beginnings of my fascination with Krembos, in Krembos Have Arrived!

Miriam's Words provides us with a bit of Krembo trivia in It's That Time Of Year Again.... She even lets us know that there is actually a Krembo Page on Facebook. Nu? Who knew?

For a different kind of post, Batya at Me-Ander presents The Taste Of "Old Israel."

And, finally, Daniela at Isreview provides us with a very extensive investigation into the different types of Krembos made and eaten in Israel, in The Krembo Challenge. After reading it, there will not be anything more for you to learn about Krembos!

Well, that's all for this year's Carnival Of Krembos! See you next year, and Happy Hanukkah!

Jewish Federation's "Inner Maccabee" Hanukkah Video

2011-12-12T23:59:00.003+02:00

17 of the Ninth Month 5772

What do you think of Jewish Federation's Hanukkah video?

Tag line:

"Show us your inner Maccabee this Chanukah. Do a world of good, make a world of difference."

This video does nothing more than perpetuate the Western galuth (diaspora), Leftist brainwashing myth of Hanukkah.

Whereas, the true story of Hanukkah includes the following components:

The Maccabees killed Jews.

The Maccabees killed Jews who assimilated into foreign invaders, Hellenist culture, even though they resided in Israel. (...which begs the question, "What are we to do about the Hellenization taking place in Israel now?)

The Maccabees killed Jews who practiced avodah zarah (forbidden worship).

The Maccabees cleansed the Beth HaMiqdash (Holy Temple), and re-instituted the bringing of kosher sacrifices, something which is now considered to be politically-incorrect.

The Jewish Federation's Hanukkah video is just another attempt at revisionist history, keeping the blinds pulled over Jews' eyes, and preventing them from seeing the entire Torah.

The Jewish Federation's Hanukkah video, does present acts of kindness, which the Maccabees no doubt carried out. But, to place the focus on this during Hanukkah, is to be misleading and intellectually dishonest.

The Jewish Federation's Hanukkah video seems more like an American Christmas video, than anything else.

The Jewish Federation's Hanukkah video demonstrates that the Jewish Federation knows nothing about Hanukkah, or worse, that is does know what Hanukkah is, but doesn't want Jews to learn what it really is.

Let's face it. The Jewish Federation's Hanukkah video is crap!

Hillary Says Jump...

2011-12-12T23:10:00.002+02:00

17 of the Ninth Month 5772

My (unpublished) talkback to this article follows.

YNET: Peres, Netanyahu Speak Out Against Women's Exclusion
President, prime minister express adamant objection to recently debated phenomenon of female shunning; government to mull punitive measures against municipalities, companies that permit segregation of women

Omri Efraim, December 12, 2011

The Ministerial Committee for the Advancement of Women in Israel is expected to convene Tuesday in order to set up an inter-ministerial team to fight against the exclusion of women in public domains, Ynet learned on Monday.

The team, which will include representatives from the Justice, Interior, Transportation, and Religious Services ministries, as well as Civil Service personnel, will examine several options to fight the phenomenon, including issuing sanctions and fines against local councils and private companies that permit the segregation of women....

Talkback:
Hillary says jump...

...and Bibi and Shimmy ask, "how high?" It's one thing if Israelis make a decision about an issue. It's another when another country is telling Israelis how to think, feel, and act.

What happens when the majority wants such [voluntary] segregation?

The Left, the same Left which negotiated the Oslo and Geneva Accords behind everyone's back, even though it was illegal to do so, because THEY KNOW BETTER, will tell us what to do anyway.

Some democracy, eh? More deMOCKracy. (assuming I cared even cared about democracy)

Now, let's take a look at what is really going on here.

We can debate the issue of segregation on public transportation another time. Better yet, go read my post Mehadrin Buses. I covered it all there, over three years ago, and nothing has changed. Needless to say, it is a popular issue used to scare the Modern Orthodox into believing that they will eventually be sucked up into the maelstrom of a Haredi-ized society.

It's a tactic the far left-wing Meretz Party used in the last mayoral elections in Jerusalem, to help get Nir Barakat elected. It is called "Fear Mongering."

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and (the anything but symbolic Israeli President) Shimon Peres use it too. In fact, I believe that Clinton was just an excuse for them to rant and rave about this issue, they wanted to rant and rave about anyway. Even more so, I suspect that Clinton was not the initiator. Rather, she was given her cue from within the Israeli Left, as part of their plan to continue the Western assimilation process of the NON-Western Jewish culture.

The issue of women singing in public is another matter.

This is not about women being prevented from singing in public. That is what the Left would like you to believe, and has taken great pains to spin the issue this way.

Rather, this is about male soldiers being forced to listen to those women, and thus, having their religious rights violated, rights which U. S. Secretary of State Clinton has already shown mean absolutely nothing to her.

The message as to what is really happening, is quite clear.

The State is continuing its battle against against the force it fears the most, the Torah. It cannot take another force, even if that force is the Almighty God, being in competition with it.

In essence, when the Israeli Government brings up issues like these, it is doing battle with HaShem.and his Torah.

Wait! You yell! These issues are in debate even amongst the various religious communities!

Of course, they are. That is how the Israeli government operates.

It is mentioned in the Talmud Yerushalmi that...

מסכת ברכות א:א (ד,ב)
אמר רבי חייא רבה לר' שמעון בן חלפתא בי רבי כך היא גאולתן של ישראל בתחילה קימאה קימאה כל מה שהיא הולכת היא רבה והולכת

The Ge'ulah (Final Redemption) to begin "slowly, slowly," but will then accelerate.

The Israeli Government's parallel this process, but in an anti-Torah manner.

First, it focuses its holy war of "progress for the sake of progress" (Read: assimilate into Western goyshe culture, or be labeled second class citizens) on those issues which bother the so-called modern orthodox and "traditional" Jews. Combined, they are most likely a current plurality in Israel.

Then before you know it, the Israeli Government will be passing laws preventing the assertion of religious rights that will even blow the modern orthodox world away.

Mark my words.

This is the real issue behind the issue.

The Real Nightmare Is Not In Egypt

2011-12-06T20:48:00.003+02:00

11 of the Ninth Month 5772

Expert: Egypt Election Results Are a Nightmare Come True
Israel's worst fears regarding its relationship with Egypt are coming true before its eyes, Middle East expert Dr. David Buk'i says.

David Lev, December 3, 2011

Israel's worst fears regarding its relationship with the Arab world – and with Egypt in particular - are coming true before its eyes, Middle East expert Dr. David Buk'i told Arutz 7 in an interview Saturday night. “The rise of the Islamists in Egypt means the end of the peace treaty with Egypt and the rise of a government committed to the ideological Islamist goal of the destruction of the State of Israel,” Buk'i said.

Peace treaty? Did any Jew in his right mind believe that Egypt, ie. Sadat, Mubarik, Egyptian on the street, wanted peace with Israel?

Maybe they wanted the Sinai Peninsula back.

Maybe then wanted Israeli tourists to spend money in their country.

Maybe they wanted a respite from the Yom Kippur War....

But, peace? No. They're Arabs for goodness sakes! Wake up!

With results in from the first round of voting in Egypt, it's clear that the Islamist coalition has emerged as the largest faction in the future Egyptian government, by far. The Muslim Brotherhood captured more than 40% of the vote, but the hardline Islamist Salafist Nour Party garnered some 20% of the vote – placing the Islamist coalition firmly in control of Egypt's parliament, at least until the second round of voting in several weeks.

Buk'i is not surprised at the results, and in fact, he says, he warned months ago that this was exactly what would happen. “It was already clear to me last February that the uprisings in the Arab world were not an 'Arab spring,' but rather a bitter 'Arab winter' and a return to chaos and violence. When you give a Muslim a free voice in electing his leaders, he will pick an Islamist leadership every time, because that's what he knows and appreciates. That the Muslim Brotherhood will solve Egypt's problems is clear to the average Egyptian,” Buk'i said.

Last February? You have got to be kidding? Look a little farther than that, a lot farther than that.

At least this "expert" was right about one thing, when an Egyptian (Read: "Arab") has the freedom to express himself, he will choose the party which open about its desire to wipe out the Jewish People.

And once Islamism is firmly planted, it spreads quickly, says Buk'i. “The foolish West helped Al-Qaeda win in Libya, and Al-Qaeda now controls Tunisia. And it is spreading to other nations. There are two powers in the Arab world – military dictatorships and Islamism, and it is in the interests of the West to side with the dictatorships. Tragedy and catastrophe ensue when Islamists win,” he added. “Israel is seeing the catastrophe unfold now.”

Well, how about that? This "expert" is right about another thing, too. The foolish West (Esau) mixing into the Arabs' (Yishma'el's) affairs has never helped anyone, particularly Jews, except for those Western leaders (Esau's) selfish motives.

Now, let me tell you what the real nightmare is.

The real nightmare is that Jews still live outside of their only, true homeland, and have become too comfortable in the lands of their sojourns, in the lands where are truly strangers.

The real nightmare exists simultaneously in England, France, and Belgium where Jews are in physical danger.

The real nightmare exists in South Africa where Jews prefer their creature comforts in a country with a rapist for a president, rather than in the land which was promised to them by The Holy One, Blessed Be He.

The real nightmare is when "experts" claim that Jews are actually safe, remaining in Turkey, one of the next countries up for grabs by Islamic extremists.

The real nightmare is that Prime Minister Netanyahu has given up on encouraging Israelis to return home.

The real nightmare is that American Jews were the ones who pressured Netanyahu to back down.

The real nightmare is that American Jews are quite comfortable in their strange land, and that American Jewish organizations and so-called "rabbis" (who to keep their powerful and high-paying jobs) are behind the push to keep Jews there.

OK. So, I was wrong. There are actually quite a few nightmares. But, the Egyptian elections aren't one of them. Those were just to be expected.

They are just another warning to what is to come.

Thank The Almighty that he is communicating with us so directly, reminding us of what we need to do, before it's too late.

Will you listen to Him this time?

Secretary Clinton's Comments On Jewish Practice

2011-12-05T17:29:00.005+02:00

10 of the Ninth Month 5772

Dear President Obama,

I am an (born) American citizen residing in Israel.

I was disgusted by Secretary of State Clinton's statements regarding how Jews should practice their religion.

Such statements would NEVER have been made about Islam and Islamic practices.

(Yes, Sec. Clinton made a point of demonizing Iran. Nonetheless, a like statement regarding Islamic practice would never have been made.)

Such statements are not only offensive, but if they were made in regards to Orthodox Jews living in the U. S., they would have been a serious infringement of our First Amendment right to Freedom of Religion.

Countless critiques of the watering down of the U. S. Constitution have been made. Why do you and your colleagues insist on providing support to those critiques?

Such statements make me want to renounce my U. S. citizenship.

But, I suppose that's what you and Sec. Clinton want, isn't it?

That's OK, because I would like all American Jews to leave the U. S. as well, and return to their ONLY, true homeland, Israel.

Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,

Ya'aqov Ben-Yehudah
Orthodox Jewish American
Native Californian

Does Antisemitism Come From Jews? Or From Hillary Clinton?

2011-12-05T16:50:00.002+02:00

10 of the Ninth Month 5772

True Jew-hater, and U. S. President, Barack Obama does not need to learn how to pick U. S. envoys better, nor does he have to learn how to have better control over the ones he does have.

Let's face it. He doesn't really care.

The American court Jews are in his pocket, and have either been successfully anesthetized or otherwise placed fully under his control. His people have done so, playing on these Jews' self-hatred and co-dependently, desperate need for acceptance. Thus, the U. S. President can focus on wiping out the Jewish Homeland, even while enjoying the support of his Jewish puppets.

Only occasionally, does suffer such minor inconveniences....

Obama in Hot Water Over Envoy’s Anti-Israel Remarks
The White House distanced itself from an ambassador’s blaming Israel for fueling antisemitism because of the standoff with the PA.

Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, December 4, 2011

The White House hurriedly distanced itself from an ambassador’s blaming Israel for fueling anti-Semitism because of the standoff with the Palestinian Authority.

Howard Gutman, U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, told a conference of Jewish lawyers last week, “A distinction should be made between traditional anti-Semitism, which should be condemned and Muslim hatred for Jews, which stems from the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”

In other words, it is the fault of us Jews' for defending ourselves (even though in a half-ass manner) and not just laying down in the streets to give the Arabs' easy access to slit our throats.

Gutman added that reaching a peace pact with the Palestinian Authority will reduce anti-Semitism. He was speaking at a conference on how to combat anti-Semitism, which he claimed is not worsening....

First of all, no, it will not. The Arabs want to annihilate us. Wake up! And, besides, every time in history, when Jews have used assimilation as a strategy, it has failed.

Time for those assimilated Jews to find a new strategy, and stopped repeating the same mistake over again, expecting different results.

Try living like Jews, rather than imitating the goyim.

Oh, yeah, and those so called Jewish "movements" do not count, and that includes many in the so-called "modern orthodox" one, too.

They are just reinventions of the same ol' assimilation strategy in disguise.

Another article, published on the same day, demonstrates the true source of Antisemitism...

MKs Tell Clinton to ‘Mind your Own Business’

Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, December 4, 2011

...Speaking at the Saban Forum in Washington, Clinton alleged that Israel is showing signs of becoming anti-democratic because of a recent bill proposing limits on foreign funding of local NGOs and for allegedly trying to exclude women from public life in Israel.

Israel is known as the only real democracy in the Middle East, where women and Arabs have full and equal rights and who have risen to the top in politics and business.

However, she picked on several Jerusalem buses, used mainly by hareidi religious passengers who prefer separate seating for men and women as a matter of modesty.

Although the courts have ruled that the seating is legal only if it is accepted by the passengers, and although the number bus lines involved represent a tiny fraction of Israel’s transportation system, Clinton pounced on the issue.

It's reminiscent of Rosa Parks," she said, referring to a black woman who refused to give up her seat to white passengers in the United States in the 1950s.

She also jumped on the issue of requests from hareidi religious soldiers to be excused from IDF events in which a woman is singing, which is considered by many to be a violation of the laws of modesty when performed in mixed company.

For Clinton, the request reminds her of Iran.

National Union MK Uri Ariel commented Sunday that Clinton “would do well not to interfere with Israel's internal affairs and worry instead about American citizens.”

“Her unwanted interference is an additional proof that Israel needs laws that will preserve its character and protect it from interference by foreign governments who try to minimize Israel's Jewish character,” he added.

What does Secretary of State Clinton know about modesty anyway? Absolutely nothing.

Of course, if an American Muslim woman chose to wear a hijab (hair covering), then that isn't a problem. Non-Jews can do whatever they want; whereas, Jews who are not "well-behaved" court Jews, doing what they're told, and have the hutzpah to assert their freedom of religion under the First Amendment in the U. S., or even in their own autonomous nation, then they have to be knocked down a peg.

The most important point in this article is that it is a peek into the shape of things to come for Jews in the U. S. Hopefully, they will wake up in time.

Secretary of State Clinton cannot actually hurt us here in Israel, even though she believes that she can by throwing around the correct buzz words, and make hints to the possible withholding of U. S. funds.

The Almighty is on our side, not on , the side of those who want to curse and destroy us. If only American Jews would realize this.

The Israeli government cannot hurt us either, not unless we allow them to. While it focuses on the sheqqer (lie) of political games, it wastes precious time, by not doing teshuvah (repentance). It is only a matter of time before The Almighty will do for us, what we cannot, or are unfortunately unwilling to do for ourselves.

Many have proclaimed President Obama to be the modern day Pharoah.

What does that make Hillary Clinton? One of his magicians?

No. She's just another wicked witch, the Wicked Witch of the West.

(Click here for a picture of the Wicked Witch of the East.)

The Chief Justice Of The Israeli Supreme Court Has A Tantrum

2011-12-03T19:47:00.002+02:00

Motza'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Wayetzei 5772

Chief Justice Fed Up with Criticism, Calls it Incitement
High Court Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch railed at critics Wednesday and charged that “incitement” is undermining the judiciary.

Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, December 1, 2011

Supreme Court Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch railed at critics Wednesday and charged that “incitement” is undermining what she claimed is the judiciary’s ability to protect the country's "democratic values.”

Critics of the Supreme Court have accused it of exactly the same thing - failing to be democratic by virtue of decisions that are alleged to be biased against nationalists and in favor of left wing groups who want to eliminate a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria. (Tzvi, "exactly the same is redundant. Please do not use this phrase again, OK?)

Apparently bothered by the charges that justices practice a procedure of replacing themselves with like-minded people, she said, “Supreme Court judges did not grow up as aristocrats. They worked and put efforts into their professional achievements. Why incite against them?”

Beinisch did not explain what she meant by the word “incite.”

Recent Knesset proposals to change the procedures for appointing justices to the Supreme Court and challenging the right of third-party lobbies to appeal to the court irked Beinisch to the point of unusually harsh public comments.

Speaking to the Israeli Association of Public Law, she accused politicians of trying to "damage the High Court, reduce its powers, and prevent it from carrying out its functions, and undermining its ability to protect the country's democratic values."

OK. Dorit. It's like this. The Supreme Court is supposed to interpret laws, not legislate them. And, since Israel does not have a constitution, save for the Torah, there isn't a whole to "interpret."

Beinisch, who will retire in three months, said, "This is a campaign of delegitimization led by several politicians, Knesset members and ministers who take advantage of their immunity to give false and misleading information to the public."

Polls the past several years, particularly since the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif in 2005, have shown that the public has a decreasing trust in the judiciary, a situation she blamed on politicians for what she called “a campaign of propaganda and incitement.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu this week killed a bill that would require High Court nominees to face a Knesset committee, similar to procedures in the United States. Beinisch’s speech Wednesday did not address the process, and instead she asked if the Knesset Members who backed the bill "are also proposing to adopt the unchallengeable respect for U.S. Supreme Court's decisions?"

Let's face it Dorit. What you are really trying to say is what Eric Cartman of South Park, Colorado, is know all too well for saying... (Click "Play")

'Nuff said.

IDF General: Hold Onto The Land We Conquer

2011-12-02T15:36:00.006+02:00

Erev Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Wayetzei 5772

Writing from Rehovoth...

Israel's Deterrence Rooted in Ability to Conquer Territory
IDF General says Israel's ability to seize land is rooted in its ability to seize land -- and the enemy believing Israel will keep it.

Gavriel Queenann, December 1, 2011

Major General Eyal Eisenberg of the IDF Home Front Command said Thursday that Israel's deterrence is rooted in its ability to conquer foreign territory when attacked.

"A principle pillar of Israel's deterrence is the IDF's maneuverability, and the enemy knowing it will pay the price for attacking us is losing the land we took defending ourselves," Eisenberg told a security conference attended by regional council heads.

"But they must not believe the land will simply be returned to them," he added.

HUH?!

Israel is not doing a very good job of this, is it?

Israel gave back the Sinai.

Israel gave back the Temple Mount.

Israel gave back Jericho, Hevron, Bethlehem, part of the Shomron, not to mention control over several other locations, which are still technically in our hands, such as Ramallah, Shchem, Jenin, Qalqiliya, and the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

Israel gave back Southern Lebanon in 2006. What? You ask. Yes, Southern Lebanon, to the Litani River, is part of the Land of Israel. It makes up the northern parts of the original territories of Asher and Naftali.

I will tell you another reason why it is a good idea to hold onto lands won, besides being a good "deterrent." When The Almighty, Blessed Be He, puts land back into our hands, which He had promised to do, it is a good idea to express gratitude for such, and NOT, I repeat, NOT spit it back into His face.

Eisenberg also discussed changes in IDF war-fighting methods and the necessary changes those would require in Israel's civil defense systems.

Good to hear it, but I will believe it when I see it.

"In the past, Israel was primarily faced with major military confrontations or operational incidents," he said. "Today, we face a terrorist insurgency and other fluid threats - which rely on attrition."

"In the new paradigm, the home front is the weakest and most problematic piece of our national defense," he added.

Eisenberg noted that, since the Second Lebanon War - during which some 4,000 rockets were fired into Israel - that the enemy has constantly sought to increase its missile capacity.

"Missiles pointed toward Israel are targeting her infrastructure and civilian communities," Eisenberg warned. "And the enemy has achieved greater striking power, range, and precision."

Um,...Yeah, I think we knew that.

Eisenberg also said the next war Israel fights will focus on protecting critical infrastructure and continuously providing services that will allow civilians to go about their daily affairs.

He noted five essential pillars needed to maintain readiness for emergencies: ample warning, physical protection, organized local authorities, training and emergency information systems.

We work closely with local authorities - we identified likely scenarios and prepared plans for protecting our communities. In addition, we are working on a pedagogical multi-layered plan for dealing with emergencies, for protecting children in schools."

"We also set up and operate a network of information centers allowing us to send emergency dispatches and instructions for the population."

Um,...is anyone else confused by these last points? Either this is just a poorly written article, trying too hard to get the general to say what the so-called right-wing public would like him to say, or the general, himself, has a flare for stating the obvious.

Still, what is anyone going to do about it? Just talk about it?

Next Stop Syria

2011-11-29T21:15:00.003+02:00

4 of the Ninth Month 5772

From Tomer Devorah's UPDATE ON SYRIA...
2 Kislev 5772

By all appearances, the West is going to try to do a 'Libya' on Syria and it gets closer by the day. Preparations are well underway.

Arab sanctions find Syria's 7 neighbors on alert. Russian missiles for Assad

...the armies of Syria's seven neighbors were already scrambling into position on standby on its borders for acts of retaliation. Military suspense mounted after the Arab League vote to cut off transactions with Syria's central bank, withdraw Arab funding from projects and other painful sanctions over Bashar Assad's refusal to halt his crackdown on protest.

Debkafile's military sources report Israeli armored brigades pushed forward up to the Lebanese and Syrian borders; Ankara placed three armored brigades, its air force and navy in a state of preparedness, likewise Hizballah and the Lebanese and Jordanian armed forces, while the US and Russia are in the midst of a naval buildup opposite Syrian shores.

Military sources in the Gulf report that 150 Iranian Revolutionary Guards specialists had landed at a military airport south of Damascus on their way to Lebanon to join Hizballah which began bringing its rockets out of their hideouts.

It's ironic that just at this time, we are moving into the holiday period in which we celebrate an ancient victory over the Syrian-Greeks. If we go to war with Syria at Hanukah time, will we then be at war with Iran in time for Purim? With Geula for Pesach? Hmmmmm.

That doesn't mean, however, that we would necessarily have to wait til Pesach for Mashiach. Personally, I envision the Erev Rav regime collapsing due to a colossal failure during the imminent war with our nearest neighbors and MBY coming forward to take charge in the resulting vacuum....

(Click here to read the entire post)

After American forces were firmly implanted in Iraq, it was thought that Syria would be the next target of the U. S. After all, many of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction [WMD].

Those of us living in the Shomron (Shomron) thought that this would be the perfect segue for U. S. forces to enter Israel, led by Gog Bush "from the north." (See Yirmyahu 1:3-16; Yehezqel 25-) First they would come through the Golan, and then down into the Shomron.

Of course, that did not happen,...yet.

One of the reasons Israeli officials saw the expulsion of Jews from Azza as a disaster was not because we had no right to give away God-given lands, not that it clearly did not save any lives, not that it was expensive, and not that it left thousands of Jews homeless. Rather, Israeli officials thought that it was a disaster because it was psychologically trying on our soldiers. This is true, of course. Nonetheless, this point of view reveals much more than the Israeli government's concern for its soldiers nor for pragmatism.

The Israel government has often toyed with the idea of using foreign soldiers to do their dirty work. They know that settlers will have a lot less qualms about fighting foreign soldiers than Jewish ones. A lot less. This will just motivate the foreign soldier

Sure, the goyim who serve in the Yasa"m (riot police) unit have had a hell of a time beating up Jews, just like in the former Soviet Union or Nazi Germany. But, to the dismay of the Israeli government, there are not enough goyshe Yasa"mniks to execute expulsions on the massive scale it requires.

Enter the U. S., NATO, EU, and the UN.... But, how will the Israeli government be able to bring them into the country without raising any eyebrows from the numbed-out Israeli populace?

Bring in the foreign troops through Syria, with the excuse that it is to protect us from the "evil Assad regime," to put Hizbollah in its place, and to put a stop to the Qatusha rockets raining down on the north of Israel.

Sounds legitimate, doesn't it?

But, of course, the goyim do not give a rat's tuchus about the safety of the Jewish People.

Sound far-fetched?

Only time will tell. I, for one, will be bracing myself for the worst.

מַשָּׂא, דַּמָּשֶׂק: הִנֵּה דַמֶּשֶׂק מוּסָר מֵעִיר, וְהָיְתָה מְעִי מַפָּלָה - יְשַׁעְיָהוּ יז.א
The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. - Yishiyahu 17:1

When you hear of foreign troops entering Syria or Lebanon, and making their way to Damascus, just remember that Damascus is only a stop along the way to their final destination,...your backyard.

Something's Rotten In The Israeli Postal Service

2011-11-29T19:20:00.002+02:00

4 of the Ninth Month 5772

What in the HELL is this??!!

I will tell you what the HELL this is. It's an Israeli Christmas stamp! That's what it is! I bought it today from a stamp machine in the post office.

Why is the Israeli postal service producing Christmas stamps?!

For the Christian Arabs? In English? I seriously doubt it.

And this is far from the first Christmas stamp that the Israeli Postal Service has produced.

This is very big embarrassment. Did you make aliyah to a "Jewish" country, in order to praise the religions of non-Jews? I sure didn't!

This is so typical of the Israeli government, running around, going above and beyond, bending over backwards to praise the goyim, to accommodate non-Jewish tourists and foreign workers, and to make sure that they are happy and that any goy who wants to check up on Israel, will see how pluralistic and accepting we are.

What happened to our self-respect? I thought that we had achieved at least some in 1948, and then again in 1967. Yet, here we are, supposedly having left the galuth (diasporah), still worried about what the goyim think.

The only question left to ask...

Are these stamps made for tourists, Christian, foreign workers, both, or worse... for Jews to put them on letters sent outside of Israel?

It says...

כִּי מִצִּיּוֹן תֵּצֵא תוֹרָה, וּדְבַר-יְהוָה מִירוּשָׁלִָם - יְשַׁעְיָהוּ ב,ג

For out of Zion will go forth the Law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
-Yishiyahu 2:3

NOT

כִּי מִצִּיּוֹן תֵּצֵא עבודה זרה
For out of Zion will go forth avodah zarah (foreign/forbidden worship)...

Yes. Something is definitely rotten in the Israeli Postal Service.

Maybe someone should ask Israeli Minister of Communications Moshe Kahlon what that something is.

The sad thing is that he probably doesn't know; he probably doesn't think that there is anything rotten at all about these stamps, being produced by the "Jewish" state.

Will All Of My Wheel Of Time Questions Be Answered In The Final Book?

2011-11-28T23:27:00.003+02:00

3 of the Ninth Month 5772

Now that I have finished Towers Of Midnight, book 13 in the soon to be 14-book Wheel Of Time series, I have a few questions. I will try to keep the spoilers to a minimum. But, there are a few spoilers below, especially if you have not gotten very far in the series.

1. Will Nynaeve find out about the complete Healing of Stilling by Asha'man?

2. Will Siuan and Leane ever achieve their full power?

3. Will Setalle Anan be Healed?

4. What did Aviendha see in the rings in Rhuidien?

5. How do the Aiel Wise Ones establish their hierarchy?
(A friend of mine suggested that their hierarchy is based on the amount of ji collected over time. Is it?)

6. Will Liandrin escape the Seanchan, especially now that Suroth is out of commission?

7. Will Elaida escape the Seanchan?

8. Will Galina escape Therava?

9. Will Amathera regain her status as Panarch, or any status at all, perhaps as a rallying point for Taraboners to escape the reins of the Seanchan?

10. Will Nynaeve heal the rest of the Asha'man?

Min's Viewings:

11. How will Alivia "help Rand die?"

12. What is the "darkness" around Davram Bashere?

13. What does the "broken crown" above Perrin indicate?
(The popular theory is that Faile will Queen of Saldea, where the crown is known as the "Broken Crown.")

14. What is the thing that is "odd" about Aviendha's babies?
(Aviendha's visit to the glass columns in Rhuidien suggests that they could channel from a very young age. Is this correct? Anything else?)

15Min said that Cadsuane Sedai was going to teach something to Rand and to the Asha'man. It was something they had to learn, but were not going to like it.
(A friend of mine suggested that this already occurred, and that it backfired. Did it? What was it? Did I miss it?)

16. Is there is a third entity within or part of Rand's identity?

List your theories, and your questions below as comments.

Paying For The Jerusalem Light Rail Begins On Thursday, Or Will It?

2011-11-28T12:10:00.001+02:00

2 of the Ninth Month 5772

In preparation for having to pay to ride the Jerusalem Light Rail, beginning on this Thursday, December 1, Citipass employees manned light rail stations in order to explain how payments and transfers will work, and to answer passengers' questions.

The ticket machines were already operating, allowing passengers to begin purchasing tickets and monthly passes. Passengers could also check to see if their transportation cards were readable by the light rail ticket machines. I checked mine, and the machine said that it was not readable, even though when I obtained mine from the Egged Bus Company offices, I was specifically told that it would be usable on the light rail.

Both the light rail operators, Citipass, and the bus company operating local transportation in Jerusalem, Egged, produced magnetic or chip-embedded, plastic cards to be used instead of paper tickets. Purchasing discounted tickets or a monthly pass, one pays the bus driver, or puts it into the light rail's ticket machine, and the correct amount of tickets or free time is encoded onto the passenger's card.

Several light passengers' cards received from Egged were not valid for use at the light rail's ticket machines. We were told to go back to the Egged offices, to have our cards "updated."

How many perspective passengers with unusable cards will be willing to stand in line, a second time, in order to be able to ride the train?

When Egged implements its impending, massive route changes and cancelations, forcing many Jerusalamites dependent on public transportation to ride the light rail, at least a portion of their journey, how many fights will break out, and how many riots will take place?

The train ride has been free for the past three months, because Citipass and Egged have not been able to work out an agreement on passes and transfers, and which company will get which money. Now that the agreement has apparently been hammered out, will they have the wisdom to postpone the bus route changes and cancellations until the new transportation card system gets worked out?

Only time will tell.

...Last Night On The Train

2011-11-27T18:40:00.000+02:00

2 of the Ninth Month 5772

Last night, a mass of tourist boarded the train. One of them was video recording the inside of the train. One Israeli parent was upset that his baby was being recorded, and gestured the tourist to stop.

I heard that they were Spanish speakers. So, in my broken Spanish, I explained that they should not record anyone without permission.

The tourist said that she was sorry. I then pointed to a hat that one of her group was wearing, and said that was also forbidden. The man took it off, and they said that they were sorry.

That hat was proclaiming praise for the Christian false deity (or false messiah, or both, depending on whom you ask, and what mood he happens to be in...).

You see? They just didn't know, and were quite amenable when they were informed, even when asked to be modest about their religious beliefs.

But, of course, we Jews do not bother to stand up for our laws and customs. We just let people step all over us, even in our own Land! What I did is considered to be hutzpadik (rude)!

A young man from the U. S., sans kippah, standing next to me, turned to me, and said,"They can wear whatever they want. They're not Jewish; we don't have to convert them."

I replied with, "No, they cannot wear whatever they want. It's avodah zarah. There is something called the 7 Misswoth B'nei No'ah, and one of those misswoth is not to do avodah zarah.

"Look. They're not doing anything illegal," he said.

"According to Israeli law, you mean? Dude, there is a higher authority than Israeli law."

I then gave my standard schpiel about how co-dependent we are as Jews, caring more about what other peoples think of us than what God thinks about us, let alone what we think about ourselves.

This Jew and I got off at the same station. I was able to fulfill another one of my duties, that to connecting with my fellow Jews, regardless of background and points of view. I struck up a chat with the Jew who was clearly irked by my interaction with the Christian tourists on the light rail.

I mentioned that my parents would probably be embarrassed by how poor my Spanish is. He asked me how I knew Spanish. I said that as a San Diegan (San Diegenio), it's pretty much a given. We chatted a bit more. Then, as we were about to part ways, I told him that one of the great things about Israel is that two Jews, total strangers, and with very different opinions, like us, can have a conversation deeper than sports and the weather. So, our interaction seemed to end on a pleasant note.

Such is life in Jerusalem, avodah zarah and meeting strangers on a train, the bad dealt with as it should is often followed by good.

A Shlomo Braun Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T19:40:00.003+02:00

27 of the Eighth Month 5772
(American Thanksgiving, 2011)

...Or Shlomo Moreno, if you're Sepharadi, or Shlomo Hum, if you've Hebraicized your name, if there is such a name, it is still Thanksgiving, an American holiday, in which Americans give thanks that the Pilgrims arrived in North America safely, after their journey on the Mayflower, from religious persecution.

There are more than a few families, as well as organizations, here in Israel which make Thanksgiving Day celebrations.

A friend of mine who lives in the Me'ah She'arim neighborhood of Jerusalem, and has been in Israel for over 40 years, still makes traditional Thanksgiving foods for the Shabbath which follows Thanksgiving. Mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce accompany dinner, and a few spiced turkey wings in a plastic baking bag are thrown into the chollent for Shabbath lunch.

It's cute. It's fun. And it brings back pleasant memories of far away family and friends, a roaring fireplace, and one of the American holidays least offensive to Jewish sensibilities.

But, I would expect nothing less from this hassidishe friend of mine, reminiscing about what life was like in the Old Country, in the shtetl.

But, there is no difference between dragging galuth (diaspora) customs back from the shtetlach in Galecia, Hungary, or Lithuania to Israel, and dragging galuth customs back from the 'Hood, whether that is Borough Park, Lakewood, Hollywood, or Miami.

Of course, I am grateful for the opportunities I received, and the relatively easy time I had living Jewishly in the U. S., and specifically in Southern California, the relatively inexpensive University of California education, the ability to walk through Downtown San Diego at 2:00 AM safely, public libraries, the abundance of food, and any number of other things.

I say "easy," in spite of the spiritual challenges American Jews face on a daily basis, after learning of the experiences of my brothers and sister who made it out of other countries.

The Russians, who had to take turns watching at the window for KGB agents during Hebrew lessons, whose parents disguised a mikva as a swimming pool, and maintained hidden matzah machines.

The Ukrainians who had no clue what it meant to be Jewish except for a respect for education and the sense that they were different.

The Persians, who sent secret letters to the Jewish Agency through other Muslim countries, and who trudged across deserts with nothing in order to leave Iran. Those Persians still in Iran find it almost impossible to escape.

The Yemenites who married off their children very young, so that their daughters would not be kidnapped and raped by Arabs.

The Ethiopians who were persecuted in Ethiopia, and then when they had the opportunity to leave, so-called "Reform" Jews arrived "to help," telling them they did not have to convert, thus affecting their status, and allowing for goyim g'murim to flood into Israel, while kosher converts are stuck in the land of their persecution. And, of course, those who did make it out are still treated like crap in Israel.

But, these "things" I received by virtue of having been born in the U. S., were all just to help me to prepare for my return to my true Homeland as a Jew, Eretz Yisra'el.

Whether The Almighty decides to give you all a kick in the pants or not, to make all of you still there realize this, is up to Him. Of course, I pray that it doesn't have to be too hard of a kick in the pants, nor too many kicks in the pants, before you wake up, come to your senses, and come back to your [only] true Homeland, the Land of Israel, and invest yourselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in it, and not in the Lands of your exile.

Once you are here, you will have plenty of opportunities to thank The Almighty for the journey he had set you on:

Give to charity.

Volunteer your time.

Celebrate the date/Shabbath of your aliyah.

Celebrate Passover and Sukkoth, and give thanks that He brought us out of Egypt.

Celebrate Shavu'oth, and thank him for giving us the Torah.

Say Tehillim.

Add thank-yous to your regular prayers for anything you have received, new and old.

You can eat turkey shwarmah, if you like. After all the word for Hebrew words for turkey and for thanks do have the same roots.

But, for goodness sakes. Leave the holidays of the lands of our exiles behind, and move on to the next chapter in your lives, investing in your [only] true Homeland, the Land of Israel.

You put a heksher (kosher certification) on your turkey, a kippah on your head, and call Thanksgiving Yom HaHoda'oth, but it will still always be an American holiday to be celebrated in America.

Rabbi Lior: There is No Freedom of Speech in Israel

2011-11-23T21:48:00.001+02:00

27 of the Eighth Month 5772

I believe that this statement (the title above) of Rabbi Dov Lior pretty much covers it.

I found the article, in which he made this statement, to be important enough to re-post in its entirety, and have done so below.

Here at Esser Agaroth, I have pointed out several examples of the Israeli government cracking down on rabbis teaching and making Torah statements which stand in contradiction to Israeli law:

The Battles Between The Torah And The State Of Israel

The State Continues Its Battle Against The Torah

The Torah Will Not Stand For An Investigation!

Hello! There Already Is A Ban On Sales To Arabs

Religious Zionists, Make Up Your Minds!

The Real Religious Zionist

To Refuse Or Not To Refuse

Naveh's Crimes

What The Hell Was He Thinking?!

I must admit; I sound like a broken record.

Will you follow the Torah, or will you not follow the Torah?

Just what is it about this question which makes it so difficult for people to answer?

Bottom line?

The religious mamlakhti (undying State loyalists) will eventually have to make up their minds as to whether to follow the Torah or the State, because they will not be able to follow both. If they do not, then they will eventually fall off the tightrope they have been walking, and/or explode from the build-up of cognitive dissonance.

Unfortunately, there are still those who continue to insist that such stiroth (conflicts) do not exist between Torah and State.

It is for those individuals (as well as for those North American, religious Jews who have no clue as to what is really going here), that I post this article in its entirety.

Rabbi Lior: 'There is No Freedom of Speech in Israel'

Rabbi Dov Lior said the criminal probe into Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu for 'racism' proves free expression is stifled in Israel.

Gavriel Queenann, 11/22/2011

(IsraelNN.com) Chief Rabbi of Kiryat-Arba and Hevron Dov Lior told Arutz Sheva on Tuesday that the decision to launch a criminal probe into Tzfat [Safed] Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu for 'racism' showed there is no freedom of speech in Israel.

"There is no freedom of speech, but a stifling of expression," Rabbi Lior said after hearing of Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein's decision to launch the probe into statements made by Rabbi Eliyahu to Israel's press.

"It is difficult for me to agree this is incitement," Rabbi Lior said, dismissing the assertion the ruling had nothing to do with Rabbi Eliyahu's Torah views. "Rabbis focus on cultivating a love of humanity, and Judaism touches all righteous people, but Jewish law prohibits one from renting to non-Jews."

Rabbi Lior said, "What Rabbi Eliyahu said is a valid Torah opinion. To prevent rabbis from speaking their minds, which is their duty, is reminiscent of the methods of the Bolsheviks - who only allowed the Jews to express opinions they approved of.

"There's no freedom of expression, but a silencing of the truth. If a Torah scholar studies the Torah and justifies his opinion from sources - explaining his reasoning - even if there are others who disagree with him... it is still knowledge of Torah.

"The right of rabbis to express Torah opinions is on trial!" Rabbi Lior said. "This is against our holy Torah, let alone the rules of democracy."

"You cannot drown out the voices raising unpopular opinions. Rabbi Eliyahu is not a political person calling for insurrection against the laws of the state. He is merely expressing his Torah opinion on a relevant issue. Prosecuting him for this is no different than arresting a rabbi for teaching Sabbath [Shabbat] laws because the state allows people to drive on the Sabbath."

"Every investigation of this sort is an assault on the Torah of Israel, and against democracy and equality," Rabbi Lior concluded.

Weinstein has said he will not probe statements by Rabbi Eliyahu made that stem from his opinions on Jewish law, including his opinion - co-signed by 50 other rabbis - that one may not sell or rent a home to non-Jews when Israel's current socio-political circumstances are taken into account.

Instead, Weinstein claims, he will focus on comments made by Rabbi Eliyahu to Israel's press, such as “The Arab culture is very cruel,” and “When talking about Arabs, people speak in codes that normalize violence and turn into ideology.”

Critics, however, say Weinstein's probe into “public statements” is simply an oblique way of striking at Rabbi Eliyahu for expressing Torah opinions at odds with the ideology of Israel's secular left.

Civil Liberties advocates note Rabbi Eliyahu's statements – irrespective of their Torah content – would be considered protected speech in the enlightened Western democracies Israel's left claims it wants to emulate.

Haveil Havalim #340 - The Krembo Edition

2011-11-20T21:00:00.002+02:00

24 of the Eighth Month 5771

This is called the Krembo Edition of Haveil Havalim, as a shameless plug for Esser Agaroth's debut edition of Carnival Of Krembos.

Well, it was either calling it the Krembo Edition, of the "BlogCarnival.com Is Having Issues Again" Edition, which would have been way too boring. But, yeah, that site is having issues,...again.

Hey, I have an idea. How about if we have a standard, contingency plan for when this happens again? And, I am afraid that it WILL happen again. How about if we agree that if BlogCarnival.com develops "issues" again in the future, we automatically know to leave a comment on the host's blog. Any host who has comment moderation, can simply retrieve the information, and delete the comment. Those without can retrieve the information, and then delete the comment, or just leave it there.

But, what about those newcomers not in the know? Well, let's have Jack see if a note can be put on our BlogCarnival.com page, explaining our contingency plan.

Got any better ideas? Send them to Jack directly at talktojacknow@gmail.com.

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means"Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

Unable to depend on Blog Carnival, I had to search out posts on my own, trying to include some of our regular contributors. So, here it is, this week's edition.

Torah

The Parsha Blog provides A Consistent Explanation Of Shalshelet, Across Tanach.

Judaism

Jennifer at Jewneric interview Jew in the City in Jew In The City Wonders…Do God And Science Have Chemistry?

Rafi at Life In Israel asks, "Is This What The Kollel System Leads To?"

Velveteen Rabbi writes On Prayer, Gratitude, Darkness, Praise.

Ima On The Bima is short and sweet in First World Problems, but there is much wisdom to be gleaned from it!

In Israel

Ruti at Ki Yachol Nuchal! brings us a[n epic] story of what a man does to fight his wife's cancer in The Dawn Of A New Day. (bring tissues)

The Jewish Fist brings us a Portrait Of Amalek.

"Peace-loving" Rabbi Michael Lemming remembers fondly Yitzhaq Rabin-Man Of Love.

Ariel at The Torah Revolution also chimes in on Rabin, as does The Virtual Medinat Yehudah in The First Rays Of Dawn.

And, now, how about some Ritter Sport Chocolate Tea Biscuit Milk Cream & Cocoa? Check out Isreview's review to see if she thinks they are worth it.

Outside Of Israel

Snoopy at Simply Jews brings us Iran: Mossad's Involvement In Blast A Myth. What do you think?

Sultan Knish says Don't Underestimate Iran's Instability.

Meanwhile, Elder Of Ziyon reports that the Muslim Brotherhood Is Going Public In Lybia.

Princess Pana reports on the case of Valerie Carlton...Victimised For Being Jewish! Carlton is now in solitary confinement, and faces worse possibilities for her future. Read this post to find out why. Where are all of the calls for pidyon hashvuyin (redeeming the captive) now?

Tomer Devorah has a message for Jews In NY.

Personal

To Kiss A Mezuzah brings us Germs And Words Circling The Bed.

Last, but definitely not least,the Shiloh Muse brings us Sweet "Revenge," in memory of Rachella Druk hy"d, who was murdered 20 years ago, in one of the first Arab shooting attacks.

And, who's hosting next week's edition? Good question. No one has signed up yet. Please contact Jack directly at talktojacknow@gmail.com, if you would like to host. It's not so hard, once you get the hang of it, and it's fun, too!

Response To Reclaiming Zionism

2011-11-20T18:50:00.001+02:00

24 of the Eighth Month 5772

Below is my response to a post, I found on one of the blogs I like.

Reclaiming Zionism
Samantha, The Israel Situation Blog

In recent weeks, various members of the global community have renewed their efforts to delegitimize Israel and call into question the legitimacy of Zionism as a movement. There has been an ongoing effort to take Zionism, which at its core is Jewish nationalism, and twist its meaning and intentions, distorting the term. Lack of understanding of Zionism has led to its corruption, Zionism being equated with racism by the United Nations, and many Jews not understanding the meaning of the term, its relevance, or their own connections to Zionism. Click to read the entire post...

Although, I like this blog, I think Eric is great (& as a DJ, too!), and you said something VERY important...

"To call one a Zionist is not to say that one blindly agrees with all of the policies of the State of Israel."

...and I think that I understand the audience you are trying to reach, I still believe that Zionism can (& should) be summed up in 2 sentences:

1) "Zionism is simply part of the Torah." - Rabbi Moshe Tzuriel, B'nei Braq.

In other words, there are many other misswoth to perform, as well as the "Zionist-oriented" ones, and the only justification we Jews have for laying claim to Israel is the Torah, not revisionist history, not who conquered it, and certainly NOT who was here first. The Cana'anites were here first, but The Almighty took care of that (See RaSh"I on Parashath Bereishith).

2) Zionism without aliyah is nothing. (paraphrase from Avraham Duvdevani, Chair, World Zionist Organization)

Torah and aliyah are the bottom lines, not just for our survival, but for our authentic identity as a people, as well.

It is time for us to stop being Jews in those other countries, and start being Jews in our own and only true country.

South Park: The 99% VS The 1%

2011-11-17T19:20:00.001+02:00

21 of the Eighth Month 5772

As many of you know, I find the television cartoon show "South Park" to be one of the greatest commentaries on American culture.

Recently, "South Park" set out to express its two cents on the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.

(clockwise: Muscleman Mark, Peter Panda, Polly Prissy Pants, Rumper Tumpskin, Clyde Frog, Eric Cartman)

In last week's episode, Eric Cartman represents the "1%," and the rest of his schoolmates represent the "99%," demonstrations included. Butters leads a demonstration, by occupying a piece of a parking lot.

As with many causes, there is an ounce of truth and good intentions to be found. Yet, whether a "Tea Partier" or a "Wall Street Occupier," or an Israeli housing price protester, there is no shortage of infiltrators to control the protesting pawns. The illusion of dissent is, thus, provided without any real threat to the "powers that be."

In this South Park episode, we see how the media employs the use of "creative journalism," or deep denial,or both. I don't even have to get into how the illusion of an adversarial relationship is propped up between different news media groups, made to appear on opposite sides of the fence of various issues.

South Park hits the nail on the head here, showing just how deep the Occupy Wall Street protests really ~~are~~ aren't.

Here is part one of "1%," embedded here for your convenience. You can also watch on-line for free at South Park Studios.com.

The Krembo Challenge - Updated!

2011-11-13T21:00:00.004+02:00

17 of the Eighth Month 5772

This is the Krembo Challenge. I challenge all Jewish and Israel-related bloggers, writers, and tweeters (see below) to write about Krembos, Israel's traditional winter treat.

Your post on Krembos can be about how much you love then, or how much you hate them. You can sing the Krembo's praises, or rant about how unhealthy they are. It can be a new post or an old one. It does not matter, as long your post(s) is about Krembos.

Your post may be from a political or a religious perspective. It does not matter what that perspective is, as long as the post really is about Krembos.

Krembo recipes, whether dairy, pareve, raw, etc. will also be accepted. Kosher recipes only, please.

Posts must be received before Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Wayishlah 5772/December 9, 2011.

Please also put a a link to this post somewhere within your submission.

You may submit your posts via the Carnival Of Krembos On-Line Submission Form.

If you experience problems with BlogCarnival.com's submission form, then either click the name "Ben-Yehudah" on the Carnival Of Krembos page, to send the link to your post directl to me. Or, you may leave the link below as a comment. It will not be published as such, but be assured that I will receive it!

The Carnival Of Krembos will be released shortly thereafter, along with awards in various Krembo Categories.

Happy Krembo Eating (& Writing) Season!

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Twitter: For those of you who do not blog, but tweet instead, a special Tweeting category has been added especially for you!

Please submit your tweets as a comment below, along with your e-mail. The comment will not be published. But, you will receive a confirmation that your tweet has been received.

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The Carnival Owner reserves the right to spam, noodge, black mail, and otherwise manipulate his fellow bloggers into participating.

ADD/ADHD: To Drug Or Not To Drug

2011-11-13T20:30:00.002+02:00

17 of the Eighth Month 5772

I was recently sent a link to this page on the web. My 10 agaroth is below.

Parents Against Drugging Children

To educate all parents about the danger of drugging our children with ADD, ADHD, and SSRI drugs.

Even when I was in practice in the U. S., I was of the school that only one in 50 children who were on Ritalin (etc.) should have been. It was relatively easy to tell which children benefited from treatment, and which children were drugged up so that the parents did not have to deal with the real issue: their marriage (mostly).

Keeping the focus on their child kept them deep in denial about whatever that really issue was.

I also believe that diet must be addressed in these children, before even thinking about drugs.

I do not believe that it is a coincidence that the vast numbers of sugars and preservatives in the diets of many of these children, combined with the increased amount of toxins in the environment correlate positively with the increased numbers of reported cases.

I can also not even begin to address the conflicts of interest I personally suspected of existing within the physicians doling out Ritalin and other drugs.

Furthermore, the classroom needs to be more flexible. Many of these so called ADD/ADHD kids are actually kinesthetic learners. In other words, they learn most effectively using movement, as those are their most effective pathways to and from the brain.

No, I am not asking teachers who are already overworked to teach the lessons according to 30 different learning styles. I am asking them to be more flexible about kids moving around. I am also asking principals to allow this.

Regarding SSRI's (eg. Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, etc.), I personally do not believe that children need to be on these drugs, except under very unusual situations.

*********

Note: I am not a psychiatrist/physician; I am a psychologist.

Glossary:
ADD = Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHD = Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
ADHP = Attention Deficit Disorder with Hair-Pulling

SSRI = Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor: most commonly used to treat depression. Anxiety and ticks may also be treated with these drugs.

The Gilad Shalit Deal, Part 2: Galuth-Mode Judaism vs. G’ula-Mode Judaism or Why Rabbi ‘Ovadhya Yoseph Is Dead Wrong… Again

2011-11-12T21:15:00.001+02:00

Motza'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Hayei Sarah 5772

The Gilad Shalit Deal, Part 2: Galuth-Mode Judaism vs. G’ula-Mode Judaism or Why Rabbi ‘Ovadhya Yoseph Is Dead Wrong… Again

Rabbi David Bar-Hayim
Rosh Machon Shilo

10 of the Eighth Month 5772

Click here to read Part 1: The Gilad Shalit Deal: An (Authentically) Jewish Perspective?

Before expressing an opinion on a matter, a poseq (an Halakhic decisor) needs to be apprised of the facts. (The classic example is requiring expert medical opinion before deciding if an unwell individual may fast on Yom HaKipurim – see Rambam’s MT, Sh’vitath ‘Asor 2:8).

Many of you have probably viewed the brief video clip in which HaRav ‘Ovadhya Yoseph, spiritual mentor of Israel’s Shas party and widely considered a great Tora sage, can be seen and heard commending PM Binyamin Netanyahu for striking the deal with Hamas terror leaders which resulted in the release of abducted soldier Gilad Shalit. Rabbi Yoseph goes on to explain his position thus: “that [future terror attacks] is only a possibility, this [saving Gilad Shilat] is a certainty”. These were his exact words in Hebrew: "יאדו הפו קפס המש".

Here are some statistics: According to Elyaqim Rubinstein speaking during his term as Attorney General, 80% of terrorists released in earlier deals returned to their terrorist ways. (Rubinstein currently serves on Israel’s Supreme Court.) 180 people have been murdered by released terrorists since the year 2000. To date, at least 854 released terrorists have been re-arrested for murder. If you’re still unconvinced, someone has done the math for you: there exists a 99.9% likelihood of at least one lethal attack resulting from this latest release of mass murderers – as close to statistical certainty as you can get. (Would it make a difference if we modified some of the parameters and came up with a likelihood of 90%? I think not.) Of course, the likelihood of multiple attacks with untold dead and wounded, while not 99.9%, remains extremely high.

Nor did we need to wait long. Moshe Ami, 56, of Ashq’lon, died of wounds sustained in a recent rocket attack (01-08-64│29-10-2011), the latest in a string of such attacks since Shalit’s release after many months of relative calm. Add to this the unprecedented stabbing of a 17-year-old y’shiva student in the Ramoth neighbourhood of Jerusalem by a man who then escaped to the nearby Arab village of Bet Iksa, and the attempted stabbing attack in Gush Essyon the day after the release of 477 terrorists (the first ‘installment’ of the Shalit deal), and the picture begins to take shape. The blood bath has only just begun.

Moreover, not only is his analysis irrational; HaRav ‘Ovadhya Yoseph’s position contradicts the Mishna quoted in the first part of this blog. Why? Because clearly the Mishna is also speaking of sapheq versus waday, a possibility versus a certainty. If we ransom a captive Jew, it is certain that he will be a captive no more. (It is also very possible that we are saving his life). Yet we are instructed by the Hakhamim not to overpay lest we encourage the evil-doers to kidnap more Jews, i.e. a possibility, even a likelihood, but not an absolute certainty. In other words, due to the likely consequences for the community of our actions, we do not give priority to the certain salvation of the individual; the collective welfare of the many outweighs the welfare of the individual. Wherever it is reasonable to assume that overpaying for a captive will have negative future consequences (see Ran on Riph, Gittin 23a) Hazal instruct us to look at the big picture. No matter how painful. Even where our refusal is likely to lead to his death (see TB Bava Bathra 8b and Rashi ad loc.; Ramban to Gittin 45a; Pithhe T’shuva YD 252:4).

The flaw in Rabbi Yoseph’s reasoning, however, runs much deeper. For even if none of the above were true, the Shalit deal would still be utterly wrong because our situation is fundamentally different from that discussed in the foregoing sources. As described in the first part of this blog, the Halakhoth pertaining to these matters were formulated not for the present-day State of Israel but for the realities of Galuth (Exile): Jewish communities, both inside and outside the Land, dealing with criminals, in a time and place where piracy for profit was commonplace and targeted any and all available victims, Jewish or gentile. For the kidnappers it was simply business; the overarching imperative was not to provide an added incentive to kidnap Jews.

Hamas, and similar organisations, on the other hand, are not businessmen. They and their sponsors are not driven by money. They are driven by Islamic blood-lust. Their express aim is to wage jihad against the Jewish people until we cease to exist as a sovereign nation in our Land, until all Jews are returned to their ‘proper’ former status of dhimmitude. Kidnapping Jews in order to achieve the release of baby killers is not a career move; it is an act of war intended to demoralise the enemy, weaken his resolve and prepare the way for his elimination.

Even the massive loss of life that will inevitably follow the wholesale reintroduction of terrorists into circulation is not the core issue here. The real question is this: How does a nation-state conduct its affairs vis-à-vis the outside world, and specifically with regards to those waging war against it?

This is not the first time Rabbi Yoseph has led many astray. Since the Six Day War, he has supported the policy of ‘land for peace’ based on the argument of piquah nephesh (saving of life). His reasoning is based on the Talmudic dictum that if a Jew is coerced to transgress the Tora or be killed, he is to choose life, with the exception of three areas: the worship of foreign gods, bloodshed and certain types of illicit sexual behaviour (TB Sanhedrin 74a). While agreeing that handing over parts of the Land to gentiles is forbidden, Rabbi Yoseph points out that this sin is not one of the three singled out by Hazal. Thus, he reasons, seeing that people die in war, it is permissible to hand over land in order to save lives.

Quite apart from the fact that only the reality challenged could actually believe that handing over land to our enemies could possibly lead to peace and saving lives, such a policy is plainly suicidal. Imagine that our enemies demand a part of our homeland, threatening war if we do not capitulate. Now assume that we acquiesce, based on Rabbi Yoseph’s logic. If our enemies have their wits about them – and they do – they will realise that they are on to something. What if months or years later, they present us with a similar demand, only this time for another piece of our homeland? According to HaRav ‘Ovadhya Yoseph’s Halakhic paradigm, we would have no choice but to fold yet again because piquah nephesh trumps everything else, right? And thus it would go until we found ourselves in the sea. Put another way: according to Rabbi Yoseph’s Halakhic system, a Jewish state, any Jewish state, is unsustainable. Valuing the lives of individuals over and above the national imperative of Klal Yisrael’s (the Jewish people’s) continued sovereign existence, capitulating to one’s sworn enemies time and again, can only lead to extinction.

The lacuna in Rabbi Yoseph’s thinking stems from a mind-set: Galuth (Exile)-Mode Judaism. GMJ focuses on the individual and the community. It is never about the nation. Why? Because in Galuth there is no nation, only a collection of scattered communities and individuals. The issues pertaining to establishing and running a sovereign Jewish state in Eress Yisrael – something we are commanded by the Tora (Sh’moth-Exodus 19:6) to do – are simply not on GMJ’s radar. It is no accident that the return of Klal Yisrael to its homeland, with all the nearly insurmountable challenges that this entailed, not to mention the long dormant aspects of Jewish life that needed resurrection and revivification, could not be and were not undertaken by Jews steeped in the ways and modalities of GMJ, but rather by Jews who by and large had broken with that system.

And so it is with Gilad Shalit type deals. GMJ Halakhic thinking gets clouded when faced with issues which are essentially beyond its ken. This is at least one of the reasons why we heard nothing from Israel’s chief rabbis. (Another, of course, is the fact that the State pays their salaries.) Nor, apparently, did the Haredi (ultra-orthodox) world and its rabbis have anything to say; experience tells us that they do not remain silent when they object to something strongly. On matters such as these, GMJ rabbis are simply out of their depth.

The antidote to GMJ is GMJ: G’ula (Redemption)-Mode Judaism (which is confusing, so we’ll refer to it here as RMJ). RMJ, or Torath Eress Yisrael (the Tora of EY) as it is sometimes called, is not a slogan. It is a very real and extremely serious business, animated by the recognition that the direction and leadership that the Jewish people need and deserve cannot be based on the Tora of the shtetl.

Make no mistake. It is a matter of life or death.

The Gilad Shalit Deal: An (Authentically) Jewish Perspective?

2011-10-31T19:38:00.003+02:00

4 of the Eighth Month 5772

The Gilad Shalit Deal: An (Authentically) Jewish Perspective?

Rabbi David Bar-Hayim
Rosh Machon Shilo

28 of the Seventh Month 5772

"The release of convicted terrorists before they have served their full sentences seems like an easy and tempting way of defusing blackmail situations in which innocent people may lose their lives, but its utility is momentary at best. Prisoner releases only embolden terrorists by giving them the feeling that even if they are caught, their punishment will be brief. Worse, by leading terrorists to think such demands are likely to be met, they encourage precisely the terrorist blackmail they are supposed to defuse."

Binyamin Netanyahu, Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorists, 1995.

* * * * * *

The recent deal concluded by the Israeli government with Hamas – an Islamo-fascist terror organisation that openly declares its purpose of bringing about Israel’s demise – has served to cast in sharp relief the greatest danger facing our nation today: the appalling lack of moral clarity, wisdom and courage which characterise those who would lead us.

The malaise is not limited to the political arena; it permeates the Tora world as well. HaRav ‘Ovadhya Yoseph, spiritual mentor of Shas, supported the deal. Referring to this support, the New York Times asserted: “In an unspoken, little-noticed way, religious tradition informed a real-world decision.” In fact, nothing could be further from the truth."

Hazal (Our Sages z"l) taught that although pidhyon sh’vuyim (redeeming captives) is a misswa of inestimable importance, it is nevertheless context-sensitive.

“CAPTIVES SHOULD NOT BE REDEEMED FOR MORE THAN THEIR VALUE, FOR THE GOOD ORDER OF THE WORLD [so that the captors should not demand excessive ransoms and be motivated to kidnap Jews]. CAPTIVES SHOULD NOT BE HELPED TO ESCAPE, FOR THE GOOD ORDER OF THE WORLD [lest captors put their captives in chains and otherwise maltreat them]” (Mishna, Gittin 4:6, TB 45a).

It is often said that prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. This is only half true, referring, as it does, to women. One of the most time-honoured professions among the males of our species is kidnapping. “We find kidnapping widely practiced in the ancient world” (The Encyclopedia of Kidnappings, Micheal Newton, p. 156). “The practice of kidnapping… has been known since the beginnings of history. It was common as a method for procuring slaves, and it has also been employed by brigands and revolutionaries to obtain money through ransom…”. Julius Caesar was captured by pirates near the island of Pharmacusa, and held until a ransom of 5o talents was paid. According to Plutarch, the pirates originally demanded 20 talents, but Caesar felt he was worth more. (Upon being freed he returned to the island, captured the pirates and their loot, and crucified them – a fate with which he had threatened the incredulous pirates during his captivity. Might there be a lesson for us there?)

The case of Julius Ceasar is instructive; it explains what was meant by not redeeming “for more than their value”. In those times, kidnapping for ransom was a boom industry, and just like its sister profession till this day, there was ‘a going rate’, calculated progressively according to status, wealth etc. This, then, was the historical and sociological context of the Mishna.

Jewish communities all over the world frequently found themselves dealing with pirates or brigands demanding ransom for Jewish captives; redeeming fellow Jews was considered the highest form of ss’dhaqa (charity). The knowledge that Jewish communities – due to their ingrained rahmanuth(mercy, compassion) (see B’midhbar Raba, Naso, 8:4 and Rambam’s MT Isure Biya 19:17) and solidarity with their fellow Jews – could be counted on to pay ransoms at many times the going rate would have provided a tremendous incentive to those ‘in the industry’ to redouble their efforts to take Jewish captives.

Overpaying for Jewish captives was clearly a self-defeating policy. So why did Hazal need to formulate this Halakha? Was this conclusion not self-evident? Hazal were compelled to make such a pronouncement precisely because rahmanuth is one of our essential traits, so much so that we often cannot help ourselves even when we should know better.

Is it possible that this Halakha will sometimes result in a Jew languishing in captivity or being put to death? Of course it is possible. In fact it is likely. But Hazal understood what our present, unworthy leaders do not: our actions in the real world must be governed by rational deliberation based on objective realities, not feel-good soppiness.

Was the price tag for Shalit’s release – the release of 1,027 terrorists, many of whom murdered Israeli and foreign civilians including babies and children – “for more than his value”? I shall answer with a question: Can anyone point to the conclusion of a similar deal with terrorists by any other nation?

This dishonourable and immoral deal can only encourage our enemies to attempt similar abductions in the future. Far from being based on religious tradition, Netanyahu’s shameful deal sets at naught the wisdom, experience and explicit instruction of our Sages.

On these grounds alone, this ignominious capitulation to naked evil must be condemned.

Some will ask: Is Rabbi ‘Ovadhya Yoseph unaware of these sources?

I shall address this question, with HASHEM’s help, in the coming installment.

Top Ten Words and Phrases of תשע"א/5771

2011-10-28T15:50:00.002+02:00

Erev Shabbath Qodesh Parashath No'ah 5772

The compiling of the long-awaited, and VERY tardy, Top Ten Words And Phrase of תשע"א/5771 has finally been completed.

The annual list of Esser Agaroth's Top Ten Words And Phrases has been around since תשס"ד/5764. The top Ten Words List includes words which have been overused, underused, or significant to the universe in one way or another. The links below indicate previous posts which have addressed, or have attempted to address, the issue. Those words which are not linked? Stay tuned for some good ol' fashioned smacking of those who need to be smacked from Esser Agaroth during תשע"ב/5772! (click the link above for past years' lists)

This year's list is dedicated to Efraim HaKohen in Jerusalem. Please let him know.

10. Coffee - Self-explanatory.

9. Rabbi – Many of you know that I try to stay far away from "rabbis," and stay close to Hakhamim. Yes, there is most certainly a difference! I especially try to stay far away from those calling themselves "rabbis" who have allowed themselves to be influenced by those from whom they have received salaries or donations (eg. The State, Government of Norway, Christians, etc.).

8. Nakba/Intifada – These words do not even deserve their own entry. These contrivances from the Pseudostians (Honorable Mention goes to Batya @ Shiloh Musings for the addition of this word to our vocabulary!), under the manipulative hands of the European "High Left," must be from ejected from our vocabulary.

7. The State – Doesn't that sound like the title of a good ol' fashioned dystopian novel? Well, sometimes living in Israel can feel that way. Check out what fellow blogger Ariel at The Torah Revolution thinks about The State, keeping in mind that he believes that Jews must come back home to the Land of Israel to re-settle it, unlike Neturei Karta types.

6. צדק חברתי/Social Justice – How this concept has been expressed, both recently in Israel, and years ago in the U. S. is neither "social" nor "justice." Discuss amongst yourselves.

5. Shimon HaTzadiq - 'Nuff said.

4. Christian Friends - The most effective way for me to express my feelings on this phrase would be in the traditional fashion of the San Fernando Valley, in the 1980's: "Like, gag with a spoon!"

3. 1,000's of Arab Terrorists - Yeah! Let's hear it for the Arabs Terrorists יש"ו! (eyes rolling) May they all get what they really deserve! (May their names and memories be blotted out!)

2. רכבת קלה/Light Rail – As a Jerusalemite, and as a Jerusalemite who benefits a great deal from our new light rail system, the…had to be on this year's list! Stay tuned for Esser Agaroth on the…

1. Gil'ad Shalit – How could I not put Gil'ad in the No. 1 spot?

Well, that's a wrap for 5771!

Have a great 5772, and make sure to pay attention to those catchy words and phrases!

Swedish Anarchists Deface Sukkah In Shimon Hatzaddik

2011-10-25T02:00:00.001+02:00

27 of the Seventh Month 5772

Remember the sukkah I visited for a barbecue in the Shimon HaTzadiq neighborhood of Jerusalem?

That sukkah was vandalized.

From the Kalashnokover Rebbe...

Swedish anarchists defaced the Sukkah in Shimon Hatzaddik and were arrested by Police - אנרכיסטים שווידים חללו את הסוכה בשכונת שמעון הצדיק ונעצרו ע''י המשטרה

Personally, I agree that we should "stop the occupation."

אני מסכים - די לכיבוש

Stop the Arab occupation of Jewish houses!

די לכיבוש הערבי!

Stop the Arab occupation of the Land with gave to Ya'aqov (Jews), and not to Yishma'el (Arabs), and certainly not to Esau (Euro. Left AND Right-wing Christians).

To deny this, is to deny the very validity of the Torah. None of this... "Well, it depends on what you mean by Torah." crap. "Torah" means both Written AND Oral Torah, sans denial and distortions.

As politically-incorrect as that sounds, limiting the Land to a specific people, I refuse to allow the truth to be silenced.

Saudia Arabia does it.

The Palestinian Authority will no doubt do it, when some Jews decide to stick around irregardless of what the Israeli Government decides or does not decide.

Believe you me. Some of ~~them~~ us WILL stick around.

But, in the eyes of the so called "International Community," that's OK. After all, we are only Jews, and who the hell are we to believe in the Torah, and who the hell are we to dare expect to possess a tiny strip of Land, and call it home?!

And our brethren on the Left have this insane idea that even if we wanted to slice and dice the Land of Israel, that we could dish it out to not non-Jews.

We can't. It's not ours to give away!

Didn't anyone take the opportunity to read Rash"i's first comments on the Torah last week?

We do what we our supposed to do, follow the Torah, fight for the Land (among other things), and then HaShem decides which pieces fall into which hands, just like in תשכ"ז/1967, תש"ח/1948, and תשל"א/1973.

Even in תש"נ/1948, we made it all the way to the Litani River in what is now Lebanon, which according to many authorities is the northern border of the territories of Asher and Naftali.

Then in typical Erev Rav fashion, we handed it over to Arabs, just like the Sinai, the Temple Mount, Yericho, Hevron, Ramallah, Azza, etc.

I refuse to allow the truth to be distorted, by the left OR the right.

The response to the vandalism in the Shimon HaTzadiq neighborhood appeared to be the same. They expressed it by "fixing" the graffiti.

Haveil Havalim #335 Is Up!

2011-10-23T17:02:00.004+02:00

25 of the Seventh Month 5772

Haveil Havalim #335 is up at The Rebbetzin's Husband.

It's the Gilad Is Free! edition.

Sukkoth In The Shimon HaTzadiq Neighborhood

2011-10-22T23:30:00.004+02:00

Motza'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Bereishith 5772

During Hol HaMo'ed Sukkoth, I went to a barbecue at a friend's place in the Shimon HaTzadiq neighborhood. The Shimon HaTzadiq neighborhood is located on the eastern side of Highway 1 in Jerusalem.

It was a lot fun, meeting old friends and new, as well as seeing the dog I helped raise, when I lived in K'far Tapu'ah (see photo below). Hot dogs, Kabob, and chicken were on the menu, along with singing and Torah in the sukkah.

During tefillath minhah, as the repetition of prayer began, Arab children came over to peak onto the property, and started making noise. Their mother came over, and joined in. Other Arabs began screaming, including very unpleasant things about God, surprisingly.

A few of us who had already prayed went out to investigate, and discovered several Norwegian Leftists inciting the Arabs against us. Esau and Yishma'el working together; Esau manipulating wild and idiotic Yishma'el, actually.

Women stood in front of the entrance to the property, knowing full well that it is forbidden for Jewish men to pray in the presence of women, especially how these women were dressed. One even trespassed on to the property, sat in back of our sukkah, texting to her heart's content, throughout the entire evening. We just ignored her, as she ended up sitting within the [supposed] property of one of the Arab neighbors.

The Norwegian Leftists' complaint was that we Jews were occupying "Palestinian" lands.

This demonstrated how truly ignorant AND Jew-hating these Europeans (Esau) are. Jewish have simply been reclaiming property which they had lost during the Israeli War of Independence.

Who is "occupying" whose land and homes???

After the fall of Sadam Hussein in Iraq, Iraqi citizens filed for reclamation of lost property, which had been confiscated or lost, due to the need to run for their lives. Doesn't anyone remember how Jews were singled out, and denied these rights? Did any Jews have Iraqi citizenship restored or property returned? For certain, they did not receive the minority status granted to other ethnic groups in Iraq. Yet, Jews have had a presence in Iraq for over 2,000 years.

Esau and Yishma'el treat us the same way here in our own homeland, while we continue to let them, and everyone else, to step all over us.

Irregardless of the light drama which played out, I had a nice time, and hope to go back sometime. The irony is that this neighborhood even has its own light rail station. As "occupations" go (eyes rolling), this one has a tremendous amount of mainstream support.

Now that I think about it, I wonder why we did not "release the hounds." Besides Shiksa, there was one other Belgian Shepherd available for Arab and Leftist chasing duty. I guess that even "right-wing fanatics" (eyes rolling) know when to choose ~~their~~ our shots. Go figure....

*********

Here is a video (Hebrew) of Yehonatan "Yoni" Yosef giving a guided tour through the neighborhood, lecturing on the rich history of this neighborhood. His grandfather, former Chief Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef celebrated becoming bar-mitzvah in this neighborhood, and was the ba'al qore' (Torah reader) there for several years.

The Jewish presence and history of this neighborhood begins thousands of years ago, and only had a short break from 1949 to 1967, when the armistice line was set, separating Jews from from there homes there.

The compositions of his tour groups are usually more mixed, Haredi, Religious Zionist, and and secular, all interested in the history and current activity of the Shimon HaTzadiq neighborhood.

סיור מודרך בשכונת שמעון הצדיק - לשעבר שייח ג'ראח

Below are some articles covering the Shimon HaTzadiq neighborhood, interspersed with my comments in blue italics.

JPost.com: The Guard Dogs Of East Jerusalem

Benjamin Spier, January 27, 2011

Meet Shiksa, one of dozens of canines sent to guard in West Bank settlements, dangerous neighborhoods.

In an east Jerusalem neighborhood where tensions between Arabs and Jews run high, sometimes a dog is needed to keep the peace.

Yaakov Fauci lives with his Belgian Shepard 'Shiksa' in one of the few Jewish houses of an almost entirely Arab neighborhood.

Israel’s Best Friend sends dogs like Shiksa to settlements in the West Bank and to Jewish homes in dangerous neighborhoods of east Jerusalem.

YNET: 13 Jewish Homes Approved In Sheikh Jarrah

Construction plans drawn up 'with sole aim of creating trouble,' says Meretz councilman, but head of Israel Land Fund argues, 'Arabs should thank Jews for letting them stay free of charge on land that belongs to them'

Ronen Medzini, February 7, 2011

Jerusalem Municipality approved 13 new housing units for Jews in Sheikh Jarrah on Monday, a move expected to further exacerbate tension in the Arab neighborhood.

The local planning and construction committee approved two separate plans for buildings to be erected near the tomb of Shimon Hatzadik.

The approval provides a recommendation for the Interior Ministry, which will decide whether to give the final green light.

Sheikh Jarrah has become a focal point of conflict between left-wing activists and Arab residents, and the dozens of Jews who reside there in 10 different houses.

(What Arabs call "Sheikh Jarrah" is actually farther north. What Arabs call "Wadi Joz" is to the east.)

The latter moved in on a court order which evicted the Arab residents from their homes. Aside from the approved 13, sources in the municipality said plans were in the works for hundreds of new homes.

"I imagine that within 5-10 years some 200 homes for Jews will be built in this area," Arieh King, the chairman of the Israel Land Fund, told Ynet.

"These are lands that belonged to Jews before the establishment of the state, and after 63 years they have been returned to the heirs. The Arabs that lived here illegally throughout these years should thank the Jews who let them stay for free, and now it's time for the Jews to actualize their rights to this place."

The municipality's Likud representative, Attorney Elisha Peleg, said anyone who rejected Jews' rights to build in east Jerusalem was engaging in discrimination.

"I hope as many Jewish neighborhoods as possible are built in east Jerusalem," he told Ynet, adding that the plans were drawn up by private companies and have nothing to do with the state.

"The lots are being built on illegally and invaded by Arabs right now and in the future, when we receive building permits, they will be asked to leave."

But Meretz Councilman Yosef (Pepe) Alalo said the new plans were destroying the status-quo. "Aside from the fact that the plans arrived insufficiently prepared, they are certainly improper and are entirely aimed at causing trouble," he said.

(Since when is returning property to its rightful owners "improper" and "aimed at causing trouble?")

"The plans were made in order to harm agreements by which Palestinian neighborhoods will be transferred to the future state of Palestine while Jewish neighborhoods remain in Israel. These plans destroy our final hope and have no regard for the fact that the families living in the homes will be thrown out onto the street."

(Well, I guess they should of thought about that, before squatting on Jewish property without permission, huh?)

Jerusalem Municipality stated in response that the plans were private and therefore the construction committee was charged only with checking the aspects related to technical planning, not the religion or nationality of the planners.

Jewish Unity Song (שירת אחדות ישראל)

2011-10-20T20:15:00.001+02:00

Motza'ei Shemini Atzereth/Isru Hag 5772

On the night of Hoshana Rabba, I spent some time in the cool, chilled out atmosphere of the Jerusalem Soul Center's candlelit sukkah, hosted by Ezra and Malka Chana Amichai.

Drinks, snacks, conversation, and a nargila were on the menu. A combination of Torah and music was the main course.

Two amazing musicians played a big part in creating the atmosphere, Yitzchok Meir (also known as Isaac Shiraz) from the Jewish Unity Project and Maury Epstein.

Just as I was getting comfortable on a cushion in the sukkah, and closed my eyes to get centered and to take in all of the activity, my ears perked up to Yitzchok Meir singing a song about Ahduth Yisra'el (Jewish Unity).

It reminded me of a song I wrote back in תשס"ד/2004,...well, more of a chant which is sung. Tensions were rising within and between various Jewish communities over the possibility that 10,000 Jews would be thrown out of their homes in Azza and the Northern Shomron (Samaria).

When that possibility became a reality, and when the shock (ie. denial) began to wear thin, anger kicked in from all sides, and the blame game began.

It's the Leftists' fault, because they're such hypocrites!

It's the Haredis' fault, for voting for it!

It's the Settlers' own damn fault, for not fighting hard enough!

Trust me. There was, and is, plenty of blame to go around.

The original reason I wrote this song was to combat the childish name calling amongst my ninth-graders. The tension surrounding the current events of the day only added to my motivation in writing this song.

As childish as the lyrics may sound, on some level those ninth-graders of mine got the point about how hurtful it is to call each other names along ethnic and hashqafic lines.

There are some very unhelpful people in Israel who would like to maintain the status quo of Jewish disunity.

Don't get me wrong. I am not a pluralist, far from it. I can be very opinionated. But, I can also get very disturbed by the quite nefarious motivations of leaders across the spectrum for keeping Am Yisra'el divided.

It is not just the old cliché of "divide and conquer." It is more like divide, sedate, and periodically egg others on to fight against each other, so that those [truly] in power can stay in power.

This song was also influenced by when, as far back as תשס"ד/2004, I would see graffiti in Tel-Aviv which said...

המתנחל הוא לא אח שלי
(The settler is not my brother.)

A belief which has, no doubt, come courtesy from indoctrination by "Powers That Be."

Perhaps even those still under the influence of Western Galuth may believe I have crossed the line by considering farmers and those who clean our streets on the same level with doctors, lawyers, and those who work in high tech.

Nonetheless, this is the message I want to convey through song. A transliteration and glossary follow.

In case you are wondering, yes, I absolutely DID sing this song to my ninth-grade students, and had them join in.

כל יהודי הוא אח שלי
(Every Jew Is My Brother)

ספרדי
תימני
אשכנזי

כל יהודי הוא אח שלי

חסידי
ליטאי
ס-רוגי

כל יהודי הוא אח שלי

חרדי
חילוני
דתי לאומי

כל יהודי הוא אח שלי

פרסי
מרוקאי
רוסי
ואפילו
אמריקאי

כל יהודי הוא אח שלי

אקדמים
נוער הגבעות
מעריצי
בית"ר ירושלים

כל יהודי הוא אח שלי

קיבוצניקים
תל אביבים
חוצניקים
ומתנחלים

כל יהודי הוא אח שלי

איכרים
היי-טקים
רופאים
ומנקים

כל יהודי הוא אח שלי

Kol Yehudi hu ah sheli.

Se-phardi
Teimani
Ashkenazi

Kol Yehudi hu ah sheli.

Hassidi
Lita-i
Se-rugi

Kol Yehudi hu ah sheli.

Haredi
Hiloni
Datti Le'umi

Kol Yehudi hu ah sheli.

Parsi
Moroccai
Russi
V'Afilu
Americai

Kol Yehudi hu ah sheli.

Academim
No'ar HaG'va'ot
Ma'aritzei
Beitar Yerushalaim

Kol Yehudi hu ah sheli.

Kibbutznikim
Tel-Avivim
Hutznikim
u'Mitnah'lim

Kol Yehudi hu ah sheli.

Ikkarim
Hi-Tech-im
Rofim
u'Menakim

Kol Yehudi hu ah sheli.

Glossary:
Se-rugi = One who wears a crocheted kippah

Hiloni = Secular Jew
Datti Le'umi = Religious Zionist

Afilu = even

No'ar HaG'va'ot = Hilltop Youth
Ma'aritzei Beitar Yerushalaim = Jerusalem's soccer team's fans

Hutznikim = Jews from outside of Israel
Mitnah'lim = Settlers

Ikkarim = Farmers
Rofim = Doctors
Menakim = Cleaners

Welcome Home, Gilad Shalit! (ברוך הבא, גלעד שליט)

2011-10-19T00:17:00.006+02:00

Leil Hoshaba Rabba 5772

I have always been against this exchange deal.

But, who cannot shed a tear at this photo (from JewNews), a reunion between father and son, which most thought would never happen. Only those deluded in fantasy truly believed that those Yishma'elite animals would ever release Gil'ad Shalit.

We have yet to hear what Gil'ad incurred by their hands, what kinds of torture he suffered, what kinds of permanent physical, psychological, and spiritual damage he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

Like most Israelis, I am happy that he has been released, and now back home, amongst family and friends.

Yet, additional questions remain. How long will it take for the thousand released terrorists to start killing again? Will they just step into the shoes of intifada soldiers instead?

How long until the next kidnapping occurs? What will the wait and price be then?

There is a well-known similar incident, which occurred over 700 years ago.

The Mahara"m of Rotenberg was taken captive by the German King, and was held for a very high ransom. The Mahara"m ruled on his own captivity, refusing to be released for the ransom money raised by his students and community.

His reasoning was that by accepting the exchange, additional kidnappings of rabbis for ransom would be encouraged. in the hopes of exchanging them for outrageous sums of money.

He remained in captivity for the next seven years, when he died.

We may be glad that Gil'ad Shalit has been freed. However, this chapter of history is far from over.

Only time will tell if the price was worth it.

In the meantime, let's be grateful for what we have. We have him back.

Enjoy this video of my buddy, Isaac Shiraz from the Jewish Unity Project performing for soldiers in celebration of Gil'ad's release.

Rashi's Daughters

2011-10-18T09:42:00.002+02:00

Hol HaMo'ed Sukkoth 5772

*If you do not identify as frum/religious/orthodox, please read the note at the bottom of this post first.

An extremely loud and gaivadike, "frum" woman approached me, in order to interrupt a private conversation I was having with another Jewish man.

"Rashi's daughters wore tefillin!" was her claim.

It was so important to her to say that, she must have found it necessary to interrupt our private conversation, after eavesdropping on our private conversation to stick her nose into our business, and tell us her unsolicited, two cents (leHavdil), whether we wanted to hear it or not.

This is what I would like to have told her:

Rash"i's daughters may have worn tefillin.

Rash"i's daughters really knew halakhah, what they were obligated to do, and what they were not obligated to do.

They knew the a woman's most important misswah was tzeni'uth (modesty).

They wore tefillin in private, to aid them in prayer, not to make a political statement.

I will also be so bold as to suggest that they also did not rudely interrupt other people's conversations, let alone conversations between men. Modesty, remember?

Furthermore, Rash"i's daughters were the mothers of Ba'alei HaTosefoth.

Yocheved was the mother of the Riva"m, the Rashba"m, and Rabbeinu Tam.

Miriam was the mother of Yom Tov, a Rosh Yeshiva in Paris.

Of Rachel, little is known.

You, on the other hand, who simply wants to do what you want to do, and pick and choose so-called "sources" to justify what you want to do, ain't no Rash"i's daughter.

So, the next time you want to throw out some random piece of history, in order to justify the assertion of your will,...

1. Be intellectually honest, by presenting that historical piece of information in proper context when you convey it,...

2. Before you take on another misswah are not obligated to, just for the sake of "egalitarianism," think about whether you have to do any work on the misswoth you are obligated to perform, and...

3. Remember the following true story from a rabbinic acquaintance of mine:

A female soldier came up to a Chabba"d tefillin table where I was standing. She angrily asked him why he did not ask her if she wanted to put on tefillin. Can't I put on tefillin, too?

She was very much taken by surprise when I responded, "Sure, you can."

He then took her aside to talk more privately, and he related to her this story of Rash"i's daughters.

It is said that Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi z"l of Worms, France [Rash"i], one of the greatest Jewish scholars ever to have lived, had daughters who put on tefillin. They put on tefillin because they believed it would help them to have better kevana (intention, feeling, connection,...) while praying.

However, they put tefillin on in private. Women have no requirement to pray in a group. Women do not need this mitzvah. Rash"i's daughters were very modest. They dutifully performed all of the mitzvot which they were obligated to do, and that included modesty.

When exposing their elbows to put on arm tefillin, and when exposing their heads to put on head tefillin they did so in private, in order to maintain their modesty.

Rash"i's daughters wore tefillin because they believed that it would help them to connect to their prayers and to increase their focus on their Creator. Displaying their tefillin in public was unnecessary to achieve this goal.

But, yes, you may, indeed put on tefillin.

The soldier was happy with the response she received to her challenges, and that this rabbi bothered to take the time to explain a Jewish concept to her, and not just brush her off.

If you look, you, too, can find a rabbi who will be kind and patient to you. If you come across one who is not, then he is not for you. Keep searching.

So, why did I not get in this woman's face about tefillin and Rash"i's daughters?

Would she have listened? No, I don't think so. Actually, the confrontation above did not happen.

But, the women I have encountered during similar incidents, have acted in this manner, apparently confusing rude, "over-compensation for the hierarchical, patriarchal aggressive oppression of women" (eyes rolling) for...

...assertiveness.

Galuth (diaspora) has really messed us up as a people, and as servants of The Holy One, Blessed Be He.

We continue to attempt to reduce our cognitive dissonance by deluding ourselves that the Western cultures and sensibilities from which we have emerged are all actually one with authentic Judaism.

There are "rabbis" who even try to pass those Western cultures and sensibilities off as Torah.

They are not.

*********

Note:
If you managed to reach the end of this post, and are reading this note, then you will know that my criticism here is of the Avi Weisses, Kolechs, and Shirah Hadashas, not of the so-called "movements."

Say what you will about those "movements" (and I say plenty), but at least they are consistent, and often admit their lack of belief in the binding nature of halakhah, as well as admit to their "creative" approach to Jewish observance.

מלכודת הנוצרים אוהבי ישראל

2011-10-17T18:10:00.006+02:00

בס"ד
כ' באלול תשע"א
19.9.11

כיום פועלים מאות עמותות קרנות וארגונים נוצריים אוונגליסטים בארץ, . 140 קהילות משיחיות , יהודים למען ישו ועוד,פועלים בפריסה ארצית. הם הזרוע המבצעת ב"קרוב" ובהמרת דת. ההערכה היא ש 20.000 התנצרו. האוונגליסט מאמין בבשורה ובישו כמשיחם ומחויב להפיץ ולהשפיע. הפועל לנצר.
TO EVANGELIZE =

תקומת מדינת ישראל גרמה לזעזוע, כי היא נוגדת את עיקרי משנת הנצרות. ההשקפה התיאולוגית הנוצרית ניתנת להצדקה רק אם תקבל ישראל המתחדשת את האמונה במושיע הנוצרי. אי לכך יש לראותה כחלק מתהליך ביאתו השנייה. זה יעודה וזכות קיומה, ולכן יש להשקיע בה ולבנות כוחות השפעה מבפנים ומבחוץ." לתכלית זו מכוון היום מאמץ מיסיונרי נוצרי בקנה מידה אדיר... הנצרות טוענת שהיא עצמה המימוש ההיסטורי של התנ"ך-הברית הישנה ומשום כך היא מוחקת את קיומו הנפרד בצידה... לשם כך נעשה ניסיון לחדור לכל אורחות החיים והחברה בישראל. ערים, כפרים, קיבוצים,הצבא, והאוניברסיטאות. לכל רקע אתני מוצעת שיטת עבודה אחרת," לא פלא שהתמיכה הנוצרית נפוצה בישראל.

ניתוח יסודי וחשוב זה , מביא הרב אברהם צבי הלוי רבינוביץ , ( אביו של רב הישוב בית חגי הרב משה אליעזר רבינוביץ), בספרו "תמיהה ומבוכה – הנצרות אל מול תקומת מדינת ישראל ".
השימוש במילה "תנ"ך" שונה בתפיסה הנוצרית לתפיסה והאמונה היהודית. המילה
BIBLE –
משמעה כתבי הקודש,הברית החדשה והברית הישנה , כמקשה אחת, תוך עיוות והתאמה לאמונתם הנוצרית. לקחת את הפסוקים מהנביאים שהנוצרים משתמשים בראיה הנוצרית ולהעבירה כ"מסר משותף להם ולנו" היא הטעיה. שיבת העם היהודי לארצו ע"פ חזון הנביאים הנו שלב ההכנה עבורם לביאתו השנייה

אביא להלן דוגמא מארגון נוצרי הפועל בשומרון.באתר של הארגון הנוצרי דתי "היובל"
HAYOVEL MINISTRY,
בראשות טומי וולר מופיע תאור החתונה של החתן ישו עם הכלה ירושלים שכה קרובה. קרי המלכת ישו על ירושלים. מכאן גם חשיבות עבודתם בכרמים, להשביח את היין שישמש אותם . במהלך עבודתם בכרמים הם מקיימים פולחן עם כלי נגינה להודיה ולהאדרת משיחם.

בכסלו פורסמה תגובתי ב"מקור ראשון", על הוולרים. "לא תנ"כיסטים- נוצרים המאמינים בברית החדשה".

ב- BIBLE ובישו כמשיח
.
מה הביא אותם לשומרון? " קריאה עמוקה לשיקום והתחדשות (מונח נוצרי) ישראל, תוך שימת דגש על עזרה ישירה למשפחות בבציר ובמסיק.עבודתם בישראל היא של חסד,רחמים, חינוך ואהבת המשיח" בוידאו, מסביר טומי וולר "מבחינתנו להתחלק בבשורה, (הברית החדשה) אינו רק עניין מילולי, יש בזה היבט מעשי. המבוסס על קשירת יחסים. במהלך עבודתנו עם האנשים האלה (היהודים), ותהיה לנו האפשרות להתחלק אתם בישו אותו אנו יודעים"

הנוצרים רואים זכות שווה להם וליהודים על ארץ הקודש. הם "וורוס ישראל", ישראל האמיתי ולא
היהודים. הם בונים תלות,"כי בלעדיהם לא יוכלו היהודים להסתדר". הם המושיעים

טומי וולר הגיע לישראל לפני כ-8 שנים עם משפחתו בת 12 הנפשות,כיום ב"היובל" יש מאות. 252 הגיעו לעבודות בכרמים ויאוכלסו בישובים בשומרון. בהר ברכה תושבים שגלו כי נוצרים אלו נכנסו לגור בשכנותם, מחו והביעו דאגה רבה. זו הפעם הראשונה שמדובר באיכלוס נוצרים בשומרון. התכנית הנוצרית מתקדמת בהצלחה. לאחר השתלבות בעבודה בכרמים ובמטעי הזיתים, התערות וקשירת קשרים אישיים עם המשפחות, השתתפות בשמחות, ובקריאת המגילה בבית הכנסת בפסגות. הגיע שלב האיכלוס. בכל שנה מתארכת שהייתם, חלקם נמצאים מרבית השנה בארץ הם לומדים עברית, כולל הילדים שנולדים במשך השנים .

טומי וולר וארגונו הנוצרי "היובל" מוכרים היטב בהר ברכה בעבודתם בכרם מזה שנים. טומי כתב בהתרגשות ," כי יש להם זכות גדולה עם התחדשות השנה השמינית בארץ, בנטיעת שתילים חדשים שהכפילו שטח הכרם של ניר"

לאור האמור לעיל עמדת טומי וולר ואמונתו ברורים, כולל אלו המשתייכים ל"היובל". המסר הנוצרי מובהק והמטרות ברורות. האם אין זו מלכדת הנוצרים אוהבי ישראל?

מינה פנטון
חברת מועצת עיריית ירושלים לשעבר.

The Fall Avodah Zarah Season Has Begun

2011-10-17T17:50:00.001+02:00

Hol HaMo'ed Sukkoth 5772

Christian "friends" of Israel have been pouring into the country, since I don't know when. This particular avodah zarah season culminates in the Avodah Zarah Pride Parade this Tuesday (AKA: The Jerusalem Sukkot Festival Parade).

Their women dress immodestly in religious neighborhoods, and touch men, without any clue or concern of the sensibilities of the locals. Their men pass out their avodah zarah literature. All of them want to "share their love" with us by singing their avodah zarah songs.

Heaven forbid that a tour guide should tell them otherwise.

None of them bother to learn "yes," "no," "please," or "thank you" in Hebrew. Why should they? They step all over us. But, we Jews allow them to!

"Jews" defend these "lovers" of Israel, in the spirit of "freedom of speech." Of course, encouraging Jews to keep Shabbath, protesting the sale of pork in Jerusalem, or recommending the removal of hostile, non-Jewish enemies is not covered under "free speech." Rather, these activities are considered hassatah (incitement).

Today, I saw a Jew exercise his "freedom of speech," by telling some of these Christians to get out, that they were not wanted here. This Jew incurred a yelled, "How dare you!"

The Jew simply yelled back, "How dare I? You just come here, and walk all over us! Why don't you stop worshiping false deities?!"

What else could he do? There is, after all, a positive commandment to chase after avodah zarah in Eretz Yisra'el.

In any other country, such disrespect would not be tolerated. In the U. S., foreign tourists are expected to know something of American culture and sensibilities. Foreign tourists in the U. S. are quick to apologize over any error in protocol. They understand that they our guests in someone else's country.

But, in co-dependent Israel, our main concern is not only how we appear to the goyim, but their opinions of us as well.

Our self-respect, let alone what the Almighty thinks of us, is immaterial.

Like any "good" co-dependent, we seek our validation from external sources. Why we are unable to provide for our own existential validation is debatable.

Is it due to the influence with incurred from 2,000 years in galuth (diaspora)? Goyshe cultures? The hatred toward us by the goyim internalized?

I, myself, am not sure.

Haveil Havalim #334 Is Up!

2011-10-17T14:46:00.003+02:00

Hol HaMo'ed Sukkoth 5772

Haveil Havalim #334 is up at To Kiss A Mezuzah.

It's the Sukkot Edition.

Haveil Haveil is the largest Jewish and Israel related blog carnival in the world!

Click the link to check out previous editions, and to submit your own posts.

Be warned, though, spamming is not welcomed, and will be dealt with severely....

Four Species Shopping 5772

2011-10-17T14:18:00.001+02:00

Motza'ei Shabbath Hol HaMo'ed Sukkoth 5772

For the last several years, I have been able to buy the Arba'ath HaMinim (four species) for Sukkoth for 100 sheqqels of less. This goal is not to be cheap, nor to cheapen the holiday (חו"ח). Rather it is to keep this particular misswah in perspective.

I do not need to buy 1,000 sheqqel ethrog, even if I had 1,000 extra sheqqels to throw around.
Just think of how many Jews could be fed for 1,000 sheqqels, for a Shabbath or holiday meal or for a regular meal.

Even for the past few years, my goal has been to stay with the 100 sheqqel mark.

Rabbi Ya'aqov (ben R' Ovadiah) Yosef recommends shopping for Arba'ath HaMinim the morning before Sukkoth, when the prices come down to "reasonable." I sometimes follow this advice, but prefer the convenience of shopping the night before, instead of running around more than necessary.

Like most years, I went to the Bukharim Quarter, tucked between the Beis Yisroel and Shmu'el HaNavi neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Most of my friends, in the know, buy there, and I always bump into people I know. I like the atmosphere, the mixed Haredi, non-Haredi, Ashkenazi, Sefardi, Yemenite crowd, and well as the wide selection of Yemenite ethrogim. I prefer , as it is much less likely that they are the products of mixing with lemon genes. (I await your defensive comments.)
This year, I was warned in advance that when I went, it would be very crowded.

When I arrived, I did not find it to be terribly crowded, not anymore that last year. I certainly did not have any problems maneuvering through the crowds.

I made my way through the neighborhood streets, now lined with vendors, who were hocking Sukkoth decorations, electrical gear, as well as Arba'ath HaMinim.

Another one of my customs is to get in and out, as quickly as I can. I am one of those people who "doesn't do crowds." I operate the same way when shopping at the Shuq in Mahaneh Yehudah, in and out as quickly as I can.

I entered the main shuq. The men were more concentrated, but still negotiable.

This year, one of the first stalls attracted me. It had some beautiful etrogim at a reasonable price. It also had everything else I needed, at reasonable prices. More importantly, the young man in charge knew what he was doing, and did so efficiently.

I kept walking through the stalls, and decided to take my chances, by buying a reasonably priced ethrog in a sealed box. I have always done well with sealed boxes, against the warnings of others. I then returned to that first stall, where I had seen everything else I needed.

I found an awesome lulav out of box not terribly good ones, which even received unsolicited compliments, as I made my way out of the Arba'ath HaMinim shuq. I guess that being nice and patient really does go a long way.

My final total was 120 sheqqels. That's about $32.80. How much did you shell out in Flatbush, trying to outdo your neighbors? Was it worth it?

So, the only question left is, how did buying an ethrog in a sealed box work out for me.

You be the judge.

The Jerusalem Soul Center's Grand Opening!

2011-10-09T02:05:00.001+02:00

Motza'ei Yom HaKippurim 5771

This post is very tardy!

But, hopefully, its tardiness will work out for the best. You'll see what I mean below!

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the grand opening of the Jerusalem Soul Center's new space.

The Jerusalem Soul Center previously held events in the Old City, and then in founder Ezra Amichai's home in Jerusalem's Nahla'oth neighborhood.

The Jerusalem Soul Center's home is now a 400 year old, renovated building from the Ottoman period, located at Rabbi Akiva Street 20. It sits right on the edge of Independence Park, at the top next to the pergola. It is hard to believe that such a serene location is only a few blocks from the bustle of Downtown's Hillel and Ben Yehuda Streets.

But, what exactly is the Jerusalem Soul Center?

The Jerusalem Soul Center is an accredited non-profit organization dedicated to creating community here in Jerusalem. Located in a historic and beautiful building in downtown Jerusalem, the Center is based on Zionist ideals and strives to enable spiritually enhanced religious growth. Our events include the regular hosting of Shabbat and Festival meals, musical gatherings, lectures, growth workshops, photography tours, Shabbatonim and day trips, ethnic food nights and much more....

Early in the evening, Ezra recounted the story of when he was traveling in Poland. He was in the town of Tarno, now absent of Jews. Standing with his companion, he tried to make out the sign explaining an historical, Jewish site. In front of him was a women doing the same, a non-Jewish, Polish woman. After reading the history of the Jews of Tarno, who had long since gone from the town, the woman turned around to see two Jews. Ezra described her as appearing white as a ghost. For apparently she had just caught a glimpse of two of the ghosts of Tarno, two Jews, and at least one them a real Polisher!

The point of the story was to expound upon the perseverance prevalent throughout the history of our people. Through the middah (attribute) of perseverance, the Jerusalem Soul Center will accomplish its goals of bringing Jews closer to HaShem, closer to Torah, and closer to Eretz Yisra'el.

Ezra explained that the name he shares with his wife Malka Chana, Amichai is not just Hebrew for "My people live," but is an acronym for Am Yisra'el Hai - "The People of Israel live." From the evening of Torah and music, I gathered that life to mean spiritual as well as physical.

We were joined by Radio Free Nachlaot broadcasting live, Ben Bresky host of The Israel Beat, Jeff Seidel of "Shabbath Hospitality," and Zev Stub, founder of JANGLO.

The evening of Torah and song was brought to an even higher level with the musical accompaniment by one of Ezra's close friends Yitzchok Meir from the Jewish Unity Project, also known as Isaac Shiraz.

Ezra and the Jerusalem Soul Center's mission have been influenced greatly by the Torah, song, and life's work of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z"l, as well as the wellspring of Ezra's Torah learning, the Bat-Ayin Yeshiva.

It is written in the Holy Torah...

דברים כו,יא
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְכָל-הַטּוֹב, אֲשֶׁר נָתַן-לְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ--וּלְבֵיתֶךָ

Deuteronomy 26:11
And you will rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given to you, and to your household....

Many commentators teach that the "good" which God has given us, refers to the Land of Israel. The joy derived here is from the Land, and the rewards which come from dwelling within it.

The evening of Torah and music was clearly a reflection of this, connecting with HaShem, love of Torah, the good of the Land, and sharing in this experience with fellow Jews from diverse backgrounds.

The word "soul" is in the middle of the Jerusalem Soul Center's name for a reason.

Over the years I have made my home in Israel, I have learned a very important lesson, one which I learned the hard way. I share it with you here, so that perhaps you will not have to learn it like I did.

Our Sages z"l teach us that...

תלמוד בבלי ברכות ה,א
תניא רבי שמעון בן יוחאי אומר שלש מתנות טובות נתן הקדוש ברוך הוא לישראל וכולן לא נתנן אלא ע"י יסורין אלו הן תורה וארץ ישראל והעולם הבא

Babylonian Talmud Berakhoth 5a
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai taught that The Holy One, Blessed Be He, gave three good gifts to Israel, but they were given only through suffering, Torah, the Land of Israel, and the World To Come....

Many new immigrants from Western countries, perhaps one could even say from English-speaking countries, experience difficulties with a new language, a new culture, a new standard of living. Whether it is filing a form at a government office, getting a good deal on phone and internet service, finding the right school for ones children, or just figuring out the local bus schedule, one gains a life in the Land of Israel through a little (or a lot) of suffering.

The lesson I learned is that with a community, or even a sense of community, we can do anything. We can not only survive life in Israel, but also grow and prosper in Israel, and then help the next wave of Jews to do the same when they arrive and get of the plane, just as we did.

The Jerusalem Soul Center has been providing Jews with that crucial sense of community for years now. With its new space, its new location, Ezra and crew hope to provide that sense of community even better, and to more people.

This Grand Opening was a great start in the next chapter of the Jerusalem Soul Center community!

Now that Sukkoth is only days away, and you will have another opportunity to check out the Jerusalem Soul Center's special events and activities!

Find the complete Sukkoth Schedule here on Facebook!

*********

Referring to Ezra Amichai as Ezra, and not as Rabbi, was not to dishonor him, but rather to emphasize how approachable he is. The Almighty only knows how much we need rabbis who are approachable in this day and age!

*********

It is through your generosity and support that the Jerusalem Soul Center is able to thrive and strengthen the community it is at the heart of. In order to make a tax-deductible donation through the P.E.F. Foundation to the Jerusalem Soul Center, Amutah #580457380, please recommend that it be used for the Jerusalem Soul Center and please mail it to:

P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds Inc.

317 Madison Avenue, Suite 607

New York, NY 10017

To make a donation through Paypal, make the contribution to jerusalemsoulcenter@gmail.com.

A Post-Yom Kippur Message To "Right-Wing" Jewish Writers

2011-10-08T23:40:00.002+02:00

Motza'ei Yom HaKippurim 5771

This message to those Jews who see fundamentalist Christians as our friends, if not our brothers. They are not. They the Children of Esau.

This message is to those Jews who are openly violating the negative commandment "Lo Techonem" (Do Not Have Mercy, Deut. 7:2). It is forbidden to allow practitioners of foreign worship to obtain any rest in the Land, to obtain any Land. By welcoming Christians into your towns in Judea, Samaria, and Binyamin, you are allowing them rest in the Land. You are allowing them to have contact and influence over your Children.

And, now, several blogs of Christian "volunteers" are claiming permanent residence in Samaria. This isn't news, though, as some missionary families have been living in Ariel for years.

One hilltop near Har Berakha has had to fight to prevent Christians from moving into their community, who were invited to do so by the "higher ups."

Jews in the U. S. worry about the influence of Christians. Jews in Texas are experts at this. The only positive thing about this, is that some Jews finally come back to Israel, in order to live in Jewish communities without concern

Now, in Israel we have to be concerned about Christians moving into our neighborhoods?

Residents of some Jerusalem neighborhoods, Jews with kippoth on their heads, and who identify as Torah-observant Jews, actually defend the right of Christian missionaries to remain in their neighborhoods. This is INSANE!

In Arab countries, the is no question that one must respect their laws and customs in order to live there. Some people, like Jews, and even Christians, are not allowed to live there permanently, if allowed in at all in the first place.

Yet, here in Israel, we want everyone to love us. Here in Israel, we flagrantly misinterpret the positive commandment "We'Ahavta l'Re'ekha Kamokha" (Love your re'eh as yourself, Ex. 19:18).

This message is also to those Jews who see moderate and liberal and moderate Muslims as our heroes. They are not. Pay attention. Women should not have to dress modestly? Women should not have to cover their hair? Western, progressive multi-culturalism? Their messages are anti-Torah messages, thus anti-Jewish, and thus anti-Israel. Their goals are the same as those of the Leftists, the complete assimilation of Israeli citizens into the Western, progressive, and eventually global community.

This message is also for all of you who regularly read the articles of the Jewish writers I address in the above.

Please remove me from your list.

I find your posts to be the same old "work within the goyshe world to facilitate change" posts. I don't know about the post below, as I did not bother to read it.

Your posts are too stuck in galuth. I can't read them.

Israel must stand on its own two feet, stop worrying about what the goyim think already, and start acting like Jews.

Do yourself a favor. Leave galuth, and come back to your TRUE homeland, and learn Torah, the ONLY justification for the Jewish Poeple claim to Eretz Yisra'el.

Those of you who already learn Torah, I challenge you to learn it, while setting aside your hashqafah (preconceived points of view).

I challenge you to learn Torah from rabbis who are not taking money from Christians.

I challenge you to learn Torah, without running around to search for sources which back up your hashqafah, while ignoring those which do not.

When you cite the Me'iri to justify your interactions with Christians, ask yourselves if he really does justify everything you do. Ask yourselves if you hold by him when if comes to other issues, such as business. I tend to doubt it.

This is like the time a Leftist anarchist cited the Satmar Rebbe z"l upon claiming that is was forbidden for us to settle the Land. I asked him if he held by the Satmar Rebbe when it came to women's issues, or even Shabbath and Kashruth. He responded with silence.

Think about the Teshuvah you claimed to do on Yom Kippur. Do not pick and choose like the Leftists do. Do the serious heshbon nefesh which is expected of you.

G'mar Tov.

Haveil Havalim #332 - The Rosh HaShannah תשע"ב/5772 Edition

2011-10-02T23:40:00.000+02:00

5 of the Seventh Month 5772

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means"Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

This edition is entitled the Rosh HaShannah Edition, not only because we just came through another Rosh HaShannah, but because most of the posts presented here are related to Rosh HaShannah or the fall holiday season.

Every year, I take a look at the relationships in my life. Have I been a good son? Have I been a good friend? Roommate? Employee? What can I do to improve my part in these relationships? In other words, how have I done in the area of בין אדם לחברו (between a Jew and ones fellow)?

Lately, I have been more attracted to secular Jews than religious ones, at least right-wing ones, or those with whom I share similar concerns over the environment. Often they are surprised when I do not try to get into their faces about Torah and misswoth, and how everyone should believe the way I believe,...you know,...kind of like my (rather self-righteous) blog. ;-)

I live in a "mixed" building, in a "mixed" neighborhood, and hang out at a coffeehouse frequented by secular and Haredi Jews, and everyone in between. If that's a good, bad, or neutral. For now, it just is.

Maybe I am just chilling out, or something.

The area of בין אדם למקום (between a Jew and The Almighty) is just that, between Him and me. But, maybe I'll share my experience with this in the future.

Although I may have come close to crossing the line in the comments I make throughout this edition, I hope that I was successful in expressing disagreement without being disagreeable.

If not, I am sure that you will hesitate to let me know....

The Velveteen Rabbi starts us off with her view of the "Arab Spring" in the form of a Rosh HaShannah sermon. This is another example of how her views on Arabs, Torah, and justice are radically different from mine. I gather from Velveteen's post Hopes For Israel and Palestine that we also have radically different visions of peace in the Land. I envision a flourishing Torah-observant, Jewish population residing in all of Israel, including Judea and Samaria, among other lands not currently in Jewish hands. Whereas she seems to put both Arabs and Jews into a Western box (but, I could be mistaken).

Ariel at Torah Revolution elaborates on this theme in Three Fronts War. So does Mr. Cosmic X in The Murder Of Asher And Yonatan Palmer and in The Stone Which The Builders Rejected..., in which he shares the story of he and his son surviving a terrorist attack.

I am wondering if the Shilo Muse was the only one who bothered to listen to PM Netanyahu's United Nations Address, and, for that matter, to criticize it. She also recognizes that it is Life Or Death, [with] Nothing In Between. She also chimes in on the possibility of a Pseudostinian State.

Adina Kutnicki at MidEast Outpost gives us disturbing news about the application of Israel's "Administrative Detention," which allows the government to hold citizens without indictment, nor contact with counsel. Furthermore, the evidence is not always made available to the accused for scrutiny.

Getting back to Velveteen Rabbi, her Six Ways To Usher In The New Year shows how much we area alike,...although I do not do tashlikh.

Yekutiel guest posting at The Torah Revolution suggests that we Do What We Pray and Distinguish Between The Holy And The Secular.

The Rebbetzin's Husband wants to inspire us for Yom Kippur in Remember! He also offers up fo discussion Shailophobia: The Fear Of Answering Questions.

A Chissidishe Farbrengen wants to as well in Monarchy, Democracy, and Rosh HaShannah. and in

Sharon at The Real Streets Of Jerusalem reports on the [non-] Friday Riots of a week and a half ago. She also gives us a photographic Rosh HaShannah message.

Brian at Israelity also shares a great message with us in A Person Validation Of Zionism. Moms outside of Israel, with kids living in Israel, especially need to read this.

These New Year's Pomegranates from Rachel at Israelity are not what you think. Check 'em out!

Daniella at Isreview reviews Roladin's Sticky Bun For Rosh HaShanah and Beit Yitzchak's Sheep's Milk "To Go" Yogurt.

David at Israelity lets us in on the American music group REM's connection to Tel-Aviv. Nu? Who knew? I sure didn't.

Elms In The Yard pays Final Respects to Dola Ben Yehudah and Max Whitman, and shows us Plants Of The Season In Various Guises.

Mr. Cosmic X brings us out of Israel (figuratively), and asks, "Who Is The Real Obama?"

Last but definitely not least, check out the current edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival at Cooking Outside The Box.

Wrap-Up
You may submit posts via our on-line submission form. Next week will be hosted at Liberty's Spirit, and the week after that at To Kiss A Mezuzah. Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 are still open. Velveteen Rabbi will be hosting on Nov. 6.

We still need more hosts! It's not so hard, and you get a bump in hits to your blog, not to mention the added exposure!

If you would like to host, please contact Jack directly at talktojacknow@gmail.com.

Haveil Havalim #331 - The End Of תשע"א/5771 Edition

2011-09-26T22:44:00.007+03:00

28 of the Sixth Month 5771

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means"Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

One of the reasons I like the Velveteen Rabbi is her creativity. Another reason is that she is consistent, an all too rare attribute found across the Jewish spectrum. Another reason I like her is that she challenges me (not personally), and keeps me on my toes.

Her piece Wise Voices On Middle East Politics And On Torah exemplifies how diverse our growing community here at Haveil Havalim can be, and is, with her on one side, and me on the polar opposite side, 99 percent of the time. But, at least we bother to wave at each other once in a while.

But, what's my point, you ask.

Unfortunately, our Haveil Havalim community is at risk of not continuing. We do not just need hosts. We need it to be much less of a struggle to convince, coerce, and beg each other to host.

This week's edition, the End Of תשע"א/5771 Edition really is a best of the best edition,...a euphemism for schvach.

It is Monday night in Israel already, so you can only imagine how difficult is was for me to throw this together,...I mean throw literally. I was very picky about the posts I included, even excluding some posts I particularly liked. Everyone also received only one spot this week.

If you have hosted Haveil Havalim before, then your posts were automatically included. This is not to discourage those bloggers new to our community from submitting posts. As you know, I am usually a very inclusive host. But, if I have to limit the number of posts I include, then why shouldn't I make a point of including those bloggers involved in keeping Haveil Havalim alive,...literally?

Consider this edition an appeal, a warning, a rebuke,...OK, maybe even a request.

Take a moment to take out our calendars, which most of you have already bought, and pick a week, just one week, and commit to host. If everyone of us were to commit to hosting during תשע"ב/5772, then we would be all set for the coming year, and would cease to be in such a struggle.

Even if only the core group of contributors were to commit to hosting twice each during the coming year, then we would be good to go.

I will be hosting again next week. I never intended to host this week. I believe that by now, you have gathered that. There wasn't anyone designated to host this week. But that did not stop the submissions from flowing in.

Susan Esther at To Kiss A Mezuzah is set to host on 20 Tishrei (October 16).

Who will step up to the plate, and host the week before that?

What about the week after that?

As this year comes to a close, please think about how you envision the future of Haveil Havalim, and then commit to contributing to make that future happen.

So,...if you would like to host, please contact our Fearless Leader Jack B. directly at talktojacknow@gmail.com.

Shannah Tovah.

Looking Toward Rosh HaShannah

Allison Josephs, our Jew In The City, starts us off with Impulse Control and the High Holidays.

Jacob Richman at Good News From Israel provides us with Educational Resources and Cool Videos for the New Year.

Susan Esther Barnes at To Kiss A Mezuzah asks, "Do Jews Believe In An Afterlife?" Well, I can't speak for all Jews, but I do. I could not resist adding this second post from her at TCJewfolk, Who's Eggs Are They Anyway? It is a fascinating ethical, halakhic, and relevant issue for us all.

Jennifer in Mama-Land shows us a Fun Tech Tool. Check out this Hebrew script tool!!

Israel

Sharon A at The Real Jerusalem Streets asks, "As Durban 3 approaches will it be all about Israeli racism again?" in Racist State.

Batya, our Shiloh Muse, takes a look at Pseudostinians, and the power of words.

Yoel Meltzer asks, "Why The Overreaction In Jordan?"

Daniel Pinner, guest posting at The Torah Revolution, wants you to take your Palestinian IQ Test.

Steve at IsraelSeen shares his time out on the town with us in Where’s the Beer?.
Rachel at Israelity reminds us that summer is at an end (sigh), with some beautiful photos by Shoshani.

Outside Of Israel

The Independent Patriot presents Irvine 11 Guilty Guilty Guilty. Who knew? I'm glad she was following this case.

Well, that's a wrap! I'll see you next week, after our long weekend and postponed Fast of Gedaliah!

May we all have a better year than the last one. If you had a good year this, then may you have an even better one!

Is Obama Trying To Unseat Israel's Prime Minister?

2011-09-19T00:44:00.002+03:00

20 of the Sixth Month 5771

Klein Online: Obama trying to unseat Israeli leader? Country’s ‘social protests’ may be engineered for regime change.

Aaron Klein, September 14, 2011

JERUSALEM – Is President Obama attempting to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and replace him with a leftist Israeli leader who largely tows the president’s Mideast line?

There are indications the so-called social protests rocking Israel were engineered for that very purpose.

According to an investigative report in Israel’s Maariv’s newspaper, the country’s protests were engineered by a group of media strategists directed by prominent Democratic strategist Stanley Greenberg, a former adviser to Bill Clinton, John Kerry and others.

Greenberg reportedly is working with Israeli strategists who were behind left-wing leader Ehud Barak’s successful race for prime minister in 1999. Greenberg himself helped to run Barak’s campaign.

Barak is currently the Defense Minister in a coalition government with Netanyahu.
Last week, KleinOnline reported Greenberg previously ran the campaign of Bolivia’s former president, who was ushered into office amid escalating social protests in that country....

As far fetched as the engineering of Israeli regime change, at the hands of external forces, may sound to some, it would not surprise me in the least.

Aaron Klein does a nice job putting the pieces of this puzzle together.

The housing protests were the greatest MISSED opportunity for unity among diverse groups of Jews in Israel. Yet, the protests were hijacked by the Left, and most religious Jews, of all flavors, were kept out.

"Social Justice" (צדק חברתי) is a well know buzz word of the so-called Reform Movement in the U. S. This hijacking was confirmed by Reform Movement in Israel banners on Rothschild Street in Tel-Aviv. Yet, the reference goes right over the heads of native Israelis.

They have clearly been duped. After all, why would anyone have anything against "social justice?" I certainly wouldn't,...if I were ignorant of the Left's underlying agenda.

And now, Aaron Klein seems to have uncovered something even more nefarious.

The only thing I am not sure I agree with Klein about is who is controlling whom.

Is President Obama the real force behind attempts to manipulate the Israeli government? Or is President Obama being manipulated into carrying out the secret plans of others, such as Leftist American Jews or Defense Minister Ehud Baraq?

Time and time again, Obama has shown himself to be not brightest crayon in the box, more of a "burnt umber" than a "fire station red."

True, regime change could be desirable for the U. S., and it could be using the European Union-backed, Israeli Left as its tool.

But, something else runs deeper here, the threat of those who see Torah as a higher authority than the anti-Torah controlled government. This is the greatest threat in the eyes of the Israel government. The government, whether, Likud, Labor, or Kadima, has been running scared for quite some time now. The real population war in the government's eyes is not between Jews and Arabs; it is between secular and religious.

When religious Jews eventually significantly outnumber those who are guided by the anti-Torah elements who are truly in control of the government, those elements will have no choice but to be increasingly overt in their struggle to remain in power.

Israeli "regime change" is only a temporal marker, a link in a chain of events, to which we should all be paying attention.

Hopefully, now that people like Klein have brought this possibility to the surface, we will not be surprised when it happens.

Unfortunately, I am not optimistic.

Nothing seems to break through the naivete of most of my "Religious Zionist" brethren. I fear that they will be blindsided, and end up being the first to suffer from the overt struggles of the powers that be to remain in control.

Besides, anyone paying attention to Israeli politics for the past 20 years will have have noticed that, so far, the end results of a Likud, Labor, or Kadima government have all been the same. Labor may not have given away the Land which Likud and Kadima have, but it was always there to set the stage, and to work behind the scenes to make sure that the systematic destruction of [potential] Jewish control over the Land of Israel continues on course.

Well, Aaron, it was worth a shot.

Haveil Havalim #328: The Back To School Edition

2011-09-04T23:51:00.005+03:00

6 of the Sixth Month 5771

Most Jewish schools began their new term on Rosh Hodesh Ellul. Israeli public schools began theirs on September 1. Some North American universities began their semesters mid-August, others will begin mid-September. So, it seemed apt to name this the "Back To School" Edition."

It also happens to be my birthday Tuesday night. But, that would be just too tacky to call it "My Birthday Edition."

The sixth month, Ellul, is also a time of reflection on the previous year, and preparation for the next one. The shofar is blown daily, and Tehillim 27 is read twice daily.

א לְדָוִד: יְהוָה, אוֹרִי וְיִשְׁעִי--מִמִּי אִירָא; יְהוָה מָעוֹז-חַיַּי, מִמִּי אֶפְחָד. ב בִּקְרֹב עָלַי, מְרֵעִים-- לֶאֱכֹל אֶת-בְּשָׂרִי: צָרַי וְאֹיְבַי לִי; הֵמָּה כָשְׁלוּ וְנָפָלוּ....

1 [A Psalm] of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evil-doers came upon me to eat up my flesh, even mine adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. (Read more...)

I have always found it to be an inspiring psalm.

Ellul is also a popular time for weddings. Many base this on the verse from the . as this month's letters form an acronym for a in The Song of Songs (6:3):

ג אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי, הָרֹעֶה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים.

3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine, that feeds among the lilies.

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means"Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

But, first a word from our sponsor...

This edition of Haveil Havalim is brought to you by NachlaOr, the musicians collective of Jerusalem's of creative and dynamic neighborhood of Nahla'oth, at Nachladorms, Jerusalem's newest Kosher Hostel and Dormitory.

No money was received, of course, just the "After-Shabbos" atmosphere created by local musicians, a comfortable place to sit and work, free water, and the free use of a wireless connection.

And, now, 0n with the show!

Torah

The Kalashnokover Rebbe presents There Is Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself - Parshas Shoftim.

I ask a question on Parashath Shofetim: Which Justice Will You Pursue? at Esser Agaroth.

The Velveteen Rabbi brings us How To Return: Heschel On Death (in the season of teshuvah).

Joshua Waxman brings us a kashruth lesson in The Hydrax As Ruminant at the Parsha Blog.

The Rebbetzin's Husband teaches us about Amram.

Metro Imma asks if we can derived Torah Lessons From Cartoons. Hmm.... I'm not so sure.

Israel

Sharon A's Looking Toward September at The Real Streets Of Jerusalem sets the tone, covering a broad range of events.

Look who's back after more than a three year hiatus! Israeli Satire Laboratory (AKA Satiracohen) introduces us to the Encyclopedia Of Jew Hating.

Rafi at Life In Israel tells us how the Jerusalem Post Fired Larry Derfner For His Support Of Murdering Israelis.

In a related post, Joe Settler @ The Muqata, brings us This Is The NIF. Although I am glad that Joe posted this, I believe that a good subtitle would have been "This Anti-Israel Fund."

The persecution of Jewish settlers and the cynical, political exploitation of Arabs by NGO's such as "Yesh Din" and "Peace Now" is explored by Jameel @ The Muqata in Justice Undone In Israeli Settlements.

Going back to an historical source, Mrs. S. at Our Shiputzim brings us a snippet from "Hertzl's Address." Personally, I believe that Hertzl's pedestal has been set much higher than it deserves to be.

More history comes to us from Kayla at Israelity in Journey From Josiah Wegewood To Kibbutz Ein Dor. Ever heard of the Shomer Hatza'ir Youth Movement?

On the other end of the spectrum, Tomer Devorah owes A Debt Of Gratitude to Rabbi Me'ir Kahane hy"d.

On another topic, I recommend that you check out Tomer Devorah Messages series. It will give you something to think about.

Batya, Shiloh's Muse, asks, "Will Jerusalem ever the same?" Gee. At least someone else besides me likes the new Jerusalem Light Rail. That reminds me. I have to write my Light Rail post already. Stay tuned!

Jacob at Good News From Israel also likes the Light Rail. Check out the video of his ride on it.

On a more serious note, Batya writes that there is Nothing Insidious About The IDF Preparing Jewish Communities For Arab Violence.

But, Yoel Meltzer sees the coming new Arab state as The Coming Opportunity.

This is also evident in the next post by Jameel @ The Muqata, which recounts the day's news in Terror In Israel.

David at Israelity has a rather different take on the Tel-Aviv terrorist attack in DJ Saved My Life. I am very worried about my brothers and sisters in Tel-Aviv whose mentality is like that of this DJ.

Yishma'el is hitting us physically from one side, while Esau is hitting us spiritually from the other, like this "Honored Guest" Of Samaria, posted here at Esser Agaroth.

Ariel at The Torah Revolution expresses his displeasure about this issue as well in So Called "Rabbis" And So Called "Leaders."

Daniella at Isreview reviews Jump's Lightly Carbonated Peach Iced Tea and MamaOf's Panko Coated Chicken Shnitzel.

Hutz la'Aretz
(Outside of Israel)

David at Jewish Boston brings Shofar Across Boston, as well as a link to your Boston High Holiday Guide. By the way, David, what does it mean, "The Wandering Is Over?" Boston is, of course, only a temporary layover until continuing on to Eretz Yisra'el. Do tell!

Last Wednesday brought The Rebbetzin's Husband The Relief Of the Shofar.

John Newmark at Transyvanian Dutch gives us At Historical Look At United Hebrew Synagogue - 1915.

Wrap-Up
Batya has the latest edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival at Me-Ander.

Just Call me Chaviva will be hosting next week's edition. You can submit posts via Blog Carnival's on-line submission form,...which appears to be working,...for now.

Guest Post: Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself- Parshas Shoftim

2011-09-03T23:24:00.005+03:00

Mota'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Shofetim 5771

by The Kalashnokover Rebbe

I'm sure by now everyone has heard about the latest terror attack in Tel Aviv. An Arab Terrorist from Schem (somehow got past our multi-billion dollar impenetrable "security wall") carjacked a taxi at knife point, proceeded to drive to a nightclub, ram a Border Police checkpoint, and then still manage to get out of the car and stab several Border Policemen and a security guard, injuring several seriously, before being "subdued". Not only was this terrorist not killed, he was barely even injured in the "struggle" proceeding his arrest and to add insult to injury, he was taken to the SAME hospital as his victims to receive treatment courtesy of the State of Israel.

I don't know what disturbs me more, the fact that there was yet another terror attack by our otherwise peace loving cousins and that several innocent Jews were nearly killed, or that the police were completely impotent to stop it, allowing the terrorist to continue his rampage well after it was clear what was going on. In fact, not a SINGLE shot was fired and the terrorist was barely scratched.

We know that nothing is a coincidence and as the Alter Rebbe taught us, we must "live with the times". It didn't take me long to find a "remez" (hint) in this weeks parsha to this most unfortunate incident.

In Devarim 20 we see the following exchange between the High Preist and the Israeli Army (note NOT "defense force"):

1. When you go out to war against your enemies, and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord, your God is with you Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And it will be, when you approach the battle, that the kohen shall come near, and speak to the people. 3. And he shall say to them, "Hear, O Israel, today you are approaching the battle against your enemies. Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified because of them. 4. For the Lord, your God, is the One Who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you... 8. And the officers shall continue to speak to the people and say, "What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, that he should not cause the heart of his brothers to melt, as his heart."

The Rambam has the following to say on the matter in Mishne Torah, Hilchos Melachim Chapter 7:

To whom does the phrase 'Is there a man who is afraid or faint-hearted?' refer? The phrase should be interpreted simply, as applying to a person whose heart is not brave enough to stand in the throes of battle.
Once a soldier enters the throes of battle, he should rely on the Hope of Israel and their Savior in times of need. He should realize that he is fighting for the sake of the oneness of God's Name. Therefore, he should place his soul in his hand and not show fright or fear.

He should not worry about his wife or children. On the contrary, he should wipe their memory from his heart, removing all thoughts from his mind except the war.
Anyone who begins to feel anxious and worry in the midst of battle to the point where he frightens himself violates a negative commandment, as it is written (Deuteronomy 20:3): 'Do not be faint-hearted. Do not be afraid. Do not panic and do not break ranks before them.'

Furthermore, he is responsible for the blood of the entire Jewish nation. If he is not valiant, if he does not wage war with all his heart and soul, it is considered as if he shed the blood of the entire people, as ibid. 20:8 states: 'Let him go home, lest he demoralize the hearts of his brethren like his own.' Similarly, the prophetic tradition explicitly states: 'Cursed be he who does God's work deceitfully. Cursed be he who withholds his sword from blood.' (Jeremiah 48:10)

Powerful words from the Rambam! Not only is a soldier who hesitates even for a second in the midst of battle, in violation of a Biblical Commandment, it is as if he has shed the blood of the ENTIRE PEOPLE (and certainly that of his fellow soldiers). Such a person has no place in the Army of Israel (note again, NOT "defense force") and such soldiers risk demoralizing the entire army resulting in innocent blood being shed. The Torah tells us that it is better for everyone, if such people "return home" and not interfere with those who ARE willing to do what is necessary to wage war without fear or hesitation. If this is true of the individual, how much more so the collective political and military leadership who are responsible for demoralizing the hearts of our soldiers, and continuously withholding their swords from blood?

Except today, it is unfortunately not fear of the enemy that we need to be concerned with. Nor is it the individual soldiers that are afraid. I do not doubt for a second the commitment and bravery of the average Israeli soldier to even give his life, if necessary, in defense of his people, or his willingness to do whatever it takes to keep Israel safe (and maybe a little bit more for good measure). Today, we have a much much greater problem, and far more sinister enemy. The enemy from within!

As "Ketzele" so aptly said in response to the incident:

"The fear of Supreme Court President Beinisch has fallen upon the soldiers and policemen of Israel," MK Katz said.
"The behavior of the State Attorney's Office and the legal system lately against security guards, policemen, soldiers and officers who staunchly defended the Nation of Israel – and were rewarded by being sent to jail – weakens the security forces," he explained.

"Fear and trembling seize them and in any confrontation between an Arab terrorist murderer and dozens of policemen, soldiers and guards, our men bleed with serious injuries and the Arab murderer emerges unscathed, and is already preparing for his release in the next release deal, so that he can plan the next massacre."

The policy of the State Attorney and legal establishment needs to change, MK Katz said, as the current policy causes a lack of deterrence. "The Arab terrorist murderers know that nothing will happen to them [if they attack] and that they will be able to go back and murder again shortly afterward."

This is what we have been reduced to, a nation paralyzed with fear. But it is not a fear of horses and chariots, but courtrooms and judges. Not of guns and bombs, but prisons and lawsuits. Because of the Sodomite Legal System in Israel, and their sick twisted morality, heroes are punished for having the audacity to attempting to perform the greatest mitzvah of all, saving Jewish lives. How can we expect our police and soldiers NOT to hesitate, or as we see in this case refrain from shooting at all, out of fear of reprisal from their OWN government? How can we expect soldiers who are brainwashed and force fed nonsense about "purity of arms" from day ONE of their army service NOT to value the lives of the enemy over that of their own people? How can we expect brave volunteers in local civilian first response teams (Kitat Konnenut) to risk opening fire, and having their kids grow up visiting their father once a week from behind a glass partition? Can we expect security guards, often risking their lives for minimum wage, to risk prosecution as well? It's gotten to the point where carrying a gun in Israel has become a liability, and Oy Vavoy to you if you ever need to use it (especially if there is a Kipa on your head)!!!

We have created a situation where every soldier or policeman can't help but hesitate in the midst of battle, endangering their own lives and the lives of others. We have placed a giant stumbling block before them, and are causing widespread transgression of the Biblical commandment not to fear, and in its wake, are causing innocent blood to be shed. And again, I don't blame the soldiers or the policemen here but their commanders and our so called "leaders". It is THEY that all need to "return home" and stop putting the lives of the entire Jewish Nation at risk. It is THEY who have the blood of all those killed and injured on their heads, and it is THEY that prevent our more than capable army from eradicating the threat of the Arab Enemy once and for all because as our fearless Prime Minister said, "we lack the legitimacy to do so". But not only do we lack the legitimacy to be victorious in war, we now even lack the legitimacy for basic acts of self defense. It is no longer legitimate for terrorists to be shot and killed in the course of their acts of murder. Forget the fact that we barely respond when our cities are barraged with missiles, It is no longer legitimate for a Jew to use force to defend himself or his family from marauding Arabs. It must be a throwback to the British Mandate, that we also expect OUR security forces to be unarmed and fight crime with whistles and billy clubs.

We see at the end of the parsha a description of the "Egla Arufa" ceremony. When a dead body is found in the wilderness, the elders of the nearest city must come out, slaughter a calf and proclaim that "their hands did not shed this blood". Our sages ask, can it really be that we suspect our rabbis and leaders of bloodshed and murder?!?! And the answer is an unequivocal YES! The very fact that the leaders of the community allowed such a tragedy to happen, means that THEY on some level bear responsibility for it. Sadly, there are not enough cows in all of Israel to atone for all the innocent blood that as been shed, due to the result of the suicidal policies and ideology of our leadership (both religious AND secular). And there is nary a man in a position of power that can look G-d and the Nation in the eye, and proclaim that their hands did not shed this blood.

May it be G-d's will that we "Restore our judges as in former times, and our counselors as of yore; remove from us sorrow and sighing, and reign over us, You alone, O L-rd, with kindness and compassion, with righteousness and justice." and may we merit to "set a king over ourselves, one whom the Lord, our God, has chosen" and see the restoration of the Davidic Dynasty, with Moshiach Tzidkeinu, and once and for all be able to live under Authentic Jewish Morality and Torah Values in our Land...

Parashath Shofetim: Which Justice Will You Pursue?

2011-09-03T23:04:00.006+03:00

Mota'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Shofetim 5771

This week's parashah includes a few words being thrown around at the housing protests.

In fact these same three words are very popular to throw around in the U. S., anytime a Jew thinks there is an injustice, or miscarriage of justice.

דברים יט,כ
צֶדֶק צֶדֶק, תִּרְדֹּף
Deuteronomy 19:20
Justice, justice you shall pursue....

Of course, many Jews comfortably entrenched in the U. S., intentionally or unintentionally, leave out the rest of the verse:

דברים יט,כ
צֶדֶק צֶדֶק, תִּרְדֹּף--לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ.

Deuteronomy 19:20
Justice, justice you shall pursue, that you will live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God given to you.

To all such Jews, I remind you that this verse is specifically related to taking and residing in the Land. If you want to cry out about "justice," then there are a few other verses in the Torah which are more precise to express your feelings about a generic justice.

I believe that Rash"i backs me up in this regard:

Rash"i says:
Justice, justice you shall pursue - follow a proper court of law.

...that you will live, and inherit.... - one should have kosher judges appointed, to maintain Israel's existence, and to settle [the children of] Israel in their Land.

Meanwhile, the above three words have been used in conjunction with the phrase social justice being thrown around quite a bit at the housing protests.

In a previous post, The Agenda Within The Tents, I said that the phrase "social justice" was a buzz word of the Reform movement in the U. S. Most every Reform community in the U. S. has a "social justice committee."

The Tent/Housing protests had been hijacked by the Left, excluding all other communities it does not like, such as Haredim and Settlers, even though they too have been affected by the high cost of housing in Israel.

One tent set up by settlers on Rothschild Street in Tel-Aviv was even burned down.

The banner I saw on Rothschild Street decrying צֶדֶק צֶדֶק, תִּרְדֹּף/Justice, justice you shall pursue.... was that of the תנועת יהדות הרפומית בישראל/the Reform movement in Israel.

Furthermore, the justice referred to in the Torah means none other than Torah justice, the removal of those carrying the halakhic status of "enemy" from the Land, the removal of those carrying the of practitioners of "avodah zarah," and the execution of punishments to those obligated to receive them.

That's Torah justice, and not the Western, assimilationalist, "politically-correct" version of justice to make you feel good.

Leaving off the remainder of the verse does not change the meaning of the verse, albeit those who deny, distort, or otherwise play with the Oral Torah, would like it to.

So, which justice will you pursue? The justice command by the Holy One Blessed Be He through His Torah? Or the pseudo-"justice" you make up according to your feelings are the results of 2,000 years of assimilation?

Samaria's "Honored" Guest

2011-08-28T15:00:00.002+03:00

28 of the Fifth Month 5771

The misswah (Biblical Commandment) is to chase after these practitioners of avodah zarah within the Land of Israel, not do the opposite by inviting into our homes as honored guests.

IsraelNN: Nigerian Pastor To Millions Visits Samaria
Nigerian Pastor Enoch Adeboye, in Samaria: "When you are special in the eyes of G-d, automatically people will dislike you."

Gil Ronen, Augsut 25, 2011

The RCCG claims to have churches in more than 100 countries, and Adeboye was named one of the world's 50 most influential people by Newsweek in 2008. His followers are said to number tens of millions in Africa, Europe and the USA, and he is sometimes referred to as "the African pope." Mesika and Samaria Liaison Bureau chief David Ha'ivri accompanied Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara on a trip to Nigeria recently, as part of their efforts to find allies for Israel in these embattled times.

(Gershon Mesiqa, Samaria Council Head; David HaIvri, his assistant; Adeboye; Likud MK Ayoub Kara)

Adeboye is in Israel as Mesika's guest. He met Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres on Wednesday.

The pastor is accompanied on his trip to Israel by dozens of senior officials from various African countries, and by several European MPs. He visited communities in Samaria, saw Shechem and the Tomb of Joseph from a lookout point, visited an antiquities site and toured a vineyard. He planted vine seedlings in Har Beracha, whose grapes are used in acclaimed boutique wines, and was the guest of honor at a special reception by Har Beracha Yeshiva Head Rabbi Eliezer Melamed.

Rabbi Melamed told the pastor: "We are very glad to host our distinguished guest. We were glad to hear that you support the Nation of Israel and that you are happy that we have returned to the Land of Israel. We hope that people like you imbue the world with much truth, goodness and kind acts."

Pastor Adeboye said: "I believe that the problems we see between Jews and the rest of the world are because they are G-d's chosen. When you are special in the eyes of G-d, automatically people will dislike you. I do not see why anyone should think that the Jews may not live in their homeland. I believe that no matter how hard they try, they will not be able to move the Nation of Israel from the place G-d gave their forefathers."

But, what this avodah zarah leader did not tell you, is that he is an active, Christian missionary, being so bold as to use the term "Fishing For Men's Souls," on his RCCG organization's website. Their are much too disgusting to post here.

Apparently, no one told Rabbi Melamed either. I find it very difficult to believe that he would ever allow such a person enter the town where is seen as the spiritual leader, Har Bracha.

At least on avodah zarah practicing family is already entrenched there. So, it is becoming increasingly difficult to accept his complete ignorance of what has been occurring in his town.

Perhaps Melamed needs to find a[nother] native English speaker to check into these people and projects for him, before he signs on

Did these "leaders" in Samaria know of Adeboye's missionary beliefs and goals?

Did they want to know?

"Torah-Observant" Jews Bring More Avodah Zarah Into Israel

2011-08-24T21:00:00.002+03:00

25 of the Fifth Month 5771

Is the whole Glen Beck "Bring Crap To Jerusalem" series of events over yet?

Is he gone yet?

Then make way for the next "honored" Christian to be welcomed in the Holy Land....

Influential Nigerian Pastor To Visit Israel Next Week
Deputy Minister Kara is back from a trip intended to rally support for Israel in Africa.

Gil Ronen, August 17, 2011

(Gershon Mesiqa, Samaria Council Head; David HaIvri, his assistant; Adeboye; Likud MK Ayoub Kara)

Nigerian Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), will visit Israel next week and meet the Prime Minister and President....

I find it interesting that both this trip to Nigeria, and the various events of current, Israeli Right-wing poster boy Glen Beck, have been taking place during this time of year, when our traditional readings are from the beginning and middle of the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy).

דברים ז,כה-כו (פר' עקב)
פְּסִילֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶם, תִּשְׂרְפוּן בָּאֵשׁ; לֹא-תַחְמֹד כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב עֲלֵיהֶם, וְלָקַחְתָּ לָךְ--פֶּן תִּוָּקֵשׁ בּוֹ, כִּי תוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הוּא. וְלֹא-תָבִיא תוֹעֵבָה אֶל-בֵּיתֶךָ, וְהָיִיתָ חֵרֶם כָּמֹהוּ; שַׁקֵּץ תְּשַׁקְּצֶנּוּ וְתַעֵב תְּתַעֲבֶנּוּ, כִּי-חֵרֶם הוּא

Deuteronomy 7:25-26 (Parashath Eqev)
The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and be accursed like unto it; thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.

Sounds pretty clear to me. Of course, we do rely on our feelings and guess work when attempting to understand random verses in Torah. We turn to our Oral Tradition, our unbroken chain from Moshe Rabbeinu.

Only a few verses before Parashath Eqev in Parashath We'ethhanan, we are presented with the negative misswah of "Lo Tehonem" - Do not have mercy [upon them].

דברים ז,ב (פר' ואתחנן)
וּנְתָנָם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לְפָנֶיךָ--וְהִכִּיתָם: הַחֲרֵם תַּחֲרִים אֹתָם, לֹא-תִכְרֹת לָהֶם בְּרִית וְלֹא תְחָנֵּם

Deuteronomy 7:2
and when the LORD thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;

Included in this misswah, are the prohibitions against providing them with medical care , selling them houses or land, giving them gifts, or even saying anything nice about them or about their actions (Ramba"m Hil Avodah Zarah 10:3-7).

We are not to do anything which makes it easy for them to get any hold on the land, and (God forbid!) settle here.

The verse states very clearly what we are supposed to do. Not having mercy on them is mentioned last in the list. It is only a worst care scenario, when we are unsuccessful in carrying out the first three instructions.

Each time we say to ourselves, "I can handle them; they can't convert me," or "They don't want to convert me," or "I can be their friend and take their money," we are moving in the opposite direction that the Torah intends. Some of the, now forgotten, reasons behind many of our misswoth, separate us, and keep us away from these people.

Our history with one group of practitioners of avodah zarah, the Christians, parallels the Torah too closely for comfort.

Esau got angry at his brother Ya'aqov for taking his birthright. He chased after him, with the intentions killing him. That strategy did not work. So, upon receiving gifts and placation from Ya'aqov, Esau tried a new strategy. He welcomed Ya'aqov, and wanted Ya'aqov to join with him.

Ya'aqov did the correct thing. He made excuses for why he could not come with him, and in the end he stayed as far away as possible.

Many sources teach that Yesh"u (acronym for may his name and memory be wiped out) was the reincarnation of Esau.

The Christians first tried to kill us, convert us, or segregate us. The latter part of the 20th Century, the Christians changed their tact, proclaiming their love for Israel, the Jewish People, and our Torah. The Hebraization of Christianity accelerated. More and more Christians were donning kippoth (male head covering) and talithoth (four-cornered, fringed garment)Jews were taken in by Esau's most dangerous weapons, the tongue and the smile, along with knowledge of the Bible and Hebrew which surpasses that of most assimilated Jews.

While Jews were already being lost, left and right, to Esau through intermarriage, Esau was also harvesting Jewish souls to his avodah zarah (forbidden worship).

Anyone who bothers to do the research will see that many of these groups have their eyes not only only Jewish souls, but on our Land. There are those claiming to be descendants of Israel's tribes, and thus claiming areas of our Land as their inheritance. They believe that as they take on misswoth (Torah commandments), the Jews will take on their belief in Yesh"u as their messiah.

Enter the Jews. Believing we need [human] allies to balances out the power of the Left's alliances with Yishma'el (Arabs) and his sympathizers, Right-wing Jews opened their eyes to the great opportunities which Esau presented: public relations influence within the U. S. Congress, and, of course, money.

דברים טז,יט (פר' שופטים)
וְלֹא-תִקַּח שֹׁחַד--כִּי הַשֹּׁחַד יְעַוֵּר עֵינֵי חֲכָמִים, וִיסַלֵּף דִּבְרֵי צַדִּיקִם...

Deuteronomy 16:19 (Parashath Shofetim)
...not should you take a bribe, for a bribe blind the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.

Our Sages z"l teach us that עשו שונא ליעקב - Esau hates Ya'aqov, yet we never learn. Instead we are continually fooled by Esau's next choice of weapon. We fool ourselves into thinking that this time it will somehow be different.

We are supposed to destroy avodah zarah, not invite the people who practice it into our homes as honored guests.

*********

A great collection of Jewish sources on the subject of Christianity can be found on the Jewish Teachings Blog, in the piece The Pope, Yeshu The Bastard, & The Messiah, following the main article, "Why The Pope Came To Mt. Zion" by Rabbi Efraim Sprecher.

Also, don't be fooled by those Christians who try to distance themselves from the Vatican and Catholicism, or say "That's not the real Christianity that we practice."

They all believe in the same texts which they hold to be sacred.

Haveil Havalim #326 Is Up!

2011-08-21T17:50:00.003+03:00

21 of the Fifth Month 5771

Haveil Havalim #326 is up at Velveteen.

It's the Post-Tu b'Av Edition.

To Hate The Sin But Not The Sinner?

2011-08-21T13:20:00.001+03:00

21 of the Fifth Month 5771

Since the release of Edition #325 of the Haveil Havalim Blog Carnival, hosted at To Kiss A Mezuzah, I fallen into a bit of a discussion with the blog's owner, Susan Esther Barnes, one who identifies as a "Reform Jew."

I will not reveal the contents of private e-mails. However, you can begun by reading Susan's post "I Don't Hate The Person. I Just Hate Their Actions."

Then you can read my response below.

Susan and I appear to have radically different views on Judaism, among other things.

Yet, I thought I would give engaging in a dialogue with her a shot, especially since, so far, we seem to have been able "to disagree, without being disagreeable."

The concept used for the title of this piece is often associated with a non-Jewish philosophy, and does not quite fit in with Torah-observant thought and lifestyle.

But, it's catchy.

*********

Hi, Susan, I'm glad you wrote this, as it continues the dialogue(?) we seem to have begun.

In a nutshell, I think that you made some good points, and that you and I have mostly have a disagreement on semantics.

I definitely disagree on how you applied your Torah sources, as they do not appear to be fleshed with the full understanding and clarification which HaZa"L provides us. But, of course,...I could be mistaken.

When you say נעשה ונשמע, please remember that this refers to both the Written and the Oral Torah.

It is interesting that I am highly critical of those who allow feelings to enter the determination of halakha. Yet, here I am, in a way, defending my feelings. Of course, I am not trying to use my feelings to support an halachic argument. I am simply stating what they are.

In a similar light to what you stated above, feelings are something I experience, but do not necessarily have to act on them.

Remember the silly cliche...

"Some of my best friends are...(fill in the blank)?"

Well, I actually do have friends who are not Torah observant. Either never have been, or were, and have some issue with God they need to work out. I love these friends. But I do hate their Shabbath desecration and their enjoyment of shell fish.

Perhaps that other cliche applies here, too:

The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.

If I didn't care, then I wouldn't have such strong feelings (ie. hatred) about it.

But, I do care.

When I have non-Torah observant friends over for Shabbath dinner, without any expectation of "forced observance" on them, is that not compassion for my friends? My only requirement is that they let me know in advance what they do not or cannot eat

I do not allow any "live" electronics in the house, unless they belong to a soldier, security officer, paramedic, or on call medical professional. Not do I allow smoking in the house,... even during the rest of the week.

Is that not showing compassion, and tolerance?

Some might say it is a condescending and secret plot to brainwash other Jews into my way of thinking.

Well, it is!

Not exactly. It is not a secret plot. All of my friends know that I would love to see all Jews keep Torah and misswoth. But, they also know that I recognize that is not our current reality.

Building connections with Jews is important to me, but I do not have to like, nor tolerate Shabbath desecration or the eating of non-kosher food, etc., just as I do not have to like nor tolerate the despising of the Holy Land by some of those Jews who do keep Shabbath and kashruth.

Perhaps, hate is not the precise word to apply here, just the best choice I could think of at the time. I'm not sure. The word "frustrated" does not cut it for me.

Maybe it is not rational, but as one Human responded to a Vulcan, who was complaining about the irrationality of human emotions:

"Since when are human emotions supposed to be rational?"

Food for thought.

What Israel Did While No One Was Looking

2011-08-21T01:04:00.007+03:00

Motza'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Eqev 5771

Most of us (I hope) know that...

YNET: Man Killed, Baby Hurt As Rockets Pound The South

At least one man killed, four seriously wounded after rockets hit southern town of Beersheba; elsewhere, four-month-old baby, eight-year-old girl hurt after rocket hits Ofakim home

Southern Israel faces major rocket offensive: At least one man was killed and four others sustained serious wounds, including a woman in grave condition, after rockets fired from the Gaza Strip hit the southern town of Beersheba Saturday evening.

Local residents said the Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted some of the rockets fired at the city in Saturday's salvo. The Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the deadly barrage.

And while everyone was focused on the Arab terror pounding the South...

ערוץ 7: כוחות הביטחון הורסים את "רמת מיגרון"
מוצ"ש פר' עקב תשע"א, 22:18

כוחות הביטחון הורסים בשעה זו את מאחז "רמת מיגרון" בבנימין. במהלך השבת נעצרו במקום למעלה מעשרה צעירים בחשד כי תקפו ילד פלסטיני מרמאללה.

Arutz 7: Security Forces Are Destroying "Ramat Migron"
August 20, 2011, 10:18 PM

Security forces are destroying "Ramat Migron" in the Binyamin Area. More than 20 youth were arrested on Shabbath on suspicion of attacking a Palestinian boy from Ramallah.

What was a "Palestinian" boy doing in the area anyway? It is pretty far from Ramallah, unless you have a car.

Nonetheless, we cannot just let this news item fly under the radar.

Terror Strikes Southern Israel! Is Egypt To Blame?

2011-08-18T23:11:00.003+03:00

19 of the Fifth Month 5771

At least seven people were killed, and 33 injured in today's terrorist attack.

YNET: Sinai A Terror Hotbed

Analysis: Egypt lost control over Sinai in wake of Mubarak’s fall; Israel paying the price

Roee Nahmias, August 18, 2011

Sinai turns into terror hotbed – and Israel is first to pay price: Thursday’s terror offensive in southern Israel, which may have come from the Sinai, serves as further evidence that Egypt has lost control over the peninsula. Ever since Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in February, al-Qaeda terrorists have been boosting their activity in the area....

I wish that I could agree, and blame the Arabs. I love blaming the Arabs. After all, they are our enemies and very much stingers in our eyes and thorns in our sides (Numbers: 50:35).

The primary mistake of the secular, European elitist-controlled, Israeli Government is to relate to the Arabs as if they are Western, progressive Europeans, with whom we just have to talk a little more, in whom we just have to invest a little more, to whom we just have to give a little more (Read: co-dependence).

The U. S. and England (...the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Switzerland, & Sweden) have been repeating this same mistake, expecting different results, for years.

On the other hand, Israel does not have any excuse for repeating this mistake. Israel is filled with experts on dealing with Arabs and Muslims, our brothers from Iraq, Iran, Yemen, and North Africa. Yet, even many of them have given up trying to warn those of us originating from Western countries. We are too stubborn to listen; we think we know it all already.

Second of all, Egypt was a problem long before Mubarak fell. Egypt was a problem, long before we gave up the Sinai Desert and Azza.

The Egyptian border is vast, and difficult to defend. But it would not be as difficult as it is, if the Israeli Government had been taking the necessary action to prevent terrorist acts from occurring in the first place. Force is what the Yishma'elim (Arabs) understand. Anyone who picks up the Tana"kh (Bible) can see that. anyone suggesting that "they can change overnight" needs to take a closer look at the writings of HaZa"L (Our Sages, may their memories be for blessings) and the Rishonim.

IsraelNN.com: Netanyahu: We Hit Back Immediately And With Force
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Israelis "The people who gave the order... are no longer living."

Gavriel Queenann & Gil Ronin, August 18, 2011

Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a very short statement before press cameras at 8:30 P.M. Thursday evening following the lethal three-stage terror attack that claimed 7 Israeli lives and saw 33 wounded....

This was the correct response, of course. But who decides when to stop? The Israeli Prime Minister or Western governments whose tuchuses we keep trying to kiss?

In 2006/תשס"ו, goyim decided that we leave Lebanon, and do a half-ass job while we were there.

In 2009/תשס"ט, goyim decided when we were finished in Azza, even though the job was only half done.

The Arabs know this, and they use it against us.

The Arabs attack us. Then we attack back. They know full well that all they have to do is throw around the current buzz words, like "escalation" and "humanitarian crisis," wait it out, take a break, and then restart the attacks.

That is the true "Middle Eastern cycle of violence." How anti-Jewish groups like b'Tselem and J-Street can be so blind to this pattern is beyond me.

It just goes to show you how powerful the influence of 2,000 years of galuth (exile) has been on us.

It is time to stop playing the victim, in order to convince goyim to like us and to validate our existence. We must start taking full responsibility for the safety or our own people. We must stop doing what the goyim (non-Jews) want, at the expense of what is good for the safety and prosperity of Israel and the Jewish People.