Haveil Havalim #170 Is Up!

19 of the Third Month 5768

Haveil Havalim is up at HH founder, Soccer Dad's Blog!

Shabbath In Tapu'ah With Dov Shurin!

19 of the Third Month 5768

Dinner was a packed house last Leil Shabbath with Reb Dov and his wife, nine of us from Tapu'ah, and 13 yeshivah students from all over the country, including Jerusalem, B'nei Braq, Tel-Aviv, and Tiveriah.

Speaking in both Hebrew and English, so that everyone would feel included, Dov filled the room with his songs and his stories. I started to wonder, "What's he going to see Mossa'ei Shabbath if he sings all of his songs now?"

Yekutiel Ben-Ya'akov gave a D'var Torah in Hebrew and English as well regarding the spies, the Land and the government. I picked up on the theme in Hebrew, and our friend Pesah did as well, in English, so that there would be a balance.

As I mentioned that night...

"Ashkinazi, Sefardi, Yemenite, native Israelis, immigrants, Haredim, and National Religious sitting together at the same table, singing, eating, celebrating.... This is exactly the kind of thing that the leftists don't want you to see.

"The leftists are worse than the spies. The spies lacked emunah (faith) that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, would be with them as they went up to settled the Land promised to them by the same. The leftists, the Erev Rav, want to give away what is already in our possession, throwing away the Almighty's gift back into His face.

"The pseudo-religious/pseudo-Zionists are worse. They are supposed to know better.

"Every time we invite guests to the parts of the Land, leftists want to throw away, every time Jews choose to come and visit or live here, it is a tiqqun (repair/working against) the Sin of the Spies.

"Even more so tonight, that a group of friends chose Tapu'ah to spend one their last Shabbathoth together as single men. One of their hevre is getting married in a few weeks!"

Not even a suspicious fire threatening one of the adjacent hill top communities was going to stop us from carrying this message of true "Ahduth Yisrael" (Jewish Unity)!

Mossa'ei Shabbath, Dov gave a concert, with Melaweh Malkah hosted by Yekutiel Ben-Ya'akov.

Often controversial, Dov Shurin's politically-incorrect songs always seem to beat Israel government free-speech crack-downs. This is because Dov simply uses pasuqim from Tana"kh (Bliblical verses).

What's the government gonna do? Censor the Torah?

Stay tuned...

Fire On Tapu'ah West!

Mossa'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parshath Shelah Lekha 5768

A fire broke out in the central Shomron Friday afternoon. The fire appeared to begin south of Highway 5 (Trans-Samaria Highway), and move up the hills toward Giv'ath Tapu'ah HaMa'aravith (Tapu'ah West), a community of 10 families located east of the City of Ariel. The fire came right up to at least two of the caravans, and damaged a large amount of grazing area for the community's flocks.

The Ariel fire brigade responded, yet there have been reports that the fire continued to rage after the brigade left the scene. It is unknown why the single fire engine left when it did.

The fire was fought, and eventually put out by residents of the community, along with a few volunteers from neighboring K'far Tapu'ah.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Shabbath In Tapu'ah And Saturday Nights Live!

Erev Shabbath Qodesh Parshath Shelah Lekha 5768

Shabbath In Tapu'ah
Since the torching of the hilltop Beth Midrash of Elnaqam 4 three months ago, our traditionally guest-filled, Shabbath tables in K'far Tapu'ah have been pretty shvach.

But we will not be broken!

Last Shabbath marked the first in a long line of summer Shabbathoth to be capped off with a Malaweh Malkah concert.

As usual, and in the true spirit of Ahavath EfYisra'el, Shabbath in Tapu'ah always brings together guests from diverse backgrounds, Hassidish, Litvish, Religious Zionist, modern, all sorts.

Everyone came together Erev Shabbath, and was K'far Tapu'ah has one of the only man-made miqwah for men in the area, the next closest being in Eli. In the colder months, men come from all over the area to

After Tefillath Minhah and Qabballath Shabbath, we learned Mishnah Shabbath 2 "Bameh Madliqin" with the perush of the Ramba"m.

The temperature had gone significantly, so it was a pleasant walk back to the main town, especially with song and conversation of everyone getting acquainted and re-acquainted.

Dinner was traditional Yerushalmi, with bread and salads, and thick spicy soup. Ashkinazy hallah could be seen along side Iraqi lafah, chopped liver along side of matbuhah and zhug, and of course zucchini salad. Ezra's spicy soup capped off dinner, which was followed by schmoozing and singing, and jallah till late. Guard had to be kept over Yekutiel's chollent, so that there would be some for lunch the next morning.

Tefillath Shaharith, qiddush, and lunch, finally ending at around 2:30, was followed by a surprise trip to the miqwah. A great idea in this heat!

The guys got in a few Z's before the walk back up to the hill for Minhah. Then after a tour of the hill, and its livestock, and pointing out the sites in view mentioned in the Torah, we headed back for Se'udath Shlishith and Tefillah Aravith.

But the "Tapu'ah Experience" wasn't over yet!


Saturday Nights Live!
After Havdallah, it was time to set-up for the Melaweh Malkah concert, starring Rocky Ziegler from Jerusalem!

Some of you may already know Rocky from his 'hood in Jerusalem, Nahla'oth. Rocky also owns and operates Hilltop Studio. Check it out.

Also, Ben honored us with his original "There Ain't No Sex In Terrorist Heaven" (23:30).

And, what you've all been waiting for, the video of last Saturday night's concert!

Stay tuned, Dov Shurin, famous for his Biblical Revenge album, is expected this Shabbath. His concert tomorrow night is not to be missed!

Rocky, lead vocals and guitar, Ben, vocals and guitar; Gavriel, keyboard; Yitzi, straight flute; Meilich, harmonica and vocals; Eliyahu (from Tapu'ah), side flute.

Haveil Havalim #169 Is Up

13 of the Third Month 5768

Haveil Havalim Blog Carnival #169 is up at Writes Like She Talks.

Check it out!

Ahmed's Bunker

Erev Shabbath Qodesh Parshath Beha'alothekha 5768

YNET, the internet site for the Israeli and leftist Yediot Aharanot newspaper, reports that Child's poem entitled 'Ahmed's Bunker' deemed racist.

The YNET translation of the poem reads as follows:

Ahmed's bunker has surprises galore: Grenades, rifles are hung on the wall. Ahmed is planning another bomb!

What a bunker Ahmed has, who causes daily harm.

Ahmed knows how to make a bomb. Ahmed is Ahmed, that's who he is, so don't forget to be careful of him.

We get blasted while they have a blast!

Ahmed and his friends could be wealthy and sunny, if only they wouldn't buy rockets with all their money.

So, are there any of you out there who still believe in the myth that there is free speech in Israel?

If anyone knows the identity of this boy and his parents, please let me know. I believe we need to write letters of encouragement to them, and let them know that not everyone agrees with the leftist controlled, so-called "mainstream" Israeli news media.

I would like to encourage you to send [not spam] this poem to friends, to make sure that they know that it represents the real sentiments of a real Israeli child, writing for a school project, something which many of our children in the U. S. and other countries are doing as I write this.

Cross-posted on the B'nei Elim Blog and Stop Raping Israel.

The Real "Religious Zionist"

8 of the Third Month 5768

There has been a lot of buzz concerning Caroline Glick's The Two-Pronged Assault on Religious Zionist.

As usual, Glick makes several good points, supported by her keen observations and logical deductions.

Yet, her piece prompted me to provide my Esser Agaroth on what I believe to be a deeper issue here, who is a Religious Zionist.

I know that the following rabbis did not asked to be dragged into this debate, at least not on this blog. However, I would like to start off with a few rabbinic examples of Religious Zionists.

Rabbi Yisrael Ariel shlit"a of the Temple Institute and Sanhedrin is arrested for having the audacity to discuss halachoth (Jewish Laws) which are contrary to Israeli Law.

Now that's "religious," but is it "Zionist?"

The late, great Rabbi Avraham Shapira ztz"l, Rosh Yeshivath Merkaz HaRav Kook, took a clear stance that soldiers in the IDF should refuse orders which contravene halachah, like kicking Jews out of their homes, and assisting the government to turn over Jewish-controlled land to goyim, even more so, Arabs which have sworn to destroy us.

He even publicly ripped up the opposing opinion of another popular rabbi. There are those who have tried, unsuccessfully, to suppress this story. But Yes, Rabbi Shapira most definitely did do this.

I say yes, as Rabbi Moshe Tzuri'el shlit"a reminds us: "Zionism is simply a part of the Torah." Now that's "religious" AND "Zionist." I would expect nothing less from someone who was in the same class at Merkaz HaRav Kook Yeshivah with Rabbi Dov Lior shlit"a and Rabbi Zalman Melamed shlit"a who led the last stand in Azza at the K'far Darom synagogue.* No one could argue that was "Zionist," or could they?

Other rabbis are called before a beth din, accept upon themselves its authority, say they're coming, then don't show up. That doesn't sound very "religious" to me. Does it sound very "Zionist?"

I don't know. I suppose it depends upon what your definition of "Zionist" is.

Then, of course, we have the YeSh"A Council, which makes secret deals with the government to evacuate Jewish strongholds in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria). And then lies about it. Now THAT doesn't sound very Zionist. It doesn't sound very religious either. That's because it's not. Neither is beating up religious Zionists, and then lying about that, too.

It certainly does not sound like the YeSh"A Council, which receives its budget directly from the Office of the Prime Minister, is very religious or Zionist.

If "Zionist" means that you believe in Zion as the Jewish Homeland then my friend, the Hassidishe rabbi in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Me'ah Sha'arim, would consider himself a "Zionist." However, if your definition of "Zionist" is Shimon Peres's definition of "Zionist," then you can count him out.

Truly the only meaningful disagreement in hashqafah (perspective) between the religious Zionist and the religious non-Zionist vis-a-vis the Jewish Homeland is not the "where;" it's the "when," "how," and "by whom." Do we take an active part in staking claim to Israel as the Jewish Homeland, the concept of which originates from our Holy Torah? Or is our action to be manifested in prayer and learning Torah alone, waiting for the Mashiah to come and do everything else?

Unfortunately, this difference seems to be played up more than the similarities between the communities. Community leaders across the board are guilty of this, including the secular left, which has a penchant for "mixing in."

Unfortunately, Caroline Click is right. There is an alliance between the non-Zionist and the left wing. I would correct her on one minor [probably unintentional], nit-picky point. It is the leadership of the religious non-Zionist community which maintains the alliance. On Glick's side, voting records tend to indicate that this leadership reflects the opinions of their communities.

I can answer that.

The Belzer Rebbe shlit"a tells his hassidim, "You have the right to vote, but not the right to choose."

How many Belzer and Gerer hassidim and Litvaks have told me they would gladly vote for Baruch Marzel, for example? A lot. I know that they are honest, because in the same moment they tell me that they can't go against their Rebbes. Thus their pipe dreams of rebeldom fade away.

I am not saying that Baruch Marzel is the answer. I am only using him as an example. Just as many of the mamlachtim are unsatisfied with what they're getting, or rather what they're not getting, from their so-called religious Zionist rabbis, and are thus having to search elsewhere, such as in Breslov or Breslov-influenced communities, the non-Zionist youth and young adults are also searching outside of their communities for the answers to their answered questions. "Da'as Torah," which unfortunately has become a glorified substitute for "because I said so," is becoming an increasingly unsatisfactory response to their halachic questions.

Rabbi Me'ir Kahane ztz"l hy"d said that when you ask a halachic question, you are entitled to receive a halachic answer, and "Da'as Torah"

(Watch, as all kinds of "religious Zionists" run away, screaming in horror, as I single-handedly dash all of their PR hopes to de-demonize the settlers, simply by mentioning "his" name.)

But, I digress....

So, what does it mean to be "Religious Zionist?"

I'll tell you what being a "Religious Zionist" inherently does NOT mean. It does NOT mean blind and undying loyalty to the "almighty" (leHavdil) state, in particular a state which increasing shows distain for the Torah, the ONLY justification the Jewish People have for laying claim to Israel as its homeland.

Blind loyalty to the state equated with "Zionist" is the most profound and fundamental error made my both the mamlachti majority of "religious" Zionists and the religious non-Zionists.

Confused? You should be. That's the whole point, to get you to worry about words and labels, to confuse you with hashqafah so that you are prevented from getting down to the nuts and bolts to the actual halachah of how we are to relate to the Land, to those currently have power over it, and to those you are supposed to have power over it.

I may be accused of wanting my cake and eating it, too. But at least I don't hand out cake to reward the soldier for kicking me out of my house.

The point I am attempting to drive home here is that there are many Jews who refer to themselves as "Religious Zionists." Yet, there are clearly two camps, not one: The Torah Zionist camp, headed by the rabbis mentioned above, and the "Mamlachti" camp led by rabbis such as Yuval Cherlow mentioned by Caroline Glick. Admittedly, the "Mamlachti" camp is clearly the majority. We must ask ourselves why. "Loyalty" apparently has its rewards.

The Hesder Yeshiva program faces constant threats of funding cuts, discrimination against the soldiers it produces. Hesder Yeshivah soldiers are now unable to serve in the prestigious Golani and Paratrooper brigades. Soldiers have also received disciplinary actions for refusing to participate in mixed-gender events. Such actions wouldn't have anything to do with the many Hesder Yeshivah Heads signing declarations in support of refusing orders to evacuate Gaza and the Northern Shomron, would it?

Meanwhile, the "mamlachti" pre-IDF "Mechinah" Program flourishes.

No doubt I will be accused of encouraging the various rifts within the Jewish People to continue, contradicting the efforts of others to unify Jews.

Ask yourself this question: What is the value of Jewish unity, if we are unified and moving the wrong direction? Israel was pretty unified around the Golden Calf. And we are still paying the price for it.

In addition, I am hoping that by clarifying some terms which thrown around quite freely, that those like-minded individuals out there, struggling with the insanity of blind and undying loyalty to any non-Torah entity, will finally realize that they are not alone. And there is no requirement to call yourself a "Religious Zionist" to be a part of this unity.

However you choose to self-identify, if your loyalties lie with the Holy One, Blessed Be He, and His Torah, EVEN when that contravenes the dictates of the State [and state] Of Israel, and you believe that Israel is the Jewish Homeland, because HaShem gave it to us, and 60 years ago began to give it back to us, then you are a real Religious Zionist.

*********

* Rabbi Dov Lior is the Chief Rabbi of Qiriyath Arba-Hevron. Rabbi Zalman Melamed is co-Chief Rabbi of Beth-El and the Rosh Yeshivath Beth-El

Cross-posted on the B'nei Elim Blog and on Jewish Indy.

Surprise! Haveil Havalim #168 Is Up!

Erev Hag HaShavu'oth 5768

I was surprised to find my Six Word Memoir up on this week's Haveil Havalim, hosted by Jack, who is apparently a die-hard Laker fan.

I dunno. You be the judge.

I didn't even submit this post. I guess that means I'm moving up in JBlogosphere food chain and that the cat's outta the bag

Six Word Memoir

Yom Yerushalayim 5768

I was tagged for this meme by Snoopy The Goon at Simply Jews, to produce my memoir in six words....

San Diego Los Angeles Israel Hogwarts

Not the kind of response you would expect from a Torah Zionist Jew, who is sometimes called a "right-wing extremist," is it?

I suppose this warrants some explanation, mind you, only "some" explanation.

If I had not been blessed with growing up in cities with two-word names, I probably would have thrown in a few more place names. The fact these cities have more than one word in their names are representative of how I see myself: complicated.

I used location names, as life has been very much a journey from place to place for me, and not just physical, but mental, emotional, and spiritual as well.

San Diego is where I was born. At the age of two, we moved to the suburbs, but I never lost my connection with the "big city," the border of which was only a few miles away. I went into town or to the beach when I could, and after college and graduate school, moved back to "America's Finest City." My education began there. My Jewish education, my secular education, and my street education.

Los Angeles is where my education continued,...my Jewish education, my academic education, and my street education. This is where I first lived on my own, so I have a connection to this city as well, the city many non-Californians seem to hate, until they end up moving there themselves.

Israel is where I finally made my home, and where I have continued my education. Yes, that includes my street education (Detect a pattern here?), as well as my "hilltop" education, along with my Torah education, which I hope was obvious to you already.

Hogwarts is a fictional place, representative of my increasing access to my developing creative side. Yes, I would like to write a novel some day. But the only thing that should seem unusual to you is that as a Southern Californian, why am I not writing a screenplay....

I do not particular like tagging people, so I'm not gong to, except maybe a few. I do like BEING tagged, though, just to let you know.

Tag List:

TNSPR (The only one I can think of so far who would tolerate a tag.)

Please leave a link to your tag reply in the comments section.

Haveil Havalim 168 Is Up

Leil Yom Yerushalayim 5768

Check out the Heshman's "first time" hosting the Haveil Havalim Blog Carnival at Frum Satire. It's a great compilation of the previous week's Jewish and Israeli blog highlights.