Please
re-add Tzvia Simcha bas Devorah Yachat.
A
little boy got a vaccination and began talking funny but was luck to have a
doctor to give him zinc to relieve the aluminum in his system. Amanda sent me
this privately (not related to the little boy)
http://www.ecomed.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/3-tomljenovic.pdf
Miracles
A
miracle from the rain: The recent rains led to the collapse of a tunnel 1km long
from Gaza to Kibbutz Nahal Oz. This could have been used to capture or kill
soldiers or civilians like the capture of Gilad Shalit. The drainage of the
excess water led to the exposure of the tunnel. Now the IDF is looking for more
tunnels into Israel from Gaza. The tunnel had been fortified like a mine shaft.
And another Miracle http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164264#.UPb65HfxmC8
Parsha
Bo
Yeshaya
46:4 Even to old age I am
the same, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you; I have made, and I will bear;
yea, I will carry, and will deliver.
It is
HASHEM who delivered us then and will deliver us again. We are partially in
Eretz Yisrael and this is our blessing that enables us to renew the land slowly
and prepare for the Geula. Our Pasha shows the liberation of slaves but it takes
40 years to build up a new free nation. We have now had 64 plus years as a
reborn nation and maybe it is finally time for Moshiach.
10:1
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Go in unto Pharaoh; for I have hardened his
heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might show these My signs in the
midst of them;
What
a difference a bad translation can make. This old translation makes a joke out
of the Hebrew Bo which means come and it implies that HASHEM Yisborach is
telling Moshe to go there on your own and I am here giving you back up. Now
Chabad has not only uses modern English but seeing the word come implies “Don’t
worry Moshe, I am in all places and already there covering your back. Pharaoh is
powerless to hurt you or the Bnei Yisrael. Just like a modern election it looks
like the people are voting but it is I who controls ideas that go into people’s
head for MY purposes. It is I that make coalitions strong or weak and change
things around despite the public opinion polls.
The Lord said to
Moses: "Come to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his
servants, in order that I may place these signs of Mine in his
midst,
That
I may place: Heb.
שִׁתִי, lit., My placing, that I may place. — [after the
targumim]
that
I may place: Heb.
שִׁתִי, lit., My placing, that I may place. — [after the
targumim]
2
and in order that you
tell into the ears of your son and your son's son how I made a mockery of the
Egyptians, and [that you tell of] My signs that I placed in them, and you will
know that I am the Lord."
I
made a mockery: Heb.
הִתְעַלַלְתִּי, I mocked, like “Because you mocked (הִתְעַלַלְתִּי) me” (Num.
22:29); “Will it not be just as He mocked (הִתְעַלֵל) them” (I Sam. 6:6), stated
in regard to Egypt. It is not an expression meaning a “deed and acts
(מַעִלָלִים),” however, for were that so, He would have written עוֹלַלְתִּי,
like “and deal (וְעוֹלֵל) with them as You have dealt (עוֹלַלְתָּ) with me”
(Lam. 1:22); “which has been dealt (עוֹלֵל) to me” (Lam.
1:12).
We
learn from here the obligation of every parent to educate the child. The word
son implies a father-son education and a mother-daughter education from
generation to generation. The father should therefore teach his son Torah and if
he can’t the burden falls upon the father to hire a teacher or choose a good
school but it is the mother who gives the small child the warmth of the Torah
and the encouragement to go and learn and usually has to spend time checking up
if the child has done the homework or learned the lesson. Since children’s
children are like children it also applies to the grandfather and he should take
an active part and be an example for Torah learning. In my case it is also
spoken English and comprehension – there was an article in the Israeli Paper
about my young Swiss cousin who either is a Rabbi or still learning to be a
Rabbi who can convey the Torah in six languages and this is quite important.
3
And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him: 'Thus says the
LORD, the God of the Hebrews: How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before
Me? let My people go, that they may serve Me.
G-D
of the Hebrews and not the use of KING OF THE UNIVERSE for each people at this
time had their own god and it had to be in a language that Pharaoh would
understand as he had a god of this and a god of that. He could not relate to one
G-D doing all the functions of good and evil, temptation and reward. For Pharaoh
how could there be a G-D that created and controlled winds, rain,
thunder-lightning, aridness, sun, moon, stars, planets as for him there were
gods in charge of these functions.
to
humble yourself: Heb.
לֵעָנֹת, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders, לְאִתְכְּנָעָא, and it is derived from
עָנִי. You have refused to be humble and meek before Me.
4
Else, if thou refuse to let My people go, behold, to-morrow will I bring locusts
into thy border; 5 and they
shall cover the face of the earth, that one shall not be able to see the earth;
and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remains unto you
from the hail, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the
field;
The
view of the earth: Heb.
עֵין הָאָרֶץ, the view of the earth. And
no one will be able: Heb.
יוּכַל lit., and will not be able. The seer [will not be able] to see the earth,
but [the text] speaks briefly.
Whatever
food that you could use after the hail strike will be eaten up. This week in
Israel, we saw the prices of vegetables skyrocket due to the rains and snow of
last week so all the more so destruction of most of the crops. Now the remaining
crops of Mitzrayim were to be destroyed. This would make every farmer poor and
most of the population would suffer from lack of food and the inflation that
would follow.
6 and thy houses shall be filled, and
the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; as neither
thy fathers nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were
upon the earth unto this day.' And he turned, and went out from Pharaoh. 7 And Pharaoh's servants said unto
him: 'How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may
serve the LORD their God, know thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?' (lost)
Don’t
you yet know: Heb.
הִטֶרֶם תֵּדַע, do you not know yet that Egypt is lost?-[Rashi and Rashbam from
targumim]
8
And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them: 'Go,
serve the LORD your God; but who are they that shall go?'
At
this point the advisors of Pharaoh are suggesting or even pleading with him that
we are up against a G-D (since they were polytheists) and HE is angry why not
let them have their prayers already and get things over with. Pharaoh views a
mask attempt along with other advisors to make a break for freedom and end his
slave based work force.
Were
brought back: They
were brought back by a messenger, whom they [the Egyptians] sent after them, and
they returned them to Pharaoh.
9
And Moses said: 'We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and
with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds we will go; for we must
hold a feast unto the LORD.' 10
And he said unto them: 'So be the LORD with you, as I will let you go, and your
little ones; see ye that evil is before your face. 11 Not so; go now ye that are men, and
serve the LORD; for that is what ye desire.' And they were driven out from
Pharaoh's presence.
just
as I will let you… out: and
surely I will not let the flocks and the cattle out as you said.
See
that evil is before your faces: [Understand
this] as the Targum [Onkelos] renders it. I have [also] heard an Aggadic
midrash, however [which explains the passage as follows]: There is a star named
Ra’ah [i.e., רָעָה meaning evil]. Pharaoh said to them [Moses and Aaron], “With
my astrology I see that star ascending toward you in the desert [where you would
like to go], and that is a sign of blood and slaughter.” When the Israelites
sinned with the calf, and the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to kill them,
Moses said in his prayer, “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With Ra’ah He took
them out…?’” (Exod. 32:12) This is what he [Pharaoh] said to them, “See that
Ra’ah [evil] is opposite your faces,” [implying that their blood would be shed
in the desert]. Immediately, “The Lord repented of the Ra’ah [the sign of the
star]” (Exod. 32:14), and He turned the bloodshed [symbolized by this star] into
the blood of the circumcision, for Joshua [in fact] circumcised them. This is
the meaning of what is said: “This day I have rolled away the reproach of the
Egyptians from you” (Josh. 5:9), for they were saying to you, “We see blood over
you in the desert.” -[from Midrash Shir Hashirim, Wertheimer
1:2]
Was
there a near-by pass of an asteroid or comet that would be coming close enough
to earth to cause the sea to slip to the left and the right of the Bnei Yisrael
and the winds to roar causing the split sea to freeze in position for a short
time? Was it a nearby pass of the planet mars? Somehow the astrologers missed
seeing 600 chariots and soldiers dying in the sea pursuing the Bnei Yisrael
also.
12
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Stretch out thy hand over the land of Egypt for
the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of
the land, even all that the hail hath left.' 13 And Moses stretched forth his rod
over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that
day, and all the night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the
locusts.
East
of Egypt is Sudan and other places on the African Continent and usually the
Sudanese Desert protects Egypt from a major plague like this but tremendous
winds can push swarms of locusts for miles. Rashi comments later on, that there
had been a border dispute between Egypt and another country and when the locusts
ate up the crops in Egypt and not on the other side of the border, the lines
were clearly delineated.
14
And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the
borders of Egypt; very grievous were they; before them there were no such
locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
and
after it, there will never be one like it: And
the one [the locust plague] that took place in the days of Joel, about which it
is said: “the like of which has never been” (Joel
2:2),
[from which] we learn that it was more severe than that of [the plague in the
days of] Moses-namely because that one was [composed] of many species [of
locusts] that were together: arbeh, yelek, chasil, [and] gazam; but [the locust
plague] of Moses consisted of only one species [the arbeh], and its equal never
was and never will be.
15
For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and
they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the
hail had left; and there remained not any green thing, either tree or herb of
the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and
Aaron in haste; and he said: 'I have sinned against the LORD your God, and
against you. 17 Now therefore
forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that
He may take away from me this death only.' 18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and
entreated the LORD. 19 And the
LORD turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove
them into the Red Sea; there remained not one locust in all the border of Egypt.
Into
the Red Sea: I
believe that the Red Sea was partly in the west, opposite the entire southern
boundary, and also east of the land of Israel. Therefore, a west wind thrust the
locusts into the Red Sea [which was] opposite it [the west wind]. Likewise, we
find this [written] regarding the boundaries [of Israel] that it [the Red Sea]
faces the east [of Israel], as it is said: “from the Red Sea to the sea of the
Philistines” (Exod. 23:31). [This signifies] from east to west, because the sea
of the Philistines was to the west, as it is said concerning the Philistines,
“the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of Cherithites” (Zeph. 2:5). [Rashi
is apparently referring to the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Eilat, which are
both branches of the Red Sea and thus are included in the expression “Red Sea.”
The latter is the eastern boundary of the Holy Land, while the Gulf of Suez is
Egypt’s eastern boundary. Since the Philistines dwelt on the Mediterranean
seacoast, the Red Sea mentioned in that context was surely the Gulf of Eilat.
The Red Sea mentioned here is the Gulf of Suez, where the locusts were
deposited.] Not
one locust remained: Even
the salted ones [locusts] which they [the Egyptians] had salted for themselves
[to eat]. — [from Exod. Rabbah 13:7; Midrash Tanchuma, Va’era
14]
Rashi
implies a wind coming from the west but it appears to me west-south-west heading
north-east where we find the gulf of Suez. The position of Eretz Yisrael was to
play an important part in choosing the hour for opening the Yom Kippur War for
the Syrians wanted at sunrise where the Israelis would be blinded by the sun in
the Golan and the Egyptians wanted at sunset when the Israelis would be blinded
by the Suez Canal. In the end they chose closer to midday for the attack. When
such a plague occurs usually the people eat the locusts fried or salted for
preserving to make do with what they have until the new crops can grow and now
even they were blown away. Rashi implies a wind coming from the south-west
heading north east.
20
But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel
go.
An
ordinary person after a few plagues that did not have magic back up would have
decided to let the people go, instead he refused only because HASHEM made it
so.
21
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there
may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.' 22 And Moses stretched forth his hand
toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three
days; 23 they saw not one
another, neither rose any from his place for three days; but all the children of
Israel had light in their dwellings.
and
there was thick darkness… for three days, etc.: Thick
darkness in which they did not see each other for those three days, and another
three days of darkness twice as dark as this, so that no one rose from his
place. If he was sitting, he was unable to stand, and if he was standing, he was
unable to sit. Now why did He bring darkness upon them [the Egyptians]? Because
there were among the Israelites in that generation wicked people who did not
want to leave [Egypt]. They died during the three days of darkness, so that the
Egyptians would not see their downfall and say, “They too are being smitten like
us.” Also, the Israelites searched [the Egyptians’ dwellings during the
darkness] and saw their [own] belongings. When they were leaving [Egypt] and
asked [for some of their things], and they [the Egyptians] said, “We have
nothing,” he [the Israelite] would say to him, “I saw it in your house, and it
is in such and such a place.” -[from Jonathan; Tanchuma, Bo 3; Tanchuma, Va’era
14; Tanchuma Buber, Bo 3]
and
there was thick darkness… for three days, etc.: Thick
darkness in which they did not see each other for those three days, and another
three days of darkness twice as dark as this, so that no one rose from his
place. If he was sitting, he was unable to stand, and if he was standing, he was
unable to sit. Now why did He bring darkness upon them [the Egyptians]? Because
there were among the Israelites in that generation wicked people who did not
want to leave [Egypt]. They died during the three days of darkness, so that the
Egyptians would not see their downfall and say, “They too are being smitten like
us.” Also, the Israelites searched [the Egyptians’ dwellings during the
darkness] and saw their [own] belongings. When they were leaving [Egypt] and
asked [for some of their things], and they [the Egyptians] said, “We have
nothing,” he [the Israelite] would say to him, “I saw it in your house, and it
is in such and such a place.” -[from Jonathan; Tanchuma, Bo 3; Tanchuma, Va’era
14; Tanchuma Buber, Bo 3]
Not an
ordinary air pollution or darkness but it could be felt for it came out of
Gehennom.
24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and
said: 'Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed; let
your little ones also go with you.' 25 And Moses said: 'Thou must also
give into our hand sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice unto
the LORD our God. 26 Our cattle
also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind; for thereof must
we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the
LORD, until we come thither.' 27
But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. 28 And Pharaoh said unto him: 'Get
thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou see
my face thou shalt die.' 29 And
Moses said: 'Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again no more.'
Pharaoh
wants to hold all the property of the Bnei Yisrael hostage if he cannot hold the
children and without any wealth, the Bnei Yisrael cannot exist as an independent
nation. At this point Moshe will not see Pharaoh any more especially since he
announces the last plague in detail.
11:1 And the LORD said
unto Moses: 'Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt;
afterwards he will let you go hence; when he shall let you go, he shall surely
thrust you out hence altogether. 2 Speak now in the ears of the people,
and let them ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor,
jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.' 3 And the LORD gave the people favor
in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land
of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the
people.
During
the plague of darkness the Egyptians were blinded and the Bnei Yisrael could see
where they had hid their jewelry so if we did not steal it then you can trust us
with it now. The Pshat is that they wanted to heap presents on the Bnei Yisrael
so as not to anger the L-RD and find favor.
4 And Moses said:
'Thus says the LORD: About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt;
Why
about midnight when it will be precisely at midnight? Rather that the
astronomers and astrologers were not as accurate as an atomic clock and errors
could easily occur.
5 and all the
first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that
sits upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is
behind the mill; and all the first-born of cattle. 6 And there shall be a great cry
throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there hath been none like it, nor
shall be like it any more. 7 But
against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog whet his tongue, against
man or beast; that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between
the Egyptians and Israel. 8 And
all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down unto me, saying:
Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee; and after that I will go
out.' And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
We
already saw in Parsha Shemos that Pharaoh was warned that Yisrael is MY first
born 4:22 so the threat existed already and now it would be carried out.
9 And the LORD said
unto Moses: 'Pharaoh will not hearken unto you; that My wonders may be
multiplied in the land of Egypt.' 10 And Moses and Aaron did all these
wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not
let the children of Israel go out of his land.
The
hardening of the heart was caused by HASHEM on Pharaoh and his advisors so that
there would be a big Kiddush HASHEM in the end.
12:1
And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: 2 'This month shall be unto you the
beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.
The
Bnei Yisrael will not have a calendar like the Goyim starting in January or the
annual day that the Nile rises to flood but according to the months of moon. It
will be more accurate than the solar calendar.
3
Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying: In the tenth day of this
month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers'
houses, a lamb for a household; 4 and if the household be too little
for a lamb, then shall he and his neighbor next unto his house take one
according to the number of the souls; according to every man's eating ye shall
make your count for the lamb.
Today
if the Beis HaMikdash was to exist we would eat the Korban Chaggiga first and
then the Korban Pessach on a full stomach. What we would need to eat from the
lamb would be something like the size of a meat ball. However, the original
Korban Pessach was to be a large portion. The calculation would be also for the
first Korban the women of the house and underage children. When the Temple will
be rebuilt not all women and children will participate in the Korban due to the
rules of Taharos but some would. To make thinks simple the average sheep has Y
kilograms of meat and we would have to take into consideration the participants
at the table how much each would normally and festively eat. Y = Z1 + Z2 + Z3
etc. and it might be that one or more families would have to get
together.
5
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it
from the sheep, or from the goats; 6 and ye shall keep it unto the
fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of
Israel shall kill it at dusk.
7
And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the
lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it.
This
was only for Pessach in Mitzrayim but for all other generations not so rather
the blood drips off from Korbanos and the floor drains of the Beis HaMikdash are
plugged for the sprinkling of a sample on the Mizbayach and the rest is allowed
to run off in the drains. All the sacrifices therefore occur on planks above the
normal flooring of the Temple and the first of three groups leave with their
animals after the slaughter.
8
And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened
bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
I
do not intend to describe the whole Haggada of Pessach but the initial recipe
for the night of the Seder is given.
9
Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; its head
with its legs and with the inwards thereof.
Also
how it is eaten and the roasting is specified in the Torah. In short, each
generation eats (not nowadays for we roast not on the Seder Night) the same
basic meal that our forefathers ate in Mitzrayim and the bitterness of the last
minutes of slavery and the sweet savor of freedom.
Its
head with its legs: One
should roast it completely as one, with its head and with its legs and with its
innards, and one must place its intestines inside it after they have been rinsed
(Pes. 74a). The expression עַל כְּרָעָיו וְעַל-קִרְבּוֹ is similar to the
expression “with their hosts (עַל-צִבְאֹתָם) ” (Exod. 6:26), [which is] like
בְּצִבְאֹתָם, as they are, this too means [they should roast the animal] as it
is, all its flesh complete.
10
And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remains
of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
And
whatever is left over of it until morning-: What
is the meaning of “until morning” a second time? [This implies] adding one
morning to another morning, for morning starts with sunrise, and this verse is
here to make it [the prohibition] earlier, [i.e.,] that it is forbidden to eat
it [the leftover flesh] from dawn. This is according to its apparent meaning.
Another Midrashic interpretation is that this teaches that it may not be burnt
on Yom Tov but on the next day, and this is how it is to be interpreted: and
what is left over from it on the first morning you shall wait until the second
morning and burn it. — [from Shab. 24b]
11
And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and
your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste--it is the LORD'S
Passover.
Your
loins girded: Ready
for the way [i.e., for travel]. — [from Mechilta] in
haste: Heb.
בְּחִפָּזוֹן, a term denoting haste and speed, like “and David was hastening
(נֶחְפָז) ” (I Sam. 23:26); that the Arameans had cast off in their haste
(בְּחָפְזָם) (II Kings 7:15). — [from
Onkelos]
it is
a Passover sacrifice to the Lord: Heb.
פֶּסַח. The sacrifice is called פֶּסַח because of the skipping and the jumping
over, which the Holy One, blessed be He, skipped over the Israelites’ houses
that were between the Egyptians houses. He jumped from one Egyptian to another
Egyptian, and the Israelite in between was saved. [“To the Lord” thus implies]
you shall perform all the components of its service in the name of Heaven.
(Another explanation:) [You should perform the service] in the manner of
skipping and jumping, [i.e., in haste] in commemoration of its name, which is
called Passover (פֶּסַח), and also [in old French] pasche, pasque, pasca, an
expression of striding over. — [from Mishnah Pes. 116a,b; Mechilta d’Rabbi
Shimon ben Yochai, verse 27; Mechilta on this verse]
To
be continued…
Tu
BeShevat is report card time in Israel and also the Knesset Birthday It will
take place on Lail Shabbos Kodesh 25th of Feb to their count after the meal.
Raisins, olives, pomegranates. figs, dates, wine are part of the Seder and some
do both white and red the whole ceremony drives you nuts and some even eat a
carob for the fun of it.
A
surprise for me in Schul
Usually
I go to Chabad to hear the Drasha on Friday night of Rav Barak Kokavi Shlita who
is around the age of my oldest son. He tells some Parsha Gems each week and
sometimes I bring them down here. This week I was disappointed when he did not
talk but I noticed some literature in English which is always a pleasure for me
to read. So I picked up the above article and came across this: As a fourth-generation American descendant
of Reform Jews who emigrated from Germany before the U.S. Civil War, Which
made me wonder if I was related to the author because how many Reform Jewish
families who lived in the States from before the civil war still are Jewish? I
looked at the name of the author and I realized that she was my second cousin,
Hanna, who had become a religious Jew.
What
Jews Do By Hanna B. Geshelin
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/132774/jewish/What-Jews-Do.htm
The
route of every Jew who becomes observant is unique. One of the turning points on
my journey occurred at a large Iowa university with a minuscule Jewish
population, where during my freshman year of 1963–64 I was the only
undergraduate female who identified herself as Jewish.
Among my roommates during
my first term was a junior taking a child development class on cultures. She
decided to join the committee researching the Jewish culture because she had a
ready-made resource to interview—me. As a fourth-generation American descendant
of Reform Jews who emigrated from Germany before the U.S. Civil War, I didn’t
know much about Judaism, but I did my best to answer her questions. The relief
that I felt when she finished questioning me was short-lived, however. Every
term after that, the child development professor gave my name to the committee
studying Judaism. To meet this challenge, I would have to learn something about
my heritage.
The
college library had two shelves of books on Judaism. I started at one end of the
upper shelf and began reading. They gave me basic information about Jewish
history, tradition and beliefs. With the help of the books, I managed to get
through the questions during the winter term. Then, in the spring of my freshman
year, I met Janet.
Janet was a Southern
Baptist from a small town in Iowa. Like many students at college, she came from
a family for whom church was a major focus. Her beliefs guided her behavior in
all aspects of her life.
I
was the first Jewish person she’d ever met. She told me that she had chosen to
write about the Jewish culture because she wanted to learn about the origins of
her faith. Could she come with me to synagogue?
The
town had a small Reform congregation that met Friday evenings in the parlor of
one of the churches. I agreed to take her, and as we strolled through the quiet
streets, she asked me about my religious life. “Where do you eat?” she asked
suddenly.
Mystified,
I gave the name of the dorm dining hall.
“How
do you manage?” she asked.
“What
do you mean? I just eat.”
With
an edge to her voice she said, “How can you ‘just eat’? We get ham, pork or
shellfish three or four nights a week, and most of the rest of the time there’s
meat and milk at the same meal.”
“Oh,”
I said confidently, “You mean kosher. I’m Reform, and we don’t keep
kosher.”
“You
don’t keep kosher? But from everything I've read, kosher is one of the
cornerstones of Judaism. Why don’t you keep it?”
I
shrugged. “I don’t know; we just don’t.”
Janet
stopped and turned to face me, hands on her hips. I can still picture her
standing there in the light of a street lamp, dressed the way she would for
church, in a navy suit, a small white hat and white gloves. She looked me up and
down as though I were a bug on a pin. Then she said words that still reverberate
through my mind: “If my church told me to do something, I’d do
it.”
In
the long silence that followed, I rolled the words over and over through my
mind. And I wondered, why did the Reform movement say keeping kosher wasn’t
important? I decided to find out.
The
next day I found, on one of those shelves of Jewish books, a history of the
Reform movement. Breaking bread with others, said the book, is a universal
gesture of friendship and goodwill. Keeping kosher prevents Jews and non-Jews
from breaking bread together; thus it prevents casual communion between “us” and
“them.” When Jews stop keeping kosher and eat non-kosher with their neighbors,
anti-Semitism will end and Jews will be fully accepted into mainstream
society.
I
thought of the Jewish history I’d been reading, of Moses Mendelssohn and the
Emancipation; of my mother’s family, which hadn’t kept kosher in at least four
generations; and I thought of the Holocaust, which began in Mendelssohn’s and my
great-great-grandparents’ homeland, Germany. I turned to the title page of the
book and saw that the book had originally been published in German, in Berlin,
in 1928.
Maybe
in 1928 German Jews could say that eating with non-Jews would end anti-Semitism.
But they were about to be proved disastrously wrong. Could I continue to eat in
a non-Jewish fashion, when the reasoning for permitting Jews to eat non-kosher
was based on a complete fallacy?
If
my church told me to do something, I’d do it.
Janet’s words took one end of my Yiddishe neshamah (Jewish soul), and the
book’s glaring fallacy took the other end, and they shook me until I had to sit
down, right there on the floor beside the library stacks. When I stopped
shaking, I knew that until I could find a good reason, a true reason, to not
keep kosher, I had no choice. I was a Jew, and the Jews kept kosher. It was that
simple.
My
complete transformation from a secular Jew to a Torah-observant one took many
years, and many more lessons in faith. But my first big step began that Shabbat
night, when a Christian girl challenged me to stand up and act like a
Jew.
What's
A Nice Cosmo Girl Like You Doing With An Orthodox Husband? http://www.aish.com/sp/so/48906632.html
Once
upon a time, she lived in Beverly Hills, wrote for Teen Magazine and had a
personal trainer. by
Andrea
Kahn
Seven years ago, had I encountered the woman I am today, I would have
pitied her: long sleeves and an ankle-length skirt in the middle of summer; no
driving, writing, talking on the phone or cooking from sundown Friday until
sundown Saturday; recently married to a man she'd never touched -- not so much
as a peck on the cheek -- until after the wedding. I'd have cringed and
dismissed this woman as a Repressed Religious Nut. Now my pity -- or at least a
patient smile -- is for that self-certain Southern California girl I was at
25.
I grew up in Tucson, the older of two daughters, in a typically
upper-middle-class, well-educated, liberal Jewish family. My dad is a physician,
my mother active in the local Jewish community. My religious and ethnic
identification consisted of fund-raising for Jewish causes, Israeli dancing and
Sunday brunch: bagels and lox.
As a gawky 13-year-old, I had a bat mitzvah, along with the obligatory
party at a posh country club. If God was there, I didn't notice. The most
religious person I knew was my high school English teacher, a Southern Baptist
for whom I wrote polemical essays questioning all religious beliefs. Through my
research and experience (which consisted mostly of listening to Bob Dylan and
Pink Floyd, skimming the "Marx-Engels Reader" and having deep, earnest
discussions with friends), I concluded that religion was, at best, irrelevant in
an enlightened, late 20th century world. At 16, I joined the group American
Atheists.
But, generally, I did what teenagers do. I spent the scorching Arizona
summers watching soap operas and lying by the pool at my friend Annie's house,
comparing tan lines. We crossed the border into Mexico to buy tequila, sneaked
into dance clubs with fake IDs, philosophized about life and boys, felt
immortal.
I continued my liberal pursuits in college in Philadelphia, and after
graduation, I drove my Honda with its "I'm Pro-Choice -- And I Vote!" bumper
sticker to California. I took advantage of all Los Angeles had to offer: I ate
sushi and gelati, played beach volleyball, studied Kabbalah, and once went to a
"Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" chanting session, where a skinny woman with bleached blond
hair swore that the incantation had secured her her latest role, as Victim in a
new slasher film.
At
the time, I was living in a Beverly Hills basement with a gay friend, working
for the National Organization for Women, helping organize pro-choice rallies. I
also did stints as aerobics instructor, waitress, cashier, SAT tutor. Finally, I
entered USC as a graduate student in journalism. In the next few years I wrote
for the Los Angeles Times about miniskirts, paisley and the plight of L.A.'s
lovelorn. Then I worked for Teen magazine, penning endless variations of "how to
get/dump your guy" stories and answering hapless teenage girls'
letters in teen's "Dear Juli" column. While I loved my spacious
office with its view of the city, I also found the job mind-numbing and
depressing. How many ways, I wondered, could I teach a girl to
flirt?
MAKING IT
I moved to a "Beverly Hills-adjacent" apartment, complete with
ceiling fans and high arches. There I was -- 25 years, finally having achieved
what should "do it": a promising career, friends, things. Yet I felt as though
something was profoundly lacking -- as if I were a Ferrari engine stuffed into a
VW Bug.
Though I was at times excited, even ecstatic, I rarely remember
being content or truly joyful. Though I believed in spirituality, religion was
the "opiate of the masses," a crutch for emotional and intellectual weaklings
and conservative Republicans. I favored Tarot card and palm readers and a
particular psychic who told me I was Napoleon in a past
life.
Then one night, a friend and I dropped in on an Orthodox Jewish
gathering near my apartment -- not so much to find enlightenment as to meet
guys. I don't recall what, exactly, but something the rabbi said resonated. I
decided to take a class. I certainly had no intention of becoming -- ick! --
religious. I just wanted to learn more about Judaism's philosophy and mysticism.
As for those archaic laws? How dare anyone tell me I'm restricted from certain
activities because I'm a woman or that I have to dress a certain way to protect
my dignity.
I'm a passionate person. During the past seven years, however,
I've decided that it may be easier to be passionate about the wrong things than
the right ones. I thought I was open-minded, thoughtful, yet I really just
believed what every other liberal, educated, cultured person I knew believed. I
was tolerant of everything except "intolerance." My only absolute was that there
are no absolutes.
Yet, as much as I fought and rebelled, I was drawn to the
Orthodox world. I recognized something profound there -- the values, the
consciousness, the sensitivity to others. I examined my worldview and myself in
a different way. I began to see that in a society in which individuality,
self-determination and freedom of choice are the highest values, I had, in fact,
been limited by pressures I didn't even recognize. I had been conforming to
what's considered "normal," its definition changing every few years. Now, for
the first time, I understood what I had always felt, that I had an essence, a
soul. I glimpsed a higher meaning to life and the infinitely deep layers of
existence leading to the Ultimate Existence: insight into which a 25-year-old --
even one with a personal trainer and her own advice column -- might not be
privy.
To the shock of my family, which was half-sure I'd been sucked in
by a cult, I quit my job, sublet my beautiful apartment and traveled to Israel
to continue my studies. The Torah and its volumes of commentary address every
aspect of the human condition. It proscribes, prescribes and describes in
amazing depth and detail. And it infuses people with the bigness of character
and soul I had always admired but rarely
experienced.
THE "FEMALE" QUESTION
I spent many months grappling with the "female" question. So much
of what I saw in the religious way of life seemed at odds with what I thought I
knew. But at one point I had to ask myself: What have I been told by my
schooling and my society, and what do I really see in the world? What is my
experience? My answer: Men and women are significantly, dramatically different,
emotionally and physically (and now, I realize, spiritually). Judaism addresses
these differences. I looked -- really looked -- at the religious women around
me. I had never met stronger, more emotionally and spiritually refined, capable,
loving, non-neurotic women. Or more sensitive, respectful, devoted men. Or more
happy, physically intact, cared-for children. I wanted
that.
Everywhere, I see people driven by external achievement; I see
the pain, the struggles, the Prozac nation. Becoming observant does not make a
weak person strong. It is not a quick fix for a lifetime of emotional damage.
But the Torah's guidelines provide the boundaries and tools for inner healing
and transformation. Now, being "religious" frames everything I do, say and
strive for. I knew that the man I would marry and I must share the same
priorities and values.
My husband and I met in New York, through a mutual teacher who
knew us well. I'd spent plenty of time engaged in the rites of Los Angeles-style
dating. This was a whole different ritual. In venturing into this
Shidduch -- which, loosely translated, means "date" -- we had agreed to
an express purpose. We were to decide if we were a match -- and with far less
dillydallying than in most modern
courtships.
Aaron and I spent hours together eating Chinese food, playing
miniature golf and pinball, ice-skating, boating in Central Park. I came to
respect his integrity, his strength and his constant striving to do and be
better. (And he's cute!) Four months after we met, we began a 10-week
engagement. (My mother, who had spent a year planning my sister's nuptials, was
aghast.) We never touched, but got to know each other, unclouded by the bond of
physical intimacy, which so often super-glues the wrong people
together.
NEW LIFE GOAL
People look at Orthodox women as repressed. But I often think
about a truer definition of repression. When I see women in skimpy clothing,
intimately involved with men they barely know, I think: "Wake up, girlfriend!
You think men are seeing your soul? Thinking about your needs? About who you
are? Your body has become your self." The real feminine mystique consists of a
woman's private side, the richness of her inner
world.
I had been living the Cosmo fantasy. Now I feel as if I've
awakened from a long, sweaty dream. Once I aspired to make it as a writer, and
perhaps get married and have a kid or two along the way. Today, although I still
work as a freelance writer, it is not my identity. I live in a religious
community outside Manhattan, full of the type of people I used to look at with
pity, even contempt. My goal is to become like these women: sensitive, strong,
fantastic wives and mothers -- not, as I once thought, because they had been
subjugated for centuries and didn't know better or because they were lacking
self-esteem, but because they recognize that the most important thing a person
can do is to develop character by giving, building and supporting
another.
A Jewish wedding revolves around making the bride and groom
happy. After the ceremony, but before the dancing -- what exuberant, unabashed
dancing! -- Aaron and I went to a separate room to spend a few private moments.
There, he held my hand for the first time. That small gesture had a richness and
intimacy I could never have imagined.
"This
article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, June 11,
2000."
An
unsung story of a soldier – Roy Anthony Meyers Lt
USMC he was partially Jewish and was in contact with a local Rabbi. I
never asked the fellow on which side. He was a Marine Helicopter gunner during
the days of Viet Nam. His Helicopter like many others was shot down. He landed
probably in the Mekong River in Cambodia and swallowed fuel and water but
fortunately was saved this left him with one functioning lung a bad heart also
his kidneys suffered from Agent Orange. He took an officers course and completed
it but had to give up the Marines to take care of his dying father. During his
life he made mistakes in his marriages and married the wrong women who could not
deal with a man who had pangs of conscience at shooting at anything that moved
from the air as he did not know if he had hit civilians. His third wife cheated
on him but refused to divorce him for financial reasons. He had a service dog
named bowser, who was aging and I began looking how he could get a replacement.
I saw the not so old soldier on Skype with his oxygen mask trying to talk to me
and set up a more private site than Facebook which uses pictures and information
of others. He lost two fine Marine boys of his children one in Iraq and one in
Afghanistan. He fell pray to his own brothers using his ID and some posers as
ex-Marines. He had a home because he worked hard and fortunately was not a
homeless Viet Nam Vet like many. Above all he always worried about his honor and
at all costs doing the right thing. When I mentioned the word wounded war hero
he did not want to hear the word hero for he know too many dead heroes. He was
just another soldier with pangs of conscience that perhaps he had killed
civilians when he shot towards targets in the jungles there. He had been on the
heart-lung transplant list for a few months but at the age of 56 the soldier
faded away in his sleep. He passed away in a small town near Duluth MN may his
memory at that of many forgotten soldiers be blessed. I was told that the
mirrors in the house were covered for sitting Shiva so he may have been more
than just a brother in arms.
Problems
in intermarriage land: Two of my friends in CA have daughters married to
non-Jews. One of the girls is married to a man on drugs and the other an
alcoholic. I am not saying that Jews are all like a Techeles Tallis and most of
us including myself have our flaws but usually Jews don’t fall prey to the abuse
of substance. In both cases the girls have not woken up and see the light and
someday I hope that they will.
Harry sent me a longer poem but I thought that I would use
this little part here: After you enter the Land, are
three things to do, must rebuild Temple, destroy Amalek, and appoint Judges over
you
Rain is a blessing: http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/01/10/heavy-rains-destroy-dozens-of-smuggling-tunnels-along-egypt-gaza-border/
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef suffers a minor stroke:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4331436,00.html
Looking for you Jewish Roots even Superman has them:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/01/03/revealed-supermans-real-life-identity-plus-do-you-know-about-the-superheros-jewish-roots/
Religious women whose daughter was spat on by fanatics complains
about the left attacking religious Jews via her daughter:
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=299371
This is not new to me and Yad LeAchim is battling the nonsense
floating around: http://www.yadlachimusa.org.il/?CategoryID=192&ArticleID=843
A
vote for B. Netanyahu is a vote for the left: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164121#.UPJhWXfxlGo
FL Jewish inmates to get kosher food: http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/2104716/jewish/Jewish-Inmates-in-Florida-to-Receive-Kosher-Food.htm
Obama gets his vengeance on Netanyahu he criticizes him as
namby-pamby before the elections. Perhaps not those words for they are mine but
he is a man so cautious and afraid to make real leadership decisions.
Israel is beginning to imitate the USA: http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=299510
Exploiting an issue for public gain: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4333148,00.html
Inyanay Diyoma
Noxious Nominations: The Four Horsemen of the American Foreign Policy Apocalypse By Barry Rubin http://rubinreports.blogspot.co.il/2013/01/noxious-nominations-four-horsemen-of.html
I
did a lot of soul-searching before writing my latest article, “After the Fall: What Do You Do When You Conclude America is
(Temporarily or Permanently) Kaput?” Of
course, I believed every word of it and have done so for a while. But would it
depress readers too much? Would it just be too grim?
Maybe U.S. policy will just muddle through the next four years and beyond without any disasters. Perhaps the world will be spared big crises. Possibly the fact that there isn't some single big superpower enemy seeking world domination will keep things contained.
Perhaps that is true. Yet within hours after its publication I concluded that I hadn't been too pessimistic. The cause of that reaction is the breaking story that not only will Senator John Kerry be the new secretary of state; that not only will the equally reprehensible former Senator Chuck Hagel be secretary of defense, but that John Brennan, the president’s counterterrorism advisor, will become CIA chief.
Maybe U.S. policy will just muddle through the next four years and beyond without any disasters. Perhaps the world will be spared big crises. Possibly the fact that there isn't some single big superpower enemy seeking world domination will keep things contained.
Perhaps that is true. Yet within hours after its publication I concluded that I hadn't been too pessimistic. The cause of that reaction is the breaking story that not only will Senator John Kerry be the new secretary of state; that not only will the equally reprehensible former Senator Chuck Hagel be secretary of defense, but that John Brennan, the president’s counterterrorism advisor, will become CIA chief.
About
two years ago I joked that if Kerry would become secretary of state it was time
to think about heading for that fallout shelter in New Zealand. This trio in
power—which along with Obama himself could be called the four horseman of the
Apocalypse for U.S. foreign policy—might require an inter-stellar
journey.
Let me stress that this is not really about Israel. At the end of Obama's second term, U.S.-Israel relations will probably be roughly where they are now. Palestinian strategy--both by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas--has left the United States no diplomatic or "peace process" option on that front. The problem is one of U.S. interests, especially the American position in the Middle East but also in other parts of the world.
Let me stress that this is not really about Israel. At the end of Obama's second term, U.S.-Israel relations will probably be roughly where they are now. Palestinian strategy--both by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas--has left the United States no diplomatic or "peace process" option on that front. The problem is one of U.S. interests, especially the American position in the Middle East but also in other parts of the world.
You
can read elsewhere details about these three guys. Here I will merely summarize
the two basic problems:
--Their
ideas and views are horrible. This is especially so on Middle Eastern issues but
how good are they on anything else? True, they are all hostile to Israel but
this isn’t the first time people who think that way held high office. Far worse
is that they are pro-Islamist as well as being dim-witted about U.S. interests
in a way no foreign policy team has been in the century since America walked
onto the world stage.
Brennan is no less than the father of the pro-Islamist policy. What Obama is saying is this: My policy of backing Islamists has worked so well, including in Egypt, that we need to do even more! All those analogies to 1930s’ appeasement are an understatement. Nobody in the British leadership said, “I have a great idea. Let’s help fascist regimes take power and then they’ll be our friends and become more moderate! That’s the equivalent of what Brennan does.
Brennan is no less than the father of the pro-Islamist policy. What Obama is saying is this: My policy of backing Islamists has worked so well, including in Egypt, that we need to do even more! All those analogies to 1930s’ appeasement are an understatement. Nobody in the British leadership said, “I have a great idea. Let’s help fascist regimes take power and then they’ll be our friends and become more moderate! That’s the equivalent of what Brennan does.
--They are all
stupid people. Some friends said I shouldn’t write this because it is a
subjective judgment and sounds mean-spirited. But honest, it’s true. Nobody
would ever say that their predecessors—Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, and David
Petraeus—were not intelligent and accomplished. But these guys are simply not in
that category. Smart people can make bad judgments; regular people with common
sense often make bad judgments less often. But stupid, arrogant people with
terrible ideas are a disaster.
Translated
from Makor Rishon
In his column last week, Hagai Segal wondered why the forced Evacuation/Compensation law for Jews was considered to be legitimate in Israel, but when this author proposes the application of the same principle – on a volunteer basis – for the Arabs, it is derided as unrealistic.
The reason for this seems clear: Money. There are many more Arabs in Judea and Samaria than Jews. Israel simply does not have the economic ability to create an "emigration package" for the Arabs of Yesha - Certainly not to the tune of half a million dollars per family. (By the way, I never proposed giving the Arabs half a million dollars to emigrate. What I did say was that instead of the money Israel spends per decade as a result of the Oslo Accords, we could invest half a million dollars per Arab family interested in emigration. Israel could invest in an emigration package that includes purchase of property, assistance with finding work abroad and also cash. We could offer less than half a million dollars and invest the rest of the money that we are pouring into the Oslo Accords into improving the quality of life for the elderly, for example).
For the sake of argument, we will stay with the proposal to pay half a million dollars to encourage the emigration of most of the Arab families in Yesha. Polls show that these Arabs are definitely interested in this option. We will not consider factors that are difficult to calculate, such as the expected decrease in the price of land and housing inside the Green Line after the application of this plan. These factors strengthen our premise, but are difficult to calculate.
Another small introduction: Our calculations will not use the true demographic data determined by Yoram Ettinger and his expert Israel-American team. Instead, we will use the inflated data provided by the Arabs of Yesha.
In his column last week, Hagai Segal wondered why the forced Evacuation/Compensation law for Jews was considered to be legitimate in Israel, but when this author proposes the application of the same principle – on a volunteer basis – for the Arabs, it is derided as unrealistic.
The reason for this seems clear: Money. There are many more Arabs in Judea and Samaria than Jews. Israel simply does not have the economic ability to create an "emigration package" for the Arabs of Yesha - Certainly not to the tune of half a million dollars per family. (By the way, I never proposed giving the Arabs half a million dollars to emigrate. What I did say was that instead of the money Israel spends per decade as a result of the Oslo Accords, we could invest half a million dollars per Arab family interested in emigration. Israel could invest in an emigration package that includes purchase of property, assistance with finding work abroad and also cash. We could offer less than half a million dollars and invest the rest of the money that we are pouring into the Oslo Accords into improving the quality of life for the elderly, for example).
For the sake of argument, we will stay with the proposal to pay half a million dollars to encourage the emigration of most of the Arab families in Yesha. Polls show that these Arabs are definitely interested in this option. We will not consider factors that are difficult to calculate, such as the expected decrease in the price of land and housing inside the Green Line after the application of this plan. These factors strengthen our premise, but are difficult to calculate.
Another small introduction: Our calculations will not use the true demographic data determined by Yoram Ettinger and his expert Israel-American team. Instead, we will use the inflated data provided by the Arabs of Yesha.
Being
that I made the first calculations a number of years ago, and in addition, I am
a concerned party, I asked my friend, Uri Noi – a meticulous, high-tech
professional whose expertise is exact calculation, to examine this subject in
depth. Uri enthusiastically researched this proposal and as he said, "At no
stage of the preparation of this document did I peek at the results as they were
forming. In other words, this document was written and examined thoroughly and
impartially.
A week later, Uri presented the results of his research in a 12 page document. You can read the Hebrew version here. The following is a quote from his conclusion:
Cost to Israel of the Oslo Accords:
1. Money transfers to the Palestinian Authority: 86 billion NIS (since Oslo- M.F.) and an additional 4.53 billion NIS annually.
2. General Security Service: 2.85 NIS and an additional 1.5 billion NIS annually.
3. Border Police in Judea and Samaria: 13 billion NIS and an additional 0.7 billion NIS annually.
4. IDF in Judea and Samaria: 57 billion NIS and an additional 3 billion annually.
5. Security guards everywhere: 68 billion NIS and an additional 3.57 billion annually.
6. Bypass roads: 20 billion NIS and an additional 1 billion annually.
7. Separation Wall: 4.7 billion NIS, one time expense.
8. Murder victims: 3.5 billion NIS in loss of productivity.
A week later, Uri presented the results of his research in a 12 page document. You can read the Hebrew version here. The following is a quote from his conclusion:
Cost to Israel of the Oslo Accords:
1. Money transfers to the Palestinian Authority: 86 billion NIS (since Oslo- M.F.) and an additional 4.53 billion NIS annually.
2. General Security Service: 2.85 NIS and an additional 1.5 billion NIS annually.
3. Border Police in Judea and Samaria: 13 billion NIS and an additional 0.7 billion NIS annually.
4. IDF in Judea and Samaria: 57 billion NIS and an additional 3 billion annually.
5. Security guards everywhere: 68 billion NIS and an additional 3.57 billion annually.
6. Bypass roads: 20 billion NIS and an additional 1 billion annually.
7. Separation Wall: 4.7 billion NIS, one time expense.
8. Murder victims: 3.5 billion NIS in loss of productivity.
9:
Defensive Shield Operation: 14 billion NIS, one time expense.
10. Loss of revenue from tourism: 129 billion NIS and an additional 1 billion annually.
11. Decrease in price of land for housing. Zero in the meantime.
In all, the Oslo Accords cost the Israeli public 423 billion NIS for Judea and Samaria alone. In addition, they continue to cost the tax payers 15.3 billion NIS annually, with no end in sight.
The 423 billion that we have already paid is one and one half times more then the 284 billion NIS that Feiglin proposes.
Simply put, when people ask when Feiglin will be right, the answer is that the scenario that he outlined is already here.
Since the Oslo Accords were signed, instead of spending $500,000 on every Arab family that could be convinced to emigrate, we have spent $750,000. This sum is constantly increasing. It is a shame that we didn't listen to Feiglin earlier. He made this proposal years ago, and this week he simply repeated it."
If so, we remain with a question: Why is forced Evacuation/Compensation for Jews considered reasonable, while voluntary Evacuation/Compensation for Arabs is considered unrealistic?
This is where we touch upon the real price that we have paid for the Oslo Accords: An entire generation has come of age after Oslo and the recognition of the Arab claim to the Land of Israel – young people approximately 35 and under. These Israelis have grown up believing that the "salt of the earth" is the Arab, while the Jew is living here on borrowed time. An entire generation has grown up thinking it is a guest in its own land and that it has to pay and constantly bribe the "true sons" in order to justify its continued presence here.
10. Loss of revenue from tourism: 129 billion NIS and an additional 1 billion annually.
11. Decrease in price of land for housing. Zero in the meantime.
In all, the Oslo Accords cost the Israeli public 423 billion NIS for Judea and Samaria alone. In addition, they continue to cost the tax payers 15.3 billion NIS annually, with no end in sight.
The 423 billion that we have already paid is one and one half times more then the 284 billion NIS that Feiglin proposes.
Simply put, when people ask when Feiglin will be right, the answer is that the scenario that he outlined is already here.
Since the Oslo Accords were signed, instead of spending $500,000 on every Arab family that could be convinced to emigrate, we have spent $750,000. This sum is constantly increasing. It is a shame that we didn't listen to Feiglin earlier. He made this proposal years ago, and this week he simply repeated it."
If so, we remain with a question: Why is forced Evacuation/Compensation for Jews considered reasonable, while voluntary Evacuation/Compensation for Arabs is considered unrealistic?
This is where we touch upon the real price that we have paid for the Oslo Accords: An entire generation has come of age after Oslo and the recognition of the Arab claim to the Land of Israel – young people approximately 35 and under. These Israelis have grown up believing that the "salt of the earth" is the Arab, while the Jew is living here on borrowed time. An entire generation has grown up thinking it is a guest in its own land and that it has to pay and constantly bribe the "true sons" in order to justify its continued presence here.
All
the solutions that spring up here on a daily basis surrender our essential claim
to the Land of Israel as a land sanctified to Jews alone. "We have returned to
our holiest of places, never to leave them again," said Moshe Dayan. The
marriage vow, "You are sanctified to me," means to me, and no one else. There is
no such thing as "you are sanctified to me - and also to the neighbor." There
cannot be two states – two husbands – for one land.
The only relevant political party that has an explicit clause in its charter on sovereignty over all the Land of Israel in our hands is the Likud. This clause was written before Oslo. After Oslo and official Israel's ensuing estrangement toward the sanctity of the Land and its settlers, this clause could never have been written – not even in the Jewish Home party.
This is why the proposal to encourage emigration is considered unrealistic today. Not because it is not practical: it is the only practical plan. Not because there is no money to apply it: it saves money. Not because it is unethical: there is no plan more ethical. Not because the Arabs are not interested: they are very interested. Not because they have nowhere to go: they have a wide array of possible destinations.
It is considered unrealistic simply because we have stopped believing that this is our Land.
This is the real greatness of this plan. It is not the calculations and not the question if it will cost us half a million shekels or 300,000. It is the principle that dictates that when the movie ends, those who will be here will be the Jews. The greatness of this plan is that it gives the Oslo generation of "visitors" the political tools to once again develop their sense of belonging to their land.
The only relevant political party that has an explicit clause in its charter on sovereignty over all the Land of Israel in our hands is the Likud. This clause was written before Oslo. After Oslo and official Israel's ensuing estrangement toward the sanctity of the Land and its settlers, this clause could never have been written – not even in the Jewish Home party.
This is why the proposal to encourage emigration is considered unrealistic today. Not because it is not practical: it is the only practical plan. Not because there is no money to apply it: it saves money. Not because it is unethical: there is no plan more ethical. Not because the Arabs are not interested: they are very interested. Not because they have nowhere to go: they have a wide array of possible destinations.
It is considered unrealistic simply because we have stopped believing that this is our Land.
This is the real greatness of this plan. It is not the calculations and not the question if it will cost us half a million shekels or 300,000. It is the principle that dictates that when the movie ends, those who will be here will be the Jews. The greatness of this plan is that it gives the Oslo generation of "visitors" the political tools to once again develop their sense of belonging to their land.
Al Qaeda has victories in Africa while Obama sleeps:
http://www.debka.com/article/22681/French-operations-in-Mali-Somalia-face-losses-Al-Qaeda-threat-to-hostages
Netanyahu froze the building so the PLO takes over:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4331460,00.html
Finally telling what the real PLO is: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164106#.UPG183fxlGo
Arabs mob Charedi Jews. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164113#.UPJfX3fxlGo
Mali conflict spreads to Algeria: http://www.debka.com/article/22687/Al-Qaeda-threatens-to-blow-up-Algerian-gas-field-with-hostages-
Iran ready for ballistic missiles over the whole world:
http://www.debka.com/article/22686/Iran-sends-monkeys-into-space-–-so-can-place-nukes-anywhere-on-earth
More on the Algerian hostage situation: http://www.debka.com/article/22687/Standoff-on-Day-2-of-Algerian-Al-Qaeda-hostage-crisis
Iran is a difficult nut to crack: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4333629,00.html
Schul in Talmon attacked and ransacked today: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164310#.UPgVN2fxnbo
I think the IDF would have done a more surgical job and more
hostages saved: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4333911,00.html
What a botch-up: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4334114,00.html
Israel comes first - Op-ed: Better to have a somewhat displeased American president than a terror-ridden country http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4333492,00.html
Hezballah behind last summer’s bombing in Bulgaria:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164323#.UPkg0Gfxnbo
Now
for M. Wolfberg’s Good Shabbos Story
“Time to pray”
From here we can see the power of prayer. Rabbi Abraham Yehoshua Heschel, the Rebbe of Kopischnitz (1888-1967) was a lover of his people. In post-WWII America, he carried the pain and suffering of countless individuals on his weak and frail shoulders. Indeed, often when he heard the problems of others he would break down in uncontrollable weeping. The grief of his fellow Jews tormented him much more than his own afflictions, and countless times the Rebbe put his name and honor at risk in an attempt to help others.
Once a broken survivor of the Nazi inferno showed up at the Rebbe's door. He had just arrived from Europe and was hoping to settle in America. His wife, however, had been refused entry due to her ill health and was on Ellis Island awaiting imminent deportation. The man was inconsolable and indicated that if his wife was indeed deported, he wouldn't think twice about taking his own life. "Don't worry, please don't worry," implored the Rebbe. "I promise you that by next week your wife will be here together with you!"
Upon hearing the Rebbe's words an immediate feeling of calm overtook the distressed man, and greatly relieved, he went away a new person. Rabbi Morgenshtern, one of the Rebbe's disciples who had witnessed the scene, gathered up his courage and asked the Rebbe how it was possible for him to make an outrageous guarantee like that with such ease. It was no less than promising a miracle!
"You saw how desperate the poor man was," the Rebbe replied. "My first concern was to calm him down and thank G-d, I succeeded. At least for the next week he will feel better. If after a week he sees that I was wrong and his wife was deported, he will say, 'Avrohom Yehoshua is not a real Rebbe, Avrohom Yehoshua is a liar.' But at least for a week I succeeded in bringing some peace into his life."
With that the Rebbe took his Tehillim (book of Psalms) and began to recite its verses with intense emotion. As the tears were streaming down his face he could be heard pleading, "Please, G-d, please, see to it that Avrohom Yehoshua didn't say a lie. I was only trying to help a Jew in a pathetic situation. Please don't let me be a liar..." In this fashion his prayers continued long into the night. The Almighty heard his prayers. The woman was granted permission to stay in America, and was reunited with her husband and they lived "happily ever after." The Rebbe's prayers were answered! Good Shabbos Everyone.
M. Wolfberg is sponsored by: Sponspored by Ezra Solomon on behalf of the Solomon and Freidman families l’zecher nishmas their father and grandfather R’ Moshe Ben R’ Tzvi ZT"L whose yarzeit falls out on this Shabbos In memory of R' Yaakov ben Naftoly, of blessed memory, In Memory of Reb Yitzchok ben Reb Shimon (Friedman) of blessed memory, In Memory of Tziporah Yita bas Mordechai Mendel Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Menachem Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta Refuah Shleima to Tsviah bas Bracha Leah
Good Shabbos and have a wonderful peaceful
and joyous one,
Rachamim
Pauli
