We open
Sefer Vayikra with the list of people whom we are praying for:
Prayers for Men: Eliezer David HaCohain ben
Naomi, Avraham HaCohain ben Yocheved, Asher ben Esther Malka, Avraham ben
Devorah, Zvi Yechezkel ben Leah, Yehuda ben Gittel Perel, Baruch Michael ben
Petal Yenta, Shalom Charles ben Gracia, Yoel ben Esther, Zev ben Rachel,
Yehonatan ben Malka, Zvi ben Chava, Shlomo Chaim ben Basya Raizal, David Zvi
ben Sarah Leah, Yosef ben Shifra, Daniel ben Rivka, Nehemiah Arieh Liab Peretz
ben Esther Rachel, Chaim Yechiel ben Malka, Shmuel Yerucham ben Bella, Aytan
ben Sarah
Women: Karen Neshama bas Esther Ruth, Chaya
Melecha Rachel bas Baila Alta, Rachel bas Chana, Hodaya Nirit bas Mazel, Rivka
bas Idit, Kayla Rus bas Chaya Rachel, Tsvia Simcha bas Devorah Yachad, Miriam
bas Irene Taita Malka, Henshi bas Nashe, Basya bas Chaya Miriam. Ayala bas Ruth
[She has woken up but will need burn operations for months]
The following people are recovering from long
term non-threatening injuries and need Psalms. Binum Benyamin Tuvia ben Chana
Friedel,
Parsha Vayikra
The time line that we are dealing with in Chumash Shemos from
Yetzias Mitzrayim (the Exodus) until the first few Parshiyos in Bamidbar is the
time period of about a year and a month plus. After Kerias Yam Sof (the
splitting of the sea) until the Assera Debros on Har Sinai is six days. We see
Moshe judging the people so they must have had some traditions and oral laws
and of course the men and neighbors in the tribes were hard working slaves and
not much interaction with the family. Suddenly family feuds and neighborly
disputes occurred.
Yisrael receives the initial laws of damages and disputes on
Sinai. Perhaps at this time besides adultery other forbidden marriages and
relationships which the Egyptians were famous for. Yisrael is instructed on the
building of the Mishkan and the garments of the Cohain. Last week we read how
the Mishkan was finally made and who participated in its construction.
Up unto our current Parsha, we have only to offer up a Korban
Pessach, Tamid, Shabbos and not going empty handed before the L-RD during the
three Regelim. I assume from the days of Kayn and Hevel there were some forms
of thanksgiving sacrifices as mentioned early on in Beresheis. However, a
specific list of Korbanos begin in our Parsha and continue throughout the
Sefer. Not specified until Sefer Bamidbar is the setting up of the first army
and the encampment and marching orders of the tribes this is all in the
background during the course of the first through second year. A nation is born
during this time.
The Mishkan has not yet been assembled and we will see it on
Parshas Shemini which falls in Eretz Yisrael Motzei Pessach which is a Shabbos
and in Chutz LaAretz a week after Pessach this year. They will remain behind us
until they get a double Parsha at the end of Sefer Vayikra. But still our time
line does not end in Vayikra as the dedication of the Shevatim (tribes) and the
gifts of the princes continue through Parsha Naso and the duties of the Leviim
continue to Parsha Behaalosecha where the continuation starts in Parsha Shelach
Lecha. The next 38 years are compacted into Parshiyos Korach and Chukas as
Parsha Balak occurs in the last year of the travels in the Midbar and is on the
other side of the Yarden.
1:1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spoke
unto him out of the tent of meeting, saying: 2 Speak unto the
children of Israel, and say unto them: When any man of you bring an offering
unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd or
of the flock. 3 If his offering be a burnt-offering of the herd,
he shall offer it a male without blemish; he shall bring it to the door of the
tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. 4 And
he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be
accepted for him to make atonement for him.
Vayikra is called Toras Cohanim
because of the sacrifices and functions as well as in Parsha Emor their
holiness. We start off with the Korban Olah the burnt offering. Korban Chatas
or sin offering which is given for the crimes of Kares accidental violation of
Shabbos, Niddah, adultery or incest as people did not sleep well dressed in
those times and families were piled into close quarters with no lighting so
mistakes could happen although I assume that the pious were very careful and
had some guards in place or sign language with their hands so that adultery or
incest would not happen. Shalomim or peace offering, Korban Mincha or flour
offering, Korban Tamid or daily offering. We continue with the Korban for
Congregation.
Next week I may expand on the
offerings listed above.
We take out three Sifrei Torah
this week – the Parsha, Rosh Chodesh Nissan and Parsha HaChodesh!
Parsha HaChodesh
Question
which I asked Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky Shlita when Rosh Chodesh started before the
Solar Eclipse which was at sundown the year my oldest grandson was born. This
time Rosh Chodesh was early but I am uncertain that the moon will be visible
tonight due to its proximity to the sun. With our fixed calendar we take the
average Molad for the months and Adar or Adar II in a leap year is no more than
29 days. When the Moshiach comes we will return to astronomical observance
except for Rosh Hashanah because Yom Kippur cannot be before or after Shabbos.
This week
we read Shemos 12:1-20 and it is where HASHEM tells Moshe that Rosh Chodesh
Nissan starts the months of the year. Moshe is shown the crescent moon and is
told by HASHEM this is what you shall see when you declare the new moon.
Marked for Eternity a story that
first appeared in 5772 from Aish HaTorah forwarded to me by Chaim B.
A true
"Jewish" story from the Titanic's ill-fated voyage.
In 1910, Mr. Sam Aks of Turek, Poland, immigrated to England where he married the former Leah Rosen. They lived in London for a while after their wedding, and they decided to move to America where there were better business opportunities. They settled on moving to Norfolk, Virginia.
By this time Leah was expecting their first child and her parents felt strongly that in her condition she should not make such an arduous trip across the ocean. They felt it would be too exhausting for her and dangerous for the unborn child. It was decided that Sam would travel alone, set up a home in Norfolk and a few months after the child was born, Leah would come with the infant.
The newspapers and media at the time were ablaze with the news of the opulent, gigantic ocean liner, the Titanic, that was to make its historic maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, in April of 1912. The White Star Line, the Flagship Company of the Titanic, confidently claimed that their luxury liner was safe, sturdy and even majestic.
On April 10, Mrs. Leah Aks and her baby, with 912 other passengers, boarded the ship in Southampton, England, accompanied by hoopla, fanfare and ceremony. Leah and her infant were in steerage, the third class cabin, with many other immigrants to America. The high society wealthy people were in the luxurious first class cabins. More passengers boarded at other ports before the Titanic crossed the ocean.
Four days later, shortly before midnight on April 14, as the ship was 95 miles south of the Grand Banks in Newfoundland, it sideswiped and crashed into an iceberg that towered a hundred feet over the deck...
Twenty minutes later, after consulting with the ship’s designer, Thomas Andrews, Captain Edward Smith realized that the ship would sink within two hours. Everyone on board would lose their lives unless they could get on lifeboats and be rescued by passing ships.
Thrown Overboard
Incredibly, there were not enough spaces in the lifeboats for everyone. Though there were 2200 passengers and crew on board, there was room for only 1178 on the lifeboats. More than a thousand people would surely die! One is astounded at the negligence of not being prepared for disaster. As the boat began tilting there was panic and pandemonium. The captain and crew ordered that women and children would be saved first.
In the third class cabin, women were ordered to the front and men to the rear. Leah Aks held her son Frank Philip (Ephraim Fishel), in her arms and tried to get out onto the deck, but the gate in front of the cabin jammed and no one could get out. She stood pressed against the gate, screaming for help. A sailor saw her with her baby in her arms and he reached over the gate and lifted her and the child out, so that she could run to the deck where women and children were being put into lifeboats. (Most of the people in the third class cabin could not get out and 75% of them drowned. The first class cabin fared better, as only 40% died).
Leah ran up to the deck with her child and waited by the railing, trying to get on line to be rescued. It was frighteningly cold. People were shoving and pushing frantically trying to get onto lifeboats. Meanwhile down below, water poured thunderously through the gaping holes, flooding the bottom of the ship.
As Leah stood on the deck, one if the wealthiest women on board, Lady Madeleine Astor, saw her and the baby huddled against the cold. Lady Astor, who was expecting a child, removed her beautiful eight-foot shawl and gave it to Leah saying, “Here wrap your baby, it’s so cold out here.” Her teeth chattering, Leah thanked her profusely.
During this time, a man had pushed onto a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the water. When cabin stewards saw him, they forced him out of the boat and pulled him back on deck, yelling that women and children were being rescued first. Somehow this man managed to get onto another lifeboat and once again the stewards saw him and forced him off the lifeboat, fighting with him, as they insisted that women and children were being given priority.
Back on the deck, the man saw Leah standing there with her baby now wrapped in the shawl. He was enraged. His eyes were wild as he stalked back and forth consumed by anger and frustration. In a demented moment of madness he ran towards Leah and screamed, “You think women are first! You think children are first! I’ll show you,” and he grabbed the infant from Leah’s arms and threw him overboard!
Leah shrieked in horror and cried out for her child. Men on board lunged at this maniac but the deed had been done. People were yelling and screaming "• but now it was Leah’s turn to get on a lifeboat. “I won’t go without my baby,” she cried. But the officers told her she had to save her own life. There was no point in staying on the sinking ship. The women around her tried to console her, but Leah cried hysterically as she was placed on the lifeboat and lowered into the water.
The lifeboats drifted for three hours until the Cunard liner, the Carpathia, came and rescued those who were fortunate enough to get off the Titanic. Only 705 were saved, 1523 people died.
Solomonic Decision
Two days later, the grief-stricken Leah Aks was walking on the deck of the Carpathia when she saw a woman holding a child. The child lunged towards Leah. She recognized him. Leah screamed, “That’s my baby! That’s my child!”
The woman holding the child, Mrs. Elizabeth Ramell Nye, was dressed in a long black dress. “No it’s not,” she insisted. “This child was entrusted to me!” (Others contend the woman was possibly Aryene del Carlo from Italy.)
A wild argument ensued and Mrs. Nye claimed that while she was in the lifeboat, a child came flying into her waiting arms. To her that was a sign from Heaven that she had to care for the child the rest of her life.
People took sides in the argument. Soon the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur H. Rostron, was called to decide the issue. Leah was crying hysterically while Mrs. Nye was insisting her position. She would not be denied this child.
When Captain Rostron arrived and heard the points of the argument, he told both women to come with the child to his quarters where he could reflect and decide the matter.
In the captain’s quarters, Leah suddenly called out, “I can prove this is my child.” The 18-year-old Leah spoke firmly and with certainty, “I am Jewish and my son was circumcised!” In Europe at that time, only Jewish children were circumcised.
When Captain Rostron saw that indeed the child had had a bris, ten-month-old Ephraim Fishel was reunited with his mother. Eventually the Carpathia brought all the survivors to New York.
Frank Philip Aks was raised in his rightful Jewish home. Eventually he married and had children and grandchildren. Frank passed away in 1991 at the age of 80. His wife, Marie, recently told me that as a youngster he would walk for miles on Shabbat to daven in the Orthodox shul in Norfolk, known as the Cumberland Street Shul.
After the traumatic events of the ill-fated journey, Leah was so grateful to Captain Rostron and his crew that years later when she had a daughter she named her Sarah Carpathia Aks. Incredibly there was some confusion among the hospital secretaries and they recorded her name on her birth certificate as Sarah Titanic Aks!
Marked for Eternity
When I told this story to Rabbi Dovid Cohen of Brooklyn, he showed me the following Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 42:8 and 44:7).
When God told Abraham to circumcise himself, Abraham consulted with three of his friends and confidants, Aner, Eshkol and Mamrei.
Aner said, "You are [nearly] 100 years old, will you now risk your life by inflicting such pain to yourself?" Eshkol said, "Would you dare [put such an indelible] mark on yourself [and thereby look obviously different] from all your enemies? [That alone could be life threatening.]"
Mamrei was the only one who encouraged Abraham to have faith in God and follow His direction.
Said Rabbi Cohen: "Isn't it noteworthy, that the mark that Eshkol thought would bring scorn on Abraham and even endanger his life, was just the mark that reunited this child with his mother and saved him, so that he would be raised with his family as a Jewish child?
Reprinted with permission from "Reflections of the Maggid (ArtScroll.com)
This article can be read on-line at: http://www.aish.com/sp/so/Marked_for_Eternity.html
Author Biography:
Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn is a fifth generation Mohel in New York. He has authored "Bris Milah" and a series of five "MAGGID" books, collections of inspirational Jewish short stories and parables. He can be reached at (718) 846-6900 or via e-mail at krohnmohel@aol.com
Hallel in Schul
on Seder Night By Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
Question #1:
When I visit Eretz Yisroel, I notice that even Nusach Ashkenaz shullen
recite Hallel on the first night of Pesach. Should I be reciting Hallel
with them when my family custom is not to?
Question #2:
Should a woman whose husband recites Hallel in shul on Seder
night recite Hallel with a bracha before the Seder?
Question #3:
When I was in Eretz Yisroel for Pesach, I davened maariv the
second day of Pesach with a chutz la’aretz Nusach Ashkenaz minyan,
but none of us knew whether to recite Hallel. What should we have done?
Hallel is our unique praise to Hashem
that is reserved for special occasions. Whenever the Jews survived a crisis,
they responded by singing Hallel. Thus we sang Hallel after
crossing the Yam Suf and again after Yehoshua defeated the allied kings
of Canaan. Devorah and Barak sang Hallel when their small force defeated
the mighty army of Sisra; the Jews sang this praise when the huge army of Sancheiriv
fled from Yerushalayim and when Hashem saved them from Haman’s evil
decrees. Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah sang Hallel after surviving
Nevuchadnetzar’s fiery furnace. After each of these events, Jews recited Hallel
to thank Hashem for their miraculous salvation (Pesachim 117a, as
explained by Rashi; cf. Rashbam ad loc.).
Before
addressing the above questions, let us clarify the five different ways we
recite Hallel during Pesach.
THE FIVE TYPES
OF PESACH HALLEL
I. Thanking
Hashem while performing mitzvos
In the Beis
HaMikdash, the Jews sang Hallel while offering the korban pesach
on Erev Pesach (Mishnah Pesachim 64a, 95a; Gemara 117a)
and then again during the festive meal when they ate it that night. To quote
the immortal words of the Gemara, “Could it possibly be that the Jews
would offer their korban pesach without reciting Hallel?”
The Jews sang Hallel
at the Seder with such fervor that a new expression was coined, “The kezayis
of Pesach and the Hallel split the roof.” It is unlikely that people
needed to hire roofers to repair the damage after Pesach; this statement
reflects the zeal of the experience. As Chazal teach, we should sing
every Hallel with ecstatic feeling and melody (Mesechta Sofrim 20:9).
The Hallel
recited while offering and consuming the korban pesach is inspired by
the fervor of the event. Similarly, some have the custom of reciting Hallel
while baking matzos on Erev Pesach to remember the arousing passion of singing Hallel
while offering korban pesach. Unfortunately, as we have no korban
pesach with which to ignite this enthusiasm, we substitute the experience
of baking the matzos.
II. Part of
the evening davening
In the times of Chazal
(Mesechta Sofrim 20:9; Yerushalmi Berachos 1:5), the Jews recited Hallel
immediately after maariv in shul on Seder night, a practice
continued by Nusach Sefard and in Eretz Yisroel. I will soon
discuss the different reasons for this practice.
III. During
the Seder
We sing Hallel
as part of the Seder. This Hallel is different from the regular Hallel
in the following ways:
We divide this Hallel
into two parts, separating the two parts with the festive Yom Tov meal. We sing
the first part as the conclusion of the Maggid part of the Seder, as we
describe the ecstasy of the Exodus while holding a cup of wine in celebration.
The bracha, Asher Ga’alanu, is recited after these preliminary
paragraphs of the Hallel, immediately followed by a bracha upon
the second cup of wine. (Sefardim do not recite a bracha on this cup of
wine.)
Following the birchas
hamazon after the meal, which concludes with the third cup of wine, we pour
a fourth cup of wine and hold it while reciting the rest of Hallel. Upon
completing Hallel, we recite Chapter 136 of Tehillim, Nishmas,
a bracha to conclude the Hallel (there are different opinions
which bracha to recite), a bracha upon the wine (Sefardim do not
recite a bracha on this cup of wine either), and then drink the cup of
wine as the last of the four kosos.
Another
difference between Hallel on Seder night and Hallel during the
year is that we sit for Hallel at the Seder. Halacha requires that one
give testimony standing, and when we recite Hallel we testify that Hashem
performed wonders for us. Furthermore, the pasuk in Hallel
declares, “Sing praise, servants of Hashem who are standing” (Tehillim
135:1-2), implying that this is the appropriate way to praise. However,
at the Seder we sit because the Hallel is part of the meal and is
recited while holding a cup of wine, which is not conducive to standing;
furthermore, sitting demonstrates that we are free from bondage (Shibbolei
HaLeket #173).
Reciting Hallel
during the Seder commemorates singing Hallel while eating the korban
pesach (Mishnah Pesachim 95a). Unfortunately, we have no korban
pesach, so we must substitute the Yom Tov meal and the matzos.
IV. After
Shacharis on the first day(s) of Pesach
We recite the
full Hallel immediately following shmoneh esrei on the first
day(s) of Pesach to fulfill the mitzvah of reciting Hallel on days that
are either Yom Tov or commemorate a miracle. These days include
Chanukah, Sukkos, Shavuos, and the first day(s) of Pesach (Arachin 10a).
This Hallel can only be recited during daytime hours, which the Gemara
(Megillah 20b) derives from the verse, from the rising of the sun
until it sets, Hashem’s name shall be praised (Tehillim
113:3).
V. After
Shacharis on the other days of Pesach
We recite Hallel
with parts deleted (colloquially referred to as half Hallel) immediately
following shmoneh esrei on the other days of Pesach. This reading is not
part of the original takanah to recite Hallel on Yomim Tovim,
but is a custom introduced later, similar to the recitation of Hallel on
Rosh Chodesh. Thus the poskim dispute whether one recites a bracha
prior to reciting this Hallel. Rambam (Hilchos Chanukah 3:7) rules that
one does not recite a bracha, and this is the prevalent custom among the
Sefardim and Edot HaMizrach in Eretz Yisrael (Shulchan Aruch,
Orach Chayim 422:2). Tosafos (Taanis 28b), however, rules that
one may recite a bracha on Hallel on Rosh Chodesh and the
last days of Pesach, and this is the universal practice among Ashkenazim.
Why do we recite
the full Hallel every day of Sukkos, bur only on the first day of
Pesach? The Gemara gives a surprising answer to this question. We recite
full Hallel every day of Sukkos since each has different korban
requirements in the Beis HaMikdash; on Pesach, we do not recite full Hallel
every day because the same korban was offered every day. The fact that a
day is Yom Tov is insufficient reason to recite Hallel; there must also
be something original about that particular day’s celebration. Thus, although
the Seventh (and Eighth) day of Pesach is Yom Tov, full Hallel is
omitted.
The Midrash
presents a different explanation why full Hallel is not recited on
Pesach -- we should not recite it at a time that commemorates human suffering,
even of the evil, since this was the day that the Egyptians drowned in the Yam
Suf (quoted by Shibbolei HaLeket #174).
Now that we have
a basic background to the five types of Hallel, we can now discuss the Hallel
we recite at the Seder. The Gemara’s list of dates that we recite Hallel
only mentions reciting Hallel in the daytime. However, other sources in Chazal
(Mesechta Sofrim 20:9; Tosefta Sukkah 3:2; Yerushalmi Sukkah
4:5) include Hallel of Seder night when mentioning the different days
when we are required to recite Hallel. This leads us to an obvious
question:
DO WE RECITE A
BRACHA ON HALLEL AT THE SEDER?
Since we recite Hallel
at the Seder, should we not introduce it with a bracha? Although the
universal practice today is to not recite a bracha before this Hallel,
whether one recites a bracha on this Hallel is actually disputed.
Here are three opinions:
1. One should
recite a bracha twice; once before reciting the first part of Hallel
before the meal and once before resuming Hallel after bensching (Tur
Orach Chayim 473, quoting Ritzba and several others).
2. One should
recite a bracha before beginning the first part of Hallel, notwithstanding
the interruption in the middle of Hallel (Ran; Maharal).
3. One should
not recite any bracha on Hallel at the Seder (Shu’t Ri MiGash #44;
Rama; Bach).
Of course, this
last opinion presents us with an interesting difficulty: If Chazal instituted
reciting Hallel on Seder night, why does it not require a bracha
beforehand?
I found three
very different approaches to answer this question:
A. Some contend
that, despite inferences to the contrary, Hallel on Seder night is not a
mitzvah but only expresses our rejoicing (Shu’t Ri MiGash #44).
B.
Alternatively, although there is a mitzvah Seder night to praise Hashem, this
praise could be spontaneous and unstructured which would not technically
require reciting the structured Hallel. Since no specific song or praise
is required, Chazal did not require a bracha before singing Hallel
(see Rav Hai Gaon’s opinion, as quoted by Ran, Pesachim Chapter 10).
C. Although Hallel
Seder night should require a bracha, we cannot do so because we
interrupt the recital of the Hallel with the meal (Tur Orach Chayim
473). This approach leads us to our next discussion:
HALLEL SEDER NIGHT IN SHUL
In several
places Chazal mention reciting Hallel in shul on the first
night of Pesach. Why recite Hallel in shul, if we are going to
recite it anyway as part of the Seder?
The Rishonim
present us with several approaches to explain this practice.
A. In Chazal’s
times, there were no siddurim and therefore the common people davened
together with the chazzan or by listening to the chazzan’s prayer. (This is
why the chazzan is called a shaliach tzibur, the emissary of the
community, since he indeed prayed on behalf of many individuals.) On the days
that we are required to recite Hallel, these people listened to the
chazzan’s Hallel and responded appropriately and thereby fulfilled their
mitzvah. However, how could they recite Hallel Seder night? They did so
by reciting Hallel together with the chazzan in shul before
coming home (see Gra, Orach Chayim 487).
B. A different
approach contends that the community recited Hallel in shul the
first night of Pesach in order to fulfill the mitzvah with a large group.
Although one may recite Hallel by oneself, reciting it communally is a
greater observance of the mitzvah.
Neither of these
two approaches necessarily assumes that Hallel on Seder night requires a
bracha. Indeed, the Chazon Ish recited Hallel in shul
Seder night without reciting a bracha beforehand. There are
congregations in Bnei Braq that follow this approach.
C. A third
approach contends that the primary reason for reciting Hallel in shul
is to recite a bracha beforehand. These poskim contend that Hallel
at the Seder would require a bracha if it was not interrupted by the
meal; to resolve this, Hallel is recited twice, once in shul with
a bracha without interruption, and then a second time during the Seder.
According to this opinion, Hallel Seder night fulfills two different
purposes:
(1) We sing Hallel
to Hashem as we do on all Yomim Tovim because of his miracles; on
Seder night we sing Hallel at night because that is when we were
redeemed.
(2) We praise Hashem
while performing the mitzvos of Seder night – haggadah, matzah etc.
Although one
could fulfill both of these mitzvos by reciting Hallel one time during
the Seder, one would miss making a bracha. Therefore, Hallel is
recited during davening so that it can be introduced with a bracha,
and is sung again during the Seder so that it surrounds the mitzvos of the
night. This is the prevalent practice of Sefardim, Chassidim, and the most
common approach followed in Eretz Yisroel today (see Gra, Orach
Chayim 487).
At this point,
we can begin to discuss the questions we raised above:
Question #1:
When I visit Eretz Yisroel, I notice that even the Nusach Ashkenaz
shullen recite Hallel on the first night of Pesach. Should I be
reciting Hallel with them when my family custom it not to?
Your custom
follows the poskim that reciting Hallel Seder night does not
require a bracha. You should preferably follow your own practice and not
recite a bracha on the Hallel, but there is no reason why you
cannot recite Hallel with them. Since you do not lose anything, have in
mind to fulfill the bracha by listening to the chazzan’s bracha.
However, there
is another halachic issue, which is that one should not do things in a way that
could cause strife. Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe, Orach Chayim
2:94) discusses a situation of someone in chutz la’aretz who does not
recite Hallel in shul on Seder night, but davens in a Nusach
Ashkenaz shul that does. The person asking the shaylah, a certain
Reb Yitzchak, was apparently upset that his shul recited Hallel
with a bracha on Seder night and wanted to create a commotion to change
the practice. Rav Moshe forbids this and emphasizes that one should follow a
path of shalom. Rav Moshe further demonstrates that if it is noticeable
that Reb Yitzchak is omitting the bracha on Hallel, he must
recite the bracha with them so that no machlokes results.
Question #2:
Should a woman whose husband recites a bracha on Hallel in shul
Seder night recite Hallel with a bracha before the Seder?
This takes us to
a new question. Assuming that one’s husband recites Hallel with a bracha
on the night of Pesach, should his wife also recite Hallel before the
Seder with a bracha?
WOMEN AND HALLEL
Are women
required to recite Hallel?
Although Hallel
is usually a time-bound mitzvah from which women are absolved (Mishnah Sukkah
38a), some poskim rule that women are obligated to recite Hallel
on Chanukah and Pesach since this Hallel is recited because of miracles
that benefited women (see Tosafos, Sukkah 38a s.v. Mi; Toras
Refael, Orach Chayim #75). All agree that women are required to recite Hallel
Seder night because women were also redeemed from Mitzrayim. Rav Ovadiah
Yosef reasons that the wife or daughter of someone who recites a bracha before
Hallel in shul on Seder night should also recite Hallel
with a bracha before the Seder (Shu’t Yechavah Daas 5:34).
However, the prevalent custom is not to.
Question #3:
When I was in Eretz Yisroel for Pesach, I davened the second day of
Pesach with a chutz la’aretz Nusach Ashkenaz minyan, but
none of us knew whether we should recite Hallel. What should we have
done?
Assuming that
this minyan consisted of people who do not usually recite Hallel
in shul on Pesach night, they did not need to recite Hallel, and
certainly not a bracha on Hallel, in their minyan. Since
they are only visiting Israel, and have not yet assumed residence there, they
follow their own custom in their own minyan, and their custom is to not
recite a bracha on Hallel Seder night.
Reciting Hallel with tremendous
emotion and reliving Hashem’s miracles rekindles the cognizance of Hashem’s
presence. The moments that we recite Hallel can encapsulate the most
fervent experience of His closeness.
In the merit
of joyously reciting Hallel, may we see the return of the Divine
Presence to Yerushalayim and the rededication of the Beis HaMikdash,
speedily in our days.
A
miraculous escape in the Tunisia Attack: http://www.aol.com/article/2015/03/19/tunisia-death-toll-in-museum-attack-rises-to-23/21155227/?icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D630125
We usually blame men as refusers to give a Get but I have come
across a number of cases where women refuse. Here is one such case: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4636365,00.html
From Shaul via Rabbi A. L. - Rabbi Ezriel Erlanger The Mashgiach of Mir
Yeshiva Brooklyn spoke last night, March 12th, about Israel's Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech in the US Congress last week.
The Mashgiach said there is one side of people that are for and very much liked the Prime Minister's speech, hence relying and having Bitachon in Binyamin Netanyahu, his speech and the US Congress. This of course is not correct and not going in the ways of our Holy Torah.
The Mashgiach said there is one side of people that are for and very much liked the Prime Minister's speech, hence relying and having Bitachon in Binyamin Netanyahu, his speech and the US Congress. This of course is not correct and not going in the ways of our Holy Torah.
There is the other side of people that
claim and feel that the speech was not enough Jewish, it should have had more Pesukim,
more Torah and the mention of Hashem. The Mashgiach also illuminates here, that
this is not the point and not where we the Religious Jews, the Am HaTorah
should be putting our focus.
The
Mashgiach brings many proofs from Megilat Esther and stories from Purim as well
as various sources in Gemara, Midrashim, The Vilna Gaon, The
Brisker Rav and more, to prove that this is not the point that we should focus
on. The Prime Minister did his job, right, wrong or indifferent, but the next
step is we Am Yisrael have to do our part. We have to strengthen our
selves in Torah Learning, Emunah and the fulfilling of the Mitzvot.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/utqv82xy34v9ejr/Rabbi%20Erlanger%20Thursday%203-12-15.MP3?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/utqv82xy34v9ejr/Rabbi%20Erlanger%20Thursday%203-12-15.MP3?dl=0
HaGaon Posek Hador Rabbi Shmuel Halevi Wosner - The Shevet Halevi has been admitted to
Mayanei HaYeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak from right after Purim. The Gadol
Hador has pneumonia and is connected to mechanical assisted ventilation.
Rabbi Shmuel Halevi Wosner is a talmid of the famed Rabbi Meir Shapiro,
father and founder of the Daf Yomi. Rabbi Shmuel Halevi Wosner was also
extremely close with the Saintly and Holy Chazon Ish. He needs our prayers for
a Refuah Shelamah. Please pray for Rabbi Shmuel Halevi ben Rochel.
Over 100 hundred years ago, in the very
beginning of the 1900’s, there was a young girl, with the last name of Shiff,
who had a most beautiful and amazing voice. Her talents were nothing short of
professional. She was the talk of all those that knew her. For a religious Frum
girl in Vienna, Austria, coming from a traditional Torah home, professional
singing was not an option.
News spread of her amazing and potential
talent to a famous agent, who offered this young potential star, a very
lucrative opportunity and career. Thrilled, she decided to discuss the matter
with her parents. When the parents heard about this terrible news, they agreed
they will do all within their power, to not allow it to be. The young girl
refused to listen to her parents. Her father then took his daughter to their Rav,
Rabbi Shlomo Baumgarten, who tried to convince the girl to abandon this career.
Reb Shlomo, sensing that he had not swayed her, suggested that they go to Rabbi
Yitzchak Meir - The Kapichinitzer Rebbe, who was in Vienna at the time. Immediately,
the father went with his daughter to see the Rebbe.
Upon arrival, the frantic father poured out
his heart to the Rebbe. The Rebbe then spoke with the girl. “Tell
me, my dear Jewish daughter, why do you want so badly to go into this line of
work?”
The girl answered honestly. “It is because of
the fame that I will find. I’ll be known throughout the world.”
The Rebbe closed his eyes, deep in
thought, contemplating the aspirations the girl had just expressed. After a few
moments, the Rebbe opened his eyes and began to speak.
“Listen closely, my dear daughter. It is the
dream of every young Jewish woman to be blessed with a child who will
illuminate the world through his Torah learning. I give you my promise that if
you now sacrifice your chance at fame, there will come a time when you will be
blessed with a child who will light up the world. He will become the one of the
Greatest Halachic authorities of his time, a Posek Hador. Your
fame will come, but it will be through him, your son.”
The young girl wiped away her tears and
thought deeply about the magnanimous promise the Rebbe had just made to
her. She was a fine, young Jewish girl and so, after considering the offer, she
accepted the Rebbe’s proposition.
Rabbi Don Segal found this most earth shattering
and amazing story if the Sefer Kehilos of Austria and decided to pursue
the rest of the story. Rabbi Segal discovered that this girl eventually got
married and had a son by the name of Shmuel. This Shmuel grew up to be, none
other than, Rabbi Shmuel Halevi Wosner, author of Shevet Halevi, the Av
Bet Din of Zichron Meir Bnei Brak and a Posek Hador. Rabbi
Shmuel Halevi Wosner Halachic opinions are sought out by Jews worldwide.
Incidentally, Beli Ayin Hara, Baruch
Hashem, on Thursday August 8, 2013, Rabbi Wosner celebrated his 100th
Birthday. On this momentous day, Rabbi Wosner maintained his regular daily
learning schedule. He made a L’Chaim with his family members to thank
Hashem for All His great kindness. May Hashem grant Rabbi Wosner 120 years in
full health and strength. AMEN
When Rabbi Don Segal approached Rabbi Shmuel
Halevi Wosner to question the validity of the story, Rabbi Wosner became very
emotional and with tears in his eyes replied, “It all makes sense now. When I
was young, my mother always encouraged me to learn well and be an ehrliche
Yid. She always said, ‘You cannot imagine what I sacrificed for you.’”
Inyanay Diyoma
Israeli Election Results an Analysis
I am happy even though my candidates did not get in. It was a
victory for the national of Israel. The big loser is Obama as the Israeli
people were not convinced by the millions he poured not the campaign I have to
run to morning prayers in a few minutes. This time Netanyahu has a right wing
government of 68 with no hidden lefties inside. As for some of the members of
my party they will find jobs or a pathway into Aguda or the Biet HaYehudi in
secure places in the next election. Bennett had too
much visions of grandeur but the Likud owes him one for his help. If we combine
Kachlon with Israel our Home and the Likud that is 46 mandates which is close
to what Begin and Sharon got but split into smaller parties. It seems that the
smaller parties give people more of a vote and a group where to place their
principles. As for the left and the anti-religious center they are in shambles
with nothing to do.
Another 'Truman' Morning! June 1996By Emanuel A. Winston Middle East Analyst & Commentator
In the 1948 American presidential elections, the media produced headlines
pronouncing Thomas Dewey victor and announcing the defeat of President Harry
Truman. Life Magazine immortalizes the 'moment' of the morning after with a
victorious Harry Truman holding aloft the papers with the headline:
"Dewey Wins".
So, too, on the night of Israel's 1996 elections, we saw the media,
particularly CNN, reveling in the false illusion that the exit polls showed
Shimon Peres with a 10 point lead over his opponent, Bibi Netanyahu. The
Left-leaning media were once again engaged in trying to tilt the Israeli
elections - even as the voting was still in process. Peres was their man.
Wishful thinking (and manipulating) was the order of the day. But, the
morning after, Netanyahu is leading and Peres has lost. Labor with 34 and
Meretz with 9 together lost 13 seats! Likud has 32.
For the last 6 months the media, both in Israel and America, have not tried
to report the news regarding Peres and Netanyahu. Instead they have engaged
in making the news as if they were employed by the Peres/Labor/Meretz bloc. Netanyahu
was always cast as the man against peace even as the number of terrorist
killings rose along with the fear of the suicide bomber. All ethics of the
media profession were cast aside and the fourth estate (the Media) engaged in
character assassination and false characterization of Netanyahu.
The media refused to lay a critical glove on Peres although his reputation as
a lying politician advanced before him (like Pinocchio's nose) as each lie
was uncovered. Peres engaged in illegal and dangerous negotiations, refusing
to share his dishonest and secret concessions of land, water and holy sites
either in the Knesset or to the Israeli people. Will there be a shredding of
'secret' papers and erasing of computer memory? One worries about what
dangerous withdrawals Peres may yet undertake as lame duck Prime Minister.
Hebron is definitely at risk of abandonment by the Peres government while he
still holds the power.
Shimon Peres was the darling of the Leftist Press. The more he gave away -
the more vulnerable he made the nation - the more he acted the handwringing
ghetto Jew, the louder he was applauded by the Press. We watched them moan
the loss of their idol as the election results moved inexorably from a
Peres/Labor victory to a Netanyahu/Likud/Religious parties' triumph. The
American media is implying that this is a terrible tragedy. The biased media
working directly for Peres/Labor failed in their attempt to tilt the balance
- even though 2 hours before the polls closed they broadcast on television especially
to the Arabs urging them to vote.
Labor Knesset members walked door to door in Arab villages pleading for
votes.
All Mosques in Arab villages called for voting. This explains why, in the
last 2 hours of balloting, the Arab vote rose by 20%. The Arab lists
increased their Knesset seats from 5 to 9. However, tens of thousands of
Israeli-Arabs placed blank slips in their envelopes for Prime Minister.
If one discounts the Arab vote, this was a landslide
victory of Jews voting for a strong, Jewish state. Netanyahu is leading by
11% in the Jewish vote. The last days saw desperate Laborites with great
viciousness accusing Chabad of racism because of their banners that Jews
should vote for Netanyahu because he is good for the Jews. Israel was created
to be a good home for the Jews of the world. Why shouldn't the leader of a
Jewish State be proud to be good for the Jews? This in no way implies that
minorities would not be accorded their full civil rights.
The Arabs have no democratic rights in the 22 Arab states as they do in
Israel. When he thought that Peres had won, Minister Uzi Baram said: "A
great thank you to all of the Arab voters!" The Israeli Arabs
boasted that they would pick Israel's Prime Minister. They told reporters: "Never
will we allow the Jewish Nationalist camp to return to power."
However, all democracies require a loyalty oath as a basis for citizenship.
Perhaps it is time for such a law.
Interestingly, 30,000 Christian Arabs voted for Netanyahu. The fears of a secret,
planned IDF withdrawal, as reported by Colonel Barakat of the South Lebanese
Army, caused many Christian Arabs to experience the "Lebanon
Syndrome". In pre-election polls, Netanyahu scored almost 90% among
those Christians such as the Maronites, Assyrians, and Copts whose people
suffer greatly from Islamic oppression in their countries of origin.
Sadly, the same cruel nations who sided with Hitler (both Axis and Allies)
also conspired to fulfill the Arab dream of a vulnerable, crushable Israel,
by applauding their creature../...Shimon Peres. President Bill Clinton
engaged in unusual and undiplomatic interference in the electoral processes
of a fellow democracy by urging Israelis to vote for Peres's Peace - falsely
insinuating that Netanyahu is against peace.
Despite the manipulations of media, Labor, Meretz, the Arabs, Clinton, the
Europeans, et al, the Israeli people's voices came through loud and clear.
Bibi Netanyahu came up to win from a low of minus 30%. Labor lost 10 seats
and the religious parties gained 10, almost doubling their seats to an
unprecedented 25 Members. Including those in other parties, there will be
approximately 30 Orthodox Members in the 14th Knesset - 25% of the whole.
Apparently, many non-Orthodox Israelis voted for the religious parties,
probably because they correctly perceived that Israel's government and
society was moving dangerously away from its Jewish and Zionist values and
education.
Thursday was, indeed, a "Truman Morning" as the Press and the
Nations who poured so much valuable assistance into the Labor/Peres's
campaign now sulk in ineffectual fury.
|
The current forecast with 100% of the population reporting: Likud
30, Labor-Zionists 24, Arabs 13, there is a Future 11, Kachlon 10, National
Union 8, Shass 7, United Torah 6, Yisrael our Home 6, and squeaking through the
Socialist Meretz Party 5. Why the Likud won
see: http://debka.com/article/24470/Why-the-Israeli-voter-reelected-Binyamin-Netanyahu-and-strengthened-his-Likud
Where the
soldiers stand in the elections. Eli Yeshai fell less than 10,000 votes short
and caught a lot of ballot stuffing all over the country he is more upset by
that than his personal loss: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4638923,00.html
From Gail: Op-Ed: Why Does the Arab World Long for
Labor to Win? Dr. Mordechai Kedar http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/16606
Honest disclosure
I: I have been acquainted with the Herzog family for decades, ever since I
was a child, and at various points in my life I crossed paths with all three
Herzog brothers, Joel, Brigadier General (Res.) Michael and MK Yitzchak.
I have always held this aristocratic family in great esteem for their
generosity, deportment, intelligence and erudition, as sons of Israel's late
sixth president Chaim Herzog and grandchildren of the late Chief Rabbi Yitzchak
Isaac Halevi Herzog. Ambassador Abba Eban, a significant political
and cultural figure on his own, was their uncle. An aristocratic family in the
deepest sense of the word.
Honest disclosure II:
During the second half of the nineties, once I had finished my army
service, I was active in the "Paths to Peace" organization, the
younger and religious brother of "Peace Now". I gave peace a
chance the European way, but our Arab neighbors disappointed us.
Honest disclosure III: At various times, I
have suggested a Middle East peace plan for us and our neighbors, "The
Eight Palestinian Emirates Plan". I
am openly against the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria,
one that will without doubt turn into another Hamastan and lead inevitably to
the next war.
Honest disclosure IV: I openly support the Jewish Home
party's list.
Let us start with the head of the Labor
party, Yitzchak Herzog:
Years of research spent studying Arab discourse, media and
culture - in the original Arabic - have led me to the
incontrovertible conclusion that most of the Arab population hopes the day will
come when Herzog is prime minister of Israel, for that day - at least
according to the viewpoint of most Arabs - is the beginning of the
end of the state of Israel .The reason is simple: Herzog is seen as a person of
weak character, unimpressive and spineless. He did not serve as a combat
officer and was, instead, an officer in my unit, 8200, which is made up of
brilliant nerds with the obligatory round-framed eyeglasses.
Herzog's gentle way of speaking and the
non-confrontational terminology he uses, those that make him attractive to
Israelis who want to think like Europeans and Americans,
have convinced the Arab world that Herzog is the only way to soften
Israel enough to step all over it and turn it into a dishrag that can be
wrung into oblivion.
The Middle East's agenda is set by stereotypes and
images, and the image Herzog projects is so weak that any threats Israel might
pronounce would be met with derision. The distance from
that derision to all-out war is a short one.
In the Middle East, anyone who proclaims non-stop that
he wants peace, projects the image of someone who is afraid of war because he
is weak, thereby awakening the militaristic adrenaline glands of his
neighbors, who then resemble nothing so much as eagles and vultures hovering
over a dying cow.
And the opposite is just as true: anyone who radiates
power, strength, threat and danger enjoys comparative
tranquility because the bullies leave him alone. This is the reason the
Arabs hated and respected Ariel Sharon and Moshe Dayan – they were afraid of
them. Sadat made peace with Israel because he could not defeat the Jewish
state despite the surprise factor he had in opening the Yom Kippur War and
his early success in crossing the Suez Canal. Hussein also made
peace with Israel, hoping it would use its power to help him face the Baath
party of Syria and Iraq. Arafat agreed to a hudabiyya*** peace -
that is, a temporary "peace" for as long as the enemy is too strong
to defeat – after the failure of the first intifada.
Yitzchak Herzog at the helm of the government is the
sweetest dream the Arab world can imagine, because it is proof that Israeli
society is tired, exhausted, lacking the motivation to protect the country and
ready to pay any price for a paper that has the word "peace" written
on it. Herzog at the helm of the government will be subject to pressures
from the Arab world – and from Obama's White House - because he creates the
impression that "this time it will work", or shall I say, "Yes,
we can".
The pressures he will undergo will be much greater than
those exerted on Netanyahu, because the White House and the Arab
world will sense that his days as Prime Minister are numbered and
therefore, they must make every effort to squeeze as much out of
him as they can for the short period that Israelis will let him function
before waking up to realize the imminent catastrophe and removing him from
his seat as they did to Ehud Barak when he gave in to Arafat.
Yitzchak Herzog may bring about harmonious
relations with the White House and perhaps even with the angst-consumed leaders
of Europe, but he will bring a war of blood, fire and tears to the area called
the Middle East where only those who are truly powerful, threatening and
determined to deter their enemies survive.
Let us continue with MK Tzipi Livni,
Herzog's rotation partner in what the two self-titled "The
Zionist Camp":
Tzipi is the other aspect of the sweet dreams of the
Arab world, a woman born and raised in a courageous Revisionist family, a
home filled with healthy and strong Zionist principles. She began her political
career in the Likud, but became more and more spineless, deteriorating from
party to party, until she joined up with the other leading invertebrate,
Yitzchak Herzog.
To the Arab world, Livni symbolizes and represents the
dispirited and weary Israeli, those who have had enough of the struggle for
survival and are willing to offer their necks to the slaughterer hoping that he
will butcher them gently if they speak politely.
The internet tells us that in the eighties, Livni was
actually a Mossad agent in Europe, and several Arab websites tell of the "special services"
she did for the state of Israel. These services are understood in the West as
undercover and secret, but in the Middle East the expression
is interpreted in a totally different fashion. We can imagine how
they will react on the web in the Arab world and what our image will be if
she becomes prime minister.
However, the problem with Tzipi Livni is not
just about her image, because in her case, our neighbors have proof that Livni
hasn't the foggiest idea of how to navigate the complex, thorny paths of the
Middle East: she was Foreign Minister during the Second Lebanon War, and was
the Israeli architect of Security Council Resolution 1701 that allowed the
Hezbollah – already clear in the phrasing she espoused – to renew and
enlarge its rocket arsenal. I would expect someone with a law degree to comprehend
the built-in failure in the way the resolution was phrased, but Tzipi
Livni did not even reach this minimal legal test. Is there anyone in his right
mind who would hire her to prepare a contract for renting out his
apartment?
What is strange is that instead of being ashamed and
keeping her mouth shut, Livni even defended Resolution 1701 in public, strangely
calling it a resolution that "created change in southern
Lebanon".
Only in Israel do the spineless have the nerve to ask
the public for another chance to sit for the Middle East exam which they are
sure to fail once again.
She is right about one thing. It surely did create change in southern Lebanon, but one that is bad for Israel. Instead of demilitarizing Hezbollah – which many countries agreed was necessary after the Second Lebanon War – this resolution allowed Hezbollah to rearm. Livni's failure in phrasing the resolution and its implementation should have left her far away from any Israeli decision making positions, and certainly from those that have anything to do with our geopolitical reality.
She is right about one thing. It surely did create change in southern Lebanon, but one that is bad for Israel. Instead of demilitarizing Hezbollah – which many countries agreed was necessary after the Second Lebanon War – this resolution allowed Hezbollah to rearm. Livni's failure in phrasing the resolution and its implementation should have left her far away from any Israeli decision making positions, and certainly from those that have anything to do with our geopolitical reality.
Only in Israel does the public's collective memory go
only as far back as the last television debate, the slogan heard yesterday and
the latest spin a candidate spread this morning at the advice of his media
consultants because it is popular and easy to recall.
Not one of the soul weary people – those who talk non-stop about
"peace" – can deal in a suitable manner with the cruel and
difficult cultural environment in our neighborhood, one which, in the best
case, will kick him in the rear as a warning before plunging a dagger into
his neck.
The Herzog-Livni duo is the last thing I would
recommend to lead the state of Israel, as long as we want to survive in the
"New Middle East" – not the Shimon Peres fantasy world of that
name, but the one where what is new is "Islamic State". Perhaps, in
the far-off future, when and if the surrounding cultural atmosphere turns into
something like America or what it was once in Europe, we will be able to
consider these two soul weary people as leaders of Israel.
However, while the Middle East looks the way it does
and functions the way it does at present, there is no choice except to leave them
nailed to their seats in the opposition consisting of other spineless
"round eyeglasses" so they can raise shrill voices to criticize the
nation's leaders, while those leaders radiate power, strength and credible
threats.
This is the bitter reality in which we attempt to
survive. I am not the one who created it, and I bear no guilt for the situation
we are in. I am just the messenger who is charged with explaining to my readers
what not everyone understands about the culture in our neighborhood. It is a
culture that only provides quiet and tranquility to the leader who succeeds in
persuading his neighbors that he is invincible and that they had better leave
him in peace for their own good.
This is an ongoing mission, especially since every once
in a while some "brilliant" figures appear, claiming to have
just patented their invention of the wheel and found the way to be
accepted by our neighbors as a legitimate and welcome entity.
My advice? Learn Arabic.
Dr. Mordechai Kedar is a senior lecturer in the
Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University. He served in IDF Military
Intelligence for 25 years, specializing in Arab political discourse, Arab mass
media, Islamic groups and the Syrian domestic arena. Thoroughly familiar with
Arab media in real time, he is frequently interviewed on the various news
programs in Israel.
Written in Hebrew for Arutz Sheva, translated by Rochel
Sylvetsky.
*** PLEASE READ WinstonIsraelInsight.com: “Why Pretend? Read The Hudabaiya Treaty” –
on the Front Page & in Articles.
Senate
Probes interference in Israeli Elections by the Obama Administration: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/03/14/senate-committee-probes-whether-obama-administration-funded-effort-to-oust/
Debka
discusses problems with a Herzog victory and the PLO demands etc. http://debka.com/article/24463/Herzog’s-four-pledges-for-his-first-100-days-as-prime-minister-are-unworkable-
ISIS
using Chemical Weapons: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4636876,00.html
Expert
says that Hezballah, ISIS and others will test Herzog for fortitude if he is
elected: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192596#.VQRuFE39nIU
ISIS may
heat up the Sinai front: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192541#.VQRwtk39nIU
Pardon my blooper: In TV Confrontation, PM
Accuses Herzog, Livni of Backstabbing By Gil Ronen Prime Minister blasts Labor
leader for weakness in the face of international pressure in TV confrontation,
Herzog says PM is the weak one. Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com
First Publish: 3/14/2015, 9:17 PM
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused Labor
leader Yitzhak Herzog of weakness in a short, three-minute live televised
confrontation Saturday evening on Channel 2.
Netanyahu, who was not in the studio and was
seen on a screen, asked Herzog why he and Tzipi Livni spoke out against
Israel's construction in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem a few months ago,
and why they refuse to support the security efforts by Netanyahu's government,
on Iran's nuclear weapons program and other issues. “They don't voice
support. They are always stabbing, and refuse to stand behind the efforts we
are leading... They are always finding excuses not to support,” he accused.
Netanyahu asked: "If Jews may not build
in Jerusalem, where may they build?”
Herzog retorted that “Israel's security is
dear to our hearts, more than anything else. We knew how to safeguard it and I
will know how to safeguard it.” He added that Netanyahu is the one who is
placing Jerusalem on the chopping block, through his policies.
Netanyahu fired back that Herzog and Livni's “real
policy" is "to surrender to every dictate.”
"Someone in the international community
demands something? They immediately bow their heads and say OK, we'll fold,
we'll retreat. Because they are unable to really make a stand and take a real
stand on our vital interests," he accused.
Herzog and Livni are good at "talking
and boasting," he added.
Herzog replied: "The international
community knows that you are weak and does not accept your positions,
and the Palestinians "turn to the international community
because they identify your weakness." Netanyahu spoke at the same
time but his microphone's volume was turned down in a way that made his words
hard to discern.
Netanyahu has refused to conduct a
televised debate with Herzog unless Herzog's running mate, Tzipi Livni,
also takes part. Herzog does not want Livni to take part, even though the two
have a rotation agreement.
At one point in the short confrontation, Herzog said that he will "keep
Netanyahu united," exchanging the prime minister's name with that of
the capital. Herzog did not notice his mistake, and Netanyahu reacted with a
broad grin.
The new
terror threat is our advancing technology. People and terrorist are buying
drones. There are laws against peeping Toms (Baba Basra defines it as NESSEK RE’AH NEKRA NESSEK or
damages of sight invasion of privacy is called damage.) However, while google
and other companies want drones to make delivers which would be ideal in a
world of utopia, the ability of the Mafia to deliver drugs, explosive devises,
assassins and terrorists is unlimited. We have seen drunk pilots and those
uneducated boors at the TSA looking at human bodies in the scanners and joking
or getting their thrills so giving these instruments to people who go through a
security check up is not really. Or technology has gotten us in some ways to
the level of the science fiction film of the early 1950’s called “Forbidden
Planet” in which the evil within the users of the technology destroy the
planet. http://debka.com/article/24465/New-Form-of-Terror-–-Toy-Drones-–-Has-No-Counter-Measures
Amalek – They must be
destroyed and the Government of Israel, GOI, has not destroyed them! When you
vote let us make sure we get a Kosher GOI and not the garbage we have now. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192646#.VQZAu039nIU
Revealed
the horrors of a hatchet attack in indictment: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192685#.VQcvlE39nIU
Blaring
behavior by the Obama Administration and the State Dept. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192728#.VQepUE39nIU
From Dr. Harry: A group that is working to
influence the Israeli elections is currently receiving funding from the U.S.
Department of State, according to public records and statements from the
organization.
The Abraham Fund Initiatives, which is leading an effort to increase Arab voter turnout for the elections on Tuesday, received a $98,000 grant from the State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative in September, the group said on Tuesday. The grant is funded through December 2015.
The State Department’s funding process came under scrutiny in January, after the Free Beacon reported that the nonprofit group OneVoice—which is involved in a similar initiative to increase voter turnout among left-leaning voters—had received grants from the agency. The OneVoice grant ended at the end of November, before the Israeli elections were announced, according to the State Department.
However, a bipartisan Senate committee is currently investigating whether any of the government funding received by OneVoice was later used for election-related activities.
Aaron Klein, an Israeli journalist, first reported on the Abraham Fund’s Arab get-out-the-vote initiative last week, and noted that the group had received State Department funding in the past. That prior grant for $999,000 expired in 2013.
Arab-Israeli voters traditionally oppose right-leaning parties, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud. The Arab-Israeli community is expected to play a large role in Tuesday’s election, after its four main representative parties merged in January.
Last month, the Free Beacon reported on a private memo drafted in December by the nonprofit Ameinu, which outlined a plan for a coalition of groups to help increase Arab voter turnout in Israel.
Ameinu said in the memo that it was consulting with President Obama’s 2012 reelection team on the initiative. Obama’s former campaign aides, including the strategist Jeremy Bird, have been assisting an anti-Netanyahu voter drive led by V15 and OneVoice, Haaretz first reported.
The Ameinu proposal is strikingly similar to the Abraham Initiative’s “Broad-Based Action Plan to Increase the Participation of Arab Citizens in upcoming Elections for Knesset,” which it recently published on its website.
The Abraham Fund plan includes targeted polling, grassroots organizing, engagement with political leaders and celebrities, and other election-related activities.
The Abraham Fund’s current State Department grant, which began on Sept. 30, 2014, is for its youth civics and career training program. According to the Abraham Fund’s election action plan, 20 of the participants in its “young political leaders” program have been working on its get-out-the-vote operation.
Amnon Be’eri-Sulitzeanu, the Abraham Fund’s co-executive director in Israel, said the current State Department grant is not being used for the election efforts. He said the funding “is directed for vocational training and preparation for integration into the workforce among Israeli Arab citizens at the age of 18 to 22.”
Be’eri-Sulitzeanu said the group has not discussed its voter initiative with the State Department or officials at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv.He said the group previously received two grants from the U.S. government for teaching Arabic language and teaching multiculturalism to Israeli police, both of which expired several years ago.
The Free Beacon reported last month that Givat Haviva, another progressive group working to increase Arab-Israeli voter participation, met with top officials at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv in late January. The State Department also expedited visas for a delegation of Arab-Israeli mayors organized by Givat Haviva, which traveled to the U.S. last month to learn political organizing techniques.
Givat Haviva was scheduled to meet with officials at the State Department during the trip, but the meeting was canceled at the last minute, according to one of the delegation’s organizers.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment
"I am sure that some law must be broken by all this in Israel, so that these 'Foreign Agents' can be arrested and or deported. This bears close scrutiny now that Bibi has been re-elected. Maybe they can all be gathered together, and sent to an Arab country to live. These people are traitors to the State of Israel, and should not be tolerated!"
The Abraham Fund Initiatives, which is leading an effort to increase Arab voter turnout for the elections on Tuesday, received a $98,000 grant from the State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative in September, the group said on Tuesday. The grant is funded through December 2015.
The State Department’s funding process came under scrutiny in January, after the Free Beacon reported that the nonprofit group OneVoice—which is involved in a similar initiative to increase voter turnout among left-leaning voters—had received grants from the agency. The OneVoice grant ended at the end of November, before the Israeli elections were announced, according to the State Department.
However, a bipartisan Senate committee is currently investigating whether any of the government funding received by OneVoice was later used for election-related activities.
Aaron Klein, an Israeli journalist, first reported on the Abraham Fund’s Arab get-out-the-vote initiative last week, and noted that the group had received State Department funding in the past. That prior grant for $999,000 expired in 2013.
Arab-Israeli voters traditionally oppose right-leaning parties, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud. The Arab-Israeli community is expected to play a large role in Tuesday’s election, after its four main representative parties merged in January.
Last month, the Free Beacon reported on a private memo drafted in December by the nonprofit Ameinu, which outlined a plan for a coalition of groups to help increase Arab voter turnout in Israel.
Ameinu said in the memo that it was consulting with President Obama’s 2012 reelection team on the initiative. Obama’s former campaign aides, including the strategist Jeremy Bird, have been assisting an anti-Netanyahu voter drive led by V15 and OneVoice, Haaretz first reported.
The Ameinu proposal is strikingly similar to the Abraham Initiative’s “Broad-Based Action Plan to Increase the Participation of Arab Citizens in upcoming Elections for Knesset,” which it recently published on its website.
The Abraham Fund plan includes targeted polling, grassroots organizing, engagement with political leaders and celebrities, and other election-related activities.
The Abraham Fund’s current State Department grant, which began on Sept. 30, 2014, is for its youth civics and career training program. According to the Abraham Fund’s election action plan, 20 of the participants in its “young political leaders” program have been working on its get-out-the-vote operation.
Amnon Be’eri-Sulitzeanu, the Abraham Fund’s co-executive director in Israel, said the current State Department grant is not being used for the election efforts. He said the funding “is directed for vocational training and preparation for integration into the workforce among Israeli Arab citizens at the age of 18 to 22.”
Be’eri-Sulitzeanu said the group has not discussed its voter initiative with the State Department or officials at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv.He said the group previously received two grants from the U.S. government for teaching Arabic language and teaching multiculturalism to Israeli police, both of which expired several years ago.
The Free Beacon reported last month that Givat Haviva, another progressive group working to increase Arab-Israeli voter participation, met with top officials at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv in late January. The State Department also expedited visas for a delegation of Arab-Israeli mayors organized by Givat Haviva, which traveled to the U.S. last month to learn political organizing techniques.
Givat Haviva was scheduled to meet with officials at the State Department during the trip, but the meeting was canceled at the last minute, according to one of the delegation’s organizers.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment
"I am sure that some law must be broken by all this in Israel, so that these 'Foreign Agents' can be arrested and or deported. This bears close scrutiny now that Bibi has been re-elected. Maybe they can all be gathered together, and sent to an Arab country to live. These people are traitors to the State of Israel, and should not be tolerated!"
Is Obama planning a UN Resolution against Israel as revenge? http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/NY-Times-Obama-may-agree-to-UN-resolution-on-67-borders-after-Netanyahu-campaign-rhetoric-394428
Libyan
General warns that 7,500 ISIS fighters will sneak into Europe as Refugees and
via smuggling routes. Now the war of Gog and Magog will take a turn. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192926#.VQvnIuGVZqM
From Gail a letter to all: I haven’t bought
or read Time Magazine for a lo-o-ng Time. I had forgotten why not.
These 2 articles below bring back those forgotten bad memories from when I used
to ‘religiously’ monitor the Media. (Actually, I think I invented the
‘profession’ of Media Monitoring way back in 1974, 42 years ago after the Yom
Kippur War, accelerating my organization after the infamous vote in the U.N.
that “Zionism is Racism” November 10, 1975 (anniversary of Kristallnacht which
started Nov. 9th but was still ‘burning’ on Nov. 10th).
I created & founded M.E.I.R., Mid East Information Resource, a Jewish
Speakers’ Bureau to fight Arab Propaganda. Yes, the Propaganda was prolific why
back then. During the Yom Kippur War of 1973, bumper stickers in
California read “Burn Jews, not Oil” (l’havdil). Even then huge
quantities of money flowed into the Arab cause to eliminate the Jewish
State. Don’t believe that it was really that bad? Well, I have the
Archives to prove it, sadly. Or they might be out there in the Air.
Just Googled: 7,310,000 hits in 43 seconds…not all about Jews but, a lot.
·
Since
I created MEIR in 1975, many other Jewish Media Monitoring organizations have
formed up because the causes of anti-Semitism are spread ferociously around the
Globe via the Media.
·
G-d’s
present of Black Gold (Oil) under the earth, under the Arab & Muslim
States, funds fulsomely the vicious anti-Jew/anti-Israel Propaganda. Not
just ‘still’ but, growing exponentially as this existential threat explodes
like fiery volcanoes, little fires – like Molotov cocktails thrown at cars
& people, plus huge fireballs that explode buses, trains, planes,
restaurants, the Twin Towers - & wild, bloody head-chopping Wars against
the Jewish people & the Jewish State. Muslims are also killing
Christians, moderate Muslims who challenge the hegemony of the Power &
Money Influentials in the Arab world.
Have a sweet evening, a lovely day. a
beautiful peaceful Shabbat,
All the very best, Gail/Geula/Savta/Savta
Raba/Mom
Have a great Shabbos but enjoyment with the family and a peaceful
relaxation and rest,
Rachamim Pauli
