Sad story. On Thursday, my neighbor Steve told me that
Chaim David ben Chana Golda was in the hospital. I asked if it was his Kidneys
again. I was told Leukemia, so I gave Chaim a call and was invited orally to his
son’s wedding. On Friday, an hour before Shabbos, poor Chaim’s soul went to its
resting place. Please remove his name from the prayer list.
A correction in my prayer list. I had
placed Yoel based on the man’s English Name Joel but it is really. Yosef
ben Esther!
Parsha Vayeitzei
We left off last week with the fact that Esav
wants to murder Yacov over the blessing that Rivka told him to “steal”. That is
the continuation of Avraham Avinu. Rivka comes up with a great excuse that
Yacov needs a proper Shidduch and not these Chet women. Yitzchak listens to his
wife and again blesses Yacov. Esav takes a wife from Yishmael to please his
parents. This is the difference between a horrible choice for a wife and a poor
choice. Still it is an improvement. Yacov flees Esav but as we open our Parsha,
he takes a break to study 14 years in the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever. Then he
works for Lavan in order to marry Rachel and ends up marrying Leah. Rather than
cause a scandal, he is given Rachel too. All this we shall see and discuss in
this Parsha.
28:10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11
And he lighted upon the place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was
set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and
lay down in that place to sleep.
It seems logical that a man would take a large flat
stone to but under his cloak or a garment and rest his head upon it. However,
it is written: he took some of
the stones of the place. The commentaries write that he took twelve stones from the place to
protect himself and they became one or did he take 12 small flat stones. It is
a nice Medrash that they turned into one as he made a monument at the end and
perhaps a Kabbalistic Message is there and one can find it perhaps from the
original via hints.
12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the
top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and
descending on it.
According to one commentary this is Har HaBeis and
another the current Beis El but if we go by the commentary that the Angels from
Eretz Yisrael are ascending and the Angels from Chutz LaAretz are descending
then it would be far off to the north. However, there is another commentary
that these are the Angels of Yacov and Esav and when Yacov ascends, Esav
descends and when Yacov is on the ascent, then Esav is on the descent. Can you
imagine the Angels of Esav ascending about 2000 rungs as Yacov’s go down and
13 And, behold, the LORD stood beside him, and said: 'I am the
LORD, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon
thou lie, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. 14 And thy seed shall be as
the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the
east, and to the north, and to the south. And in thee and in thy seed shall all
the families of the earth be blessed.
You are the continuation of Avraham and Yitzchak. You
will have children that shall be very numerous.
15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever
thou go, and will bring thee back into this land; for I will not leave thee,
until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.'
Yacov is given a wonderful promise that even if he goes
into Gallus, he shall return to Eretz Yisrael. To top that off, he is promised
that HASHEM will not leave him.
16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said: 'Surely the LORD
is in this place; and I knew it not.' 17 And he was afraid, and said: 'How full
of awe is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the
gate of heaven.'
Yacov is shaken to his core. I am wondering if this is
the first time that he receives prophecy. For he might have been tied down by
Esav’s presence to receive prophecy.
18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that
he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the
top of it.
I think the stones were around him and he took one
stone for his head but as I wrote above the Medrash claims that the twelve
became one. I base my idea as if I were camping outside by myself in an area
where there might be animals.
19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el, but the name of
the city was Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: 'If God will
be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to
eat, and raiment to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father's house in
peace, then shall the LORD be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up
for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that Thou shalt give me I will
surely give the tenth unto Thee.'
Yacov is not sure of himself if this is a wishful
thinking dream or a prophetic dream. Also with Yosef, he looks at the story but
treats it with caution. Thus with Sofek aka Uncertainty, he makes the prayer –
vow unto HASHEM.
29:1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the
children of the east.
The juxtaposition seems to be at the age of 63 and not
77 after 14 years of learning Torah and Creation through Avraham. Therefore, if
we want to rely upon tradition Yacov is much older. The higher age does make
sense with our calculation as Yosef disappeared 22 years and was 17 when he
left Yacov. Yacov lived another 17 years in Egypt so the numbers adds up to 56
years in the life of Yosef. Our mathematic model is as follows: 147 minus 56
leaves 89. Yacov worked 20 years for Lavan. When Yosef was born, he wanted to
leave but had two years left. He then worked another six years for the animals
as payment. Thus, Yosef was 8 when he left Grandfather Lavan and only at the
age of 10 met his Grandfather Yitzchak. If Rivka was 14 when she married
Yitzchak that would make her 34 when the twins were born. Yacov being 99 he
might or might not have made it to see her alive again. If she was three or in
between, he would have made it to see her. We have nothing but the tradition
saying Rivka passed away at the age of 133 to make us believe that he just
could have missed her or just could have made it to see her. In any case, we do
not read anything more of her life after she sends him to Lavan for a Shidduch.
2 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, three
flocks of sheep lying there by it.--For out of that well they watered the
flocks. And the stone upon the well's mouth was great. 3 And thither were all
the flocks gathered; and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and
watered the sheep, and put the stone back upon the well's mouth in its place.--
4 And Jacob said unto them: 'My brethren, whence are ye?' And they said: 'Of
Haran are we.' 5 And he said unto them: 'Know ye Laban the son of Nahor?' And
they said: 'We know him.' 6 And he said unto them: 'Is it well with him?' And
they said: 'It is well; and, behold, Rachel his daughter comes with the sheep.'
7 And he said: 'Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle
should be gathered together; water ye the sheep, and go and feed them.' 8 And
they said: 'We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and they roll
the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep.'
The stone is very heavy and only a number of men can
move it.
9 While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her
father's sheep; for she tended them. 10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw
Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his
mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's
mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.
That Jacob drew near and rolled: As one who removes the stopper
from a bottle, to let you know that he possessed great strength (Gen. Rabbah
70:12).
I am pretty sure that he used his staff and a rock as a
fulcrum to lever out the stone. The alternative is having him use the DIVINE
NAME and being strong like Shimon.
11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.
I don’t know how Rachel felt, but in front of
everybody, she is kissed by this strange man. It is not specified if it is a
kiss on the forehead, cheek, hand, lips but that he kissed her. It might be
that this is the order and Rachel is in shock after being kissed and the Yacov
explains how he is her Bashert.
And wept: Since he foresaw with the holy spirit that she
(Rachel) would not enter the grave with him. Another explanation: Since he came
empty-handed, he said, “Eliezer, my grandfather’s servant, had nose rings, and
bracelets and sweet fruits in his possession, and I am coming with nothing in
my hands. [He had nothing] because Eliphaz the son of Esau had pursued him to
kill him at his father’s orders; he (Eliphaz) overtook him, but since he had
grown up in Isaac’s lap, he held back his hand. He said to him (Jacob), ”What
shall I do about my father’s orders?“ Jacob replied,”Take what I have, for a
poor man is counted as dead." - [from Bereishit Rabbathi by Rabbi Moshe
Hadarshan]
12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that
he was Rebekah's son; and she ran and told her father.
What might have appeared to be an inappropriate kiss at
first order turned into a Glatt Kosher kiss from a man that could not resist
his love for her. For there were two sets of twins according to the Medrash.
Esav and Yacov as the first set and Leah and Rachel as the second set. Leah was
supposed to marry Esav and Rachel was set aside for Yacov. However, Leah prayed
and her crying made her eyes soft as we see below.
13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his
sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and
brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.
The description of Lavan’s hugs and kiss by Rashi is appalling.
One would think it would be like the film from Aish HaTorah below of the Uncle
aged 102 who thought everybody perished in the war and met his 66 year old
nephew for the first time.
That he ran towards him: He thought that he (Jacob) was laden
with money, for the servant of the household (Eliezer) had come here with ten
laden camels.[from Gen. Rabbah 70:13] And he embraced: When he (Laban) did not
see anything with him (Jacob), he said, “Perhaps he has brought golden coins,
and they are in his bosom.” [from Gen. Rabbah 70:13] And he kissed him: He
said,“Perhaps he has brought pearls, and they are in his mouth.” [from Gen. Rabbah
70:13] He told Laban: that he had come only because he was compelled to do so
because of his brother (Esau), and that they had taken his money from him. —
[from Gen. Rabbah 70:13]
14 And Laban said to him: 'Surely thou art my bone and my flesh.'
And he abode with him the space of a month. 15 And Laban said unto Jacob:
'Because thou art my brother, should thou therefore serve me for nought? tell
me, what shall thy wages be?'
From this we see that Yacov was helping Lavan around
the house and with the animals on a voluntary basis.
16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and
the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 And Leah's eyes were weak; but Rachel
was of beautiful form and fair to look upon. 18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and he
said: 'I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.'
I wonder if he had said, “I will serve thee for a year
or six months for Rachel”, if Lavan would have accepted this? Yacov appears to
be a poor negotiator.
19 And Laban said: 'It is better that I give her to thee, than that
I should give her to another man; abide with me.' 20 And Jacob served seven
years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had
to her … 23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter,
and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. 24 And Laban gave Zilpah his
handmaid unto his daughter Leah for a handmaid. 25 And it came to pass in the
morning that, behold, it was Leah; and he said to Laban: 'What is this thou
hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast
thou beguiled me?'
Thus began a series of deceptions by Lavan. Prior to
Yacov’s appearance, according to the Medrash, Lavan only had daughters. He had
Rachel and Leah by his wife and by his maidservant Zilpah and Bilhah.
… 30:1 And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob
no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob: 'Give me
children, or else I die.' 2 And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel; and
he said: 'Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the
womb?' 3 And she said: 'Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; that she may
bear upon my knees, and I also may be built up through her.'
For as much as Yacov davened, she
did not have children.
4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife;
and Jacob went in unto her. 5 And Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son. … 22
And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. 23
And she conceived, and bore a son, and said: 'God hath taken away my reproach.'
24 And she called his name Joseph, saying: 'The LORD add to me another son.' 25
And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban:
'Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
Yacov foresaw that the Yetzer could
not conquer Yosef so he figured that it would be time to return to Beer Sheva.
It is also not 100% clear if this was exactly with the birth of Yosef or at the
time when the 14 years were paid off.
26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I
have served thee, and let me go; for thou know my service wherewith I have
served thee.' 27 And Laban said unto him: 'If now I have found favor in thine
eyes--I have observed the signs, and the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.' 28
And he said: 'Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.' … 31 And he said:
'What shall I give thee?' And Jacob said: 'Thou shalt not give me aught; if
thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it. 32 I
will pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from thence every speckled and
spotted one, and every dark one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled
among the goats; and of such shall be my hire. … 35 And he removed that day the
he-goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were
speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the dark ones
among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36 And he set three days'
journey betwixt himself and Jacob. And Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
This was given over to his sons
lest there be a mistake. Yacov was very meticulous in his work and honest but
when Lavan saw that the healthier ones that were born were going to Yacov, he
changed the wages. Until -
… 39 And the flocks conceived at the
sight of the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and
spotted. … 43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and
maid-servants and men-servants, and camels and asses.
At this point Lavan was quite old
and his sons that were born after Yacov married Leah and Rachel. That blessing
came from the presence of Yacov. So now they became worried about their own
inheritance.
31:1 And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying: 'Jacob hath
taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's has he
gotten all this wealth.' 2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and,
behold, it was not toward him as beforetime.
This was troubling to Yacov and he had problems. Lavan
wanted him as a worker and the sons wanted to kill him for “stealing” their
inheritance.
3 And the LORD said unto Jacob: 'Return unto the land of thy
fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.'
He has a promise from HASHEM but still with these
cunning characters, he had to be very secret as the walls of a stable or feed
through has ears.
4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his
flock,
Only in the field without surveillance or ease dropping
could he secretly talk to his wives explain to them his dream and the problems
involved and conceive a plan of action.
5 and said unto them: 'I see your father's countenance, that it is
not toward me as beforetime; but the God of my father hath been with me. 6 And
ye know that with all my power I have served your father. 7 And your father
hath mocked me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to
hurt me. 8 If he said thus: The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the flock
bore speckled; and if he said thus: The streaked shall be thy wages; then bore
all the flock streaked. 9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father,
and given them to me. … 13 I am the God of Beth-el, where thou didst anoint a
pillar, where thou didst vow a vow unto Me. Now arise, get thee out from this
land, and return unto the land of thy nativity.' 14 And Rachel and Leah
answered and said unto him: 'Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in
our father's house? 15 Are we not accounted by him strangers? for he hath sold
us, and hath also quite devoured our price. 16 For all the riches which God hath
taken away from our father, that is ours and our children's. Now then,
whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.'
My own thoughts on the subject is as I have passed 70
after 120 years I will have no use for money. To whom will my possessions go? I
can only leave them to my children and grandchildren and with the help of
HASHEM great-grandchildren. For when I am gone my Torah, Charity and good deeds
would hopefully give me something in the next world but the physical
possessions I leave in this world. Lavan did not view his daughters and their
children as his continuation and legacy. Rather he only viewed his sons as his
continuation. Rashi only had daughters and from them arose Rabbaynu Tam, the Mahram
of Padua, many others Rabbis and famous people like Alfred Dreyfus.
17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon the
camels; 18 and he carried away all his cattle, and all his substance which he had
gathered, the cattle of his getting, which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to
go to Isaac his father unto the land of Canaan. … 20 And Jacob outwitted Laban
the Aramean, in that he told him not that he fled. 21 So he fled with all that
he had; and he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the
mountain of Gilead.
Now a normal employer or uncle would let a worker go if
he wanted to leave or return home to his family. But not Lavan for he knows
that his flocks have been blessed by Yacov’s work and presence and he wants
that despite the wages. So he organizes a Pose to round up Yacov and basically
enslave him and his family.
… 24 And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night, and
said unto him: 'Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or
bad.' 25 And Laban came up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the
mountain; and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountain of Gilead. 26 And
Laban said to Jacob: 'What hast thou done, that thou hast outwitted me, and
carried away my daughters as though captives of the sword? 27 Wherefore didst
thou flee secretly, and outwit me; and didst not tell me, that I might have
sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp; 28 and
didst not suffer me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now hast thou done
foolishly.
What a false story about the sending of him away. He
would have preferred to kill or enslave Yacov. If this was a going away to kiss
his daughters why was he not alone but with a large Pose? He could have come
with treats and trinkets for his young grandchildren. Coming empty-handed with
a platoon speaks definitely of different intentions. The truth comes out now.
29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt; but the God of
your father spoke unto me yesternight, saying: Take heed to thyself that thou
speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
This is the real reason why Yacov is not enslaved or
killed. (This year, I purposely left out the story of the stealing of the idol
by Rachel as I have explained it in past years). So after finding nothing he
owned among Yacov’s possessions, Yacov proposes a covenant of peace.
44 And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be
for a witness between me and thee.' 45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up
for a pillar. 46 And Jacob said unto his brethren: 'Gather stones'; and they
took stones, and made a heap. And they did eat there by the heap. 47 And Laban
called it Jegar-sahadutha; but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 And Laban said: 'This
heap is witness between me and thee this day.' Therefore was the name of it
called Galeed; 49 and Mizpah, for he said: 'The LORD watch between me and thee,
when we are absent one from another. 50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, and
if thou shalt take wives beside my daughters, no man being with us; see, God is
witness betwixt me and thee.'
He realizes that there is nothing he can do because
Yacov is backed by G-D but he can make sure that the wealth in the possession
of Yacov will not be shared by other wives or children and that his offspring
will be the only ones to inherit it. [Still he could not prevent Yacov from
giving presents in his lifetime to Esav, charity to the poor, or sacrifices
unto HASHEM.]
… 53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their
father, judge betwixt us.' And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. 54
And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brethren to eat
bread; and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mountain.
Yacov now enters Eretz Yisrael and the Angels of the
place come to greet the Tzaddik and rightful owner of the land.
32:1 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons
and his daughters, and blessed them. And Laban departed, and returned unto his
place. 2 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 3 And Jacob
said when he saw them: 'This is God's camp.' And he called the name of that
place Mahanaim.
One of them will remain and wrestle with him over the
land for Esav.
Ida and Louise Cook’s Remarkable Rescue Mission
http://www.aish.com/jw/s/Ida-and-Louise-Cooks-Remarkable-Rescue-Mission.html
http://www.aish.com/jw/s/Ida-and-Louise-Cooks-Remarkable-Rescue-Mission.html
Louise Cook was born in 1901 and her sister Ida in 1904. By the time Nazism was ascendant in Europe, the sisters were confirmed middle-aged spinsters, living in their family home in London. Louise was an office worker, Ida a typist and later a prolific writer who published under the name Mary Burchell. Their single passion in life was opera, scrimping and saving to be able to visit the world’s great opera houses.
In 1934, at was at one of these operas, the sisters’ lives changed. A few weeks earlier, Austria’s Chancellor Englebert Dolfus had been murdered by a gang of Nazis. All of Austria was in turmoil, but Ida and Louise cared only for music and travelled to Salzburg for an opera festival where they became friendly with the great Romanian singer Viorica Ursuleac. At the end of the festival, Ursuleac took the sisters by the arm and asked them to look after a dear friend, a certain Frau Mitia Mayer-Lismann, who would be travelling to London soon on a short trip.
Ida and Louise agreed, and back in London they took Frau Mayer-Lismann around to see the sites. As the women chatted, Frau Mayer-Lismann mentioned that she was Jewish, and was surprised when the clueless sisters said they hadn’t realized. Patiently, Frau Mayer-Lismann explained to Ida and Louise what life was like for Jews in Austria and Germany.
Years later, Ida Cook remembered that conversation as a turning point. “We began to see things more clearly and to see them, to our lasting benefit, through the eyes of an ordinary devoted family like ourselves. By the time the full horror of what was happening in Germany, and later in Austria, reached the newspapers, the whole thing had become almost too fantastic for the ordinary mind to take in,” Ida wrote in her 1950 memoir We Followed our Stars. “It took a war to make people understand what was happening in peacetime, and very many never understood it. To us, the case of the Mayer-Lismanns was curious and shocking, but we did what I suppose most people would have done. We asked, ‘Where did they hope to go? And what could we do to help?’”
As British women living in London, it was difficult indeed to help Austrian and German Jews. Britain restricted the number of Jewish refugees it accepted and the paltry number of refugees it did accept was allowed only under strict conditions. Jewish refugees had to be sponsored by a British citizen and had to produce a large sum of money guaranteeing they wouldn’t be a burden on the state. Because refugees were not allowed to work in Britain, this financial guarantee had to be produced upfront, posing a near-insurmountable burden on many Jews.
Moved by Frau Mayer-Lismann’s descriptions, Ida and Louise began to sponsor refugees. When their money ran out, they encouraged others to help and marshalled resources to provide guarantees to Jewish refugees.
Ida later described their methods. “We began to coordinate the smaller offers of money or hospitality around individual cases, until we had enough money or hospitality to ‘cover’ a case. Then we would persuade some trusting friend or relative to sign the official guarantee form, on the understanding that the guarantee would never be called on because we already had the wherewithal to meet the needs of the case.” Many of the sisters’ friends started cutting back on their daily expenses, walking instead of taking the bus or cutting out cigarettes, for instance, in order to contribute to refugees’ pledge guarantees.
In Germany, Ida and Louise often worked with Clemens Krauss, the head of the Berlin State Opera and then the Munich Opera House. Krauss was married to the singer Viorica Ursuleac, who’d befriended the Cook sisters years before. Throughout World War II, it was assumed that Clemens Krauss was a passionate Nazi; afterwards it was revealed that he in fact had personally worked to help Jews escape. In the case of the Cook sisters, he provided them cover for their trips. When they announced another visit to Germany, Krauss would send them the details of that weekend’s opera performances so they could gush about seeing their favorite opera to suspicious border guards or other officials.
Ida recalls the profoundly uncomfortable silence that followed. Three days later, the conference organizer’s secretary called her. She had been crying nonstop about the Jew Ida had spoken of and she and her husband had decided to sponsor him themselves, saving his life.
In the final years leading up to World War II, Ida and Louise began an even more dangerous activity: having exhausted their own finances to pledge refugees, they began smuggling diamonds and other precious gems that desperate Jews had purchased out of Austria and Germany in order to help pay pledges to resettle in Britain. This carried huge risks: Jews weren’t allowed to bring valuables out of those countries, and the penalties for anyone caught helping them would be severe.
On November 9, hordes of Nazis and Nazi-sympathisers poured into the streets of cities and towns throughout Germany and Austria, burning thousands of synagogues, destroying Jewish businesses, and beating and killing scores of Jews. Thirty thousand Jews were arrested that night. For the world, it became clear just how little Nazis thought the lives of Jews was worth. Just weeks after these pogroms, Ida was asked to travel once more to Germany to help an older Jewish woman get out to safety in Britain.
Ida did so, at enormous risk, and then was presented with a still more dangerous request. A Jew with a visa to Britain needed help raising the financial guarantee they required. They’d spent their entire life savings to purchase a single diamond brooch which would cover the guarantee, but Jews were barred from bringing valuables out of Germany. Would Ida please smuggle this life-saving jewelry into Britain instead? Ida said yes.
In the following months, both Ida and Louise repeated this daring ruse time and again, smuggling diamonds and pearls that Jewish refugees had bought with their life savings into England where they were converted into pledges guaranteeing them a safe place to stay. If they were caught, the sisters decided to “do the nervous British spinster act” and behave eccentrically. When an Austrian frontier official questioned Louise’s opulent string of pearls that she was wearing along with her otherwise inexpensive outfit, she acted affronted, exclaiming, “And why not?!’ She frantically ran to a mirror and looked at herself, all the while yelling at the inspector, “What is wrong with my appearance? What were you trying to imply?” until the inspector fled Louise’s crazy act.
The last person Ida and Louise were able to rescue, their 29th, was a 25-year-old Jewish photographer named Lisa Basch. It was 1939 and the sisters’ old friend Frau Mitia Mayer-Lismann was now living safely in Britain. She handed the sisters a list of names and addresses with the words “God bless you and help you” written at the top.
Louise had no more leave from work, so Ida went alone to Frankfurt to the Basch’s family home. It was in ruins, having been searched by the SS. Most of the Basch family had found refuge; only Lisa remained with no place to go. Ida interviewed her, then got to work raising a guarantee, allowing Lisa to find refuge in England.
In 2007, Lisa Basch recalled Ida Cook to Britain’s Daily Telegraph, remembering that Ida had been like a mother to her. Ms. Basch eventually moved to New York, and recalled that every time the Cook sisters visited that city, Lisa “was completely at their service. Wherever they had to go, whomever they wanted to visit, I drove them there. Ida always said to me, ‘You don’t have to repay anything.’ but I wanted to. I was so grateful. I loved her really, and if it hadn’t been for her…”
Video: 102 year old survivor meets his 66 year old Nephew for the
first time after thinking all his family died in the war. http://www.aish.com/jw/s/102-Year-Old-Holocaust-Survivor-Meets-His-Nephew-for-First-Time.html?s=show
Stolen Torah Scrolls returned. https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/11/19/torah-scrolls-stolen-from-jaffa-synagogue-are-found-in-hebron-and-returned-after-cooperation-between-israeli-palestinian-police/
P is for Palestine in book. https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/11/19/childrens-book-p-is-for-palestine-which-hails-intifada-draws-ire-of-manhattan-mothers/
Some of the sites are natural and some man-made but a lovely film
to see the works of creation. Most if not all of the US spots, I have seen.
From Chaim B. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ICFQS_jpzFY?rel=0
This was posted by Benjamin and forwarded to me: Congratulations to Nitsana Leitner on her book, Harpoon, becoming
a National Bestseller.
It's the story of the secret Mossad, headed by the
legendary Meir Dagan, that launched a war against terror financing. It's available
on Amazon.
Inyanay
Diyoma
Details from the Kurds of Iranian Human Right’s Violations. https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/11/16/kurdish-authorities-detail-serial-human-rights-outrages-by-iran-backed-militias-in-northern-iraq/
IDF Chief speaks with Saudi Newspaper about sharing intelligence on
Iran. https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/11/16/in-first-ever-interview-with-saudi-newspaper-idf-chief-says-israel-in-complete-agreement-with-riyadh-about-need-to-thwart-irans-regional-ambitions-in-middle-east/
Syria tries to violate no troop zone and gets shot at. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5044500,00.html
What really happened with Saudis and Lebanon. https://www.debka.com/hariri-lands-paris-watch-money-trail-riyadh-business-partner-prince-abdul-aziz/
New film of the Rabin Assassination retrial requested. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/238204
For the second day Syria tries to violate the cease fire
demilitarized zone. https://www.debka.com/mivzak/second-day-idf-tank-fires-syrian-fortification-work-dmz/
In my border patrol days, there was no fence just one strand of
barbed wire that I could almost walk under – now shooting from Muslim
Brotherhood/ISIS Sinai. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israeli-soldier-wounded-from-spillover-shooting-in-Sinai-514699
Iran in Syria: https://www.debka.com/irans-gen-soleimani-takes-personal-command-abu-kamal-battle-deputy-killed/
Ed-Op Ben Dror Yemeni. When you get BDS money, you become part of
BDS. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5044956,00.html
Video escape from N. Korea. https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/11/21/un-command-shows-dramatic-video-of-nkorea-defectors-getaway-under-fire/23284941/
Terror victim in vegetative state passes away. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/238355
Nice Mossad Story but is it true? Possible yes. https://www.debka.com/new-details-israel-busted-isis-plot-turn-laptops-airborne-bombs-vanity-fair/
No agreement with Putin on Iran-Hezballah in Syria. https://www.debka.com/no-headway-putin-netanyahu-conversation-iran-hizballah-removal-golan-border/
Hamas strengthens grip on west bank. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5047229,00.html
Trump peace plan doomed to fail because the Arabs will say “no”
Ed-Op by Ben Dror Yemeni. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5045890,00.html
A new Ed-Op with the same title that Russia must consider Israel’s
interests by Alex Fishman. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5046414,00.html
Saudis tell the world who the new Hitler is: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/238453
Wishing you all a good Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
