Please add to the prayer list: Avraham Arieh ben
Mindel.
Parsha Vayechi
An
emotional send off to Yacov. Yosef is now 56 years old. He has been close to
his father for 17 years and then in contact with him for the last 17 years of
his life. Everytime we see Vayechi written is brings bad tidings. Vayechi
Mikeitz might have brought good tidings for Yosef it is bad tidings for the
world with the upcoming famine.
47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen
years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred forty and
seven years.
Yacov was alive again after the 22 years
without Yosef. He had his Simcha back and his prophecy back now he was back
into life of the Neshama and not the breathing dead like man.
29 And the time drew near that Israel must die;
and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him: 'If now I have found favor in
thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly
with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt.
I want to be buried with my forefathers and
Leah.
30 But when I sleep with my fathers, thou shalt
carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place.' And he said: 'I
will do as thou hast said.' 31
And he said: 'Swear unto me.' And he swore unto him. And Israel bowed down upon
the bed's head.
Now I can rest in the next world in peace.
48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph:
'Behold, thy father is sick.' And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and
Ephraim.
The first section of this Parsha seemed some time
before this second part.
2 And one told Jacob,
and said: 'Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee.' And Israel strengthened
himself, and sat upon the bed. 3
And Jacob said unto Joseph: 'God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land
of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 and
said unto me: Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will
make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after
thee for an everlasting possession. 5
And now thy two sons, who were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I
came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and
Simeon, shall be mine. 6 And thy
issue, that thou beget after them, shall be thine; they shall be called after
the name of their brethren in their inheritance. 7 And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died unto me in
the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some way to come unto
Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath--the same is Bethlehem.'
You are going to be the Bechor as my marriage to Leah
was born from deception and I worked for Rachel therefore you get the Bechor
and not Reuven. For normally the Halacha is that the first born of the despised
wife gets the Bechor but in this case shouldn’t have been a wife at all!
8 And Israel beheld
Joseph's sons, and said: 'Who are these?' 9 And Joseph said unto his father: 'They are my sons, whom God
hath given me here.' And he said: 'Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will
bless them.'
Yacov like Yitzchak had poor eyesight in his old age
and the two young men might have been out of his field of vision for we see the
crossover of the hands and he knows who is who.
10 Now the eyes of Israel
were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him;
and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11
And Israel said unto Joseph: 'I had not thought to see thy face; and, lo, God
hath let me see thy seed also.'
I consider myself both lucky and blessed that I saw
you alive again and also had the pleasure of seeing your offspring.
12 And Joseph brought
them out from between his knees; and he fell down on his face to the earth.
Other bowed down to the ground for Yosef and Pharaoh.
Now he was bowing down as a sign of honor to his father.
13 And Joseph took them
both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his
left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right
hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand
upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the
first-born.
Menashe was to get a double portion with half a tribe
on the other side of the Yarden and the other half in the land designated to Avraham.
An aside note that Machir from Menashe was a Bechor and Zelophad a Bechor that
made the daughters more attractive to the men of their tribe for financial
considerations.
15 And he blessed Joseph,
and said: 'The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God
who hath been my shepherd all my life long unto this day, 16 the angel who hath redeemed me from
all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named in them, and the name of my
fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of
the earth.'
Now either the blessing was longer and we need only
know this section or Yacov was so weak that this was all he could do to bless
them.
17 And when Joseph saw
that his father was laying his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it
displeased him, and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's
head unto Manasseh's head. 18
And Joseph said unto his father: 'Not so, my father, for this is the
first-born; put thy right hand upon his head.' 19 And his father refused, and said: 'I know it, my son, I know
it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; howbeit his
younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude
of nations.' 20 And he blessed
them that day, saying: 'By thee shall Israel bless, saying: God make thee as
Ephraim and as Manasseh.' And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 And Israel said unto Joseph:
'Behold, I die; but God will be with you, and bring you back unto the land of
your fathers. 22 Moreover I have
given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of
the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.'
Ephraim would get Schem, Har Eval, Har Gerizim and the
area. The blessing upon these two tribes would be that all Am Yisrael would use
it for the children on the entrance of Shabbos.
49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: 'Gather yourselves together,
that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days. 2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye
sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. 3 Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the first-fruits
of my strength; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. 4 Unstable as water, have not thou the
excellency; because thou went up to thy father's bed; then defiled thou it--he
went up to my couch.
The Pshat goes one way which is a horrid deed, but our Sages say that it
is accounted as if he did such a thing. Just like in the Chapter in Shabbos
that the cow of Rabbi Eleazar Ben Azaria went out on Shabbos. The Gemara says
“The cow! Why his yearly tithe of new born cattle in Elul was over 1000. It was
the cow of his neighbor who was not bawled out by him for violating Shabbos
laws. However, I wonder why he tithed seeing that he was a Cohain! In our case,
Reuven defiled the bed by removing it from Bilhah’s tent to that of Leah.
Children have no business telling their parents how and with whom to have
relations with.
5
Simeon and Levi are brethren; weapons of violence their kinship. 6 Let my soul not come into their
council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united; for in their anger
they slew men, and in their self-will they hughed oxen.
The Bull was the symbol of Yosef and it
was Shimon backed by Levi that instigated the incident that sold Yosef into
slavery.
7
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel; I
will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Levi would be scattered in 24 cities with
some personal small farms throughout all the Tribes. Shimon would be given a
portion but the tribe was almost destroyed with the incident of Zimri.
8
Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine
enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee. 9 Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone
up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse
him up?
Yehuda will be a tribe of leadership even
when stooped down he will be as strong as a lion and will rise. Who shall dare
to go against him as those kingdoms have disappeared. All the world powers that
attacked Yehuda are gone even the Tsar of Russia and Communism.
10
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his
feet, as long as men come to Shiloh; and unto him shall the obedience of the
peoples be.
Yehuda shall be king there is a hint that
there could be an eclipse in the words as long as.
11
Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he
washed his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes; 12 His eyes shall be red with wine,
and his teeth white with milk.
He shall develop wealth and will be
wealthy.
…
22 Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a
fountain; its branches run over the wall. 23 The archers have dealt bitterly with him, and shot at him, and
hated him;
The archers … shot at him refers to the
wife of Potiphar but the next line praises him for being strong.
24
But his bow abode firm, and the arms of his hands were made supple, by the
hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from thence, from the Shepherd, the Stone of
Israel, 25 Even by the God of
thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, with
blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath,
blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. 26 The blessings of thy father are mighty beyond the blessings of
my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on
the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the prince among his
brethren.
His restraint will bring about the
Moshiach ben Yosef and through this the Moshiach ben David. He shall be a
prince but not a king!
…
29 And he charged them, and said unto them: 'I am to be
gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the
field of Ephron the Hittite, 30
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the
land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for
a possession of a burying-place. 31
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and
Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased
from the children of Heth.'
My time has come you have been blessed so
bring me to rest in peace and just as he finished his blessing, his time is up
and he has achieved the maximum what he could do unto his children and future
generations and his soul came to a rest at this point.
33
And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into
the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.
It seems to indicate that he passed on as
he finished the blessing.
50: 1 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed
him. 2 And Joseph commanded his
servants the physicians to embalm his father. And the physicians embalmed
Israel.
Yosef wanted the burial to be of royal status in honor of his father.
3 And forty days were
fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of embalming. And the
Egyptians wept for him threescore and ten days. 4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke
unto the house of Pharaoh, saying: 'If now I have found favor in your eyes,
speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying: 5 My father made me swear, saying: Lo, I die; in my grave which I
have dug for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore
let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come back.' 6 And Pharaoh said: 'Go up, and bury
thy father, according as he made thee swear.'
He had to get permission from Pharaoh and then was escorted by soldiers leaving
his wife and children behind as to guarantee his return.
7 And Joseph went up to
bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders
of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's
house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in
the land of Goshen. 9 And there
went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company. 10 And they came to the
threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they wailed with
a very great and sore wailing; and he made a mourning for his father seven
days.
Outside of the Tuma of Egypt (Tumay with idols and worship prior to the
idols of the idols of Canaan) could they sit Shiva and properly mourn him.
11 And when the
inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad,
they said: 'This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians.' Wherefore the name
of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan. 12 And his sons did unto him according
as he commanded them. 13 For his
sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the
field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field, for a possession of a
burying-place, of Ephron the Hittite, in front of Mamre.
There was no time for Shiva after the burial as he had promised to return
to Mitzrayim immediately after the burial so the ceremonies were different,
prolonged as not as we do today. It was a matter of honoring the King of Kings
and king Pharaoh.
14 And Joseph returned
into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his
father, after he had buried his father. 15
And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said: 'It may
be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we
did unto him.'
What if Yosef only forgave us for the sake of our father but now he can
enact revenge upon us.
16 And they sent a
message unto Joseph, saying: 'Thy father did command before he died, saying: 17 So shall ye say unto Joseph:
Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for
that they did unto thee evil. And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression
of the servants of the God of thy father.' And Joseph wept when they spoke unto
him.
This was insulting after he had forgiven them that they did not believe
his forgiveness. He wept because of this slight.
18 And his brethren also
went and fell down before his face; and they said: 'Behold, we are thy
bondmen.' 19 And Joseph said
unto them: 'Fear not; for am I in the place of God? 20 And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for
good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
It was HASHEM Yisborach that arranged the events to happen the way they
did. You may have planned evil, but I plan good.
21 Now therefore fear ye
not; I will sustain you, and your little ones.' And he comforted them, and
spoke kindly unto them.
Yosef was charitable unto them and sustained them for a few generations.
I guess that they felt both shame and love for Yosef.
22 And Joseph dwelt in
Egypt, he, and his father's house; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children
of the third generation; the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were
born upon Joseph's knees. 24 And
Joseph said unto his brethren: 'I die; but God will surely remember you, and
bring you up out of this land unto the land which He swore to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob.'
My fellow Israelites, you enjoy beneficial times time and Gallus is good
to you but someday you will have to return to the land of the Avos
(forefathers). G-D will remember you and you will be able to leave.
25 And Joseph took an
oath of the children of Israel, saying: 'God will surely remember you, and ye
shall carry up my bones from hence.'
It was obvious that
Yosef was adored by the Egyptians and that he could not leave Mitzrayim dead or
alive.
26 So Joseph died, being
a hundred and ten years old. And they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin
in Egypt.
He would not be allowed to get buried like other brothers. So he was
given the honor of a burial worthy of a Prime Minister.
Chazak – Chazak v’ nit
Chazak
What
Price Tefillin by Rabbi Y. Tilles
It's a quiet winter's evening in Jerusalem. The Fast of the Tenth of Tevet has just ended. I (Yaakov Cass) broke the fast and rested from a day of work that had been a little harder than usual, due to the fast. I began to think for the thousandth time about a story that I just heard from my friend Shlomo concerning his father who had lived through the Nazi terror.
Yitzchak Thaler was born in Dej, Transylvania (once part of Hungary, now
Romania) and was orphaned from his mother at the age of four and from his
father at the age of 11. His father remarried and after he died Yitzchak was
looked after by his stepmother, Chana, who had her own children to care for, as
well.
She did her best under the circumstances and Yitzchak remained grateful
to her for the rest of his life. Every year, two days after the Jewish holiday
of Shavuot, the day he thought she perished in Auschwitz, he faithfully said "Kaddish" for her.
All of Yitzchak's brothers and sisters emigrated to America long before
the war broke out, while he went to study in Dej, under the great Rav Yaakov
Elimelech Panet, the Chief Rabbi of Transylvania, who subsequently perished in
Auschwitz with his wife and all his children. Although Rav Panet was offered
the opportunity to be smuggled out of Dej to safety he refused, saying a
"shepherd does not leave his flock."
After completing his studies in Dej, Yitzchak went on to Tushnad to
study at the Yeshiva of Rav Mordechai Brisk, referred to as the
"Mahakam" Brisk. HaRav Brisk too perished in Auschwitz after refusing
to be parted from his precious students.
When Yitzchak reached the tender age of 17 the hell of the Nazi fury
bent on the destruction of world Jewry descended in full force on East European
Jewry. Yitzchak was deported to a labor camp somewhere in Poland. Before he
left he made himself a belt with pockets, in which he hid three things: a
Yaakov Emden Siddur, his treasured Tefillin, and the
"Noam Elimelech" (a deep Chasidic book written by the Rebbe, Reb
Elimelech of Lizhinsk).
Despite the horrible and almost unbearable hardships, during the never
ending days and nights that followed his eventual placement in a Nazi labor
camp, Yitzchak managed to don Tefillin each and every day as
long as it was possible. Eventually however the Tefillin were lost,
and the "Noam Elimelech" was "borrowed" and never returned.
Thereafter, he didn't even see a pair of Tefillin. Somehow
surviving the tortures of the camp, he hoped that liberation would enable him
to return to a normal life.
It was not to be.
He was "freed" by the Russians, and taken captive along with
the very same Nazi sub-human soldiers who had so cruelly tortured him. They
were sent to a labor camp in the deepest northern recesses of the Soviet Union,
near the North Pole in a place called Achangeltz. In the winter it was dark
nearly all of the time and in the summer, even though the sun shone nearly all
of the time it was still permanently dark and bitter!
Yitzchak was sent to work at hard labor once again together with the
other Jewish prisoners. Only the Jews were forced to work, the Nazis were
considered prisoners of war and so ironically the torturers rested while the
tortured were enslaved.
After years of trying his best to hang on to life, literally living from
one day to the next, Yitzchak was approached by a fellow Jewish inmate who had
observed how Yitzchak was trying his best to cling onto the Jewish way of life
and its Jewish traditions.
"A prisoner in another bunk has died and I have "inherited" his "Tefillin" They are for sale!"
"A prisoner in another bunk has died and I have "inherited" his "Tefillin" They are for sale!"
The news electrified Yitzchak. He could not recall when he had last seen
a pair of Tefillin
and now the opportunity to purchase a pair presented itself. His heart pounded
as he asked. "How much"?
'The price? TEN DAYS' BREAD RATIONS!'
[Before you read further just pause for a second and realize that the
day's bread ration was the only food these Jewish prisoners received. Forgoing
the bread ration meant starving. I once heard from a survivor of Auschwitz that
the monetary value of a slice of bread in Auschwitz in 1944 would translate
into the cost of a skyscraper in Manhattan today and probably more! But put
aside the monetary value and consider it from another perspective.]
Remember how you felt last Yom Kippur as the Fast was terminating? Now
imagine that you had spent the day chopping down trees in temperatures of below
minus 30 o C for 12 hours or more, not having eaten anything before the fast,
nor eating when it ended. Then multiply that exponentially by 10!
In reality giving one's bread ration for ten whole days in a Russian
labor camp was none other than a one-way suicide ticket.
Well, somehow or other, almost unbelievably, Yitzchak made it through
ten days of starvation, living on peels and water. Heaven helped him and he
survived the camp and eventually made it to America where he continued to use
those very same Tefillin for the next FORTY YEARS,
checking them every few years to see if they were still kosher. His son used
them, as well, when the pair ordered for his bar mitzvah failed to appear on
time.
Eventually Reb Yitzchak decided, for personal reasons, that it was time
to get new Tefillin and the camp Tefillin were
carefully put away.
Two years before Yitzchak's passing, when his son Shlomo was visiting
from Israel, Yitzchak asked him to take the Tefillin back to
Israel with him.
'Why'? he was asked in return.
'Because when my time comes, I want them buried with me. I want to have
something in my hand. I want them with me in the burial plot in Jerusalem I
purchased 16 years ago.'
A long discussion followed: maybe they are still kosher, let's get them
checked, think of all the good things that could be done with them etc.
Finally, Yitzchak smiled and said, "Do as you wish."
So the Tefillin were transported to Jerusalem and were taken
to a Sofer [scribe] to be checked. The next day Shlomo went
back to the Sofer who had the Tefillin open on his
table.
"Which Tzaddik [saintly Jew] wrote
these?" the Sofer asked. "I have never
seen such Tefillin in my life. They are at least 100 to 150 years
old and they look as if they were written yesterday as the ink is incredibly
clear and fresh. Sadly, they have questions regarding their kashrus [kosher status]. Time has damaged them and
their boxes and they are too fragile to repair."
Shlomo went from Sofer to Sofer and heard the same thing
each time: 'The most beautiful parchments I ever saw, as if they were written
yesterday…but there are questions to their kashrus.'
Now he understood his father's insistence, and also his smile as he
said, "Do as you wish."
Less than a month before this fast day, on the 18th of Kislev 5770, (one
week before the start of Chanukah), Yitzchak passed away and was buried in
Jerusalem. On the day of the funeral, Shlomo had his children photograph these
precious Tefillin before he took them with him to the funeral.
Reb Yitzchak's wish to be buried together with his Tefillin was conveyed to the burial society who
politely refused.
"It's just not done" they said.
At the funeral parlor, Shlomo told the story of the Tefillin to the assembled mourners. The members of the Chevra Kadisha turned to each other and said, "If
that's the price he paid for these Tefillin, we will
just have to make an exception."
And so they did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Written and submitted by Rabbi Yaakov Cass, who heard it from Rabbi Shlomo Thaler, son of Yitzchak Thaler.
[Yaakov Cass is a Lubavitcher Chasid and a former District Pharmacist of The Israel Ministry of Health.]
Source: Written and submitted by Rabbi Yaakov Cass, who heard it from Rabbi Shlomo Thaler, son of Yitzchak Thaler.
[Yaakov Cass is a Lubavitcher Chasid and a former District Pharmacist of The Israel Ministry of Health.]
Connection:
Seasonal -- This week, on Tuesday, is the sunrise-to-nightfall Fast of the
Tenth of Tevet. It commemorates the onset of the siege outside the walls of
Jerusalem that led to the destruction of the Holy Temple on the Ninth of Av. In
addition, in our times it has become the date to say Kaddish for those
martyrs of the Holocaust (and all the others through the centuries) whose date
of death is unknown.
Interview with Israel’s Star Tennis
Player by Adam Ross
An exclusive Aish.com
interview with Shahar Peer who retired last year as Israel’s most successful
tennis player.
In 2007 Shahar Peer became the first Israeli to reach the quarterfinals of a major tennis tournament – the US and Australian Open. With a highest ranking of 11th in the world, she netted 8 major tournaments, beat the world’s best, and throughout it all, never lost her sense of pride and personal responsibility when representing Israel and the Jewish people.
In 2007 Shahar Peer became the first Israeli to reach the quarterfinals of a major tennis tournament – the US and Australian Open. With a highest ranking of 11th in the world, she netted 8 major tournaments, beat the world’s best, and throughout it all, never lost her sense of pride and personal responsibility when representing Israel and the Jewish people.
Leading March of the Living
In April 2010, when most tennis players were in the finishing stages of preparations for the upcoming French Open, Shahar Peer, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivor Yuliana Eckstein, accepted an invitation to lead March of the Living, which sees thousands of Jews of all ages march from Auschwitz to Birkenau, where over a million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.“I grew up a half hour drive from my grandmother who lived in Jerusalem,” she told Aish.com. “We had a very close relationship, but there were many things that she did not want to speak about. When the invitation from March of the Living arrived, it was in the busiest time of the tennis circuit but I knew I had to accept. In the end my grandmother, my mother and I all went together. It was an incredibly moving experience.”
Eckstein who passed away two years ago aged 82, was born in Czechoslovakia and spent six months imprisoned in Auschwitz, where her brother and parents were killed. Prior to Peer’s acceptance to lead the delegation, Eckstein had refused to revisit the camp.
“To go back to Auschwitz was very tough for my grandmother,” Peer recalled. “I remember how cold it was and that I just wanted to hold onto her.” She added, “Even though I was there officially leading the delegation, in my mind it was not a public event at all, it was so personal. I didn’t give any speeches or statements, it was just about being there with my grandmother.”
Making her grandmother proud
“My Grandmother was always happy when I won,” Peer says, “I’m not sure she would have been a natural tennis fan, but she always followed my successes as any grandmother would. She came to see me play a few times which was really special for me.”“I always knew I would wear a black band if ever I had to play a tennis match on Holocaust Memorial Day,” she says. “It only happened once. It was in 2011 in the first round of the Spanish Open in Madrid, I don’t know if anyone else understood, but it was very significant for me.”
Proud of Israel, Proud to serve in the IDF
At the age of 19, two years into her professional career, Peer was conscripted to the IDF. She could have sought an exemption from but instead she embraced her service, becoming the first player to compete in major tournaments while serving in an army.
“After playing matches, I would put on my uniform and go back to my base,” she said. “Sometimes players would ask me about it and I would tell them, I have always been very proud of being an Israeli and it was very important to serve my country.”
She added, “When Reebok asked me what I wanted on my shoes, I immediately replied, ‘My name Shahar and the Israeli flag.’”
Yom Kippur in Tashkent
“Jewish holidays have always been important to me. Wherever I was in the world I made sure to celebrate them. I spent Rosh Hashanah with the Israeli Ambassador to Japan one year, and another year in a Chabad House in Beijing, and a number of times with different Jewish families around the world. “
Breaking Barriers
“I was actually on my way to the airport when I was told I wouldn’t be allowed to get on the plane.” The authorities in Dubai argued that her presence there would lead to anger and unrest.
"It hurt mentally and professionally,” she said, “I was playing very well. I was on a good run and I was ready for the tournament. To be barred from a country is not a nice feeling. There's no place for that in sport. I actually think that sport can make things better and help political situations, not make them worse."
As Peer was forced to return home, several fellow tennis stars came to her support. Reigning champion at Dubai, Andy Roddick pulled out of tournament in protest forfeiting a potential $2million payout to defend his title. “I was very surprised he did that,” said Peer. “We didn’t know each other so well and I was very touched.” Momentum grew when Cable Network’s Tennis Channel decided not to televise the event and The Wall Street Journal dropped its sponsorship.
The United Arab Emirates caved in and allowed Peer to play the following year, although she was placed under strict restrictions with a heavy security detail. “I wasn’t allowed to mix with other players off the court at all,” she recalls “I was forced to use a separate changing room and gym to all the other girls.”
On the tennis court in Dubai she played her heart out, knocking out No.1 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round, eventually succumbing to Venus Williams in the semifinals who heaped praise on her after the game. "I can't imagine playing so well under these kinds of circumstances,” Williams said. “She is so courageous. I don't think anyone else on the WTA tour could do what she's doing."
After winning her opening game of the tournament Peer broke down in tears. “It was the first time I had ever cried after a game, but I knew it was so much more than a tennis match. I was representing Israel and the Jewish people and it was probably the tournament that defined my career.”
Goyim
can get miracles too. https://www.foxnews.com/health/christmas-miracle-texas-girls-inoperable-brain-tumor-vanishes
Ho-ho
ho this profession fellow is really Jewish. https://www.timesofisrael.com/this-santa-claus-is-an-orthodox-jew/
Milestone:
Rona Ramon passes away at 54. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256296
Israel
to launch Spacecraft to the Moon. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5427818,00.html
Intel
to expand facilities in Israel. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3752300,00.html
Israel
to have a 100 story skyscraper in Tel Aviv! https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3739625,00.html
Inyanay Diyoma
Israel happy but disappointed by Aussies. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256202
Right-wing antisemite who dresses flashing herself. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ann-coulter-says-jews-like-rest-of-democratic-base-hate-white-men/
No crossing of permitted fishing zone or we shoot. https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-shot-after-crossing-permitted-fishing-zone-near-gaza/
Iranian hackers going after Nuke workers. https://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-hackers-go-after-nuclear-workers-us-officials-and-think-tanks/
Ukraine glorifies Nazi collaborator. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-ambassador-shocked-at-ukraines-honoring-of-nazi-collaborator/
Pro-west Muslim countries need Israeli Tech. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5425250,00.html
AG allows 2000 settlers homes to be legit. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ag-green-lights-legalization-of-2000-settler-homes-built-on-palestinian-land/
Stopping the wave of terror attacks before tsunami. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5425725,00.html
4th
tunnel found. https://www.jns.org/israel-exposes-fourth-hezbollah-terror-tunnel/
5th
victim of Strasburg attack succumbs. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256270
Will
Netanyahu veto terrorist bill. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256205
Army
has problem with training accidents that kill or injure. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256281
Soldier
clubbed and stabbed in Beit El responding. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256201
Young
Woman injured by a stone. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256236
You
cannot be Defense Minister. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256235
2
reasons to move to Israel: 1 L.A. man caught on
camera threatening Synagogue. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256277
Israeli
fly over Lebanese and Syrian Borders after hiatus. https://www.debka.com/israeli-air-force-flies-over-lebanese-syrian-border-first-time-in-3-months/
Netanyahu
visited IAI (elections can’t be far off). http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256293
Hezballah’s strategic withdrawal. https://www.debka.com/hizballah-distances-its-forces-from-proximity-with-israeli-troops-moves-its-s-lebanon-hq-to-tyre/
Terrorist
planned to attack churches in Italy. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256316
Pikesville
MD suspicious package make children ill at Jewish School. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256304
Milestone:
Rona Ramon passes away at 54. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256296
Israel
to launch Spacecraft to the Moon. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5427818,00.html
62
terrorists killed by US airstrikes in Somalia. https://nypost.com/2018/12/17/us-airstrikes-wipe-out-dozens-of-al-shabaab-militants-in-somalia/
S.
FL Pakistani immigrant posted bomb instructions. https://www.foxnews.com/us/south-florida-man-posted-bomb-instructions-for-would-be-attackers-fbi-says
Saudi
ties with Israel targeted. https://www.debka.com/saudi-ties-with-israeli-intelligence-tech-industry-are-targeted-at-weak-moments-for-trump-crown-prince-and-pm/
GOG
V’ MAGOG alert. Russia setting up airbase in Caribbean. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256364
Settlers
answer return to evacuated post after recent attacks. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5426997,00.html
EU,
Russia pressure US and Israel for two States. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5429024,00.html
Where
are you Gen. Ganz? Yemeni. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5427807,00.html
Minister
Ariel holds up Arab agricultural products. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256365
Elie
Weisel on Noah the brave man of Auschwitz. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5427016,00.html
231
years to Kollel Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256385
Beer
Sheva Rabbi shocked at cremation request. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256402
Pres. Trump makes a large and dangerous mistake he
must have some leftover pansies from the Obama Era advising him. https://www.debka.com/the-idf-must-cut-short-tunnel-operation-get-set-for-repercussions-from-trumps-stunning-syria-withdrawal/
France:
Yellow Vest takes an antisemitic turn. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5424971,00.html
Financial
Times man of the year is a man who stole valuables from the bodies of dead
Hungarian Jews to become rich as he posed as a non-Jew. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256422
Secretary
of State to visit Egypt and make a major speech. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256432
Iranian
Diplomats expelled from Albania. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256427
Soldier
injured in terror attack still in critical condition. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256443
Israel-Greece-Cyprus
conference. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256441
IDF
blows up tunnel in the north. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256487
US
leaves Israeli to go it alone. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5430012,00.html
Netanyahu
may be indicted. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5429913,00.html
General
Mattis quits after Trump announces withdrawal from Syria. https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/12/20/pentagon-chief-mattis-quits-citing-policy-differences-with-trump/23624031/
Yeshiva
student attacked by Arab in central Israel. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256453
Have
a pleasant Shabbos all and guard your speech and health,
Rachamim
Pauli
