Parsha Toldos
The first of three generations of the
fathers of our nation is in its waning hours as our Parsha opens. After 20
years of marriage, Rivka is pregnant with twins. Avraham is about to become a
grandfather to two nations. One will be the Nation of Yisrael that will be his
spiritual inheritance. Yacov and Esav will have 15 years to grow up in the
bosom of Avraham as the spiritual song goes. Yacov will grow with it
spiritually and Esav will look upon the physical wealth of Avraham.
25:19 And these are the generations
of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begot Isaac.
Why does the Torah mention Avraham begat
Yitzchak? Because of the incident with Avimelech. However, since Yitzchak was the
spitting image of Avraham, the people knew that Avraham begot Yitzchak.
20 And Isaac was forty years old
when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean, of Paddan-aram, the
sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and
the LORD let Himself be entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
The L-RD likes the prayers of the righteous and
that is why he made the mothers barren.
22 And the children struggled
together within her; and she said: 'If it be so, wherefore do I live?' And she
went to inquire of the LORD.
She did not know that she had twins and one was
trending for Avoda Zara and the other towards the Beis Medrash.
23 And the LORD said unto her: Two
nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels;
and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall
serve the younger. 24 And when her days
to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came forth ruddy, all over like a hairy
mantle; and they called his name Esau.
He was hairy like red grass all over.
26 And after that came forth his
brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob.
Eikev is like a heel hence Yacov.
And Isaac was threescore years old when she bore
them.
Yitzchak became a father at sixty. This is 40
years younger than his father had him and Yacov only sired Reuven at 86 or 87.
27 And the boys grew; and Esau was
a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in
tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because
he did eat of his venison; and Rebekah loved Jacob.
The mother recognizes the behavior of the boys
more than the father who is pursuing either Torah or Worldly Business.
He was cooking red lentils as Avraham had passed
away and Yitzchak was starting his mourning period.
30 And Esau said to Jacob: 'Let me
swallow, I pray thee, some of this red, red pottage; for I am faint.' Therefore,
was his name called Edom.
Edom is red and he was red haired and also the
pottage was red.
31 And Jacob said: 'Sell me first
thy birthright.' 32 And Esau said:
'Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit shall the birthright do to
me?' 33 And Jacob said: 'Swear to me
first'; and he swore unto him; and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and
he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way. So Esau despised his
birthright.
So Yacov legally purchased the Bechor (first
born) and the priority in inheritance.
26:1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in
the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto
Gerar. 2 And the LORD appeared unto him,
and said: 'Go not down unto Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee
of. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be
with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give
all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy
father; 4 and I will multiply thy seed as
the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy all these lands; and by thy seed
shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves; 5 because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept
My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.' 6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and
he said: 'She is my sister'; for he feared to say: 'My wife'; 'lest the men of
the place should kill me for Rebekah, because she is fair to look upon.'
There are three reasons to go outside of Israel
proper. 1) For employment or 2) Health and 3) for marriage like Yacov does at
the end of our Parsha. Here Yitzchak is doing it for employment during a
famine.
8 And it came to pass, when he had
been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a
window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. 9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said: 'Behold, of a
surety she is thy wife; and how did you say: She is my sister?' And Isaac said
unto him: 'Because I said: Lest I die because of her.'
The standard approach to living in a place
without Torah is what we find in Perkei Avos 6:9 Said Rabbi Yossi the son of Kisma: Once, I was traveling and I
encountered a man. He greeted me and I returned his greetings. Said he to me:
"Rabbi, where are you from?" Said I to him: "From a great city
of sages and scholars, am I." Said he to me: "Rabbi, would you like
to dwell with us in our place? I will give you a million dinars of gold,
precious stones and pearls." Said I to him: "If you were to give me
all the silver, gold, precious stones and pearls in the world, I would not dwell
anywhere but in a place of Torah. Indeed, so is written in the book of psalms by David the
king of Israel: `I prefer the Torah of Your mouth over thousands in gold and
silver' (Psalms 119:72).
Furthermore, when a person passes from this world neither silver, nor gold, nor
precious stones, nor pearls accompany him, only Torah and good deeds, as is
stated (Proverbs
6:22): `When you go it will direct
you, when you lie down it will watch over you, and when you awaken it shall be
your speech.' `When you go it will direct you'---in this world; `when you lie
down it will watch over you'---in the grave; `and when you awaken it shall be
our speech'---in the World To Come. Also it says (Chaggai 2:8): `Mine is the silver and
Mine is the gold, so says the L-RD of Hosts.' "
However,
there is a more modern practice of sending people into areas for bring Jews
back to Judaism. After WWII Rabbi Kahaneman Ztzal went into a Church to bring
back Jewish Boys. Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman Shlita would go into Discotheques
and other gather sites to bring back Jews to Torah Judaism even army bases
before and after military operations.
Those in
bring people back to Torah such as Kiruv (bring close to Judaism) Programs go
out to non-Torah areas to set up institutions as we shall see that Yehuda did
non Mitzrayim and Yeshiva Grodno and the Pittsburgher Rebbe did in Ashdod. I
too became active with them and my Rosh Yeshiva even before Lubavitch Yeshiva Hadar
HaTorah had Jewish Boys School and Yeshiva Haichel HaTorah.
Teshuvah atones for all sins. Even a person who was wicked his whole life and repented in his final moments will not be reminded of any aspect of his wickedness as [Ezekiel 33:12] states "the wickedness of the evil one will not cause him to stumble on the day he repents his wickedness."
The essence of Yom Kippur atones for those who repent as [Leviticus 16:30] states: "This day will atone for you."
… 3:1 Each and every person has merits and sins. A person whose merits exceed his sins is [termed] righteous. A person whose sins exceed his merits is [termed] wicked. If [his sins and merits] are equal, he is termed a Beinoni. (In between person)
The same applies to an entire country. If the merits of all its inhabitants exceed their sins, it is [termed] righteous. If their sins are greater, it is [termed] wicked. The same applies to the entire world.
3:2 If a person's sins exceed his merits, he will immediately die because of his wickedness as [Jeremiah 30:14] states: "[I have smitten you...] for the multitude of your transgressions."
Similarly, a country whose sins are great will immediately be obliterated as implied by [Genesis 18:20]: "The outcry of Sodom and Amorah is great....
In regard to the entire world as well, were its [inhabitants'] sins to be greater than their merits, they would immediately be destroyed as [Genesis 6:5] relates: "God saw the evil of man was great... [and God said: `I will destroy man....']"
This reckoning is not calculated [only] on the basis of the number of merits and sins, but also [takes into account] their magnitude. There are some merits which outweigh many sins as implied by [I Kings 14:13]: "Because in him, there was found a good quality." In contrast, a sin may outweigh many merits as [Ecclesiastes 9:18] states: "One sin may obscure much good."
The weighing [of sins and merits] is carried out according to the wisdom of the Knowing God. He knows how to measure merits against sins.
THUS: The balance of life and death of the whole world on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur could depend on one person who moved from using the internet on Shabbos to somebody observing completely Shabbos and from candle lighting time until after Havdalah restraining from being on-line.
… 15 Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of
Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with
earth. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac:
'Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.' 17 And Isaac departed thence, and encamped in the valley
of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac
dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his
father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham; and he
called their names after the names by which his father had called them. … 33 And he
called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.
They had no fear of G-D and stole the water from
wells that were not theirs. Finally, he digs a well in a place that is wide
enough for all.
34 And when Esau was forty years
old, he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the
daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they
were a bitterness of spirit unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
He got married at the age that Yitzchak married.
This section deals with Yacov receiving the blessing at Rivka’s behest.
… 41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. And Esau said in his heart: 'Let the days of mourning for my father be at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.' 42 And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah; and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him: 'Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43 Now therefore, my son, hearken to my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44 and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; 45 until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him; then I will send, and fetch thee from thence; why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?' 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac: 'I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?'
We see that Yitzchak is the head of the house but Rivka is programming him with data that he fulfills her will.
28:1 And Isaac called Jacob, and
blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him: 'Thou shalt not take a wife of
the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to
Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife
from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.
This is the continuation of the Shidduch theme
from last week and why one should marry another from a good family. In our case
we shall see that the females in the family are all right but Lavan is far from
being what he should have been.
3 And God Almighty bless thee, and
make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou may be a congregation of
peoples;
This time there is no question that the blessing
is meant for Yacov in obtaining a Shidduch.
4 and give thee the blessing of
Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou may inherit the land of
thy sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham.'
Yacov will merit to inherit the land.
5 And Isaac sent away Jacob; and he
went to Paddan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of
Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. 6 Now
Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram, to take
him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge,
saying: 'Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan'; 7 and that Jacob hearkened to his father and his
mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram; 8
and Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;
Now Esav sees that his wives do not meet with the
approval of Yitzchak so now he repents.
9 so Esau went unto Ishmael, and
took unto the wives that he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son,
the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
Since she is a first cousin as was Rachel and
Leah she will meet with Yitzchak’s approval. (But not necessarily Rivka’s
approval.)
General
Effie Eitam speaks of the Angelic Dove that stop on his shoulder and stayed
with his unit during the Yom Kippur War. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zyy_fj8e0I&feature=youtu.be
Note
he was not religious then but is now!
Identical
Twins one a Nazi another an Israeli Naval Officer. By Rabbi Efrem Goldberg
As twins, Jack and Oskar
shared the same DNA, the same nature, and yet, they emerged radically different
people. Born in Trinidad in 1933, they were six months old when their parents
divorced. Oskar went to Germany with his Catholic mother, while Jack stayed with
his Romanian Jewish father. Oskar grew up as the Nazis rose to power, greeted
the school principal with “Heil Hitler,” and later joined the Hitler Youth
movement.
Jack, meanwhile, always
thought of himself as Jewish, but didn’t feel its significance until he was 15
years old and was sent to Venezuela to live with his aunt. A survivor of
Dachau, she was the only person from his father’s side to make it out alive.
After the war, Jack’s aunt
encouraged him to move to Israel and so at 16, he made Aliyah and joined the
Israeli Navy, ultimately becoming an officer. In 1954, Jack went to Germany to
meet his identical twin. They were 21 when they met for the first time as
adults.
Psychologist Nancy Segal
tells the story of that encounter in her book “Indivisible by Two: Lives of
Extraordinary Twins.” Jack and Oskar examined one another as if they were
looking at an alien, even though the other’s appearance should have been
entirely familiar to them. Their cultural differences were as immediately
apparent as their physical similarities. Casting a wary eye at Jack’s Israeli
luggage tags, Oskar removed them and told his long-lost brother to tell others
he was coming from America, not from Israel.
Suffice it to say that
first reunion did not go well. Two brothers – one raised a proud Jew who served
in the Israeli Navy and the other raised a German Catholic who had risen in the
Nazi Youth movement and been taught to hate Jews. Because of the language
barrier they couldn’t communicate much. At the end of the visit, they shook
hands like strangers and Jack set off to San Diego where he lived the remainder
of his life.
In
1979, Jack read about a study being done on twins and the great debate between
nature and nurture. He asked if he and his brother could participate and
thought after 25 years it might provide another opportunity for them to see one
another and develop a relationship.
They met at the Minneapolis
airport and to their amazement discovered they were wearing the exact same
thing – a white sports jacket, similar shirt and wire- rimmed glasses. During
the study, they learned that they had so much in common. Both were stubborn and
arrogant, both fiercely competitive. Both read books from back to front, both
sneezed incredibly loudly, they walked in a similar fashion, and they both wore
rubber bands around their wrists.
And yet, with all that
nature gave them in common, nurture had made them different. They could never
agree on issues about Israel and her enemies or who was responsible for World
War II. Oskar’s repeated reference to German soldiers as ‘we’ infuriated Jack.
In a BBC documentary about the twins, Jack describes that they tried to like
each other and enjoy each other’s company but there was always something in the
background that they could not tolerate about one another. Jack died a few
years ago at 82 years old. Oskar passed away in 1997.
As twins, Esav and Yaakov
shared the same DNA, the same nature, and yet, they emerged radically different
people. One became a patriarch of our people and the other a great villain of
Jewish history, the progenitor of Edom, the exile in which we remain until this
very day.
The name Esav comes from
the Hebrew word "asui" which means complete, or finished
product. The simple way to understand this is as a superficial description of
Esav’s appearance. He was physically mature, covered in hair and appeared
complete, fully grown as an adult.
But Esav’s name is not just
about his physique; more importantly it is about his spirit and approach to
life. Esav sees himself from the start as a finished product. What you see is
what you get. He had no interest or ambition to grow, change, or improve. He
was already made, complete from the start. Therefore the Torah describes Esav
as a “man who knows hunting, a man of the field.” He remains a primitive,
boorish man who spent his days among the animals, doing what animals do –
hunting in the field.
Yaakov’s name reflects the
exact opposite quality, the insatiable appetite for growth and improvement. The
root of Yaakov’s name is “akeiv,” or “heel.” When we walk, the heel is
the first part of the foot that touches the ground. It represents the
beginning, the first step, with much to follow. Akeiv means the
beginning of a process with much greater things to come as in the expression, “ikvesa
de-Meshicha, heel of the Messianic Era.”
Esav and Yaakov are twins
who enter the world with the same DNA, the same “nature,” but who bring
contrasting attitudes towards their “nurture.” Esav is satisfied with who he is
from the start while Yaakov feels entering the world is just the first of many
steps and journeys to come.
Indeed, while Esav is
spiritually stagnant, remains immature and undeveloped, Yaakov spends his life
struggling, wrestling and thereby growing. He overcomes his shy nature to
assert himself, first by obtaining the birthright and then collecting on it by
going entirely against his nature and tricking his father into giving him a
blessing. Later, before his reunion with Esav, we will read of his encounter
with the angel with whom he wrestles the entire evening and triumphs. The shy,
passive yeshiva bochur who is characterized as sitting learning
diligently in the tent, emerges the strong, dynamic, assertive patriarch and
leader who is among the greatest role models of our people.
Esav chooses to remain
"complete" – stagnant, but Yaakov puts one foot in front of the
other, walks, jogs and ultimately runs to his destiny as Yisrael. No matter
what our nature, we are not finished products. We can nurture ourselves to
grow, improve, and change in all areas of our lives.
Jack and Oskar did not
leave legacies based on the “natures” they shared in common like sneezing
loudly or by the way they walked. Because of how they were nurtured, Jack left
a legacy of having been an officer in the Israeli Navy while Oskar left of a
legacy of having been an enthusiastic member of the Nazi youth.
We all have natures that
predispose us, but through the way we nurture our lives, ultimately, we can
choose who we are and the legacy we leave.
Seven Amazing Jewish Converts. By Yvette Alt Miller
Throughout history, the Jewish people has been
enriched by our converts. Central figures in the Torah who converted to Judaism
include Ruth (the great-grandmother of King David), the prophet Obadiah, Batya
(Pharaoh’s daughter who rescued Moses from the river), Zipporah (Moses’ wife),
and Rahab (who helped Joshua lead the Jewish people into the Land of Israel,
and later became Joshua’s wife).
In more modern times as well, Jews have decided to
join the Jewish people by choice. Here are seven surprising Jewish converts and
their remarkable stories.
One: Queen Helena ruled a small kingdom called
Adiabene to the north of Israel, possibly in Iraq or Syria, early in the first
century CE. Many Jewish traders passed through Adiabene, and Helena admired
their honesty and enjoyed learning about Judaism from them. One merchant in particular,
named Ananias, taught Queen Helena and her son Prince Izates. Both decided to
convert to Judaism.
When Queen Helena’s husband died, she appointed
Izates king. It was the custom at the time for the deceased king’s other sons
to be put to death in order to ensure that his successor faced no rivals for
the throne. Instead of engaging in this barbaric custom, Queen Helena and King
Izates were influenced by their new Jewish faith and spared the princes’ lives,
exiling the dead king’s other sons to Rome instead.
Two: A wealthy aristocrat in ancient Rome, Onkelos
(Achilles) was the nephew of a Roman emperor. (Accounts vary as to which: some
say he was related to the Emperor Hadrian, others to the Emperor Titus.) In the
year 135 CE, Roman authorities brutally put down an uprising of Jewish fighters
seeking to regain control of the Land of Israel from its Roman conquerors.
Roman soldiers massacred thousands of Jews, and decreed that no Jews could
henceforth remain in Jerusalem. The Roman Emperor Hadrian even ordered his
soldiers to change the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina. Hadrian
dispatched Onkelos to help oversee the city.
When he arrived in Jerusalem, Onkelos met Jews and
was seemingly overwhelmed by the beauty and logic of the Jewish faith. After some
debate within himself, Onkelos converted to Judaism. His actions enraged
Emperor Hadrian, who sent squads of soldiers to Jerusalem to bring Onkelos back
to Rome. Instead of following them, Onkelos taught the soldiers about Judaism,
and they too decided to stay in the Land of Israel and become Jewish as well.
During Onkelos’ lifetime the Assyrian language, which
is similar to Hebrew and written with Hebrew letters, was gaining popularity.
Onkelos translated the Five Books of Moses into Aramaic. This translation (also
called a “Targum”) is today included in many Jewish Bibles. “Targum Onkelos” is
studied as a crucial commentary on the Torah; each day Jews around the world
consult Onkelos’ translation to gain insights into his penetrating analysis of
the holy words.
Three: Johannes was born into an upper-class family
that originated in Normandy in France, and was living in southern Italy during
the late 11th century. Johannes’ twin brother Roger became a knight
and was known as Sir Roger. Instead of aspiring to a similarly aristocratic
life, Johannes made a radically different decision.
He heard of the infamous Archbishop of Bari, also in
southern Italy, who’d become so enamored of Jewish learning and truth that he
converted to Judaism and moved to Constantinople. This was a shocking move.
Christians across Europe were waging crusades against Jews and other
non-Christians. Joining the Jewish community seemed unthinkable. Yet when he
heard about the Archbishop of Bari, something resonated with young Johannes and
he decided to begin learning about Judaism as well. Sometime around the year
1102, Johannes had a strong dream about Judaism, and that helped give him the
impetus to study.
European Jews lived in terror of the Crusades, so
Johannes decided to move to Constantinople to study with rabbis there. On his
way, Johannes was wounded by Crusaders who were targeting the Jewish community.
He recovered, and at some point joined the Jewish people, taking the Hebrew
name Obadiah. He lived all over the Middle East, including in the Land of
Israel, and became a noted scholar.
Obadiah wrote an autobiography and penned a beautiful
prayer to be sung on the holiday of Shavuot. Fragments of these and some of his
other writings were preserved in the Cairo Genizah. His Shavuot prayer, which
includes musical notation, is the oldest surviving piece of Jewish sheet music
in the world.
Four: Robert was a brilliant student from the British
town of Reading in the late 1200s. He studied Christianity and Hebrew at Oxford
University, and became a Dominican Friar. Despite the fact that anti-Jewish
hatred was rife in England at the time, Robert became interested in Judaism and
decided to join the Jewish people. He formally converted, took the Hebrew name
Haggai, and married a Jewish woman.
Tragically, Robert was arrested and brought before
the king. He argued forcefully in favor of Judaism and against his former
Christian faith. The king ordered the Archbishop of Canterbury to punish this
“blasphemy” and Robert was burnt alive for heresy.
Five: Lord Gordon was born in 1757 in London; his
father was the Duke of Gordon and young George grew up surrounded by wealth and
privilege. Despite his comfortable life, Lord Gordon was concerned with the
plight of the poor and downtrodden. He became an abolitionist after he joined
the British Navy and witnessed the horrors of slavery in Jamaica. He entered
Parliament in 1774. Refusing to join any political party, he claimed he
represented “the party of the people”. He was a polarizing figure in parliament,
both championing the poor but also being accused of helping foment a week of
anti-Catholic rioting in 1780 that became known as the “Gordon” riots.
Lord George was a staunch Protestant, but a visit to
the British town of Ipswich changed his life. He was walking down a narrow
street through the town’s Jewish area when he saw a sign above the door of the
local Jewish community leader, Isaac Titterman. Reb Titterman served as
Ipswich’s mohel, shochet and led services in the town’s synagogue. “All who are
hungry enter and eat” his doorway announced, echoing the words of the Passover
Haggadah. Transfixed, Lord George wanted to know more about a people for whom
helping the poor and hungry was so central to their religion. Lord Gordon began
studying Hebrew and Torah, and formally joined the Jewish people in 1787. He
became extremely pious, growing a long beard and devoting himself to Torah
study and charity.
Sadly, he was only able to enjoy a year of living as
a Jew as a free man. In 1788 he was tried for treason. The reasons were
complex: Lord Gordon had visited France years earlier. Appalled at the great
contrast between rich and poor, he was an outspoken critic of French politics,
and became a champion of a polarizing figure in French politics. Convicted in
1788 of treason against France’s queen, Marie Antoinette, Lord Gordon was
sentenced to prison in Newgate Prison in London.
As an aristocrat, Lord Gordon was given his own room
in prison and allowed to have visitors. A steady stream of Jewish visitors
meant that he only ate kosher food and was able to pray with a minyan every
day. There were other Jewish prisoners in Newgate who benefited from these
services too, and Lord Gordon was known for cheering up his fellow prisoners by
playing the violin and filling Newgate with music. Lord Gordon passed away in
prison in 1793, one of the best-known British Jews of his time.
Five: Born in Philadelphia 1798, Warder Cresson
experimented with many religious doctrines as a young man. He rejected his
family’s Quaker faith and explored other Christian denominations. Eventually,
he became friends with a Jewish farmer named Isaac Leeser who lived nearby. The
more Warder learned about Judaism from his new friend, the more he became
convinced that this was the religious truth he’d been seeking.
Warder decided to travel to the Land of Israel to
learn more and he was able to get an appointment as the official American
Consul in Jerusalem. He didn't end up taking the job: after he set sail for the
Middle East, a former US government official wrote a disparaging letter about
Warder’s religious interests, asserting that Warder was “laboring under an
aberration of the mind for many years”, as evidenced by his fascination with
Judaism. The offer to be Consul General was withdrawn.
Nevertheless, Warder stayed in Jerusalem for four
years and formally converted to Judaism in 1848. He took the Hebrew name
Michael Boaz and returned home to Pennsylvania a proud Jew. His wife and son
had refused to join him in Jerusalem, and they weren’t pleased at Warder’s new
faith. His wife and son petitioned a court in Philadelphia to declare him
insane; the “proof” was his conversion to Judaism. Incredibly, a jury agreed,
and Warder was declared mentally insane by reason of having joined the Jewish
people.
Warder appealed his decision and was finally granted
a new trial in 1851. This time a jury ruled that Judaism is a legitimate
religion and that Warder was not mentally ill for having converted to it. While
he was awaiting this crucial decision, Warder continued to live a religious
life, joining Philadelphia’s synagogue Mikveh Israel and taking part in
Philadelphia’s Jewish life. He and his first wife divorced, and Warder returned
to live in Jerusalem in 1852.
He married a Jewish woman there named Rachel
Meladano, and wrote a book about Jewish theology. Warder continued to keep in
touch with his old Pennsylvania friend Isaac Leeser, who published Warder’s
letters from Jerusalem in an American Jewish newspaper The Occident.
Warder passed away in Jerusalem in 1860, and was buried on the Mount of Olives.
He was given the type of honor typically given to a prominent rabbi, so beloved
was he in Jerusalem’s Jewish community.
Seven: Mike Flanagan was born in Ireland. When World
War II broke out, he volunteered for the British army even though he was only
16 and underage. He fought bravely and helped liberate the notorious Nazi
concentration camp Bergen Belsen, where he was shocked by what he saw.
Following the war, Mike was stationed in present-day
Israel, which until 1948 was ruled by Britain. While the British army favored
Arab interests in the region, Mike felt drawn to Jews and the cause of
re-establishing a Jewish homeland in the land of Israel. “Grandfather said he
wanted to stay in Israel and help the weak, the Jewish Yishuv (community),
fight against the Arabs,” his grandson Lior Hertz would later explain. He
always “had sympathy for the Jews”.
In May 1948, Israel declared its independence,
becoming an independent homeland for the Jewish people again for the first time
in 1,878 years. Immediately, five Arab countries invaded the tiny Jewish state.
A few weeks into the war, in June 1948, Mike and his
friend and fellow British soldier Harry McDonald decided to help. They snuck
into a British military base under cover of darkness, and drove away two
British Cromwell tanks, delivering them to Jewish fighters in Tel Aviv.
Single-handedly, Mike and his friend had created Israel’s very first tank
battalion.
Mike enlisted in Israel’s army and fought in the War
of Independence. Afterwards, he converted to Judaism and married a fellow
soldier named Ruth Levy. He moved to Canada after she died, but his remains
were returned to Israel and buried there after Mike passed away in 2014 at the
age of 85. At his funeral, he was honored by the Israeli Defense Forces for his
crucial contribution to his adopted homeland and people in their hour of need.
Rabbi Shraga Simmons gives a Chesped on Rabbi
Kalman Packouz Zal. https://www.aish.com/sp/so/Rabbi-Kalman-Packouz-ztl-Giant-of-Kindness-and-Innovation.html?s=hp1
MUST WATCH VIDEO OF CHILDREN TERRORIZED BY ROCKETS. https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/11/28/video-of-israeli-kids-terrified-by-rocket-siren-goes-viral-illustrates-toll-of-security-tensions/
Facebook
and antisemitic propaganda. https://www.aish.com/ci/s/Sacha-Baron-Cohen-Facebook-and-Antisemitism.html?s=ss2
Thousands
attend Chabad conference. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272246
Lebanese
Christian buys all of Hitler’s items and donates to Jewish Group to do what it
wants with them. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HJ3zVvOnr
Ed-Op
Lieberman’s campaign against religious dangerous for Israel. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Sy100ZZt2S
MK
tells Saar vs Netanyahu you lose. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272263
WWII
Partisan makes Aliyah at 96: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5629025,00.html
From
William mass Kaddish solidarity. https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/For-greater-solidarity-Jews-should-join-mass-kaddish-on-Nov-30-608413
Saar
has possibilities. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272342
Election
Polling: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272293
Could
third election be postponed? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272292
Rabbis
propose Presidential Pardon for Netanyahu retirement. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272312
About
6,000 people rallied for Netanyahu but many Cabinet Ministers did not. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SkV1cLc2B
Dr.
Li on how to starve cancer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjkzfeJz66o&feature=emb_rel_pause
Netanyahu’s
indictment has no effect on voters. https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/11/29/poll-netnayahu-indictment-has-no-impact-on-voters/
Inyanay Diyoma
Netanyahu
might be able to survive with the direct election of PM if not press will be
too great for a coalition. https://www.debka.com/pm-netanyahus-chances-of-survival-are-drowning-under-a-concerted-political-legal-media-onslaught/
Netanyahu
can’t form a government. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272132
Pipe
bomb thrown near Chevron. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272110
No indication
stabbing was hate crime. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272149
Dr.
Sherman Gaza war crime on civilians. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24767
Facebook
would have let Hitler buy ads. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272125
Anti-Semitism
in Russia: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BkxqhY113r
Russian
Bank has hatred in program. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272104
After
constant threats by top Iranian General, US beefs off forces for conflict with
Iran.
https://www.debka.com/iran-poised-to-strike-us-israeli-targets-us-forces-gear-up-for-action-uss-lincoln-carrier-enters-the-gulf/
Ed-Op
Fishman - Iran quiet now but: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/B1mFXXXhS
Israel
to have say with US to Iraqi Border with Syria. https://www.debka.com/a-us-iran-military-front-is-fast-shaping-up-on-the-syrian-iraqi-border-with-a-role-for-the-idf/
Yemeni
High Court Petition on way: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5630897,00.html
Hamas
must decide between Iran and their own people
- Fishman: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5630897,00.html
Bennett
no more shooting w/o reply: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272259
Chief
UK Rabbi speaks up against Labor. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272260
100
House Dems against Yehuda-Shomron. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272186
Again
during entertainment in Sderot a rocket attack. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272314
IDF
hits back at Gaza. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/YAKYB1DFM
IAF
Helicopter with technical difficulty lands safely but bursts into flames after
evacuation. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272307
Turkey
using the S400 also to come against US Planes. https://www.debka.com/mivzak/turkey-practices-launching-its-russian-s-400s-against-us-made-f-16-jets/
HR
Member Omar spying for Iran. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272249
UN
to Lebanon = disarm Hezballah. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272342
Arab
day of rage. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/6L4NX8KBB
Wants Gog and Magog now. https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/936954/World-War-3-Turkey-Erdogan-army-of-Islam-Israel-war-attack-all-sides-latest-news
Turkey
in NATO a joke. https://www.debka.com/turkey-boycotts-natos-baltic-defense-plan-to-extort-concessions-in-syria/
IDF
demolishes terrorist homes. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272379
UK
Jews are uneasy. https://www.debka.com/antisemitism-issue-clouds-a-uk-election-for-the-first-time/
Breitbart
Editor to the aid of Netanyahu. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272373
Albania
gets earthquake aid from Israel. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/H11Eu433r
Israel’s
mental scars. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ByoUdghnB
Fishman
– Israeli policy on Gaza may strengthen Hamas. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ByVpLk22H
Memorial to Jihad terrorists killed
who fired rockets at Tel Aviv civilians established on US Campus. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272395
Window of opportunity to oust Iran from Syria.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272457
Massive
Iraqi protests against Iranian occupation banks torched. https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/11/28/iran-says-hundreds-of-banks-were-torched-in-vast-unrest-plot/
Podcast
if IDF goes to war against Iran. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272433
N.
Korea celebrates multi-rocket launch. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/272438
Good
Shabbos, Good Chodesh and stay healthy,
Rachamim
Pauli
