This past week according to the statistics from Google, the blogspot posted its 300,167 page. I know I dedicate a lot of time to post Torah to the world but I never thought I could produce such a number of pages.
Parsha Toldos
With the Passing of Avraham, Yitzchak takes over as the Gadol HaDor and the leader of the 21st generation.
25:19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begot Isaac.
Why does the Torah have to especially emphasize Avraham’s son, Avraham begot Yitzchak? There had been rumors that Yitzchak was born after the incident with Avimelech that Avimelech was the father. Therefore, Yitzchak looked just like Avraham. Another reason is that Yitzchak continued with Rivka the hospitality of Avraham.
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.
This was three years after the Akeda and the death of his mother. Commentaries say that she was three years old. However, the Ibn Ezra states that she was 14.
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.
She did not give birth for 10 years so he started to entreat. According to Rashi she only reached Puberty after 9 years of marriage and after a year or the 10th year of marriage when she was 13, he started to entreat. However, he would be sixty before she gave birth.
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.
When she passed by a monotheistic place where Avraham prayed, the child would kick. When she passed by a Beis Avoda Zara the child would kick. She thought that she had a schizophrenic child in her womb.
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.
Shem told her that she was pregnant with twins and the younger shall be more important.
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. 26 And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore years old when she bore them.
It was quite easy to tell the twins apart. The redhead was hirsute and the other had probably darker hair and was very smooth skinned.
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.
He was very physical active in nature. Yacov preferred learning and raising the flocks and herds and perhaps crops as hunting and trapping did not concern him.
28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison; and Rebekah loved Jacob.
Esav put on a show of honor for his father and supplied him with tasty venison.
29 And Jacob sod pottage; and Esau came in from the field, and he was faint.
That was the day that Avraham died and Yacov made lentils for Yitzchak as it was symbol for mourning. Esav had killed Nimrod and raped his betrothed wife, he had eating part of a living animals in his hunger with blood in it and had done some Avoda Zara so that is why he was hungry and tired.
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.
He was not called Edom from his red hair but from the red lentil pottage. He swallowed it as youths do in beer drinking competitions.
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.
The first born was spiritual leader and would get a larger portion of inheritance and Esav did not think of the future but the here and the now.
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 seed 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.
Yitzchak had been a Korban and therefore he was forbidden to leave Eretz Yisrael.
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.'
As with Avraham, he saw that there was no fear of G-D in this place and felt that the men would kill him for his wife.
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.
Avimelech peeked through the window and behold Yitzchak and Rivka were engaged in husband and wife relations.
9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said: 'Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how said thou: She is my sister?' And Isaac said unto him: 'Because I said: Lest I die because of her.'
It must have been a custom in certain places to kill the husband and take the wife as otherwise the behavior of the fathers seems strange. Saddam Hussein did it so it does not surprise me.
10 And Abimelech said: 'What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might easily have lain with thy wife, and thou would have brought guiltiness upon us.' 11 And Abimelech charged all the people, saying: 'He that touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.'
Why didn’t Avimelech kill Yitzchak? He must have desired Rivka when he peeked in the window. It was because Yitzchak built up a reputation as a holy person and after the incident with Avraham, the first Avimelech had passed down the tradition to the next Avimelech etc.
12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. 13 And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great. 14 And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household; and the Philistines envied him. 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. 19 And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of living water.
Some of the servants that Yitzchak had were alive in the days of Avraham and knew the names as unless Avraham revisited the Plishtim after Yitzchak was born, the wells and area would be unknown to Yitzchak as Avraham was in Gerar prior to the birth of Yitzchak.
20 And the herdmen of Gerar strove with Isaac's herdmen, saying: 'The water is ours.' And he called the name of the well Esek; because they contended with him. 21 And they dug another well, and they strove for that also. And he called the name of it Sitnah. 22 And he removed from thence, and dug another well; and for that they strove not. And he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said: 'For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.'
For they had so much water they did not have any need to steal for a third time water from Yitzchak.
23 And he went up from thence to Beersheva. 24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said: 'I am the God of Abraham thy father. Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for My servant Abraham's sake.' 25 And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well. 26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host. 27 And Isaac said unto them: 'Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?' 28 And they said: 'We saw plainly that the LORD was with thee; and we said: Let there now be an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; 29 that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace; thou art now the blessed of the LORD.'
As with many countries that chase out their Jews, they lose their commerce and business for the Jews were the source of their blessing and wealth so the same here. They became jealous of Yitzchak’s success so they threw him out and then they found that his Shabbos Observance was the source of all their blessing.
30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and swore one to another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
He renewed a peace treaty with the Plishtim.
32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said unto him: 'We have found water.' 33 And he called it Shibah. Therefore, the name of the city is Beersheva unto this day.
I assume that he lived there many days.
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.
Esav was a cad playing around with women. But when he reached the age of 40, he wanted to behave like his father and impress him so he married. But Esav married women from Canaan and not worthy of fathering the nation. Rivka wanted a woman like herself in the house from good stock. She knew that Lavan had daughters via travelers and tradesmen who passed through on caravans.
27:1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said unto him: 'My son'; and he said unto him: 'Here am I.'
Was Yitzchak with cataracts or as the
commentaries say saw the Shechina on the Akeda and was blinded. The first idea
appears to be correct from the wording of the Pasuk.
2 And he said: 'Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death.
Yitzchak was 123years old and his mother died at 127. So five years before her age at death, he called his favorite son.
3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison; 4 and make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.' 5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. 6 And Rebekah spoke unto Jacob her son, saying: 'Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying: 7 Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. 8 Now therefore, my son, hearken to my voice according to that which I command thee. 9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory food for thy father, such as he loves;
Yitzchak did not watch his boys grow up like Rivka. She saw through them as they grew. Yitzchak was teaching them and learning himself, Rivka on the other hand, knew very well their personalities and tricks.
10 and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, so that he may bless thee before his death.'
Rivka knows that the one deserving of Avraham is Yacov and not that character Esav.
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother: 'Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a mocker; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.'
I am without hair on my arms as Esav and Dad may be blind but he is no fool.
13 And his mother said unto him: 'Upon me be thy curse, my son; only hearken to my voice, and go fetch me them.' 14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.
Taking a curse of a Tzaddik is very risky see what happens to Rachel during the birth of Benyamin in next week’s Parsha. Yacov honors his mother.
15 And Rebekah took the choicest garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck.
While the goats were cooking she made cloves and a neck vest for Yacov from the skins of the goats.
17 And she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 And he came unto his father, and said: 'My father'; and he said: 'Here am I; who art thou, my son?' 19 And Jacob said unto his father: 'I am Esau thy first-born; I have done according as thou bade me. Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.'
'I am (your son) Esau (is) thy first-born’. Saying the truth but twisting the meaning.
20 And Isaac said unto his son: 'How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son?' And he said: 'Because the LORD thy God sent me good speed.'
At this point Yitzchak became suspicious. It is Yacov who talks like a Talmud Chacham and Esav does not mention the words L-RD or G-D. So Yitzchak will call him close to check him with his senses of smell and touch.
21 And Isaac said unto Jacob: 'Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.' 22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said: 'The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.'
He smelled the garments of Esav and his hands were hairy.
23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. 24 And he said: 'Art thou my very son Esau?' And he said: 'I am.' 25 And he said: 'Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee.' And he brought it near to him, and he did eat; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 And his father Isaac said unto him: 'Come near now, and kiss me, my son.' 27 And he came near, and kissed him. And he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said: See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed.
This was Esav’s Shabbos Garments in which he served his father and the smell of wild flowers he rubbed on them.
28 So God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fat places of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine.
This blessing takes the dew of heaven for starters and then the fat places of the earth. The emphasis her is more spiritual but some wealth is needed to learn Torah without sorrows.
29 Let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one that curses thee, and blessed be every one that blesses thee.
Yacov now has the full blessing that Avraham received.
30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
Esav’s garment was returned to its place.
31 And he also made savory food, and brought it unto his father; and he said unto his father: 'Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.' 32 And Isaac his father said unto him: 'Who art thou?' And he said: 'I am thy son, thy first-born, Esau.' 33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said: 'Who then is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou came, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.'
He that came shall be blessed. Why didn’t Yitzchak become furious with Yacov? He realized that one he had been completely unfair to Yacov. Two Yacov valued so much the blessing of Avraham that he was willing to hunt as Yitzchak thought venison and cook up a good stew.
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father: 'Bless me, even me also, O my father.'
That cry would come back to haunt us in the days of Mordechai who cried a bitter cry because of Haman from Amalek from Esav.
35 And he said: 'Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing.' 36 And he said: 'Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing.' And he said: 'Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?'
Yitzchak did not know of the pottage incident and now learned of it that Esav was interested in the here and the now and not the future world. G-D had guided the events properly and Yitzchak finally knew why. But still he loved Esav very much in the same way that Avraham loved Yishmael.
37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau: 'Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him; and what then shall I do for thee, my son?' 38 And Esau said unto his father: 'Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father.' And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
Esav was sad and seeking vengeance at the same time.
39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him: Behold, of the fat places of the earth shall be thy dwelling, and of the dew of heaven from above;
You will have riches in this world.
40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt break loose, that thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck.
You shall live by the sword and become powerful.
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.
Rivka had servants such as Devorah with her and she got reports from them. Esav was planning his army to kill Yacov.
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?'
Marry one of the daughters of Lavan and stay there until your brother’s wrath dies down. When it does, I will fetch you. She had no idea that Yitzchak would live another 57years and that she would pass on before him.
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?'
She was wise on how to program Yitzchak just right and also fool Esav.
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 o 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.
I am sending you with some Jewels to Paddam-Aram to marry one of the daughters of Lavan.
3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou may be a congregation of peoples;
Yitzchak gives him a blessing for children.
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.' 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.
Esav sees that the daughters of the Hittites are a saw-spot by Yitzchak and Rivka.
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; 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.
Esav finally realized that his parents wanted Yechus. But instead of going to Padam Aram like Yacov, he chose a daughter of Yishmael so the joy that he gave his parents was incomplete.
Short Ed-Op to my friends in the USA. Thanksgiving is coming next Thursday. My family used to get together and it was one of the few times, my mother made stuffed turkey. Only this year keep it to the close family with social distancing from grandmother and grandfather. Places in the southern part of the country it might be possible to have an outdoors dinner or try to change the air in the room depending on your climate and when not eating, wear masks. I will have sliced turkey by myself or with my wife depending on the health of the relatives that might make possible a joint dinner. It is sad but true but maybe again a big Thanksgiving Dinner will happen in the future.
Ivanka Trump's husband Jared Kushner is not just the son-in-law of Donald Trump.
He's also the grandson of Bielski partisan fighters Joseph and Rae Kushner.
Ivanka converted to Judaism before marrying Jared in a Jewish ceremony, and their daughter -- who can claim Jewish partisans and Donald Trump as her ancestors -- was born in 2011, named Arabella Rose Kushner.
Rae Kushner, Jared's grandmother, was born in Novogrodek, Poland. Jews in the ghetto there dug a 600 foot tunnel in which 170 people escaped. She spent days in the woods until she found her future husband Joseph and the other Bielski Brigade partisan fighters.
Under their protection, 1,236 Jews survived the war, making it one of many remarkable rescue missions in the Holocaust. The group spent more than two years living in the forests.
Since coming to the U.S., the Kushners and their sons have been very successful in business. The Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston, New Jersey is one of the most prestigious Jewish schools on the East Coast, with over 850 students attending.
Necessary Repairs by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tillis
http://ascentofsafed.com/Stories/Stories/5781//pdf/s1197FreeCarRepair.pdf
A number of years ago in Israel, two yeshiva students decided to take a trip to the north in order to visit a number of the gravesites of the righteous that are situated in the Tsfat area. It was a nice day, and they were able to get hold of a decent car, so they decided to drive. Things were going smoothly until they noticed that their thermostat was running a bit higher than it should. Fearing that the car would overheat, they pulled over on the side of the road to see what was wrong. Neither one of these students was well-versed in auto-mechanics, so they attempted to wave down anyone who could help them. A number of motorists pulled over and attempted to solve their problem, to no avail. Apparently, they would need the services of a qualified mechanic. In other words they were stuck. Suddenly, a car pulled up and out came a man adorned with beard, peyot and black kippah, and dressed in full chasidic garb. He asked, "What seems to be the problem?" "Our car is overheating, and we have no idea what is wrong," they replied. "Let me see what I can do," he man said. He promptly removed his long frock robe and lay down on the ground beneath the car, searching for the trouble spot. After a few minutes, he emerged and said, "I see the problem. Your fan belt tore and must be replaced." "What should we do?" the yeshiva boys asked. "Not to worry," the man answered, as he returned to his car and brought out a giant tool chest with car repair tools. He then opened his trunk and took out a brand new fan belt. After completing the repair, he packed up his car and was prepared to leave. "How much do we owe you?" the boys asked. "Nothing," he replied. "I did it as a kindness. I enjoy helping people out." "Well, we cannot force you to take money for the time that you invested, but what about the part? That is an expensive part - why should you pay for it?" "It’s not a problem. I must do this my way," he replied. “Let me tell you my story and you will understand why. “I grew up in a totally secular environment, shunning the religious way of life. I was a highly successful car mechanic with a thriving business. Since I knew cars inside-out, I would diagnose a problem which the owner had no clue existed, or I would charge inflated prices for the repairs that I performed. “One day, I decided to abandon my life of pursuit of money and pleasure. Seeking meaning and purpose, I decided to return to my true Jewish roots. I prepared myself to live a life completely committed to Torah and mitzvah observance. "As I advanced in commitment, one thing kept gnawing at me. During my years as a mechanic I had been running a lucrative business, but not in a very honest way. I was cheating my customers with exorbitant prices, often for work that was unnecessary. How could my teshuva (‘return’) become complete until I repaired all of the petty and often not-so-petty theft? “I went to my Rebbe, who was guiding me on my journey of return to Torah and asked his advice. He told me that since there was no way of identifying my victims, my teshuva would have to be of a general, all-encompassing nature. He advised that I should offer my expertise to whomever was in need, free of charge. “So this is what I do. Twice a week, I cruise the highways, looking for people in trouble. I carry with me a complete set of tools and many vital parts. Whenever I notice someone in need, I offer my services. This is my teshuva. Today, you have enabled me to draw one step closer to the One above. Thank you!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from Peninim on the Torah, as printed in the Jersey Shore Torah Bulletin and circulated in Shabbos Stories for the Parsha. Connection: Years ago he was a lone “Chasidic car-repair angel.” Now there is an organization with branches throughout Israel called YEDIDIM, with a central dispatcher who will send the nearest volunteer to help anyone in distress on the roads who calls and asks for aid, free of charge. On the day that I had to decide which story to use for my e-mail story list, I had to make use of Yedidim’s services. I called the number and three minutes later someone arrived!
From Skinhead to Jew by Trux. https://www.aish.com/sp/so/From-Skinhead-to-Jew.html?s=hp1
“Hey, Josh,” rasped the voice on the other line. “There’s a party tonight. At my place. Why don’t you swing by?”
Josh agreed.
What Josh had no way of knowing at the time was that there was no party. In just a few moments, as he’d walk through the entrance to that apartment, he would be kidnapped, tortured and put up for ransom by Frank Meeink, one of the most feared names in skinhead circles at the time.
What Frank had no way of knowing at the time is that by kidnapping Josh, the leader of a rival skinhead gang, he would set things in motion for a wild ride down an unexpected path that would, over the years, lead him to forever terminate his association with the neo-Nazi movement, begin to fight hate and eventually bring about the discovery that he himself is Jewish.
For Frank Bertone Meeink, growing up in South Philadelphia wasn’t easy. An abusive, alcoholic father would be replaced by an alcoholic abusive stepfather, along with an apathetic mother. Frank grew up exposed to the gang violence that came along with the turf wars between the neighborhood’s Irish and Italian hoodlums, never feeling he had the protection of the adults in his life.
The only way to survive hate, he figured from a very young age, was by becoming a better hater and becoming a grown-up quickly. In this climate, it did not take much for the seeds of hate already planted within Frank’s soul to flourish. And at his uncles’ farm near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the conditions were just right.
“When I was a kid, my uncles would use expressions like ‘Don’t Jew me,’ meaning, don’t cheat me, or ‘Someone tried to Jew me today,’” Frank recalls. “I never understood that, though. When I would hear jokes about Jews and money, everyone around me would laugh, but I wouldn’t because I didn’t know anything about it.
“Later on, I went to my uncle and asked, ‘What does that mean?’ And he said, ‘You’ll get it when you’re older.’”
One day, when he was 14 years old, something clicked.
All at once, Frank felt like a grown-up. Like one of them. Like he belonged Somewhere, Finally.
“At that moment, I felt like I must be older – I got the joke, so I’m older now. I wanted to know what the adults in my life knew.”
Frank took an interest in white pride, believing whites to be supreme over all other races. It was in this setting that Frank felt safe for the first time.
“My parents were drug addicts who broke up soon after I was born. I never really saw much hope anywhere. The way I saw the world back then was with fear; I was scared when I was a kid. There were times when I didn’t know where my next meal would come from or who would be taking care of me. My view of the world became that I had to get mine whenever and wherever I could – I had to get mine before you get yours. I felt that no one would give me anything, and I had to take what I could.”
Spending his formative years in the presence of hate has made Frank, now 43, quite the expert.
“It always starts with fear,” he tells me, when I ask what’s the biggest common denominator between all these haters.
As it would become clear from his answers, Frank wasn’t fueled by the fear of being murdered by a rival gang or a former ally, it wasn’t the fear of being spat upon by locals or arrested by law enforcement. It was the fear that came from constantly being rejected by his parents that he identifies as the lowest point of his childhood.
“I was a very good football player when I was a kid,” he recounts. “I was a really good athlete and I was unbelievably fast. My mother was getting remarried to a guy who hated me, and who never passed up a chance to degrade me.” They would intentionally miss the highpoints of his sports activities, and they wouldn’t give him the support he expected.
“It really hurt,” Frank adds emotionally.
I ask Frank about the lowest point in his adult life.
“It was when I relapsed on drugs and started using heroin again that I broke into my father’s house [when] he and his family had gone away for a few days. I was sitting there, trying to feel comfortable, but as I looked around the house I realized that there wasn’t a single picture of me. There were pictures of all of his other children, but there wasn’t one picture of me.
“I went upstairs and got his gun, and I came very close to using it on myself. That was probably the lowest point for me. I tried to commit suicide a bunch of times. I was admitted into mental hospitals. I once had to break out of a mental hospital in Indiana to get to Springfield, Illinois, for a meeting. I was very lonely and depressed, and no matter how high ranking I became in the movement, I still felt that sitting inside my own skin wasn’t a good place for me.”
Being abandoned by his parents gave Frank the feeling of inferiority on the inside and a sense of superiority on the outside. How does he reconcile that?
“That goes with being an egomaniac with no self-esteem. If I would have self-esteem, it would be telling me that I’m okay and I can achieve things, but my ego is telling me that I’m better than everyone – and I have to be better than everyone, because I don’t feel good enough about myself to stand on my own merit.”
I traded my humanity for acceptance.
“Tony McAleer, who is a former neo-Nazi like me, put it very well once. We were talking about our lives, and I said, ‘What happened? I lost my humanity.’ And he said, ‘You didn’t lose it, you traded it in for acceptance.’”
“Racism on its whole is the greatest bait and switch ever pulled – on all of us. Every person I know who ever joined a hate group – and this goes all the way to the Tutsis against the Hutus – is the victim of a bait and switch. They find people who want to be proud of their heritage but feel like they can’t be proud because they will otherwise be labeled a racist.
“But then when he comes to the meeting it’s an entirely different story. At our meetings we would never talk about our heritage; it was always about ‘look at what they’re doing.’ It’s a big bait and switch.”
For Frank, identifying as a neo-Nazi wasn’t simple at first, especially as his grandfathers had fought against the Nazis in World War II, so he avoided the label. But over time, that last barrier would crumble.
“I was taught that my grandfathers had been duped and they were wrong,” Frank says ruefully, “and that they were just drawn into a big Jewish conspiracy. That turned me against them, which is a pity, because they were good men (one is still alive). They had told me stories, but there I was saying that it was all a Jewish conspiracy.
“I couldn’t believe them, because if I had believed them I wouldn’t have been able to argue for what I believed. I had to completely disbelieve everything they had told me.”
Within the movement, Frank climbed through the ranks quickly. He appeared on ABC News to discuss his beliefs, and he eventually began his own foray into the world of the media.
“I had a television show in Springfield, Illinois, and it was really popular in the movement. We didn’t do what the other neo-Nazi shows were doing at the time – these guys were older people who would just talk for an hour about their beliefs.
In no time, Frank became recognized as one of the top neo-Nazi recruiters in the country.
“It was boring; I believed what they believed in and I still thought they were terribly boring. Instead, we had little skits on our show, we had bands, we played music, and we were kind of funny.”
In no time, Frank became recognized as one of the top neo-Nazi recruiters in the country.
“I was running a pretty fresh group – guys who were just getting into this. I recruited a bunch of kids in high school – I didn’t go to high school myself, but I recruited them out of high school. The numbers became really big really fast, which is kind of hard for any group.”
Not only was Frank’s not the only violent gang in town, it wasn’t even the only group of skinheads. There were other skinheads, SHARP – Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice – who saw themselves as better than the neo-Nazis. Like some in Antifa today, there were few points that these SHARP skinheads would make without resorting to violence.
“The whole skinhead thing didn’t start as a racist thing,” Frank explains. “They were poor kids in London who were mostly on welfare, and they were against the hippies, the mods and the punk rockers in the ’60s.
“It was a working class English thing. There were black kids who were part of that, too, and there were all types of kids there. As their numbers grew and they became more popular, the national front came in and started recruiting them and so did the socialists. Both sides saw a large group of kids doing the same thing and felt it was a good place to try to recruit. That’s when the split started and there ended up being racist skinheads and anti-racist skinheads. These two groups have been fighting each other since the ’70s.”
One day, Frank came up with the idea to kidnap Josh, the leader of the anti-racist skinheads.
“My biggest problem with him was that I thought he was trying to steal all my new recruits,” Frank says. “A lot of the new skinheads thought he was cool and he was very popular, and I thought that he would steal all of my new recruits after I put in all the work to get them to join.”
“You personally kidnapped him or did you give the order?” I ask.
“I did it myself. I wouldn’t trust someone else to do a job like that. I was 17 years old, but they charged me as an adult, which was the correct thing to do. I wasn’t a good person.”
I ask Frank to walk us through the story.
“I tricked him into coming to my house; I told him that we were having a party and that he would be welcome, because he was friends with some of my friends. He even knew my roommate very well. There were three of us involved.
“When we called him, we had music in the background and noise to make it sound like there was a real party. He showed up, and I said, ‘I’m so glad you made it. Listen, I have to talk to you about something.’ He walked in and we went into the bedroom.
“I started accusing of him of various things. A couple of them were true, and he defended himself for doing them, but when it came to the made-up accusations he, of course, said that he didn’t know what I was talking about.
“I told him that he better confess. He said, ‘Confess?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and then I pulled out a shotgun and held it to him. We decided that we would hold him for ransom.”
This hadn’t been Frank’s initial foray into the dark world of abduction, he admits. But this time something went wrong.
“I had done this type of thing in the past, but those were well-planned; this one wasn’t well-planned at all. We had no ending to it; we didn’t even know who to ask for the ransom. I just didn’t like the guy and I acted off my instincts. The other times I had done it, there were plans in action right away. When we found out that we couldn’t get any money for him, we tortured him for hours.
“The next morning we decided to just let him go, but we told him that we want protection money so it doesn’t happen to him again.”
I made amends with Josh, and that’s what I do with anyone I’ve ever wronged in my life.
Josh went right to the police.
Frank didn’t know this at the time, but the fact that Josh came to his place willingly saved Frank from a 20-year prison sentence. Instead, he was handed down a far lighter, three-year term.
“Josh and I are now friends,” Frank says, telling me about a chance encounter at a bar in St. Louis many years later. “I made amends with him, and that’s what I do with anyone I’ve ever wronged in my life; I make amends. And amends doesn’t mean that I simply say that I’m sorry. I go to the person and ask how I can make it right.”
That prison sentence turned into the first few pebbles on Frank’s road to recovery.
“I was running with the Aryans in prison; we had our own gang, and I was a high-ranking member because of who I was on the outside. I was a bit of a celebrity in that world; remember, I even had my own television show.
“Now, most Aryans in prison weren’t Aryans when they got there; they become Aryans because they need to belong to a group in order to have their protection. I didn’t have to be worried about being attacked, because I had a whole gang of people who felt honored to protect me.
“But I didn’t have anything in common with them. They were talking about Harleys and fixing transmissions, which I had never done in my life.
“I played football and basketball when I was a kid, and there were times when the Aryans would play football, and I would go with them, but they were very bad at it. I hated it because I’m very competitive. I played with them a couple of times, and then I said that I can’t do it anymore. I wanted to play with people who actually knew how to play, and the only ones there who did were the black kids.
“When I finally asked one of the black kids if I could play football with them, he said, ‘No, you have a swastika on your neck. You’re not playing with us.’
“Then one of the older black guys said that they should just let me play, but his idea was to put me in a position where I would be hit very hard by the other team and then I wouldn’t want to play anymore.
But they didn’t know how fast I was until I caught the first ball, and my speed combined with how scared I was meant that no one was going to catch me. They were really impressed by how fast I was.”
By the time he’d leave prison, Frank’s mind had been opened to the idea that skin color wasn’t that big of a barrier, after all. But he was still a carrying neo-Nazi who’d faithfully attend group meetings and rallies. His offensive tattoos reminded the world of his allegiances.
“You get out of prison, you still have the swastika tattoo on your neck, and you’re trying to get a job. That didn’t go very well, right?” I ask.
“That doesn’t present itself as good people skills,” he says humorously. “The best thing I can say is that when having ‘skinhead’ tattooed on my knuckles, a swastika on my neck, and ‘Made in Philadelphia’ tattooed on my head – those are all things that people can see when I go to fill out a job application.”
There was only one person who considered giving Frank a chance – an antique dealer from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, named Keith Brookstein. A Jew.
Keith wasn’t intimidated by people like Frank. “Keep your enemies closer,” is what he would tell people.
“He wasn’t necessarily practicing Judaism,” Franks points out, “but he always had certain Jewish mannerisms and expressions like ‘oy vey.’ He fit all the stereotypes when I looked at him.
The first weekend on the job, Frank didn’t say more than two words to Keith. “I just wanted my money and I wanted to do my work.”
Throughout the week, Frank was certain about one thing. “He was going to ‘Jew’ me.”
But did Keith “Jew” him?
“Not at all!” Frank exclaims. And that blew his mind.
“I had already been prepared to argue with him knowing that he wouldn’t give me my full paycheck. So I acted very abruptly with him all day. At the end of the day, he says, ‘So what do I owe you?’ And I rudely threw back at him, ‘$300.’
“Now I had already made double that amount in tips, and he knew that – that was one of the landmines I had set to see what he would do.
“He handed me $300 in cash, and without even knowing that I’m trying to fight with him, he says, ‘You’re a really good worker,’ and then he handed me an extra $100.”
Being given his full wages plus a tip infuriated Frank. “We were supposed to be fighting now,” Frank remembers thinking.
But for the next few months, Frank was still expecting Keith to reveal his “true colors.” He was hoping to catch him at something.
Frank is very open that spending a few years behind bars in the company of blacks, Latinos and Asians gave him insight into the fact that they weren’t so different, after all. But Jews? Well, they were different.
“I kept that to myself because while I didn’t have anything in this world, I still had seniority in the [neo-Nazi] group. I wouldn’t talk about blacks, Asians and Latinos anymore during meetings. I would hear people say very stupid things that I used to say when I first joined the movement, and I would think to myself, ‘That sounds so dumb. Did I used to sound like that’?”
But Jews is where he still drew line.
“I still could be part of this group as long as I still had this feeling about Jews, and hating Jews was so much easier, because I didn’t know any Jews.”
Except Keith Brookstein.
“He would pick me up all the time and we would go on trucks to pick up furniture together. He would drive, and I would read out loud from the newspaper. We would talk and I realized that he was really smart. He taught me everything I know about the business. I started to admire him and looked up to him in a certain way but decided to keep it secret.
“One day I broke something at work, a marble-top table, and Keith was very upset. Breaking something in our business was very bad, because with antiques they’re really irreplaceable. I was really embarrassed because it was in front of a customer and I turned to Keith and I said really loudly, ‘I’m so stupid, I’m so sorry.’
“Calling myself stupid was something that I would always do whenever I made even the smallest mistake throughout my life. It was just the easiest way to get out of something. When he finished dealing with the customer, he came over to me, grabbed me by the neck and said, ‘Stop saying that you’re stupid, you idiot.’
“I cleaned up the table and then we went out on the road together to someplace in New Jersey. We were driving in the truck, and he just unloaded on me about how smart I am. He said, ‘If you think that you’re so stupid, then you’re questioning my judgment, because I think that you’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. Are you going to tell me that I’m stupid for believing that you’re smart?’
“Then he said something to me that has stuck with me forever. He said, ‘Smart people can fake being dumb, but dumb people can’t fake being smart. You just are smart; you can’t fake it.’”
Keith then dropped Frank off in Philadelphia.
“It was Friday, which was payday, but I had broken the table and I was just grateful for the fact that he hadn’t fired me. I get out of the truck and I’m walking away, all the while thinking that I’m in trouble because I don’t have any money for the weekend.
“He beeps the horn and yells at me to come back. I go back and he says, ‘You didn’t get your pay yet.’ I was waiting for him to open my envelope and take out the money that I had cost him by breaking the table, but he just handed me the whole envelope and he said, ‘See you Monday’.”
That was the point of no return for Frank. His old life was over.
“I was absolutely done after that. I didn’t tell anyone. I just stopped going around to where they were. I didn’t know what I felt. My emotions were all over the place. I was afraid to tell someone, because I was afraid that he would convince me to change my mind. I didn’t want to agree with them on anything, so I just stopped going there.”
But eventually Frank began confronting the hate. He wrote a book about his experiences, and he began giving lectures about racial diversity and acceptance to schoolchildren for the ADL. He created a hockey program, Harmony Through Hockey, which promotes sports and respect for others. He also co-founded the organization Life After Hate, which helps former neo-Nazis move beyond their former beliefs. And that has meant reaching out to people who are in the process of leaving, or who are wavering, and convincing them to reject hatred of others.
Besides fear, there is one thing most neo-Nazis have in common: they’ve never met a Jew.
“I have a list of Jewish people whom I trust and know that I can do an intervention with, and they won’t be easily offended; they have a thick skin and they can deal with it.”
“The idea is that you have to make it comfortable and then awkward. Everyone in the room knows what they’re there for, but I make sure that they have something in common first. It might be about sports or about gaming or whatever.”
After the conversation between the young Nazi-aspirant and the Jew has gone on for some time, Frank will interrupt and ask the Jew, usually a rabbi or Holocaust survivor: “When you see a swastika, how does that make you feel?”
Frank highlights one particular case: “One kid, either in 10th or 11th grade, was drawing swastikas on his books and on his hockey equipment He was just doing it because he thought it was a rebel thing to do; he didn’t really have any belief in it. The issue was that he didn’t understand what his actions were and who was seeing them.”
“I introduced him to a couple of rabbis, and Rabbi Leib Bolel [formerly of Des Moines] decided to arrange for him to meet two Holocaust survivors.”
“We went back to meet with the Holocaust survivors, and I set up the conversation the same way – with casual conversation. They were very frail, and they were telling him that he looks like their grandson, and so on. And then in the middle of the conversation, I just turned and said, ‘Sir, what do you feel when you see a swastika?’ This frail old man started shaking, and tears were coming out of his eyes. He said, ‘That symbol took everything from me. That symbol took everything from my wife.’ Then he started to go through everything that they took.
“When he finished, I said, ‘This boy here is writing swastikas without knowing what he’s really doing. What would you say to him for that?’ He said, ‘That symbol has tormented me for my entire life. My life is almost over, but how can it still be around and how can people still wear it after what it did to me? It makes me lose faith in humanity sometimes.’
“This kid was just in shock,” Frank concludes. “After that we went back to the small talk; they gave him a hug and we all left. A few days later, I checked in with his mother to see how he was doing. She told me that he took down or ripped up any swastikas that he had.”
Frank has some raw truth for haters. “When I would march in neo-Nazi or Klan rallies and I would be holding the banner, I would be the first guy walking down the street with cops on all sides of us and hundreds of protesters throwing things at us. I never once ducked a bottle and thought ‘I better rethink my beliefs here’.”
“When someone sat down with me and had a conversation, I couldn’t fight him. I couldn’t fight him because I was being treated like a human being. I realized right away that when I talk to guys who I am intervening with or who are trying to get out, and I tell them that I understand why they believe, that way I can get somewhere.”
“I don’t fight ideology with them. It’s not what I’m there for. You can never corner a racist like that, because any time you get him with a good question or fact, he’ll just say that it’s a Jewish conspiracy. Everything that they can’t explain becomes a Jewish conspiracy. What I do is try to relate to them as a human being and find something that we have in common. Usually it’s the pain of a breakup, a divorce, alcoholism, the alcoholism of a relative, etc. I get down to the real part of him being a human being and I treat him that way. I’m not sitting there and telling him that he’s stupid for having those beliefs. Whenever he says something that’s really outrageous, I’ll say, ‘I used to say things like that. I was there. I understand you.’
“I don’t treat him as evil, I treat him as a human being, and it just works. He lightens up and he realizes that he hasn’t had a good talk like this with someone other than people in the movement.”
These days, Frank’s ideology has changed when it comes to religion, too. “I’m a huge believer in a higher power,” he says, but it’s no longer the Catholicism he’d grown up with. It turns out, as he discovered quite recently, his maternal grandmother was actually Jewish.
“Meeink is a Jewish name,” Frank reveals. “My mother’s family were leftovers in the neighborhood from when it used to be Jewish. My grandmother just kind of stayed, but over the years they started marrying Catholic men and they became Catholic.”
“Turns out, my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother are all confirmed as Jewish,” Frank concludes. What was his reaction upon discovering that he’s the very person he had been conditioned to loath? “I thought it was awesome. One of my uncles had actually said something one day about us being Jewish, and I thought he was messing around with me.”
“I started looking into things, and then my uncle wrote to me saying that I should look into Grandma Mullen. She had stayed in the Jewish neighborhood even after it turned Irish. I don’t really remember her very much; I remember going to her house when I was a little kid and she always had candy. I think that she even practiced Judaism with her family when she was a little girl, but as she got older they stayed in the Irish neighborhood and she married an Irish guy. When I found out, I was really cool with it.”
It came out during a conversation he had with Rabbi Yossi Jacobson, the Chabad rabbi in Des Moines. “About five or six years ago, Rabbi Jacobson and I were talking for this documentary we were filming, and he told me that I look Jewish and that my last name sounds Jewish. He pointed out that having an eei in a last name was an old Jewish spelling that isn’t used anymore. It turns out that it comes from my mother’s father’s side, who were Jewish cheese makers. It’s just the craziest thing. I told him about my mother’s mother’s family and then he showed me his [tefillin] and how to put them on. It was a very special moment.”
The fact that Frank has been going by his maternal surname Meeink is in itself interesting. “I was born Bertone, which is my father’s last name; he’s an Italian. We moved back to the Irish neighborhood, and the Irish and the Italians don’t get along. Having an Italian last name in an Irish neighborhood would’ve been difficult for me.”
“The first person who told me that I had to write Meeink as my last name was my Catholic school nun. I remember being happy about having a shorter name to write because I was lazy.”
Somehow, deep down, Frank believes he’d always known. “Before I even found out about it, there was one year when my wife and I taught the kids about Chanukah and celebrated it instead of Xmas because we wanted to give them an experience from everyone.”
“We put a picture of us with a menorah on Facebook, and my cousin sent back, ‘I didn’t know your wife was Jewish.’ That’s when my uncle messaged me privately and started telling me about Grandma Mullen.”
Frank’s message is that “we can’t fight hate with hate – it makes them feel good when we do that. When we fight them with love, compassion, caring and empathy, they can’t fight that. As I said before, if people throw a bottle at me, I can fight them; but if you sit down to have a conversation with me, I can’t get up and punch you in the face.”
An oldie I got from Albert: An Obituary printed in the London Times.......Brilliant!!
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- And maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death,
-by his parents, Truth and Trust,
-by his wife, Discretion,
-by his daughter, Responsibility,
-and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 5 stepchildren;
- I Know My Rights
- I Want It Now
- Someone Else Is To Blame
- I'm A Victim
- Pay me for Doing Nothing
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
Story of hope in the Ukraine. https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/4941108/jewish/Story-of-Hope-Rabbi-Mendel-Cohen-Mariupol-Ukraine.htm
Israeli Programmers Salaries rise again. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3872490,00.html
Inyanay Diyoma
Al Qaeda #2 killed months ago by Israel. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Byv2XM3KD
Analysis on what Biden Admin will do. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/H1rWqJzFw
Two Rockets from Gaza see Iron Dome at work. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291225
With replies. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BJK00n4AYv#autoplay
Elections in Libya. https://www.debka.com/libyas-warring-sides-agree-on-national-election-next-december-un-broker-reports/
Israel’s secret lake in the Arava. https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/r1uBj2YYw
Something fishy in Rapid testing. https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/r1uBj2YYw
Soldiers rescued from Charedi Neighborhood. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291134
Poll Workers come fwd in MI something fishy. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291194
US Truckers to go on Strike. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291206
Hatred at York University. https://www.jns.org/opinion/an-open-letter-to-york-and-ubc-promoting-hatred-is-never-justified/
Election software was designed for Hugo Chavez. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291214
Governor does not want vaccine we’ll give it elsewhere. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291219
Zionist Left and the PLO Flag. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291203
Hamas thinks it is on Par with IDF. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291228
Chabad to have an on-line conference. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291222
TikTok given two more weeks to divest. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291229
Austria Corona restrictions. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291231
Trump Campaign has a weaker case in Penn. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291305
Trump hints at law suits. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291298
Space Falcon heads to Intl. Space Station. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291299
Syrian FM dies at 79. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291306
50 Igbo killed 6 Synagogues Destroyed 2 Arrested. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291234
Rockets were from Hamas. https://www.debka.com/idf-crushes-hamas-posts-in-gaza-after-twin-rocket-attack-on-central-southern-israel/
Santa took my advice and visited the Dead Sea. https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/BJK2k00KP
Egypt finds 100 burial caskets. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Skp1z0AKw
PM’s lawyers cannot delay case. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/09N1G5C5C
Kushner children pulled out of school due to fears. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291258
Ed-Op Glick https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291243
TX takes no nonsense. https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2072174329164/joe-bidens-texas-political-director-dallas-jones-accused-of-illegal-ballot-harvesting
Bomb found on Syria Border. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291420
Moderna Vaccine 94.5% effective. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291335
Yeshiva Bochurim donate antibodies. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291330
Another Israeli Astronaut in 2021. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291326
Israel demands CNN apology for C. Amanpour. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291311
ISIS threatens beheadings in France. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291327
Trump considered hitting Iran. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291393
Ben-Yishai Hamas between Jihad and Israeli Hammer. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Syg7c60tw#autoplay
As Covid cases rise in the States more restrictions. https://www.debka.com/us-covid-cases-top-11-million-states-clamp-down-own-closures/
Netanyahu spoke to Putin on Sputnik Vaccine will speak to Biden. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r16Ja4gcP
UAE, Israel and others urge Biden to see ME-Iran reality. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SyEkMwl9w
Further lifting of shopping restrictions. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SJi19mg5v
Media that ignore violence are animals. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291350
Ampour apologizes. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291395
Murders of Arab-Arab Mafia high but 16 wives this year. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291351
Vaccine will we return to normal? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291339
US has a lot of work to do on Iran. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291392
Ed-Op Limor last year ‘lightning’ caused rockets to be launched but this year it struck twice in the same place. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291336
Pakistanis considering recognizing Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291378
Extreme Quarantine does not help. In May, 3,143 new Marine recruits were given the option to participate in a study of frequent testing under extreme quarantine. The study was called CHARM, which stands for COVID-19 Health Action Response for Marines. Of recruits asked, a total of 1,848 agreed to be subjects in this experiment “which included weekly qPCR testing and blood sampling for IgG antibody assessment.” https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291374
China signs an agreement with 15 countries. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291370
4month old baby dies of suspected abuse. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291425
Antisemitic Republican Congressman. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291418
Israel deserves to be properly governed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291409
Gas explosion in factory leaves 2 dead. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291411
IDF attacks targets in Syria. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291474
https://www.debka.com/israeli-jets-hit-8-iranian-targets-between-the-golan-and-damascus/
PLO and Biden. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/polls-show-arab-and-islamic-orgs-played-crucial-role-in-bidens-victory/2020/11/16/
Netanyahu has a long conversation with Biden. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BkgmFF115w
With Biden victory, PLO resumes security cooperation. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1MD11Y11qP
Why aides held back Trump. https://www.debka.com/trumps-aides-held-him-back-from-a-strike-on-irans-nuclear-site-in-his-last-days-of-office-report/
Netanyahu puts politics first. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291443
Media wants to install Biden before official. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291452
GA thousands of votes were not counted. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291487
MI deadlock over election fairness. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291475
Lagos gets a Chabad Center. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291435
Iraq one dead in rocket attack. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291467
Deceptive Peace in the Caucus. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291431
US drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291458
Yom Kippur War television series. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291430
Israelis rescued in Ethiopia. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291442
Senators ask Trump to name Yehuda and the Shomron made in Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291557
After over-crowding on sidewalks, Israel allows up to 10 people in stores. https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/H1Rj6Z75D
PLO sends back Ambassadors to UAE, Bahrain. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Hk00JYx79P
Rabbi Yitzchak Rudomin Shlita: G-D has not abandoned us, he wants us to go to Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291534
Israel reopens zoos and tourist hubs. https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/H1WfJJX5v
Bahrain says that Biden must consult us before Iranian deal. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291556
2 Israelis drafted to NBA one first choice other second. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291553
Georgia thousands of votes lost in blunder. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291487
Von Braun space hotel to open in 2025. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291545
Biden is not president elect the Trump Strategy. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291507
2000 daily cases will cause shut down. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291554
Films from Syrian attack. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291529
NY Public Schools close. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291548
Fear of flu leads to temporary vaccine shortage. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291510
German prosecutors seek life in prison for Yom Kippur attacker. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/B1B4EkX9v
Don’t celebrate prematurely the end to Covid. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/S1stFzW5w
Teheran’s threat of vengeance. https://www.debka.com/israeli-jets-hit-8-iranian-targets-between-the-golan-and-damascus/
Iran launches mock A/C carrier. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1eqJ7VqD
Iran prepared for a full scale war. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291641
Watch IDF exposes the Iranian explosive devices. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291584
Pompeo receives ancient Judean Coin. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291619
Pompeo corrected long injustice. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291625
Sinai ISIS claims to have blown up gas pipeline. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291630
MI Republicans seek to impeach Gov. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291614
After killing 13,000,000 minks. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291589
Hamas built a 74meter tunnel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291601
Reviving tunes from the Holocaust. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291638
Canada supports biased UN Resolutions. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291632
Eiland Ed-Op an opportunity to neutralize Hezballah. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1B2bxN5D
Half of the Corona cases are from Arabs. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/H1UvQBEcP
Germany marks the 75th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/BJtj4z4qv
Have a healthy, blessed and peace Shabbos and remember the next few weeks are the earliest Shabbos times of the year.
Rachamim Pauli
