Battling the Yetzer HaRa and then Amalek
Last week, there was a
lot of ground to cover and my trip from Israel to the USA cost me a lot of
jetlag. I have a lovely apartment on the top floor, but when a company is re-tarring
the roof and working with jackhammers and sledgehammers over one’s head
producing a good quality Torah Drasha becomes a war with the Yetzer HaRa.
If one is under the
influence of the Yetzer HaRa, Alcohol or Drugs how can one fight the most
disgusting members of mankind which is Amalek.
Chapter 17 starts out
that the Bnei Yisrael were in Rephidim. Rashi comments of the spiritual
weakness of wanting the slave foods of Egypt over the taste of freedom. The
name has a hint of weakness in Hebrew.
17:8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in
Rephidim.
Amalek does not confront at first soldier to
soldier or man to man. No, they hit from the rear the weak, the elderly, the
women and the children as the men marched forward. Why do I say that Hamas is the
spiritual continuation of Amalek! The plan was that Hezballah was supposed to
invade from the north while Hamas was to attack from the south and Syria/Iran
from the Golan. Instead Hamas like Amalek saw the opportunity to attack a
youth-adult party music festival and slaughter unarmed civilians. A few
Kibbutzim were destroyed and a raped to death body was brought to Gaza of a
German Israeli female, they took bodies of husband and wife from a Kibbutz and
more. A family with two babies were taken hostage. It is claimed that they
murdered the mother and babies. Who cuts out a 7 month fetus from the womb puts
it in the oven and rapes the mother before beheading her. This is Amalek.
Raping women and deforming their breasts and genitals after death and breaking
women’s pelvic bones. This wickedness is Amalek.
9 And Moses said unto Joshua: 'Choose us out men, and go
out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the
rod of God in my hand.' 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him,
and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the
hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that
Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
For the freed slaves it was not enough that
Moshe, Aaron and Hur prayed and watched, they had to have the staff held in the
air to assure them of HASHEM being on their side.
12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone,
and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands,
the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were
steady until the going down of the sun.
Moshe had to sit down and it was too much for him
to hold up his arms so long.
13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the
edge of the sword.
Likes of people who ran the third Reich or Sinwar
and friends there is no solution but the sword for them. Perhaps that is why
the AI chose Swords of Iron for the name of the war other than Simchas Torah
War.
14 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Write this for a
memorial in the book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly
blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.'
It is the job of the leaders to blot out Amalek
otherwise a Haman, Hitler, Sinwar and friends, Khamenei, etc. have to erased
and eliminated from history.
15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it
Adonai-nissi. 16 And he said: 'The hand upon the throne of the LORD:
the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
In every generation
until Moshiach. Shaul failed to kill Agag and he slept with his wife and
eventually Haman came from that along with others. So the war will continue
until Moshiach.
Parsha Yisro
When Adam sinned, the Shechina left the heaven on earth complex in
Gan Eden and moved up to the second spiritual height in heaven further away
from earth. Mankind could hear the voice of the L-RD and knew when HASHEM
traversed Gan Eden. Kayn murdering Hevel made the Holy Matron go up one more
level. Idol Worship in the time of Enosh still higher and in the days of Tuval
Kayn even higher until the Shechina was farthest away from earth in the 7th level
of heaven. Avraham and the Avos brought down the Shechina again until finally
Moshe made it possible for the DIVINE SPIRIT to be between the Cherubim on the
Aharon. Also sparks of the Shechina can rest upon each and every person who
deserves such merit.
Rabbi Yehuda opened up the conversation when reflecting upon these
words: 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying: And
Rabbi Yehuda stated: 106:2 Who can express the mighty acts of the LORD, or
make all His praise to be heard? Said he: “In how many ways does the Torah testify
to the glory of G-D and admonish man not to sin! How many are the Forums that
counsel the man not to sin or turn to the right or to the left! And how
numerous are the signs which scatter in his way to lead him back to the true
path that he may return to the L-RD to receive forgiveness.”
The speaking of the words uses the Hebrew Aleph Tav or ET. This
indicates that this proclamation come from Gevurah or Severity. Gevurah was
joined through the ET with the right hand of the L-RD and the voice of the L-RD
was heard knocking the souls out of the body. (Adam did not have this problem
from his original high spiritual level in Gan Eden) Angels had to coax the soul
back into the body after each utterance. The Torah was given to the Bnei
Yisrael by fire and darkness to warn them of the fire of Gehenna and the
darkness of Galus among the nations of the world. Nobody gave them a lecture on
fire and brimstone they could literally see what would happen.
Rabbi Chiya stated that the two Luchos (Tablets) were of Sapphire
in appearance with letters that went through to the other side. In the space
there was white fire and covered or outlined with black fire. (This is a
physical appearance but has such deep spiritual meaning that it went right over
my head) The truth is that the power of the Luchos emanated from the left side
within the right side and the white fire was from Chessed (mercy) and the black
fire was from Gevurah. The Luchos with their full power went through the
Sefiros until they raised the nation to Chachma (father) and Bina (mother) from
Ayn Sof (never ending).
20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
As we say in the Pesach not by an Angel or a Seraphim
but the L-RD HIMSELF spoke the words – the first two to the whole world but
when Yisrael was so terrified they asked Moshe to get the rest. A year or two
ago I brought down the whole Talmud Bavli Shabbos 88.
2 I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods
before Me.
I am the prime cause of everything. There is nothing
without ME. I am THE CREATOR there are no partners in creation. When the
Medrash talks about let us make man in our image the Medrash is talking about
the Attributes of Justice and Mercy arguing over the creation of man and the
Sefiros of G-D. Giving man Chachma, Bina, Daas, Chessed, Gevurah, Netzach, Hod,
Yesod and Malchus in this world within mankind and his own emotions which gives
him the potential to do good or evil. Thus, man is an earthly creature with
heavenly attributes. He is capable of a dialogue with HASHEM Yisborach.
3 Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor
any manner of likeness, of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
The prohibition starts here for if one makes an image
of the best or worst man, one may end up worshipping him. The USSR was filled
with images of Stalin and Lenin and Iraq of Saddam Hussein. Things could get
out of hand with the Statues of Lincoln and Washington or Mt. Rushmore if the
US wasn’t a monotheistic Republic. When my grandchildren were in Washington DC
my grandchildren thought it fun to run around and play on the statue of James
Monroe and the little park they being Israeli viewed the Statue as some sort of
children’s play thing in the park.
4 thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them;
for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me;
You will lose the Shechina, Tiferes, Hod, Yesod, etc.
from your soul and be just a thinking animal. Jews were killed on Kiddush
HASHEM over the centuries from the times of the Greek occupation through close
to modern times for not bowing down to Statues of the gods of the powers that
be in the host countries.
5 and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of
them that love Me and keep My commandments.
This is essentially a pledge for all time for people
who uphold the Mitzvos. As along the line some Jews will observe Torah and
Mitzvos which will keep the world functioning. (Legends of the 36 Tzaddikim)
6 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in
vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.
One can curse mankind with no problem as a man does not
know what you say or do behind his back. However, the CREATOR, ALL HEARING, ALL
SEEING, ALL UNDERSTANDING able to check a mind, kidney and heart at any given
time. HE knows what you are thinking and most likely will do without even
having to look into the future as HE can read our minds and souls like one
reads a large billboard. The most interesting aspect of this command is that
your very subatomic particles through atoms to the complemented systems such as
nerves, digestive, circulatory, etc. all emanate from HASHEM. In fact they are
held in place by the will of the L-RD and could not exist a Pico-second or a
trillionth of that without HIS WILL.
7 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Shabbos here is a Remembrance and in Devarim it is
guarding. The custom among Kabbalist is do take a bunch of myrtle branches or
two types of spices and smell them one as opposed to remembering and the other
as opposed to guarding. (We take the spices as per Rabbi Shimon and Elazar in
Shabbos 33 when Eliyahu HaNovi ran Erev Shabbos with the myrtle branches
‘Knegged Zachor v’Shamor’.) The addition of spices on Shabbos is a help for the
second soul that we get only on Shabbos.
8 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy
work; Melacha and not the definition of physical work (W = F
x D) 9 but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the LORD thy
God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work,
Melacha which is changing usually a state of affairs –
plowing, shearing, burning, sewing, etc.; or doing something that was done in
the Mishkan like carrying form one section to another, erasing or even taking
apart.
thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy
man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is
within thy gates;
You are not supposed to have in your house any guest
who is Jewish that will use an electronic device on Shabbos (outside of medical
or security people involved in saving or guarding lives.) However, if you have
as a guest a person who does not follow the Torah, one should be very careful
and avoid inviting people who will violate the Shabbos over on Shabbos.
However, if you have an obligation to invite a relative such as mother, father,
child, spouse, etc. one should try to explain to them if they are will to
observe even temporary. Many non-Jews recognize the Shabbos so where are my brethren
who violate it? http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=250689
Why would one want to destroy his second soul’s glory
and a defending Angel? We don’t need a weaken regular soul with a lower grade
of Tiferes, Netzach etc.
10 for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the
LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Here
is the first national connection to the act of creation. Shabbos is Kodesh
(holy, sanctified, glorified). When one first becomes observant it is hard
because of the negative commands of each of the 39 Melachos but as one gets
used to the observance the rest, glory, intensity of one’s soul expands. It
does not matter to me as far as the rest and refreshing go if I am out as a
lonely Jew in Cody, SD or with a Minyan at the Kotel the holiness and the joy
of Shabbos Kodesh penetrates and enlightens my soul. As is written, “A fool does
not understand this.” Shabbos not only refreshes the physical body but refresh
the spirit. That is why on Motzei Shabbos when our second soul leaves us we
need spices, wine and light to restore ourselves from a holy level to a mundane
level. If one does not feel this way there is something wrong with his/her
Shabbos observance.
11 Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may
be long upon the land which the LORD thy God gives thee.
Sometimes it is more than rebellious teens who don’t do
this. The spiritual damage that they do to their souls in the next world I
don’t want to go into as the vast majority of the population of the world do
honor their parents.
12 Thou shalt not murder.
I repeat myself again that the Torah was not given to
Angels but to very, very Orthodox Jews who witnessed the 10 Plagues and the
DIVINE CHARIOT as the sea parted on their right and their left and they walked
through on the dry land. This week a member of the Haifa Chevra Kadisha (burial
society) was murdered gangland style as people want to have access to the land
rights and grave rights of the Haifa area. I hope that it is more criminal
people than a religious group.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
I am always the last to know what happens even in my
small neighborhood as I don’t look for or listen to Lashon Hara. However once a
couple is divorced certain things become public knowledge. I could not figure
out how such a lovely pair just when they wanted to marry off their daughters
would get divorced. It turns out that the man worked in the same area as the
wife of a professional who was a Talmud Chacham. Whether they physically
committed adultery or mentally fell in love I kept my nose clean. He divorced
his wife and she the G-D fearing man. They then got married.
Thou shalt not steal.
Ever heard that business is business and the Yetzer can
teach a man to make excuses for his actions.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor.
Again from this week’s news: Some ultra-Orthodox Jews
trying to take over a hospital in Yerushalayim hired an actress to pretend to
be the daughter of a wealthy donor. She asked the head of the collections for
the hospital to come to her hotel room to get a check she then went to the
bathroom stripped and put on her act. The treachery and blackmail involved had
hidden cameras. Five people were arrested the girl was let go as she was only
putting on an act and was not involved in the blackmail or the filming. She is
State’s Witness. This scandal is a real Chillul HASHEM as it desecrates THE
NAME before the non-religious Jewish World.
13 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; thou
shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant,
nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.
In Perkei Avos there is a question and answer: Who is
wealthy? – One who is happy with his lot. One who is sitting in Africa by a hut
next to pig style with the stench and flies an lack of more than one garment
and just a morsel to eat but is satisfied in his lot is better off than a
billionaire who is not satisfied and wants more and more power, wealth and
political control.
Rabbi Yacov Yosef Jacobson Shlita of Chabad wrote an essay with a
web broadcast this week: Two Versions
The rabbis in the Midrash proposed a novel answer. The Ten
Commandments, they suggested, were engraved on two tablets, five on each stone,
so that they would be read in two directions -- from top to bottom, and from
side to side (2).
The simplest way of reading the Ten Commandments is, of course,
from top to bottom:
On the first stone:
1) I am the Lord your G-d who has
taken you out of Egypt...
2) You shall have no other gods...
3) You shall not swear in G-d's name in vain...
4) Remember the Sabbath...
5) Honor your father and your mother...
And the five commandments engraved on the second tablet:
6) You shall not murder.
7) You shall not commit adultery.
8) You shall not steal.
9) You shall not bear false witness against your fellow.
10) You shall not covet your fellow's house; you shall not covet
your fellow's wife ... nor anything that belongs to your fellow.
This was the way of reading the Ten Commandments vertically.
Yet due to the fact that the first five commandments were
engraved on one stone and the second five on a separate stone, there was
another way of reading the commandments -- horizontally instead of vertically,
from commandment No. 1 directly to No. 6; from No. 2 to No. 7; 3 -- 8; 4 -- 9;
5 -- 10.
This version of the Ten Commandments would then read like this:
1) I am the Lord your G-d/You shall not murder. 2) You shall
have no other gods/You shall not commit adultery; and so forth with the rest of
the commandments.
Yet this explanation begs the question: Why is it necessary to read the Ten
Commandments horizontally? What insight can we gain from this alternative
reading of the commandments?
In this essay we will discuss the juxtaposition of the first and
sixth commandments: "I am the Lord your G-d/You shall not murder."
The significance of this "horizontal" reading from a historical,
political and religious standpoint cannot be overstated. It embodies one of the
most stunning aspects of Judaism. What is at stake in this juxtaposition is
nothing less than the future of human civilization.
Two Historical Attempts
Two groups have made an attempt to divorce commandment no. 1
from commandment no. 6 -- to sever the idea of a Creator, who conceived the
world for a moral purpose, from the imperative to honor the life of another
human being. The first group was comprised of the philosophers of the
Enlightenment during the 18th and 19th centuries, the second of religious
leaders in many and diverse ages. The result for both was moral defeat.
The thinkers of the Enlightenment ushered in the Age of Reason
and the modern secular era, founded on the belief that the great ideal of
"You shall not murder" did not require the prerequisite of "I am
the Lord Your G-d" in order to be sustained. Religion was not necessary to
ensure moral behavior; reason alone, without G-d, would guide humanity into an
age of liberty and to the achievement of moral greatness. The sixth commandment
could operate successfully independent of the first.
While religion embodied the vision of man standing in a continuous relationship
with G-d, the essence of the Enlightenment represented the vision of man
without G-d. It was a vision already introduced during the first days of
creation near the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, by the most
sophisticated animal of the time, the serpent. "You shall be like G-d,"
it promised Eve (3). Man could, and ought to, replace G-d. Left to his own
vices, the thinking went, the human being will achieve moral greatness.
But the Holocaust spelled the end of this grand faith in the promise of
progress based on human reason. In Auschwitz, the belief that modern man felt a
natural empathy for others was ruined forever.
The gas chambers were not invented by a primitive, barbaric and
illiterate people. To the contrary, this people excelled in sciences and the
arts, but nevertheless sent 1.5 million children, and 4.5 million adults, to
their deaths solely because they had Jewish blood flowing in their veins. SS
guards would spend a day in Auschwitz, gassing as many as 12,000 human beings,
and then return home in the evening to pet their dogs and laugh with their
wives. As the smoke of children ascended from the crematoriums, these charming
romantics would enjoy good wine, beautiful women and the moving music of Bach,
Mozart and Wagner. They murdered millions of innocents in the name of a
developed ethic, and they justified genocide on purely rational grounds.
In "Schindler's List," there is a scene during the
liquidation of the Krakow Ghetto where a little girl hiding in a piano is shot
dead by an SS guard. As her little angelic body lay in a river of blood,
another guard sits down to play the piano.
First SS guard: Was ist das? Ist das Bach?
Second SS guard: Nein. Mozart.
First SS guard: Mozart?
Second SS guard: Ja. And they both marvel at the exquisite
music.
This was Nazi Germany at its best.
Elie Wiesel who gripped the world's imagination with his book
"Night," a personal testimony of life and death in Auschwitz, once
asked the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who himself lost many members of his family in the
Holocaust, how he could believe in G-d after Auschwitz. If G-d existed, Wiesel
asked, posing the single greatest challenge to faith, how could He ignore 6
million of His children de-humanized and murdered in the cruelest of fashions?
The Rebbe replied, "In whom do you expect me to believe after Auschwitz?
In man?"
This must remain one of the lasting legacies of Auschwitz. If there is any
faith at all left after the extermination of 6 million people, it must glean
its vitality from something transcending the human rationale and its properties.
If morality is left to be determined exclusively by the human mind, it can
become a morality that justifies the guillotine, the gulag and the gas chamber.
As Dostoevsky famously put it in "The Brothers Karamazov,"
"Where there is no G-d, all is permitted."
The atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote: "I cannot
see how to refute the arguments for the subjectivity of ethical values
[resulting from atheism], but I find myself incapable of believing that all
that is wrong with wanton cruelty is that I don't like it." Russell's
point is critical. Without G-d, we cannot objectively define any behavior as
good or evil. As difficult as it is to entertain, no one can objectively claim
that gassing a mother and her children is any more evil than killing a mouse.
It is all a matter of taste and opinion. The validity and effectiveness of
"You shall not murder" can be sustained only if it is predicated on
the foundation of faith in a universal moral creator who gave humanity an
absolute and unwavering definition of what constitutes good vs. evil.
Professor Abraham Joshua Herschel, who escaped Warsaw a few
weeks before it was invaded and lost most of his family in the Nazi Holocaust,
captured this sentiment succinctly: "If man is not more than human, then
he is less then human." Either we climb to a place beyond ourselves, or we
are likely to fall to a place below ourselves. When the vision of the sacred
dies in the soul of a person, he or she is capable of becoming a servant of the
devil.
Religious Evil
But this is far from the whole picture.
While the Enlightenment abandoned commandment no. 1 in favor of
no. 6, various religions over the ages abandoned no. 6 in favor of no. 1.
Theirs has been the atrocious belief that as long as you believe in the Lord,
or in Allah, you can kill and maim whomever you brand an "infidel."
Whether it is a business executive in New York, or a teen-ager eating a slice
of pizza in Jerusalem, or a child on the first day of school in Beslan, or a
commuter in Madrid, or a tourist in Bali, or a Chabad couple in Mumbai, if the
person is not a member of your faith, G-d wants him or her to die. For the
religious fundamentalist, "I am the Lord your G-d" has nothing to do
with "You shall not murder."
This is the greatest perversion of faith. Faith that does not
inculcate its followers with the sanctity of every single human life desecrates
and erodes the very purpose of faith, which is to elevate the human person to a
state beyond personal instinct and prejudice. If you delete "You shall not
murder" from religion, you have detached yourself from "I am the Lord
your G-d." To believe in G-d means to honor the life of every person
created in the image of G-d. What the juxtaposition of the two commandments is
telling us is that you can't believe in G-d and murder (3*).
Conversely, if you truly believe that taking the life of another
human is wrong -- not just because you lack the means or motive to do so or are
afraid of ending up in jail, but because you recognize the transcendent,
inviolable value of life -- that's just another way of saying you believe in
G-d. For what confers upon human life its radical grace, its transcendent
sanctity and its absolute value if not the living presence of G-d imprinted on
the face of the human person?
More than 3,300 years ago, Judaism, in the most ennobling
attempt to create a society based on justice and peace, established its
principle code in the sequence of the two commandments - "I am the Lord
your G-d/You shall not murder." A society without G-d can become monstrous;
a society that abandons the eternal and absolute commandment "You shall
not murder" is equally evil. Both are capable of burning children alive
during the day and then retiring to sleep with a clear conscience.
The Mountain
The Talmud captures this notion in a rather strange, but
intriguing, fashion (4).
The Talmud cites a tradition that when Israel approached Sinai,
G-d lifted up the mountain, held it over the people's heads and declared:
"Either you accept the Torah, or be crushed beneath the mountain."
(The Talmud bases this tradition on the verse in Exodus, "And they stood
beneath the mountain (5).")
This seems ludicrous. What worth is there to a relationship and
a covenant accepted through coercion (6)?
The answer is profoundly simple. What G-d was telling the Jewish
people is that the creation of societies that honor life and shun cruelty is
dependent on education and on the value system inculcated within children of
the society. The system of Torah, G-d was suggesting, was the guarantor for life
and liberty. If you reject the morality of Torah, if you will lack the courage
and conviction to teach the world that "I am the Lord your G-d" and
that I have stated unequivocally "You shall not murder," the result
will be humanity crushed under a mountain of tyrants.
Seventy-nine years since Auschwitz and decades of incessant
Islamic terrorism, the mountain is hanging over our heads once again. Shall we
embrace the path of divine-based morality? Shall we forget that religion must
always be defined by "You shall not murder (7)?"
To receive the Law at Har Sinai we needed a level of holiness aka Kedushah to
do so. Rabbi Meir Kahane HY”D wrote on this as he studied the book Torat
Kohanim thanks to Tzipora P. in her weekly writings: “You shall be to Me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation.” “Everything that Hashem has spoken, we shall
do!” (Ex.
19:6, 19:8)
G-d
is holy. He is the climax of
Kedushah, the well from which Kedushah flows to the world. In the world He
created, He fixed the extent of Kedushah and separateness. He gave
Kedushah to Israel, as it says, “be holy people to Me “
(Ex. 22:30), “You must be holy” (Lev. 19:2), and, “Your
camp must be holy” (Deut. 23:15). Seforno comments on this last
verse, “From impurity and loathsomeness”.
G-d
decreed that Israel must sanctify themselves. He, therefore, further decreed separation from the
nations and from the profane, because without it, Kedushah is impossible, as it
states explicitly, “You shall be holy to Me, for I, the L-rd, am holy,
and I have separated you out from among the nations to be Mine” (Lev.
20:26).
We
also learn (Torat Kohanim, Shemini, 12), “Just as I am holy, so are you
holy. Just as I am set apart, so must you be set apart.” Here we find
Kedushah defined: It means separating
oneself from the abominations, impurity and bestiality of the world, and
instead clinging to purity and spiritual loftiness, goodness and the yoke
of Heaven, intent on ascending and becoming holier.
Kedushah
is the foundation of the world, because Kedusha is perfection and purity,
without a trace of abomination, spiritual baseness, selfishness, or bestial
lust. Kedushah involves
preparation, readying oneself to become holy, to fill one's soul with Kedushah, as
was said, as was said at Sinai, “Go to the people and sanctify them” (Ex.19:10),
and Rashi comments, “Ready them, so that they can prepare themselves”.
Kedushah means being ready for holiness and purity to enter the heart and soul.
Our
sages said (Torat Kohanim, Kedoshim, 1):
If
you sanctify yourselves, I will credit you as having sanctified Me. If you do
not sanctify yourselves, I will treat you as not having sanctified Me... Abba
Shaul says, “Israel are the King's retinue, and they are required to emulate
the King.
In
other words, Israel, as G-d's retinue, have the task of imitating Him, of being
as similar to Him as it is possible for a man to be similar to G-d, and of
coming close to Him. If they do so, then, so to speak, G-d as well, ascends
spiritually and becomes holier. G-d
decreed this upon Israel: "Remember and keep all My commandments and be
holy to your G-d” (Num. 15:40). The Sifrei comments (Shelach,
115), “This is the Kedushah of all the mitzvot.”
A Surprise
Visitor in Paris by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles
https://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=1364-21
Through her lifetime Rebbetzin
Chaya-Mushka Schneerson, of blessed memory, masterfully avoided publicity and
remained very much behind the scenes. Because of her accomplished reserve
during her brief visit to France in 1954, very few people there were even aware
of her presence.
In fact, the only members of the
Lubavitch community then living in Paris who knew about her stay were the
administrators of Lishkah, the Lubavitch refugee aid organization. They had
been notified of her visit by the Rebbe and briefly requested to provide any
necessary assistance.
Appointed liaison Rabbi Raphael
Wilschanski [1] related his memories of that visit.
IN ORDER TO assess the condition of
the many Jewish refugees who were then living in Paris, the Rebbetzin made a
clandestine visit to the city and stayed for several days. Although we had been
instructed to provide as much assistance as possible, she hardly needed any.
She stayed at a hotel and, apart from Shabbos meals, provided her own food.
During this time, I met twice with
the Rebbetzin and had several short telephone conversations with her, during
which she expressed deep concern for many chasidim who were then living in
Paris as refugees from the former Soviet Union. Having left the horrors of that
regime with little more than their lives, many were suffering from dire
poverty.
One group of 30 families was crowded
into a 36-room hotel subsidized by the American Joint Distribution Committee.
All of these families, some of which included many children, were compelled to
share one kitchen. The Rebbetzin, deeply concerned, wanted to know every detail
of how they lived.
Her compassionate questions were
those of a mother for her children. One night, in order to understand the
situation as fully as possible, she visited the hotel in secret. In total
anonymity she was able to observe their real living conditions.
Each of her questions was phrased
with a care that revealed deep empathy. She also elegantly managed to avoid
speaking about anything inappropriate.
Rabbayim of Three Generations
The Rebbetzin's mellow sensitivity
was also in evidence when we spoke about the township of Lubavitch itself. It
is difficult to describe the longing with which she described the home of her
late grandfather the Rebbe Rashab,[2] the students of the
original Tomchei Temimim Yeshivah, and the atmosphere in Lubavitch
before the rise of Communism forced the dispersal of his chasidim. Her words
sounded exactly like the words of some revered elder chasid who himself had
absorbed his Torah learning in that unique atmosphere.
The Rebbitzen conveyed a similar
profound respect for her father, the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe. [3].When mentioning the branches of
Tomchei Temimim that had opened in America following her father's arrival, she
remarked, "Only a giant like my father could have accomplished such a
revolution!"
Only at one point did she briefly
mention her husband, the [Seventh] Rebbe.[4] Saying that during the few days
of her stay she would have very little time for herself she observed, "If
my husband had a little free time, by now he would have prepared a siyum [academic
ceremony] to mark the completion of Tractate Bava Basra." [5]
She added that although it was close
to Pesach, a particularly busy time of year, the Rebbe was somehow finding time
to prepare a siyum for Erev Pesach, a custom of firstborn sons to do so on that
day instead of fasting.[6]
Reflected Joy
The Rebbitzin displayed the same
concern for my family as she had toward the refugees. Whenever in later years I
visited her in New York, she wanted to know about my children in detail,
including their academic progress and their general activities.
Toward the end of one of those
visits I said, "May the Rebbe be healthy and derive much nachas [satisfaction]
from us."
To which she replied simply,
"We have nachas when we hear that you have nachas."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Excerpted and supplemented
by Yerachmiel Tilles from a report in a Machon Avner newsletter.
Biographical note: Rebbetzin
Chaya-Moussia Schneerson [25 Adar 5661- 22 Shvat 5748 (March 1901 - Feb.
1988)] was the daughter of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef-Yitzchak
Schneersohn. Born and raised in Russia, on 14 Kislev 5689 (Dec. 1928), she
married the future Rebbe, her distant cousin, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson,
in Warsaw. She devoted herself totally to supporting her husband in his role as
a leader of world Jewry, and was known in her own right for her modesty,
erudition, piety and good deeds.
Connection: Wednesday night -
Thursday, 22nd of the Jewish month of Shvat, is the yahrzeit of the 7th
Luvavitcher Rebbetzin.
Footnotes:
[1] Of blessed memory. Father of the heads of the large Chabad yeshivas in
Tsfat, Israel and Morristown, New Hersey.
[2] The Fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom-DovBer Schneersohn
[3] Rabbi Yosef-Yitzchak Schneersohn, the Rebbe Rayatz
[4] Rabbi Menachem-Mendel Schneerson.
[5] The longest of the 36 tractates of Talmud [and the other 27 tractates of
Mishna without Gemora].
[6] Because completing a Talmudic tractate is considered a joyous occasion, so
the one who did so is entitled to host a mitzvah meal, which exempts himself
and all who heard the completion from the obligation of the first-born to fast
on that day.
Note
to the readership sometimes I had to add to word a different spelling of
Rebbitzin I found three different spellings in this article and other words too
I had to edit from the original story to comply to some consistency in spelling
– RP.
The Nazi’s Jewish Son by Yehudis Litvak
https://aish.com/the-nazis-jewish-son/
Rabbi Dr, Aharon Shear
Yashuv was born Wolfgang Schmidt in Germany. His interest in the Holocaust
sparked his journey to becoming a member of the Jewish People.
“There was not a special relationship, because
whenever we talked about recent German history, there was silence… They didn’t
like to talk about the Nazi period, and that was strange to me. So even as a
youngster, I made some connections.”
To this day, Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv does not know to
what extent his father was involved in the Holocaust. He’d heard rumors that
his father participated in the SS but was not able to confirm them through
historical research.
As a young teenager, Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv was
fascinated by history. That’s when he learned about the Holocaust. “I became
more and more interested in Jewish questions… If you’re dealing with recent
German history, you’re dealing with a Jewish question, because you’re dealing
with the Holocaust, and the Holocaust is a Jewish affair.”
Growing up, Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv did not know any
Jews personally. His town’s synagogue was destroyed on Kristallnacht and its
Jewish residents were murdered in the Holocaust.
At around age 15, his interest in “Jewish questions”
led him to visit a synagogue in a nearby town, where he met Jews for the first
time. He continued coming to the synagogue on Shabbat, got to know the
community members, and was often invited for Shabbat meals.
At the same time, Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv joined a
Christian-Jewish youth group. In high school, he organized a group trip to
Israel, where they stayed in a church’s guest house. This was before the Six
Day War, when the Old City in Jerusalem was off limits to Jews. As Christians,
the group was able to visit the Old City and the Western Wall. Jerusalem made a
strong impression on Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv, and he knew he would be back.
Eventually, says Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv, “this
historical interest in the Holocaust, which was the starting point of my
approach to Judaism, became in the course of the years more
theological-philosophical.” In college, he studied theology and philosophy. He
analyzed and consciously rejected the Christian doctrine and found himself
drawn to Jewish theology. He especially appreciated the concept of halacha –
Jewish law which guides a religious Jew’s daily life.
“In Christianity, there is only love,” he explains.
“But ‘love’ has to be spelled out. And it is not spelled out. And therefore,
this whole concept of love is a failure in the history of the Church.
Inquisition – that is love? Accusing Jews of poisoning wells – that’s love? The
Crusades – that’s love? The Holocaust is a product of Christian Europe. Now
comes Judaism, spelling out what love means in the daily law, which penetrates
all realms of life… This is the great message of Judaism, and Christianity
failed because they canceled it.”
Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv realized that his experience
of Jewish life in post-Holocaust Germany was very limited. He was looking for
“a much more serious frame of Jewish existence,” and his teachers recommended
that he go either to Israel or to the United States.
He applied and was accepted to a Ph.D. program at the
Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, OH, where he spent three years and
completed a dissertation about a German Jewish philosopher. While in America,
Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv thought about his future and eventually made two
life-changing decisions: to convert to Judaism and to make aliyah –
move to Israel.
Before making aliyah, Rabbi Dr. Shear
Yashuv spent the summer in Israel, where he visited the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva in
Jerusalem. “I was very much impressed. For the first time, I saw what a yeshiva
was like. It’s not university!” He was fascinated by the chavruta system,
where the students boisterously learn Jewish texts in pairs. Upon his move to
Israel, Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv studied at the Merkaz HaRav for three years.
Meanwhile, his family in Germany was not happy with
his choices. During a vacation from yeshiva, Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv decided to
visit Germany, together with a friend from yeshiva. The two friends stayed with
Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv’s sister in Dusseldorf. His parents were on vacation in
a resort town, and his sister suggested that they pass through Dusseldorf on
the way home in order to see their son.
When his father found out that he brought along a
Jewish friend, he refused to see him. “He never left his Nazi ideology, even
after the war,” says Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv.
Back in Israel, Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv spent a
Shabbat in Hebron together with other yeshiva and university students. There,
he met his future wife, a Hebrew University student whose family had come to
Israel from Algeria after the War of Independence. They got married six months
later. The Merkaz HaRav yeshiva organized a beautiful wedding for the couple,
with participation of “all the famous rabbis,” but no one from Rabbi Dr. Shear
Yashuv’s family attended his wedding.
The couple had five children. Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv
spent six years in rabbinical studies, eventually receiving his ordination. He
served as an army chaplain and as the rabbi of Technion, the Israel Institute
of Technology.
“But my leanings remained academic,” says Rabbi Dr.
Shear Yashuv. “The Technion is something of a bridge between rabbinate and the
academic world.” He’d organized Torah studies for both students and professors
but didn’t feel quite satisfied. He continues, “So after four years at the
Technion, I tried to return to the academic world. Finally, I was accepted at
Bar Ilan University Department of Philosophy, and there I remained almost 30
years, until I retired.” He is still in contact with the university. Though no
longer teaching, he is involved in students’ dissertations.
While on faculty of Bar Ilan University, Rabbi Dr.
Shear Yashuv spent two sabbatical years in Germany. When his wife and children
joined him in Germany for the first time, his wife asked if she could meet his
parents.
They drove for hours to his parents’ home, but once
they got there, Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv could not bring himself to go inside. He
recalls, “I remained in the car, and my wife with the little children went up
to see my parents. They talked. My father was there. But because of my father,
I couldn’t join that meeting.”
It was only several years later, after his father’s
death, that Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv visited his mother together with his wife
and children.
Now his mother is no longer alive. He keeps in touch
with his sister’s family, who are much more accepting of his chosen lifestyle
than his parents had been.
Interestingly, Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv’s children
married descendants of Holocaust survivors. He says, “All my grandchildren and
great-grandchildren are descendants of survivors of the Holocaust.” He has warm
relationships with his children’s parents-in-law and feels that they’ve
completely accepted him and his family into their own families. “It speaks for
the Jewish people,” he says. “I, of course, appreciate it very much. I never
had any problems or hesitations from the Jewish side. It is a positive
expression of Judaism.”
Having lived as a Jew in Israel for most of his life,
Rabbi Dr. Shear Yashuv feels that he truly belongs. He says, “Becoming a Jew
means identifying yourself with the Jewish people, embracing the Jewish people,
becoming part of the Jewish people.”
Note: this article is based on
video interviews with Rabbi Dr. Aharon Shear Yashuv, conducted by Dr. Les
Glassman. The interviews, posted in January, 2023, are available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFWBNGmCLgw&ab_channel=Dr.LesGlassman and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpZF5bT8IGY&ab_channel=Dr.LesGlassman and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LemifXE9bWA&ab_channel=Dr.LesGlassman.
Inyanay Diyoma
The following I published before
Shabbos came in the USA but Shabbos in Israel
Police chase infiltrating Arab in
Yerushalayim. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384189
US-Israel deal is one of unusual proportions. It will include, among
other things: a fleet of F35 fighter jets (25 planes), a fleet of F15 AI jets
(25 planes), and a fleet of Apache attack helicopters (at least 12). In
addition to the aircraft, Israel will receive thousands of munitions within the
coming days. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384177
RPG carrying terrorists eliminated. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384214
Koran Sura 17: 100. Say, “If you possessed the treasuries of my Lord’s
mercy, you would have withheld them for fear of spending.” The human being has
always been stingy.
101. We
gave Moses nine clear signs—ask the Children of Israel. When he went to them,
Pharaoh said to him, “I think that you, Moses, are bewitched.”
102. He
said, “You know that none sent these down except the Lord of the heavens and
the earth—eye openers; and I think that you, Pharaoh, are doomed.”
103. He
resolved to scare them off the land, but We drowned him, and those with him,
altogether.
104. After
him, We, said to the Children of Israel, “Inhabit the land, and when the
promise of the Hereafter arrives, We will bring you all together.” Thanks to S.
Tanya
US pauses funding for UNWRA. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384225
Hamas releases video of 3 female
hostages. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384224
Following a ruling of the ICJ that imposed
provisional measures against Israel, Israeli officials have dismissed the
ruling as antisemitism as opposed to the pursuit of justice. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384222
Jan. 28 in Israel or day 114
Update of 113 -114 early morning
Israel.
Cease Fire Deal maybe: In the first phase of the
new deal, fighting would stop for about 30 days while women, elderly and
wounded hostages were released by Hamas. During that period, the two sides
would work out details of a second phase that would suspend military operations
for roughly another 30 days in exchange for Israeli soldiers and male civilians
being held. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384257
More countries suspend UNWRA
funding. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384255
A police officer was documented on Saturday night
kicking a woman at a demonstration in Jerusalem after she was detained. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384256
PM we will eliminate the new Nazis. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384245
Antitank missile strikes Israeli
House. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384240
Two children cross into Gaza holding
Israeli Flag. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384241
Disguised Ben Gvir visits Tel Aviv
Police Station. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384253
IDF Paratrooper dies of Cancer. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384251
El Al suspends flights to SA. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384228
An elderly Gazan Woman tied to bed
by Hamas to blame the IDF. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384163
IDF troops in Khan Yunis conducted targeted raids
on terror targets, including a weapons storage facility where large quantities
of ammunitions, guns, and various technological assets were located. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384233
Biden take off the blindfold and see
that neither Israel nor do the Palestinian Arabs want a 2-State solution as they
have shown and proved to us. They want an Arab state instead of
Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384249
The Krakow police arrested a suspect in the destruction of the tombstone of the Jewish educator Sara
Schenirer. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384172
Chassidic Singer Blesses the Soldiers
via song. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384111
Tzvi Grinhaim cantor and was
called-up and released to get money for BBQ for the IDF. Sings. https://www.facebook.com/tzvikig/videos/1090878235428009
Hezballah claims to have fired
Falk-1 Missile. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sywgacm9p#autoplay
IDF
strikes Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after rocket, drone attacks on north | The
Times of Israel
Famed for launching rockets – Khan
Unis Hospital being evacuated. I wonder what is underneath? https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hkzgvrf5p#autoplay
Displaced persons want to bring down
Hamas. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hkpujhmq6#autoplay
House of associate of Sinwar raided
also note in top film secondary explosion of terror house. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1jmxpzqt#autoplay
Expect an appeal: Trump
ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll an additional $83.3m in defamation trial | The
Times of Israel
Jan. 29
Correction yesterday was 114 and
today is day 115. Simply with the jetlag I lost my count.
An Arab with a Galil Israeli ID card
(real or forged?) In an Israel license plate vehicle rams a naval sailor and
then is with an axe near Haifa Navy Base but neutralized by sailors. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384338
This was to have been the main
headline before the terror attack:
3 Americans die in attack on Tower
22 Base on the Jordan, Syria and Iraq border. A major drug and terror smuggling
route. More Americans with brain injuries in Germany that might not make it. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384300
Drone Attack on the Golan. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384297
Only 20% of Gaza Tunnels destroyed.
The Atlantic Pumping system not strong enough to clear out tunnels. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384276
Updates including rocket strikes. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384265
Demonstrating to block Gaza’s supply
routes. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384277
Climate Change may lower coffee
supply. Israeli cell-based coffee. https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/article-783632
Ancient lake found by Mars Rover. https://www.jpost.com/science/article-783934
Ben Shapiro becomes No 1 Rapper. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384301
While operating in Khan Yunis, Sergeant First
Class (res.) Akiva Halfon, a soldier in the 55th Brigade, found a trophy etched
with the name "Eli Yifrah." https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384284
Bederman on Blinken: https://dianebederman.com/dear-america-when-it-comes-to-israel-stfu/
Op-Ed Caroline Glick: Israel’s
Isolated Generals. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384266
Nahal Oz to settle temporarily at Mishmar HaEmek. https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/real-estate/article-784027
Retired Archbishop to not stand with
Israel is to reject Christian faith. https://www.jpost.com/christianworld/article-783975
Australian PM condemns new
neo-Nazis. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-783935
Major South African Banks helping
Hamas. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-783558
Aaron Barak on the ICJ. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-783929
Israel informs Egypt of intensions
of going into Rafah Corridor.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-783992
Stance on Climate Change could hurt
Trump for election. https://www.jpost.com/us-elections/article-783970
Ukraine uncovers purchasing fraud. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-784008
IDF arrests gun smugglers. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-784044
100year old holocaust survivor it did
happen again. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384282
An
MK accused Israel of 'genocide.' Now he may be expelled from the Knesset | The
Times of Israel
Iran
launches 3 satellites into orbit together as West grumbles over program | The
Times of Israel
Worshiper
shot dead in targeted attack on church in Istanbul | The Times of Israel
Re-establish Gush Katif call. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384334
Iran executes four that “had met Mossad chief David Barnea and trained in
Africa, entering Iran through the Kurdish region in Iraq.” https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384330
Amit Mizrahi, an IDF soldier from Maaleh Adumim,
was killed Sunday in a traffic accident. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384333
Two soldiers were lightly injured by the fire,
which Hezbollah took responsibility for. The terror group said that around
8:00a.m. Monday morning, they fired Burkan rockets towards the Biranit post. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384332
Jan 30.
Day 116
As mentioned Hamas still has rockets
over 10 towards Tel Aviv, Rishon.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-784200
At least 7 dead in Syria after drone
attack. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hjeopms5a#autoplay
Despite Blinken and Kerby, Hamas
rejects Prisoner Release. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384370
IDF locates main headquarters of
terror deep in tunnel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384361
We will not withdraw or release
whole scale prisoners. We want total victory. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384410
N. Korea tests a submarine launched
cruise missile. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-784255
US,
UK sanction network accused of targeting Iran dissidents for assassination |
The Times of Israel
Netanyahu
lawyer quits defense team due to declining health of family member | The Times
of Israel
FM will not meet with UNWRA Chief. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hy0006ur9p
IDF sees more motivation for combat
units especially women for the armored forces. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rk34hvbqt
Handler of Canine killed saving 6
soldiers will bury the dog when he can stand again. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjhydhrq6
Female Consul in Chicago dismissed
for sexually harassing two female subordinates. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hyfxhoh96
7 members of an Israeli-Russian band
deported from Thailand for anti-Putin songs. https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/b1g00cth56
Covid relief medicine in short
supply. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/rypufdbca
Muslim man threatened workers at a
Kosher Market in London. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bkmujih9p#autoplay
Birthday message to Hamas Leader. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384362
129 trucks with aid get through
after protests stopped. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384362
White House: Israel is using less
Air Force in Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384372
American actor Mark Pellegrino, who is best known
for his roles in the television series Supernatural, Dexter, and Lost, among
others, published on Sunday a message for the people of Israel. "I wish
you the best, I'm here with you in spirit, and I'm fighting for you in the
realm of ideas here in the United States." A good read -RP https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384369
Area near the border fence should be
a kill zone. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384365
Morale good among northern border
soldiers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384081
5 illegal Arabs packed into the
trunk. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384349
UK opposes return of Jewish
Settlements to Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384409
Malfunction or hack in hospitals
lead to wrong meds. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384408
Blinken visit on Friday. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384404
Deep in the heart of Khan Unis. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384403
Biden to retaliate for drone strike.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384407
Irresponsible deal no gov. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384402
On the fighting in Khan Yunis, Hagari said, “In
recent weeks, IDF forces have been operating in a focused manner, dismantling
the military frameworks of the Hamas battalions. We have already dismantled two
battalions in eastern Khan Yunis, and we are now operating in the west. Many
commanders have been eliminated, have fled, surrendered, or been arrested, and
the remaining terrorists are carrying out unorganized terrorist acts.
Throughout Khan Yunis, we have eliminated over 2,000 terrorists above and below
ground. In addition, we destroyed significant underground infrastructures,
where we found facilities for holding hostages, command centers, weapons,
manufacturing infrastructures, and intelligence materials.” https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384376
The Israeli forces which eliminated three Hamas terrorists in Jenin's Ibn Sina hospital completed their task
within about ten minutes. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384386
Former Security Services Dir. Never
served in the IDF. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384394
Low civilian casualties. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384387
Jan. 31st
Day 117
IDF eliminates stalking terror cell.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384453
Another captive died Oct. 7th
and only a body being held. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384444
Updates: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384265
Economy Minister Nir Barkat (Likud) on Wednesday
spoke in the Knesset plenum about the need for foreign workers and the issue of bringing laborers from the Palestinian
Authority to work in pre-1967 Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384468
DNA
evidence in Cyprus gang rape trial said thrown out over police procedures | The
Times of Israel
https://www.timesofisrael.com/j-street-pulls-jamaal-bowman-endorsement-over-anti-israel-rhetoric/
Elliot
Resnick, former Jewish Press editor, pleads guilty to Jan. 6 felony | The Times
of Israel
Auschwitz
survivor decries rise of antisemitism, far-right in Germany | The Times of
Israel
Yad LeAchim rescues Jewish orphan
woman from Arab Marriage. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384473
IDF reducing presence in towns near
Lebanon. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384464
Sinwar is eating meat and we are
eating lead. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384459
Mounted Police officer tramples
demonstrator. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384478
Suspected terror attack in Sweden. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384480
Bereaved son and brother detained. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384466
Feb.
1st
Day 118
US vs. the Houthis. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384501
Every day, rescue operations are
conducted that save the lives of soldiers in the field. In the operations room
of the Israeli Air Force, officials are responsible for dispatching helicopters
if there is a need for an aerial evacuation. Paramedics 669 – I almost served
on a ground ambulance but asked to be excused for Shmita for a month and never
served. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384491
The IDF cleared for publication on Wednesday that
Major (res.) Yitzhar Hoffman, 36 from Ashchar, a company commander in the
Shaldag Unit, fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384485
Zuckerberg apologizes to child hurt by social
media. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384523
Iran starts to withdraw forces from Syria.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384532
New prisoner swap? https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384530
Fight between right-wingers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384537
Calcalist journalist Yuval Sadeh wrote, "The minister who
represents the sector that does not serve in the army is explaining to all of
us why the recruitment of pre-military preparatory school and Hesder (yeshivas
that combine military service with Torah study) students should be made earlier
because the IDF needs combat soldiers. In the State of Israel, there is always
someone to take advantage of the general public."
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384538
An indictment has been filed against a resident
of Shfar’am who attempted to commit arson against a police station and a
sensitive factory in the Haifa region as a sign of solidarity with Hamas. The
incident was classified until Thursday. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384527
By a vote of 422 to 2, the House of
Representatives has approved H.R.6679, titled the No Immigration Benefits for
Hamas Terrorists Act, introduced by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA). The bill
forbids members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) from entering the US, even if seeking asylum. The ban also
includes anyone who had any part in the October 7th massacre. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384526
Ganz – Eisenkot to reduce aid to
Gaza so that Hamas does not use it for themselves and money. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384506
UNWRA should be banned from Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384514
Bus overturns 7 wounded. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384522
Long range rocket launchers
destroyed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384517
Op-Ed Diane Bederman on the cry for
freedom Canada and Europe. https://dianebederman.com/the-canadian-trucker-convoy-all-over-the-world/
Related the anti-freedom and insensibility.
War
cabinet huddles in Tel Aviv to discuss possible hostage deal with Hamas | The
Times of Israel
Folks I am in a
different time zone publishing early this week. Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph is
coming next week Friday and next Shabbos.
Have a healthy, peaceful
and restful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli.
