Kosher-Conservative-Style

Natan Gesher always told me NEVER to post copy-content, but there are exceptions and this is it. Tzvi Fishman has written an article that is surprisingly similar to my Kosher-Style article and therefore I thought it was fitting for our blog. This one is a must read for American Jewry before this Rosh HaShanna:

"Conservadoxy" by Tzvi Fishman

The concept of t'shuva means to return to one's source. Suppose a man is expelled from his house by thieves. The wrongdoing will only be corrected when the owner returns to repossess his house. This is true for the Jewish People on both a national and individual level. To achieve a state of true t'shuva and reunion with G-d, we have to return to our home in the Land of Israel. A Jew who becomes a baal t'shuva in Chicago has only returned a part of the way home.

The return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel is a necessary stage in the t'shuva of the nation and each and every Jew. This is the Redemption that we pray for. For instance, a Jew who becomes a baal t'shuva in Chicago has only returned a part of the way home. While his personal character and behavior have been sanctified by aligning his life on the pathway of Torah, he has traveled only half of the journey home. The "t'shuva train" is continuing on to Israel. The final stop is Jerusalem. Every Jew needs to bring his little light home to the Holy Land where it can join the great flame. He has to uplift his private, egotistical life, to the higher life of Clal Yisrael, and to merge his personal goals with the goals of the rebuilding of the nation. To rectify the blemish caused by the galut, he has to abandon the exile and join the ingathered to Israel. He has to actualize the words of his prayers, "And gather us together from the four corners of the earth." Otherwise, he is just like a parrot who mouths words without acting out their meaning (Kuzari, 2:24).

Here's another example. Let's say a non-religious Jew decides to return to G-d and make a commitment to Torah. He learns all about Judaism and embraces the mitzvot with the great joy and fervor characteristic of the newly religious. Except he decides that he doesn't want to put on tefillin. For whatever reason, whether because he feels it's a silly piece of mumbo jumbo, or because the little box looks strange on his head, or because tefillin are expensive, he decides that it isn't for him. Obviously his return to the Torah is incomplete. One could not even call this person an Orthodox Jew.

The same thing is true with the mitzvah of living in Israel. Jewish Law states: "A Jew should always live in the Land of Israel, even in a city where the majority of residents are idol worshippers, and not live outside of the Land, even in a city where the majority are Jews" (Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer, 75:1:3). Our baal t'shuva from Chicago may do all of the other commandments with joy, but by not coming to live in Eretz Yisrael, he is showing that his belief in the Torah and in the G-d of Israel is incomplete.

Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda HaCohen Kook would stress to his students that an Orthodox Jew does not pick and choice mitzvahs, saying "This commandment is pleasing to me, I will do it, but this commandment is too difficult, I will pass." This is the way of Conservative Jewry. If Shabbat is too much of a burden, they don’t observe it. If wearing tzitzit is too embarrassing, or uncomfortable, or old-fashion, then it isn't for them.

"Rejecting the commandment of living in Israel is a rejection of Hashem," Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda emphasized. "It is a rebellion against G-d, as it is written in the Torah concerning the Jews who refused to continue on to Eretz Yisrael after the exodus from Egypt. Hashem declares to them: 'You rebelled against the L-rd your G-d, and you did not believe in Me, and did not listen to my proclamation'" (Devarim, 9:23).

Not coming to live in Israel expresses a lack of faith of G-d. It is a denial of G-d's will for the Jewish People that the commandments be observed in the Land of Israel. Living in Israel is not a matter of personal preference. It is one of the commandments of the Torah required of each and every Jew, a mitzvah that our Sages declare is equal in weight to all of the commandments of the Torah (Sifre, Reah,80). It is such a great mitzvah because living in Israel is the cornerstone of our nation, and the foundation of all of the Torah.

"Being a Jew today comes with the basic requirement to be in Eretz Yisrael," Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda taught. "Every Jew who comes to Israel brings back to Zion an aspect of the Shechinah from the exile. Every additional Jew who comes to Israel, and every additional tree which is planted in the soil of Eretz Yisrael is another stage and step of the Redemption, in the same way that every additional piece of Torah which is learned, and every yeshiva which is built in Israel, is another stage in the returning of G-d's Presence to Zion" (see the book, "Torat Eretz Yisrael," Chapters 5-9, for an in-depth study of the mitzvah of living in Israel).

Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda's father, Rabbi Avraham Yitchak HaCohen Kook, also stressed that the true t'shuva of the Jewish People is in our return to Eretz Yisrael. Again and again, in his letters and speeches, he called the Jewish people to return home to Zion. One public proclamation, sent out all over the Diaspora, years before the Holocaust, was entitled, "The Great Call."

THE GREAT CALL
"To the Land of Israel, Gentlemen, To the Land of Israel! Let us utter this appeal in one voice, in a great and never-ending cry. Come to the Land of Israel, dear brothers, come to the Land of Israel. Save your souls, the soul of your generation, the soul of the entire nation; save her from desolation and destruction, save her from decay and degradation, save her from defilement and all evil ­ from all of the suffering and oppression that threatens to come upon her in all the lands of the world without exception or distinction....

"Escape with your lives and come to Israel; G-d's voice beckons us; His hand is outstretched to us; His spirit within our hearts unites us, encourages us and obliges us all to cry in a great, powerful, and awesome voice: Brothers! Children of Israel, beloved and dear brethren, come to the Land of Israel, do not tarry with arrangements and official matters; rescue yourselves, gather together, come to the Land of Israel....

"From the time we were exiled from our Land, the Torah has accompanied Israel into exile, wandering from Babylon to France, Spain, Germany, Eastern and Central Europe, Poland, Russia, and elsewhere. And now, how happy we would be if we were able to say that she has returned to her first place, to the Land of Israel, together with the people of Israel, who continue to multiply in the Holy Land.

"And now, who is so blind that he does not see the L-rd's hand guiding us in this, and does not feel obligated to work along with G-d? A heavenly voice in the future will cry aloud on top of the mountains and say, 'Whoever has worked together with G-d, let him come and receive his reward.' Who can exempt himself from doing his part in bringing additional blessing and swifter salvation; from awakening many hearts to return to the Holy Land, to the L-rd's legacy, that they may become a part of it, to settle it with enterprises and buildings, to purchase property, to plant and sow, to do everything necessary for the foundation of life of a stable and organized settlement...."

My friends, the fact of the matter is that if you want to be a real baal t'shuva, you have to return to the place you came from, to the place you belong. And if you want to serve G-d as the Torah intended, you have to perform the mitzvot in Eretz Yisrael. If you are not already here, or not on the way, chances are that you are either lacking in faith, or your understanding of Judaism is mistaken. As the Day of Judgment approaches, find a few quiet moments and ask yourselves, "Am I really doing the best that I can to serve G-d by living here in Chicago, or Monsey, or Beverly Hills? Is my living in Chicago what G-d really wants?" If you truly believe so, then when you come to the following verses in the Rosh Hashana liturgy, you should either cough loudly to drown out the words, or quietly sneak out of the shul:

"Our G-d and G-d of our fathers, sound the great shofar for our freedom, and raise up a banner to gather together our exiles, and return our scattered from amongst the nations, and assemble our outcasts from the corners of the earth, and bring us to Zion, your city, with happy singing, and to Jerusalem, the home of your Sanctuary, with everlasting joy."

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Imagine... (a post for Kumah's neo-Marxist readers)

Atomised domestic life is part of the misery of capitalism


ATTENTION: if you are not a neo-Marxist, this post is NOT for you. Move on, nothing to see here.

Imagine...

Imagine, fellow travelers, a world in which our Great Leaders, Dr. Karl Marx and Vladimir Ilych Lenin are triumphant!

Imagine that we are able to use our powers of subversion, honed so perfectly when we attempted to turn the USA Communist, on a new demographic. Not workers, but women. Comrade Engels lay the foundations for this great venture 120 years ago, in "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State". Lenin would later describe it as "one of the fundamental works of modern socialism."

Comrade Sally Campbell explains:

Under primitive communism there was a division of labour between men and women, but this did not confer privilege to men. Women, who tended to be the main gatherers, were often given authority over men - because their work provided the main source of nutrition for the group.

The development of more advanced agriculture was the turning point. The invention of the plough meant the ability to produce more than was immediately needed by the group. It led to the development of elites who were able to control the 'surplus'. It also fundamentally changed the role of women in society.

In hunter-gatherer and horticultural societies women were able to fulfil their role as producers as well as playing their role in reproduction. Heavy ploughing and the use of domesticated animals changed this. A pregnant woman or one with small children couldn't easily carry out these tasks and they increasingly fell under the remit of men. Agriculture also demanded labourers. Where hunter-gatherer societies had tended to limit the number of children so as not to deplete resources, agriculture could be more productive with more children needed to help in the fields. So as men became exclusively responsible for production, women saw their primary role shift to that of child-bearer.

Greater productivity benefited every member of the group. But once the surplus fell into the control of a minority, inequalities and classes began to form. The division into 'public' and 'private' spheres of society appeared - with women operating mainly in the “private” sphere. The private family became the mechanism by which private wealth could be passed on from one generation to the next. This entailed a final degradation of women's influence. Men, because of their economic role, became heads of the household, passing their wealth on to their sons.

As Engels wrote: 'The overthrow of mother right was the world historic defeat of the female sex. The man took command in the home also. The woman was degraded and reduced to servitude.'

from The Socialist Worker Online

Now, imagine that we are able to successfully employ this mass ideology to take over the Western world. We can finally realize our dreams of domination! What was denied to our Red Communist fathers and mothers by Senator McCarthy and his ilk, we will achieve fourfold through the Pink Sisterhood.

The way to operate is this:

- infiltrate the academy and propaganda machinery ("media")
- rewrite the history of mankind as a history of subjugation of Woman by Man and present the nuclear family as a tool of oppression
- reach every single woman out there and build up a rage against "the Patriarchy" (we can use the same terms as we did in the original movement, just substitute "chauvinist pig" for "capitalist pig")
- by thus manipulating women, infiltrate the power structures (army, police, judiciary) and the political system
- wreak havoc on every possible level: create a pro-divorce cultural discourse; give financial incentives for women to break up their families; use empty phrases regarding "equality" to demoralize the army's fighting units; make brutal use of media-created sex scandals to terrorize and tame the State's and the military's leadership, humiliate the State internally and externally and bring down the symbols of power; cooperate with the enemy to the maximum degree, creating a protective shield around its agents while viciously prosecuting the State's police and military when it attempts to assert itself.

This will have a devastating effect on the entire West, and nowehere will it be more potent than Israel.

The Jews dream of rebuilding the Temple? Dream on, Yids! In a matter of one generation or two we can bring the House down. Their ideological leadership is not savvy enough to even begin to comprehend what we are doing. We even have many of their finest women on our side, convinced that they are operating in the service of justice, freedom and equality. The men are afraid that opposing us is a sign of "chauvinism" (we've implanted that guilt trip well inside everyone's minds) and are convinced that Judaism's "patriarchal" nature makes it inherently unjust. They will never dare mess with us: they will forever be cursing Shimon Peres and Yitzchak Rabin and Ariel Sharon, weaving their pathetic conspiracy theories but remaining blind to what is happening under their noses, grabbing this hilltop or another, espousing their pet causes (Temple, Aliyah, Pollard), expending all of their energies on their naive love for legends, while we bring their whole House down and eventually finish them off, every last one of them, with a shot to the head.

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Be Very Jealous

ROME, Italy (Reuters) -- While some passengers only turn to prayer when jolted by turbulence, the Vatican made it standard on Monday by launching the world's first airline for Catholic pilgrims.

Complete with Vatican logos on headrests and air hostesses' uniforms, the inaugural flight travelled from Rome's Fiumicino airport for the shrine of Lourdes in France.

The charter flight's slogan spoke volumes about what its clients are doing above the clouds: "I'm Searching for Your Face, Lord".

"It is a spiritual journey," explained Francesco Gherra, one of the pilgrims who boarded Monday's inaugural flight hosted by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the former head of Italy's bishops.

The Vatican aims to serve 150,000 pilgrims a year on its chartered Boeing 737, run by Italy's Mistral Air.

Destinations range from the shrine of Fatima in Portugal to Mount Sinai in Egypt, where Moses is said to have received the 10 Commandments from God.

In-flight entertainment on the way to the world's holy sites will, somewhat predictably, be religious in nature, the Vatican said.

"The crew has been informed that there are (religious) messages that will be transmitted, that films will be shown during the flight," said Father Cesar Atuire at the Vatican office coordinating pilgrimages.

Keeping costs for pilgrims low is another Vatican priority, Atuire said.

The Vatican's venture into the airline industry did not go unnoticed by competitors, including Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost carrier.

The Vatican hopes to fly pilgrims from Rome to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, a route already serviced by the low-budget carrier.

"Ryanair already performs miracles that even the Pope's boss can't rival, by delivering pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela for the heavenly price of 10 euros," Ryanair said in a statement.

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A Few Photos From Around Town

This is the First Rimmon - Pomegranate - Growing Outside My House

Gelato Ice Cream in Town


Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of the Temple Institute

Hebrew Labor Moving Company

Hebrew Mover

Homeless in Jerusalem (maybe better than homeful in galut...)

Cranes Build Jerusalem Unceasingly

The Good Jews of the Land

Burger King is Kosher

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Those Donuts Better Be Badatz!

Malkah is going to love this one!

In case you missed it, last week the Jerusalem Post had a story about a very interesting Jerusalem Police Officer - a Satmar Chussid! Read on...
Gail Lichtman reports:
Black and blue

Joir (Yair) Lew is probably the last person you would think of as a uniformed volunteer in the Israel Police. It's not because of his age (he's only 31), or his state of health (he's obviously hale and hearty), or even the fact that he is a new immigrant (he speaks Hebrew fluently). But because he is a Satmar Hassid - a member of a haredi sect known for its opposition to secular, political Zionism and the State of Israel, as well as being vehemently against serving in the Israeli army.

So what is Lew doing as a member of Jerusalem's special uniformed volunteer police unit?

"I was brought up in England to be openminded and to love my fellow Jews," explains Lew, who was educated in a Satmar yeshiva and made aliya from London with his wife in 2002.

"Just as I want people to respect me as a human being, so I respect others. I hate the fact that people in Israel break Jews down into categories. All Jews are brothers whether religious or secular, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Russian, Moroccan, or the like. I joined the police because I want to serve my fellow Jews."

In April 2006, Lew, who was unemployed at the time (he has since started working in a kibbutz factory near Jerusalem), was walking in downtown Jerusalem when he saw police officers recruiting for Yasham (the Hebrew acronym for police volunteer unit).

"The officers were really nice," Lew recalls. "And I was looking for something to do. So I took the information and called the unit. I went for the interview, filled out the forms, passed the background check and was accepted."

Naturally, before joining the unit Lew consulted both his father in England and a rabbi. "I asked if joining would be a problem," he says. "Both the rabbi and my father said essentially the same thing: There is a difference between serving the citizens of this country and serving the State of Israel. Serving Jews as a police officer is okay; serving the State of Israel as a soldier is not."

To some this may seems to be splitting hairs but to Lew it was the answer he needed to join Yasham.

Satmar Hassidim, who originated in an area on the Hungarian-Romanian border, base their opposition to the state on their belief that the creation of a Jewish state by Jews runs counter to God's will. However, they are taught to love the Land of Israel and the Jewish people.

Today, the majority of Satmars live in the US. Only about 900 families live in Israel, mainly in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak. Because of their opposition to political Zionism, they do not serve in the army and refrain from taking money from the State of Israel.

"During the Second Lebanon War, our rabbi, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, told us to say tehilim [psalms] for Jewish soldiers fighting and being injured," Lew relates. "We said them for Jews not Israelis. All over the world, Satmars prayed for the health and peace of our brothers."

Yasham is a unique Jerusalem phenomenon and is the only police volunteer unit not part of the Civil Guard (Mishmar Ezrahi). Set up five years before the Civil Guard in 1969, to answer Jerusalem's special needs, Yasham currently has about 120 volunteers. This is down from some 250 at the height of the second intifada, but recent months have seen an upswing in interest and recruiting.

"The Yasham attracts volunteers from all walks of life - we have in our unit doctors, lawyers and professors, as well as street cleaners," says Yasham's chief operations officer, Maj. Robert Mountwitten. "But Lew is our only Satmar. In fact, he is currently the only haredi in the unit, although we now have another haredi volunteer who is in the vetting process."

Volunteers range in age from 18 to 65, and include both men and women. They must pass a security check, cannot have a criminal record and must be in good health.

"Those in our unit have to do at least 16 hours a month or four hours every week of volunteering," Mountwitten explains. "In the Civil Guard, volunteers usually do one shift a month. We are in uniform and armed. The unit operates in accordance with the powers extended to police officers by the Knesset. We do patrols, roadblocks, ticketing, etc. We basically have the same authority as regular police officers."

"The Yasham is important in that it gives a lot of extra man-hours to the police and fills in the gaps," he continues. "All of us feel that we are doing something for the security of this city and its people. And if bombs are not going off, it just shows that what the police and the army are doing is working."

Lew is proud of his service, which generally concentrates on security issues. "But we can and do stop vehicles if we feel that the way the driver is driving or something else could be harmful to the public," he says.

In the course of his service, he admits to encountering a few genuine humdingers. "I once pulled over a van that was driving on a main Jerusalem road at night without lights," Lew recalls. "The driver turned out to be a Palestinian who did not have a driving license, did not have an Israeli ID, did not have a registration for the vehicle and was transporting 10 illegal Palestinians in the van. This was a free man in a free world. I couldn't believe that he was driving an overloaded van filled with illegals, without a driving license, registration or ID and was dumb enough not to put his lights on."

On another occasion, Lew stopped a car that seemed too heavy and overcrowded. "The driver thought the whole thing was very amusing. But I was really serious. The man had a car full of children - there were five in the back seat. But when I had him open the truck, I was amazed to discover he had two more children in there. He said that if there wasn't an engine under the hood, he would have put some more children there."

Lew was on patrol in Mea She'arim and Geula during the protests preceding the gay pride parade. "I was driving in my car with the police light on top," Lew recounts. "I had garbage and rocks thrown at me. If I had been foolish enough to get out, I would have been beaten. The fact that I am a haredi man would not have helped. These protesters did not care. But once they were arrested, they quickly started to ask for a frum officer.

"When they were throwing stones, they didn't care if I was a frum cop or not. However, I don't think I can criticize them because once I was part of these demonstrations. When I was studying in yeshiva, I used to join all the protests, no matter what - no autopsies, no Shabbos traffic, modesty, etc. But I was never violent or threw stones."

On protest-free days Lew says he gets an entirely different reception on the streets of the city's haredi neighborhoods. "When I drive through on duty, in uniform, people stop and tell me how proud they are to see a haredi officer. They often ask how they can join the police."

Lew, who is fluent in English, Yiddish and Hebrew, understands German and speaks a little Hungarian, Romanian and French, has started learning Arabic. "I assume it will help me with my police work," he says.

As an Englishman, used to police traditionally armed with nightsticks, Lew is glad that he has never had to draw his gun. "I sincerely hope that I never will have an occasion to use it. And one day, I hope that police in Israel will not need weapons either," he says.

For more information on Yasham, call 050-563-3121.

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Kumah Resurrection Threat?

Kumah has never received a death threat before, let alone a resurrection-then-death-again threat. We certainly have never been threatened with being "Palestinian Farmers Fertilizer." Guess we are stepping on some pretty nutty toes over here. Enjoy:

From sbughrara@yahoo.co.uk:

How are you palestinian farmers fertilizer?
I will have you slaughtered over and over again, i will torture you over and over again.
God will never forget and forgive the pain you have bestowed on the people of this world.
Every time they kill you I will make you live again so they can kill you again.
Did you enjoy killing cristians?
Did you enjoy killing Muslims?
Did you enjoy killing Princess diana?
Did you enjoy stealing and suffocating workers all over the world?
The time has come to slaughter you, I will make all the people you killed live again and they will tell the world who did it.
It was YOU.
May the slaughter begin, stupid f***ing Jew.

Sister Main Gauche of Compassion

Get your Jihad name from:
http://www.elsewhere.org/cgi-bin/jihad

For the record, we didn't enjoy killing Princess Di - we were just following orders.

You think this letter was automated in addition to the Jihad name? And don't those Jihad names sound awful Christian?

In other news: Hebrew Yishai! (Check out the talkbacks. Never seen such lengthy, thought-out talkbacks in all my days)

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Elul Niggun: Father in the Forest

A Father Calls out to His Children

"...This soulful melody is a dialogue between the Almighty Father and His children, the people of Israel. The Father looks for His children in the Diaspora, Galut, and implores them to return Home to the Holy Land..."


"Where have you been that you have forsaken Me?" He inquires of His children, "Dear children, please return Home, I feel forlorn without you."

The children's answer is "But, Father, how can we return when there is a guard blocking the door?"

*Matisyahu's more recent version of the niggun HERE

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A Return to the Pre-67 Borders

How about it? 67. As in the year 67 CE. When Israel looked something like this:

Why aren't we demanding that Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, not to mention the "Palestinians," return what's rightfully ours?

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Why I Returned To...

As I was preparing for one of my shows at Israel National Radio, I came across this article by a Jewess who finds meaning in the newfound hard life in the Big Easy. Change "New Orleans" to "Anywhere in Israel", and I'll bet many of us would really relate to her. Even her discussion of local politicians hits home. As it is, she's seeking meaning near the Gulf of Mexico, not the Gulf of Aqaba, so it falls a little short for me, but let me know what you think:

Writer: Why I returned to New Orleans
Gail Naron Chalew - JTA.org

Despite all the problems, says writer Gail Naron Chalew, life in New Orleans seems richer, more vibrant, and more purposeful, and you cannot put a dollar value on that.


NEW ORLEANS (JTA) -- Anniversaries are times to remember the past, and I am luckier than most people because my memories are preserved in print. They can’t be deluged by toxic floodwaters or spread to the winds.

I just have to read what I wrote one week after Katrina, or during that first year when I was living in exile in Baltimore, to churn up the emotion and passion that is life in New Orleans these days.

It is precisely this intensity that keeps me here.

For several months, my husband and I had been weighing whether to accept a generous job offer for him in another city. When we made the decision to stay, I knew it was the right one.

A theologian once said that spirituality is living in the more. By that definition, New Orleans is a very spiritual place.

But it is no longer “The Big Easy.” We cannot take for granted basic services like water, electricity, streetlights and smooth roads. Insurance, utilities and rent have skyrocketed, as has crime. Mental health and day care services are a fraction of what they were pre-Katrina. Although much progress has been made in fixing damaged homes and businesses, there are still abandoned homes with weeds taking over the lawns and debris marring the streets of neighborhoods that flooded.

My governor has bungled billions in federal funds designed to help homeowners rebuild. My senator is in a call girl’s phonebook, my congressman was caught with $90,000 in his freezer and was indicted for bribery, and my at-large councilman just pleaded guilty to corruption charges. I used to criticize the mayor for not taking a leadership role in the recovery effort. Given his recent remarks lauding the city’s high murder rate as keeping New Orleans’ brand alive, I only want him to keep his mouth shut until his successor is elected.

So why did we decide to stay?

Put simply, life here seems richer, more vibrant, and more purposeful, and you cannot put a dollar value on that.

We who have chosen to stay and rebuild are like the chalutzim, the pioneers who built the modern state of Israel. We feel a part of both making history and making a difference.

Fixing up your home, helping others salvage their belongings, eating out in a restaurant, even buying tchotchkes in the French Market—all that makes a difference.

But what makes life even more meaningful is the opportunity that disaster has provided to reinvent an entire city and its institutions, from health care to education to neighborhood redevelopment. Dozens of idealistic young Jews -- including my 24-year-old daughter, who is working for a micro-enterprise project in the African American community -- are flocking to New Orleans to make that difference, enlivening the Jewish community in the process.

New Orleans has become an incubator for these young people and their non-Jewish peers, providing them an environment characterized by a combination of significant challenges and significant responsibility.

Just as a marker of Baby Boomer status was being at Woodstock in ’69, this generation’s credentials might be measured by whether or not they were in New Orleans after Katrina.

As an aging Boomer, I cannot think of anything more rejuvenating than to be around these energetic, high-minded young people who believe they indeed have the power to change the world. They will be the political, education and community leaders of the coming decades.

My husband and I are staying in New Orleans because of a sense of obligation. He is a pediatric specialist in a city with few health care resources; here he knows he will make an impact.

As a volunteer, I have been serving as an informal liaison between the New Orleans Jewish Federation and Jewish groups from across the country come here and do the very unglamorous work of gutting and de-weeding and putting up sheetrock. Taking these volunteers on disaster tours and helping them have these meaningful experiences is my way of rebuilding the city.

We are staying also because the education that my 17-year-old son is getting by living in post-Katrina New Orleans is invaluable, despite the fact that his flooded high school is still not completely repaired.

He has learned the importance of self-reliance: if you see something that should be changed, then get involved and don’t wait for government to help you. He has learned the importance of local community: the first businesses to reopen were ones owned by locals, and many of the chain stores have decided not to rebuild. He has seen villains and heroes in action, and now is better able to distinguish between the two.

From his parents, who have rejected an easier life for a more meaningful one, he has learned the importance of fulfilling one’s obligations and valuing the intangibles of commitment and passion.

We are also staying for a less noble but no less important reason: New Orleans is fun!

We build into our schedule time to eat its great food, hear its great music, and savor its beautiful architecture. Just walking around the French Quarter makes us feel as if we are on vacation.

New Orleans stirs and then satisfies the passions; in the midst of tragedy, it celebrates life.

And what could be better than that.

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THIS Year In Jerusalem!

The Chagim are coming! Every year here at Kumah we post pictures of how amazing the Chagim are here in Eretz Yisrael and every year I have the same thoughts. "It would have been cooler if we could post these awesome photos before the Chag to encourage people to make Aliyah before the Chag." Not just post them after it's all over! So this year I'm getting a head start. I'm posting some photos I took a couple of years ago... but don't worry you could be sure to expect the same wonderful chag here this year (or should Moshiach arrive an even more wonderful one, of course!)

Well if there was a lulav shortage you couldn't tell by visiting the "Arabah Minim Shuk" (Four Species Market)on Rachov Strauss...




There were "Simchot Beit Hashoavot" (Sukkot Parties) all over the Land. Here's the band "Simply Tsfat" playing at Shappel's.


And of course the traditional "Birchot Cohanim" at the Kotel where thousands of people from all over our Land are "Oleh Regel" and "rise up" to visit Jerusalem. Here the Cohanim bless us.


(Photo Credit: Woman Section Photos taken by "Leah").




Rain Threatened...




...But the sun persevered.


The Chief Rabbis were on hand...


...and in the Sukkah nearby.


A concert in the Old City's "Rova."


Ahh...cotton candy and popcorn. It must be Sukkot!


Singing and dancing at the Mir Yeshiva...


And at any of the many random enormous Sukkot around...


Sometimes even with a "Rebbe."


Yep... cotton candy and popcorn.


And at the Kotel on Hoshana Rabba Night...


...reading "Sefer Davarim" for the traditional "Mishana Torah" custom...


...While at Jerusalem's Great Synagogue Rav Herschel Schecter teaches Torah as part of the custom to learn Torah all night.



THIS Year - experience it LIVE!

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Two Years Have Passed... Part II

Do you feel that is hard to remain living in a country that betrayed you?

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To Lead is to Love

Harav Kook was no kook. He said that just as the Temple was torn down because of sin'at chinam - pointless hatred between brothers - so it shall be rebuilt thanks to ahavat chinam - brotherly love for love's sake.

Now that may sound like one of those meaningless syllogisms Shimon Peres loves to make up ("better a peaceful valley without terror than a terrorist pissing in the valley", that kind of tripe) but Harav Kook was no Shimon Peres. He meant what he said.

There is a certain stream among the religious Zionists that thinks Harav was kidding. People from this stream look for Jews to hate and make a vocation out of hating them. This is the erev rav, they say, this is the leftist scum that controls Israel. We are good, they are bad, they say. They feel good like that. They vilify the government and the army and most of Israeli society, and are content to be the "pure camp" in all of this filth.

This is a dangerous trend, imho. I agree that the Zionist dati camp is the best camp in Israel, if only in terms of its sane lifestyle and its strong family and community values. I envy you, to the point of wanting to join you. But by living inside this worldview I just outlined as many of you (us) do, you are missing the chance to lead. And make no mistake - the window of opportunity for an emuni leadership is there, it has begun to open up and it will open up more and more in the coming years, beckoning us to leap through it. But do we dare? Leading involves loving. You cannot lead someone you despise. You cannot lead someone whom you see as inferior to you.

The majority of Israelis are what Naomi Shemer called anashim tovim be'emtza haderech - "good people in the middle of the road." This includes much of what we call "the elites." Please, stop looking at "the elites" as a cohesive body, they are anything but that. Look for the cracks, look for the blocs we can woo to our side.

Israeli society was formed by secular socialist Zionists, with the emphasis on "Zionists." Its core values could be summed up in two words: "build" and "fight!". It was the country where, for the first time in millennia, Jews built a Jewish infrastructure for a Jewish land and fought like men to defend it.

Over time, socialism withered and died. Into the ideological vacuum stepped a very radical leftist ideology, a form of pacifistic gender-marxism which was the opposite of what Zionism was all about. The result has been a period of shameful behavior by Israel, an abandonment of its manly core values for belief in withdrawals and surrenders, which was coupled with a hedonistic obsession for sexual license and scandal and gossip-mongering, as it often has been in history.

I believe we are coming out of that dark period now. There are signs all around us that this is happening. The media is full of articles blasting pacifistic draft dodgers like Aviv Geffen and Ivri Lider - people who have been this society's pop icons. Heroism is being talked about more and more. This is oxygen for the Zionist soul. Without deep love and respect for our military, we are dead men and women, and our children, G-d forbid, are dead.

The heart of the people is good. Jews who fight for their homeland are good. We can work with them. And we don't necessarily have to follow them. We can lead them, too.

Everyone knows the Redemption involves (a) a great leadership and (b) the Temple being rebuilt and (c) military victories and (d) everyone making tshuva. But what order do these things occur in? I think it's a, c, b, d (though I'm not convinced everyone will ever make tshuva - there are some advantages to having a non-religious minority to keep everyone on their toes. Also, they can make good rock'n'roll...).

I think the first thing the leadership should lead to is military victory. As a result of military victory, it will be possible to rebuild the Temple. The Temple cannot be rebuilt when Israel is only fully sovereign and in demographic control of the land to the west of it!

Our enemy is the Muslim-Arab bloc in the Middle East. It is not necessarily all of Islam (see third graf here). If and when we defeat the enemy - which has reached the point of begging us to defeat it, if you think about it - then we can go about rebuilding the Temple. Tshuva will come naturally in that situation, but not just secular-to-religious tshuva, also hareidi-to-Zionist tshuva. When emuni Zionism is a winning brand, people will join it. We will see thousands of those pale Me'a Shearim types joining the Paratroopers, believe me we will. But right now, with a tiny measly state in the middle of a frothing sea of (frothing) Muslims, it's not so clear that we are winners.

To make all of this happen, we need to lead. And like I said, leading involves loving and respecting, not separation and despisal. We need to look for the good things in the mainstream Israelis, the "good people in the middle of the road." We need to see them as part of our camp, and ourselves as part of their camp. We need to come up with pragmatic plans and with down-to-earth reasons why these plans should be followed. "Because Hashem said so" does not fall into that category for these people. So it cannot be used. Modern techniques of PR need to be used. A Knesset lobby needs to be created. And it can't all be about Yesha. Saying Yesha over and over again does not solve anything. I'm sorry to say so, but climbing and reclimbing hills in Yesha - while important in and of itself - does not cut it anymore either. Are we goats or leaders? Do we have geopolitical vision or are we just self-content parakeets?

Harav Kook, so I once read, had a picture of Herzl on the wall in his office. We need to reach a point where a new Herzl has a picture of Harav Kook on his office. Then we will be on the road to making it, big time.

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More Nefesh B'Nefesh Olim!

Mazal Tov to the latest Nefesh B'Nefesh Olim! The 6th charter flight of the summer landed today with 225 new Olim! Click here for an article with lots of my pictures. For the full set, check out my 4 Facebook albums:
Album 1,
Album 2,
Album 3,
Album 4

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Two Years Have Passed...

Wednesday, 8 Elul 5767 / August 22 marks two years since the completion of the destruction of Gush Katif. Rabbanim have called for a day of fasting, Teshuva and prayer, to remember the uprooted communities and families, and mourn the destruction of the shuls and Batei Midrash destroyed on this day.

Please continue reading for more details:

Wednesday will be marked by a special Mincha service at the Kotel, w/ Selichot & reading of "VaYichal Moshe" @ 6pm. Those joining the fast (which is considered a "Ta'anit Yachid") should indicate their intended participation during Tuesday's mincha (at the end of the Amidah).



For more details, please see: www.Komemiut.org or call 02-9974424

Never Forget!
A list of videos, articles and media resources about Gush Katif HERE

Ynet: 8 Days in August

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Christian Jews - Scary Stuff

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The Heroes Among Us!

Check out Part 11 of The Jewish Press' "MODERN ROLE MODELS" series, featuring our very "own" Ari Abramowitz shlit"a- featured by Nefesh B'Nefesh!

Also cited HERE , by another great Southern Jew.

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Feel Good Zionist Photos

This shot from space was sent to be by Shmuel Goldman and it is said to be a brand new photo from the Shuttle Endeavour. (Click on the photo to enlarge)

This pic of myself blowing the shofar at the NBN flight arrival this week was taken by Jacob Richman and can be found along with tons of other Aliyah photos on his site.

This photo was in a YNET article about Professor Hille Weiss and Hebron. It was taken when we went to protest Peace Now's pro-eviction rally in Hebron a few months ago. You can see myself on the left and Jonny Stein on the right. The caption in the YNET piece reads: "Rightists protest Hebron evacuation"

Also: check out this wonderful A7 article about the NBN arrival for more awesome pics.

SHABBAT SHALOM!!!!

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Israel's Dancing Robots

No, I'm not talking about the current Israeli government.

I'm talking awesome, Bukharian-Jewish, young-religious, Robocup-scoring genius machines that make Israel look GOOD!! Don't you just love good news?

Israeli students shine at international robotics dancing competition

Three students of robotics from the Or Avner Yeshiva High School were congratulated by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week for their victory in Robocup, the Robot World Cup Initiative Dancing Challenge held in Atlanta, Georgia last month.

Gabriel Yisraelov, Itzik Yalizerov and Alex Chaimov beat 50 teams from 23 other countries with their creations Mommy, Mafrat and Brownie the dog.

Olmert was treated to an exclusive performance in which the robots, dressed in the traditional Bukharian dress of their creators' native land (all three immigrated to Israel from Bukharia, Uzbekistan), twirled to a slow song about the coming of the Messiah. Olmert was as impressed as the Robocup audience in the US, which gave the Israeli team a standing ovation.

Moti Meir, the winners' teacher, said that "Or Avner nurtured them and dedicated all of its resources toward helping them."

The 11th RoboCup tournament, held at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, consisted of two challenges, explained Chaimov. In one, each country's team competed against all the others. In the second, three teams had to work together to program a new dance for all their robots.

Teamed with Japanese and American students, the Israelis proposed a wedding. Dan the American robot would marry Mafrat - to Mommy's disapproval. Brownie would come to the lovebirds' rescue, barking at Mommy. The Japanese robot would join in the dancing when the couple finally got married.

Chaimov, 16, who built Mafrat, arrived from Bukharia just two-and-a-half years ago. The Bukharian natives' interest in robotics began before RoboCup. Chaimov created a "smart room," where motion sensors trigger lights to turn on when people enter the room and off when people leave. He hopes to develop a breakdancing robot next year - in the 11th grade.

Yisraelov devised a menora that lights up with realistic flames, which turn on and off in the correct order. Yalizerov invented a robot that is able to sense the color black, following any thick black line.

Diamond billionaire Lev Leviev, the Bukharian-born supporter of the Or Avner schools, called the three students his "dearest diamonds."

"None of this would have been able to happen if the school hadn't paid for our materials and our flight to Atlanta," said Yisraelov.

RoboCup is an international research and education initiative, and the first official games were held in Nagoya, Japan in 1993. Since then, the annual games were hosted by different countries around the world including France (1998), Australia (2000), Germany (2006).

You can view another article on this story at the Chabad website - apparently, Ohr Avner is a Chabad school. Way to go!

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Anti-Zionism Lives!!!

In response to a my show entitled Likud, Satmar, and Olim (listen now or download) I got this response:

Yishai,

I just got finished listen your broadcast. I had heard as much as I could stomach but fortunately it was ending. I think you need to understand a few things. Satmar never Boycotted Jerusalem. They did not go to the Kosel or Kever Rochel or the ma'aras hamachpela in protest of the Secular zionist Israeli Government.

And you still don't get the picture. Judaism is about G-d, G-d, G-d, G-d. The lady in the airport that said she wishes they would say something more about G-d understands the spiritual vacuum that exists in a land that according to you "has so much potential" but in 46 minutes you didn't mention G-d once (had it not been for that lady) You didn't speak a word of torah. You spoke about the land, the land, the land. The land is dirt. without G-d it remains dirt. That is why Satmar and ALL CHAREIDIM are anti zionist, because Zionism takes the holy land and make sure it stays dirt.

For example, your reflections on the Theatre. A beautiful building blah blah. It's a place where Jews were Michallel Shabbos for decades in the holiest city in the world, and you miss it because you won't be able to watch goyish movies with arayos mamash in the middle of Jerusalem. That's your idea of Judaism? All the gedolei Torah in all generations opposed secular Zionism because it cuts G-d out of the equation. You think that because you have F16s you're protected? FOOL! If you had G-d you wouldn't need F16s. Mordechai in Shushan had F16s? Chezkiyahu Hamelech had F16s? Yehuda Hamakabi Had F16s? The Rebbe shlita made a cheshbon that when Klal Yisroel was oleh l'regal, The borders were completely open. Soldiers and "mishmar hagevul" also had an obligation to be oeh l'regal. There were as many as 109 days of the year, every year for 410 years in the bayis rishon and 420 years in the bayis shani that certain areas of the border (nahar prus) were open every year. Not one foreign soldier stepped over the border in over 800 years that the border was open for almost a third of the year. Instead of G-d protection, you think f16s will help you. Did it help when 100 Jews were killed and a third of the country evacuated because of katyushas missle strikes? Where were your f16s?

You invite a liar like Shitreet to address a NBN group? He didn't a believe a word he was saying. "We have a saying in Israel 'whoever saves a life'...." Saying in Israel? It's a gemorah Baba Basra and Sanhedrin. "Saves a life"?? Like the yaldei Teheran that were forcibly torn away from Yiddishkeit?? Like the yemeni Olim that were given a choice "come to work or go to pray" in the morning. You couldn't have both. The Zionists have spiritually and physically killed Jews, shitreet should have been shouted down for that claim. He continues "we say in the prayers". Who is "we"? This guy davens? But he's not done yet, he has to add on the ultimate kfira. "If only the state of Israel would have been created 10 years earlier..." What happened in Europe was posuk by posuk described in the tocha'ah as punishment for not following G-d's Torah. I feel sorry for you that you have such a small God, that you feel if he decrees a war or a holocaust, you can subvert his decree because you have a few F16, or you learned Karate, or you bought a gun. G-d is really really big. If he should G-d forbid decree it, you would be on the first train so fast you would have no idea how you got there.

A believer sees the hand of G-d in every step of the holocaust. G-d told the Jews do not marry a Goy. The Jews didn't listen. Germany, the most assimilated, intermarried, intertwined country in Europe passed the Nuremburg laws. A Jew cannot marry a Goy. A Jew cannot go out of Germany to get married and come back. We do not recognize such a marriage. A Jew cannot have relations with a Goy outside of marriage. G-d tells the Jew "do not cut your beard, do not cut your payos, wear tzitzis, and carve my bris into your flesh, so everyone will know when a Jew walks down the street. The Jews in Germany shaved their beards and payos, wore short jackets like the Goyim, took off their tzitzis and hats until the Goy said put a yellow star on your jacket and a number carved on your left forearm so everyone will know when a Jews walks down the street. These things never happened to anybody else in history. And Shitreet says, If the state was created 10 years earlier we would have protected you from G-d's decree. That is kefira in it's purest form.

The anti-zionist movement has not changed or slackened. It is still in full force for all the same reasons. It is you, the foolish modern orthodox, without Torah and without leadership that are being led like sheep to the slaughter. The Zionist Gov't said Come to Israel and fulfill the mitzvah of Yishuv ha'aretz in Gush Katif, and you followed and listed. Until they finished with you and threw you out. THAT IS ZIONISM. You were used, not us. The frei UN envoy from Israel stands and before the UN GA and says for "2000 years the Jew has faced Jerusalem and prayed 3 times a day for the return to israel...." and then the shaigetz runs and hides behind you, the religious zionist, and says "tell them, tell them how we pray 3 times a day..." He doesn't pray, he doesn't believe in G-d, he's using you and you allow yourselves to be used. We don't. We have nothing to do with anti-religious zionist government of Israel. They do not represent us. They do not represent G-d, they do not represent Judaism. Like the lady said "G-d is missing". From your radio show, from your country, from your government.
-DZ

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Total Immersion

Today, Rosh Chodesh Elul, begins an intensive 40 day period of Teshuva- Return, spiritual cleansing and transformation...

Historically, following the episode of the Golden Calf and breaking of the Luchot, Moshe Rabbeinu ascended Mount Sinai for the second time, and after 40 days of intensive prayer, D'veikut and Teshuva, returned to Am Yisrael with the Luchot Sheniot (second Tablets)- a symbol of Tikun and Hashem's forgiveness.

Since then, these 40 days on the Jewish calendar have been tagged as "Yemei Rachamim v'Ratzon"- days where Hashem's mercy is manifest, an opportune time for Teshuva and Divine yearning, of purity and spiritual transformation: a Mikvah in Time.

According to Halachik standards, a Kosher mikvah must contain 40 Se'ah (about 200 gallons) of flowing or gathered rain water, and each Se'ah is made up of 24 "Lugg" of water...

The Taharah/purity, spiritual rejuvination and fresh start that we can attain in the 40 se'ah of a Mikvah, is represented in time by the 40 days stretching from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Yom Kipur (10th of Tishrei).

The Mikvah's 960 Lug correspond to the 960 hours of the time period we are now beginning(40 days x 24 hrs.); every moment is an opportunity for us to immerse ourselves in the Teshuvah process, to Return to our Source and be purified...

The Mikvah is a fundamental and culminating step in the conversion ("transformation")process, and the key to monthly marital rejuvination.

The idea that 40 represents a measurement symbolzing transformation and spiritual development toward a new status is a theme that runs throughout Jewish life and history:

>LIFE: 40 days from conception to the point where a fetus is considered by Jewish Law to be a life; transformed from potential to actual existence...
>THE FLOOD: The world and all of creation needed to be transformed and "fixed" during the 40 day/night Mikvah-Mabul
>MT. SINAI: Millions of individuals are transformed into a Nation while Moshe ascends the Mountain for 40 days/ nights
>MIDBAR: It took 40 years of desert transformation until we merited to enter Eretz Yisrael
>SHABBAT: The Laws of Shabbos are based on 39 categories of work performed in the building of the mishkan- the Gemarah categorizes the list of melachot as "One less than 40" (Same goes for the 40-1 Malkot/ Rabbinically administered lashes, that transform a person who is guilty into a new man with a clean slate...)

Kabbalistically, even the form of the letter "Mem" (40 in numerology/ gematriah) represents this theme: at the beginning or in the middle of a word, the "Mem" is broken, open and incomplete; at the end of a word its appearance is transformed to being a "whole" letter, closed and complete.

May Hashem help us and strengthen us, so that we may make the most of this great opportunity- to be transformed and purified- and blessed with a Chodesh Tov & Shanah Tovah.

(For more, please see Rav Aryeh Kaplan ztl's Waters of Eden)

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Some REAL Statistics on Yerida

40,000 Non-Jews from CIS Leave Israel

(IsraelNN.com) According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, at least 40,000 of the roughly 229,000 Israelis who moved abroad between 1990 and 2005 were non-Jews who had come to the country from eastern Europe. Immigrants from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), both Jewish and non-Jewish, made up almost 50% of Israeli emigrants (yordim).

10,500 Israeli citizens returned to Israel in 2005 after living abroad for over one year. 55% of those returning were born in Israel, while 45% were born abroad.

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Anti-Zionism Just Got a Whole Lot More Zionist

On any given day in the bustling communities in the Mea Shearim area, one might take a little stroll, peek into the shops, and people watch - there is a lot of life in this crowded region of Jerusalem, a lot to see. Mostly, you'll see people go about their business, hanging laundry, buying vegetables, scuttling to work or to the synagogue. But in one or two places, you may notice a somewhat more aggressive sight - ominous black flags flapping next to signs that say things like "Jews are Not Zionists" and "Zionism = Racism". Welcome to Satmar country.

This hassidic group, formerly from the town of Satmar in Hungary (shout out to the peeps), maintains the belief that the Jewish people are not permitted to form a government in Israel (and certainly not a secular one), as some have come to interpret is prohibited in accordance with the "Three Oaths".

Well, so much for that philosophy - on behalf of religious Zionists around the country, I would like to joyfully welcome more of our brothers and sisters from the Satmar community to the Holy Land, and to the Holy City - maybe we'll be in-laws one day!

Satmar rebbe to lay Jerusalem cornerstone
By Anshel Pfeffer - Haaretz

The grand rabbi of the Satmar Hassidim, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, is slated to arrive in Israel tomorrow to lay the cornerstone of a new community housing project that will rise on the plot where Jerusalem's Edison Cinema once stood.

The Satmar Hassidim are known for their anti-Zionist stance, and the event is considered by them to be a major victory in their campaign to safeguard the sanctity of Jerusalem - free of lay symbols.

The movie theater site, which is situated close to the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of Mea Shearim and Geula, was the site for decades of violent clashes between Haredim and police. It was closed 15 years ago, and the plot was sold three years ago to the Satmar Hassidim.

The Satmar community is the largest ultra-Orthodox community, which distinguishes itself from other Haredi groups in that they refuse state funding for their educational institutions.

According to estimates, the community in Israel comprises some 1,200 families, but its main center is in Kiryas Joel in New York State, where more than 20,000 people reside.

Rabbi Teitelbaum inherited the leadership of the community following the death of his father, Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, in April 2006. He lives in Williamsburg, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, long the center of Satmar life. This is his first official visit to Israel since he became grand rabbi.

The housing project will include 100 apartments and structures that will be used by the community for educational purposes.

------------

I want to further mention that Satmar IS NOT Neturei Karta, and has come out against them publicly, even recently. The main difference in my opinion - Satmar is radically anti-secular, Neturei Karta is anti-Jewish. In any event, I expect we'll see just a few less Jews in Williamsburg after this project is completed. Score.

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Exile Sweet Exile

Dear Yishai,

The answer is simple ==> JEWS DON'T CARE!!

This is my reaction to your article "A State Of Exile" on YNET

There are more religious Jews in Brooklyn than anywhere in the world (per square inch).

And they are betting their eye teeth on their future IN BROOKLYN not ISRAEL.

Maybe if you folks (at A7) would come here and take a look at the BILLIONS being invested in homes, businesses and community institutions ... MAYBE you would learn something.

The ONLY thing that will get these folks to leave is a DISASTER ... simply because YOU FOLKS DON'T WANT TO UPSET THE APPLECART !!! Which is the same reason that the religious community in Israel REFUSES to oppose the government. And you folks REFUSE to oppose the religious community.

To quote the film "Casablanca" ... I'M SHOCKED, I'M SHOCKED THERE IS GREED AND NARROW SELF INTEREST AMONG THE JEWS!!

It's exasperating to watch ... I like to call it SERIAL SELF-DELUSION ... Deal with it or live with the ugly consequences.

May I suggest again a political party aimed at these recalcitrant Jews.

Read This:

Emigration from Israel exceeds immigration, report 04/20/2007

Tel Aviv (dpa) - In Israel, the number of emigrants exceeded the number of immigrants for the first time in 20 years, the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reported Friday.

Many emigrants were recent arrivals who wanted to leave Israel again, the report said. In 2007, 14,400 immigrants are expected in Israel while 20,000 people are expected to leave the country, according to the report based on figures for the first months of 2007.

The last time emigration exceeded immigration was in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War and in 1983 and 1984 when inflation was high.

Meanwhile the Maariv newspaper reported that approximately a quarter of the Israeli population was considering emigration.

Almost half of the country's young people were thinking of leaving the country, the report said. Their reasons included dissatisfaction with the government, the education system, a lack of confidence in the political ruling class and concern over the security situation.

Sincerely,
Frank

====================

Dear Frank,

1. Frank, baby, listen to me! There has always been Yerida, but it has always been dwarfed by Aliyah because there were many Olim coming in from Russia, Africa, Europe etc. Today the last great bastion of potential Aliyah is America, and they are behind the Golden Curtain and it's very hard to break. Immigration has slowed and that is why emigration seems to be beating out immigration.

2. We have a friend who was the 3 millionth Jewish citizen in Israel in the early 70's. Today there are almost 6 million. Does that seem like a retrograde motion to you?

3. "Leave the country" - a very small percentage of that is real Yerida - MOST go out for a few months to a few years and return. In fact there is a rise in Israelis returning as many of them find Judaism in America. Also, many Yordim are actually goyyim who don't like it much in Israel and go back their goyyish lands to eat goyyish food. We like to say "shalom" to them when they leave.

Don't fall for the hype Frank - Israel's Jewish population is growing.... and we haven't even talked about the high birthrate here.

"Meanwhile the Maariv newspaper reported that approximately a quarter of the Israeli population was considering emigration." - Also I have a bridge to sell you, in Minneapolis.

All the best,
Yishai

=========

Hello Yishai ...

My point is about American Olim ... most leaving Israel come to the U.S. ... and most coming to Israel are not from the U.S. ... making the U.S. a net drain population-wise) on Israel. All of the Israelis that are now my neighbors are observant Jews.

I see billions of Jewish and Israeli dollars being invested in Brooklyn NOT Israel. Recently a Jewish (former Israeli) truck driver that delivers weekly to a restaurant (owned by former Israeli Jews) asked my opinion about a piece of real estate. I told him that buying any U.S. real estate was foolish, and that he should buy in Israel. By the way, that Israeli restaurant has expanded 3 time since opening less than 2 years ago. (And the barbers that cut my hair are also Former Israeli Jews.)

The trends are obvious ... few American Jews prefer to live in Israel ... many Israeli Jews prefer to live in the U.S. ... and I haven't even mentioned the number of former Israelis living in Boca Raton, Florida, where there is a huge colony. In 1979 when my parents moved to Boca Raton former Israeli's were invisible ... today you can't miss them.

While you folks do a great PR job (which by the way barely reaches beyond the Arutz Sheva audience) most American Jews have never heard of you. They appear to be insulated by the small religious communities in which they are organized.

It looks like a losing battle to me ... at least by the numbers. Life is just too good here, however short-lived that may prove to be.

Take Care,
Frank

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Neo-Zionist Vidyas - Anarchists, Confirmed Kills and London, Oh My!

Three things for Kumite viewing:






(And you have to click "Full Post n' Comments" to see the third - way better than our old "continue" - Thanks Pinchas!)



Click here for an added bonus!

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Middle East Initiatives are a Beach

Okay, not really a beach, but it is NEAR the beach, and what a great initiative!

This is exactly the kind of relationship I want to see Israel creating with her neighbors - something highly productive, cooperative, and utterly non-threatening to Israel's sovereignty, security, economy, or dignity. It's almost as if we were valuable members of the region! In any event, lovers of a clean and healthy environment thank you, Israel, and give you, Jordan, a cautious and subdued nod of recognition.


Israeli-Jordanian team set up first artificial coral reef in the Red Sea
By Nicky Blackburn - Israel 21c

Take a dive off the coast of Eilat these days and you're liable to find yourself swimming around a huge yellow concrete and wire construction that stretches four yards up from the seabed, is four yards wide, and is full of holes. No, this isn't some strange new structure left behind by an alien race, or cargo dropped from a sinking container shop, this is the first artificial coral reef in the Red Sea.

The reef, which was developed by the Israel Nature Parks Authority and a team of academics from the National Center for Mariculture at the Eilat campus of Ben Gurion University, the Inter-University Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, the Hebrew University, and the Marine Science Station in Aqaba, is a unique new approach to conservation in the Red Sea and part of a joint co-operative project between Israel and Jordan

Coral reefs are one of the most varied forms of life on the planet, and the range and richness of the species found there are comparable to that of the tropical rain forests. In recent years, underwater diving has become an increasingly popular sport and the breathtaking reefs of the Red Sea area, which are different from any other reefs around the world, have suffered dreadfully as a result.

"The number of visitors is large and the size of the reefs is limited and too small," explains Dr. Nadav Shashar, the supervisor of the research project, and a marine biologist at the National Center for Mariculture. "Because of the increase in the number of visitors, the coral reefs are unable to overcome the damage caused and are beginning to die out. If we don't act quickly, it's only a question of time before the excellent breeding conditions in the north bay become barren. Many bodies are aware of the problem and are seeking a way to solve it."

Part of the problem is novice divers. "They kick up the sand, or damage the corals by accident. Multiple that by 100,000 people and that's considerable damage," says Shashar. "These people don't mean to harm the reefs, but they just don't know how to dive properly."

The developers hope that the artificial reef will create a new attraction for these divers, steering them away from the natural reefs, reducing the pressure there and enabling them to recover from some of the damage inflicted on them over the last few years.

At the same time, the Tamar reef which is located near Coral Beach also provides the researchers with a unique underwater laboratory, enabling them to observe and unravel the development and growth of this unique and complex ecosystem.

"Our task is to understand which factors bring about the development and proliferation of coral reefs, to understand the growing processes of the coral and fish populations and to put this into practice in establishing artificial coral reefs that will attract tourists," Shashar tells ISRAEL21c.

Shashar and his team, which includes Prof. Zvi Abramski, from the Department of Life Sciences, Dr. Ariel Diamant of the National Center for Mariculture, student Omer Pollack and the Israel Nature Parks Authority, are funded by the United States USAID-MERC program and the British Whitely Fund for Nature.

The reef was first installed in May this year and has already attracted a great deal of marine life. There are now 32 species of fish swimming through or living on the reef - half the number normally found in the reefs of the Red Sea. These include bass, sea goldfish and butterfly fish. Sea urchins, fan worms, tunicates, and tubeworms can also be found there.

At present, no coral has been planted on the reef, and that's why some of the fish are still missing. If the scientists were to let nature take its course, it would take between 80-100 years for the corals to flourish. Shashar does not want to wait that long so the team has a nursery in Haifa where they are growing 13 different types of coral.

These corals will be planted in the specially prepared holes in the reef structure and the work begins in the fall. There are 1,000 colonies to plant, and this will be the first time in history that a team has tried to do this. Shashar is very excited at the prospect.

"This gives us a very unique opportunity to understand what makes a reef and how the corals interact with each other," he explains. "In the natural world corals grow in a certain order, replacing one another in a specific sequence until they reach the climax community, which you find in mature reefs. We want to discover if we have to plant the corals in that order or whether we can go straight to the climax community."

The team plan to plant a good variety of corals. "There's a general acceptance that to get a high diversity of fish, you need a high diversity of corals. We will be checking this," says Shashar.

The idea of creating artificial reefs in the Red Sea was first mooted some years ago, but it took time for the project to find its feet. Work on building the reef began in December last year. The Israeli company, Ocean Brick System (OBS), was founded specifically to deal with the engineering side of the project, carrying out a range of simulations.

This is the largest artificial reef ever built. The maximum height of past reefs, which are used mainly for fisheries, is 1.8 yards. As a result, there was much to organize and arrange. Building the mould itself was problematic, as was finding the right type of concrete that would be suitable for the development of oceanic invertebrates. Then 1,000 holes had to be drilled in the rough surface so that coral can be planted and marine life can attach easily to the structure.

"The whole structure has to be extremely strong because it will last for decades and is constantly exposed to sea water," says Shashar. "We have to ensure that it won't erode, and also make sure that it will be safe. We can't have a kid being trapped in there."

The openings of the reef have bars to prevent divers and swimmers from entering into unsafe areas, and to preserve the reef.

In six months another artificial reef is to be added on the Jordanian side of the Red Sea, it will be followed by four more - one in Eilat and three more in Jordan. Improvements and modifications are planned for the next reefs. "We are trying to improve all the time," says Shashar.

Since the reef was put in, diver interest has been high. Shashar says that about 100 divers have been visiting the reef daily, almost double the number of divers who visit nearby natural reefs. "People like to dive here, especially novice divers, because they feel more comfortable in an artificial environment," says Shashar, a world-renowned expert in the field of polarized sight, who discovered that polarized vision in locusts enables them to avoid flying over large bodies of water.

Shashar, who got his PhD at the University of Maryland and has spent most of his life studying marine life, is eager to discover how many divers visit the site. "We need to know from an economic point of view how attractive a reef like this is, and whether it will be more appealing when we add the coral," he explains.

The reason for this is that interest in the artificial reef has already been expressed from various countries around the world. For some it's a question of necessity. In the Pacific, for instance, there are many islands that have been protected from storms for years by their coral reefs. With global warming, these coral reefs are now being damaged and destroyed leaving the islands wide open to the sea.

"They came to us two years ago looking for a way to protect their barriers and create new ones," says Shashar. "It would be easy to say build a wave barrier and put that on your natural reef, but that would have a huge impact on the environment. Instead it could be very interesting for them to add a new reef structure that could protect them and be of viable interest."

In other cases, it's a question of tourism. A hotel in Hawaii, for instance, may want to ensure a steady stream of visitors by adding an artificial reef to the sea nearby. This would be an additional attraction for tourists.

"Within a year we will estimate whether the whole thing is a success or not, and we will go on from there," says Shashar. "If all goes well then we will go to places where reefs used to be and actually build major large scale artificial reefs there. We are trying to design a new environment. All over the world reefs are being damaged and broken down, we are trying to add surface area. So far it looks like a great success. The fish are coming, and so are the people."

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Baseball Players Greet Olim

This post isn't about Baseball. It's about Aliyah. The IBL (however you feel about them, Yish) did its part to support Aliyah by welcoming the NBN Olim on Tuesday and here was the reaction of the baseball players as described by Beit Shemesh Blue Sox outfielder Alan Gardner:

The IBL contingent all were surprised by how emotional the experience was for them. Jason Bonder will be attending the Jewish Theological Seminary in Manhattan this fall. For Jason, it was an extremely touching experience to see family upon family exiting the buses dedicated to raising their children in Israel and becoming a part of the fabric of the larger Jewish community that makes up most of Israel. Scott Perlman noted the contrast between how people generally immigrate to the United States to pursue the opportunity for greater financial and other material rewards while the people we met had generally left financial success to come to Israel for a greater purpose, to share a national community in the homeland of the Jewish people...to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Ben Englehart felt such a strong feeling of unity, family and belonging that he wished he'd already packed his bags to join the newcomers. Steve Raab was awestruck by the joy and happiness he saw on the faces of the Olim as they embraced family and friends waiting to greet them. Dan Saltzman's brother made Aliyah last year. He was reminded of the emotions of his brother and his family as he watched families leaving the buses with their children and picking up their luggage to start their new lives as Israelis dedicated to preserving, serving and improving the Jewish homeland.

Read the full article with photos here.

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Family Values - Not Just an American Issue

MK Rabbi Chaim Amsellem

Mazal tov! A new subcommittee has been formed in the Knesset: the Subcommittee for the Examination of Claims of Legal Severity Against Men in the Areas of Welfare and Family. The subcommittee is expected to change its name to the Subcommittee for the Family.

It is headed by MK Rabbi Chaim Amsellem of Shas, and its members include MKs Rabbi Avraham Ravitz (UTJ), Moshe Cachlon (Likud), Marina Solodkin (Kadima) and Nadia Hilou (Labor).

If you look very carefully at the names of the people present in the July 4th session of the Knesset's Labor, Welfare, and Health Committee, in which Committee Chairman Moshe Sharoni announced the formation of the subcommittee, you may see some familiar ones.

Why is this subcommittee important?

It is important because family is the basic building block of society, and of Jewish society in particular. And it is precisely this basic cell of our national tissue that has come under violent attack by marxist-based ideologies in the past 30-40 years. These ideologies pose as chivalrous defenders of the rights of women, just as their predecessors, the socialist and communist movements, posed as defenders of workers' rights. But the leaders of these movements care about women just as much as Stalin cared about Russian peasants.

The subcommittee will try to understand why the divorce rate among secular Israelis has reached 50%, and whether this truly is a necessary evil of modern times. It will examine whether government policies are designed to encourage divorce. It will find out who profits from the divorce industry and try to understand the logic behind a plethora of laws and regulations, written and unwritten, which have taken away basic rights - such as the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, the right to love and raise your children and the right to be loved and raised by both parents, the right to live in your home, the right to freedom, the right to live free of unjustified financial persecution - from countless men, women and children of both sexes in our generation.

If anyone has a good idea as to how to convince dati-leumi leaders that this is an important issue, please let me hear it.

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2 Bee or Not 2 Bee

Yishai,

I just finished listening to your show of August 2 concerning the plight of honeybees in the US, their importance to the agricultural economy, and its possible spiritual significance. If I may I would like to suggest a bit more to the possible symbolism. As you pointed out the queen lays an egg in each cell. The egg hatches into the larva, a sluggish looking thing that cannot fend for itself and can only eat the honey that is fed to it by the workers. After a certain number of days a pupa forms (the resting & transformation stage). Soon out from the cell emerges an adult bee, complete in its form, beautiful in its structure; built and devoted to service and defense of the hive. Could it be that this is what is meant by the land of milk & honey (the honey portion that is)? G_d planted his people in the land of Israel as immature and relatively helpless. They "fed" in and on the land in the past as they should feed in the present. The "honey" converts them from slug-like immature humans into complete humans dedicated to the service and defense of the land.

Another characteristic of honey is its antibiotic qualities. In older times soldiers and others would often salve their wounds with honey to prevent infections. Think about it, a container of honey can be left in the cupboard rather than in the frig - mold will not grow on it because of the antiseptic nature. Is it possible that living in the land of Israel does the same thing for G_d's people? Living elsewhere exposes one to sin and makes the evil inclination stronger, while living in the Promised Land, like honey, helps to cleanse one from sin and the evil inclination.

Also the adult bees, when they travel or when they perform their "dance" to communicate food sources to others in the hive, - it is all done with reference to the sun - the sustainer in life in the biological world. They constantly orient themselves to the position of the sun. Should it be the same for all humans, but especially for His people living in Israel - always checking on G-d's position and orienting to it?

Well, what do you think? Does this make sense? As you and your bride seemed so interested in bees and honey, I thought you might find these thoughts interesting.

All the best & stay strong,

Tony
Tekonsha, Michigan USA

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Mezuza Disease

When I first read this article, I thought to myself - "oh man, there goes the galut again." Then I looked up this Conservative Rabbi - he's from Herzliya. Ouch. And is also into ordaining Gay rabbis and performing "commitment" (marriage) ceremonies for them. Oof. And teaches a mishna study group in memory of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin.

Well, it seems like the recently retired rabbi has a new (and ironic) halachic policy - look, but don't touch.


Rabbi rules against kissing mezuzot

Conservative rabbi issues ruling stating that kissing mezuzot must be avoided in order not to contract an infectious disease
Neta Sela - ynet

A Conservative rabbi has recently ruled that kissing mezuzot should be avoided, in order to avoid the risk of contracting an infectious disease.

Rabbi Simcha Roth issued the ruling after he was approached by members of his congregation who expressed concern over the possibility that kissing a mezuzah which has been kissed by other people may constitute a health hazard.

Roth stressed that kissing mezuzot should be particularly avoided in public places and hospitals, where the risk is even greater.

The mitzvah of affixing a mezuzah to the doorpost appears in the Bible, Deuteronomy 11:20: "And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates." The mitzvah aims at reminding the Jew of the mitzvot of the Torah upon entering his home. According to the Conservative Movement, the mezuzah also reminds the inhabitants of the house that God protects them at all times.

Rabbi Roth explained that in both cases, the mezuzah’s role is to be looked at, not touched or kissed. He said that the custom of kissing the mezuzah has developed in later years with the goal of giving the observant Jew a sense of intimacy with his God.

According to Rabbi Roth, "The only mitzvah related to the mezuzah is to affix it to the doorpost and to check it to make sure it is not damaged. The other customs, such as touching or kissing it, are merely traditions and not mitzvot from the Torah.

"Therefore, in such cases it is not only permitted, but even recommended, to avoid kissing the mezuzah."

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If You Will It, It is No Dream: Tel Avivians Bomb Gaza

How long, good brothers and sisters, how long have we dreamed of this day? The day when the fancy pants of Ramat Aviv would, dropping their cappuccinos, take to the dunes with conviction and with the glint of the noon day sun in their Armani sunglasses, discharge their loaded weaponry at the evil empire of Gaza? The day when even the Land of Israel herself would rise up and spit herself at our enemies?

At long last, that day has come - sort of.

Indeed, this "military" action against local Arabia isn't the nail in the coffin that we all so eagerly await. But it is an excellent political stunt, and a step in the right direction.

Missile-launcher aimed at Gaza

Group from central Israel makes improvised projectile-launcher, lobs organic eggs, vegetables at Beit Hanoun to raise awareness of situation in Sderot
Shmulik Hadad - ynet

A number of Israelis from the Tel Aviv vicinity drove south and fired improvised missiles towards Gaza, in an effort to raise awareness of the difficult situation in Sderot.

The group used a projectile-launcher built by Yahav Michaeli - a stunts and pyrotechnics expert - to lob organic eggs and vegetables towards Beit Hanoun.

"The idea was to draw attention to what's going on with a little bit of humor, because we thought it could relieve the pressure a little," said members of the group.

"When you wander around Sderot and notice the atmosphere there, you understand that a sort of emotional stagnation has taken hold of the State. That's why we decided to do what we did," they said.

"We need to shake people up and we thought that this sort of shooting towards Beit Hanoun would be a type of peaceful shooting.

IDF sources who heard of the missile launcher hurried worriedly to the launch site. They were greeted by group member Yigal Tzur, who told them, "we mean to shoot at Gaza."

The officer responsible for the region informed him that shooting was prohibited in the area and requested he stop. Upon being informed that the group was shooting eggs and vegetables, he allowed them to continue.

The group had brought with them organic eggs, corn, mango, tomatoes and other vegetables - much of it bought in Sderot - to launch at the Palestinians.

"The shooting was amazing, some of the vegetables flew whole over to the Strip, we actually spotted the eggs flying into Beit Hanoun and the thought even crossed my mind that some day, we may be able to make Arabic salad here, a salad of peace," Tzur added.

"I'm glad we did this, because we were able to arouse awareness and put a smile on the face of the residents. We are considering keeping this up, and the next 'attack' may even be against the Knesset building. I'm already working on a more advanced cannon that will be able to fire whole cabbages."

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The Boring Galut "Controversies"

I trust you have all read the Noah Feldman controversy. Its basically the story of a successful graduate of Maimonides high school who went on to Harvard law, the CFR, and the New York Times. Recently he wrote a well written, but utterly self-serving article about how since his intermarriage, he has been ostracized from the Orthodox community and that his picture has been airbrushed away from the Alumni newsletter. Throughout the article Noah throws in some jabs at Modern-Orthodoxy to which he has a love/hate relationships. The article was in the NY Times and has since elicited responses (some very good ones) from rabbis, columnists and many many bloggers. I shall not repeat what has been already hashed out.

I would like to point out one thing though: this essay and its resulting hubbub is yet another of the Galut community's obsession with "issues" that don't matter so much. Remember the Brit Milla issue that had the American Jewish world storming? Remember the not-so-kosher-chicken fiasco of Monsey? And now the case of the whining intermarried Harvard-grad! They all seem like big issues when you are in Galut, but when you are in Israel, all these things seem like a joke. Why? Because here we deal with Jewish war and Jewish nation building, we deal with Jewish education, care for Holocaust survivors, Jewish land and the Jewish future. The giant "controversies" of America are nothing more than entertaining spats to be intellectually debated in the ever-shrinking circles of the Galut.

Do us a favor and wake up. We have bigger fish to fry in the greatest Jewish project of all time - the building of Israel. Let the Noah Feldman's whine about Modern-Orthodox mistreatment - but don't give them a bigger platform than they deserve. They are really boring as compared with the very big, very real, and very exciting issues we face here daily.

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Priceless...

It's always exciting to see Olim coming off the Aliyah plane wearing their own custom made T-shirts. On the last flight one family wore shirts that said this:



(Kudos to Yechiel for snapping these photos!)



More of Yechiel's photos can be viewed here, here, and here.

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AFP Covers Aharit HaYamim

The AFP infiltrates Aharit HaYamim's festival. Not as nasty coverage as I would expect. Good even...

West Bank: Torah, reggae and marijuana at Jewish 'Woodstock'

by Michael Blum Wed Jul 4, 6:02 PM ET

BAT AYIN SETTLEMENT, West Bank (AFP) - A group rocks to reggae in front of a large star of David while a Jewish rabbi urges a return to the faith amid a cloud of smoke: welcome to a religious Woodstock on the West Bank.

At least 1,000 people, from Orthodox youths wearing kippas to hippies sporting multi-coloured ponchos, gathered on a summer night for the 8th edition of the "Festival of the End of Time." The setting is a pine forest in the Gush Etzion bloc of Jewish settlements.

"This festival gives me spiritual power," gushes Elisheva, a 16-year-old girl from Jerusalem. "There are sparks of holiness in the air." Close to her, teenagers smoking nargilas sit on carpets, swaying to the music.

A curtain is supposed to separate females and males during dancing but in the darkness the religious interdicts are quickly forgotten and everyone mixes freely.

The festival is billed as a "unique spiritual gathering." It aims to be a meeting place for radical settlers in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank and non-religious Jews, many recently returned from spiritual journeys to India after their military service.

"Thank God all day long," chants singer Yehuda Leuchter, whose family created the festival of Jewish music in memory of their father, an American-born musician who died in 1994.

But the rabbis too have their say.

Michi Yossefi, the guru of young settlers, seizes the microphone and begins to preach the need to respect Jewish religious values to the assembled youths, who drink in his words.

He is not put off by the earrings worn by the males and the short skirts of the females -- his aim is to win back the lost sheep to the faith.

On sale at the stands erected in the forest are Indian fabrics, jewellery and CDs of the latest bands. Nearby, a couple bake bread in a rudimentary oven and offer salads and cheese to festival-goers at a modest price.

"Our message is that unity between the various strands of the Jewish people can hasten our redemption," says 25-year-old Raphael Barkatz, a Parisian saxophonist.

Moshe Karo, a 57-year-old immigrant from the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, takes the stage to sing a little known song by French artist Serge Gainsbourg, "Sand and the soldiers," the rights of which were offered to Israel in 1967.

"Yes, I will defend the sand of Israel, the soil of Israel, the children of Israel, even if it means dying for the sand of Israel," he sings in French before translating into Hebrew. "The music is a form of prayer to God," says the singer.

As the night wears on, and the families and the few adults leave, the smell of marijuana fills the air.

For Yocheved, 25, who arrived with a group of friends from Jerusalem, the evening is an occasion to relax and meet new people.

"There is a friendly atmosphere, the music is good, there is happiness," she says before taking up a tambourine which she beats in time to the musicians on the stage.

The dawn begins to break. The musicians arrange their instruments and start the morning prayers while the faraway hills glow with the rising of the sun.

OK, well I don't know about the Guru Yosefi part, but kol hakavod Michael Blum for disappointing your editor, who was probably hoping for something with a bit more blood of Christian children in it.

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Music for Parshat Eikev

A "New Tune" for Birkat Hamazon, text from this week's Parsha...Enjoy!

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4 Great Books for Prospective Olim

Dear Yishai,

Yasher koach on your activities and shows. Are there any books you can reccomend on aliyah?

Allan

=========

Dear Allan,

4 GREAT BOOKS FOR YOU:

Eim Habanim Semeichah: On Eretz Yisrael, Redemption, and Unity
This is the bible for why to make Aliyah from a Jewish perspective.

To Dwell in the Palace: Perspectives on Eretz Yisroel
This book showcases the life of new Olim and the joys of Aliyah

Torat Eretz Yisrael - The Teachings of HaRav Tzvi Yehuda HaCohen Kook
Fundemental perspectives on Israel

Moving Up: An Aliyah Journal
A new book about the Aliyah experience - I have not read it but it has rave reviews.

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Why Do "Secular" Jews Come Home?

David Wainer filed this piece in yesterday's Jerusalem Post.

I have just two comments.

1. Of course secular Jewish Aliyah must be supported! Nay, encouraged! And for the very reasons Mr. Wainer writes about - so that these Jews don't completely lose their Jewish identity. (And for a reason he didn't give - so that the entire Jewish nation can dwell our promised land - the way G-d told us it would be!)

2. However claiming that as the reason these Jews themselves choose to return Home really makes absolutely no sense at all! Well, almost. I don't agree it's a conscience consideration - however I certainly would agree there is something that does play a strong role... a little something called Pintele Yid.

The article follows:

(Photos in this blog post are ones I took at yesterday's NBN ceremony.)



Yes to secular aliya
david wainer, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 31, 2007

Recently in Jerusalem, a dinner conversation with friends from the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies turned into an impassioned discussion about secular aliya.

While enjoying our vegetarian Shabbat dinner, Deborah, 21, modern Orthodox from Wisconsin, scoffed at the fact that her friend had just made aliya from Miami to Tel Aviv. This friend is completely secular and "despises" religion. "He's enthralled by secular modernity and the Western way of life," she said.

So why, she wondered, bother leaving the comforts of America, where opportunities are limitless and terrorism - for the most part - is an ocean away to come to Tel Aviv? And, anyway, why come to the Holy Land only to live in the "decadence" of Tel Aviv?

Deborah's impetuous argument stirred a heated debate, and warranted a particular response from me, a secular Jew, which I now relay:

FIRST, IT'S important to note that although I don't agree with Deborah, statistics do. In 2005, as the second intifada began to wane, Israel welcomed a record number of olim from North America. Nefesh B'Nefesh brought over 3,000 immigrants. Seventy percent of the arrivals identified themselves as Orthodox, 15% as Conservative, 10% said they were Reform, but a mere five percent were secular or unaffiliated.

These numbers are understandable. To the observant Jew of whatever stream, Israel is the most precious place on earth. Israelis are perceived as special people; the Western Wall isn't just a wall, and fast food is not just fast food - it's kosher. But what impetus do secular Jews have to make aliya?

Start with the fact that the founders and most influential thinkers of modern Zionism were all secular. Theodor Herzl, Max Nordau, and Ze'ev Jabotinsky were as cosmopolitan and secular as Deborah's secular friend.

If they were so acculturated, why the desire to create a Jewish state? Answer: anti-Semitism.

Alarmed by the Dreyfus Affair and the universality of anti-Semitism, the founding Zionists all agreed that the Jewish soul needed to be liberated and made safe. In Herzl's words: "It is true that we aspire to our ancient land. But what we want in that ancient land is a new blossoming of the Jewish spirit."

Herzl was cognizant that Jews were second-class citizens; and whether they were in imminent physical peril in the Pale of Settlement or constrained by more genteel discrimination in Western Europe, Jews needed a place where they could determine their own culture and live their lives in fulfillment.

And in Jabotinsky's words: "What we see around us among Jews is merely the outcome of arbitrary action perpetrated by others. Only after removing the dust accumulated through 2,000 years of exile, of galut, will the true, authentic Hebrew character reveal its glorious head."

In order to be redeemed, Jabotinsky argued, the Jew would first need to be liberated from the dangers of European Jew-hatred.

These Zionists' premonitions proved only too accurate. Half a century after Herzl's death almost all of European Jewry had vanished.

But today, for the most part, the Jew living in America or Europe is under no physical threat. Yarmulke-wearing Jews can live comfortably throughout the Western world while enjoying the perks of a first-world lifestyle.

TODAY, IT is the secular Jew living in America who is in cultural peril. And assimilation is the imminent threat to his or her Judaic existence.

In Israel, if a youth rebels against his or her traditional upbringing, wanting to pursue a more secular life-style, he or she can escape to Tel Aviv. There they might not keep Shabbat or kosher anymore. But they'll be present when the siren goes off on Holocaust Remembrance Day. They will speak Hebrew. They will still take off work for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur - even if it's to take a three-day cruise to Turkey.

And chances are they'll marry another Jew.

In Israel, being Jewish is organic; in America it is not.

In America, a cosmopolitan Jew who is completely secular and not culturally connected to a Jewish community has no connection to our people. So in New York City, Los Angeles or London, such a Jew would have little reason to have a Shabbat dinner or take off work for Rosh Hashana.

Falling in in love with a non-Jew is a very real possibility. And, over the generations, those Jews' lineage would likely come to an end. Thus, the secular Jew, no longer attached by faith, also risks detachment from tradition and peoplehood by living in America.

BEING JEWISH in America requires a special effort. Although most of the Jews making aliya from America today are affiliated with some branch of Judaism, it is secular Jews who need Israel the most. Only Israel can save them from long-term cultural decline. Only in Israel can they redefine what it means to be a Jew.

In response to Deborah and those who don't understand why a secular Jew would leave Miami for Tel Aviv, the answer is quite straightforward: to remain Jewish. In Israel, regardless of ethnicity, whether Orthodox or secular, right-wing or left-wing, gay or straight, each Jew constitutes - as described by Shimon Peres in his inaugural speech as president - one of the "fine threads of fabric that weave us together as a nation."

The writer was raised in Rio de Janeiro and recently graduated from Boston University. He is a media fellow at the Israel Project in Jerusalem this summer.

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Why the World Needs Jewish Princes

Click on pic for a seriously funny story

Europe. Think about it. All that wealth. All those castles and villas and fine cars and where does it all go? Into a culture of empty hedonism and post-colonial guilt. And the USA is just a more hardworking version of that.

The world needs Jewish princes. We need some Lord Shmuliks, some Count Kobis, some Lady Yaelis. I'm telling you, we need a decent-sized piece of real estate with some holes in the ground that ooze oil, and the world will be transformed. The location (location, location) we already have. But size matters too, what can you do. What we now call Israel is in truth just the northwestern province of our promised country.

Our princes won't galivant around the globe posing for pictures with hungry African kids. Our princes will be serious workers for Hashem, doing what needs to be done, taking care of business, in much the same way that the British colonial administrators of Victorian times, culled from the cream of the Oxford and Cambridge crop, took care of matters of empire. Only better, of course. And with less pomp and circumstance. One by one we will take down the dictators. The slaveholders. The drug lords.

We will come up with a system of mass transportation that does not involve .01% of the population dying in accidents every year and implement it worldwide. We will advise countries on the best system of governance for their nation. We will mediate between nations from a position of strength. We will hold interventions on an international level. We will lead by example. We will make good music. We will inject the world with Jewish energy and simchat chaim.

Mind you, when I say "princes" I don't necessarily mean the hereditary type. I just mean, think of a world in which Israel possesses true physical strength and wealth, on par with today's Germany and Japan, or maybe even the two combined. PLUS our other advantages: our brainpower, our creativity, our vitality, etc.. THAT - combined with a moral and just leadership - is a world nearing tikkun.

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