"BEHAR - BECHUKOTAI" KUMMUNIQUE IS HERE
Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is filled with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!
In this issue you will find:
1. "Dear Gilead" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Never Again?" By Charles Krauthammer
3. "Olmert To Diaspora Jews: Come Home" by Attila Somfalvi
4. "Daniel Wultz Remembered In J'lem" By Joshua Brannon
5. "Israelis And American Jews: Still Talking Past Each Other" by Abraham Foxman Check it out at
THE KUMMUNIQUE HOME-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN USHPIZIN?
If you've never seen the movie, the entire movie can now be found for free on the internet. It was placed there by the star of the movie, Shuli Rand and he introduces it himself. Sadly, no English subtitles. I think it's one of the best movies of all time...
CLICK HERE TO VIEW FILM
MORE ANSWERS FOR GILEAD...
Here is the original letter that I
posted earlier:
Dear Yishai,I'm really hurting.
I have filled my Aliyah papers for my family and I, yet the more I read the news the more sick I become.
I DO NOT WANT THE TAXES I PAY TO FEED MY ENEMIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>From GileadPlease give me some words of chizuk!
--------------------------------
Gilead,This is Simcha Shapiro from
The Aliyah Revolution show. My friend, I am afraid that you seriously misunderstand the nature of Aliyah. Do you think that the money that you pay in taxes where you live now, do not go to your enemies?! Our obligation and right to live in Eretz Yisrael is completely independent of Midinat Yisrael. I would hope that our government would be straight and honest, and Torah minded. That being said, even if it were the most corrupt and destructive government in the history of the world, we would still have an obligation and right to live in Eretz Yisrael. You are needed here! The greatest thing that you can do to counteract the actions of our enemies and those who support them, is to LIVE HERE IN SPITE OF THEM!
Hatzlacha in doing what is right!
Simcha---------------------------------
Dear Gilead,Shalom! I received your e-mail from Yishai, and thought I would reply.
Look - none of us want our taxes to feed our enemies. But ultimately, that's not what life in Israel is about!
There are many ways to think about your aliyah:
1. You can think about how your aliyah serves YOU - your children's significantly advanced Jewish/Torah education, raising them with a sense of community and belonging, never being without a minyan, signing your checks with the date on the Hebrew calendar, eating special milk and honey flavored yogurt around Rosh Hashanah time.
2. You can think about how your aliyah serves ISRAEL - increasing the Jewish presence, adding to feelings of Jewish pride/growth/strength, growing children who will grow their children, and their children, and their children... adding to the brain trust and the spiritual power of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.
3. You can think about how your aliyah serves THE MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE - Showing Him that you choose His land, that you buy into His Torah, that you love His people, and that you would rather spend your life fighting and struggling to bring His light into this world than sitting comfortably in America, far away from the birth pains of a growing Israel.
This is not a time for despair. Frankly, we don't have that luxury, and you should not allow yourself to give into those feelings (believe me, I know how much they want to suck you down into their vortex sometimes). When faced with such an evil impulse, you should smash those feelings and renew your determination to keep your eyes on the prize, to fully invest yourself in the biblical events we are undergoing.
Never forget the incredible love that brought you to consider making Aliyah in the first place - that revelation is one of the greatest truths you have ever experienced.
Good luck, and G-d speed. We look forward to seeing you soon.
All the best,
Malkah
There's no place like home - Part I
I still owe
West Bank Mama a post on
why I made Aliyah, but until I get around to writing that one, here is the first (of at least 2 posts) that will focus on why (native) Israelis consider Israel, despite all of the challenges that go along with living here, to be their one and only true home.
Memorial Hall in Sanders Theater at Harvard University started to fill up half an hour before Tal Ben-Shahar's lecture was due to begin... When Ben-Shahar, 35, who is bespectacled, lean and inclined to smile, enters, he does not look like a guru who attracts hundreds of students... It's a pleasure to listen to him. He is intelligent and funny and his remarks are rich with a profusion of details. The students are plainly riveted. When the class ends, they applaud. Afterward, a long line of students forms to exchange a few words with him. He sits at the front of the stage and speaks patiently with everyone...
Ben-Shahar is a genuine star on the Harvard campus... Indeed, the demand by 850 students to take the course ("Positive Psychology") compelled the university to allocate this hall, the largest on campus. The demand outside the university, which is equally intense, is met by a television crew that films Ben-Shahar's lectures for broadcast on the Internet...
Tal Ben Shahar has it made. At the age of 35 he is one of the most popular professors at Harvard University; people around the world listen to his lectures, he has a book deal all lined up, and his course has been covered by media outlets including The Boston Globe, CNN, Fox News, National Public Radio, and the New York Times.
(To view Tal Ben-Shahar's lectures, go to http://my.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?course=fas-psy1504 and click on "Lecture Videos.")
And yet, despite all of the above, he is preparing to walk away from Harvard University at the end of the year.
What could possibly compel Tal Ben-Shahar to walk away from a situation where he seems to be set for life?
"We are coming back to Israel in July. I am obligated to give one more semester-long course at Harvard in two years, and that is all. After so many years away, I want to return home. I want to be with my family and friends. I just miss it. I have a boy of 22 months, Davidi, who wants to be with the family in Israel.
Despite all the problems, we have a wonderful country. Israel is my home and I love the country. When I ask myself what will bring me personal happiness, happiness for my family, the answer is to live in Israel. The Israelis are very authentic. In no other place have I experienced the bond I have with the state and with the people who live in it - and I am not the first Israeli to say this."
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Cross-posted at Israel Perspectives
Israel
Jewish
Judaism
Zionism
A.B. Yehoshua versus Diaspora Jews
From
HaaretzAt a recent symposium in the U.S., author A. B. Yehoshua said that only Israel, and not Judaism, can ensure the survival of the Jewish people. Haaretz has invited public figures, community leaders, academics and opinion makers in Israel, the U.S. and Europe to take part in the debate sparked by his statement. In an
article in the Haaretz Magazine of May 12, Yehoshua elaborates on his initial remarks.
READ MORE...
Chizzuk!!!
Dear Yishai,I'm really hurting.
I have filled my Aliyah papers for my family and I, yet the more I read the news the more sick I become.
I DO NOT WANT THE TAXES I PAY TO FEED MY ENEMIES !!!!!!!!!!
From GileadPlease give me some words of chizzuk!
-------------------------------
Gilead,Aliyah is just like any other mitzva and we fulfill G-d's commands despite obstacles in our way. Your Aliyah is no favor to Olmert, it is a favor to you and your Family. It is a blessing for your family for generations to come. It is the fulfillment of our nation's dream of two-thousand years. It is G-d's will. If you are able to make it in the Land despite the challenges - you will be rewarded accordingly in this world and the next.
Other than all that, very cool people live here in Israel, and we know that we are heading towards something much much greater - and nobody will stand in its way. You have one life to live, live it fully in Eretz Hachayim!!!
YishaiPS I have sent your email to a few of my friends - so expect some more Chizzuk soon.
-------------------------------
dear gilead,yishai fleisher forwarded your email to me and gave me the opportunity to respond to your email.
i'd like to try to pick apart at your argument because i think you have a good one.
first, if it is a bad thing to give your taxes to an "enemy" government, aren't you allowing the good (as in not your enemy) jews like myself who are already living in israel to do such a thing? by this line of thinking, the more undesirable paying your taxes is, the more of a duty you have to come here to make sure that other jews won't be giving money to the enemy.
to stop them from doing so is really an easy thing to do. all we need is enough people to put the proper piece of paper in an envelope during election time. and if you were here before election time you could have tried to convince other jews to put the right piece of paper in an envelope. i think that there were efforts that did so and that's why kadima isn't as powerful as it was predicted to be.
next, i think this generation and me included are guilty of greatly underestimating the incredible miracle and blessing that israel is today. i go to jerusalem at least three times a year, little ole me. i live in a country that the majority of the population is jewish. i never have to explain to a boss what it means that i can't work friday night and saturday. if i want to eat out, chances are more often than not that the food is kosher and tasty. my daughter was born in israel. she will speak perfect hebrew. imagine telling a rabbi in poland two hundred years ago that there will be a guy like me with such privileges. it would make his heart burst.
now you have to ask yourself what incredible force of good made all of these blessings possible? that's right, your enemy, the state of israel. this government hasn't changed so much. probably the only difference is that it is running out of gas, secular zionism is showing its limitations. it has run out of ideas. luckily, the jews are armed with something filled with boundless vitality, the torah. we need soldiers like yourself to implement the true peace plan, the sinai accords.
looks like an impossible mission? too difficult? tune into israelnationalradio.com next thursday to the yishai and malkah show and with god's help, i'm going to explain how easy it is.
good luck. and by the way, you hurting is a good sign, it means you are alive. don't become numb like i see all too often around me. made for the right reasons, making aliyah can help that hurt in a big way.
oh yeah, almost forgot, all too often i hear from jews what they want to do. what ever happened to doing what god wants you to do? am i missing something or isn't that supposed to be the attitude of a believing jew?
chazak venitchazak,
aaron fox
