Kumah Kleanup for Shavuot: The Tomb of Ruth and Jesse

Clean Up Tomb of Ruth and Yishai

An amazing chance to help Israel honor our Matriarch, right before Shavuot
*Sunday, May 24, 2009(Rosh Chodesh Sivan)
*9:30am - 6:30pm
*Meet at upper level of Central Bus Station Jerusalem at 9:30AM (bus stop for the 160 line)

This coming Sunday, before Shavuot, we meet at the Central Bus Station, and get a bus to Hebron. When we get there, we go to the 'Tomb of Ruth and Yishai' and we CLEAN IT UP. Weed work, dust cleaning, fixing some tiles, moving rocks, maybe painting. We will be treated to FREE PIZZA and hopefully and reading of the Scroll of Ruth. Please bring clothes to dirty and gloves to work with. Email Yishai at kumah.org with questions, and if you're a member of Facebook, add yourself to the event.

Sponsored by Kumah - The NeoZionist Lobby

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Yishai Speaks in Passaic NJ!

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Watch Aliyah LIVE!

Today Nefesh B'Nefesh announced that for the first time ever everyone all over the world will be able to watch an Aliyah flight arrive in Israel! NBN will be web-casting the historic event for the world to see.

"We wanted to enable those close to the people making Aliyah to get a better idea of the excitement and the Olim experience upon arrival in Israel," said Nefesh B'Nefesh's VP of Operations Danny Oberman. "This new technological addition will allow them to follow the arrival of their loved ones, almost as if they were there."

Check out the The Live Webcast this Thursday, July 10th at 12:10 am EST/7:10 Israel time right here. ( www.nbn.org.il/2008arrival )

Count how many Kumah bloggers you can spot there. And spread the word!

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Mainlining Zionism

Shalom Folks,

I am in the States right now and will speaking in a few venues - you are invited to attend:

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When: Sunday, June 29th 2:00-3:00pm
At the 1st World Conference of the Noahide Nations
http://www.noahidenations.com/

Where: Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hilton Hotel
1870 Griffin Road
Dania, FL. 33004
Phone 954-920-3300

Topic: "INR Support for Future of The Noahide Movement"

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When: Thursday July 3rd at 8:30pm
Where: Passaic NJ, Ahavas Israel Congregation 181 Van Houtan Ave

Topic: "How is a Jew to Celebrate The 4th of July?"

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When: Sunday, July 6 at 7:30pm
Where: Baltimore, MD, Moses Montefiore Anshe Emunah Congregation
7000 Rockland Hills Drive

Topic: "Aliyah to Israel: A Modern Haven or Mandated From Heaven?"

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More dates may follow. Hope to see you at one of these events!

Yishai

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Free Food!!

Reason #21,349,067 to be in Israel from June 17-19:

Kosher food festival coming to town

Prepare your stomachs for the kosher food festival in Petah Tikva, where you definitely won’t find shrimp in cream sauce, white meat or creamed spaghetti Bolognese
Yoav Friedman (Ynetnews)

If you don’t mix milk and meat and avoid pork or seafood, you probably skipped one, two, seven or 20 booths at the annual Tel Aviv food festival. However, on June 17-19 the first gourmet kosher food festival will take place in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, where observant food lovers can eat to their heart's content.

The organizers of the festival taking place a few days prior to summer’s official beginning promise “a quality and kosher gastronomical experience.” The festival will include dozens of kosher restaurants and musical performances by some of Israel’s most popular singers.

Former MK Shaul Yahalom, one of the festival’s initiators, said that “everyone knows that kosher food in Israel is just as tasty, sophisticated and innovative as non-kosher food and there is no reason to be embarrassed by it.

"Kosher food eaters are not fully satisfied and don’t have an opportunity to enjoy all the food offered at all the other Israeli food festivals. So...we are initiating the first kosher gourmet festival in order to allow everyone the opportunity to enjoy a huge, quality-filled and enjoyable festival,” he added.

“Eating Kosher” will take place at Petah Tikva’s large park on June 17-19, 2008 between 18:00-23:00. Entrance is free.

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Yom Yerushalayim- Come Join Us!!

You and your friends are cordially invited:
Yom Yerushalayim Celebration @ Beit HaRav Kook (next to Ticho House) in Jerusalem! Join the Kumah chevrah, yeshiva students and new olim for a song-filled Tefillah Chagigit & Musical Hallel led by R' Shlomo Katz this Monday at 8:30am. Divrei Torah, great music, & free breakfast too! Marking 41 years since the open miracles of the Six Day War!

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Run Home Jews, Run Home

Below is a cute article about a reform rabbi who is altering his diet before running the marathon in Boston to fit the requirements of Pesach. There are also other Jews in the article who have decided that eating chametz in preparation for the Marathon trumps Pesach concerns. The article seems to have some elements of Kidush Hashem by showing the devotion of Jews to Pesach, and some elements of Chilul Hashem by showing how some Jews are willing to throw away tradition of 3000 years in order to run 30 miles in Boston.

However, the truth is that once again our focus is lead astray by a mis-framing of the entire issue...

The real issue is that Jews, with their tremendous spiritual and activist energy, are spending it all on unimportant things. The Jews in this article feel proud that they can run a marathon on a stomach full of Matzah. They thing it is some kind of religious sacrifice and athletic sacrifice all at once. But they are wrong. The whole purpose of the Jewish religion is to serve G-d and not to run marathons on foreign soil. On Pesach, instead of running a marathon on a stomach full of matzah, these Jews should consider packing up their house and preparing for Aliyah on a stomach full of matzah. Then they too can relive the Exodus from Egyptian materialism and bondage.

In general, American Jews find "important" issues to take part in or debate vigorously. The Orthodox deal with things like the endless Eruv construction debates, mini-bugs in water, and blood-drawing during ritual circumcision. The Reform-Conservative care about Darfur and running marathons in Boston. All of these have one thing in common: they are excuses not to deal with the central issue of our time and that is building the nation of Israel through the advent of the Jewish State. By making themselves feel as though they are involved in important issues, or by deluding themselves with the belief that American Jewry somehow helps Israel, American Jews quietly create an atmosphere where their existence is never challenged. Sadly, the fact remains, that the Jewish State is waiting for the last naglah (load) of Jews to come home so that we can move forward. They are holding up the show.

Hey Jew, your home is not America! You don't need to run a useless marathon around Boston! Run home Jew, run home!

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"Is It Kosher? Jewish Marathon Runners Balance Passover With Prep For Boston"

BOSTON - Jonah Pesner is looking ahead to his crucial carb-loading, fuel-up meal on the night before running his first Boston Marathon. On the menu: matzoh.

It’s not the usual choice for marathoners loading up on carbohydrates to drive their run, but Pesner, a rabbi, has limited options.

Passover begins just two days before the April 21 marathon, and the holiday’s strict dietary rules mean Jewish runners can’t eat bread and pasta, the normal staples in the days before the big race.

Besides matzoh, which is unleavened bread, Pesner plans to pound down foods such as potatoes during a rare "carb-load seder" the night before the race.

Pesner never considered breaking the dietary rules for the sake of the race, which he is running with his wife for an autism charity.

"For me, running the marathon is a very spiritual quest," he said.

The marathon is always held on Patriots [team stats] Day, a state holiday that falls the third Monday in April, and often comes within the weeklong Passover holiday.

Marathon organizers try to be sensitive to religious concerns, but major changes to suit various religions aren’t practical, said Marc Chalufour, spokesman for the Boston Athletic Association, the marathon’s organizer.

"You’ve got 25,000 runners and you obviously want to be sensitive to the needs of all of them," Chalufour said. "But you can’t make a change to accommodate some of the runners at the expense of the majority."

The dietary restrictions for Passover forbid eating leavened foods, such as bread, cake, beer or pasta, which have yeast or other fermented grain products.

The prohibition is traced to the roots of the holiday, which marks when God sent an angel to kill first-born Egyptian sons, but spared the houses of the Israelites. Soon after, Pharaoh freed the Jews, who fled in such a hurry that the dough they took didn’t have enough time to rise.

Jews usually hold a Passover seder, a meal with religious rituals, in their homes on the first two nights of the holiday, which is usually observed for eight days.

The level of observance varies. An Orthodox Jew, for instance, does not work or drive on the first two and the last two days of Passover, so he or she would not run a marathon on those days.

It’s not an issue for Pesner, whose liberal Reform branch generally suggests followers hold a seder on just the first day of the holiday, though the dietary rules are observed the entire week.

Pesner, 39, acknowledges he has questions about the effects of his diet on his race. Matzoh is known to have a binding effect on the digestive tract.

"It’s definitely a concern," Pesner said, chuckling.

Sandy Karpen, a real estate agent from Scottsdale, Ariz., said he and his wife, Sharon, are changing their tradition of attending seders the first two nights of Passover to accommodate their training. The second seder is the day before the race, and Karpen and his wife wanted to rest, rather than attend a seder on what is typically a long night.

Their rabbi from the Conservative Jewish tradition advised them that Jews may fulfill their obligation by observing only the first day, and said they could do the same.

The 17-time marathoner admits to some guilt about straying from his lifelong tradition, but has no regrets.

"I guess sometimes you’re looking for justification for what you’re doing," he said. "My rabbi said it was acceptable to do, and that was good enough for us."

Karpen, 49, and his wife ate fish and potatoes before their last long runs as sort of practice.

"The last thing you want to do is change your diet or change anything you’ve been doing throughout your cycle," he said. "You never want to experiment the day of the race."

Wayne Cohen, from Houston, figures that on the day before the marathon, he’ll have egg whites and fruit for breakfast, rather than pancakes, and salmon with potatoes for dinner, instead of a carb-filled pizza.

But Cohen, 51, has decided he’ll break Passover rules on the morning of the race, when he’s planning to eat oatmeal without water and likely some pieces of bagel. Cohen has run about two dozen marathons, and decided he doesn’t want to mess with his normal race day routine.

And he’s not feeling guilty about it.

"I’ve pretty much convinced myself I would be a hypocrite if I said it would," he added. "It’s not like I’ve been perfect in my religious beliefs.

"I’m beyond that," he said. "I’m not going to worry."

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THE BIG EVENT!

Kumah is inviting all Jews who are down with Mordechai (Down with Haman!) to converge on the Prophet Samuel's tomb just north of Jerusalem's Ramot neighborhood at 1PM on Shushan Purim.

This is a deep and beautiful place for the King of Shushan Purim feasts. It is a place where all the conquerers of the land have torn down and built and where the man who anointed the first Jewish king is interred. Shmuel is also an Amalek killer and that is what we need today!

If you come, YOU MUST BRING FOOD and like something parve or basari,and some HOLY DRINK and also bring MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

When the revolution comes, this is where you'll want to be.

If you can't figure out where it is, ask a Jerusalemite, use the Internet or call *2800 and find out how Egged can get you there. There are challanges to get there, but if you overcome, you will be rewarded!

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Heart-Fixed

To my dear friends and family,

Daniel and I just got back form paying a shiva call to the family of Segev Avichayil, the young boy murdered in the terrorist attack Thursday night. I was expecting a terrible scene of crying and shouting, of blaming and lots of unanswered questions. What we encountered was the exact opposite.

The apartment was a modest one, the only interior design being the sefer lined living room walls. this was clearly a home of torah and yirat shamayim. at least a hundred people were crowded into the room, all listening while the father of this young man spoke with total composure and clarity.

Segev's mother and sister sat quietly listening to words which are difficult to imagine coming from a man whose son had been so cruelly torn from him. I tried to absorb every word, knowing that I was in the presence of greatness and would probably never encounter strength like this again.

Rav Avichayil was telling all the heartbroken people who came to comfort him that he was not broken. He said that he and his wife, and all of their remaining children were stronger in their faith and love for Hashem than ever.

He said that Hashem has chosen this time for the Jewish nation to return to its borders, and the terrorist was just a shaliach to test our resolve to resettle the land. Hashem had now chosen a new path for him and his family to embark on, and all he could do was thank Hashem for having been graced with such a precious neshama for the years his son lived.

Someone there asked if he had questions for Hashem.

He said that the gemara is written in a way that there are always more questions to be asked, deeper layers to reveal and understand. He said that he did not have questions of Hashem, he just knows that he can not understand everything yet. he said that he had no questions, just perhaps he felt a lack of clarity. He went on to describe his son Segev, a boy so connected to torah at just 15 years old. he loved to learn with his father, and had deep respect for his father.

He stood when his father entered the room, and always was very interested in how his father was doing. He called from yeshiva all the time to speak to his parents and siblings aways caring so much for what they were doing and how they were. He went regularly to the hospital to dance and sing and make people happy.

His father asked him once if he was embarrassed to do it, and he could not understand the question. Why should he be embarrassed to make people happy. We have truly lost a special neshama.

Segev's Rav from Merkaz Harav was there. He told us that the reason Segev had been in the library the night of the shooting and not in the Bait midrash was because the Bait midrash was crowded and he did not want to be distracted from his learning. the terrorist killed all the students who could not escape the library fast enough. Segev died with his sefer still open in his hands.

May Hashem bring a nechama to this beautiful Jewish family, who raised their son with the most beautiful torah values and love for yidishkeit. May we see the yeshuah quickly in our days. We must all continue to daven for Shalom for klall yisrael in Eretz Yisrael, and for protection from the evil reincarnation of Haman and Amalek.

Besurot Tovot, Avigail

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Get Active - RIGHT NOW!

There are a lot of activism opportunities today for those of you who are truly pained by the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Sderot. Here are some for your immediate participation:

1. The Totally Most Awesome Women of Israel organization, known to you as Women in Green, is rallying at 6:30pm - TONIGHT, Monday, February 11th, in front of the Prime Minister's Office (between the Knesset and the Supreme Court).

For details please call 052-3121383

2. At 8pm, also TONIGHT, head out to the Kotel for another rally - a prayer rally - organized by two kids from New York who are learning at the Tiferet Center in Ramat Beit Shemesh. You won't be alone - approximately 2,000 yeshiva and seminary students are expected to attend. The rally is called Enough is Enough! For more information, contact Rabbi Elie Mayer at 052-616-4050

3. For all of you who cannot attend tonight's rallies, and want to do some good work, this is your chance! Yishai called a Shas member on his show today, and asked his secretary why Shas was still in the government, because Jerusalem is, in fact, on the table (and Shas swore it would leave the government if surrendering Jerusalem to the local Arabs were to ever be discussed as a possibility). He then asked her if Shas had received any faxes asking them to leave.

The answer was no - not one! So you're going to fix that now:

Here are the fax and phone numbers of Shas Knesset members. If you don't send a fax or call one of these people, you officially don't care about what's happening in Sderot:

Avraham Michaeli: Fax - 02-6753961. Telephone - 050-3331526
Eli Yishai: Fax - 02-6662923. Telephone - 054-5444444
Amnon Cohen: Fax - 02-6408927. Telephone - 02-6408372

Because I want to get this post up fast enough to enable you to make the rallies, I'll post the rest later - get out there and make your difference!

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Shoah Won’t Repeat Itself

From Noah Klieger in YNET (My comments after the article)

We must teach our youngsters that Israel will not allow another Holocaust

Some of the findings of a recent poll about the Holocaust truly stunned me. In the framework of the survey, about 400 students and soldiers were asked, among other things, whether the Holocaust can happen again, what is the best Shoah studies method in their view (classes at school, documentaries, or visits to death camps in Poland,) and what is their attitude to Holocaust survivors.

As it turned out, 82% of respondents said that another Holocaust is a possible scenario.

This figure is worrisome, and should be addressed today of all days, on the date declared by the United Nations as International Holocaust Day. If 63 years after the end of World War II, which brought to an end the mass murder of European Jewry, and 60 years after the establishment of the State of Israel, which was built on the ruins of that Jewry, almost all young respondents think that a Shoah can happen again – we are facing a big problem.

In that respect, our education system totally failed, as did parents in the past two generations. If for six decades we were unable to explain that the Jewish people learned in the cruelest and most terrible way that the State of Israel is the absolute guarantee to the Jewish people’s safety, we must immediately change our approach, our curriculum, and all our explanations.

The poll revealed that 54% of high school students believe that the best way to form an impression about the Holocaust is through tours in Poland, so this means we need a new approach in planning and conducting these tours. The committee members and historians who prepare the students before they embark on their trip to Poland must change their approach. They must emphasize time and again that the Holocaust was a phenomenon that will not be repeated.

At the end of the tours they must also emphasize, along with history teachers, that the Jewish people and the State of Israel no longer face such danger, certainly not from a European country or any other enlightened nation. We are certainly facing dangers, but not from the same direction.

Youngsters must not live under grim shadow

Everyone must repeat this time and again, and the education system must increase the amount of time dedicated to the subject and recruit people who are well familiar with it – rather than tasking teachers who are not experts or instructors who finished one course with this mission.

The Shoah, as I have been emphasizing for dozens of years, was not “just another genocide,” like the ones we have seen before and still see today. It was a calculated, thoroughly planned mass murder that was methodically implemented by hundreds of thousands if not millions of Germans and their helpers from various nations; step by step, with determination, based on a master plan.

Therefore, the Holocaust cannot repeat; because Israel, the Jewish people’s state, will be able to contend with such new evil plan, if it indeed emerges.

This is what we should be teaching our youngsters; we must not allow them to live under the grim shadow of the terrible tragedy that befell European Jewry during Hitler’s reign in Germany.

[Instead of asking whether kids have a a good reason to think that the Shoa could happen again, the author of this article thinks that kids should be brainwashed into having full and utter confidence in the mighty State of Israel. No matter that Kassams keep decimating Sderot, or that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and closing the noose around us with Hizballa and Hamas as their proxies, the author of the article thinks that kids are totally mislead when they think that a Holocaust could happen again. How does he propose we stem the tide of fear? Brainwashing. Change the curriculum, don't take them to Poland, retrain the teachers.

How about showing kids that the state of Israel can really route the enemy instead of talking about it? How about actually dealing with threats of the moder Holocaust-makers? What the author of the article did not concieve of is this simple formula: Beating back the enemies of Israel will do a whole lot more for kids confidence then retelling the tale of Israeli invincibility in a time where our defenses are breached daily.

The lesson of the Holocaust IS NOT that the State of Israel can defend Jews from existential threats. The lesson of the Holocaust is that Jews are in constant danger, and without due vigilance the Shoa can certainly happen again. The State of Israel is a machine, a mechanism for governance. It can function well, or it can function poorly. In terms of defense, today's Israel is functioning poorly. The fault probably lies in ideological misconceptions and in corrupt politics and not in military lacks. That being said, the bottom line result is that clear-eyed kids, not yet blinded by ideology and demagoguery, foresee a danger to the Jewish people and to Israel - and that is not a bad thing! It is a good thing because it can bring to action that can be filed under the heading: NEVER AGAIN! The other option is to change the curriculum and lull everyone to sleep with the mantra: "Everything will be fine, there are no problems, keep sleeping children, there is no danger." YF]

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And she shall be called in Israel...

With much thanks to Hashem, I am happy to share with you that at 10:10am Shabbat Morning, the 7th day of the month of Kislev, 5768 (November 17, 2007), Annie gave birth to a baby girl. Both Annie and our new daughter are doing well - and Hodaya is excited to be a sister.

Being Shabbat, we had the opportunity, a few hours later, during Mincha (afternoon service) to name our daughter.

And she shall be called in Israel... Eliana Racheil.

Eliana means: (My) G-d has answered - a combination of the two Hebrew words, Eli: (My) G-d, and Ana: has answered.

On the most elementary level, It is the hope and prayer of every couple to be blessed with children, and that, in the aftermath of childbirth, that both baby and mother should be well. It is all too easy to forget or take for granted that not every couple has yet to be blessed with children, and not every pregnancy ends well, either for the mother or baby (or both).

So, on this most basic and human level, Eliana - G-d has answered our prayers - and we have been blessed once again with a beautiful baby girl, and that both she and her mother are healthy and happy, if not a bit tired, understandably so.

Racheil comes from our Biblical matriarch Rachel, who happened to be one of the central figures from this past Shabbat's weekly Torah portion - Parshat VaYeitzei.

The Talmud (Niddah 20b) teaches us that when a baby is in the womb, "he / she is taught the entire Torah...". It is not surprising then, having already become familiar with this past Shabbat's Torah portion that Eliana Racheil chose to enter this world specifically on Shabbat Parshat VaYeitzei.

The Hebrew word VaYeitzei means: to go out - and that is precisely what Eliana Racheil did this past Shabbat - she went out of her mother's womb and entered into the world.

Additionally, one of the central themes of Parshat VaYeitzei is that of childbirth. Over the course of the Torah portion, 11 of the 12 sons of Jacob - the Tribes of Israel - are both born and named (another motivation for naming Eliana Racheil over this particular Shabbat), and in addition to the 11 boys born to Jacob, a daughter is also born to him - bringing the total to 12 children born to Jacob over the span of a single Torah portion.

However, in order to fully appreciate and understand the name, one must look at both names together.

There is a Midrash found at the beginning of the Book of Lamentations (Eichah) which recounts the following (copied from www.Chabad.org):

As the Temple lay in ruins and the Jews were being led into exile as slaves, Abraham came before G-d and said: "Master of the universe, when I was 100 years old, you gave me a son, and when he was 37 years old you told me, 'Raise him as a sacrifice before Me.' I overcame my natural mercy and bound him myself. Will You not remember my devotion and have mercy on my children?"

Next, Isaac approached. "When my father said, 'G-d will show us the sheep for a sacrifice, my son,' I did not hesitate but accepted my fate and extended my neck to be slaughtered. Will You not remember my strength and have mercy on my children?"

Then Jacob beseeched: "I worked for twenty years in the house of Laban and when I left, Esau came to harm me. I suffered all my life raising my children. Now they are being led like sheep to the slaughter in the hands of their enemies. Won't you remember all my pain and suffering and redeem my children?"

Moses rose up and said: "Was I not a loyal shepherd of Israel for forty years? I ran before them in the desert like a horse. When the time came to enter Israel, You decreed that I would die in the desert. Now they go into exile. Won't You listen to my crying over them?"

Before all these virtuous defenders, G-d remained silent.

Then Rachel lifted her voice, "Master of the Universe, You know that Jacob loved me intensely and worked for seven years in order to marry me. When the time of my marriage came, my father substituted my sister for me. I did not begrudge my sister and I didn't let her be shamed; I even revealed to her the secret signs that Jacob and I had arranged.

"If I, a mere mortal, was not prepared to humiliate my sister and was willing to take a rival into my home, how could You, the eternal, compassionate G-d, be jealous of idols, which have no true existence, that were brought into Your home? Will You cause my children to be exiled on this account?"

Immediately, G-d's mercy was aroused and He responded, "For you, Rachel, I will bring Israel back to their place."

This Midrash is based on the verses found in the Book of Jeremiah (31: 15 - 17):

So has the Lord said: In Ramah there is a sound of crying, weeping and bitter sorrow; Rachel weeping for her children; she will not be comforted for their loss. The Lord has said this: Keep your voice from sorrow and your eyes from weeping: for your work will be rewarded, says the Lord; and they will come back from the land of their hater. And there is hope for the future, says the Lord; and your children will come back to the land which is theirs.

Returning to the name, Eliana Racheil...

Eliana Racheil is our 2nd child, and our 2nd child to be born in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish People. Annie and I have been blessed to make our home and start our family here, in the Land of Israel, and have our children born in Jerusalem, something which, today, is also something, B"H, that is easy to take for granted.

In response to our matriarch Rachel's tears on seeing the Jewish People led into exile, G-d promised her that "your children (the Jewish People) will return to their borders (the Land of Israel)".

Annie and I, along with Hodaya Leah and Eliana Racheil (and the many other Jews who have returned to the Land of Israel - who have returned home) are the living fulfillment of G-d's promise to Rachel - Eliana Rachel - G-d has answered Rachel's prayer - the Jewish People are coming home.

It is our hope and prayer, in giving our new daughter this name, Eliana Racheil, that she follow in the footsteps of her namesake, Racheil Imeinu, who serves as the embodiment of dedication and self-sacrifice on behalf of the Jewish people, and that our Eliana Racheil devote herself to bringing about the redemption of the Jewish People - may we merit to see it speedily in our - and Eliana Racheil's - lifetime.

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Romantic

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Aliyah Revolution - Alive and Well in Chicago IL

The Aliyah Revolution is full steam ahead at the University of Chicago where over 25 students have already registered for an aliyah shabbaton on November 16th and 17th. Will post details after the event - if you have any ideas please leave a comment!

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Neo- Zionism Outlets

Hey,

I know its been a long time, and I will get at it again, but I just got this email, and I think People should know about it.

Enjoy :-) ~ Shulamit


THE ISRAELI FOREIGN SERVICE NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU
Oops! A fly on the wall informs us that the Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor and the Israeli Consul General in NY, Asaf Shariv, have apparently gotten NO PROTESTS from anyone about the attempts to set up a new Palestinian terror state just a bike ride from divided Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, and Israel's only international airport (Ben-Gurion). So... write, fax, email, or swim and say it to their face:

Ambassador Sallai Meridor, Embassy of Israel, 3514 International Drive, NW, Washington, DC 20008

Emb-sec3@israelemb.org 202-364-5590; FAX: 202-364-5560

Ambassador Asaf Shariv, Consulate of Israel in NY, 800 Second Ave., New York, NY 10017

ashariv@newyork.mfa.gov.il, 212-499-5450 - Fax: 212-499-5455

AND...............

ON THE SILENCE OF MAINSTREAM ORTHODOX & HAREIDI RABBIS
Some great people in the United States have begun lobbying mainstream Rabbis and Jewish organizations to speak out against a Palestinian State. Their motto: "10 phone calls each day is good, but even 1 phone call is better than none". Background: "Our personal focus is the Rabbanim. The security dangers of a Palestinian State are real, but we are emphasizing the Torah perspective to the Rabbanim.

Their reason for Silence is that "they don't make political statements". Our answer to them is that Silence is a political statement in favor of a Palestinian State. A Torah statement would be that only the Nation of Israel is obligated to keep the Commandments in the Land of Israel and that Torah and the Land of Israel and the people of Israel are one and the same. There can not be a separation without a negation of the other. Eretz Yisroel is our Biblical Inheritance and a Palestinian State is contrary to Torah."

These great people need us to join in: "What follows is a list of mainstream Rabbis in the Hareidi and Orthodox circles that influence hundreds of thousands of Jews. Please find the time to call these Rabbanim or Organizations and ask them to personally speak to their Rabbinic mentors, contacts, Organizations and PR people to unite and to create a strong unified Jewish Voice against a Palestinian State:"

Agudath Yisroel of America :
* 212 979 9000 Rabbi Gertzulin (son in law of Reb. Jungreiss),
* Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zweibel PR dzwiebel@agudathisrael.org 646-254 1650 and fax 646 254 1650
* Rabbi Shafran, shafran@agudathisrael.org

Arachim:
* Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation Executive Director Michael Rothchild 845-352-3505
* Spirtual Mentor Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky (Yeshiva in Philadelphia) 215 477 1000

Rabbi Hillel David 718 252 4579

Rabbi Pesach Lerner National Council of Young Israel. Rabbi Lerner is one of the United States leading rabbinical activists who has made numerous distinguished contributions to the struggle for Jonathan Pollard and against the expulsion of Gush Katif. Ask him to use his sterling reputation to unite the mainstream Haredi and modern orthodox and Secular Organzations to make a joint statement. ncyi@youngisrael.org

Rabbi Perlow, the Noveminsker Rav - extremely influential in Haredi circles in America 718-436-1133

Rabbi Matisyahoo Solomon (very influential in Lakewood and Yeshivish communities) 732-363-8928

Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum - President of Iggud Harabonim. Very vocal against territory expulsions. The only mainstream Rabbinic group in America that we know of that came out against the expulsion of Gush Katif. Please encourage him to rally his members to become activists and unite with other major mainstream Rabbinic Leaders and organizations to come out with a strong voice against a Palestinian State. 718 871-0913

Rabbi Vigler rabbivigler@gmail.com Meorot Center - A dynamic Chabad Rabbi in Marine Park Brooklyn, Please ask him to use his leadership connections and contacts in the Chabad world and the orthodox world so that the mainstream Chabad leaders will rally against a Palestinian state.

Rabbi Yosef Jacobson yy@algemeiner.org, Mailing address: Algemeiner Journal, 508 Montgomery Street, Brooklyn, NY 11225 Telephone: 718.771.0400
Fax: 718.771.0308
Rabbi Shimon Jacobson wisdom@meaningfullife.org

Rebbetzin Jungreiss hineni@hineni.org Please ask her to ask the Rabbanim to end the Silence on the "Palestinian state" issue. Write to: Hineni Heritage Center, 232 West End Avenue, New York, NY, 10023
Tel: (212) 496-1660 Fax: (212) 496-1908

Orthodox Union Offices
* National Headquarters: Eleven Broadway, New York, NY 10004, Tel. 212-563-4000, Fax 212-564-9058, info@ou.org
* Washington, DC OU Institute for Public Affairs, 800 Eighth Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001
Nathan Diament, Director, Tel: 202-513-6484, Fax: 202-289-8936, ipadc@ou.org
* West Coast: 9831 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90035.
Rabbi Alan Kalinsky, Director, 310-229-9000, Fax: 310-229-9011, rakalinsky1@juno.com
* Israel: Seymour J. Abrams Orthodox Union Jerusalem World Center, 22 Rechov Keren Hayesod, P.O. Box 37015, Jerusalem, 91370 Israel * Rabbi Avi Berman, Director-General, aberman@ouisrael.org * Menachem Persoff, Director, menp@netvision.net.il * Phillip Chernofsky, Director of Adult Education, tt@ou.org

NCSY: Rabbi Michael Fredman, Director, NCSY-in-Israel, ncsy_is@netvision.net.il
972.2.560-9100 Fax: 972.2.561.7432

List of all email addresses above (if you don't have time to call/fax and would rather send one quick email to all:)

dzwiebel@agudathisrael.org; shafran@agudathisrael.org; ncyi@youngisrael.org ; rabbivigler@gmail.com; yy@algemeiner.org; wisdom@meaningfullife.org; hineni@hineni.org; ipadc@ou.org; rakalinsky1@juno.com; aberman@ouisrael.org;menp@netvision.net.il; tt@ou.org; ncsy_is@netvision.net.il

Example of a suitable email:

"Dear Rabbis, The security dangers of a Palestinian State are real, but we are emphasizing the Torah perspective. Eretz Yisroel is our Biblical Inheritance and a Palestinian State is contrary to Torah. Unfortunately, consistent silence is a political statement in favor of the notion of a Palestinian State. Please can you personally speak out and unite with your Rabbinic mentors, contacts, Organizations and PR people to create a strong unified Jewish Voice against a Palestinian State. Thanking you very sincerely, (name)".

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Neo (Natal) Zionism

Baby Fleisher says: "Homebirth your kids - have them in Israel!"

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Rav Avraham Shapira, ZT"L

Rav Avraham Elkanah Kahanah Shapira, 94, one of the Gedolei HaDor (Torah giants of our generation), Rosh Yeshivah (Dean) of Merkaz HaRav (the Yeshivah Rav Kook started) for the last 25 years, former chief rabbi of Israel (1983-1993), passed away on Yom Tov (the only day in Israel - Thursday) and was buried on Friday (Chol HaMoed in Israel). Click here to read more about him. Here are 5 albums of 300 pictures I posted from the funeral, which started at his yeshivah in Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem and proceeded past Binyanei Ha'Umah (the International Convention Center), up Sarei Yisrael (Ministers of Israel) Street, turned on Malchei Yisrael (Kings of Israel) Street through the Chareidi/Chassidic Ge'ulah neighborhood, past the former location of the yeshivah (Beit HaRav Kook - Rav Kook's house), along Yafo, Shlomtzion HaMalkah, Agron Streets, around the walls of the Old City, and finally to Har HaZeitim (Mount of Olives) for his final resting place, overlooking Har HaBayit (Temple Mount):
Album 1
Album 2
Album 3
Album 4
Album 5

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Calling All Bleeders

If you're blessed enough to be in Israel for the holiday of Sukkot, healthy, AND a good bloodletter, then step up to the needle and donate some blood to alleviate Israel's severe shortage!!

Israel's Magen David Adom is conducting blood drives at two Jerusalem hotels and has extended its blood collection center hours because of the special need.

Visitors and citizens alike can donate blood at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem on Sunday, September 30 from 9 am to 1 pm, and at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem on Tuesday, October 2 from 9 am to 1 pm or at numerous Magen David Adom sites throughout the country.

Additional blood drives will be scheduled through the beginning of November.

For more information on donating blood to the MDA, please contact American Friends of Magen David Adom at (212) 757-1627 or in Israel at 057 761-4220.

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One Flight Closer to Redemption

Another plane full of Nefesh B'Nefesh Olim landed this morning, the last charter flight of the 7 this summer. Former Chief Rabbi of Israel and current Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau was there to greet the olim, along with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and many others. You can read more about it here. Here are links to my 6 photo albums:
Album 1
Album 2
Album 3
Album 4
Album 5
Album 6



A Torah Scroll also made aliyah:

Chief Rabbi Lau:

Prime Minister Olmert:

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YU Madness!

Spiderman is a joke compared with these guys!

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Doing Kindness - Sderot Shopping Spree

Take a look how good Jews do kindness with a town that desperately needs some attention - see the article - see all the pictures.

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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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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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OUR EMOTIONAL KEVER RACHEL TRIP

On Erev Tisha B'Av, Kumah organized three buses of English-speaking folks on a trip to Kever Rachel. Why? Tisha B'Av is centered around Jerusalem and the Temple, but is also a day to mourn the exile - and no one cries more about the exile then Rachel Imeinu. We joined together with Rachel Imeinu in the prayer "Veshavu Banim Legvulam" - "May the Children Return to their Borders."

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL ALBUM

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Lamenting the Exile - Tisha b'Av at Kever Rachel

Rachel's Children Reclamation Foundation (Evelyn Haies) and Kumah invite you to join us for a prayer vigil at Kever Rachel (Rachel's Tomb) on the 9th of Av at night.

Tisha B'Av is centered around Jerusalem and the Temple, but is also a day to mourn the exile - and no one cries more about the exile then Rachel Imeinu. Come join your tears with hers in the prayer "Veshavu Banim Legvulam" - "May the Children Return to their Borders."

When: Join our bus at 6:30PM on Monday the 23rd of July, Erev Tisha B'Av

Where: Binyanei Haumah - The International Convention Center across from the Central Bus Station

What to bring: Water, a hard boiled egg, a sandwich for pre-fast final food, Scroll of Eicha

How long: The bus will return to join up with the Women in Green march around the Old City walls. (around 9:30PM)

Cost: Free - we want you to come and give nachat to Rachel Imeinu.

RSVP: yishai@kumah.org

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Aliyah Summer 2007 Begins: Photos Tell The Story

More here...

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Aliyah Week

This week the nation will move just a bit closer to making Shemittah a mitzvah d'Oraysa (i.e. Biblical rather than Rabbinic, for which a majority of Jews inside the borders of Eretz Yisrael are needed) thanks to the efforts of Nefesh B'Nefesh.

On Monday a group of NBN olim from Canada will be arriving. That will be followed up on Tuesday by a full NBN chartered Aliyah flight due in on Tuesday morning from New York's JFK. There will be a huge ceremony greeting them at the airport! And to top off the week on Wednesday night a group of NBN olim will be arriving from the UK.

Of course as always, Kumah plans to bring you all the action so stay tuned. Or better yet come take part in it yourself. Unfortunately registration for this week's ceremony is already closed but the good news is there are FIVE more ceremonies planned this summer!

Register here!

Another week like this won't happen again for... like another three weeks!

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Good Info!!!

Heyo,

Life is getting hectic, but my friend just emailed me this, and its a GREAT and informative slide show about Israel and its history.

CLICK HERE TO GET INFORMED!!!!

Enjoy :-)

~ Shulamit

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Did You See Venus and the Moon Together?

On the Rebbe's Yartzheit, Monday night, there was a rare and beautiful astronomical phenomenon known as the 'moon's occultation of Venus'. I called Malkah out immediately to see it. I took a few shots and I found a few pics on the web as well...

As seen from Amman


As seen from Cairo


As seen from Bahrain


This is what the Gulf Daily News "the Voice of Bahrain" wrote:

This is the moment shortly after the planet Venus was obscured by the moon on Monday evening. Engineer and astronomer Premjith Narayanan took the photograph at around 8pm. "Astronomically speaking, this is called occultation," said the Alstom employee yesterday.

"The word occult means literally to hide. This is what occurs when the moon obscures a bright planet or a star for a brief period of time."

This is my long exposure, hand shaking shot


Here is the article from Sky and Telescope: "The Moon hides Venus" by Sean Walker

Monday mornings occultation of Venus behind the Moon was a beautiful sight for those lucky enough see the event.

Although residents from the Middle East to Europe had the best locations where the event took place high in the sky, North Americans living in the northeast were able to catch at least the reemergence of the the planet at roughly 9:45 EDT, give or take a few minutes depending on where you were.

Observing from the shores of Saint Froid Lake in northern Maine, Dave Dickinson was able to witness the entire event. He noted that Venus vanished over the span of 10 seconds shortly before 9:05 EDT. Although the Moon was about 6 degrees above the horizon at the time, it was invisible to the naked eye.

Conditions were less favorable in Massachussetts, as Joe Monju of Arlington, MA. describes: "Despite a cleansing rain storm on Sunday night June 17, 2007 the horizon was still too hazy to see any faint objects below 10 degrees. I finally found the Moon about 10 minutes before Venus reappeared, and watched the final stages at about 9:45 AM EDT through my 11x80 Swift binoculars".

A group of editors here headed across the street to the highest point in Danehy Park in Cambridge, MA, where we had no luck finding the Moon before first contact. About 5 minutes before Venus slipped out from behind the Moon, senior editor Dennis DiCicco managed to spot the Moon through the haze with 9x63 binoculars. I managed to find it also by standing over Dennis and copying him as he shouted "here it comes!", and we were able to observe the final moments of the event.

My visual impression was that of a glittering diamond emerging from the southern limb of the faint crescent Moon. Quite a site to behold! If you missed the event, have a look at our readers images here.

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Cherry Festival - A Must Go

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EVENT - HEBRON COUNTER DEMONSTRATION AND TRIP

Tomorrow, Tuesday June 5th, "Peace Now" is having a rally in Hebron calling for the destruction of Jewish presence there. You are invited to join a counter-protest in Hebron tomorrow. We will be leaving Binyanei HaUmah at 9:00AM and we will make a stop to pick up folks at Tzomet haGush on our way to Hebron. We plan on returning to Jerusalem at about 5:00PM

While in Hebron we will spend part of the time protesting the "Peace Now" demonstration and we also make time to visit the Tomb of the Patriarchs and other sacred spots.

The bus is free, first come first serve.

Contact: Yishai yishai@kumah.org

Remember: this week's Torah portion is Shelach where the great sin of the rejection of Eretz Yisrael took place. Of 12 spys, only Joshua and Caleb yearned for the Land. Caleb received his strength from the forefathers buried in Hebron as it says "and he came unto Hebron."

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Yom Yerushalayim Photo Essay

A week and a half ago was the 40th anniversary of the re-unification of Jerusalem. There were all sorts of events in Jerusalem on and around the 28th of Iyar to celebrate. I participated in a few of them - I was at the Kotel at night for a festive prayer service and dancing; went to Hebrew University's Student Night concert; joined some other Kumah bloggers, recent Olim, and yeshivah students at a festive Shacharit as Rav Kook's House, featuring Shlomo Katz leading a musical Hallel; marched for part of the RikuDegalim (flag dancing parade) from Kikar Tziyon through Sha'ar Shechem and part of the way to the Kotel. I'm saving a few pictures of some reclaimed Jewish apartments in the Arab Quarter for a later post, but here are 28 (not intentionally, but coincidentally in honor of the 28th of Iyar which is Yom Yerushalayim) pictures from these festivities.

At the Kotel the night of Yom Yerushalayim - the soldiers are volunteers from South Africa (if I remember correctly)


The Old City and parts of the new city lit up for the 40th Anniversary




This banner means "Jerusalem [with 3 letters in the middle, which by themselves mean 'mine', italicized], something special for everyone":

Hebrew University's Student Night (part of their 2 day Student Day) Concert, featuring Shalom Hanoch and Aviv Gefen, among others



Shlomo Katz leads a musical Hallel at Rav Kook's House with his guitar and yeshivah students sing and dance

RikuDegalim - flag dancing parade







It rained quite a bit (odd weather for the season) and it left a big reflecting puddle at the end of Yafo Street


Entering through the Damascus Gate - Sha'ar Shechem

Dancing through the Arab Quarter of the Old City

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Israel Day Parade?

Heyo,

So I was going to write this a couple of days ago. But a wise person once told me, to never write when your really angry, instead, chill out a bit, and see if you still feel what you want to say, because words are very powerful, and once spoken, are very hard to retract. So going against my nature, I listened...

This post will not be as sharp as it was going to be, but still voice some harsh criticism. A part of me feels that I am not in the position to say what I am about to, but I waited till the chill took over, and I still don't get it. I know I still live in America, and I know that some people think that, in itself, would nullify any views that I have about Israel and its future, however, I am a Jew, before an American, and for that reason, I feel a connection to a place that is not currently my reality (except when I close my eyes), but is still close to my heart. So for everyone reading this, take this paragraph as a warning, and if you are one of those that feel only people living in Israel should have a view regarding its land, proceed with caution.


That being said, I am proud to admit that I boycotted the Salute to Israel day Parade in NYC this lovely Sunday. Instead, I took my bike up to my nephews and went biking and had a bon fire. I have been going to this yearly salute to Israel parade for a while. Sometimes I march and other times I help activism run freely through the crowds of on lookers. But this year, I refused to be a part of it. The reason is really quite simple, but since I am Jewish, I will try to make it as confusing as possible.

Last week, I felt the Israeli people had the capacity to over throw the most corrupt government that I have ever known. Not only the ever so popular monetary issues, but also moral, and worst of all lack of common sense and direction for their nation. Before the Winograd Commission came out, most people that know how to use any part of their brain could have told you that Olmert and his club members were unqualified and incompetent with running our precious country. But that was all "here say" since no factual "proof" was at hand. Kind of like when my friends wouldn't believe me when I would tell them that leaving Gush Katif would do more harm then heal, nearly two years ago. Today we know this as a fact, and no one will deny this. But before Gilad was kidnapped and havoc ran free in the strip, no one would believe this un documented concoction I was ranting about. Well Israelis, you got your proof. Are you satisfied now? Will you listen next time? Now, after its not only common knowledge that Olmert, Pertz, and Livni have no clue what they were and are doing, but it has been documented and accepted by a "commission" What are you going to do? Ohhh, lets all shudder, as if this knowledge was just unraveled and came to light out of the blue. But okay, I don't live in Israel, so this is me NOT judging until I am in the position. But as humans, when we find something out, that we know is wrong, and it's been proved and explained via hundreds of pages, GET UP AND DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeh, a rally of 150,000 people, that's a nice START... but hello, it's a start, not a response. Please tell me that wasn't your response. Look in the mirror, look who you are, and what each of you can do, realize that if one time you got over 100k, then DO IT AGAIN. Stop settling, and accepting the situation that you have allowed yourselves to be placed in (this is me NOT ranting). But for this reason, I did not go to a parade in AMERICA and wave a white and blue flag, that signifies a people that accept a government that allows its soldiers to be put in clear and present danger and NOT DO ANYTHING.

I will not associate myself with that. And although that flag signifies other stuff aside for the corrupt government, but in America, the flag represents the country. And right now, I can't. I just can't. Its one thing in America when citizens dislike President Bush and balm him for a war that some say he created. But where is my little "proof." The one thing that no one can bash. Who will admit with a clear conscience that the Israeli government has its citizen's intentions close to heart, or even near its body?

Then there is this parade, of people that wave a flag and prance around NYC all proud of supporting Israel, which I think is great, awesome, sweet, but really. I mean, really. Do you really need this kind of support, when you can't even get a government that doesn't care about you, OUT? What's up with Shas? Will they stay in a coalition that they know helped facilitate a war that was not planed from day one, and knew no victory. Israelis, who do you vote for? Who do you follow? Leaders that go toward money and when push comes to shove, will side with the corrupt rather then step down?

No I will not wave an Israeli flag in a parade down my hood. No I will not side with the corrupt government, nor with people that aren't pressuring their "leaders" to do the right thing. As you can see, you can't rely on them, now it's up to you. Or you can just follow and let our captive brothers stay where they are, and allow another war to ensue, and smile when you read about a bunch of Americans waving an Israelite flag through New York City.

I am really trying NOT to rant, and be chilled about wishing some of you could get some New York attitude in your system, and kick some... So instead, I am going to let you read the lyrics to a song, that when played really LOUD helps. I don't really like the band, but the lyrics are too perfect for what ALL Israelis should be feeling right now

You can listen to it,HERE

Partial lyrics: Dixie Chicks - Not ready to make nice:

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

I'm through, with doubt,
There's nothing left for me to figure out,
I've paid a price, and I'll keep paying

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I know you said
Why can't you just get over it,
It turned my whole world around
and I kind of like it

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

I think this song is VERY self explanatory toward the topic at hand. However, if you would like me to reiterate the meaning that I find in it, I will be more the happy to comply. But for now, I think this post is long enough, and I hope I didn't upset too many people. But I'm not ready to back down, and you shouldn't either. I am here in NY and I am begging you guys, to WAKE UP, and don't just "get over it and make nice" because it's your life on the line now. No amount of Americans waving blue and white flags will "save" you this time. It's your time to get up and follow a leader, that's worth following, or at least get rid of the leaders that should be ashamed to exist in your precious country.

Nighty night, Dftss, and the omer :-)

~ Shulamit

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Yom HaZikaron, Golan Style

I'll admit it, I'm a crier. It's in my DNA. My mother is a crier. My Grandmother is a crier. I'm a crier. Lot's of things can set me off. Certainly saying goodbye to my crying grandmother, not knowing when I'll see her again makes me cry. A "realistic" Holocaust film portraying the Selection often makes me cry. Avinu Malkeinu during the Neilah service of Yom Kippur is one of the most powerful moments of the year for me. As I watch the Gates of Heaven closing for the last time of the year my heart is wrent in two as I beseech, beg really, Hashem for an ounce of His endless mercy to keep me and protect me one more year. I'm usually pretty certain He'll oblige, but the Grandness of the moment always overtakes me and leaves me sobbing in my Talit.

Yom HaZikaron can have the same effect on me. Last night's ceremony on Moshav Yonatan was one of the most moving Yom HaZikaron ceremonies I've been to since making Aliyah. Moshav Yonatan is named for Yonatan Rozenman, z"l who was killed on the Golan Heights in the Yom Kippur War and is the brother of one of the founders. The ceremony, like all Yom HaZikaron ceremonies began with the shrill siren, like a mechanical, monotone shofar. After a beautiful slide show of all the family and friends killed serving our country my son got a little tired, so I picked him up and held him the rest of the ceremony. Next everyone sang the seemingly simple request from Psalms: May there be peace within your wall, serenity within your palaces. That's when I lost it. A seemingly simple request, yet we're so far from it. As I sang that Psalm and nuzzled my nose into the sweet, musky, sweaty peyot of my three and a half year old boy, it finally hit home how badly we want peace within our wall and serenity within our palaces, but what it takes to achieve it. I felt pride at one day seeing my boy defend our Homeland but immediately was struck with the horrific, unspeakable sacrifice that could entail. I began sobbing into his little sweaty head. He let me sob for a few minutes, then took my wet cheeks in his little hands, kissed my lips, said, "Daddy, I love you" and put his head back on my shoulder.

After that it was difficult to regain composure, but I tried. We then sang one of Rambam's Thirteen Priciples of Faith: I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Mashiach, and even though eh may delay, nevertheless I anticipate every day that he will come. Here is a community that does believe with complete faith in our final Redemption, but that inevitability hasn't left them paralyzed in the Diaspora. In fact, it is the opposite; this is their, our, my, true inspiration that motivates us every second of the day to make this Home of ours better, holier and ever more prepared for our destiny.

There is no doubt the future is uncertain, but the memory of my boy taking my wet cheeks, kissing me and telling me that he loves me as I cry for our difficult past and dangerous future on Yom Hazikaron 5767 will be with me eternally.

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Yom HaZikaron Photo Essay

It has been a very meaningful Israeli Memorial Day. I was hoping to have time to put all my pictures on the blog, but unfortunately I only had time to add them to a Facebook album. Very worthwhile - many pictures from Har Herzl today. Read the comments for the pictures too. IY"H I'll do a more extensive photo essay here on the blog later. Click here for the pictures: Yom HaZikaron Photo Album

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The Sound

Just moments ago, the yearly siren sounded signaling the beginning of Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Memorial Day. I come from a place where Memorial Day means an extra 30% off at JCPenney. But tonight in Israel, Memorial Day takes on signficance - I feel the sobriety of the evening.

As I stood in the heavily fragrant (and for people of my immunological sensitivity, pollenated) night of Beit El, hearing the wail of the siren, I was reminded of a thought I've had many times before.

I've always wondered at the great sound that must be heard in Heaven throughout the course of the day. I'm not talking about the cars, construction sites, or squeaky shoes of the world. I mean the giant conglomeration of sound created by the thoughts, sighs, prayers and cries of man (and of course, I often think most specifically about how this pertains to the Jewish people), at all hours, in all places around the world. I've spent time trying to comprehend the magnitude of the collective sound, with predictably little real comprehension.

Tonight, I wondered to myself, "What a tremendous roar of sadness must be heard by G-d at this moment. Right now, right this second, the heartrending sobs of mothers and fathers, of wives and husbands, of children and siblings, the muffled tears of dear friends and comrades, and the silent sorrow of offspring who would never be must be rising up in such a rushing wave of pain - how can Heaven bear the magnitude of Jewish anguish and suffering this night? How can G-d stand to allow one more Jew to die for the sanctification of His name after such an explosion of pain?"

My great hope is that He won't, although I have prayed that prayer before. I believe that in moments, on days like this, G-d has mercy on His children, and is roused by the mightiness of our collective cries to save His people and crush those who hurt them. I pray that together we will raise a great noise to Heaven, that G-d will hear our cries, be overwhelmed by our sound, and redeem us.

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Students on Strike!

In Israel, it is normal for there to be a strike. It seems that certain workers are often not paid or not paid enough. For instance, high school teachers are having on and off strikes these days. But this post is about university students, most (some 250,000) of whom have not returned to school after their Pesach vacation. A government appointed commission to discuss changes in the education system is reportedly planning on raising college tuition substantially (tuitions in Israel are government regulated) and understandably, students are not happy about this. Thus they have decided to stop going to their classes. The strike is due to enter its 11th day Sunday. You can read more here and here. The college that I'm attending (and graduating from in a month and a half G-dwilling), Machon Lev - Jerusalem College of Technology has joined the National Union of Israeli Students in striking. Here are some pictures of strike signs and strike day activities (from singing and dancing Bezalel students at Kikar Tziyon to a Machon Lev blood drive):

right: higher education is not only for the rich
left: they're dancing on our account

My father is not called Olmert, on a picture of Olmert's face

right: I just wanted to learn
left: it's impossible to privatize the soul

left: You have to think about [play on Hebrew words] educational finances
right: Olmert sign, see above

We don't want to strike, we have to!

singing and shouting

Don't milk the students! Give a future to higher education!

box 1: Hey Dad! I need extra pocket money!
box 2: No problem son, how much? 10, 20, 30?
box 3: Yes... 30 thousand!!!
text: Future: Next year you will pay 30,000 NIS (New Israeli Shekels) tuition.

Singing in Kikar Tziyon

Dancing students perform in Kikar Tziyon

My father is not called Olmert. I don't have 30,000 NIS for tuition!

Music student poses with sign: They want us to stop singing - students from the Academy for Music and Dance in Jerusalem [abbreviated]

The protest and performance in Kikar Tziyon

Yuli Tamir [Education Minister], get out of our wallet!

Yuli Tamir, Education Problem [play on words with minister - tzarat instead of sarat]

Machon Lev's Campus with protest signs

Signs on a Machon Lev bulletin board alerting students to the strike and warning them that if anyone goes to class, they will ruin it for everyone, the tuition will go up - the education budget was decreased and so too the level of education and we will eat it.

Blood drive sign, Magen David Adom blood mobile reflection.

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Sderot - Kassam Battered, But Still Blossoming - Photo Essay

Two Fridays ago, I spent the day in Sderot as part of a Yavneh Olami Shabbaton (our group was made up young olim and post-high school students studying in Israel for the year, and we were in Kibbutz Ein Tzurim for Shabbat - IY"H I'll post pictures from there within the next few days). We saw different parts of the city, including the police station which has remains of hundreds of Kassam rockets, the center shopping area where rocket damage can still be seen, and school buildings with special protective coverings. It seems like a Cabinet Committee should be calling what's going on now a war instead of debating last summer's war title.

But we also saw the Yeshivah, which is prospering, and even building a new Beit Medrash building, and we saw people on the street, shops and restaurants open (I had a good shwarma),and we saw some beautiful flowers and trees blossoming as Rosh Chodesh Nisan is now upon us.

Rabbi Yehoshua says in Gemara Rosh HaShanah 11A, "In Nisan we were redeemed [from Egypt], in Nisan in the future, we will be redeemed." Let's hope we see the redemption this year and can focus on the blossoming and see an end to the war!
Now here's Sderot:

The police station


The Kassam remains behind it



Life goes on - a basketball rolls by the Kassam remains


Damage around the city center




Protective covering for parts of school buildings






Trees and flowers blossoming in Sderot
















Sderot, the city:
Our Yavneh Olami Group




Smoke from Ashkelon power plant in the background






The Yeshivah, some parts under construction:





The view from the edge of Sderot:
Ashkelon's Power Plant
Ashkelon
Gaza with a security blimp flying above it
Our group enjoying the view
Panorama looking back toward Sderot from the lookout

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Remembering Erez Levanon

Erez Levanon (Cedar of Lebanon) was murdered yesterday while he was praying in a forest near Bat Ayin. He was a holy Jew, a musical Jew, a good father, a good teacher.

Hear about Erez, about the search for him, and the horrific discovery of his stabbed body.
Click Here To Listen
Click Here To Download

Hear one of Erez's songs, and sounds from his funeral as his body leaves us forever, and is interred in the heart of Eretz Yisrael.
Click Here To Listen
Click Here To Download

...and here is another song and a write-up of his funeral.

May his soul have rest, may his blood be avenged.

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Skiing in Eretz Yisrael and much, much, more!

Where does it look like these pictures are from? The Rockies? The Swiss Alps? No, the Holy Land! That's right - you can go skiing even in Israel! There is one mountain up north, Mt. Hermon, just by the border with Syria, where you can go skiing. There are only a few slopes, and they may not be quite as good as some other fancy skiing mountains around the world, but this is the only place in the world where you can be doing a mitzvah while skiing! My trip was with about 30 young olim, organized by Nefesh B'Nefesh, and we also spent the night in the Golan and visited the Golan Heights Winery among other places in the morning.

We left at 5 am from Jerusalem, the sun rose somewhere around the Kineret.
The Jordan Valley road is very colorful this time of year. Here you can also see some of the old brick and new buildings in Tiberias.
The snowy cliffs start peaking through...
A Golan town with Hermon in the background.
Looking out from the foot of Hermon, the structure on the left peak is Nimrod's Fortress from the times of the crusaders
The snowy Hermon peaks
Park entrance (above and below)

More skiing / snowboarding / Hermon park pictures


I decided to have fun blurring the next 2:



Me!
Only in Israel - a gun on his back, skis in his hand
Park slopes map
Some Nefesh B'Nefesh skiers
Only in Israel - Minchah after skiing
The Nefesh B'Nefesh Group

Sunset and the mountains, hills, and lakes of the Golan:







The view from the Golan Field School in Gonen, where we stayed:


Friday morning Golan views:


Cows - wandering around all over the Golan
Golan's topography - from the Kesem HaGolan (Magic of the Golan) museum-theater-display place...

The Golan Heights Winery:


Mmm... Wine tasting...

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Music for the Revolution

Stuck in Chutz L'Aretz?


Feeling far away from Home?


Want to re-connect with Yerushalayim?

Need a boost before Purim?

Shlomo Katz Live in Teaneck
This Sunday Evening, 8 Adar /February 25

@ 7:00pm / 339 Maitland Avenue (Corner of Rugby Road) /$15
For Info.: 201-837-0723

Check out a Shlomo Katz clip HERE

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AliyArt

Nothing beats oleh art. I call it Olart.

("Dude, I just Olarted!")

Anyway, check out the story and the exhibit itself.

Speaking of art, here is some Tel Aviv installation art using fruit and a phonograph stumbled upon by Reb Ezra (the other Ezra - the head of the Lamed Vavnikim in the Old City and the soon-to-be opened Jerusalem Soul Center):

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Have You Ever Played the Game of RISK?

Have you ever played the classic board game RISK? You know, the game where you get into countless arguments and make shady deals with sole purpose of best asserting your own personal position in a quest to take over the world.

And of course you know that the only way to actually take over the world is by rolling the dice. Well, Israel's government got together for a similar foray (aka meeting), as they do regularly. Israel's top brass sat down for a friendly Israeli game called RISK: The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

For those of you that missed what went on during the game, let me review.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asserted that there is no problem with the working or non-working relationship between his office and the office of Defense Minister Amir Peretz. This despite repeated press leaks that the two never speak. Olmert assured the committee that it is not necessary for the relationship between the two offices to be rosy.

Olmert accused Opposition Leader and former (and potentially future) PM Benyamin Netanyahu of establishing the Hamas terror group by releasing Sheikh Yassin, former Hamas spiritual terror leader in 1997.

Olmert went on to assert that he would in fact take part in a 3-way summit between PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, US Sec. of State Condoleeza Rice and himself in less than a week, to discuss the conditions for the creation of a rogue Palestinian state in the holiest provinces of biblical Israel.

Olmert added that if the PA will release Israeli captive soldier Gilad Shalit, then Israel would be forced to reconsider the terrorist nature of the Palestinian Authority "Unity" Government featuring warlording factions Fatah and Hamas.

On the northern front, Olmert opined that any peace deal with Syria would have to include returning the entire Golan Heights which was officially annexed by Israel under international law in 1981. Olmert asserted that every government between 1993-2001 secretly opened negotiations with our northern enemy on the notion that we would return the Golan.

Netanyahu, PM in '93 intelligently interjected during Olmert's briefing, "That's not true!" Olmert, a lawyer, who is quite slick with his own tongue countered, "Yes it is, don't try and hide the truth."

Netanyahu, not wanting to keep the game going too long, said in response, ""This is a failed government, and there is only one thing it must do and that is to go home."

Well, not one concrete idea for strengthening the defense of the state was raised. The only thing left to do right now for the committee is to roll the dice, because the entire Jewish Nation is at RISK.

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Planting in Gush Katif (1.5 Years Ago)

Keeping with the Tu B'Shvat theme, I decided to post some old planting pictures. These were taken 1.5 months before the expulsion (30 Sivan, 5765 - July 7, 2005). The funding for these plants came from Tzedakah because the government had stopped giving loans to farmers. If I remember correctly, these were planted in Gadid.

This is me:

All done:

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Nefesh B'Nefesh Super Bowl Party

While the Super Bowl might be anti-Zionist, there are many Olim who still follow football and like to watch the game. In fact, there are enough American Olim interested in watching the game, that Nefesh B'Nefesh hosted a Super Bowl party in their Aliyah office. Ironic, and fun. Here are some pictures:

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To Bowl or Not To Bowl, That is the Super Question

I can honestly admit that there is probably no event in the world that is as anti-Zionist as the Superbowl. Professional sports at their best or worst, with billions, yes billions of dollars being wasted in just 4 short hours.

The Superbowl probably consumes more money in just one evening, than most countries registered in the United Nations produce in an entire year. And at the end of the night, there will be virtually nothing to show for it.

And while some cute writers like those at the Jerusalem Post will try to tell you that there are parallels between this Superbowl and Israel's political and security situation; I can assure you, no such similarities exist.

So, now I've bashed the pinacle of pro-football, alienating hundreds if not thousands of American olim and future olim, who all proclaim their Zionism, but for some unknown reason, just can't miss the big game.

Well, I have alienated myself as well.

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Tu B'Shvat in Beit El (Photos!)

Kumah, Yavneh Olami, and Am Segula teamed up to put together an unbelievable Tu B'Shvat Shabbaton in gorgeous Beit-El!

On Friday the group planted trees in one of the highest and most breathtaking points in the region. If you weren't there here's a bit of what you missed!

Yishai shows the group the stunning view.













Everyone helped out!

Keep making a splash!

More photos are on the way!

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Photos From TeKumah Klean-Up in the Old City

Last Friday Kumah and Yavneh Olami headed out to clean up Gan Tekumah in the Old City of Yerushalayim. Gan TeKumah is a beautiful, but sadly neglected, park located between Shar Tzion and the Kotel along the wall of the Old City. Volunteers managed to fill a dumpster and then some, with years of trash that had accumulated at the site. Trash included several shoes and boots, tons of broken glass, boxes, bottles (which were recycled) and one volunteer even found part of a burned Israeli flag (see below). The park was looking a lot better when we left and the view is just gorgeous!

After a hard days work Yishai spoke briefly about the holy site and the rest of us were rewarded with free pizza! Next time we have to remember to bring ping-pong equipment.

Anyway be sure to visit!

Click the thumbnails below to enlarge the pics!

Or click here to watch a slideshow!

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