Survival after Ninety Eight Days...

SO THERE CAN ALSO BE SURVIVAL

AFTER THOUSANDS OF YEARS

IY"H WE WILL SEE OUR LOST JEWS

ONE DAY SOON!

Story of this poor pooch, lost on an island in New Jersey,

who survives even after dropping down to 19 pounds,

and is now very happy to be reunited with

his loving family.

Yes, I realize this is a funny 'dugmah' (למָשָׁל)

That said, even a little pooch

who is devoted to the family that cared for him,

missed them, and as a family member said:

"I mean, is this true? It's hard to believe."

"I couldn't believe it — after 98 days," she said.

"And he's behaving like he never left. He didn't go feral."

הַלְוַאי

We will have the opportunity to welcome

our lost Jews ... and utter the same words,

"Is this true, it's hard to believe."

'As if dreamers',

our redemption will be upon us.

*This is consuming me of late, I wonder if something amazing is on the horizon

TRUE BITACHON

Leah Rubashkin Tells 'Miracles' from COLlive.com on Vimeo.

Persia, Pakistan, Lost Tribes, Afghanistan, Indus River, Media, Khaybar, Pashtuns

Why is America in Afghanistan?

What does it have to do with the Geula?

Part One...

Nishapur is near Mashhad, the little square dot in the upper right (NE) corner of Iran

(the dot without a name)

Ten Lost Tribes

Legend concerning the fate of the ten tribes constituting the northern Kingdom of Israel. The Kingdom of Israel, consisting of the ten tribes (the twelve *tribes excluding Judah and Benjamin who constituted the southern Kingdom of Judah), which fell in 722 B.C.E. and its inhabitants were exiled to "Halah and *Habor by the river *Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes" (II Kings 17:6 and 18:11; for details and conjectures as to their ultimate fate, see Assyrian *Exile), but in general it can be said that they disappeared from the stage of history. However, the parallel passage in I Chronicles 5:26 to the effect that the ten tribes were there "unto this day" and the prophecies of Isaiah (11:11), Jeremiah (31:8), and above all of Ezekiel (37: 19–24) kept alive the belief that they had maintained a separate existence and that the time would come when they would be rejoined with their brethren, the descendants of the Exile of Judah to Babylon. Their place in history, however, is substituted by legend, and the legend of the Ten Lost Tribes is one of the most fascinating and persistent in Judaism and beyond it.

The belief in the continued existence of the ten tribes was regarded as an incontrovertible fact during the whole period of the Second Temple and of the Talmud.

[...] Josephus (Ant., 11:133) states as a fact "the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude and not to be estimated in numbers."

[....] Their inability to rejoin their brethren was attributed to the fact that whereas the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (the Kingdom of Judah) were "scattered throughout the world," the ten tribes were exiled beyond the mysterious river *Sambatyon (Gen. R. 73:6), with its rolling waters or sand and rocks, which during the six days of the week prevented them from crossing it, and though it rested on the Sabbath, the laws of the Sabbath rendered the crossing equally impossible. According to the Jerusalem Talmud, however (Sanh. 10:6, 29c), the exiles were divided into three. Only one-third went beyond the Sambatyon, a second to "Daphne of Antioch," and over the third "there descended a cloud which covered them"; but all three would eventually return.

Throughout the Middle Ages and until comparatively recent times there were claims of the existence of the ten lost tribes as well as attempts by travelers and explorers, both Jewish and non-Jewish, and by many naive scholars, both to discover the ten lost tribes or to identify different peoples with them.

In the ninth century *Eldad ha-Dani claimed not only to be a member of the tribe of Dan, but that he had communicated with four of the tribes. David *Reuveni claimed to be the brother of Joseph the king of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh who were settled in Khaybar in Arabia, which was identified with the Habor of II Kings. Benjamin of Tudela has a long description of the ten tribes. According to him the Jews of Persia stated that in the town of *Nishapur dwelt the four tribes of Dan, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, who were then governed "by their own prince Joseph Amarkala the Levite [ed. by N.M. Adler (1907), 83], while the Jews of *Khaybar are of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh" (ibid., 72), as was also stated by Reuveni.

[....] Various theories, one more farfetched than the other, have been adduced, on the flimsiest of evidence, to identify different peoples with the ten lost tribes. There is hardly a people, from the Japanese to the British, and from the Red Indians to the Afghans, who have not been suggested, and hardly a place, among them Africa, India, China, Persia, Kurdistan, Caucasia, the U.S., and Great Britain.

Special interest is attached to the fantastic traveler's tale told by Aaron (Antonio) Levi de *Montezinos who, on his return to Amsterdam from South America in 1644, told a remarkable story of having found Indians beyond the mountain passes of the Cordilleras who greeted him by reciting the Shema. Among those to whom Montezinos gave his affidavit was *Manasseh Ben Israel, then rabbi of Amsterdam, who fully accepted the story, and to it devoted his Hope of Israel (1650, 1652) which he dedicated to the English Parliament. In section 37 he sums up his findings in the following words:

"1. That the West Indies were anciently inhabited by a part of the ten Tribes, which passed thither out of Tartary, by the Streight of Anian.

2. That the Tribes are not in any one place, but in many; because the Prophets have fore-told their return shall be into their Country, out of divers places; Isaiah especially saith it shall be out of eight.

3. That they did not return to the Second Temple.

4. That at this day they keep the Jewish Religion.

5. That the prophecies concerning their return to their Country, are of necessity to be fulfilled.

6. That from all coasts of the World they shall meet in those two places, sc. Assyria and Egypt; God preparing an easier, pleasant way, and abounding with all things, as Isaiah saith, ch. 49, and from thence they shall flie to Jerusalem, as birds to their nests.

7. That their Kingdom shall be no more divided; but the twelve Tribes shall be joined together under one Prince, that is under Messiah, the Son of David; and that they shall never be driven out of their Land."

Sambatyon

A legendary river across which part of the ten tribes were exiled by the Assyrian king, Shalmaneser, and which rested on the Sabbath. The river is mentioned in the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Ex. 34:10):

"I will take them from there and place them on the other side of the Sambatyon River."

The rabbis declared that the ten tribes were exiled three times: once beyond the Sambatyon River, once to Daphne of Antioch, and once when the divine cloud descended upon them and covered them (TJ, Sanh. 10:6, 29c; Lam. R. 2:9; cf. Gen. R. 73:6). The first ascription of miraculous qualities to this river is found in the Talmud.

When *Tinneius Rufus asked R. Akiva how he could prove that the Sabbath was divinely ordained as the day of rest, he replied, "Let the River Sambatyon prove it" (Sanh. 65b). It was unnavigable on weekdays because it flowed with strong currents carrying along stones with tremendous force, but it rested on the Sabbath (Gen. R. 11:5). These passages give no indication as to the supposed location of the river or of the origin of its name. The only inference that can be drawn from them is that it was located in Media. The most extensive description of both its name and locality is given by Naḥmanides (to Deut. 32:26). He identified the river with the River Gozan of the Bible (e.g., II Kings 17:6), explaining the name (on the basis of Num. 11:31) as meaning "removed," i.e., the ten tribes were "removed" from the rest of their people. Naḥmanides also held that its name derived from its Sabbath rest, since Sabbat was the local word for the Sabbath.

Pliny the Elder (24–79 C.E.) described the river in his Natural History, and his observations agree with the rabbinic sources. He also claimed that the river ran rapidly for six days in the week and rested on the Sabbath (31:24). This characteristic of the Sambatyon prevented the ten tribes from leaving their place of exile, since they could not cross the river during the six days of the week, and though it rested on the seventh day, the restrictions on travel on the Sabbath rendered the crossing equally impossible.

Josephus, however, described the periodicity of this river in a different fashion, claiming that it was quiescent on weekdays and flowed only on the Sabbath. He related that when Titus marched from Beirut to the other Syrian cities, displaying the Jewish captives, he observed a unique river. It ran between Arce, at the northern extremity of the Lebanon range, and Raphanea.

Josephus adds: "It has an astonishing peculiarity. For, when it flows, it is a copious stream with a current far from sluggish; then all at once its sources fail, and for the space of six days it presents the spectacle of a dry bed; again, as though no change had occurred, it pours forth on the seventh day just as before. And it has always been observed to keep strictly to this order; whence they have called it the Sabbatical river, so naming it after the sacred seventh day of the Jews" (Jos., Wars, 7:96–99).

According to this description there is no explanation for the inability of the ten tribes to cross the Sambatyon during the weekdays.

In the post-talmudic period, especially in the apocryphal literature, legends about the Sambatyon increased. The exact date that the ten tribes were to return from their places of exile during the messianic period was recorded in the Sefer Eliyahu. Tishrei 25 was designated for the return of those beyond the Sambatyon. Although 17,000 men and women would leave this area, 20 men and 15 women would be killed on the way to the Holy Land (Judah ibn Samuel, Midreshei Ge'ullah (19542) 31f., 43; cf. Num. R. 16:25). *Eldad ha-Dani claimed that the Sambatyon did not surround the land of the ten tribes but rather that of the children of Moses. These people originated as a result of God's promise to Moses that "I will make of thee a great nation" (Ex. 32:10). Eldad depicted the river as consisting entirely of sand and stones. His description was as follows:

"The children of Moses are surrounded by a river resembling a fortress, which contains no water but rather rolls sand and stones with great force. If it encountered a mountain of iron it could undoubtedly grind it into powder. On Friday, at sunset, a cloud surrounds the river, so that no man is able to cross it. At the close of the Sabbath the river resumes its normal torrent of stones and sand. The general width of the river is 200 ells, but in certain places it is only 60 ells wide, so that we may talk to them, but neither of us can cross to the other one's side" (A. Epstein 5f.).

*Pethahiah of Regensburg, the 12th-century Jewish traveler, claimed that in Jabneh there was a spring which ran six days a week, but ceased to flow on the Sabbath (Travels of Rabbi Petachia, ed. by A. Benisch (1865), 56f.).

Interest in the Sambatyon legend was revived in the 17th century through the fantastic stories of Gershon b. Eliezer ha-Levi in his Gelilot Ereẓ Yisrael and by *Manasseh Ben Israel in his Mikveh Yisrael. The former related that, in his journey through India in 1630, he heard the clattering noise of the Sambatyon River, which was a distance of two days' journey from where he was staying. He claimed that the Sambatyon was 17 miles wide and threw stones as high as a house. On the Sabbath it was dry and resembled a lake of snow or of white sand. The river ceased to flow on Friday, two hours before sunset, and during this interval before the start of the Sabbath, the Jews beyond the river raided the neighboring lands.

Manasseh Ben Israel, while attempting to prove the existence of the river, claimed that even when its sand is kept in a glass, it is agitated during six days of the week and rests on the Sabbath (Mikveh Yisrael, ch. 10, Lemberg, 1847 ed., p. 10a–b). The Sambatyon also figured in kabbalistic works. In 1260 the kabbalist Abraham *Abulafia traveled to Ereẓ Israel, where he started to search for the Sambatyon. He was trying to contact the Ten Lost Tribes.

According to the rabbinic sages, the Ten Tribes migrated from Assyria, beyond the River Sambatyon. They report that this mysterious river flows six days a week but stops on the Sabbath (Genesis Rabba 11:5). Most have taken this reference to be legendary, however John Hulley has argued that the tradition actually refers to the Bosporus strait, between the Black and Aegean Seas, where the current actually does slow down or even reverse itself on the average of once a week. He presents linguistic evidence that the very term Sambatyon comes from “yam Bithyon” or “sea of the Bithynians.” If this be the case, it is an amazing correlation with the evidence on the migrations of the Cimmerians, indicating that significant portions of the Israelite deportees moved northwesterly, into Asia Minor and eventually toward Europe.

Further notes:

**Khaybar means "across the river" or "divide" and is derived from "Habar" and "Hebrew". It connects Pakistan and Afghanistan .... The Khyber Pass: throughout history it has been an important trade route ... and a strategic military location.

**Nishapur/Neyshabur
Along the ancient Silk Route: Neyshabur is located in 115 kms. west of Mashhad in the province of Khorasan. This ancient city has been the home of the great poet and mathematician Hakim Omar-e-Khayyam and the great mystical poet Attar-e Neyshaburi. In addition, Neyshabur has been a major source of Firouz-e (Turquoise) for thousands of years and still a major center of Turquoise trade [and also the source for Saffron].

**A well researched article on the Land of Magog:
that includes much of Persia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, bordering the Indus River

**Map of Persia showing the area of Mashhad (ctr), Kerman (below and north of Dubai city, and to the right is Kabul, Islamabad, Lahore (along the Indus River) and these are areas much in the news these days.

**"Gog is the president of one of the nations, whom Rabbenu Saadia Gaon compared to the Moslem Caliph in his days, because Gog will also rule many peoples." One could say that America is a nation of many peoples.

Further notes:

The Pashtun People. There are estimates of a cumulative population assessment of around 42 million, within the blue shaded area of the above map. There is a prophecy that when the Ten Tribes return they will be extremely numerous. This is all hypothetical, but there are vague hints. Could this be the face of a little Jewish girl trapped in Pashtun lore. source, source, source, and yet another source; could the "Khan" of Afghanistan be Kohan, Kohen?

Amazing Farbrengen! Yud Tes Kislev!

I must tell everyone that I attended the Farbrengen in honor of Yud Tes Kislev last evening, given by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson in Brooklyn, and it was the most exhilarating experience. The graciousness and generous hospitality of Chabad warmed the people and Rabbi Jacobson captured their minds and hearts with his divrei chassidus.

The 'experience' is a 92 mb download from the website at theyeshiva.net.

At the same time, the Oholei Torah Auction was held in Crown Heights, with many winners, but the unusual array of prizes is worth noting. Spectacular pictures can be viewed here:



The ladies had a wonderful time, delicious food, and amazing prizes, plus some very nice entertainment. Very tznius event!

Some more pictures of the event:

The ladies bestowed a special honor on Mrs. Sholom Mordechai (Leah) Rubashkin and a well-deserved show of support for a truly beautiful neshoma.

And to round out Yud Tes Kislev, you must go here to view some amazing photographs of the Grand Choral Synagogue in St Petersburg and the Petropavlovski fortress where the Alter Rebbe was imprisoned.

Special Farbrengen in Flatbush

A painting (from yeshiva.net) of Rabbi Schnuer Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), and of his resting place in the city of Haditz. Drawing by Miriam Teleshevsky

Sunday, December 6, 2009, 8:30pm EST
An Evening of Song & Inspiration
In honor of the 19th of Kislev

when Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi

the Alter Rebbe

and the Chassidic Movement and teachings were set free

In Flatbush at Veretzky Hall

1101 Avenue L

Corner Coney Island

If you are unable to make it to Flatbush

you can view it here

If you cannot make it to Flatbush

"No Country Left Behind"

Long Island, NY - Menorah Vandals' act Secretly Videotaped by Police

Long Island, NY - Police say an 11-foot aluminum menorah was damaged after a group of vandals wrestled and twisted it to the ground...

Montreal - Quebec Ends Funding of Jewish Secondary Students

Montreal, Canada - The Quebec Education Department has decided to end a 24-year arrangement by which it provides public funding...

Melbourne, Australia - Protests Against Israeli Delegation Turns Ugly

Melbourne, Australia - Three protesters have been evicted from a Melbourne hotel after storming the doors to gain entry to a major meeting of Jewish leaders. Police say the three were removed from the Park Hyatt Hotel in east Melbourne as up to 200 protesters tried to breach police lines at a side entrance to the hotel, which is hosting the Australia Israel Leadership Forum...

Vestal, NY - Muslim Student Arrested In Death Of Prof. Who Authored Book On Muslim Jewish Movements

Vestal, NY - A graduate student in New York is accused of fatally stabbing a 77-year-old Binghamton University anthropology professor. (This professor was a recent convert to Judaism; which may be the motive in this hateful murder)...

Moscow, Russia - Two Israelis Attacked Outside Jewish Community Center

Moscow, Russia - Two citizens of Israel were attacked in Moscow near the building ofthe "Esh-a-Tora" Jewish Youth Religious Community Center. The attack, which resulted in the hospitalization of both the victims...

North Andover, MA - Town Lash Back at Rabbi's Lawsuit Over Holiday Symbols

North Andover, MA - The Christmas sign is back on the fire station and a menorah will stay at the Town Common for all eight days of Hanukkah. But...

I’m coining a new phrase: “No Country Left Behind” with respect to the religious plague spreading throughout the world; there is no end to the jealousy, vindictiveness, hate, murder, and corruption in their age-old blood-curdling jealousy against Avraham and Yitzchak Avinu in their so-called monotheistic facade. Just some of the news posted today on Vos Iz Neias

Baruch Dayan HaEmes

Erev Yud Tes Kislev on Shabbos Kodesh


"It is with sadness that we report the ptirah of Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Horowitz, z"l, known as the Bostoner Rebbe of Boston, of Har Nof, Yerushalayim. Rabbi Horowitz was the son of Rabbi Pinchas Dovid and Rebetzin Sora Sosha Horowitz, and was the first American born Admur. He was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisroel.

Rabbi Horowitz passed away on Shabbos afternoon in the Shaarei Tzedek Hospital, after his health had deteriorated in the past few weeks. He was 88 years old. His levaye is taking place at this time."

The Bostoner Rebbe was a friend of Lubavitch and a true fighter for Eretz Yisroel.

Full story at Shturem news

UPDATE:
Photos are at Vos Iz Neias

Shabbat Shalom - Parshas Vayishlach

Vayishlach by The Rebbe*

14 Therefore, let my master please go on at his usual pace, ahead of his servant, while I move on at my own slow pace, at the pace of the herds that are ahead of me, and at the pace of the children—until I reach my master at Seir, whenever that might be." Jacob prophetically knew that Esau (and his descendants) would not be totally weaned of their hatred of him (and his descendants) until the messianic era, so he postponed their meeting until that time.

Thus, he had no intention of personally following Esau to Mount Seir; he intended his statement to apply to his descendant, the Messiah, who in the future will meet up with Esau's descendants and sit in judgment over them.

15 Esau then made another offer. He said, "Let me leave some of the people who are with me with you."

Wishing to excuse himself from accepting this second offer, as well, Jacob replied, "Why should you do this? I do not need an entourage to escort me. I would rather you not repay me for the gift I have given you so I can remain favorable in my master's eyes."

16 So, on that day, Esau returned on his way to Seir. As he traveled on, Esau's longstanding hatred of Jacob gradually resurfaced, and he began to plot how to attack him. But the four hundred men who accompanied him recalled quite vividly how they were assaulted by Jacob's angels when they were on their way to meet him, and therefore realized that such a plan was futile—even though they shared Esau's hatred of Jacob and would have also liked to attack him. Still, they were afraid that if they either tried to dissuade Esau from attacking Jacob or attempted to abandon him en masse, he would turn on them, so instead they deserted him stealthily, one by one. Thus, by the time Esau had finished formulating his plans, he no longer had an army with which to undertake an attack.

Even though these four hundred men abandoned Esau solely out of selfish concern for their own best interests, God nevertheless rewarded them for not having harmed Jacob by sparing four hundred of Esau's descendants, the Amalekites, when they were attacked by King David.

The Inner Dimension

13-14 Let my master please go on…while I move on at my own slow pace…until I reach my master at Seir… [Jacob] intended his statement to apply to…the Messiah, who in the future will meet up with Esau's descendants and sit in judgment over them: The Talmud speaks of two ways in which the messianic age can commence: (a) "in its time," and (b) in a described by the words "I will hasten it."

The advantage of the latter is obvious, since it shortens the length of the exile. However, there is also an advantage to the redemption coming "in its time." If the messianic age begins prematurely, those aspects of the world that have not been elevated and refined will be unable to assimilate the Divine revelation that will occur in the messianic age. These unrefined elements will be overwhelmed by Divinity and expire in ecstatic yearning.

Jacob thus felt that although he himself was at a level where he could experience the messianic age, the world at large was not ready. Those who had not attained his level were still like "frail children" or "nursing lambs" in their spiritual development. Therefore, he said:

If they are driven hard for even one day, all the flocks will die: If the messianic age—when Jacob and Esau will finally unite—is rushed to occur now, the "flocks will die," they will be overwhelmed by the Divine revelation and expire. Jacob therefore advised—

Let my master please go on…while I move on at my own slow pace, at the pace of the herds that are ahead of me, and at the pace of the children—until I reach my master at Seir: This slow pace alludes to the long and arduous exiles of his descendants, during which they would illuminate the crass world with the light of the Torah. Only after the lowly elements of creation were elevated over the course of history would the messianic age commence.

The above can be compared to the two ways transportation services are generally offered: express and local. The express train reaches the destination faster, but leaves many along the way behind. The local service takes a lot longer, but it enables passengers from various stations—and those who cannot handle high speeds—to join the ride.

Jacob's allusion to Esau's transformation in the messianic age—"until I reach my master at Seir"—teaches us how to neutralize the potential hostility of the "Esaus" we encounter during our exile:

If we fall prey to the external trappings of exile and feel subservient to the rulership of "Esau," our attitude becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy—"Esau" imagines that he truly rules over us and might behave accordingly.

To neutralize Esau's power, we must see past the facade of exile to its inner purpose, which is to enable us to condition the world for the messianic age, at which time Esau will be subdued and transformed. By viewing our exilic adventure as a long path towards Seir and focusing on the end game—a time when Esau is indeed harmless—Esau becomes harmless even during the exile.

The Rebbe's Parsha, an Iterpolated Translation can be found on the Chabad website, for each and every Parsha in our Holy Torah:

From the Kehot Chumash, produced by Chabad of California with an interpolated translation and commentary based on the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Copyright (c) 2008 by Chabad of California, Inc. All rights reserved. For personal use only. The full volume is available for purchase at Kehotonline

Many Unanswered Questions

ONE-THIRD BABIES IN PREEMIE WARDS INFECTED

Presenting a report to a Knesset committee on Wednesday marking the international day addressing preemie babies, authorities in Israel report one in three preemie infants in Israeli hospitals contract some type of infection during their hospitalization.

A meeting of the Knesset Labor, Welfare & Health Committee, chaired by MK Chaim Katz, heard the facts presented as a result of MK (Yisrael Beitenu) Orli Levi-Abukasis and a non-profit working on behalf of preemies, it was learned 30% of preemies are hit with a respiratory infection, a number that is 50% higher than the average in western nations. [....]

As reported on Yeshiva World

[....] Oren Melberg, who runs the Lahav organization lobbying on behalf of preemies, warns if the situation does not change, the current reality will contribute to increase preemie mortality.

I ask:

When was this infection contracted? Before birth or during birth, or after birth?

Were these mothers given the "H1N1 vaccine"??

Could the mothers have had the 'flu' infection in the blood stream, but not ill?

Many unanswered questions.

"Thawing the Freeze"

"Thawing the Freeze"

“...We have more faith, are more determined, and more righteous."

Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan

ARUTZ SHEVA IS COVERING SOME

ASTOUNDING DEVELOPMENTS IN ERETZ HAKODESH

“We hope that what happened here will serve as a precedent and example to everyone in Judea and Samaria. This is the way to act towards inspectors who come to enforce racist decrees. Let’s see them enforce such measures in Um el-Fahm.”

Similar incidents were recorded in Karnei Shomron, Shavei Shomron and Revavah – all in the central Samaria region. The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) reported that when the “inspectors came to deliver their inhumane orders from the Netanyahu government, within minutes a very large group of angry residents gathered to demand that they leave immediately – and they did.” Full report at INNews

Mayor Arrested, Police Violence in Freeze Clashes

More clashes and violence were the order of the day between construction freeze inspectors and residents in Jewish towns on Wednesday. The mayor of Beit Aryeh ... was both hurt and arrested, and police detained him even after an ambulance was called for him. Police finally allowed the ambulance to rush him to a hospital after the mayor asked his legal counsel to intervene. photos and video

Reservists will 'Freeze' Service Until Freeze Ends

Reservist officers and non-commissioned soldiers have begun circulating a letter in which they declare that they will cease going on reserve duty stints for the duration of the freeze on construction in Judea and Samaria. More here

MKs Freeze IDF Money Pending for Yeshivot and Bus Protection

MKs Uri Ariel (National Union), Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) and Uri Orbach (Jewish Home) filed an appeal to the Knesset Finance Committee's decision Tuesday to approve the transfer of three billion shekels ($750 million) to the Israel Defense Forces. The practical implication is that the budget will be frozen until the appeal's hearing or until the MKs remove their opposition. IDF Money

Barak’s Self-Hatred Behind Building Freeze,

says Hebrew U. Professor

Defense Minister Ehud Barak engineered the building freeze in Judea and Samaria, and self-hatred and Labor party politics are behind the move that endangers the country, according to Professor ... who teaches Jewish Thought at Hebrew University.

First Hareidi-Religious IDF Reserve Unit Reports for Duty

The first HAREDI-RELIGIOUS ARMY RESERVE BATTALION reported for duty on Monday in Givat Ze'ev, next to Jerusalem.

The battalion was comprised of Netzach Yisrael ('Nachal Hareidi') soldiers, graduates of the 97th Kfir Brigade. The new reserve brigade is associated with the Menashe regional division and was established for the purpose of bolstering IDF operations in Judea and Samaria. Their new battalion number – 941 – was taken from a dismantled Home Front Command battalion, and re-established for Netzach Yisrael.

Build the Land of Israel Now

NOW!

RED ALERT :: European Union Moves To Recognize Palestinian State with Jerusalem as Its Capital: European countries, led by Sweden, have declared their intent to formally recognize a Palestinian state and to emasculate Israel's current and historic capital. Story here

Rachel Imeinu Herding Sheep

הַלְוַאי

What could be a glimpse into the world of our Avos and Imahos

is a photograph of an Iranian girl herding sheep

taken by a Lukasz Zielonka, captioned:

November 9, 2009

"I took this photo during my trip to Iranian nomadic pastoralists tribes of Bakhtiaris.

The shepherd girls just came back from the hills.

Zagros Mountains, Iran."

You can see this amazing photograph at

National Geographic

at their

INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST 2009

Photo Galleries

for "Week 1 - November"

(but not all the pictures are tznius - modest)

Rochel Imeinu was very beautiful, and the girl in this photo is also very becoming. She is not under ten years of age, but with a little imagination, one can almost step back in time to Yaakov Avinu's visit to Lavan's "country".

Below are an assortment of children living as our ancestors once did. Notice the little boy with a robe resembling a talit:

And this is either a girl or a little boy, and if so, wearing what could be payos:

P.S. I realize I may be stretching it a tiny bit, but it is part of my fascination with the Lost Tribes, and the fact that Israelites were scattered among the nations, Iran being one of them.

Aliyah Epidemic?

Who said: "...More and more Jewish people will be flocking to Israel in the days and weeks and months ahead ... and I don't think the Obama administration has any right to tell Israel that the Jewish settlements cannot expand"

An opinion piece at JPost had this to say:

More and more Jewish people flocking to Israel?

What's Palin's source of information?

Since 2002 ... there has been a consistent downward trend in immigration to Israel. By 2006, immigration was down to 1980s levels ... and in 2008 the number was 13,681....

And Smith at Politico, of all places,

'Flocking to Israel'

"So is this End Times talk? Or just random chatter?"

“More and more Jewish people will be flocking to Israel in the days and weeks and months ahead, and I don't think that the Obama administration has any right to tell Israel that the Jewish settlements cannot expand,” Palin said.

And one commenter had this to say:

“How ironic, my liberal, Jewish, friends parents just left yesterday for Isreal...his moms a lawyer, just like our last two Democratic presidents.... So whats your point here Ben Smith? You just proved to me Palin knows what she’s talking about ….”

The American Advantage

American Aliya

One way to solve the shidduchim "crisis"

Couple get engaged after landing in Israel.

Just say YES!



Let's talk about real numbers:

Israel soon to be larger than [chutz l'aretz] Diaspora

something new ... something old