Asarah b’Tevet

The Forgotten Reason For Fasting on the Tenth of Tevet

Today we mark one of the “minor” fast days of the Jewish calendar: Asarah b’Tevet, the Tenth of Tevet. Technically, in ancient times there were three separate fasts instituted on the eighth, ninth, and tenth days of Tevet. However, because fasting three days in a row is not practical for most people, the three were combined into a single day. None of this is coincidence, of course, and there is a profound connection between the “three” fasts. First, a recap: what does each of these fasts commemorate?

The eighth of Tevet is the traditional date for when the Septuagint was completed. Recall that sometime in the 3rd century BCE, King Ptolemy II Philadelphus (r. 284-246 BCE, and known simply as “Talmai” in Rabbinic texts), gathered a group of Sages to translate the Torah into Greek. We know from historical records that Ptolemy II (who was the Greek ruler of Egypt) established or greatly expanded the famous Library of Alexandria, then the world’s epicentre of scholarship. At one point, the Library held 400,000 different texts and scrolls. For centuries, it was the home for countless scholars, philosophers, poets, mathematicians, and mystics.

Wishing to expand his collection, Ptolemy II started an extensive campaign to populate his library. Not surprisingly, he commissioned a group of rabbis to produce a Greek translation of the Torah. (At the time, Israel was under the control of Ptolemaic Kingdom. Later on, the Seleucid Kingdom wrested Israel from the Ptolemaic Kingdom, leading to the events of Chanukah. It is important to state again that Chanukah was not about Jews battling all Greeks, but rather a specific Syrian-Greek entity. The majority of the Greeks played no role in the conflict. In fact, we know from historical sources that the Spartan Greeks even allied with the Jews!)

A total of seventy (or seventy-two) rabbis were selected for the great task of translating the Torah, hence the name Septuagint, literally “seventy”. In Jewish tradition, the day the work was finished and the text presented to Ptolemy was the eighth of Tevet. The question is: why was this day considered a tragedy? Why must we fast to commemorate it? The tragedy is all the more perplexing when we consider that the Sages actually respected the Greeks, and had a liking for the Greek language.

It isn’t a secret that Greek is based on the Hebrew alphabet (aleph, beit, gimmel, dalet—alpha, beta, gamma, delta, etc.), has its own form of gematria like Hebrew, and that the Sages themselves adopted many Greek words. Rav Yitzchak Ginsburgh writes that in doing so, the Sages “sanctified” those Greek words, and made them holy Torah words (see Breath of Life, pg. 74). He points out some beautiful examples, too. For instance, the Sages adopted the Greek word for a person who has both male and female characteristics—androgynous (אנדרוגינוס). It happens to be that this word has the same gematria (390) as zachar v’nekevah (זכר ונקבה), “male and female”!

Even more telling is a passage in the Talmud (Megillah 8b-9a) suggesting that the Torah, mezuzot, and tefillin can only be written in either Hebrew (with Ashuri script, like we do today, which we will get to), or Greek! Here we also find the history of Ptolemy’s Septuagint:

“Tefillin and mezuzot are to be written only in Ashuri, but our Rabbis allowed them to be written in Greek also.” But is it not written, and they shall be? I must say therefore, “Scrolls of the Scripture may be written in any language, and our Rabbis permitted them to be written in Greek.” They permitted! This would imply that it was originally forbidden! What I must say therefore is, “Our Rabbis permitted them to be written only in Greek.” And it goes on to state, “Rav Yehuda said: When our teachers permitted Greek, they permitted it only for a scroll of the Torah.” This was on account of the incident related in connection with King Ptolemy, as it has been taught: “It is related of King Ptolemy that he brought together seventy-two elders and placed them in seventy-two rooms, without telling them why he had brought them together, and he went in to each one of them and said to him: ‘Translate for me the Torah of Moses your master.’ God then prompted each one of them and they all conceived the same idea and wrote for him…”

A great miracle occurred for those seventy-two rabbis, and the Talmud goes on to state how God made it so that all of them made the exact same changes to the text when translating the Torah into Greek. These changes were necessary to ensure that the Torah would not be misunderstood or misused by the Greeks. If that’s the case, why must we fast? A great miracle occurred! Should we not celebrate instead? To solve this puzzle, we must look to the next fast day, the ninth of Tevet.

The reason for fasting on the ninth is something of a mystery. The Shulchan Arukh (Orach Chaim 580) doesn’t give a reason at all, saying it is “unknown”. One of the earliest halachic texts, Halachot Gedolot (dated back to sometime in the 8th century CE) also notes that the Sages did not give an explicit reason for why one should fast on the ninth. However, it then offers that this was the day that Ezra HaSofer, “the Scribe” (and probably also his partner Nehemiah) passed away. (article on Ezra HaSofer follows)

Ezra was a tremendously important figure in Jewish history. He was born in Babylon during the Exile between the First and Second Temples. Ezra studied under Baruch ben Neriah, the disciple of Jeremiah the prophet, and became the greatest sage of the day. He eventually led a group of 1500 Jews back to Israel, and found the Holy Land mostly devoid of Judaism, with its Jewish population unobservant, and many intermarried with non-Jews. Ezra got down to work. He enacted ten decrees to save Judaism, the most famous among them that the Torah must be read on Mondays and Thursdays (which all synagogues still do to this day). He was perhaps the first kiruv rabbi, and successfully brought the Jewish community back to a level of observance not seen since the time of Joshua, the successor of Moses (Nehemiah 8:17).

The Talmud (Sukkah 20a) credits Ezra with restoring Judaism to the Holy Land. It goes even further and states that had Moses not brought the Torah to Israel, Ezra would have been worthy of doing so (Sanhedrin 21a). On that same latter page, the Talmud states that originally the Torah had been written in Ancient Hebrew script. It was Ezra who first wrote the Torah in Ashuri, or “Assyrian” script—the letters that we know today. Others hold that the Torah was originally given in the holy Ashuri font, which does not mean “Assyrian” but me’ushar, “upright”. This font was replaced by a different one for a while, and then restored by Ezra.

The Talmud suggests another interesting thing: Ezra may have been the first person to translate the Torah, for “in the days of Ezra, the Torah was in Ashuri script and in the Aramaic language” (Sanhedrin 21a). So, we mourn when the Torah was translated into Greek, but we don’t mourn when the Torah was translated into Aramaic? Are we not mourning the passing of Ezra—the Torah’s first translator?! On that note, why do we specifically mourn Ezra’s day of death, and not any other great figure or prophet in Jewish history? Thankfully, there is another explanation for the ninth of Tevet…

The Sage Who Saved Judaism

Ezra ben Serayah (c. 5th century BCE) was born in Babylon to a family of Jewish priests, kohanim, descendants of Aaron. He spent his early days immersed in Torah study, under the tutelage of Baruch ben Neriah, disciple of the prophet Jeremiah. Ezra soon became the most renowned scholar and scribe in Babylon’s community of exiled Jews. Earlier, the Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great had freed the Jewish community and permitted them to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple. While the majority stayed in Babylon, a group of 42,360 Jews returned to rebuild Jerusalem. Unfortunately, few among them were learned, and in those first decades many ended up intermarrying with the non-Jewish settlers that were brought to Israel by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Ezra soon decided to head to Israel himself, along with a second wave of 1,500 Jews. Upon arrival, he wept at the poor state that the Jewish community was in. He immediately started teaching Torah, decreed that the Torah must be read publicly every Monday and Thursday (which is still done in all synagogues today), and put an end to intermarriages. 

So successful were his campaigns that the Tanakh states the Jews started to keep the holidays as properly and fervently as they did in the times of Joshua, the successor of Moses. As a priest, Ezra was involved in restoring the new Temple’s services. More importantly, he was able to discover and prepare a new Red Heifer, allowing the entire nation to be spiritually purified. Ezra wrote numerous holy texts, and is fittingly known as Ezra HaSofer, “the Scribe”. He composed the majority of the Book of Chronicles, which concludes the Tanakh, as well as the Book of Ezra, which records the historical events of the time. Ezra was one of the last prophets of Israel, and penned his prophecies under the name Malachi, also a Biblical book. He was one of the co-founders of the Great Assembly, a group of 120 prophets and sages who, among other things, codified the Tanakh and composed the first formal Jewish prayers (including the Amidah). The Talmud credits Ezra with reviving the Torah in the Holy Land, and even states that had Moses not given us the Torah, Ezra would have been worthy of doing so. He passed away on the ninth of Tevet […]

Source:  Efraim Palvanov, at Mayim Achronim

The Har HaBayit

Who Actually Violated Temple Mount Status Quo?

According to this newspaper’s Palestinian affairs correspondent, Khaled Abu Toameh, the Kingdom of Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have begun taking measures “to stave off any attempt by the incoming right-wing government in Israel to change the status quo at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.”

(The “Al-Aqsa mosque compound” is Islamic nationalist nomenclature for Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount compound.)

Jordan and the PA reportedly are stepping-up their efforts in the international arena to warn of the “dangers of any attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo at the holy site,” and “to reaffirm Jordan’s role as custodian of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.”

The initiative aims to send a message to the incoming Israeli government, which includes right-wing religious Zionist factions, that Jordan and the Palestinians are determined “to thwart any attempt to divide the holy site in time and space between Muslims and Jews.”

Jordan and the PA have in recent years attacked Israel for allowing Jews to tour the Temple Mount and even quietly and unofficially to pray there a bit, describing Jewish/Israeli visits as “stormings” and “violent incursions” into Al-Aqsa mosque, and as the “Judaization” of Jerusalem and its Muslim holy sites.

THE INVERSION OF TRUTH contained in the above presentation is utterly galling! If anybody has unilaterally, brazenly, and violently changed the status quo on the Temple Mount over the past 25 years, it is radical Palestinian and Islamic actors who have turned the mount into a base of hostile operations against Israel, instead of protecting it as zone of prayer and peace.

Israel, on the other hand, has acted with utmost restraint in the face of Arab assaults. (Too much restraint, in my opinion.)

The Wakf (Islamic Trust) and Islamic movement provocateurs have attacked Jewish visitors to the Mount, Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall below the Mount, and Jewish worshippers on their way to the Western Wall. They have attacked Emiratis and Bahrainis praying in Al-Aqsa mosque (because these countries signed Abraham Accord peace treaties). They have greatly restricted visitation rights to the holy mount for all non-Moslems, and hijacked the pulpits in the mosque on the mount to preach hatred and violence against Israel.

The former Chief Justice of the PA’s religious court, Sheikh Tayseer Al-Tamimi, has declared that the PA’s Islamic belief and political position is that Jews should not only be prohibited from praying on the Temple Mount but at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount too, since the Wall is part of the “blessed Al-Aqsa mosque” and not part of any “alleged” ancient Jewish temple. Such scurrilous, seditious talk fuels and legitimizes Arab violence.

The Wakf also has conducted vast, illegal construction projects on the mount and beneath it, willfully destroying centuries of Jewish archaeological treasures. This includes the unsupervised digging out of “Solomon’s Stables” underneath Al Aqsa and the eastern Hulda Gate passageway in the southeast precinct of the Temple Mount.

Four hundred trucks full of archaeologically rich rubble were unceremoniously dumped by the Wakf into the Kidron Valley. (Thousands of artifacts from the temple periods have been since found in this rubble.)

The Wakf also has turned Byzantine structures on the Temple Mount, such as the “Gates of Mercy” building, into Muslim prayer halls, without coordination with Israel.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas continues to stoke a broad-scale campaign against the authenticity of Israel’s historic rights in Jerusalem. In September 2015 he screeched about “filthy” Jewish feet that were “desecrating” holy Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. “Al-Aksa is ours and so is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher,” he bellowed. “They (the Jews) have no right to desecrate them with their filthy feet. We won’t allow them to do so, and we will do whatever we can to defend Jerusalem.”

This inflamed and despicable discourse now is being picked-up by gullible (and not-so-gullible) Western progressives, who amplify the Big Lie by blabbering about Israel’s “unprovoked” and “unacceptable” actions on the Temple Mount, “excessive” force, and “violations” of the “status quo.”

Even well-meaning Western spokespeople, like the State Department spokesman, have fallen victim to the Big Lie, with mollycoddling mumbo-jumbo about the need for “all sides to de-escalate and respect the sanctity and status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem.”

All sides should de-escalate? Status quo? Sanctity of holy sites? What the heck are they talking about? There is only one side, the Arab side, that purposefully has escalated the violence in Jerusalem and defiantly defiled Har HaBayit over the past 25 years! It is the Palestinians who have turned Al Aqsa and the entire mountain plaza into extra-territorial headquarters for propagation of blood-curdling Big Lies about Israel.

In fact, Palestinian violence and Islamic exclusivism has become the new Temple Mount status quo. This is the status quo Western leaders demand that Israel preserve?

JUST TO GIVE ONE EXAMPLE of the way in which the Wakf has seditiously monkeyed with the so-called status quo, consider visitation rights to the holy mount.

Until the end of September 2000, any non-Muslim ascending the Temple Mount could pay $9 or NIS 36 NIS and enter the “shrines” (meaning the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa). This ended when Palestinians launched their “Second Intifada” assault on Israel. The Israel Police halted non-Muslim ascent due to security concerns.

In 2003, the Wakf requested that non-Muslims be allowed to come up again, but with the discriminatory caveat that Jews would not be allowed to enter the shrines at all. Israel responded that only a situation of status quo ante would be acceptable, meaning that all non-Muslims including Jews would be able to pay the visitation fee and get in. The Wakf refused, and preferred to all-together shut down the shrines to non-Muslims. (The only way to get in today is to bribe a senior Wakf official.)

According to one estimate, the Wakf has lost over one billion shekels in potential revenue over the past 20 years – which apparently is fine from the Wakf’s perspective as long as Jews are locked out.

The Wakf also has unilaterally changed visitation rules for the Temple Mount plaza, barring most forms of conspicuous religious garb or nationalist educational aids. This means no kipas on Jews, no crosses on Christians (even jewelry), no reconstruction drawings of what the Temples looked like – Solomon’s or Herod’s, and of course (God forbid!), no Bibles – old or new testaments. Occasionally, Wakf guards will even assault guides and archaeologists that speak about the temples.

At the same time, the Wakf has allowed ISIS, Hamas, Islamic Movement, and Turkish flags to fly on the Temple Mount in violation of all understandings, as well as blood-curdling banners with calls to annihilate Israel and the Jewish People.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan under King Abdullah also has been engaged in “mission creep,” a campaign to falsely embellish its privileges at holy sites in Jerusalem. Amman now claims “custodianship” of all Moslem and Christian holy places in Jerusalem, a claim that it invented out of thin air!

Israel never has recognized Jordanian “custodianship” over holy sites in Jerusalem. Article 9, Paragraph 2 of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty of 1994 says that Israel respects “the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem.”

Jordan’s “special role” in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem is a far cry from “custodianship,” which suggests semi-sovereignty, over Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem. Nor has Israel recognized any Jordanian special role regarding Christian sites in Jerusalem.

Even Jordan’s purported “special role in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem” was predicated on Article 9, Paragraph 3 of the peace treaty which states that “The Parties will act together to promote interfaith relations among the three monotheistic religions, with the aim of working towards religious understanding, moral commitment, freedom of religious worship, and tolerance and peace.”

I daresay that given the way the Jordanian-controlled Wakf has behaved, Jordan is in deep default of this latter commitment.

UNFORTUNATELY, responsibility for the deteriorating situation in and around the Temple Mount must be laid on Israeli leadership. The governments of Israel seem to have gone mute in the face of the slanders at the heart of the Palestinian-Islamic narrative regarding the Temple Mount and the Jewish presence in Zion.

Israeli leaders continually prefer to keep things quiet and “restore calm” after every wave of Palestinian violence or Jordanian rhetorical assault, and to swear fealty to a “status quo” that is long dead.

Israel must parry Palestinian violence and Islamic incitement in Jerusalem by laying out a new diplomatic initiative to solidify Israel’s rights on Har HaBayit. Only a forward-looking and affirmative Israeli stance, if possible in the context of renewed peace talks with the Palestinians, can create a new, acceptable situation on the Temple Mount.

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Author:  David M. Weinberg is vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (jiss.org.il) – as well as a diplomatic columnist for The Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom newspapers. Personal site: davidmweinberg.com 

Humor of Itamar Ben-Gvir

"I would be delighted if every evening's newscast begins with reports dealing with the question of when I intend to visit the Temple Mount.”

Ben Gvir wants to visit the Temple Mount and the Arabs are threatening again! This is what they do best, threaten Jews and murder Jews. Whenever Itamar intends to visit, should not be announced prior. 

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/hamas/hamas-threatening-ben-gvirs-ascent-to-temple-mount-will-lead-to-explosion/2023/01/02/

"The Nasty Civil Administration” נגד Jews!

Here is a sample of how the Jewish Press thoroughly investigates the issues vs Arutz Sheva in the previous article

THE JEWISH PRESS ANALYSIS OF THE Nasty Civil Administration:  https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/judea-samaria-israel/final-acts-of-nasty-civil-administration-uproots-jewish-vineyard-near-yitzhar/2023/01/02/

Final Acts of Nasty: Civil Administration Uproots Jewish Vineyard near Yitzhar By David Israel

On Monday morning, the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, under the auspices of the Defense Ministry, uprooted a vineyard near the Yitzhar community in Samaria, following a petition submitted by PA Arabs to Israel’s High Court of Justice, Regavim reported.

“The petitioners did not provide a smidgen of proof of ownership of the land on which the vineyard had been planted some four years ago, and yet the vineyard’s Jewish owners were handed a “Disruptive Land-Use Order,” a unique military order permitting the removal of agricultural assets even when no conflicting claim of ownership is submitted or proven”

These orders are used by the Civil Administration exclusively against Jews.

It remains to be seen how the incoming adjunct minister in the defense ministry Bezalel Smotrich who was installed above the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a unit in the defense ministry that engages in coordinating civilian issues between the Government of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces, international organizations, diplomats, and the Palestinian Authority.

According to Srugim, Smotrich shared on a WhatsApp group: “It’s certainly outrageous, but it’s a kind of grab they’re carrying out before we’ve taken over. It’ll take time.”

In the coming days, Smotrich is expected to meet with the head of the Civil Administrationת Brigadier General Fares Atila, and Major General Ghassan Alian, the coordinator of government operations in the territories. Smotrich plans to spend at least one day a week in his office on the 15th floor of the Ministry of Defense in downtown Tel Aviv. His first order should probably be to restore the stolen land from the Jews of Yitzhar.

According to Regavim, the Arab town of Burin, located some 300 yards from the uprooted orchard, in Area C, has an illegal mosque for which the Civil Administration has issued a demolition order more than 15 years ago. Regavim appealed to the High Court of Justice to compel the Civil Administration to enforce the demolition order, and the government gave its solemn commitment to upholding the law – and yet the illegal mosque is still standing, undisturbed, alongside dozens of additional illegal structures that have been built around it in the interim.

It’s called selective law enforcement, and it is the scourge of every democracy. The progressive forces that imagine themselves the defenders of Israel’s democracy against the “forces of darkness” that recently won a 64-mandate majority in the Knesset, should look into it.

Regavim’s spokesperson called on Minister Smotrich to “tackle this absurdity on his very first full day in office,” arguing that, “the Disruptive Land-Use Order is a draconian measure that has been applied in a wildly discriminatory fashion, and should be struck down without delay. This was the conclusion reached years ago by the Special Commission headed by Justice Edmond Levy, and we call upon Minister Smotrich to take this long-overdue step.”

January marks the 13th year in which the late Justice Levy’s report has been ignored by the man who appointed him, one Benjamin Netanyahu. His January 2012 Report on the Legal Status of Building in Judea and Samaria concluded that Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria does not constitute an occupation, and the Israeli settlements are legal under international law. It recommended the legalization of unauthorized Jewish settlement outposts by the state and proposed new guidelines for settlement construction.

Yes, dear readers, the culprit in the uprooting of Yitzhar’s vineyard as well as thousands of similar crimes against close to half a million Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria is not Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid, Tzipi Livni, or even Joe Biden.

Moshe Shmueli, Regavim’s Field Coordinator for Judea and Samaria, stated: “For 15 years, the Civil Administration has failed to enforce the law against nearby illegal Palestinian construction – despite its commitment to the High Court of Justice. On the other hand, it has taken swift, even brutal enforcement action and uprooted a Jewish vineyard, costing the owners hundreds of thousands of shekels in losses. The rule of law must be equal, or it cannot be called the rule of law. This morning’s demolition is one more example of how far off track the Civil Administration has strayed.”

We’re waiting for Smotrich.

ARAB CLAIM ...BUT NO OWNERSHIP – NONEXISTENT

 *Nasty Civil Administration Doing Their Thing = supporting the Arabs against the Jews:

Israeli vineyard in Yitzhar demolished, but nearby illegal mosque untouched

In first such operation since new government sworn in, Defense Ministry's Civil Administration uproots Jewish vineyard in Samaria.

The Civil Administration – under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense - uprooted a vineyard near the Israeli town of Yitzhar in Samaria Monday morning, following a petition submitted by Palestinian Arabs to Israel’s High Court of Justice.

Despite the fact that no Arab ownership of the land on which the vineyard was planted, some four years ago, has ever been proven, the Jewish owners of the vineyard received a “Disruptive Land-Use Order.” This unique military order allows removal of agriculture, even when no conflicting claim of ownership is submitted or proven – and is used by the Civil Administration exclusively against Jews.

Only 300 meters away from the uprooted orchard, in Area C on the outskirts of the nearby Arab town Burin, stands an illegal mosque for which the Civil Administration issued a demolition order over 15 years ago.

The Regavim Movement appealed to the High Court of Justice to force the Civil Administration to enforce the demolition order, and the government gave its solemn commitment to uphold the law – but the illegal mosque stands, undisturbed, to this very day - and dozens of additional illegal structures have been built around it in the interim.

Regavim’s spokesperson called upon Minister Betzalel Smotrich to tackle this absurdity on his very first full day in office: “The Disruptive Land-Use Order is a draconian measure that has been applied in a wildly discriminatory fashion, and should be struck down without delay. This was the conclusion reached years ago by the Special Commission headed by Justice Edmond Levy, and we call upon Minister Smotrich to take this long-overdue step.” 

Moshe Shmueli, Regavim’s Field Coordinator for Judea and Samaria, added: “For 15 years, the Civil Administration has failed to enforce the law against nearby illegal Palestinian construction – despite its commitment to the High Court of Justice. On the other hand, it has taken swift, even brutal enforcement action and uprooted a Jewish vineyard, costing the owners hundreds of thousands of shekels in losses. The rule of law must be equal, or it cannot be called the rule of law. This morning’s demolition is one more example of how far off track the Civil Administration has strayed.”

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/365306

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All these illegal homes etc. will one day belong to new Jewish immigrants coming Home to Eretz HaKodesh 

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2023 UPDATES on OLD ISSUES NEW GOVERNMENT

 I have posted the ‘positive’ descriptions from the articles (links provided) on Bezalel, Katz, Itamar and how they are beginning their new posts in the current democratically elected Government (except for the electricity article):

Historic moment in our 17-year-long struggle' says Otzma Yehudit *MK 

Jan 2, 2023
Commenting on the government's response to the Supreme Court today regarding its intention to regularize the status of Homesh, *MK Limor Son-Har Melech (Otzma Yehudit) has expressed her joy at the statement.
"This is a historical moment in our 17-year-long struggle against the crime of the Expulsion," she said, referring to the Disengagement. "The government is going to work toward entirely resettling Homesh as well as the other three communities in northern Samaria that were evacuated during the expulsion - Sa-nur, Ganim, and Kadim," she added.

Smotrich’s First Challenge as Finance Minister: Price Hike Tsunami

Happy calendar year! Sunday, January 1, 2023, sees a wave of price increases, most notably for electricity, fuel, and water. Of those, the incoming government is considering freezing the electricity price hike and suspending the excise tax on gasoline, as a first step in lowering the cost of living in keeping with the coalition agreements. After all, energy is the major factor in setting the cost of consumer goods and services.

At 1 PM, Sunday, outgoing Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman will welcome his successor, Bezalel Smotrich. At this point, according to Kan 11 News, the new Finance Minister does not plan to introduce immediate measures to freeze prices. Instead, he plans to include lowering the cost of electricity in the new budget. On its face, the government cannot change the price of electricity in Israel. According to the Electricity Sector Law, the Electricity Authority sets electricity rates and updates them from time to time “solely according to its professional discretion.” According to the law, the rates are set based on the “cost principle,” meaning the price is derived from the cost of producing electricity. These costs are divided into four segments: production (fuel costs and operating expenses); the cost of managing the system; the cost of transmission and distribution; and the cost of the service to the consumer (supply).

According to the Electricity Authority, the main reason for the new price hike is the increase in coal prices in the world by more than 100% over the past year. Coal is the source of fuel for 23% of the electricity produced in Israel, and when the cost of production increases significantly, it leads to an increase in electricity rates.

The simple way to bring down the cost of fuel for the Israel Electric Company is to reduce or suspend altogether the excise taxes on fuel. Liberman did that for the duration of the last election campaign and revived them, because he could, on the night between November 1 and 2, 2022. Obviously, Liberman gives cynicism a bad name.

But if Finance Minister Smotrich follows suit and freezes the excise taxes outside the context of overall government expenditure, he would bring immediate relief to consumers without taking care of all the other factors that generate outrageous prices in Israel, most crucially inflation and the steep rise of interest rates. Instead, he will likely opt for dealing with the broader economy through the 2023 budget.

Smotrich wants to see the government get out of managing prices in the marketplace, including, eventually, essential consumer goods such as bread, oil, eggs, and milk. He proposes compensating needy families directly rather than subsidizing production, alongside a massive reduction of taxes, pushing competition to promote small businesses, and solving issues related to the ports to facilitate the flow of competing imports.

He also proposes taking steps to dismantle the food monopolies in Israel through active regulation. He suggests that when prices are dictated by true market competition, there would be no need at all to control consumer prices of essential goods.

I recommend my report on Smotrich’s lengthy interview with Kan 11’s chief economic correspondent Shaul Amsterdamski. It was broadcast last August and contains his cogent and effective plan for his tenure as Finance Minister (Bezalel Smotrich Lays Out his Economic Agenda: Free Market, No More Subsidies or COLAs).

As of Sunday morning, gas prices at the pump went up 9 agorot, bringing the max for 95 octane gasoline to NIS 6.94 per liter ($7.88 per gallon). Electricity is up 8.2%, after an earlier hike of 13.3%.

Municipal property taxes go up this month by 1.37% – not based on a government decision but on an automatic formula imposed on all the municipalities. At least one municipality in central Israel that asked to suspend the hike because its finances are in very good shape, was warned by the Finance Ministry that this would constitute a violation of the law.

Yes, Israel very much needs a free-market economist to save it from its tightly-centralized system. The last free market faithful to do it was one Benjamin Netanyahu, who healed the country’s economy by taking the necessary draconian measures. The nation paid him by decapitating his Likud party down to 9 Knesset seats.

Good luck, Mr. Smotrich, we have your back.  https://www.jewishpress.com/news/business-economy/smotrichs-first-challenge-as-finance-minister-price-hike-tsunami/2023/01/01/

Smotrich Cancels Tax on Disposables, Sweet Drinks

[…] Upon taking office, Smotrich said he believes in free-market policies, and would continue to a large extent the steps already taken by his predecessor, Yisrael Beytenu chair MK Avigdor Liberman.  “I am a free-market person and I want to remove barriers to encourage the free market and increase competition as much as possible,” Smotrich said at the swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem.  “I’m not sure that all of our steps will be popular, but hopefully they will prove correct over time.”   https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/government-israel/smotrich-cancels-tax-on-disposables-sweet-drinks/2023/01/01/

Ben Gvir to Police Officers: ‘Any Terrorist Trying to Harm You – His Blood Is on His Head’

“On the occasion of the ministerial exchange ceremony between incoming National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and outgoing Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev, Minister Ben Gvir said, ‘Let it be clear to anyone who wants to launch terror attacks, that he will discover that our security forces are powerful and focused and know how to protect themselves, and let it be clear that each member of the security forces who defends his life will receive full backing for it.’ ”   https://www.jewishpress.com/news/police-news/ben-gvir-to-police-officers-any-terrorist-trying-to-harm-you-his-blood-is-on-his-head/2023/01/01/

New Education Minister Plans to Restore History and Bible to the Schools

[…] One of the first changes Kish said he intends to implement is reinstating the status of history and Bible studies in senior high schools. […] “We shall educate Israeli children to values and accomplishments, alongside the acceptance of the different and the other,” Kish said. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/on-campus/new-education-minister-plans-to-restore-history-and-bible-to-the-schools/2023/01/01/

Opposition MK Elkin: Of Course, We’ll Support Renewing Judea & Samaria Regulations

[…] The new coalition chairman, MK Ofir Katz, intends to bring to a vote in the Knesset plenum the regulations of Israel’s entire enforcement and legal system in Judea and Samaria, which include the ability to judge and imprison PA Arabs and carry out police actions.[…]  the new coalition agreements … include appointing three different ministers in charge of Judea and Samaria. […] Galant, Smotrich, and Ben Gvir […]  https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/palestinian-authority/opposition-mk-elkin-of-course-well-support-renewing-judea-samaria-regulations/2023/01/01/

* Who is MK Limor Son Har-Melech

Even as Otzma Yehudit Chairman Itamar Ben Gvir and Religious Zionism Chairman Bezalel Smotrich are concluding negotiations to take over the mechanisms of law and order in green-line Israel and Judea and Samaria, one of Ben Gvir’s MKs, Limor Son Har-Melech, was on a bus in Samaria that was attacked by Arab terrorists Sunday night, a spokesperson for Otzma Yehudit told The Jewish Press. The terrorists fired on the full bus which was on its way back from a Chanukah candle-lighting ceremony in an area between Sa-Nur and Mevo Dotan. The bus was hit by eight bullets but there were no casualties, thank God. One more Chanukah miracle.  The driver managed to stay calm, cool and collected under fire, and drove them to safety. Sa-Nur was a Jewish settlement in northern Samaria, under the jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council, until the 2005 expulsion of Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria. Before the exile Sa-Nur was home to 43 families. Limor Son Har-Melech, 43, was elected to the Knesset on the Otzma Yehudit list in November. She has been active in the movement to revoke the Disengagement Law that cut off settlements such as Homesh and Sa-Nur but, unlike the Gaza expulsion, did not deposit the cleared land in Arab hands. Over the past 17 years, Jews have been banned from this area, and every attempt to return was frustrated, often violently, by Israeli security forces. Limor and her husband were residents of Kdumim, near Homesh, before the expulsion. In 2003, she and her husband were attacked by terrorists. Her husband was murdered and she was seriously injured and was forced into an emergency birth. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/palestinian-authority/otzma-yehudit-mk-limor-son-har-melech-on-bus-that-was-shot-by-terrorists/2022/12/19/

Shalom Pollack – Allies

 

Ayman Odeh (Arab Knesset member - Communist party) noted that "the Knesset alone will not be able to solve the problem (of the new government). It is necessary to take the issue to the street. And on the street, we must fight on two levels: An Arab fight and a joint fight with Arabs and Jews. It is imperative that there be a national demonstration in Tel Aviv in which Jews and Arabs participate and will number half a million."

The above quote is from MK Ayman Odeh.

Odeh is the head of the anti-Zionist Communist party of mostly anti-Israel Arabs and a  few Jewish useful idiots.

What was he referring to in his latest appeal?

Odeh has demonstrated time and again that he and his followers do not accept the results of the 1948 war of Independence.

His side expected a far different outcome to that war - genocide of the Jewish people in its land. Nothing less.

Far from suffering the results of that defeat, many like Odeh were unharmed by the Jewish victors. More; they were invited to enjoy equal citizenship in the new Jewish democracy and welcomed to take part in the parliamentary system.

All this has not changed the mind or hearts of most Arabs, like MK Odeh.

We have learned that loyalty, gratitude, and common decency cannot be bought with civil rights, and academic and professional opportunities.

Of all the Mideast’s Arab populations, it is only Israel’s Arabs that enjoy full civil and human rights, yet it is just those who harbor the greatest resentment of the Jewish state and the Jews.

It is not an uncommon phenomenon for people to show hostility rather than gratitude for the help received. The help is accepted but expressions of gratitude can be an impossible task, which then engenders unmanageable hatred.

Israelis who believed that the defeated Arabs of 1948 will accept and forget the loss if treated well and invited to share the blessing of the Jewish state were mistaken.  Increasing Arab violence and expressions of hatred for all things Jewish come at a time when the material benefits of living in the Jewish state have never been more apparent.

It is not just ever bolder attacks on symbols of the Jewish state but a sharp increase in attacks against Israelis with clear Jewish identities that have been emblematic lately.

A year ago, many synagogues were targeted by Arabs and burned down. Thousands of Jews were assaulted in nationwide pogroms. Not satisfied with physical assault, the latest trend is to humiliate religious-looking Jews for the camera, including pulling their beards and sidelocks and forcing them to kneel before Muslims and repeat Muslim prayers.

After all, Muslims are taught that Muslims must rule Jews. Never the other way around.

No, this is not happening in an Arab country or in a back alley of a Parisian Arab quarter; it is on the streets of Jerusalem.

The Arabs of Israel cannot contain their hate for all things Jewish (not Zionist necessarily).

Therefore, MK Udoh called for the Arabs to demonstrate against the new, very Jewish government. So far, clear.

But what about his call for a separate Jewish - Arab demonstration?

What is that all about?

Lots of useful idiots?

I think there is more to it and Udah feels confident that he can tap into it for his Arab nationalist cause.

He knows that there is a great number (not the majority thank God) of Israelis who are blind to the physical Arab threat because of their far greater fear of fellow Jews who dare to remind them of their own Jewish identity.

Arabs humiliate religious Jews? How amusing.

Arabs kill religious settlers?

They have no business being in those "occupied areas"!

The new "Jewish" government without anti-Israel - Arabs of post-Zionist Leftists?

The end of the country!

No cooperation!

Civil war now!

Hayman Udah understands and reads Hebrew well.

He knows Israel.

He easily identifies his willing allies

Thus, his call: "It is imperative that Jews participate in his planned demonstration."

He knows that his "Jews" will be there.

shalompollack613@gmail.com

Tour guide and author

"Jews, Israelis and Arabs"

What is Going on at Ponevezh?

 

Shock in Ponevezh Yeshiva as Torah falls on floor during Shabbat

Students waiting to hear from their rabbis whether they should fast after witnessing Torah scroll fall to the floor during morning prayers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/365221

Students and staff at the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak were shocked when a Torah scroll fell on the floor in front of hundreds of people during morning prayers on Shabbat.

Religious Jews have a custom of fasting after witnessing a Torah scroll fall on the ground, which is considered a bad sign. Giving charity is another common response.

The students immediately began to discuss whether this occurrence means they must undertake an additional fast in the coming week, which includes the fast of the Tenth of Tevet. They are awaiting instructions from the rabbis at the yeshiva on how to proceed.

Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Meir Tzvi Bergman was also shocked when he learned what had happened and stated that the falling of the Torah scroll meant that they had to "do teshuva" (repentance).

* * *

Tear gas used in Ponevezh Yeshiva brawl

Police remove all students from Beit Midrash after brawl breaks out between rival factions during afternoon prayers.

More violence at the Ponevezh Yeshiva: Students from the 'haters' faction used tear gas against students from the 'terrorist' faction' during afternoon prayers in the Beit Midrash. Police were summoned to the scene to break up the brawl and removed all students from the Beit Midrash.

The fight was the latest in a longstanding dispute between the two factions over control of the yeshiva and the division of its territory. The supporters of Rabbi Shmuel Markovitz on the one hand, nicknamed the "haters," and Rabbi Eliezer Kahaneman's rival camp, called the "terrorists" have long been at loggerheads and tensions frequently lead to violence.

On Tuesday, Rabbi Aryeh Kahaneman, the son of Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Eliezer Kahaneman, was beaten by students from the rival faction and taken to Tel Hashomer hospital. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/304847

* * *

Students from Jerusalem Faction attack son of Rosh Yeshiva in middle of study hall. leading to his hospitalization. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/304703

The riots inside the Ponevezh Yeshiva Hall in Bnei Brak have resumed, with students from the 'Jerusalem Faction' beat one of the teachers today. One of the students also spat on him.

Rabbi Aryeh Kahaneman, the son of Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Eliezer Kahaneman, was the victim of the attack. He was taken to Tel Hashomer hospital.

The quarrel was part of a longstanding dispute between the two factions over control of the yeshiva and the division of its territory. The supporters of Rabbi Shmuel Markovitz on the one hand, nicknamed the "haters," and Rabbi Eliezer Kahaneman's rival camp, called the "terrorists" have long been at loggerheads and tensions frequently lead to violence.

The flagship Yeshiva of Lithuanian haredi Judaism has been roiled by the power struggle between the two for over twenty years, and both sides observe an uneasy status quo, in which campus space in Bnei Brak is evenly divided between the two factions.

Rabbi Weissman – What’s preventing covid sinners from doing teshuva?

 

This week's Torah class has a couple of real goodies from the parsha, plus a real important look at the "oaths" we hear so much about from deeply misguided Jews who claim we are not allowed to reclaim Israel until Moshiach comes.  As is so often the case, they are cherry-picking part of a source and distorting it to support the exact opposite of what it is actually teaching.  

The recording is available here.  Please listen and share. In addition, check out the recommended reading that I posted, which includes numerous articles on the subject and my sefer, Go Up Like a Wall, which is available for free download here, and on Amazon for pennies.  I also give away copies at my own expense, because it's not about making money, and people really need to learn this.  If you are in Israel and would like to distribute copies, please contact me.

What's preventing covid sinners from doing teshuva?

In chapter 4 of Hilchos Teshuva (the laws of repentance) the Rambam lists twenty-four things that impede one from doing teshuva. Some of these impediments are spiritual in nature; the sinner has committed such a serious crime that Hashem will not give him the opportunity to do teshuva.

One example is someone who causes the public to sin or prevents them from fulfilling a mitzva. It would be unjust for “the teacher” to do teshuva and receive everlasting reward while “his disciples” get punished because of him – so Hashem impedes him. The many treasonous rabbis who carry water for the Amalekite establishment fall into this category.

Another example is one who says “I will sin and then repent” or “I will sin and I will be forgiven on Yom Kippur”. Such a person is playing games, and you can't play games with Hashem. He knows all our thoughts in ways the technocratic heretics can only dream of.

Some of these impediments are practical in nature; for example, the sinner took bribes to pervert justice, stole from the masses, or otherwise harmed people that he cannot identify. Complete teshuva is not merely feeling regret for one's actions, but rectifying the damage to the victim however possible. If one cannot identify his victims, or even fathom the extent of the damage he caused, he cannot make it right, and his teshuva cannot be complete. (This does not absolve him from doing the best he can under the circumstances, and Hashem will deal mercifully with those who are sincere.)

Some of these impediments are psychological in nature; the sinner believes he has done nothing wrong, and therefore it is highly unlikely that he will ever do teshuva. Examples of this include using people's property without permission, gazing lustfully at people who are forbidden to him, glorifying oneself at the expense of his fellow, and suspecting upstanding people of wrongdoing. In all of these cases, writes the Rambam, the sinner takes the matter lightly and imagines to himself that he didn't really do anything. Hence, he is unlikely to face the truth that he has sinned.

The final type of impediments to teshuva are evil attachments that are difficult to separate from. These include evil personality traits, such as a bad temper; addictive behaviors, such as speaking lashon hara (slander); and attaching oneself to wicked people, which has a negative effect on the righteous.

With these concepts in mind, the following impediments are preventing many people from doing teshuva for their covid-related sins, even as the truth becomes less plausibly deniable with each passing day.

1. Hashem is denying them the opportunity

The leaders and influencers who perpetrated these atrocities upon the masses will almost certainly be denied the opportunity to do teshuva, unless they undergo a most unlikely transformation and exert a herculean effort. Included in this group are all the unelected leaders behind world events, their puppets in government, and all their operatives down the food chain who knowingly collaborated, such as medical professionals, members of the media, and religious figures. Their crimes are incalculable, and it would be an injustice for them to be given the opportunity to do teshuva.

No punishment on this earth would be sufficient for the harm they have caused. Fortunately, G–d has greater punishments at His disposal, beyond anything we can fathom, and justice will be served in due time. We should not pray for their repentance, but for their destruction.

Our relatives, neighbors, and former friends, by and large, do not fall into this category. Although they have sinned terribly in various ways, Hashem wants them to do teshuva. As much harm as they may have perpetrated on others, they too are victims. We must pray for them to be woken up as gently as possible and do teshuva.

2. Denial of evil

Many people refuse to consider the possibility that they are surrounded by evil people, governed by evil people, and that they have been conditioned by evil people throughout their lives. They claim it's ridiculous to believe the existence of widespread evil at the highest levels, even though this is the only explanation that neatly explains everything; Occam's razor, if you will. These people may concede that their leaders are incompetent, even corrupt, but that they despise the common people and have no regard for human life? Impossible.

Why is this such a mental block for people? Several reasons, all of which are interconnected:

1. It's frightening.

2. It would shatter their illusions about public figures they may admire and wish to remain loyal to. For example, it would be devastating for people who made a Messiah out of Donald Trump to hold him accountable for his role in promoting the accursed shots, for which he has expressed no remorse. Far preferable to twist oneself into a pretzel making excuses and inventing convoluted explanations for how he was really thwarting the bad guys by bringing these death shots at warp speed.

3. It would shatter their illusions about the regime under which they live and wish to serve as patriots. It would be devastating for American patriots to loathe what their country has become (and seems to have been for quite some time), for Jews who bought into Zionist propaganda to separate their devotion to Israel from loyalty to the state, and for citizens of any country to accept that their land is a cesspool of corruption and turpitude.

4. They would face the moral obligation to oppose the evil, with all the responsibilities, sacrifices, and risks this entails.

One can either deal with all that, or he can call people conspiracy theorists and claim the government is doing the best they can with the information at their disposal.

Of course, the price for taking the easy way out is being complicit with evil and advancing the agenda of your own worst enemies in exchange for temporary convenience. Nevertheless, people have been conditioned to take the easy way out, to believe organized evil at the highest levels can't happen anymore, and to “serve their country”.

All of this impedes them from facing reality and doing teshuva.

3. Ego

The hardest words for most people to say are “I was wrong”. This is one of the great conundrums of the human mind, for we can readily accept that no human being is perfect, especially ourselves, yet we will perform all sorts of gymnastics to avoid making a specific admission of being just plain wrong. This is especially true when it comes to being wrong about something very big, with everything on the line.

This is a true test of character. Virtually all of us bought into the covid-related lies to some degree, and there is no shame in admitting that. However, the longer one stuck with the official story, and the more one invested in it, the harder it is to get off the assembly line and admit those crazy conspiracy theorists were right all along. It requires eating the biggest slice of humble pie of their lives, and who has an appetite for that?

Ego is one of the greatest impediments to teshuva in general, and especially here.

4. Facing the nightmarish truth

If one is to admit at this late date that he was wrong, it means that, rather than exercising caution all this time as he had believed, he engaged in behaviors that are very hazardous to one's health. Most of all, he must face the terrifying reality that he repeatedly took injections of a bioweapon, and the consequences of this might come “suddenly” at any time. Perhaps even more terrifying, he likely pressured the people he cares most about to take these injections, and must live with horrific fear and guilt at what he might have done to them.

When the snakes offer him a way out of this nightmare – just believe this next lie and repeat it when challenged – many people will choose to continue living with the lie rather than face the truth. The truth is just too painful at this point.

This impedes them from doing teshuva, and leads them to compound their sins until the bitter end.

5. Foolishness

This is a critical part of the conditioning process. The snakes don't want us to think critically, to probe beyond their thin cover story, to arrive at independent conclusions after considering multiple possibilities. They want people to think they are smart, but to actually be incredibly stupid, gullible, obedient, and entirely predictable. Then they can manipulate us with propaganda and control us with algorithms.

We can laugh at all the people who continue to fall for ridiculous lies, then reflexively turn to the professional liars and spin doctors in the media for the latest “news”. After all, we have to get the news from somewhere, and this story seems credible.

Then we breathlessly forward an article or video or bit of information that someone sent us that supports what we've been saying – except it's fake, or it's littered with mistakes, and was probably created by someone working for the snakes just to discredit us.

We've all been played for fools, and hopefully we have learned to be less susceptible. But the greatest fools are those who took five shots, got violently sick with “covid” – even multiple times – and then expressed gratitude for the shots, without which it would surely have been even worse. No, the shots didn't fail, they succeeded! Even if they die from “covid” (or, more likely, the natural, entirely predictable effects of the shots wreaking havoc on their bodies), they will go down grateful that the shots prevented them from dying sooner. This is the way of idolatry; their insistence on distorting the reality staring them in the face makes teshuva impossible.

Similar to this type of fool is the one who took the shots and was fortunate to suffer no ill effects (yet). Maybe he doesn't even know someone who suffered from the shots (or can acknowledge it). He therefore concludes that the shots are fine, and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot. Never mind the deluge of horror stories that can no longer be covered up; it can't be real since it didn't happen to him.

This person is no different than one who plays Russian roulette, walks away unharmed, and laughs at anyone who thinks it's dangerous. He played and literally nothing happened, so stop spreading crazy fears.

Of course, he took the exact opposite approach with “covid”. Every “case” was reason for hysteria, and every supposed fatality (regardless of the treatment administered, or not administered, or the actual – not official – cause of death) was proof that we should all huddle in masked isolation for the rest of our miserable lives. So what if you didn't get covid, or you got it and it wasn't a big deal, or you don't know anyone who really died from it? It's the end of humanity if you break the rules!

What fools. How can such people ever wake up and do teshuva?

6. The fear of challenging authority

Even if the people in power weren't monsters, we have been conditioned at every level to follow authority, no matter what. This is not because it is inherently proper to follow authority, or because society functions best this way, but because the people in authority designed it this way for their own good, not yours.

Doing teshuva for one's covid-related sins necessitates acknowledging that he was wrong for following authority, and in future such situations must respond differently. This is a terrifying proposition to most people, and therefore they continue to float along – just as is expected of them.

7. The fear of taking responsibility and performing deep introspection

This is the logical extension of the previous impediment. If one was wrong for “just following orders”, by definition he must take responsibility for all his actions, and can no longer excuse himself when these actions cause harm to himself and others. Furthermore, he must perform deep introspection and work on himself to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

For example, if one steals money from his fellow, it is not complete teshuva to return the money and apologize; that is the very minimum to satisfy his legal obligation. Complete teshuva entails examining himself to determine what brought him to steal the money. Was it greed? Jealousy? Lack of trust in Hashem? Real teshuva means not only rectifying the symptom, but treating the root of the problem.

This is difficult, uncomfortable work. It's much easier to get angry at those who set a better example and not think too much.

The good news is that, with each passing day, more people are waking up and at least starting the teshuva process. Contrary to the ridiculous propaganda when they started pushing the shots, the reports of deathbed regrets from “anti-vaxxers” who were dying of “covid” (which media around the world coincidentally reported all in lockstep) no one who didn't take the shots wishes they did. No one who stopped after taking two or three wishes they went back for that toxic booster after all. Conversely, there is no end to the number of people who were bullied, blackmailed, and fooled into taking shots and wish they hadn't. The migration from one camp to the other is entirely one-sided, and that is always a strong indicator of where the truth lies.

When a critical mass of people does real teshuva for their covid-related sins, the monsters will lose their grip over us. More importantly, we will merit redemption and the eradication of evil from the world.

(If you want to just share a link to this article, it is available at https://chananyaweissman.com/article.php?id=497.)

__________________________

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Ever Wonder What Happened to the Greeks? ...Or The Selucid Syrian-Greeks?

THEN

"Historians have spent a great deal of time studying every nuance of ancient Greek life and society. The reasons for its destruction are quite clear, and were well-summarized in David P. Goldman’s How Civilizations Die (and Why Islam is Dying, Too). The core reason for the extinction of ancient Greece was the breakdown of the family unit. Over time, homosexual relationships became increasingly common and, tragically, pederasty along with it. 

"Meanwhile, the obsession over wealth meant that parents wanted less children so that they wouldn’t compete for resources and inheritance. Infanticide became an accepted practice, and all but the most perfect babies were “exposed” and allowed to die”

NOW

"Today, the Western secular world is essentially a renewed Hellenistic culture. In fact, the Modern Hebrew term for a secular person is hiloni, which is thought to come from “Hellene”! The same issues that plagued ancient Greece plague the West today. First and foremost is the breakdown of the traditional family unit. 

"Together with that is the proliferation and mainstreaming of homosexuality—once a private and personal matter, now glorified and paraded down the streets of every major city (often grotesquely, in a manner that would be just as immoral if it was heterosexual).

"Then there’s the rampant abortion (comparable to infanticide), the obsession with wealth and materialism, and the outsourcing of physical labour. While there may not be slavery per se, Westerners today have become used to hiring cheap labour for tasks like cleaning and cooking, while purchasing a never-ending stream of stuff produced in slavery-like conditions in other parts of the world. 

"Instant gratification, mindless entertainment, endless materialism, and sexual immorality have become the cornerstones of modern Western culture. Not surprisingly, Western society has long passed its golden age and, like ancient Greece, is on a rapid path towards self-destruction.

"While secular society is headed for annihilation, traditional Judaism will continue to thrive, as it has for thousands of years. In some sense, Judaism is the antidote to Hellenism. It is important to clarify that by “Judaism” what is meant here is actual Torah-based and Torah-observant Judaism. Other iterations masquerading as “Judaism” are nothing more than Hellenism. 

The above is from https://www.mayimachronim.com/chanukah-did-the-jews-really-defeat-the-greeks/ by