I met with a family that lives on Har HaZeisim. They are one of two that are making sure there is a Jewish Presence on our land, the holy place where many holy neshomas are resting. This cemetery covers thousands of years of Jewish history. It is under attack daily by Arabs, just like Kever Rachel, Kever Yosef, and the Kotel. People visiting family buried there, Knesset members and American dignitaries are targets for rock throwing vandals. Something has to be done about this, and Malcolm Hoenlein, from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and other American activists are trying to get Israelis focused on this issue and motivated into action.
This is Har HaZeisim
The Deceased are not Left in Peace
Thousands of Years of Resting Souls
Desecration Taking Place Daily
3000 Years Old 15,000 Graves
Ex-cop: Mount of Olives stonings are ‘attempted murder’
Aaron Klein Interview About Har HaZeisim
26 February 2012
An Interesting Harvard Debate
The raw milk debate is brought to Harvard
This is what the Harvard website had to say about the debate:
"At one time, everyone drank raw milk. But with the invention of pasteurization and its alleged safety benefits, consumption of raw milk in this country almost completely disappeared. In fact, in some states it is illegal to sell raw milk. But a growing segment of the population is clamoring for increased access to raw milk, citing its nutritional benefits and recently discovered inbuilt safety mechanisms. Opponents are skeptical of such nutritional claims and believe the safety risks of unpasteurized milk are simply too high."
“Food policy implicates a broad range of pressing humanitarian, public health, and environmental challenges. These challenges include, among many others: ending hunger, promoting rural economic development, protecting the safety of the food supply, reversing the obesity and diabetes epidemics, and averting catastrophic climate change. Addressing any and all of these challenges requires the development of healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems.” –Yale Law School Conference, Developing Food Policy: U.S. & International Perspectives
The fight to legalize raw milk has been fought on many fronts. This month, a debate will take place at Harvard between some of the most prominent voices from both sides of this issue. Sally Fallon Morrell wrote the “politically incorrect” cookbook, "Nourishing Traditions," and founded the nonprofit organization, The Weston A Price Foundation. Both her cookbook, and the foundation have sought to bring the benefits of raw milk to light, and to help make it possible to buy legally. Alongside her will be Dave Grumpert, author of "The Raw Milk Revolution."
"The opposition includes Fred Pritzker, a food safety lawyer. In recent years he has been actively opposed to regulations allowing the legalization of raw milk. He has represented cases of those sickened by the consumption of raw milk.
"One side would argue that raw milk is inherently safe, if proper procedure is followed. In fact, they would argue that raw milk is safer to consume than conventional milk. The other side argues that raw milk is inherently unsafe to consume and should be banned. It will be a very interesting debate, to say the least, as both sides have strong opinions on the topic.
Sources where I found this information here and here.
24 February 2012
Aggressive Hate, Invasion of Privacy, and What You Can Do
The Media is now owned by the Occupy Conglomerate and actively Persecuting anyone that is not politically correct in their eyes. This is what could happen to all the Social Networking innocents. They and the community of bloggers (we) could find themselves caught up in the next phase of Internet Cyber Terrorism and Attempted World Domination by those behind the Occupiers.
One thing you can do: here and here, or as the Rabbis have warned, abandon the Internet.
Glenn Beck is correct when he says that "We are actually in WW III and it's a very different type of war."
Listen to what Glenn told our Jewish Family and Friends in Brooklyn.
Exclusive at The Algemeiner: CNN’s decision to fire four Jewish Israeli journalists from the cable network’s Jerusalem bureau earlier this month was due in part to their religion and nationality, and to their perceived inability to operate freely throughout the Middle East, the Algemeiner has learned.
As reported on the The Blaze:
After explaining to The New York Daily News that the racially offensive headline about Jeremy Lin published on ESPN’s mobile site was an “honest mistake,” now former ESPN employee Anthony Federico has released a more detailed statement explaining that the offense was ”a lapse in judgment and not a racist pun.”
Here‘s Federico’s full statement:
“I wrote the headline in reference to the tone of the column and not to Jeremy Lin’s race. It was a lapse in judgment and not a racist pun. It was an awful editorial omission and it cost me my job.
I owe an apology to Jeremy Lin and all people offended. I am truly sorry.
Actions speak louder than words. My words may have hurt people in that moment but my actions have always helped people. If those who vilify me would take a deeper look at my life they would see that I am the exact opposite of how some are portraying me.
They would see that on the day of the incident I got a call from a friend – who happens to be homeless – and rushed to his aid. He was collapsed on the side of the road due to exposure and hunger. They would see how I picked him up and got him a hotel room and fed him. They would see I used my vacation time last year to volunteer in the orphanages of Haiti. They would see how I ‘adopted’ an elderly Alzheimer’s patient and visited him every week for a year. They would see that every winter I organize a coat drive for those less fortunate in New Haven. They would see how I raised $10,000 for a friend in need when his kids were born four months premature. They would see how I have worked in soup kitchens and convalescent homes since I was a kid. They would see my actions speak louder than my words. They would see that these acts were not done for my glory, but for God’s. They would see that each day I live and will continue to live a life of joy and service.
It never has been or will be my intention to hurt anyone. I wrote thousands and thousands and thousands of headlines in my five years at ESPN. There never was a problem with any of them and I was consistently praised as an employee – both personally and professionally. Two weeks prior to the incident I had my first column published on espnW.com. My career was taking off. Why would I throw that all away with a racist pun? This was an honest mistake.
It is also crucial that people know that the writer of the column had nothing to do with the headline. I wrote it and now I take responsibility for it.
I am actually a Knicks fan and an ardent supporter of Jeremy Lin. Not surprisingly, he has handled the entire situation with grace and class.
Now I have to find a new job and move on with my life. My solace in this is that ‘all things work together for good for those who love the Lord.’ I praise God equally in the good times and the bad times.
-Anthony Federico"
One thing you can do: here and here, or as the Rabbis have warned, abandon the Internet.
Glenn Beck is correct when he says that "We are actually in WW III and it's a very different type of war."
Listen to what Glenn told our Jewish Family and Friends in Brooklyn.
Exclusive at The Algemeiner: CNN’s decision to fire four Jewish Israeli journalists from the cable network’s Jerusalem bureau earlier this month was due in part to their religion and nationality, and to their perceived inability to operate freely throughout the Middle East, the Algemeiner has learned.
As reported on the The Blaze:
After explaining to The New York Daily News that the racially offensive headline about Jeremy Lin published on ESPN’s mobile site was an “honest mistake,” now former ESPN employee Anthony Federico has released a more detailed statement explaining that the offense was ”a lapse in judgment and not a racist pun.”
Here‘s Federico’s full statement:
“I wrote the headline in reference to the tone of the column and not to Jeremy Lin’s race. It was a lapse in judgment and not a racist pun. It was an awful editorial omission and it cost me my job.
I owe an apology to Jeremy Lin and all people offended. I am truly sorry.
Actions speak louder than words. My words may have hurt people in that moment but my actions have always helped people. If those who vilify me would take a deeper look at my life they would see that I am the exact opposite of how some are portraying me.
They would see that on the day of the incident I got a call from a friend – who happens to be homeless – and rushed to his aid. He was collapsed on the side of the road due to exposure and hunger. They would see how I picked him up and got him a hotel room and fed him. They would see I used my vacation time last year to volunteer in the orphanages of Haiti. They would see how I ‘adopted’ an elderly Alzheimer’s patient and visited him every week for a year. They would see that every winter I organize a coat drive for those less fortunate in New Haven. They would see how I raised $10,000 for a friend in need when his kids were born four months premature. They would see how I have worked in soup kitchens and convalescent homes since I was a kid. They would see my actions speak louder than my words. They would see that these acts were not done for my glory, but for God’s. They would see that each day I live and will continue to live a life of joy and service.
It never has been or will be my intention to hurt anyone. I wrote thousands and thousands and thousands of headlines in my five years at ESPN. There never was a problem with any of them and I was consistently praised as an employee – both personally and professionally. Two weeks prior to the incident I had my first column published on espnW.com. My career was taking off. Why would I throw that all away with a racist pun? This was an honest mistake.
It is also crucial that people know that the writer of the column had nothing to do with the headline. I wrote it and now I take responsibility for it.
I am actually a Knicks fan and an ardent supporter of Jeremy Lin. Not surprisingly, he has handled the entire situation with grace and class.
Now I have to find a new job and move on with my life. My solace in this is that ‘all things work together for good for those who love the Lord.’ I praise God equally in the good times and the bad times.
-Anthony Federico"
05 February 2012
Good to Know Who Your Friends Are
From Arutz Sheva: Investigation Shows Which Ministers Stood Up for Yesha Residents
Eligible residents of cities and local authorities can receive up to NIS 75,000 in a development grant at low, government-subsidized interest rates for the purchase of a home, while residents of kibbutzim, moshavim, small towns and Arab villages can receive up to NIS 150,000 in subsidized loans.
Originally, some 70 towns in Judea and Samaria – including Kiryat Arba, Efrat, Ariel, Beit El, Beitar Ilit, and many others - had been included in the list, but after criticism by leftist groups, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanayahu conducted a telephone poll of ministers, seeking their permission to amend the government decision. As a result, residents will only be able to get the benefits if “political officials” sign off on the requests. The most likely candidate for that job is Defense Minister Ehud Barak, whom Judea and Samaria residents have long accused of doing everything possible to slow Jewish population growth in Judea and Samaria, with his consistent refusal to allow for construction of new homes, building permits, etc.
Arutz Sheva sought to find out which ministers decided in the telephone poll that residents of Judea and Samaria did not deserve the benefits.
Eligible residents of cities and local authorities can receive up to NIS 75,000 in a development grant at low, government-subsidized interest rates for the purchase of a home, while residents of kibbutzim, moshavim, small towns and Arab villages can receive up to NIS 150,000 in subsidized loans.
Originally, some 70 towns in Judea and Samaria – including Kiryat Arba, Efrat, Ariel, Beit El, Beitar Ilit, and many others - had been included in the list, but after criticism by leftist groups, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanayahu conducted a telephone poll of ministers, seeking their permission to amend the government decision. As a result, residents will only be able to get the benefits if “political officials” sign off on the requests. The most likely candidate for that job is Defense Minister Ehud Barak, whom Judea and Samaria residents have long accused of doing everything possible to slow Jewish population growth in Judea and Samaria, with his consistent refusal to allow for construction of new homes, building permits, etc.
Arutz Sheva sought to find out which ministers decided in the telephone poll that residents of Judea and Samaria did not deserve the benefits.
According to the information discovered, the following ministers told Netanyahu in the phone poll that the benefits should apply to Judea and Samaria residents: Gideon Sa'ar, Limor Livnat, Gilad Erdan, Daniel Hershkowitz, Silvan Shalom, Avigdor Lieberman, Stas Mesheznekov, Yitzchak Aharonovich, Sofa Landver, and Uzi Landau. The first four are Likud members and the latter five are from Yisrael Beiteinu, while Hershkowitz is from the Bayit Yehudi party.
Those who voted to deny Judea and Samaria residents the housing benefits included*****all members of Shas in the government – Eli Yishai, Ariel Atias, Ya'akov Margi, and Meshlam Nahari – as well as *****Ehud Barak and other current and former Labor ministers.*****
Likud minister Yossi Peled said he had not been asked his opinion. Yisrael Katz, Yuval Steinitz, Benny Begin, Ya'akov Ne'eman, and Moshe Kachlon did not respond to Arutz Sheva's request for information on how they voted. Minister Yuli Edelstein abstained.
Sa'ar, who voted against removing the benefits, called on Netanyahu to conduct an open vote on such an important issue.
Those who voted to deny Judea and Samaria residents the housing benefits included*****all members of Shas in the government – Eli Yishai, Ariel Atias, Ya'akov Margi, and Meshlam Nahari – as well as *****Ehud Barak and other current and former Labor ministers.*****
Likud minister Yossi Peled said he had not been asked his opinion. Yisrael Katz, Yuval Steinitz, Benny Begin, Ya'akov Ne'eman, and Moshe Kachlon did not respond to Arutz Sheva's request for information on how they voted. Minister Yuli Edelstein abstained.
Sa'ar, who voted against removing the benefits, called on Netanyahu to conduct an open vote on such an important issue.
Speaking Saturday night, Hershkowitz said that “with all due respect to the U.S., Israel is not the 51st star on the American flag. It is the right of an independent country to set up its own preference zones without outside interference.”
Jonathan Rosenblum ...
Jeruslaem Post By Rabbi JONATHAN ROSENBLUM
Think Again: An Apology To Non-Haredi Readers
Whenever I make a presentation on the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community, my first task is to undermine the common perception of the community as an undifferentiated sea of black automatons who wake up in the morning and receive their marching orders from central command, like something out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
The people with whom I interact frequently are as different from one another as any other group of human beings. As the the Sages of the Talmud say, “Just as each individual’s face is different so are their ways of thinking.”
Like most people, I resent it when I feel I’m being judged by externals. During college, I sported an impressive Afro that would have done Jimi Hendrix proud. I remember being stopped in New York City by someone who noticed my college T-shirt and felt compelled to tell me, “I went to the University of Chicago, and you are a disgrace.” Yet everything that person assumed about me based on my hairstyle – drug use, study habits – was almost surely wrong.
A few months ago, I found myself seated on a flight next to someone reading John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty. I attempted to start a conversation by asking him whether he was a professor. A monosyllabic “no” was the response. I commented that one doesn’t find too many people reading Mill on airplanes, but that too failed to elicit any response or ignite a conversation. I felt – though I could be wrong – that he assumed that no one whom he had seen wearing a black hat could have anything of interest to say about On Liberty.
In any event, I recently discovered that I have no right to criticize non-haredim for any stereotypes that may color their judgment of me before I open my mouth.
My eureka moment came on a visit to the Haredi Center for Technological Studies (HCTS), where I was interviewing men studying architecture, computer networking and construction engineering.
The first person I interviewed was a Gerrer Hassid in the architecture program.
He told me he had slept for only two hours over the preceding two days while working on his monthly project. I have only spoken with a few Gerrer Hassidim in my life, and carried a number of negative stereotypes regarding their community.
These stereotypes, common in the circles I travel in, concern their restrictions on contact between husbands and wives beyond that codified in Halacha, their aggressive efforts to advance the interests of their community and the need to stay out of their way when they form a phalanx in front of the Rebbe.
Those stereotypes, it soon became clear, provided me with no useful information about the father of four in front of me.
Indeed, until I put those stereotypes aside I was not able to properly listen to him and absorb what he was telling me, as he described his reasons for choosing this course and the various ups and downs he had experienced along the way. I was surprised, for instance, that his wife worked as a computer programmer in a government office. I had thought that few Gerrer women worked outside the haredi community at all.
After the interview, we joined the class in which the students were presenting their projects. The two lecturers were tearing apart, tag-team style, the model of a shopping center produced by another Gerrer Hassid. As I watched the dissection, I leaned over to my new friend, and asked him whether the one whose project was being critiqued would be able to take the criticism. He replied, “It’s not enough to obtain a degree. We want to work, and for that you have to be good. The only way to become good is to receive criticism.”
When our interview began, I saw only a Gerrer Hassid, as if that were some kind of generic brand. By the end, I saw a person with a full gamut of thoughts, feelings, and hopes – i.e., as much an individual as anyone else.
But if it took me – a haredi Jew – time to adjust to the idea that not all members of another haredi group are alike, how can I criticize any non-haredi person who makes any number of assumptions about me? It is human nature to view strangers wearing distinctive dress of one type or another as if they were all alike. The best that we can hope for is that those stereotypes remain at the level of what lawyers call “rebuttable presumptions.” And that those whom we meet are curious enough and open enough to want to know us as individuals.
One of the reasons that I’m so enthusiastic about the Kesher Yehudi program that has brought together more than 10,000 secular and religious women as study partners is because of the stereotypes broken down in both directions as the relationships develop.
STEREOTYPES HAVE THEIR USES.
If you are the 70-year-old owner of a jewelry store in downtown Washington and three dudes, wearing lots of bling, seek to be buzzed in, the decision not to do so may have more to do with potentially life-saving prudence than with prejudice. But in general stereotypes that blind us to the infinite variety of individuals sharing the planet with us impoverish our lives.
Two weeks later, I’m back at the HCTS, this time to interview lecturers, most of whom are not religious. Once again, each interview turns out to be filled with surprises.
All it takes is some show of interest.
For instance, the civil engineering lecturer, a graduate of the Technion, tells me that he is “hiloni l’halutin“ (absolutely secular). Yet in the very next sentence he mentions that he is Shabbat observant, a position he came to as a “man of science” from his awareness of the perfection of the creation and multiplicity of forces that had to be aligned just so for human life to exist.
He even shares with me that after his divorce he wondered how he would ever find a wife: What secular woman would tolerate his Shabbat observance? What religious woman would tolerate his lack of observance in other areas? Yet three months later, he found such a woman, which he attributes to the merit of his Shabbat observance, and now their two children go to local religious schools.
On the way back from the interviews, someone from the morning class I attend gets on the bus. I see from the volume of Talmud that he is carrying that he is learning daf hayomi (the one-folio-a-day study of Talmud that takes over seven years to complete.) I ask him what number cycle this is for him, and he replies it’s his fourth. He adds that he never misses a day, even when traveling back and forth to America where he works half of each month as a neonatologist. Though we have attended the same class for some years, I would never have guessed either his level of commitment to learning or his discipline.
That evening as I’m going down the stairs from the ma’ariv (evening) prayers, a woman who lives upstairs is walking up the stairs to a Talmud class in the adjacent beit midrash. I jokingly remark that I did not know the class was now coed.
She tells me she is taking her phone to put by the teacher so that her husband, a tour guide, who is away with a tour group, can listen to the class. And then she adds with pride that he never misses listening to the class when he is away, no matter how rigorous the hiking that day.
Again, I’m astounded by the level of commitment of someone whom I have lived almost next door to for well over a decade.
Stories of respected people who turn out to have feet of clay are more likely to gain media attention. And they can leave one wondering whom one can really trust. But I’m convinced that with respect to most people, we would discover much more that is admirable if we did not fall prey to quick judgments and made more of an effort to really know them.
The Halacha permits a certain amount of exaggeration of the deceased’s good points in a eulogy. One of the leading commentators explains that limited exaggeration is permissible because it almost certainly reflects the truth, as the positive qualities of most people are at least partially hidden from others. Certainly, they are hidden from all those who do not meet their fellow human beings with curiosity, open ears and expecting to be surprised.
RABBI Jonathan (Yonoson) Rosenblum is the director, spokesperson, and founder of Jewish Media Resources, an organization which attempts to clarify journalists’ understanding of Haredi Jewish society. jonathanbrosenblum@gmail.com
02 February 2012
Does it Really Matter?
…Woops
Glenn Beck on The Blaze report:
Israel’s diplomatic and military correspondents got quite the surprise watching the live feed of the Senate Intelligence Committee when Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) revealed the head of the Mossad had made a secret visit to Washington earlier this week to hold talks with senior U.S. officials.
The item led the “Mabat” main newscast on Israel’s government-run network IBA on Tuesday evening and was the headline on Ha’aretz newspaper’s website.
The travels of Mossad Director Tamir Pardo are usually kept secret and in fact, the name of the head of the Mossad and Shin Bet [Israel’s version of the FBI] were up until a few years ago kept secret from the public.
“Yeah, that probably should not have been said. Geez,” Glenn said on radio.
Haaretz:
"The clandestine Washington visit was exposed during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which was participated by CIA Director David Petraeus, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate panel...."
Coincidence?
"News of the Mossad chief's reported Washington visit came as, also on Tuesday, President Shimon Peres said that Iran's "evil" leadership mustn't be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons capability."
Glenn Beck on The Blaze report:
Israel’s diplomatic and military correspondents got quite the surprise watching the live feed of the Senate Intelligence Committee when Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) revealed the head of the Mossad had made a secret visit to Washington earlier this week to hold talks with senior U.S. officials.
The item led the “Mabat” main newscast on Israel’s government-run network IBA on Tuesday evening and was the headline on Ha’aretz newspaper’s website.
The travels of Mossad Director Tamir Pardo are usually kept secret and in fact, the name of the head of the Mossad and Shin Bet [Israel’s version of the FBI] were up until a few years ago kept secret from the public.
“Yeah, that probably should not have been said. Geez,” Glenn said on radio.
Haaretz:
"The clandestine Washington visit was exposed during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which was participated by CIA Director David Petraeus, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate panel...."
Coincidence?
"News of the Mossad chief's reported Washington visit came as, also on Tuesday, President Shimon Peres said that Iran's "evil" leadership mustn't be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons capability."
26 January 2012
"GET" That Hackers!
HACKERS WERE DOING THEIR WORK, BUT A DIVINE INTERVENTION TOOK PLACE
'Hackers Fulfilled Divine Plan' on the Tarmac, American Says
A passenger on that flight, Naomi Feldman, told Arutz Sheva in an exclusive interview Thursday morning, “We were sitting there for at least three hours, but after a while, you start to wonder.”
For Feldman, however, it turned out well. “A friend needed my presence here to receive her Get (divorce contract) and I had been unable to arrange it due to my schedule. “'How can I manage without you?' she begged me, and I did not know what to say to her,” Feldman told Arutz Sheva. “Maybe I should thank these hackers for obeying Hashem's wishes – now I am sitting with her in Beis Din rabbinical court in Jerusalem.”
'Hackers Fulfilled Divine Plan' on the Tarmac, American Says
A passenger on that flight, Naomi Feldman, told Arutz Sheva in an exclusive interview Thursday morning, “We were sitting there for at least three hours, but after a while, you start to wonder.”
For Feldman, however, it turned out well. “A friend needed my presence here to receive her Get (divorce contract) and I had been unable to arrange it due to my schedule. “'How can I manage without you?' she begged me, and I did not know what to say to her,” Feldman told Arutz Sheva. “Maybe I should thank these hackers for obeying Hashem's wishes – now I am sitting with her in Beis Din rabbinical court in Jerusalem.”
Oh, My Gosh, What Have I Done?
Somehow I lost my layout.
Everything is messed up.
Don't know what to do now.
My links are gone.
A whole new challenge has entered my life.
What in the world am I going to do.
GOOGLE, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?
You and your "updated interface"
CLEAR WARNING ... WAKE UP AMERICAN JEWS
Once Again, Rabbi Brody has given us a clear warning. From his blog:
Rav Yehuda Zev Lebowitz of saintly and blessed memory was a Kabbalist and hidden tzaddik as well as a Holocaust survivor. Little is known of him, for he lived his life far away from spotlights. Yet, his word carried tremendous weight in the Heavenly realm. What many don't know is that he was one of Rav Shalom Arush's principle spiritual guides. Rav Yehuda Zev, a holy man with the eyes of a sonogram, could not stomach anything other than absolute holiness. Many big rabbis were therefore afraid to approach him, for he could smell if they were the real deal or not. He loved Rav Shalom. He didn't leave much in the physical world, but he bequeathed his tefillin to Rav Shalom.
Before he died, he told Rav Shalom three things, the first two of which have materialized:
1. Uprisings and infighting will sweep through the Arab countries;
2. Bibi will not be able to attack Iran; Hashem will use other means as He did with Sadaam Hussein.
I don't want to repeat the third thing that Rav Yehuda Zev said, for it hasn't materialized yet. But, I urge our cherished brothers and sisters outside of Israel to start praying and planning to make Aliya, the sooner the better.
Rav Yehuda Zev Lebowitz of saintly and blessed memory was a Kabbalist and hidden tzaddik as well as a Holocaust survivor. Little is known of him, for he lived his life far away from spotlights. Yet, his word carried tremendous weight in the Heavenly realm. What many don't know is that he was one of Rav Shalom Arush's principle spiritual guides. Rav Yehuda Zev, a holy man with the eyes of a sonogram, could not stomach anything other than absolute holiness. Many big rabbis were therefore afraid to approach him, for he could smell if they were the real deal or not. He loved Rav Shalom. He didn't leave much in the physical world, but he bequeathed his tefillin to Rav Shalom.
Before he died, he told Rav Shalom three things, the first two of which have materialized:
1. Uprisings and infighting will sweep through the Arab countries;
2. Bibi will not be able to attack Iran; Hashem will use other means as He did with Sadaam Hussein.
I don't want to repeat the third thing that Rav Yehuda Zev said, for it hasn't materialized yet. But, I urge our cherished brothers and sisters outside of Israel to start praying and planning to make Aliya, the sooner the better.
25 January 2012
GLENN BECK WARNS
New Prediction – Economic Collapse: 1st to Europe then to U.S. and the World
Glenn took time today to breakdown a new theory and prediction on what was facing the globe as economic conditions across the country continue to decline. Many will remember that last year Glenn predicted the Arab Spring would sweep the Middle East and Europe before leading to protests in the United States. He was right. Tonight on GBTV, he laid out what he predicts is coming next.
Last year when the protests started to erupt in Egypt, Glenn went on the record early and said the following:
1) Groups from the hardcore socialist left, and extreme Islam will work together because of the common enemy of Israel.
2) Groups from the hardcore socialist left and extreme Islam will work together because of the common enemy of capitalism.
3) Groups from the hardcore socialist left, and extreme Islam will work together to overturn relative stability, because in the status quo, they are both ostracized from power and the mainstream in most of the world.
He predicted that those protests would become contagious, cascade, sweep the Middle East, and begin to destabilize Europe and the rest of the world.
That sure sounds a lot like the Arab Spring and the Occupy Wall Street movement, doesn’t it?
Tonight, Glenn’s new theory was revealed.
Economic Collapse is coming. First to Europe, then to the U.S. and the rest of the world.
As a result:
1) The dollar will no longer be gold standard.
2) Civil War, unlike Civil War of the 1860s, will be fought in our inner cities led by radicals (anarchists, communists, revolutionaries, and Islamists)
3) This conflict will be fed and fueled by those in power in Washington D.C. and in our universities
4) Global War is coming
5) Radical Islamists and Communists will seek violence in our cities and on our border as they pour in from South America and Mexico to reclaim land
6) Farmers will be urged to farm collectively
7) Violence and famine will follow
As a result:
1) The dollar will no longer be gold standard.
2) Civil War, unlike Civil War of the 1860s, will be fought in our inner cities led by radicals (anarchists, communists, revolutionaries, and Islamists)
3) This conflict will be fed and fueled by those in power in Washington D.C. and in our universities
4) Global War is coming
5) Radical Islamists and Communists will seek violence in our cities and on our border as they pour in from South America and Mexico to reclaim land
6) Farmers will be urged to farm collectively
7) Violence and famine will follow
How will this happen?
Glenn explained by taking a look at war, collapse, hate, and government control already taking place in society and in the news across the world.
First, he discussed war and collapse:
Then he discussed hate growing in America and across the globe:
Finally, he discussed control:
Glenn will be sure to discuss these issues more over the next few days and weeks on GBTV. Stay tuned for more on this story.
24 January 2012
Stunning Pictures of Huge Sun Flare
A powerful solar eruption is expected to blast a stream of charged particles toward Earth tomorrow (Jan. 24), as the strongest radiation storm since 2005 rages on the sun.
CREDIT: NASA/SDO and the AIA Consortium/Edited by J. Major
Early this morning (0359 GMT Jan. 23, which corresponds to late Sunday, Jan. 22 at 10:59 p.m. EST), NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught an extreme ultraviolet flash from a huge eruption on the sun. About Sun Storms.
RADIATION STORM IN PROGRESS: Solar protons accelerated by this morning's M9-class solar flare are streaming past Earth. On the NOAA scale of radiation storms, this one ranks S3, which means it could, e.g., cause isolated reboots of computers onboard Earth-orbiting satellites and interfere with polar radio communications. An example of satellite effects: The "snow" in this SOHO coronagraph movie is caused by protons hitting the observatory's onboard camera.
"This was amazing," he says. "It was a wonderful experience to see these stunning auroras." For the next 24 hours, Earth's magnetic field reverberated from the impact, stirring bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. Bjørn Jørgensen observed this display from Tromsø, Norway:
NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% - 25% chance of continued geomagnetic storms tonight as effects from the CME impact subside. The odds will increase again on Jan. 24-25 as a new CME (from today's M9-clare) approaches Earth. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras.
Report Sources: Space Weather and Space.com
CREDIT: NASA/SDO and the AIA Consortium/Edited by J. Major
Early this morning (0359 GMT Jan. 23, which corresponds to late Sunday, Jan. 22 at 10:59 p.m. EST), NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught an extreme ultraviolet flash from a huge eruption on the sun. About Sun Storms.
RADIATION STORM IN PROGRESS: Solar protons accelerated by this morning's M9-class solar flare are streaming past Earth. On the NOAA scale of radiation storms, this one ranks S3, which means it could, e.g., cause isolated reboots of computers onboard Earth-orbiting satellites and interfere with polar radio communications. An example of satellite effects: The "snow" in this SOHO coronagraph movie is caused by protons hitting the observatory's onboard camera.
"This was amazing," he says. "It was a wonderful experience to see these stunning auroras." For the next 24 hours, Earth's magnetic field reverberated from the impact, stirring bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. Bjørn Jørgensen observed this display from Tromsø, Norway:
NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% - 25% chance of continued geomagnetic storms tonight as effects from the CME impact subside. The odds will increase again on Jan. 24-25 as a new CME (from today's M9-clare) approaches Earth. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras.
Report Sources: Space Weather and Space.com
22 January 2012
This Is The Future of The Children And The Nation
LET THE INGATHERING CONTINUE ...
Sephardic, Ashkenazi girls study together in harmony in Beit Yaakov School in Tel Zion.
"The community is located near the West Bank city of Ramallah. These days, while we often hear of discrimination against members of the Ethiopian community and of haredi institutions restricting the number of Sephardic students, a place where Sephardic and Ashkenazi girls study together in harmony is a real beacon of light.
"It's a beautiful ingathering of the exiles. There's no difference between one person and another. The words Sephardic and Ashkenazi have been erased from our lexicon ... The only parameter in admitting children to schools or kindergartens is their religious level," says Rabbi David Azoulay, chairman of the community committee.
"I feel like part of something historic in the haredi public, a real model of life together," ... "There is a very high spiritual and educational level here, as well as huge education value the girls receive because of the friendship and interaction."
"My daughters learn different customs, different cultures, play with girls who speak Yiddish. It's enriching and fruitful. I'm proud to be living in such a place."
AND ON THE SIDE OF THE DIVIDE
Seminary refuses to admit Sephardic girls
Kol Hai Radio on Sunday aired a recording of a principal of a haredi high school for girls in Beitar Illit, complaining about the number of Sephardic students he must deal with: "Not every year (…) absolutely not. Are you aware of the amount of Sephardic girls? I can't, I just can't," the principal is heard saying."
Sephardic, Ashkenazi girls study together in harmony in Beit Yaakov School in Tel Zion.
"The community is located near the West Bank city of Ramallah. These days, while we often hear of discrimination against members of the Ethiopian community and of haredi institutions restricting the number of Sephardic students, a place where Sephardic and Ashkenazi girls study together in harmony is a real beacon of light.
"It's a beautiful ingathering of the exiles. There's no difference between one person and another. The words Sephardic and Ashkenazi have been erased from our lexicon ... The only parameter in admitting children to schools or kindergartens is their religious level," says Rabbi David Azoulay, chairman of the community committee.
"I feel like part of something historic in the haredi public, a real model of life together," ... "There is a very high spiritual and educational level here, as well as huge education value the girls receive because of the friendship and interaction."
"My daughters learn different customs, different cultures, play with girls who speak Yiddish. It's enriching and fruitful. I'm proud to be living in such a place."
AND ON THE SIDE OF THE DIVIDE
Seminary refuses to admit Sephardic girls
Kol Hai Radio on Sunday aired a recording of a principal of a haredi high school for girls in Beitar Illit, complaining about the number of Sephardic students he must deal with: "Not every year (…) absolutely not. Are you aware of the amount of Sephardic girls? I can't, I just can't," the principal is heard saying."
17 January 2012
Can a Government Treason Itself?
Gush Katif was devastating
Arnona was deplorable
And now Migron!
Migron to Resemble Disengagement
I don't believe that they're (B & B) doing this again.
I hope MK Orlev leaves the coalition, and that others do the same because someone has to take a stand against these tragedies.
Unbelievable. We must protest against this, if only with words. That Jews are removing Jewish men, women and children from their homes in order to placate the Arabs! To contribute to the American President's reelection!
Can a government treason itself?
Treason: "a giving up, handing over, surrender, delivery, tradition”, “give up, hand over, deliver over, betray”
Is not the Israeli Government acting in collusion with the those that want to 'push us Jews into the sea'?
Collusion: A secret agreement for an illegal purpose; conspiracy.
ArutzSheva: "Netanyahu Blocks 'Migron Bill'
MK Orlev thinks Prime Minister decided to postpone vote legalizing outpost because it has a majority.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu instructed the Ministerial Committee for Legislation not to vote Sunday on a bill that would prevent the demolition of outposts. The bill is known as the Outpost Authorization Bill or the Migron Bill – because its early passage would prevent the demolition of that outpost, scheduled to take place by March.
MK Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home), who sponsored the bill, told Arutz Sheva that Netanyahu apparently knows that the bill has the support of a majority of the committee's members, and therefore wants to avoid a vote.
Orlev repeated previous warnings – by him and the other members of the Jewish Home – that they intend to leave the coalition if Migron is razed. Such a move would "send shockwaves through the coalition," he said. While the Jewish Home faction is only made up of three MKs, if they bolt the coalition, a domino effect could cause other MKs to rebel, including some Likud MKs who oppose the Migron demolition."
Arnona was deplorable
And now Migron!
Migron to Resemble Disengagement
I don't believe that they're (B & B) doing this again.
I hope MK Orlev leaves the coalition, and that others do the same because someone has to take a stand against these tragedies.
Unbelievable. We must protest against this, if only with words. That Jews are removing Jewish men, women and children from their homes in order to placate the Arabs! To contribute to the American President's reelection!
Can a government treason itself?
Treason: "a giving up, handing over, surrender, delivery, tradition”, “give up, hand over, deliver over, betray”
Is not the Israeli Government acting in collusion with the those that want to 'push us Jews into the sea'?
Collusion: A secret agreement for an illegal purpose; conspiracy.
ArutzSheva: "Netanyahu Blocks 'Migron Bill'
MK Orlev thinks Prime Minister decided to postpone vote legalizing outpost because it has a majority.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu instructed the Ministerial Committee for Legislation not to vote Sunday on a bill that would prevent the demolition of outposts. The bill is known as the Outpost Authorization Bill or the Migron Bill – because its early passage would prevent the demolition of that outpost, scheduled to take place by March.
MK Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home), who sponsored the bill, told Arutz Sheva that Netanyahu apparently knows that the bill has the support of a majority of the committee's members, and therefore wants to avoid a vote.
Orlev repeated previous warnings – by him and the other members of the Jewish Home – that they intend to leave the coalition if Migron is razed. Such a move would "send shockwaves through the coalition," he said. While the Jewish Home faction is only made up of three MKs, if they bolt the coalition, a domino effect could cause other MKs to rebel, including some Likud MKs who oppose the Migron demolition."
Infighting the Ingathering
Infighting the Ingathering
The Sikrikim, money laundering, violence in the name of tsnius, turf wars, the evoking of WWII images, demeaning the elderly sages, is all together a symptom of a slow internal disintegration ... but only to make way for an increased Ingathering.
The imminent Geula will hopefully bring many Jews back to our homeland from far and distant lands. They may look different and may have differing customs and way of dressing. What will be needed if and when this takes place is tolerance and compassion to enable these remnants of our wandering family to integrate into the larger community of Jews already living here on our Land.
The Sikrikim are a force from the other side who spiritually oppose the completion of the Ingathering begun since the 50's. The ideology of opposing the Geula is a repetition of the Miraglim (leaders) who opposed the newly formed nation of Jews from entering the Land at G-d's invitation.
The repeat of these ancient forces must occur so that all of Am Yisrael in fulfillment of the laws of Teshuva (in the same situation but not doing the same aveira) will be countering this opposing force. This may be the meaning of "all Am Yisrael will do teshuva in the end of days." Of course, the basic Halachos will need to be in effect; but when the neshoma is awakened via the Shechina it will happen out of love and awe.
Unfortunately:
"During Hanukkah the Belzer Rebbe made a statement (with officials in attendance) against violence, “If there are those among us who believe they will spread the light of Yiddishkheit through violence, they are mistaken.” Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, one of the two Satmar rebbes, responded at a fundraising dinner held for his institutions by condemning the Belzer Rebbe's words and endorsing violence, says Ladaat here with a verbal recording of the Belzer Rebbe's words here and Rabbi Zalman's words here.
Interesting Update: The gabbei of Belzer Rebbe, R’ Shimon Wolf Klein and a delegation of ten Belzer dayanim from all over the world paid a visit today to the kever of the Satmar Rebbe, R’ Yoel, zt’l, in Kiryas Joel, and asked for mechila from the Satmar Rebbe in the name of the Belzer Rebbe. Belz/Satmar Reconciliation.
However, this 'gang' and their source of support is being scrutinized by the legal authorities of the State of Israel.
This source of funds is coming from Chutz L'Aretz. But we see that the World's economy is teetering on a precipice of Divine origin. Nothing is coincidence. The financial support of Sikrikim is slowly dwindling, as the greater economy is squeezing people into submission to a socialist lifestyle.
The Sikrikim, money laundering, violence in the name of tsnius, turf wars, the evoking of WWII images, demeaning the elderly sages, is all together a symptom of a slow internal disintegration ... but only to make way for an increased Ingathering.
The imminent Geula will hopefully bring many Jews back to our homeland from far and distant lands. They may look different and may have differing customs and way of dressing. What will be needed if and when this takes place is tolerance and compassion to enable these remnants of our wandering family to integrate into the larger community of Jews already living here on our Land.
The Sikrikim are a force from the other side who spiritually oppose the completion of the Ingathering begun since the 50's. The ideology of opposing the Geula is a repetition of the Miraglim (leaders) who opposed the newly formed nation of Jews from entering the Land at G-d's invitation.
The repeat of these ancient forces must occur so that all of Am Yisrael in fulfillment of the laws of Teshuva (in the same situation but not doing the same aveira) will be countering this opposing force. This may be the meaning of "all Am Yisrael will do teshuva in the end of days." Of course, the basic Halachos will need to be in effect; but when the neshoma is awakened via the Shechina it will happen out of love and awe.
Unfortunately:
"During Hanukkah the Belzer Rebbe made a statement (with officials in attendance) against violence, “If there are those among us who believe they will spread the light of Yiddishkheit through violence, they are mistaken.” Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, one of the two Satmar rebbes, responded at a fundraising dinner held for his institutions by condemning the Belzer Rebbe's words and endorsing violence, says Ladaat here with a verbal recording of the Belzer Rebbe's words here and Rabbi Zalman's words here.
Interesting Update: The gabbei of Belzer Rebbe, R’ Shimon Wolf Klein and a delegation of ten Belzer dayanim from all over the world paid a visit today to the kever of the Satmar Rebbe, R’ Yoel, zt’l, in Kiryas Joel, and asked for mechila from the Satmar Rebbe in the name of the Belzer Rebbe. Belz/Satmar Reconciliation.
However, this 'gang' and their source of support is being scrutinized by the legal authorities of the State of Israel.
This source of funds is coming from Chutz L'Aretz. But we see that the World's economy is teetering on a precipice of Divine origin. Nothing is coincidence. The financial support of Sikrikim is slowly dwindling, as the greater economy is squeezing people into submission to a socialist lifestyle.
Because of this he American Yidden also will be squeezed slowly into an intolerable position, causing more who are able to flee these constraints. However, new laws enacted by the American Government do not allow Americans to transfer large amounts of funds into a foreign bank account. So what does one do if he sells his home and wants to take the cash with him to Israel, to buy a home? I don't know how this will affect Aliya to Israel, or how this affects tzedaka organizations that send money to Israel? How is it being done?
The following I read on one of the Geula mailings I receive from Rabbi Pinchas Winston Shlit"a: "Someone living in Eretz Yisroel, formerly from the States, wished to transfer his money from US funds into Israeli currency, by purchasing BOI bonds (not Israeli bonds). He was told that he was not eligible to do so, and had President Obama to thank for that - a limitation on his ability to spend US Dollars abroad was new and chilling." For world financial updates visit Zero Hedge. For more on Geula from Rabbi Winston, visit ShaarNun Productions.
Further prodding into the Ingathering.
This tension between Eretz Yisrael and Chutz L'Aretz will continue. The Golus Edom must cease in it's power and the Geula must proceed, so say the Prophets of HaShem. We are and have been witnessing these struggles for many years. There is slow but definitive progress. What was just a topic among few 20 and 10 years ago has now become common knowledge among many, and a daily scruitiny by others. Some are even counting the days. Geula update.
Baruch HaShem
The following I read on one of the Geula mailings I receive from Rabbi Pinchas Winston Shlit"a: "Someone living in Eretz Yisroel, formerly from the States, wished to transfer his money from US funds into Israeli currency, by purchasing BOI bonds (not Israeli bonds). He was told that he was not eligible to do so, and had President Obama to thank for that - a limitation on his ability to spend US Dollars abroad was new and chilling." For world financial updates visit Zero Hedge. For more on Geula from Rabbi Winston, visit ShaarNun Productions.
Further prodding into the Ingathering.
This tension between Eretz Yisrael and Chutz L'Aretz will continue. The Golus Edom must cease in it's power and the Geula must proceed, so say the Prophets of HaShem. We are and have been witnessing these struggles for many years. There is slow but definitive progress. What was just a topic among few 20 and 10 years ago has now become common knowledge among many, and a daily scruitiny by others. Some are even counting the days. Geula update.
Baruch HaShem
15 January 2012
Today is the Rambam's Yahrtzeit
Want to know Moshiach's job description?
And his qualifications for the job?
Open up Chapter 11 in Rambam's Laws of Kings.
There you will find the ONLY laws ever written about who Moshiach is and what he has to do.
Today, Sunday, the 20th Teves, is the Rambam's yahrtzeit. Please join the Ladies of Crown Heights in a farbrengan about the Laws of Kings.
Call: 605.475.6350
Or go to Greet Moshiach and click on 'Live Class' in upper right corner.
And his qualifications for the job?
Open up Chapter 11 in Rambam's Laws of Kings.
There you will find the ONLY laws ever written about who Moshiach is and what he has to do.
Today, Sunday, the 20th Teves, is the Rambam's yahrtzeit. Please join the Ladies of Crown Heights in a farbrengan about the Laws of Kings.
Call: 605.475.6350
Or go to Greet Moshiach and click on 'Live Class' in upper right corner.
12 January 2012
Google Gets 'Personal' ... Official Evesdroppers
Google Search Undergoes ‘Most Radical Transformation Ever’
or is this Evesdropping? A Rose by any other name is still a Rose.
"In a change that’s been called the “most radical transformation ever” to Google’s search engine, the Mountain View, California, company on Tuesday announced an update called “Search, plus Your World,” which causes Google’s robots to incorporate data from its social network as well as the public Internet when delivering search results to people.
“Search is pretty amazing at finding that one needle in a haystack of billions of Web pages, images, videos, news and much more,”Google said in a blog post on Tuesday morning.
“But clearly, that isn’t enough. You should also be able to find your own stuff on the Web, the people you know and things they’ve shared with you, as well as the people you don’t know but might want to … all from one search box.”
The company added: “Search is simply better with your world in it.”
"On the prominent blog Search Engine Land, Danny Sullivan writes that the updates fundamentally change the way Google’s search engine functions, calling it the “most radical” change ever.
“The new system will perhaps make life much easier for some people, allowing them to find both privately shared content from friends and family plus material from across the Web through a single search, rather than having to search twice using two different systems,” he writes.
“However, Search Plus Your World may cause some privacy worries, as private content may appear as if it is exposed publicly (it is not). It might also cause concern by making private content more visible to friends and family than those sharing may have initially intended.”
Read more here
From GLENN BECK's The Blaze, the details:
"The Electronic Privacy Information Center is saying it may file a letter of complaint to the Federal Trade Commission because, although the new search function allows users to opt out of having personal information show up in their results, it doens’t give users the ability to “opt out of having their information found through Google search” by others.
"The LA Times blog has more from EPIC’s Executive Director Marc Rotenberg:
“Google is an entrenched player trying to fight off its challenger Facebook by using its market dominance in a separate sector,” Rotenberg said. “I think that should trouble people.” Critics also say the move raises alarm bells for consumer privacy. “Although data from a user’s Google+ contacts is not displayed publicly, Google’s changes make the personal data of users more accessible,” EPIC said in a note on his website.
The Blaze has pictures showing it works or doesnt work here
And another "COINCIDENCE' Homeland security says it will monitor social media. Glenn compares their new strategies to Italy's latest fascist trends (not 'fashion' but fascist)!
?CONTROVERSIAL SITES?
Homeland Security's eye are on, to name a few:
"These include social networking sites Facebook and My Space - though there is a parenthetical notice that My Space only affords a "limited search" capability - and more than a dozen sites that monitor, aggregate and enable searches of Twitter messages and exchanges.
"Among blogs and aggregators on the list are ABC News' investigative blog "The Blotter;" blogs that cover bird flu; several blogs related to news and activity along U.S. borders (DHS runs border and immigration agencies); blogs that cover drug trafficking and cybercrime; and websites that follow wildfires in Los Angeles and hurricanes.
"News and gossip sites on the monitoring list include popular destinations such as the Drudge Report, Huffington Post and "NY Times Lede Blog", as well as more focused techie fare such as the Wired blogs "Threat Level" and "Danger Room." Numerous blogs related to terrorism and security are also on the list."
Continue reading HERE
or is this Evesdropping? A Rose by any other name is still a Rose.
"In a change that’s been called the “most radical transformation ever” to Google’s search engine, the Mountain View, California, company on Tuesday announced an update called “Search, plus Your World,” which causes Google’s robots to incorporate data from its social network as well as the public Internet when delivering search results to people.
“Search is pretty amazing at finding that one needle in a haystack of billions of Web pages, images, videos, news and much more,”Google said in a blog post on Tuesday morning.
“But clearly, that isn’t enough. You should also be able to find your own stuff on the Web, the people you know and things they’ve shared with you, as well as the people you don’t know but might want to … all from one search box.”
The company added: “Search is simply better with your world in it.”
"On the prominent blog Search Engine Land, Danny Sullivan writes that the updates fundamentally change the way Google’s search engine functions, calling it the “most radical” change ever.
“The new system will perhaps make life much easier for some people, allowing them to find both privately shared content from friends and family plus material from across the Web through a single search, rather than having to search twice using two different systems,” he writes.
“However, Search Plus Your World may cause some privacy worries, as private content may appear as if it is exposed publicly (it is not). It might also cause concern by making private content more visible to friends and family than those sharing may have initially intended.”
Read more here
From GLENN BECK's The Blaze, the details:
"The Electronic Privacy Information Center is saying it may file a letter of complaint to the Federal Trade Commission because, although the new search function allows users to opt out of having personal information show up in their results, it doens’t give users the ability to “opt out of having their information found through Google search” by others.
"The LA Times blog has more from EPIC’s Executive Director Marc Rotenberg:
“Google is an entrenched player trying to fight off its challenger Facebook by using its market dominance in a separate sector,” Rotenberg said. “I think that should trouble people.” Critics also say the move raises alarm bells for consumer privacy. “Although data from a user’s Google+ contacts is not displayed publicly, Google’s changes make the personal data of users more accessible,” EPIC said in a note on his website.
The Blaze has pictures showing it works or doesnt work here
And another "COINCIDENCE' Homeland security says it will monitor social media. Glenn compares their new strategies to Italy's latest fascist trends (not 'fashion' but fascist)!
?CONTROVERSIAL SITES?
Homeland Security's eye are on, to name a few:
"These include social networking sites Facebook and My Space - though there is a parenthetical notice that My Space only affords a "limited search" capability - and more than a dozen sites that monitor, aggregate and enable searches of Twitter messages and exchanges.
"Among blogs and aggregators on the list are ABC News' investigative blog "The Blotter;" blogs that cover bird flu; several blogs related to news and activity along U.S. borders (DHS runs border and immigration agencies); blogs that cover drug trafficking and cybercrime; and websites that follow wildfires in Los Angeles and hurricanes.
"News and gossip sites on the monitoring list include popular destinations such as the Drudge Report, Huffington Post and "NY Times Lede Blog", as well as more focused techie fare such as the Wired blogs "Threat Level" and "Danger Room." Numerous blogs related to terrorism and security are also on the list."Continue reading HERE
11 January 2012
A Story About Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv Shlit"A
A Very Very Long Yated Story by Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz, Editor, The Yated
But Very Very Interesting
Yisgadeil Veyiskadeish Shemei Rabboh
The story is told of a woman who was married for sixteen years and had not been blessed with children. Pain and loneliness were her daily companions. She begged her father, a great tzaddik, and her husband, an illustrioustalmid chochom, to daven along with her, but the wait continued.
One day, a little over one hundred years ago, before the advent of washing machines and dryers, she spent several hours washing the family’s clothing. When that task was finally completed, as was her habit every week, she hung up the freshly-cleaned laundry in the courtyard she shared with other families. A neighbor, for some unknown reason, became upset at the sight of the hanging clothing, flew into a rage, and ran inside her home to get a scissors. She returned and cut both ends of the rope, sending all the clean clothing into the mud, ruining hours of hard work.
The housewife was upset and burst into tears. She hurried into the privacy of her home and gave vent to her distress there, weeping in solitude. Then she went and engaged in the long process all over again, this time hanging her laundry to dry in a neighboring courtyard.
That evening, the offending neighbor came to the house crying, begging forgiveness. “I don’t know what came over me. I am so sorry. Please be mochel me. Plus, I already got my punishment. My son is sick, burning up with fever.”
The woman forgave her and wished her son a refuah sheleimah. The story is told in many different versions, but the way I heard it, upon hearing the commotion, the woman’s father looked up from his learning and asked what had transpired.
With much emotion, she related the story. She explained that the cruel actions of her neighbor had been too much for her to handle in her already fragile state and she couldn’t calm down. But rather than react with angry words to her neighbor, she went inside her home to express her pain in private. She told him how she then went and redid the laundry, without making a machlokes or telling anyone.
“The fact that you didn’t respond to her and prevented this from becoming a fight,” said the father, “will be the merit you need to be helped. Your great deed will grant you a child who will be great.”
One year later, a son was born.
The zaide was the author of the classic sefer, Leshem Shevo Ve’achlama, Rav Shlomo Elyashiv. The baby who was born was Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. (His father adopted the family name of his wife when they sought certificates to leave Lithuania to British-controlled Palestine.)There is a message here for us. Beneath the surface understanding of the story lies a reminder that our own revered gadol hador was a gift to the generation brought about by the middah of vatronus, by a chastened woman remaining calm and peaceful.
Devorim gedolim einam bemikreh. Rav Elyashiv would become a son-in-law of Rav Aryeh Levine, arebbe in how to treat others and in appreciating the worth and dignity of every person.
The Medrash (Bereishis Rabbah 8:5) states that when Hashem created the world, there was a commotion. “Shalom” objected to the creation of the world, for shalom said that the world would contain arguments and conflicts. Hashem quieted the complaints by throwing “emes” into the world, as the posuk states (Doniel 8:12), “Vatishlach emes artzoh.”
The simple explanation is that once emes, truth, was given to the world, people wouldn’t fight. Hostility is caused when people cannot unite and each one dishonestly attempts to promote his cause. Once truth became an integer of the world, people would be able to work together for the truth.
However, the Maharal (Nesivos Olam, Nesiv Emes 3) explains that the giving of the Torah is what caused shalom to give up its opposition to creation. Man is beset with dispute only when he is without Torah. Torah causes him to be peaceful, as the posuk states, “Derocheha darchei noam vechol nesivoseha shalom.” Furthermore, the Gemara (Brachos 64a) says, “Talmidei chachomim marbim shalom ba’olam.” The proper way to explain the Medrash is that when Torah was given to the world, shalom ceased to oppose its creation.
Yaakov Avinu, the embodiment of Torah, was motivated by emes and shalom. His brother Eisav, who lived by the sword, as the posuk states, “Ve’al charbecha tichyeh,” was the antithesis of those middos of Yaakov. One who lives by the sword isn’t confident in his ability to win arguments. He is dishonest and his arguments are weak and fictitious, so he is forced to rule through violence and terror. People are subservient to him because they fear him, not because they believe him to be correct in his actions or in his beliefs.
That is the definition of Yaakov’s admonition to Shimon and Levi as he parted from them in this week’s parsha. Yaakov refers to the way they chose to avenge what was done to their sister Dinah as “klei chomos.” Rashi explains that the means employed by Shimon and Levi are not the implements of the children of Yaakov. They are stolen from Eisav. The Bnei Yisroel do not engage in violent disputes, and when and if they do, they have to know that they have adopted the methods of Eisav and his disciples.
Jews don’t hit. Jews don’t shout. Nor do they spit or react with violence and anger.
The tools we possess are respect, acceptance and equanimity, laced with the confidence that comes from living in accordance with the perfect harmony of halacha. We know who we are and what we stand for, and we know that in order to influence others, we need to work with them to make a difference. Shouting louder doesn’t make us more audible; using physical threats or violence only makes us weaker.
When we hear about beatings and threats, we must protest. We need to acknowledge the problem and reaffirm our own commitment to following the paths of our grandparents and rabbeim, who taught us not just by what they said, but by how they lived and conducted themselves. Chazal cite the hallmarks of talmidim of Avrohom Avinu. They are rachmonim, bayshonim and gomlei chassodim. We, who consider ourselves to be in the category of Avrohom’s pupils, must test ourselves by that qualifier. To the degree those adjectives apply to us, we are bnei Avrohom.
Respect was their hallmark. Like the Rambam teaches us in Hilchos Talmud Torah, they addressed every human beingwith calmness, tranquility and humility. The sifrei mussar are replete with admonitions of how Torah people are supposed to conduct themselves - with humility, kindness and empathy.
The Ponovezher Rov famously retold how, while undergoing medical treatment in an American hospital, he met a secular Jewish doctor. Speaking with him, the Rov discovered that he had learned in Lithuanian yeshivos in his youth, and although he wasn’t observant, he still maintained respect for Torah and its scholars.
The Rov observed that the man had lost all connection to Yiddishkeit.
“The only reason that I don’t officially convert and go to church,” the doctor confided, “is because the kapote (coat or jacket) of the Chofetz Chaim doesn’t allow me to.”
The Rov, a talmid of the Chofetz Chaim, looked at the doctor with curiosity, wondering what he meant. The old doctor explained that, when he was a child, his parents sent him to learn in the yeshiva of Radin.
When he arrived, he joined the line of new bochurim at the humble home of the Chofetz Chaim, waiting to introduce himself and receive instructions regarding where he would be lodging. His journey had been lengthy and exhausting, and, as he waited there, he was overcome by fatigue. He sat down on the floor and, within moments, was fast asleep.
He barely felt hands lifting him and carrying him to a bed, but when he awoke late that night, he realized that the host himself, the great tzaddik, had carried him to a bed and covered him with his own kapote. The Chofetz Chaim himself was sitting and learning in his shirt-sleeves.
The compassion and simplicity of the Chofetz Chaim affected this doctor profoundly, and even through the decades and continents, a warm glow remained. It was that inspiration that prevented him from leaving Judaism completely.
That respect - respect for everyone - is intrinsic to the make-up of the Torah Jew. This is because respect isn’t a public relations gimmick that Torah Jews use. It isn’t a broad smile and pleasant greeting in order to win friends and influence people. Respect is a part of our spiritual DNA, a legacy from our forefather Avrohom Avinu who welcomed visitors into his home, even if he opposed the choices they had made.
Atalmid sat in the back seat of a taxi along with his rosh yeshiva, Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, discussing a sugya.
They were going back and forth with spirit and energy, when, suddenly, Rav Moshe Shmuel stopped him. The rosh yeshiva scanned the identification card hanging near the driver’s seat, looking for the driver’s name.
“Let us continue the conversation in Hebrew, rather than Yiddish, so that Arik, in the front, can also enjoy and partake,” said Rav Moshe Shmuel.
The stereotypical Israeli taxi driver didn’t understand the rest of the conversation, but he got the message most important to him: he was a person too, and he was deserving of recognition and respect.
And yes, that same respect and empathy afforded to adults is meant to be displayed to children as well.
In a Yated interview, Rav Reuvein Feinstein related a story about his father, Rav Moshe Feinstein. The Feinsteins would spend some time each summer in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. Rav Moshe was friendly with a shochet, Rav Berman, who lived there.
During the time the family was in Hartford, a relative of the Bermans, a yeshiva bochur, came to stay with them. The bochur took advantage of the opportunity of being in the presence of Rav Moshe to observe him and try to learn from his conduct.
The bochur observed how Rav Moshe, the tremendous masmid, would wake up every day at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning and begin learning. Then, at about 6 o’clock, a little girl entered his room. To his astonishment, the bochur witnessed how Rav Moshe got up from his table and started playing ball with the little girl.
Intrigued, the yeshiva bochur revealed himself and asked the gadol hador if he was perhaps related to the girl and why he deemed it necessary to interrupt his learning to play ball with her.
Rav Moshe, demonstrating the wisdom and sensitivity that characterized his middos and hanhagah, replied, “Until I came here, she was the gantze macherke. She was the one who garnered everyone’s attention. When I arrived, I stole the focus and attention from her and I therefore owe her something. I must repay her by, at the very least, spending some time playing with her!”
In the timeless brachos of Yaakov Avinu, he faced his beloved sons and analyzed their kochos and character traits. The message he imparted would guide not only his immediate family, but his descendants, for thousands of years. His words are a beacon of light to us today as well. He cursed the anger of Shimon and Levi, stating, “Ki be’apam hargu ish, uveretzonam ikru shor.” No one doubted their sincerity and that their actions were lesheim Shomayim, fueled by the most righteous of calculations. Yet, their father cursed the middah that had generated such results.
The Maskilim who had been battling traditional Judaism for years, saw Zionism as a vehicle with which to continue their war. The Maskilim effectively used the new movement to battle religion.
What is transpiring today in Eretz Yisroel must be understood as another chapter in that ongoing, awful, century-long tug-of-war.
We should not allow ourselves to be drawn into the cauldron or be lectured by the ideological heirs of those early Maskilim who did everything in their power to vilify Torah, gedolei Torah and Yiddishkeit.
They were quick to discover the power of the media and propagandized regularly against the religious community. Nothing was beneath them. They lobbied to have rabbonim sidelined and at times jailed. They sought to have chadorim made illegal and to delist melamdim, who they demeaned and accused of kol dovor assur. They vilified botei din and attempted to have them banned as well. They also lobbied the authorities, claiming that rabbonim used seforim to encourage anti-government and anti-social activities, and sought to have them made illegal.
Everything the Israeli media and those in power engage in today is taken from their destructive playbook and must be viewed in that context in order to understand the extreme media focus on the goings-on in the religious community.
Dealing with people with respect means recognizing the value that people place on symbols, places and memories, and reflecting on how one’s actions can impact others. The brutality of Israeli police is well documented. Regrettably, discrimination against chareidim is a bitter fact of life in the Holy Land. However, to compare such conduct to that of the Nazis is insensitive and insulting. To use images that have haunted our people for seven decades as a propaganda tool is cynical manipulation. It is disrespectful to those who truly suffered. Trivializing Jewish pain and suffering for a cheap photo-op gimmick is foolish and wrong.
Too many people who were hurt by the Nazis are grieving. Too many people who suffered are pained as they relive the horrors that they - and our people as a whole -endured. Just decades ago, millions of Jews were rounded up, maimed, beaten, and destroyed financially, mentally, and of course physically. Jewish life as it had existed for hundreds of years was upended. There were millions of karbanos, most of them in the Olam Ha’emes, but many with us, everywhere.
For people to lower themselves in an attempt to further multiple agendas is callous. For us to remain silent in the face of actions timed and staged to make waves at a sensitive time in front of the world media would be to condone senseless insensitivity.
As descendants of the avos, who taught the world sensitivity, and as talmidim, children and grandchildren of great people whose lives embodied nobility of spirit and empathy, we have a mandate to always act with consideration and responsibility.
Rav Yisroel Salanter caused a revolution amongst Klal Yisroel with the emphasis he introduced on the study of mussar in yeshivos. He sought not only to bring about the study of classic sifrei yirah which had been neglected, but also to infuse the Jewish people with recognition of the need to improve the way they deal with each other, the way they speak, and the way they conduct themselves. The mussar he preached was not only about how a Jew relates to Hashem, but also how he relates to his fellow man.
Rav Yisroel taught a generation how to act and how to conduct itself. He also fought the Maskilim bitterly. He was from the first of a long line of gedolim who advocated establishing newspapers to combat the negative influences of those determined to besmirch Torah. He taught the young how to communicate and how to present themselves, with kindness and sophistication. With gaonus in Torah and middos, he was a leader in preserving the Torah nation.
Because, even when the situation calls for change or retribution, anger is not the means with which to achieve it. It requires one steeped in Torah and mussar to lead the charge. When one needs to influence or chastise another, he can learn from the Master of the Universe: “Ess asher ye’ehav Hashem yochiach.” Hashem rebukes those He loves. His messages are laced with compassion and concern.
When the Chazon Ish famously agreed to speak to David Ben-Gurion, two Jews at the polar opposites of the spectrum met. One represented the holy mesorah of Pumpedisa and Sura, while the other proudly dreamt of the Maskilim’s vision of the “new Jew.” The Chazon Ish brilliantly rebuffed the arguments of the politician. He made it clear, with the ferocity of a mother lion protecting her young, that the Olam HaTorah was untouchable and that his “army” wasn’t impressed by the military might of Ben-Gurion. Yet, he spoke calmly, with warmth and a begrudging respect. As he explained, “In between each ‘frask,’ each ideological blow I dealt him, I felt like I had to give him a ‘glett,’ a stroke on the cheek.”
As fierce as the battle he waged was, the Chazon Ish knew thatne’imus, pleasantness, is proper and more effective.
In all the reporting and coverage of what has been transpiring, the entire religious community has been tarred with the same brush and portrayed as crazed anti-social Neanderthals.
The hundreds of thousands of fine, ehrliche, decent frum people who humbly and quietly go about their peaceful lives, living as the generations before them did, are ignored. They are given no voice in a hostile media engaged in a Kulturkampf, on a mission to portray us all as fanaticized Taliban weirdoes.
While the reaction of Torah leaders such as Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman, Rav Ovadia Yosef and the Belzer Rebbe; political leaders such as Moshe Gafni, Yisroel Eichler and Aryeh Deri; organizations such as Agudas Yisroel, the Orthodox Union and the RCA; and so many others are completely ignored, religious and secular self-righteous opportunists rush to the microphones to promote themselves and their agendas.
Perhaps this Shabbos, when thebaal kriah reads the posuk of “Arur apam - Cursed is their anger,” we will reinforce the time-honored ways of our people and proclaim its lessons to ourselves and our children in a way that no one can deny in accusatory fashion.
When we hear how“birtzonam ikru shor,”we will reinforce our behavior so that no one can infer that the posuk refers to us.
The pesukim will remind us not to sit by apathetically, in oblivion and silence, in the face of outrageous behavior that can be taken as a form of ratzon, compliance and acceptance of the situation. Wanton voices that shout viciously and angrily, with all the associated bad middos, should not be permitted to achieve their goals, besmirching an entire community.
This week, as we lain the parsha, we will be proclaiming that we speak with the authentic Jewish voice, the one that expresses itself with warmth and calmness to friends, neighbors and people we meet on the street.
We daven that our wayward brothers, who have been led astray and brought up to hate, will be able to take this message to heart. We hope that the truth will prevail, the good of the many, recognized; and the aberrations of the few, acknowledged for what it is.
We daven that our feet will tread back to the way of “deracheha darchei noam” and once again find the path of “chol nesivoseha shalom.”
And then, perhaps, we will heal a fragmented people, united, with our differences, like the twelve sons around Yaakov Avinu’s death-bed, who cried out, as one, “Shema Yisroel.”
Chazal derive from the posuk in Shema, “Ve’ohavta eis Hashem Elokecha,”that we should endeavor to cause the name of Hashem to be loved - “shetehei Sheim Shomayim misaheiv al yodcha.”When viewing the actions of bnei Torah, people should say, “Kamah na’eh ma’aseihem. How pleasant are the ways of the people who adhere to Torah.” Upon contemplation of religious people, the hearts of those removed from Torah should be opened to learn, appreciate and accept a life of Torah.
The most emotional parts of davening are Shema and Kaddish, when we proclaim, “Yisgadeil veyiskadeish shemei rabboh,” that the Name of Hashem should be made great and holy.
May we merit to see that transpire in our day, when the entirety of Am Yisroel will be awakened to the truth, the emes and the shalom with which the world was created.
10 January 2012
ALL EYES ON STRAIT OF HORMUZ
DEBKAfile's military sources report a buildup in the last 48 hours of western naval forces opposite Iran in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea in readiness for Tehran to carry out its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.
Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kutznetsov in Syrian port
US, Russian French and British air and naval forces streamed to the Syrian and Iranian coasts over the weekend on guard for fresh developments at the two Middle East flashpoints.
The Russian carrier Admiral Kuznetsov anchored earlier than planned at Syria's Tartus port on the Mediterranean Sunday, Jan. 8, arriving together with the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and frigate Yaroslav Mudry.
To counter this movement, France consigned an air defense destroyer Forbin to the waters off Tartus.
Shirat Devorah informs us that The Australian reports that Israel ... In preparation: "is preparing to shut its nuclear reactor at Dimona, where it makes nuclear weapons, because of the site's vulnerability in a war with Iran."
BAHRAIN Manama - Iran is a common threat to Bahrain, Israel and the US, the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa was quoted as saying by a Jewish official on Sunday. "Rabbi Marc Schneier, vice president of the World Jewish Congress, said the king told him he was alarmed by the Islamic Republic during a 45-minute meeting held in the capital city of Manama late last month."
"He said it was imperative to hold talks between Jews and Muslims now because the perfect conditions to conduct such a conversation would never arise. “Whether we chose to have it [in Bahrain] or not you can’t wait,” he said. “It’s a genuine sincere effort to expand Muslim-Jewish dialogue.”
HAARETZ: Israel is preparing for an Iran with nuclear capabilities within the next 12 months, according to a report by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), an Israeli think tank. The U.K. daily Times newspaper published extracts of the report by the Tel Aviv University institute on Monday, according to an AFP report.
DEBKA "As quoted by the London Times Monday, Jan. 1, INSS experts, headed by Gen. (ret.) Giora Eiland, a former head of Israel's National Security Council, deduced from a simulation study they staged last week that. Their conclusion is that neither the US nor Israel will use force to stop Iran's first nuclear test which they predicted would take place in January 2013. Our Iranian sources stress, however, that Tehran does not intend to wait for the next swearing-in of a US president in January 2013, whether Barack Obama is returned for a second term or replaced by a Republican figure, before moving on to a nuclear test. Iran's Islamist rulers have come to the conclusion from the Bush and Obama presidencies that America is a paper tiger and sure to shrink from attacking their nuclear program – especially while the West is sunk in profound economic distress."
Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kutznetsov in Syrian port
US, Russian French and British air and naval forces streamed to the Syrian and Iranian coasts over the weekend on guard for fresh developments at the two Middle East flashpoints.
The Russian carrier Admiral Kuznetsov anchored earlier than planned at Syria's Tartus port on the Mediterranean Sunday, Jan. 8, arriving together with the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and frigate Yaroslav Mudry.
To counter this movement, France consigned an air defense destroyer Forbin to the waters off Tartus.
Shirat Devorah informs us that The Australian reports that Israel ... In preparation: "is preparing to shut its nuclear reactor at Dimona, where it makes nuclear weapons, because of the site's vulnerability in a war with Iran."
BAHRAIN Manama - Iran is a common threat to Bahrain, Israel and the US, the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa was quoted as saying by a Jewish official on Sunday. "Rabbi Marc Schneier, vice president of the World Jewish Congress, said the king told him he was alarmed by the Islamic Republic during a 45-minute meeting held in the capital city of Manama late last month."
"He said it was imperative to hold talks between Jews and Muslims now because the perfect conditions to conduct such a conversation would never arise. “Whether we chose to have it [in Bahrain] or not you can’t wait,” he said. “It’s a genuine sincere effort to expand Muslim-Jewish dialogue.”
HAARETZ: Israel is preparing for an Iran with nuclear capabilities within the next 12 months, according to a report by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), an Israeli think tank. The U.K. daily Times newspaper published extracts of the report by the Tel Aviv University institute on Monday, according to an AFP report.
DEBKA "As quoted by the London Times Monday, Jan. 1, INSS experts, headed by Gen. (ret.) Giora Eiland, a former head of Israel's National Security Council, deduced from a simulation study they staged last week that. Their conclusion is that neither the US nor Israel will use force to stop Iran's first nuclear test which they predicted would take place in January 2013. Our Iranian sources stress, however, that Tehran does not intend to wait for the next swearing-in of a US president in January 2013, whether Barack Obama is returned for a second term or replaced by a Republican figure, before moving on to a nuclear test. Iran's Islamist rulers have come to the conclusion from the Bush and Obama presidencies that America is a paper tiger and sure to shrink from attacking their nuclear program – especially while the West is sunk in profound economic distress."
Meanwhile the Sikrikim are heating things up inside Israel
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