Just call me Baruch Obama (video)

from about 4:30 on...

Lag B'Omer: a silly holiday

The way we celebrate this holiday tonight, Lag B'Omer, is so silly and unusual. It has basically become an opportunity for kids who have pent up pyromania tendencies that are suppressed all year by the parents (read: us) to suddenly let loose and burn everything in sight.

Most people, myself included, don't even have any idea what it all means. Yeah, sure, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the Zohar, blah blah blah. So that means my 4 year old needed to bring wood today to her gan so they could make a bonfire? That means every 20 feet or so people need to make a separate bonfire 3 stories high and stand around watching it burn, mumbling a few words from a song that almost nobody knows what it means, not knowing what they are supposed to be doing?

All this developed within the last 10 years or so. Even in Israel. Forget America where there is no such thing as a bonfire. You would be arrested if you lit a bonfire on the sidewalk, or even in your backyard, if you were in America. I remember when I first came to Israel, there would be one or two neighborhood bonfires. Now, as I said, every second building makes their own, if not two or three, every shul makes one, every youth group makes one, in many places every class in every school makes their own, etc.

But, heck, this is the one holiday kids get to break loose and really enjoy, so I guess it can't be all that bad. They act responsible, building bonfires, managing, arrnaging other kids to help and delegating work. I guess there are positive aspects to it as well.

Here are a few images:

There are very few shopping carts in the supermarket because all the kids have them around the neighborhood for shlepping wood.

going for a refill

what a waste of good wood!

Mafdal (NRP) politicians are all Reform

NRG/Maariv is reporting that Eli Yishai, the Chairman of Shas and the Minister of Industry, said in an interview today about the conversion situation that "the Mafdal politicians will all end up being Reform jews. When we vote in the Knesset against the Reform, they [Mafdal] vote in favor of the Reform. 30, 60 years ago, they fought against the Reform. Today they don't. Many of their voters have switched to supporting us - they are looking for real Judaism."

It is one thing to argue about policy. It is another thing to have the chutzpah to say that you are authentic Judaism and another group, an orthodox group no less, is not.

Things to do

-----------------------------------referral post---------------------------------

Summer is fast approaching. Here are some things you might want to do...


Caliber3, a special anti-Terror training site in Gush Etzion, has opened their doors to the public. Now all of us wanna-bes can go and practice shooting and get anti-terror training and get that adrenaline rush we are always looking for...


Then there is the Israel Challenge. They will take you places and have you doing things that will give you a vacation you will never forget.


If you are looking for a place to buy, either because you are making aliya, or just looking for a new place, you might want to check out Nofei HaPark, or Park View. This is a new project of homes in Efrat offering you that close proximity to Jerusalem, while still living in the small town atmosphere...


If you have a son approaching army age and trying to decide whether to go to yeshiva, hesder, Mechina or army, you might want to check out this new Mechina. The Leadership Yeshiva Academy looks like they really put a lot of effort into developing a good system for a serious guy who wants a mechina program to learn for a year and prepare for the army.


---------------------------------------end of referral-------------------------------------------------------

Enjoying Tefilla (video)

I have never seen a chazzan have this much fun...

expect action tonight

The Badatz has been advertising warnings against various activites in meron that have been prevalent in previous years.

the way up to the kever Rashbi in Meron has become something similar to a carnival. Companies have stands offering their products, politicians have stands, social groups have stands, booksellers, computer software companies, Chabad, Breslav and many other groups. They put up stands on the mountain leading up to Rashbi. They sell items, they have video screens showing films of whatever they are offering, etc.

the authorities have been able to make some changes in recent years; they have made some of the roads leading up to Rashbi to be "mehadrin" in which some of those activites cannot happen, separate buses, separate sides of street, rules about what can be displayed and what kind of food sold,, etc.

The Badatz has warned that this year they will not put up with the video screens or with stalls selling anything but sifrei kodesh.

Here is one sample of a warning from the Badatz:They threaten violence against those who do not heed the warning, and they blame the potential victim saying you have been warned so do not complain afterwards about any loss of money and damage incurred.

Anyway, there are reports of specific threats and knowledge, both by organizers and by police, of the identities of those who are planning on making trouble with violence and attempting to damage others property tonight in meron.

Lo and behold, the three names that have been talked about as those who will be there are oour friendly neighborhood hooligans from RBS B. They have become more violent than their counterparts in yerushalayim and they are the ones expected by the national police to be perpetrating, or at least attempting to, violence tonight in Meron.

working his magic

Who would have thought that yesterday's surprise announcement about breakthrough talks with Syria would have worked their magic so fast??!!

Until now, for the past 2 weeks we have been inundated with reports how this investigation is the most serious and will almost definitely lead to a very fast indictment because of how much evidence they have collected.
Suddenly we get this surprise announcement on talks with Syria, and all of the sudden we have the above headlines of not enough evidence for an indictment.

these are negotiations?

So if the Syrian Foreign Minister is telling the truth, and Israel really did agree to a full withdrawal from the Golan already in the first day of official negotiations, what is there left to negotiate? Why have they not signed the deal and why has Israel not already pulled out of the Golan?

In what kind of negotiations do you agree to everything the other side wants at the beginning of the discussion?

Things that make you go hmmmm: happiness with no peace

I don't get how this works. It seems like a contradiction to me.

Today, Ynet is reporting that Israel has placed in the bottom four of 140 nations in a ranking of how peaceful the nation is. Israel placed right next to illustrious war torn countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq Sudan and Somalia.

Just the other day, Jameel mentioned a report from the Asia Times that did a study on happy countries, and they found that Israel was ranked as the happiest country, with a higher life expectancy than even Germany or the Netherlands!

How do those two categories fit together? The least peaceful, but the happiest. Doesn't make much sense.

The Chief Rabbis (IDF) explanation of his suppsed chillul shabbos

About a week ago the story broke that the Chief Rabbi of the IDF had supposedly desecrated the holiday of Pesach (the story actually said he desecrated the shabbos, but alert readers pointed out that the timing means it was really the holiday), and the Haredi press had written about it very critically demanding an explanation and his resignation, as they claimed there was no need for him to be there and therefore no need for him to get in the car.

For some reason, Rabbi Ronsky, the Chief Rabbi of the IDF, felt it necessary to try to clear his name and provide an explanation. Yesterday he sent a letter to various Rabbis of the IDF in which he provided an explanation for his actions.

He wrote, "The IDF rabbi is an an inseparable part from the fighting unit. Just as he puts himself in danger when he goes out with the unit to the front lines, so too if the unit has to be mobilized on Shabbos, the Rabbi must join the unit."

Ronsky compared the IDF Rabbi to the way the Torah describes the Kohein who was appointed to go out with the people to battle. He writes, "The Kohein would meet the soldiers before they went out to battle, and he would lift their spirits. He would then go out with them to the battle.
The main job of the Unit Rabbi is to raise the morale of the soldiers. Strengthening them in this way is an important job in ensuring their success in battle, for, as is known, assault before an enemy is not natural for a person, and definitely not for our young soldiers. Therefore a Rav who is integrated thoroughly with his unit, who participates and is present during their exercises and their operations, can help them overcome their distress and crises that are charachteristic in these situations."

"The soldier is comparable to a choleh she'yesh bo sakana - a sick man whose life is in danger. Such a person we even bring his family to his bed, because it can help his situation. We find that even Torah decrees would eb waived to bring his family in this situation. How much more so, in this situation, to strengthen the morale of the sodliers - something that will directly affect the success of the operation, that is of invaluable importance."

I guess his classification of the Rabbis role would be a point of debate, but at least he has a reasonable explanation (as I wrote before, that I did not doubt from the start). Even if others do not agree with his opinion, it is not necessarily their place to instruct him how to behave, when he is fully qualified to make such decisions.

is Yeshiva World for or against Rabbi Horowitz??

After the most recent snafu on Yeshiva World website, in which they initially reprinted a "Letter to the Editor" to the Mishpacha Magazine in which the author blasted Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz and then subsequently took down the whole post because the comments got extremely nasty (see this google cached page of the original post and comments..), I found the following page on Yeshiva World extremely amusing...
First they blast him, and then they run ads for him... I guess it is the advertising money that is more important than what they actually believe about him....

The latest email scam

Ever hear of the Nigerian email scam? If you have been using email anytime over the past 13 years or so, how could you not be familiar with it?

Jameel just forwarded to me the latest, most recent take-off of the Nigerian email scam.


---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Ehud Olmert <pm@pmo.gov.il>
Date: Tue, May 20, 2008 at 5:20 PM
Subject: urgent
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

From: PM Ehud Olmert

Greetings from Jerusalem

Before I introduce myself, I wish to inform you that this letter is not a hoax mail and I urge you to treat it serious. We want to transfer to overseas account (30,000.000 NIS) Thirty million New Israeli Shekels from a prime Bank here in Israel. I want to ask you, if you are not capable to quietly look for reliable and honest person who will be capable and fit to provide either an existing bank account or to set up a new Bank a/c immediately to receive this money, even an empty a/c can serve to receive this money, as long as you will remain honest to me till the end for this important business trusting in you and believing in God that you will never let me down either now or in future.

I am PM Ehud Olmert, presently the Prime Minister of Israel. Potentially in the course of an audit next week, it will be discovered that I have a floating fund in an account opened in the bank in 1990, in which I regularly deposited envelopes full of cash. I discovered that with the audit next week, if I do not get this money out urgently it will be forfeited for nothing.

The official owner of this account is my wife Aliza, a great artist and a resident of Jerusalem, who unfortunately never had any art skills, and it shows it what she produces.

While we would have claimed that the deposits were for artwork, no one believes that any more, as who would actually by her crap. No other person knows about this account or anything concerning it - yet.

The total amount involved is Thirty million New Israeli Shekels only [30,000.000.00 NIS] and we wish to transfer this money into safe foreigners account abroad. But while I know many foreigners who give me money, I don't know any foreigner who will keep their mouth shut; I am only contacting you as a foreigner because this money cannot be approved to a local person here, but to a foreigner who has information about the account, which I shall give to you upon your positive response. I am revealing this to you with believe in God that you will never let me down in this business, you are the first and the only person that I am contacting for this business, so please reply urgently so that I will inform you the next step to take urgently.

At the conclusion of this business, you will be given 40% of the total amount, 50% will be for us while 10% will be for the expenses both parties may incurred during this transaction. PLEASE, TREAT THIS PROPOSAL AS TOP SECRET.

I look forward to your earliest reply

Best Regards,

PM Ehud Olmert

Jerusalem, Israel

(of course, Turban Tip to Jameel)

a haunted building in Bnei Brak

Mishpacha newspaper (Hebrew) this past week reported on an unusual situation in Bnei Brak that I thought you might find interesting.

It seems there is an apartment building in which five residents have contracted diseases from which they quickly died within the past year, the most recent being within the last week.

The residents, understandably, are extremely concerned and worried about their safety. They have not been able to figure out what might be causing it, so they have turned to various Rabbonim and Gedolim to try to obtain segulahs and forms of protection for the building.

Upon the advice of the Rabbonim, they have established a regular shiur in the building on the topic of shmiras ha'lashon, and they have performed some sort of ceremony as per instructions from some kabbalistic works. They also circled the building 7 times while blowing shofar, giving tzedaka and saying slichos.

Rav Gershon Edelstein told them that the way to stop the plague is by improving in one's good deeds. Rav Edelstein said, "All of Israel is repsonsible one for the other, and the righteous are punished for the sins of the generation. Today there are so many accidents and afflictions, people need to know that the first thing to do is to improve one's behavior and relations between people...."

The article did not specify what the contracted diseases were that these people were dieing from. I hope they looked for cellular antennas that are sometimes installed secretly in buildings. In RBS there was such an antenna installed by a cellphone company in a building a number of years ago and shortly after, three children from different families in the building contracted various forms of cancer.

The Badatz is Coming, and Why We Should Be Worried

A Guest Post by Anonymous Reader

Warning: The Badatz is Coming, and Why We Should Be Worried

As residents of R/BS, we are all fed up with the rising tide of violence and intimidation that has charaterized this town for the past 10 years.

Just this morning, new signs were put up, threatening another round of violence. This time, the excuse is that the iriya is enforcing the local by-laws, that require people to pay for hanging up signs on buildings: including tznius signs. Rather than pay the fee, they have decided to cause mayhem.

Not everyone is aware of the source of the extremism -- the arrival of people loyal to Edah Hacharedis. These young individuals, composed of Yerushalmi families of various affiliations, are even more radical than their parents.

What is important to emphasize is that this is not a small group of disaffected youth; the violence goes all the way up to the top, to the rabbis that incite and/or support the violence -- Rabbis Shia Rosenberger, Naftali Rottenberg, and Nosson Kopshitz.

This past summer, we witnessed an outbreak of violence, unprecedented in the history of Bet Shemesh. Not only were there the usually garbage burnings and graffiti, the Yerushalmim, supported by their Rabbis, burnt a forest, poured oil on a major thoroughfare, threw rocks at a bus, scattering glass shards on women and babies, and disrupted the lives of the residents of Bet Shemesh for nearly a month.

All the while, these criminals received support from their rabbis. When the three worst criminals were arrested (one of them, the son-in-law of the Burka lady), the rabbis of the Edah Hacharedis called a protest, attacking the "Zionist entity" for "abusing innocent charedim."

Make no mistake -- the rabbinic support is documented. As recent as two weeks ago, Rabbi Nosson Kopshitz personally went to the house of one of the criminals awaiting trial, in order to encourage him and show support.

Another example is the prohibition that the Badatz placed on having video screens in Meiron on Lag Baomer. The letter from the Badatz was accompanied by a warning from the Badatz's goons that they will break any video screens that are put up in violation of the Badatz's order.

The hooligans are opening up a Beis Din. Until now, at least, the rabbinic support was only based upon the local rabbis that the Edah Hacharedis has planted in nearly every neighborhood. With a Beis Din, the Edah Hacharedis will attempt to present itself as the binding authority for the Charedi and Dati communities of Bet Shemesh. This has been their modus operandi until now in Yerushalayim -- the Badatz thinks of itself as being in charge and exercises that authority.

The danger of the Badatz doesn't stop at support of violence -- it permeates every aspect of life. We have witnessed how Rabbi Nosson Kopshitz intervened, through a proxy, of course, to completely change the school Ko Tomar. With a Beis Din to back them up, the extremists will commit be able to interfere much more easily.

Again, the problem is not that the Badatz of the Edah Hacharedis is extremist; the problem is that it imposes that extremism on others.

The recent expose of the Burka cult shook up the Bet Shemesh community. If we don't want our city to look like Tehran or Ramallah, the first step will be awareness of the causes of extremism and the people -- and institutions -- that are feeding it. Without a doubt, enemy number one is the Badatz Edah Hacharedis.

what the heck is chai rottel anyway?

Can anybody explain the minhag/segulah of Lag B'Omer that is called "Chai Rottel"? I have never understood it.
Something about sponsoring drinks in Meron.

Is it good for the guy sponsoring? Good for the guy drinking? What is it based on? Any of the readers here know anything about it?

2 stories of greatness

(originally posted on DB)

I just saw two separate stories, both of which display amazing levels of morality, chessed and I guess a good upbringing. I want to share them with you.

1. An Egged bus driver on a Haredi line to Ashdod completed his route. As he was inspecting his bus, he found a plastic shopping back under a seat. He described it as "the type of bag one puts pita in at the bakery". He picked it up and looked inside. To his amazement he found it contained a lot of money. Upon counting it, he was shocked to find $40,000.

I don't know about you, but if I was carrying $40000 I would hold on to it, even if it was in a non-descript package. If I carry anything more than $200 I am constantly checking to make sure I have not lost it.

But some poor shnook lost a bag with $40,000.

I like to believe that if I found so much money I would make an effort to find the owner, but maybe I would only make a half-hearted effort. You never know until you are in the situation.

Anyways, the bus driver, right away contacted the Egged guy in charge of the Haredi sector of Ashdod. A little while later they found the owner of the money who provided simanim and claimed the money.

Egged is awarding the driver with some sort of honor and certificate because of his dedication and honesty.

It is nice to see such honesty in our cut-throat world.

2. The second story relates to the three yeshiva boys who were recently arrested in Japan for drug smuggling. I have not found the story too interesting, personally, and have therefore not paid too much attention to the details. My feeling is that when you commit a crime you take a risk of being caught. I am a bit ambivalent to their plight because they took a risk, they were caught and are now paying the price. They are not in jail unfairly, they are not in jail because of anti-semitism or for any other unrelated reason. They were smuggling drugs. I am, as I said, a bit ambivalent to their plight. But then again, I am not really that nice of a person.

Rav Chaim Weiss, on the other hand, is a very nice guy. Weiss is a Satmar Chassid from Antwerp. Weiss travels around the world, whenever he hears of a Jew stuck in a jail somewhere - any Jew regardless of his affiliation, or lack thereof, to Satmar or any other group - and does whatever he can to ease the fellows conditions and try to assist in obtaining his freedom.

Weiss claims to have been in every country in the world, in almost every prison in the world, to assist Jews who get in trouble. One story related is that a week before Pesach, Weiss simply disappeared. no word to anybody - friends, family, nobody. Nobody had any idea where he was.

Erev pesach he shows up at home with tens of Jewish children that he smuggled out of Iran, by renting, out of his own pocket, a KLM airplane, getting them to Pakistan and from there to Holland.

With these threw boys in Japan, he worked his contacts and put forth his efforts, and he was the first person to be allowed in to see them. he has helped improve their conditions.

Weiss often fasts days in a row, surviving only on water (and I guess adrenaline) and food he was able to bring from home, when possible, because he goes to places where no kosher food is available.

His life is dedicated to the mitzva of pidyon shvuyim - whether you or I think someone deserves the help or not matters not. he sees someone in trouble and he drops everything and goes to help. And he gets the job done because of his dedication to the cause.

Something to think about

Today is the 14th of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar.

That translates to Pesach Sheni.

Today is the day everybody whips out the leftover matza from Pesach and insists that even if you had had enough matza on Pesach and could not bear to look at another crumb until next year, you still have to eat some today.

Pesach Sheni is the day the Torah offers for those who were not able to bring the korban Pesach on regular Pesach due to being, at the time, in a state of impurity. The Torah offers a second chance a month later.

The idea that the torah offers a second chance is unusual, and I do not have an explanation. Why for this mitzva but not for others? If you have an explanation, please leave it int he comments or email me.

Anyways, many people are careful to eat matza today. They want to make sure everybody does, even if you ate matza on the first Pesach, and offer it to you. I ate matza today because some people brought matza to work and placed it strategically in the lunchroom so everyone could take some.

Technically, Pesach Sheni is really to give us an opportunity to bring the Korban pesach - an opportunity that was missed a month ago.

Right now, the obligation to bring the korban is a very heated debate, with many Rabbis weighing in that technically we are obligated today,as korban pesach does not require the beis hamikdash or the mizbeiach, and it is one of the few korbans that can be brought in a state of impurity (when most of Israel is impure). In reality we cannot bring it because we are not allowed to by the authorities.

Some groups make a big deal and try to get permission, try to apply pressure, etc. Most of us think those guys are kooks (even though I did register with them on the off chance that permission would be granted).

I wonder though - if we got permission to bring the korban, and let's say we even got permission from the government, and let's even say that we got permission from the Waqf, would we jump at the opportunity?

Is our lack of bringing the korban really because we cannot, as we claim? What would you do, really, if you had the opportunity today?

You don't have to answer this (but feel free, if you so desire, to in the comments section).

Just something to think about.

hanging signs against Shefa Shuk

The following email was sent out to the RBS email list...

If you've seen street posters around Ramat Bet Shemesh (perhaps Bet Shemesh, too?) bearing the Meretz party logo, lauding Shefa Shuk for being open on Shabbat, here's a tidbit that you may want to keep in mind:
The poster-hangers who were hanging those posters around the neighborhood late on Motzaei Shabbat Parshat Behar were two men dressed in genuine Chassidish-style garb, if my eyes didn't deceive me.
These same men were also hanging, in all the same locations, posters encouraging consumers to NOT buy at Shefa Shuk and to preserve kedushat Shabbat.

I am not saying you should buy in Shefa Shuk or that you should ban them. Do whatever you feel comfortable doing, ask your Rabbi, whatever. But when the battle takes on proportions where each or either side is using deception so you think the other side is fighting a battle for or against shabbos, be aware that not everything is so straightforward.

BTW, Mishpacha reported this week that by June 1 there would be a major decision on how to proceed with the Shefa situation.

Headline of the Day (hotd)

Prime Minister vs. the State of Israel

------------ many newspapers

as the PM appeals to the Supreme Court in an effort to avert the police investigation into his alleged bribery and corruption scandals...

Badatz in Bet Shemesh

The Badat"z has put out the following advertisement...

They are announcing the opening of a beis din under their auspices in Bet Shemesh this week. This is the first time they are opening an official beis din outside of their own "home town". They clearly see (Ramat) Bet Shemesh (B) as their future, as prices of housing in Jerusalem continues to climb and lack of available housing for young couples becomes more acute.

interview with Moshe Talansky (video)

This Channel 10 interview with Moshe (Morris) Talansky is a few days old, but I just saw it now...

Olmert doesn't follow his own moral code (video)

PM Ehud Olmert is under investigation for some serious bribery and crimes still not yet revealed because of a partial gag order. It looks like he is on the brink of being served an indictment. He refuses, so far, to suspend himself claiming the law does not require him to.

When former President Moshe Katzav was under investigation for possible sexual crimes against some women working for him, Ehud Olmert was one of those who very publicly took a stand and called on Katzav to resign despite no indictment having been served. As a matter of fact, until today, still no indictment has yet been served against Katzav (because of plea bargains).

Ehud Olmert insisted Katzav follow a moral code that he himself refuses to follow. Listen to PM Olmert demand Katzav's self-suspension:

In memory of a great Jew (video)

Today, 43 years ago, a Jewish hero was killed. Eli Cohen, the Israeli spy who infiltrated into the highest ranks, the upper echelons, of Syrian politics, was captured and sentenced to death. On May 18 1965, he was hanged in public. His bones have yet to be returned to Israel.

Cohen, due to the information he transferred to Israel, is credited with being largely responsible for the great victory on the Syrian front in the 1967 war.

Yehi Zichro Baruch, His memory should be a blessing.

Shmitta: Hetter Mechira: Halachic Revisionism

In today's day and age, where it is common to wash over opinions of the Rabbonim that do not jibe with the consensus, it was a bit of a surprise to read the following in the Mishpacha (Hebrew) magazine this week.

The Mishpacha interviewed a Haredi fellow who is the Director of Mossad HaRav Kook (the publishing company belonging to the Yeshiva, if I am not mistaken). This fellow related the following story:

When my father , Rav Yitzchak Rafael, the Minister of Religious Affairs, and the leader of the Mafdal, became Haredi and learned in Yeshivas Kol Torah, he decided he would not eat in his parents house. That year was a Shmitta year, and his parents bought fruit and vegetables that were from Hetter Mechira produce. His parents were very upset - will our own child not eat in our home because he does not trust our Kashrus? Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach paskened that he should continue to eat by his parents, even the hetter mechira produce, for shalom bayis. Rav Shlomo Zalman said, "In your own house, do what you want. In your parents house, continue eating."

The fact that Mishpacha ran this piece is surprising. Nowadays the trend is to black over such opinions. In todays discussion of Hetter Mechira, no balance is given with the option of Hetter Mechira being considered allowed, b'dieved, in a sha'as ha'd'chak, as Rav Shlomo Zalman allowed it. Nowadays, seforim printed explaining in great detail all the various halachos of shmitta and the rejection of hetter mechira - none of them mention that Rav Shlomo Zalman was willing to rely on it (even if only as a b'dieved). Nowadays, all we here is that it is assur, it is like treif, if you cook such produce you have to kasher your pot as if you cooked chicken and milk, etc.

And even among those who are willing to admit that Rav Shlomo Zalman allowed people to eat hetter mechira produce (at least in certain situations), they presume that nowadays he would never allow such a thing. Today's land sale is nowhere near as reliable as it used to be, they say. He would agree that it is completely assur. This is halachic revisionism.

The fact is that Rav Shlomo Zalman allowed the use of Hetter Mechira produce, and he lived not so long ago. It is not like claiming that of Rav Kook, who lived 100 years ago. Maybe you can get away with saying that he would never have said his hetter had he lived today. but Rav Shlomo Zalman lived just a few short years ago and he still supported it (at least b'dieved). His upcoming yahrtzeit is only the 13th. if anything, the quality of the sale today is much better halachically as all the issues regarding who really owns the land, how much of the land is sold, and all the other problematic issues are dealt with much more thoroughly in today's sale and not just ignored with a broad sale.

Nowadays, anybody who paskens differently than Rav Elyashiv is questioned and looked down upon.

So, I am not saying that one who does not rely on hetter Mechira should start relying on it (ask your Rav of course).

I am saying it was refreshing to see that the Mishpacha did not just wash over Rav Shlomo Zalman's opinion like many others do. It was refreshing to see that the posek ha'dor who passed away only a short while ago, had a different opinion, and there is nothing wrong with a machlokes. He held it was ok (b'dieved) and others held it is assur (even b'dieved). At least the other opinion has now been voiced in a mainstream Haredi publication (albeit in a small piece in a small interview on the last page of the magazine).

Haveil Havalim #166 by Ima

Ima on the Bima is hosting Haveil Havalim #166

Caption Contest (potd)

What caption would you put on this picture of George Bush and Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt?

Interesting

3 Links:

1. A Mother in Israel has the scoop on the latest womens cult Megirot.
2. Shaul started a new blog called Free Thought promoting open-minded discussion. He even suggests being open to talk with Hamas. I guess he must be buddies with Jimmy Carter... :-)
3. A Simple Jews thoughts on what it means to be "pro-Israel"..
   

Shmitta: Gogo'im

Gogo'im. Otherwise known as "Apricot Seeds".

As we begin making our way through the summer months, we now begin to find all sorts of fruits in the stores that are coming into season. That includes "mishmish", or Apricot.

Kids in Israel love apricots. Not because they love the fruit itself, which they do, but more so because of the pit inside. The apricot pit, known in Hebrew as Gogo, is removed from the apricot by the kids and then recycled into use.

the Gogo is collected by the hundreds and thousands. It is used in games, it is used to barter and to purchase things. We have all heard the stories about the kid who sold his bike to another kid for 10,000 Gogo'im!

So I am in the supermarket yesterday and see they have apricot. So I pack up a bag. Then I notice the sign says these apricots are Otzar Beis Din produce.

That of course means they have kedushas sheviis - holiness of shmitta, and have to be treated appropriately with care.

So that raises a dilemma. Are the kids allowed to play with the Gogo'im, or is that considered to be treating it with disrespect.

I considered the following options:

• They are not holy (because they are not food, rather waste).
  
• This is not considered disrespectful because this is considered a normal use.
• They are holy and kids cannot play with them.

I asked my Rabbi what is the proper approach in dealing with the gogo'im. His response was that the kids can play with the gogo'im because they are not considered food and are therefore not holy. They just have to make sure their is no apricot residue on the pit.

So, let the games begin!