The election drama in Bet Shemesh is still an open book, and another page was turned when the Attorney General yesterday called upon the courts to invalidate the original election form this past October and call for new elections.

The only way the courts would do this is if they are convinced that the fraud was so widespread that it influenced the elections in general and did not just affect a small number of locations. If they become convinced of that, holding new elections that will be clean will be an important step, but I dread the thought of going through another election, reawakening the anger and hatred we saw in the original election with the good chance that it will be ratcheted up and get worse during a second election.

With the Attorney General's recommendation on the books, the news media outlets have once again turned to Bet Shemesh and are busy again interviewing anything that moves in the city. One of the things Moshe Abutbol has said with regularity on the various radio stations is that it is a shame that some politicians can't accept the decision of the voters and are dragging Bet Shemesh into a civil war..

civil war? would it really get that bad? I expect it to be worse, if that is even possible, but civil war?

Are Sefardim healthier than Ashkenazim? Do they have less serious health problems?

I have no idea if any scientific study has ever been done on this topic, but I would be curious to see the results of such a study.

Rav Chaim Kanievsky sees, on a daily basis, masses of amounts of people - tens, hundreds, thousands, who come to ask for advice, get a bracha, discuss medical issues, etc. According to Kikar, Rav Chaim Kanievsky recently mused that from what he seems to have noticed, from all the people he sees he has noticed that while everyone has problems and concerns, it seems that the Sefardim have less health issues and less of the serious problems that Ashkenazim suffer from. Rav Chaim Kanievsky confirmed that they do have problems and concerns, but generally they are more to the tune of getting a child into a certain school or other issues like that - but not the really serious issues.

Rav Kanievsky pointed out that the reason this might be so is because the Sefardim say SHir Hashirim on a weekly basis, every Friday night, while the Ashkenazim do not.

Rav Kanievsky's musings do not make a scientific study, and it is possible he is not aware of it because maybe the Sefardim with those more serious issues go to Sefardic rabbonim instead of to him with those issues. It is an interesting question though, and I would wonder what other sociological influences might affect such a thing, if it were true at all.

A parent's dream come true?

Every year the summer arrives, the kids go on vacation from school, and we parents start complaining. The vacation is even known in Hebrew as "Hachofesh Hagadol", and the name is very appropriate considering how long the vacation is. Parents still work, so the kids are either largely unsupervised, going to work with the parents and getting in the way, going to day camps which gets very expensive when the vacation is so long and other solutions parents find.

For years the Ministry of Education has been suggesting possible solutions of extending the school year or adjusting the vacation schedule - but they have never actually done anything serious about it. Finally, that day looks to be here.

According to Ynet, the Ministry of Education is planning on starting a new program this summer. They will be significantly extending the school year and cutting the vacation, but not with formal education and classrooms. The program will be launched for first and second graders, and will later be extended to include more classes.

The program is planned to take 3 weeks of the vacation period and have teachers teach in the form of a day camp, of sorts. Pay will be determined by the city or town's socio-economic standing, and will be divided between the parents and the government.

This can both save the parents some money, and keep the kids in a structured program and save them from the boredom of the long summer vacation...

This might even be a sign of Mashiach's impending arrival...

The IDF is not the enemy of the Haredi public. A Haredi who goes into the army, will come out of it Haredi.

  -- IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, at a meeting of 'Vaadat Shaked' discussing the issue of drafting the Haredi community

when Minister Aharonovitch said the police had not investigated a certain incident of spitting in Bet Shemesh in which a Haredi man had spit on a woman, and therefore for the police it is as if it never happened (because it was not reported), MK Gafni flipped out and demanded Yair Lapid apologize, mentioned the famous Friday night television show that featured Bet Shemesh.. MK Mozes also spoke up in a similar fashion... MK Lipman then defended Lapid saying that in that show Lapid had never mentioned Haredim and never mentioned a spitting incident -that show was about the general atmosphere and attacks by Orot, not any one specific incident... and here you have what is often the best show in town - the Knesset.

Haredim in the workforce is a big issue, and unfortunately part of the problem is that when Haredim try to get out into the workforce they face discrimination by potential employers... People want them to go to work, but not by us.. it's similar to the housing crisis.. we don't want Haredim building their own neighborhoods, but we also don't want them to live in "our" neighborhoods...

the last stanza is completely new...

נוֹדֶה לְצוּר הַיְּשׁוּעוֹת עַל גְּאֻלָּה אֲשֶׁר הֵחֵל, 
בְּרֹב נִסִּים וְנִפְלָאוֹת קִבֵּץ עַמּוֹ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל,
לִבְנֵי בְּרִיתְךָ הָבֵא גּוֹאֵל וְלָעַד אוֹרוֹ יָהֵל,
נָבוֹא בֵּיתְךָ אֶל מִקְדָּשְׁך בִּכְלֵי נַגֵּן וְשִׁיר הַלֵּל

Arik Einstein was definitely one of the great Israeli singers. Many of his songs are classics in the Israeli music scene and accompany the history of Israel. Surely he was one of the greats.

That being said, I was a bit surprised to see how the Haredi news websites, bar none, all announced his death. The Haredi websites do not usually give time and space to celebrities and Israeli culture, yet Arik Einstein's death was featured on every single Haredi news website. Surprising.

What does it indicate?

Maybe nothing. Or, maybe it says something about Arik Einstein how he was beloved by all, even by those who normally eschew the general Israeli culture and he was able to cross those barriers. Or, maybe it says something about Haredi society that it does not really eschew general culture, but embraces it as long as it does not counter them and their lifestyle.

Mercaz Taub published their annual report on the socio-economic trends in Israel, and they have an entire section dedicated to the Haredi community. It is way too much for me to read through, so I am going to rely on external reports of what was reported on, but you can see the full section of the report if you want to read through it.

Some of the interesting statistics in the Taub report:

• of all Haredim who hold an academic degree, 71% are actually working
• of all Haredim who do NOT hold an academic degree, 34% are working
• average monthly salary for Haredi with academic degree: 13,656 NIS 
• average monthly salary for Haredi without academic degree: 7,580 NIS 
• among 80% of married Haredi couples, neither spouse holds a degree
• in 5% of Haredi households both of the spouses hold a degree
• about 50% of male Haredim have completed only elementary school or less. This number has increased from 30% a decade ago.
• of Haredim above the age of 75, 56% had learned in Yeshivot Gedolot, while among Haredi males between 25 and 34 years of age, 90% have learned in yeshivot gedolot.
• of Haredi females i the workplace, about 50% hold an academic degree
• the average salary of Haredi women working with an academic degree has increased and now stands at 8844 NIS per month

one last Thanksgivvukah video.. Molly Livingstone qualifies for her own post, as she is funny..

An interesting question was posed to Rav Nissim Karelitz by representatives of the 'Hidabroot' organization.

They asked if someone donates to the organization to sponsor the day's electricity in memory of a yahrtzeit, does that count as having lit a 'ner neshama' so they won't have to go light their own candle, or should they still light a candle separately?

Rav Karelitz's answer is described as "surprising", and it is definitely interesting. Rav Karelitz answered that if one donates to sponsor the electricity for an organization that brings hundreds of thousands of Jews closer to Judaism and spreads Torah, that is the same thing as lighting a 'ner neshama', a candle in memory of the deceased, and surely the neshama benefits greatly from such a donation..
(source: Kooker, though I would note that the included image by the article has nothing to do with the article and is probably an error)

While I don't know why giving a donation would stop one from also lighting a candle, I would even venture to say that the donation is an actual mitzva while lighting the candle is only a minhag. Ergo, the donation should not be equal to the candle, but it should be considered far greater. But, again, what's the big deal to also light the candle?

Amazing story told by Rav Hershel Shechter about Rav Ovadiah Yosef's shidduch. And he tells it so emotionally..

tonight is Thanksgivvukah eve.. thank God we won't have to do this again for another 80,000 years... lots of videos.... here are the rest of the ones I found...













(kol isha alert)








(kol isha alert)

and last night, 15 minutes before going onstage, word got out about Arik Einstein falling into critical condition. The Gat Brothers decided to dedicate their performance to Einstein and sang another of his songs.. Arik Einstein died later in the night..

There has been another major archaeological find in the Bet Shemesh area....

Anybody who drives with any form of regularity on Highway 38 will surely have sat in traffic and wondered what is behind the blue tarp along the highway just outside of Eshtaol. The signs of it being an archaeological site don't shed any light on why the tarp has been up there for so long and what might be hiding in the digs behind it.

The site is an archaeological dig in preparation of road works that will be a part of the coming upgrade of Highway 38 that we so eagerly, and desperately, await..

According to archaeologists, they have made an amazing discovery of ruins and remnants of a town that they say is 10,000 years old, and of another that they say is 6000 years old.

For the first time ever, the archaeologists say, in this area they have discovered such an old building, and in such good condition. They even say that this is one of the earliest buildings to be built, indicating it was the beginning of the time period in which man moved from living outdoors and in tents to living in permanent structures.

In addition to the house they also found various tools in great condition.

Nearby they also discovered remnants of a village 6000 years old, including a Temple and an altar.

The archaeologists are opening the site up to the public, but only for a limited time and only for those who pre-register. The site will be open for public viewing for two hours on Wednesday (Nov. 27) between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Entrance is free, but visitors must register in advance by telephone at 02-9921136, 052-4284408 or by email at adulam@israntique.org.il

(source: NRG and Times of Israel)

I hope that these amazing finds don't cause significant delays in the highway renovations.

Sony's Play For Elderly Tech Fans: A Wearable Smart Wig?

  -- Gizmodo

This is just weird..

Will they make them in human hair sheitels? Can someone wear these to shul on Shabbos?

The government budget has grown and we did not reduce it. The government budget in 2015 will also increase. The government needs to work for the middle class, and not the other way around... At the beginning I made many mistakes, and some of them were simply because I did not know..

  -- Finance Minister Yair Lapid

yesterday MK Ruth Calderon used time from her speech to rail against the regular phenomenon of yeshiva bochurim sitting in the visitors chamber of the Knesset watching proceedings instead of being in yeshiva learning Torah..




just because they are dressed as yeshiva bochurim doesnt mean they are supposed to be in yeshiva. They might be visitors from abroad, maybe they aren't learning in yeshiva despite the way they dress, maybe they are in college after having served in the army and took some time off to see the Knesset proceedings, maybe they are in a civics course and went to see first hand, maybe they work for a living and took a few hours off for whatever reason... the possibilities are endless. It is almost "racist" to accuse yeshiva bochurim in this way just because a few haredi-dressed people are in the Knesset visitors chamber.

At the same time, the Rambam said, קבל אמת ממי שאמרה, accept the truth from whoever says it - even if the source is problematic and has something else in mind, yeshiva bochurim should realize they are noticed and must be careful and use their time properly, make a kiddush hashem and don't do things that can be viewed in a negative light. and if they were not supposed to be there but were playing hooky from yeshiva, they should realize the entire community of yeshiva bochurim get slapped because of them.

Calderon's attack upset many and MKs argued with her, even from Meretz. As someone commented on Facebook, maybe Calderon would have been better off going up to the visitors chamber and offering to learn some Torah with them...

I have a great interest in the kashrut information shared by the Rabbanut via their newsletter, and I have taken advantage of their contact information a number of times to point out what I thought were labeling errors affecting kashrut. They seem to welcome such feedback and have acted on my information each and every time and have been responsive to me and have always updated me with the progress of each situation I contacted them about. I am very impressed with their fraud department that deals with these issues. They really take it seriously.

The latest situation I contacted the Rabbanut about is a box of cereal. I recently bought a couple boxes of imported Nestle cereal at Osher Ad. It was on sale at a pretty good price, had the hechsher of the OU with the approval (for importing) by the Rabbanut.

My kids were eating it at Seuda Shlishit this past Shabbos (we wait only 3 hours after meat before eating dairy, so they were able to have a bowl of cereal at seuda shlishit even on a short winter Shabbos day), and I was reading the kashrut information on the box of Cini Minis (probably for no specific reason). I noticed that this box had the OU-D, and in Hebrew as well it was marked as dairy. The other Nestle cereal box we had was pareve.







I thought this was strange - it says OU Dairy, but it has no information on whether the dairy is cholov yisrael or cholov stam (aka nochri or companies). Knowing that the law is on imports if it is cholov "stam" it must be labeled as such, I now did not know if this cereal is cholov yisrael or cholov stam. Being that it is OU-D it is most likely cholov stam. That's the rule with the Ou unless they specify otherwise. But the Rabbanut did not mark that on their approval, so maybe this imported product was actually cholov yisrael.

Now, just to be clear, I do not give a hoot if you eat cholov stam products or not. I have no problem with you relying on that or being machmir and not relying on that. I am not a cholov yisrael or a cholov stam warrior. However, I do believe products and kashrut information should be labeled properly so people can make informed decisions for themselves, each based on his own preferences.

So, I now was sitting there not knowing if this cereal was cholov yisrael or cholov stam. I did look at the ingredients and noticed nothing dairy included, so I figured it must be marked as dairy either due to trace elements or because of the equipment, and thought that maybe they don't feel the need to mark the cholov yisrael issue when there is not really milk inside, but I was not sure. It still did not feel like a good explanation.

So, after Shabbos I snapped the above pictures and sent them off to the Rabbanut asking about the situation.

Yesterday I received the response from the Rabbanut. I will post the original and then my translation:

שלום

ככלל כל מוצר מיובא המוצג ככשר חלבי המגיע מחו"ל באישור הרה"ר הוא על בסיס אבקת
חלב נוכרי.  

על פי הנוהל יש לציין זאת על גבי המוצר במפורש "לאוכלי....."

במקרה דנן מדובר בסימון לא תקין וכנראה שמדובר על ייצור בכלים חלביים העשויים
להכיל שאריות ועל כן המוצר סומן כחלבי.
בכל מקרה מחלקת הייבוא אמרה שתטפל בעניין

תודה וכ"ט

As a rule, every product imported as kosher dairy that comes from chutz laaretz (the diaspora) is on a base of cholov nochri powder.
According to the rules, it must be marked on the label that it is "for those who eat [cholov nochri].."
In our situation the labeling is improper, and it seems to be that it was produced in dairy equipment that could possibly contain trace elements, and therefore the product is marked as dairy. 
In any event, the imports department has said they will deal with the issue.

So, just to let you know:
1. the Nestle Cini Minis are dairy and are cholov stam. If you eat cholov stam, fine. If you don't, just be aware of this as it is not marked.
2. Hopefully the labeling will soon be corrected
3. When you come across such discrepancies or questions or things that are not clear or don't make sense - write to the Rabbanut or to whatever other kashrut organization is responsible for the product. You might surprise yourself and help improve the system and the kashrut situation.

Funny joke going around...

a nice simple video with not much shtick but still really nice

The minimum threshold for Knesset had been adjusted a number of times over the years, eventually being raised to the current 2%, and recently attempts were made to bump it up to 4%. It is thought that raising the threshold would make the government more stable by ridding the government of small parties that end up wielding more power than they should naturally have, giving them the ability to make "unreasonable" demands.

MK Yaakov Litzman (UTJ) just proposed a bill by which the threshold would move in the opposite direction. Litzman would do away with the threshold entirely. Litzman believes, it seems, in evolution and natural selection, and believes that the natural threshold would do a better job at keeping the government stable and small parties out.

Litzman says that the threshold should be natural - take all the valid votes from the elections, divide by 120 (number of Knesset seats), and whichever parties garnered enough votes to reach that number would get the appropriate number of seats based on votes. Litzman even says that history has shown that raising the minimum threshold repeatedly has not stopped small parties form getting in, nor has it made the government more stable.

Doing away with the minimum threshold would also increase the number of voters, as votes would not be thrown away. All valid votes would be counted and used towards determining actual Knesset seats. This would better empower the voter, and the results of elections would be a truer reflection of the voters will.
(source: Bechadrei)

I see the benefit to Litzman's proposal, as far as ensuring people's votes actually count, but a. it has no chance of passing as it goes against the trend of the government and won't be likely to garner support and b. since the electoral system is lousy anyway, the way the parliamentary system works here, this is an exercise in futility. Nothing will improve the system until they make regional voting with a two party system.

The ultra-Haredi thugs who call themselves "the sikrikim" have decided to break away from the Eida and have even formed their own kashrut organization.

According to Bechadrei, they have formed an organization called "Adas Yerei'im"  to "compete" with the Eida hechsher.

So far, to date, they have one product in their portfolio. That would be a line of grape juice made by two of their members from Bet Shemesh. The grape juice is so far only being sold privately.

I would note that they are no better or different than any other "fly by night" unauthorized hechsher.

To be sure, a person does not really need a hechsher. According to halacha all you need is trust. If you trust the person, even the proprietor, that his food is kosher, you can eat it. We rely on the "chezkat kashrut" of people. So, if you personally trust the people behind the recently announced Breslav hechsher, you can treat their supervised foods as kosher (even if the Rabbanut says they have no legal right to certify kashrut). And, if you trust these sikrikim, you can treat their supervised foods as kosher. They function, however, as an unauthorized agency with no transparency and no accountability.

I wonder if the next update from the Rabbanut will include a warning about this new hechsher...

The Amish have come to apologize for the Holocaust

  -- NRG



ok. not quite sure what to say. I don't even know how they got here - don't they not use modern inventions and electricity? they don't even drive cars.. did they fly on a commercial airliner or did they take a steamboat?

The Bet Shemesh municipal elections continue to make headlines and provide drama.

While all around the country (except Elad as well) municipal coalitions have been worked out, deals have been made, revenge has been taken or forgone, here in Bet Shemesh the drama continues. On two fronts.

On the one hand, the Attorney General today announced that he is considering ordering new elections in bet Shemesh. It seems the police investigation has discovered far more than just the initial finding of 200 fraudulent identity cards but seems to think there was much larger scale fraud in play.
(source: IBA)

On the other hand, the mayor, Moshe Abutbol, has not yet even been able to form a narrow coalition with his natural partners, the Haredi parties, let alone a broad coalition with other parties. The ashkenazi parties have been fighting over the important jobs and have not been giving in to each other. Each thinks it deserves the bulk of the spoils of war. And weirdly enough Shas is upset at Abutbol and is threatening to not join the coalition.

Sounds weird? Yes it does.

Moshe Abutbol is the head of the local Shas and his own party might not join his own coalition. I don't even know how that works. Will Moshe Abutbol vote against his own proposals?

The problem with Shas is that they are upset that Abutbol has given all the important roles in municipal government to the Ashkenazi parties. Rav Dovid Benizri, one of the leading rabbonim in Shas Bet Shemesh, and an influential rav in Bet Shemesh, has ordered Shas to not enter the coalition. he says Abutbol hasn't even sat with them to work out what roles they will be responsible for. I heard [part of] his interview on the radio this morning, and he is also featured in this Kikar article, using very harsh terminology to complain about Abutbol being easily pressured, he sold us out to the ashkenazim, etc. A Shas representative also complained about them being treated as secondary and given nothing important to be responsible for. In the Kikar article it talks about a Shas rep being offered the "revacha" department - social welfare, but it is a scaled down department with all the important parts of it having been stripped away and given to the ashkenazim.

On the radio they also asked Ashkenazi reps about the complaint of the Sefardim. The interview I heard was fairly dismissive of the complaint - he said they have the mayor and he is responsible for everything, so they have the most important task. As if that means the Sefardi reps have no right to think they deserve any other responsibility. He even said that if they want, we will take the mayorship and give them the other jobs. He said if they feel slighted and discriminated against they are welcome to come to his office and all issues where they feel discriminated against will be resolved. Again, no jobs, no responsibilities, but come to us and we'll provide you with what you need.

It might all just be posturing for a better negotiating hand, as often things are in politics. Still, over a month after the elections, 3 weeks since results were announced, and Moshe Abutbol has not been able to form even a narrow coalition with his natural partners.

Alexis de Tocqueville, a French historian, once famously said "people get the government they deserve"... Moshe Abutbol offers no surprises. He was the incumbent, he has been in city politics for 20 years. Everybody who voted for him rather than the alternative knew exactly what they were voting for and what they would get - they should not complain now when they see he is the same person he was when they complained about him during the previous term.

Here is the US position laid out by Ambassador Shapiro regarding the agreement with Iran. I don't know if we can trust Iran or not - probably not. And, it remains to be seen whether America and the other members of the P5+1 will enforce the agreement even if Iran does not keep their side of the agreement. But, as Bill Clinton once said, you don't make peace with your friends - you make peace with your enemies. If the deal can be enforced (which I am skeptical about), coming to this agreement might not be so bad. I hope I am wrong and Iran does keep their end of it, and that the US and others will enforce the arrangement...




And here is PM Netanyahu, and President Peres, on the deal..

very interesting interview, touching on many topics..


part 1:


part 2:

Aish's latest video for Hannukah..

Israeli restaurant: Turn off phone, get discount

  -- Yahoo News

The discount is 50%! and the restaurant is in Abu Ghosh, and is called Abu Ghosh Restaurant.. it is not kosher, but is founded and run by the famous Abu Ghosh resident who won $23 million in the iLlinois lottery a number of years ago... nice idea he has..

Did you lose 18,000 NIS?

If you made a simcha recently at the "Troya" hall in Ashdod, you might want to be in touch with the management of the hall. During renovations they found an envelope containing 18,000 NIS and a note saying "mazel tov!"... Management is looking for the recently married couple that this might belong to.. if it is not claimed soon, it will be donated to an organization called "Rechashei Lev" that helps children with cancer..
(source: Ladaat)

The rabbinic Beit Hill organization recently put together an initiative for holding a Shabbat together with religion and secular families... their latest initiative is one for Hannukah...

The Maccabeats latest release, for Hannukah.. nice storyline, no message of Thanksgivvukah, though the meal does consist of a roasted turkey...

The Gat brothers performed again in the Kochav Ha'Ba show.. a Hebrew song that they aced and Dust in the Wind (by Kansas) which was less than stellar..

I don't know why, but for whatever reason this picture of David Ben Gurion and Albert Einstein was going around this week..



It is a cool picture and somebody had commented that it is funny when Ben Gurion's hair is considered the neatest in a group..

In response somebody else posted this cool video of David Ben Gurion with Ray Charles.. he looks like he doesn't know what hit him.... today this is a position Shimon Peres flls, meeting all the famous Jews and celebrities...

Here's a Hannukah song, not Thanksgivvukah, from Julie Geller (kol isha alert for those who might want to avoid it).. though I did see someone talk about the overlap of Thanksgivvukah as being very appropriate with both holidays being expressive of thanks for miracles, and this song does fit that message..

no, nothing to do with Thanksgivvukah...

Recently a serious case of abuse in a frum school was exposed. It was so bad that it required the intervention of the Minister of Education, Rabbi Shai Piron, though it seems to have continued after his intervention as well.

Nuchem Berzasky was formerly the campaign manager for the campaign of Moshe Abutbol for re-election as mayor of Bet Shemesh. Even if I did not like some of his tactics, one has to admit that he did an effective and even phenomenal, in some aspects, job. That's not really relevant to this, but last week Berzosky announced that with the official publication by the Ministry of Interior of Moshe Abutbol as elected mayor, he is going to be returning back to his private life. He has not really - perhaps it is just too soon and it is a long process to return to a quiet private life after being involved in such a public affair... Berzosky has remained public, sort of, commenting on recent events in the news. And I think that is good. I enjoy seeing his perspective, even when I disagree, just like I enjoy seeing the perspective of people from the entire range of the spectrum of ideas. Berzosky is skilled and talented in making his point and articulating his thoughts and opinions, and it would be a shame to lose someone so skilled.

The recent exposure of the abuse case has brought Berzosky out of his privacy, with a powerhouse of a letter which he sent to Minister Piron..

Berzosky writes (the original can be found on Bechadrei):

I will being on a personal note. When I was a 9 year old student in 4th grade, I was the victim of a web of serious and continued abuse, which was kept bottled up inside me, even until today. This is actually the base of power for the abusers. They take advantage of the naivete and of the fear of the child, and they rely on the fact that the child will hold his tongue, as it also undermines the parental faith to the point that the child feels as if he is guilty, and the father finds the main guilt by him, and not in the dedicated teacher.

Today, with hindsight of 26 years, it is clear to me that the teacher "marked" me because he had been in a financial dispute with one of my relatives. That is how I found myself standing in the center of the class, in the middle of the lecture, in front of 35 students, without shoes, with peyos (which were usually curled downwards) above my head and tied to each other like shoelaces, while I was commanded to hold my backpack with all the books on top of it. And that's what I had to do for the entire duration of the class, for an hour, without the ability to move.

It did not end there. After a few days he repeated that ceremony. Removing my shoes, my peyos tied above, bag in hands, but that time he chose to place me by the window facing the school courtyard, during the recess. And that is how I found myself on the gallows in front of 400 kids, with them gaping at me as ina  live display case, or maybe like in an aquarium containing only the fish that cleans the gunk stuck to the glass.

These were the high points, but they were preceded by a series of beatings and personal attacks.

All those years I was angry at my friends who saw and kept quiet. A child's brain at that age works like self-guilt first and last.

I am not saying this as a step against that "hangman" who for whatever reason was given the keys of education, because after a number of years he left his job, and I do not have the desire of revenge in me even though he rightfully deserves it, because today he does not have the destructive tools to perform his plotted actions.

But in recent days a pandora's box has been opened of cruel abuse against helpless children, by educators and principals. The box is opening little by little, with the blessed and courageous initiative of Bechadrei Chadarim many difficult testimonies are streaming forth unabated, one story leading to the next.

We all know that it is not connected to this or that sector. The plague of cruel educators crosses all sectors, in the country and around the world, as we see exposed weekly in the media.

So I do not think that dealing with the difficult problem openly bears any chilul hashem. Just the opposite - my turning to you is backed up by rabbonim who see the covering up to be an ample base for the destruction of generations, and request cooperation with the suggestion I raise before you.

And now to the actual recommendation:

The Ministry of Education should obligate all schools in the country to install cameras in the classrooms and around the area of the school. Violation of this rule will cause a significant deduction of their budget, via a series of sanctions from the Ministry of Education, even to the point of shutting the school down. 

Installing the cameras that will document what's happening on the premises, both visual and audibly , will uproot 90% of the occurrences. The stress should be on audio, for in many situations the abuse is defined verbally, meaning, verbal abuse, which by Jewish tradition is much more serious than physical abuse. This type of abuse would not be caught by video recording alone.

Along with my turning to you as Minister of Education, I also turn to the leading rabbonim in the Haredi sector and to leading educators, that they should obligate their institutions that are not subject to the Ministry of Education to also take this step to protect our children.

At a time when every bank, office, bathroom and bus us armed with video cameras, there is no reason this technology should not be used as a significant and quality defensive system, that will bring security to the parents who do everything for the success and advancement of their childrenn.

As soon as it will be collective, the good teachers wont be hurt by it, and they are definitely the majority. They too will understand the need to deal with what looks like a situation that hasnt been resolved for many years. And just like in most offices this is accepted with understanding and not with suspicion, the world will change for this as well.

Minister of Education, there is no doubt that if you succeed in this task, your name will be engraved in gold in the letters of gratitude from all the residents of Israel, the parents, the kids, each person with a personal dedication  for the defense you provided for the base of generations.

The solution Berzosky presents is not new, but I commend him for promoting it publicly, while exposing his own personal background..

Shmitta and Hetter Mechira is always a big issue for the Chief Rabbis, and for those who are the "powers that be" behind them...

During the campaign for the election of the Chief Rabbis there were reports that Rabbi Dovid Lau had committed to the Haredi position of not allowing hetter mechria in order to get their support for him as Chief Rabbi.

What happened, happened, and Rabbi Dovid Lau is now Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau. And it looks like those reports were wrong. Maybe.

The other day Chief Rabbi Lau announced that he has decided to approve use of the hetter mechira again for this coming shmitta year. Allowing full use of hetter mechira would keep the prices of vegetables down.

Hetter mechira would be one of three option presented to farmers and agriculturists  for the coming year.
The three options are:
1. not working at all, leaving the fields completely untouched
2. Otzar Beis Din
3. Hetter Mechria

It is still unclear what Rabbi Lau's position is. Some say that he has decided to allow it for the coming year only because he knows that if he does not the Supreme Court will force it as an option, as happened last time when Rabbi Metzger did not want to approve it.

It does seem clear though that even of Rabbi lau does approve of the use of hetter mechira, it will not be as a preferred choice. Rabbi Lau said that there is plenty of time until the beginning of shmitta and he will be setting up a shmitta committee to ensure that everything will function during shmitta 5775 in the best possible way.

Rabbi Abba Turetsky, a kashrut expert who has been involved with the shmitta committees in the past, explained that Rabbi Lau's words are being misunderstood and he is not in favor of the hetter mechira. He explained that Rabbi Lau knows that many farmers will not abandon their fields or use the Otzar Beis Din system and for many years have been using the hetter mechira system. He says that Rabbi Lau believes the hetter mechira does not work as a valid option - even bdieved. Even the rabbonim who allow it, bdieved, still do not allow certain types of work to be done. Yet, throughout the years the farmers have violated these rules, performing even the prohibited types of work in the fields. Rabbi Lau, Turetsky explained, is working to ensure that at least those farmers who insist on using the hetter mechira will do so only in a way that will not include performing the prohibited types of work and will follow the strict rules of what can be done.

Rabbi Turetsky also says that he expects many more farmers this time to choose the system of Otzar Beis Din because Rabbi Lau has succeeded in getting unprecedented cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Otzar Beis Din system.

Turetsky says that the publication that Rabbi Lau supports hetter mechira was publicized in a way to try to torpedo the efforts Rabbi Lau is putting forth to minimize the use of the hetter mechria.
(source: Kikar and Bechadrei)

It seems pretty clear that the hetter mechira will, once again, be employed as an option for farmers, but it does seem to me that Rabbi Lau is working to minimize as much as possible the number of farmers that rely on it, and to improve the hetter mechira system as well.

It is always good when systems are improved and standards are raised. Even if the hetter mechira system must be used, at least it should be done in a way that is the best possible method. I hope Rabbi Lau will be successful in his efforts to improve the hetter mecira system for those who want to employ it.

Neturei Karta donated an ambulance.. to Gaza!

  עולם חסד יבנה!!

Life in Israel intolerable

  -- YnetNews

(Hattip: Yama VaKedma)

I didn't realize this blog was on the radar of such major news sites! I am honored! Now I have to figure out how to make it tolerable.. :-)

Actually the article is about quality of life, not about this blog...

a bit corny..

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Where's Waldo? Where are the keilim of the Beis Hamikdash?

A Jerusalem-based rabbi recently sent a letter to the Pope and to the Vatican Ambassador to Israel asking them to consider returning the vessels, that are supposedly stored in the archives of the Vatican, to Israel during the Pope's upcoming visit.

Surprisingly enough, there has been a response!

According to Ladaat, the Vatican Ambassdor to Israel has responded to Rabbi Shtencel saying that the vessels of the Beit Hamikdash are NOT located in the Vatican.

The Ambassador goes on to say that the idea that the Vatican is holding the vessels goes against the past 50 years of friendly dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Jewish Nation. If the vessels would be in the Vatican, the Popes until now would have definitely returned them to the rightful owners. The Ambassador adds a personal offer - he says if you can prove to me that the Vatican is holding the vessels, I will personally pass the information on to Pope Francis.

So, where are the vessels of the Holy Temple?

MK Yaakov Litzman (UTJ) had proposed a law, that was today rejected in the Knesset. Litzman actually proposed this law about 6 months ago, shortly after the last general Israeli Knesset elections, but it was only voted on today, and rejected.

The proposal was to add to the legal term גזענות, racism, the qualification of acts of banning or boycotting groups, in addition to the already legislated qualifications of persecution, humiliation, degradation, expression of hatred, hostility or violence, or causing strife. As well, Litzman proposed adding the Haredi sector to the list of groups being targeted for racism, so that any of those acts when targeted against Haredim would also be defined as racism.   The punishment for such racism, against haredim, would be jail time from 1 to 10 years, and any results of the racist act would be wiped out.
(source: Ladaat and Kikar)

MK Litzman is still upset about the Haredi parties being excluded from the government. Litzman says the Lapid banned them so as to avoid pictures of the government including bearded people. The law would also have protected Haredim in the general workplace from discrimination.

It's a shame Litzman used his anger over the government to try to pass a law that had no chance of passing, which prevented a possibly good law from passing as well. Instead of focusing on the government and how he was supposedly banned, he should have worked to pass a law about the general workplace, where regular people, Haredim, are trying to get jobs and are discriminated against just because of their appearance. So now it is still not illegal to discriminate against Haredim in the workplace.

They are trying to present a thesis according to which the barrier to peace is the territorial one. That is fiction. We signed two peace deals, with Egypt and with Jordan, and the settlements were not a barrier. Compared to that, in Gaza we evacuated settlements and merited rocket fire in return. Historically there was never a connection between settlements and peace agreements..

  -- Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman

This is just too strange and unexpected to pass by..

Rav Bentzion Hakohen Kook, a rav in the Romema neighborhood of Jerusalem and close student of Rav Elyashiv, has written a psak, that he says was shown to Rav Elyashiv, by which it would be prohibited to enter the Beit Hamikdash with long peyos.

Rav Kook explains that it is prohibited to enter the Temple with wild hair due to the laws of "mora mikdash", and serving with wild hair, and long peyos, is even worse resulting in a punishment of the Heavenly death penalty.

Rav Kook adds that he had discussed his psak with Rav Elyashiv, and Rav Elyashiv agreed with it while expressing his consternation at the idea. Rav Elyashiv had supposedly said that it is an amazing idea - the Kohanim were serving, the people were coming to bring their offerings and pay visits to the Mikdash, and all of the people would come on the holidays for aliyah l'regel, and it is a novelty to say that in the time of the Beis Hamikdash they could not grow their peyos long. Rav Elyashiv found a solution to the disturbing idea by saying that they could grow their peyos for a period of 30 days, so short peyos would be acceptable.

I am proud to say that I am machmir like this psak supposedly accepted by Rav Elyashiv and am preparing for the building of the Beis Hamikdash by keeping my peyos short and ready...

Another point Rav Kook makes is that the average Jew paying a visit to the Mikdash, say aliyah l'regel for example, would have been allowed to grow out a nice coiffed head of hair, with a blorit, or tchup in yeshivish, (forelock in English, I think), as a viisitors issue is adhering to concepts of mora mikdash, and a blorit is not "parua rosh". However, a kohen serving in the mikdash would not have been allowed to have a blorit.
(source: Walla)

True or not  I don't know, but definitely interesting...

And, as with all piskei halacha publicized via the Internet (or anywhere else for that matter), discuss it with your rav or research the issues yourself before relying on the psak.

Will downloading music and movies from the Internet, in Israel, soon become legal?

MK Meir Shitreet (Hatnuah) along with other MKs have proposed a bill that would make it legal for home users to download and copy movies and, songs from the Internet and copying disks. The law, if poassed, would only make it legal for personal use, but not for selling. The balance of this law is that it would add a tax to manufacturers and importers of equipment used for making copies of disks. Money from this new "tax" would go into a fund that would pay out to musicians and producers.

This law has been formulated in coordination with AKUM -the organization that works to protect the rights, copyrights, of musicians and producers.

This was reported this morning in the hard copy of Maariv newspaper today. Now online on their website..

The halachic position of such downloads has been debatable until now. I have  heard a wide range of piskei halacha on the topic. I think that this law would make the entire discussion moot. For those who say it is a halachic problem to download, I think it is only because legally the music/movies are copyright protected. Once it is legal to download and therefore the artists expect it to be downloaded and know they are getting their money from a specific source, I see no reason for those opinions to remain with a halachic issur.

Israelis Beat World Record with Hair Donations in Support of Children with Cancer

-- United With Israel

this is just amazing.

From UWI:

More than 250 women participated in a haircutting event last Monday at Jerusalem’s Malha Mall; it was hosted by Zichron Menachem – the Israeli Association for the Support of Children with Cancer and their Families, together with Pantene Products Israel.
Approximately 200 hair salons participated. It was planned as a three-day program, but within five hours, more than 117 pounds, or 53.1 kilograms, of hair was donated.
The previous record for hair collection was 107 pounds, or 48.7 kilograms. 

The Zichron Menachem website (zichron.org) includes a list of more than 100 haircutting venues that participate in this initiative all year round. The collected hair is given to children in hospitals throughout Israel. The organization serves all Israeli citizens equally, regardless of faith and/or gender.
Addressing potential donors, Zichron Menachem stresses that a healthy individual’s hair “never stops growing. You – and your hair! – can bring boundless joy to a child with cancer! Even if you cut it all off, it will still grow back.”
Its website suggests:
“Close your eyes for just a minute and picture waking up in the morning and finding locks of your hair spread across the pillow. You finger them in confusion, fear. You run to the mirror and gasp in horror.”
All types of hair are in demand.
“In order to make a child with cancer feel as normal and beautiful as possible, the goal is to fashion a wig that looks exactly like his/her hair,” the site explains. “The child’s head is measured, and the wig is constructed from hair that is the closest match to his own. A curly-topped kid wants curls. A girl with red braids wants red braids. A teen with frizzy brown hair still wants…frizzy brown hair, even if she’s always complained about it!”