AM:PM, the famous supermarket chain in Tel Aviv that has caused many fights for flaunting the law and being open on Shabbos, wants to open its first branch in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod.

AM:PM operations on Shabbos in Tel Aviv has led to lawsuits by the small markets associations for unfair competition, as they cannot afford the fines, yet are being forced to work on Shabbos just to compete and they therefore lose their day off. AM:PM operations also led to a Haredi [sort of, never actually official] ban on other supermarkets owned by the same owner, Shefa Shuk.

Now AM:PM wants to open in Ashdod, on Shabbos. The local Haredim are upset, understandably. I am sure the other small market owners are also upset.

The owner of the property is himself a religious Jew who keeps Shabbos. His response to the complaints against him is that he is against chilul shabbat, but he is against coercion

It seems just a few hundred meters away there are other businesses open on Shabbos. The Haredim say there are businesses open downtown, but not in this area, which is right opposite City Hall.

The mayor says he is looking into the issue.
source: Mynet

Personally, I am just going to wait for the first Kassam or Grad rocket to hit the new AM:PM building so we can hear about how it was hit due to its chilul shabbos.

The fight regarding the building of the School of Languages and Culture located in RBS is not new. The school is situated in a building that can educate, supposedly, up to 500 children. The school has 140 children under its responsibility. It seems to have classrooms that just are not used at all - they are kept locked. But they have the building, as an old allocation.

The school is situated in a religious neighborhood of RBS A. One might justifiably say RBS A is Haredi, but it is at least mixed religious, with a majority of Haredi residents. the immediate area around the school is mostly Haredi, though I am not sure that is a real factor, as a number of the other school buildings in that immediate area are also non-haredi. And there are many Haredi institutions located in buildings on the older part of Bet Shemesh in non-Haredi areas, and the students are bused in. It is not a great argument, that the building must be given priority for local needs, but in this situation there happens to be a severe shortage for local institutions.

The Haredi community has long been upset about this, saying there are Haredi schools bursting at their seams, overflowing with children, using caravans and temporary structures, while this school, with kids largely being bussed in from other parts of the city, cannot even fill the building they have are under-using a valuable resource in the middle of an area where the local kids dont have school buildings.

The non-Haredi say it is a regional school, the former Minister of Education Gideon Saar authorized it to be kept in use by this school, they have had it and it cant just be taken away, etc.

I happen to agree that the authorities should find a way to allocate the school buildings more efficiently and give the buildings to the schools that need them. If this school is not using the building entirely, it should perhaps be shared with another school in a similar situation. Or with a new school that does not have so many kids yet. Or the school can be relocated to another, smaller, building, and this building be re-allocated based on need.

Unfortunately, our city leadership is not blessed with vision or skills for planning long term. Instead of working on this, the problem has been festering for years already, they just try to use force to get things the way they want, or think should be.

They could call a meeting in the Iryah about it, put it up to a vote (which will have an automatic majority), pressure the government, meet and negotiate arrangements with the school board and the relevant parents associations...

Today, some Haredi city councilmen went down to the school with city workers and acted like they are forcefully taking over the school. Police were called in, another non-haredi city councilman got involved opposing them, Words got heated. Police kept everyone apart. Nobody was arrested.

As I said, I think the right thing to do is find a solution to free up the building and allocate it to a local school that needs it.

My complaint here is that they show up the day before school starts and claim the building forcefully. Where were they the past two or three months during summer vacation? Couldn't this have been dealt with over the long vacation? Why the day before Opening Day? And why not already be dealing with this even longer than over the 2.5 months vacation? For the past year, or 3 years, have they been working on a solution? or do they just plan to show up every few years right before opening day and try to take the school?




The Regional Director of the Ministry of Education later sent a letter to Mayor of Bet Shemesh Moshe Abutbol saying that they oppose such a unilateral decision, and express bewilderment that such a decision to initiate such a sensitive action would be made just days before the opening of the new school year.
source: shopping

The Iryah response claims it is their job to be concerned for the education fo children from all sectors, and this building is underused. Being that they are owners of the property, they have the right to go in and do what is necessary and they did not break in or act forcefully. They add that they invited the principal of the school to meetings a number of times, but she never came.

The principal responded to that by saying she was only invited to a meeting about it once, on August 25th (less than a week ago. She says she arrived 10 minutes early to the meeting, and waited an hour. The secretary contacted the Director of City Hall, who said he has another meeting. At that point she left. She was called later and told that they decided in the meeting that the Mishkenos Yaakov school would use the building. She contacted the Board of Parents and it then went to the Regional Director of Education, the Board of Parents and the Minister's office, for further action.
source: shopping

This is how they shoot themselves in the foot. This is what happened a few years ago. They turned it into a big fight at the last minute, and the Minister of Education had to support the school instead of the thugs, and no solution was found. Now too - instead ow working toward a solution, they shoot themselves in the foot by acting like thugs, and then it will come back to hurt them. Is this regional director going to help them now? Is this going to delay a solution by another few years?

Update : the director general of the ministry of education has now sent a threatening letter to abutbol saying that if he continues with such types of activities rather that acting according to the rules of the MoE,  and in coordination with the MoE,  the MoE will absolve itself off all its commitments to the educational system of the city of Bet Shemesh. 

One thing I think needs to be expressed as a "lesson learned" from the Aaron Sofer case is how people go on hikes and tiyulim.

It gets very hot in Israel in the summer. Even in the heights of the Jerusalem hills.

Do NOT go hiking in your wool suit and felt hat. Do not wear your shabbos shoes that give you no traction. Do NOT go without water, thinking it is only a short hike.

I don't know what to say about a cellphone. I understand the concern some people have about holding a cellphone. A mobile phone is something that is recent. People hiked without cellphones for a long time. Sure, it can make things more convenient and even help save lives in plenty of situations, but does that mean everyone should be obligated to hold one? I don't know. I might say it is smart to take a cellphone on a hike, and make sure the battery is full and maybe take a spare battery pack, but should it be obligated? I dont know. And anyways, I have been on plenty of hikes and tiyulim where the batteries ran out in the middle, so I dont think obligating one to carry a cellphone necessarily solves the problem.

So, a cellphone is probably a good idea to include in your carry items for a tiyul, but I am hesitant to say it should be obligatory.

When you go on a tiyul, please follow basic safety rules. Make sure you have water - a lot of water. 3-4 liters per person, at least Make sure you are dressed appropriately - a sun hat, light clothing - both light in color and light in weight and heat, appropriate shoes. maybe a walking stick - it helps with balance, and can also relieve some stress on the body. Get familiar with your route and take a long a map of the area. Don't split up from your hiking partner for no good reason.

and more water.

Be safe.

I've been following the scandal/conflict regarding the four seminaries, with Elimelech Meisels and the two batei din on different continents and the other rabbis who somehow got themselves involved in the middle...I have read [probably] almost every post from both blogs dealing with the issue intensively.

I admit, I have been asked by many people why i have not written much about it (nothing at all except for one post at the beginning of the story). My answer has been that I have been following the story but find it so complicated to follow and understand all the nuances and details that I don't feel I can write about it. There is just too much that doesn't make sense to me.

That has not changed.

This post is not going to be about the case itself. The batei din and rabbis seem to have devolved into an argument based on nuances in the wordings of the various documents regarding who has the right to hear the case. Truth is, they seem to be trying to kill the public interest in the case by turning the discussion into one so mind-numbingly boring that people will eventually just move on to the next story.

The one thing that bothered me was that with all the arguing, with all the fighting over who has authority to hear complaints, to decide relevant issues - among all that arguing, I don't remember ever reading a statement expressing sympathy for the victims, offering them a "shoulder to cry on" of sorts, offering to direct them to people (probably professionals) who can help, nothing about  a wish for healing or an offer to help the healing process.

And it is not because they are disputing if anything happened.

The IBD, that is accused of protecting the Meisels interests, seemingly took it for granted that the accused was guilty - the arguing is about what has happened after that regarding sale of the businesses, er - I mean seminaries, and future merchandise - er, I mean young women who want to learn Torah.

Perhaps that's the key - the arguing is only about what happened later, so they haven't had to deal with the issue of the affected young women. But that's not true either. Arguing about the situation keeps the story in the public and fresh and opens the wounds for the victims. That is besides for what actually affects the women more directly - such as attacks on specific victims who have stepped forward, such as those attacks on one of the blogs (which is really what prompted this post).

Can't anybody find a moment to offer and express some human empathy among all the nitpicking over the other stuff?

The same question applies to more recent victims - there are lots of young women whose families have struggled to save or raise in the range of $20,000 for tuition, and they are at risk of losing that money. That is significant money for most people in the world.

Can't the batei din, arguing about issues that will have a direct affect on whether all those families lose all that money, or an affect on the seminary administration might lose a lot of money from cancellations, express some sympathy for the people on either side that will be financially devastated from a decision in either direction? This I understand a bit more because it is current - the issue has to be decided objectively, and such a statement might be inappropriate, rather than a statement for victims of the original situation which is no longer being dealt with.

Maybe it is just not in the job description of a beis din. They have to judge the case before them and that's it. I would find it hard to believe that it would be wrong of a beis din to act like automatons and not express some empathy for the affected people, when it does not affect their objectivity. If the arguing of the batei din would have no affect on the victims, it would not be necessary, so why ask them to do it.. but when the arguing dregs it all up and puts victims back on the pedestal in front of the public - then I think a word of sympathy might be warranted.

very powerfulr ecollection of the events.. he is a hero for how he saved the kids.

he speaks in French but there are English subtitles..

this is the Maccabeats new song.. it is a medley mashup of 12 songs.. they ask how many of the original 12 songs can you identify.. I admit I couldn't identify a single one. not only that but I could not even identify that there were 12 different songs mashed up into this one!! though I did identify one of the lead singers of the Fountainheads making an appearance in this video...

is it really not tzanua to print a magazine with images of women included? when did it begin? was it always like that? Rav Shmuel Pappenheim discusses when womens images were also included in the Eida magazine.. until recently..

an era long gone... a major part of Jewish history

When JTA's Uriel Heilman stumbled upon an abandoned house in the Catskills, a trail of clues led to a remarkable Borscht Belt story

amazing!

UPDATED POST:

The levaya for Aaron Sofer z"l will be tomorrow, at 9:30am.

The levaya will be leaving from his yeshiva in the Ezras Torah neighborhood of Jerusalem, and the kevura will be in the Eretz Hachaim cemetery outside of Bet Shemesh.

good news for bike riders!

In a law proposal that is supported by MKs from across the political spectrum, automobile drivers would legally have to be more careful when passing a bicycle in the road.

According to this law proposal, on an intercity road, a driver would have to stay at least 1.5 meters away from a bicycle when passing. On local roads the distance drops to 1 meter away.

The authors of the proposal explain that there has been a sharp upswing of  cyclists getting injured from cars.
source: NRG

bike riders should love this news. I regularly hear from cyclist friends how dangerous road biking is and how frequently they nearly get hit...

The search for Aaron Sofer has been suspended in the past few minutes.

A body was found. it looks like there was no foul play but was a hikibng accident where he fell from a cliff.  We are still waiting for identification to confirm the identity, but they think it is Sofer. They will also analyze the body to confirm cause of death (read, perform an autopsy, which will probably become a fight).

We should only hear good news in the future.

ATTENTION: MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA!

PRESS CONFERENCE: Parents of Aaron Soffer Speak Out – TONIGHT!

WHAT: Press Conference with the parents of Aaron Soffer, the 23-year old Yeshiva student who went missing in this past Friday in the Jerusalem Forest

WHERE: The Western Wall Plaza, Jerusalem

WHEN: TONIGHT – Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 10:15 PM (22:15)

Additional details: The event will begin with a mass Tehillim (Psalms) rally at 10:15 PM. It will be followed immediately by the press conference at 10:45 PM.

CONTACT: Shlomo Soffer (cousin of Aaron) – 053-314-9613; 052-762-4678

I am in favor of Jews living wherever they want in the land of Israel. Sometimes that takes risks, but they should be allowed to if they are willing to take those risks.



Despite that, one has to worry that this just is not going to end well...

In an uproarious session in the Jerusalem City Council, an allocation was approved for construction of a yeshiva, in a building 9 stories tall, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.

The session was not well attended by members who would oppose the proposal, so approving the allocation was relatively simple, if uproarious. Only 2 councilpeople voted against - those from Meretz, because others who would also have opposed it were just not present.

Councilman Aryeh King expressed his satisfaction with the vote calling the opposition by Meretz to be racist in nature.. King also said we will Judaize Jerusalem, strengthen its security and establish yeshivot for people to learn Torah in, and bring the children back to the borders...
source: Haaretz

As I said, I approve. I just worry it wont end very well...

Mynet reports that the UTJ city councilmen of Jerusalem, led by Elazar Rauchberger, has submitted a request to the Regional Council of the Dead Sea region to create a "separate beach" in the northern part of the Dead Sea region for the religious public.

I completely support the idea. The religious public that wants separate swimming is a very large community and there is no reason they should not be able to enjoy the Dead Sea like anybody else can.Creating a separate beach for the religious public would not harm the public that is not interested in separate beaches - there are plenty of regular beaches spread all over the shores of the Dead Sea.

What I don't agree with is the reason given. They turned it into a manipulation attempt. they should have just asked for a separate beach for the religious community.

Rauchberger explained that the general public has many options very close to Jerusalem for relaxation and to enjoy a beach. The general public can go to the man-made beach in Jerusalem, and the many beaches all along the Dead Sea that are within a reasonable distance. The Haredi community, on the other hand, has few options available - the Haredi community has to travel very far to find a separate beach that is appropriate. The separate beach by the Dead Sea is in the southern end, which is over 100 kilometers from Jerusalem - very far. He further justifies the idea by saying bringing 200,000 new visitors will strengthen the local economy, which is a very good point and a fabulous benefit and reason to approve the idea, if just doing it for such a large public isn't enough of a reason..

The reason I dont like his reason is because Tel Aviv is closer than the Dead Sea, and there is a separate beach there, along with others up and down the Mediterranean coast. If it is simply a matter of proximity, don't complain, just go to Tel Aviv. On the other hand, as a public communal issue, they have a justified request.

I guess it does not really matter, at the end of the day. Even the given reason, even though I think it is not as good a reason as what they should have said, is a fine reason. It is just the thought process that I am commenting on.

my translation of the post:
This charming Haredi fellow is busy building the new bridge to Temple Mount. Every time I ascend he sends me his blessings and smiles. It seems that he is convinced that on this bridge that he is building they will go up to visit the Beit Hamikdash. If only that he should be correct.

#bringAaronHome

אהרון סופר, החיפושים וחבר from חרדים 10 on Vimeo.


looks to me like they really need some coaching how to present themselves in front of a camera....

here is a very Jewish ALS Ice Bucket challenge, with the rabbi analyzing the relevant halachis involved..

What a great clip! the performance, the discussion afterwards, Aviv Gefen...

Some MKs on the right side of the political spectrum, from the parties including Yisrael Beyteynu, Likud and Habayit Hayehudi, are working to propose a new law.

The new law would really just be the cancellation of a clause that was adopted from the British Mandate.

The law proposal would be to take away the status of Arabic as an official language of the State of Israel. If the law would pass, Israel would no longer publish its official forms and announcements in Arabic, as it does now in addition to Hebrew. As well, the Arabic language would cease to be used in government offices and in the courts. The proposal does make an exception for road signs, saying road signs would continue to be published with Arabic included, as everybody has the right to use the language they prefer.

The law is being proposed by MK Shimon Ohayoun (Yisrael Beyteynu), in coordination with MKs Dovid Rotem and Chemed Amar, along with moshe Feiglin (Likud) and Orit Strouk (Habayit Hayehudi).

There have been attempts to pass similar laws in the past, always unsuccessfully.

The reason for the proposal is that most countries have their national language, the language spoken by most of its population. The Hebrew language as the national language needs to be anchored in law. Passing the proposal would effect more societal cohesion and would build a collective identity...
source: Haaretz

I don't have a strong opinion on this. I am in favor of it generally, despite the acknowledgement that we still have a sizable Muslim population. It does help that many of the Muslims are splitting off of Israel - whether in the West Bank or Gaza, but there will still be plenty that will remain in Israel as Israeli citizens. I dont know if that justifies its status as a national language, but it leaves me in the position of being in favor, but not strongly. It is actually probably more justified to add Amharic or Russian as official languages than to leave Arabic as an official language.

Even though the timing is so close to the conflict/war with Gaza, at least that is not the official reason being given.

I do think it is good to have one language and promote only Hebrew. we have minority languages of all types in use. If they are not protected, Arabic need not be either. It can, obviously, still be used, it just wont have official status.

and another thought on Hamas...

Hamas is declaring a victory due to the terms of the latest truce.

Considering what they have to go back to - the destruction, the rubble, the tragedies, the death, the injuries, the people they are going to have to face and answer to, and mostly, again, the sheer level of destruction and rubble Gaza has become - they can have and enjoy their great victory...

if it would have been a real victory, it would at best be a Pyrrhic Victory... but because it is not a real victory but a propaganda victory, I wish them much happiness in reveling in their victory...

Muslim terrorists and extremists are really a bunch of cowards.

Look at all the images of Muslims radicals and extremists around the world involved in murders, executions, terror, and the business of death - whether Hamas, ISIS, Al Qaeda or any others. They are almost always acting with their faces covered with ski masks. They do not want to be identified. They are afraid of being identified and caught. They operate under the cloak of anonymity.

Hamas keeps claiming Mohammed Deif is alive - Israel missed him in the airstrike last week. they say he is alive and well. Now they are also saying that Deif himself instructed Hamas to accept the latest truce.

Maybe he is alive and well. I have no idea. Maybe Israel did miss Deif. But if he is alive, as they claim, why not show him to the public? Show the world that Israel missed and failed in a mission? What are they afraid of? They can even just show a current picture of him if they don't want to bring him out into the sunlight.

They try to make themselves look so bold and courageous - beheadings, on-camera terror, missiles, knifings, - but they do so while hiding in public out of fear of being identified. That's not courage, not leadership, not heroism. That is cowardliness. That is fear.

I snagged the following article off the Google+ page of Rabbi Fishel Jacobs of Vermont. Rabbi Jacobs wrote this in response to a new report about a local diner that removed a sign about bacon, in a show of tolerance to Muslims that do not eat bacon.

Rabbi Says: Keep The Bacon Sign!

I was waiting for this to happen in my beloved state of Vermont. It was as inevitable, as it is reprehensible.

The story, which was reported on different national media sites (e.g. National Review Online), is summarized with this excerpted passage:

"In June, in return for taking part in a local volunteer initiative to plant flower beds in the city’s traffic medians, the diner was awarded a sign on a lamp post that said “Yield for Sneakers Bacon.” A woman took issue with the sign, calling it insensitive to those who don’t eat pork."

The diner removed the sign. And, expectedly, the local Vermont media, including the good mayor of Winooski, fell over themselves lauding the diner's "sensitivity" to diversity.

Hogwash.

My writing, here, is not meant to attack the well-meaning mayor, nor the well-intentioned media. It is meant to say this: Removing this sign, even entertaining the thought, are grossly misled decisions.

Unless you're in a cave and haven't been reading the news these last few years, a definite pattern is appearing worldwide. It's simple, straightforward and devastating.

Islam, and of course we're talking about its followers, are on a blood-thirsty rampage to force themselves, and their sick cult, down society's throats.

We're speaking about Asia, Europe and now the United States. The pattern is absolutely defined. When the Islamic minority grows large enough, the rush for taking hold becomes violent. This is what's happening in London, where entire neighborhoods full of Islamic immigrants have already declared Sharia law is in effect. Police have long ago ceased entering these anti-democracy zones. The same is true for Belgium and France.

It would be superfluous to reiterate commonly known, though horrific, details of daily life in those countries. It's all being consistently covered in the media.

When the minority has little representation, for example in Vermont, the tactics begin such as this. A complaint about an unobtrusive road sign!

How dare they!

I, the writer of these lines, grew up in this glorious state. I'm a 1979 UVM graduate. (As an unrelated aside, I was even elected as the 1973 American Legion Boys State Governor.

However, more pointedly, I am also presently a practicing orthodox Rabbi. My gosh, if anyone would have protested a road sign(!) mentioning bacon, it would have been me! (Or another of the couple dozen kosher food eating Jews in the State.)

But, we didn't. Because, we know that diversity is a two way street. We don't eat bacon, but some other people do. That sign didn't force me to enter that diner, nor should my beliefs force that diner to enter my world.

Live and let live. Diversity and sensitivity means we all find a way to retain our own personal values -- while blending into society.

That takes maturity. To be part of a group, while simultaneously remaining true to your personal identity.

But, I am ashamed, today, for those who removed that sign. I am ashamed that the once proud independent New England - Vermont - pioneering nature has been dirtied. It's been reduced to a cowardice to state the simple.

"We're sorry if this sign offended you, lady. But, you're gonna have to live with it. And, by the way, you're gonna have to live with a lot of things which you might not like. It's called maturity."

No one is going to tell me that it's about diversity. That's hogwash, too.

If a Jewish Vermonter had made the complaint (which they wouldn't as that is out of character) the sign would not have gone down. If a Korean citizen had made the complaint, it wouldn't have, either.

The reason is that people know that Jews, nor Koreans, won't get violent over things like this.

The reality is that violence, the fear of it, or of other repercussions - which we've gotten used to in recent years from Islamics worldwide -- was the motivating reason for the sign's removal.

No one is going to convince me that the worldwide campaign of fear and reprisal we see daily in the news was  not the cause of that sign being removed and an apology presented!

I am ashamed and embarrassed. We live in America. We can not, nor should we, allow ourselves to victims of Islamic aggression.

Look around the world. Today it's a road sign. Tomorrow, it's menus in  restaurants, changing clothing in women's sections of stores. The ultimate goal is acknowledgement of Sharia law.

This stuff is insidious. And, we need to be alert and firm.

#LetsFindOurBoy

Parents of Aaron Sofer Plead for Assistance in Locating their Missing Son



Press Conference for Missing Aaron Sofer



bits of news clips:







They have established a Go Fund campaign to raise money to pay for offering a reward for Aaron's recovery and for funding the ongoing search.

מייסד אפל תחת מטר הרקטות from חרדים 10 on Vimeo.

Jewbellish


Challenging the Aibishter

The IDF Band Corp published this version of Leonard Cohen's "Halleluja" song.

(kol isha alert)



and compare it to the original... which do you think is better?



personally, Leonard Cohen's voice, even from his younger days, has an old and worn, weary and haunting, lilt to it, that I think adds a lot to his song. The IDF version is beautiful, but it is missing the depth of Leonard Cohen.

VERY IMPORTANT!

This came from Aaron Sofer's mother:

 Tonight / Tomorrow (1 Elul) is Aaron's 23rd birthday – his mother requests that people please say perek bet of tehillim and in the zechut of a safe return for Aaron ben Chulda.

Old City to Become Disabled-Friendly, After 3,000 Years

  -- INN

that's great, btu they should also work on making the Old City friendly for "enabled" people as well.. :-)

The UN published several maps showing the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge. The maps mark damaged buildings with red dots scattered throughout Gaza. But this map tells only half the story: Hamas used many of these buildings – including houses, hospitals and schools – as sites to launch rockets and carry out other attacks.

the Haredi askanim are upset that the Home Front (Pikud HaOref) has released these customized videos for the Haredi community. They contain instructions for what to do in the event of a siren. The askanim think the videos are childish and at a level far below that of an intelligent community. Releasing videos like these is demeaning and is an insult.





personally, I looked ta few other video clips, made for the general public, and they dont look to be that much more intelligent. So I wouldnt say the Home Front is singling anyone out as being less intelligent - either they think everyone has minimal intelligence or they have minimal intelligence.

The big difference is that in the general ones they direct the viewer to the Home Front website and tell the viewer how to get the information off the website. In the Haredi videos, no Internet is allowed, so they have to go through all the instructions in the video.

whats funny about these videos, especially the family one, is that it is a family, holding a family meeting, with no mother.

eh. not bad. not great.

There is not much information available to the public yet, though the situation has improved a bit. a few more articles were written today about Sofer's disappearance. Some of it was as a result of the Facebook group we started. We let some journalists know about it and they saw it is a story. Others probably saw articles appearing and did not want to be left  behind.. so we have some improvement.

I do not deal in rumors, so I will only be posting information I have confirmed and know is true, as of this writing.

There were conflicting reports about the status of search parties for tomorrow. There were news reports that said the police are shutting things down because they have decided Sofer is not in the forest, and there were other news reports that said the police and Zaka would be expanding the search parties tomorrow.

I checked with a close relative of Sofer involved (some relatives know as much as anybody else, while other relatives are more involved and more up to date with the info)... he confirmed for me that the police and Zaka will be sending out search parties from the Har Herzl staging area starting at 6:30am.

This relative did not know and was not able to confirm anything about the statements that there will be additional search parties in other parts of Jerusalem. There might be, there might not be - he was not aware of any information about that.

If you can volunteer some time tomorrow, go to har Herzl and join a search team.

Another point - the family has offered a 100,000nis reward for anyone providing reliable information that leads to Sofer's whereabouts.

If you can volunteer some time tomorrow, go to har Herzl and join a search team.

somebody, in the name of "the people who daven at the kotel" or on their behalf, posted the following sign  on the outer mechitza of the kotel.

Women commonly lean over that wall so they can hear their young bar mitzva boys daven, read form the Torah, etc. or somehow participate in other simchas happening at the Kotel.

Sometimes women there sing along to the tunes as well.

I looked across a few miles to Gaza. Right there you realize how stupid and senseless these crude rockets are. They can only kill indiscriminately. They are fired into populated areas. They can’t do much good for the Arab ideology since they really can’t inflict much damage. But the Israeli’s in certain places have to live with some fear and alarms and these rockets keep coming. You may be mathematically safe, but it’s like being raped when you can’t do anything about it.....Rockets are bad technology. iPhones are good technology. 

  -- Apple founder Steve Wozniak, on his trip to Israel

Aaron Sofer, a 23 year old yeshiva bochur from Lakewood, New Jersey, who came to Israel to learn in Jerusalem, in the yeshiva of Rav Tzvi Kaplan, has disappeared.

The information I have is (please correct if I am missing any or if I wrote something inaccurate):
This past Friday Sofer went on a tiyul of sorts through the Jerusalem Forest with a friend. It seems their target was to come out at Yad Vashem on the other end.

At some point, the friend wanted to take a different path, perhaps one that looked more adventurous. Sofer preferred to stay on the same path, so they split up. They called out to each other regularly to make sure the other was ok. It seems they were not carrying cellphones, though I don't know that to be true (I do know that in this yeshiva many of the boys do not have cellphones as cellphones are discouraged). At some point Sofer did not respond to his friends call. The friend doubled back to look for him, and eventually made his way out of the forest and tried to find him back in yeshiva and via relatives of Sofer.

Yesterday a search party of reportedly nearly 1000 people, including hundreds of yeshiva bochurim, went out to look for Sofer in the forest, coordinated by Hatzalah and the Israel Police. So far no trace has been found.

Not a trace. no dropped food wrappers, no broken branches, none of anything you will see in CSI. They have been combing through the forest and so far nothing. Aaron Sofer just disappeared.

We can debate what happened to him. We can debate why the public response has been minimal (some of the possible reasons might even overlap), but right now I think it would be more productive to do what we can to try to find him. Those who can help, search, join search parties, keep eyes open, etc. should do so. Those who can't, should daven, take on good deeds, etc. in his merit.

And we should try to publicize information about his situation, as it becomes known. His disappearance was initially reported on some news sites, but very minimally and since the initial reports there has been very little follow-up.

A Facebook group was started to update information about Aaron Sofer. Hopefully he will be found quickly and will be discovered to be safe and sound.

Police have requested that anybody with information regarding Sofer's whereabouts  should call either the Jerusalem District branch at 02-5391520 or call the 100 hotline anywhere. As well, if you can assist in the search, call that number as well.

there have been a lot of spinoffs of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, generally spun off for political goals instead of the original altruistic goal... some of them are silly, and some of them are pretty good. Of them all, of those that I have seen at least, this one is by far the most disgusting but makes the best point and is the most targeted.

I dont know what they are singing, but the video and camerawork is stunning..

source (a twitter account that follows activities of ISIS and the fighting in Syria and Iraq)

the police let this happen... but God forbid someone should try to bring an Israeli flag up to Har Habayit.. let alone pray!

Lieutenant Adam Landau, from the 188th Armored Brigade, fought in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge. Watch him describe what he saw and felt when he was there.

a little while back there was a very complicated dispute that arose over a psak by a beis din in Tzfat that was reached in order to release an aguna from her situation.

The woman had been in a situation where her husband was in a vegetative state for 7 years after being involved in a car accident. In order to release her from being an aguna the beis din employed an innovative approach of saying that if the husband would know what situation his wife is in he would surely grant her the divorce papers, the get, and therefore they took the authority to release her.

The beis din published a very long psak detailing all the arguments for and against and the decision they arrived at. It became a dispute. They claimed to have support from certain rabbonim. Other rabbonim argued with the psak and eventually the quoted rav withdrew his support.

Now, another Rabbanut beis din has employed a similar approach to resolve the situation of another aguna.

Haaretz is reporting that a woman, a Miriam Katz, whose husband attempted to commit suicide and ended up in a vegetative state after he botched it. The beis din declared that the entire wedding was a "mekach taus" - a mistaken transaction from the start and she was never actually married. The basis for declaring it a mekach taus is that he was mentally disturbed and because she was not made aware of his mental situation, the marriage was based on a mistaken premise and is therefore invalid.

Supposedly this time, unlike with the beis din in Tzfat a few months ago, the beis din has the agreement of "big" haredi rabbonim in advance. The issue of keeping health issues secret, especially mental health issues, is something the has been dealt with by many rabbonim, in the Haredi rabbinate as well, and at least some say it is a reason to invalidate a marriage. We'll see as the story becomes more public whether it has that agreement or if it raises another ruckus..

I ahven't really enjoyed the "rebbetzin" series of funny videos... but I like this one...