Rav Ariel on Hashgacha Pratit

Rav Yaakov Ariel, rav of Ramat Gan, has said that the alternate hechsher known as Hashgacha Pratit cannot be relied upon for kashrut. He also said about its founder, Rabbi Aaron Liebowitz, that not every rav can give kashrut certification, and definitely not someone who is destroying kashrut.

He also said that the various Badatz hechshers generally only go into a place and declare it kosher after the Rabbanut has already done so. The Badatz cannot be relied upon in a place where they declared it kosher without first the Rabbanut doing so, according to Rav Ariel.
source: Srugim

So, according to Rav Ariel, Hashgacha Pratit is just like any other hechsher - just like any private Badatz, for example. According to Rav Ariel, only the Rabbanut can give kashrut and be trusted, and no private hechsher can.

Legally that is the case, and will be so even more so after Shas's new law will be passed in the near future. Halachically that is not the case.

According to halacha all you need is to trust the person telling you it is kosher. There is no concept of hashgacha, private or public. I can trust the Badatz privately, without needing the Rabbanut, from a halachic perspective. I do not even need the Badatz if I trust the owner of the restaurant, or if he hires a private mashgiach that I trust.

That being said, as I have said before, I do not really get how Hashgacha Pratit works. At best it is like any other private hechsher, as Rav Ariel said, and one can choose to trust them or not. In reality though they are trying to do things differently. They have some system of volunteer supervisors, but for the most part people are relying on the word of restaurant owners who are largely not religious and whom they generally do not know personally. Can they be trusted? I don't know. Anybody and everybody can decide for himself or herself, but to me it seems spurious. Even though in theory I like the idea of going back to the system of trust that kashrut is really based on, I do not see how it can work the way it is working.

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a little drama in Bet Shemesh politics

All the [Haredi] news sites are reporting on a surprising and heated situation in the municipality of Bet Shemesh. Perhaps a crack in the coalition.

Mayor Moshe Abutbol has removed City Councilman Mordechai Dirnfeld, a Belzer hassid, from his position as head of the Finance Committee.

The reason for the dismissal is Dirnfeld's opposition to the Iryah's plan to change the rates of arnona, which affects the rates and qualifications of the discounts. This change would supposedly exclude many avreichim from qualifying for full or any discounts.

Because DIrnfeld voted against the proposal, in opposition to the coalition, Abutbol relieved him of his duties as head of the Finance Committee.

sources: Bechadrei (with video), Kikar, Ladaat, Kooker

I don't know if this actually means anything or if he will be back in his position in a week. After all, Abutbol has a tenuous majority and needs Dirnfeld.

Rumor has it, and it is just a rumor, that this might have been staged as a way to clear a spot to make a deal that would bring the Likud party into the coalition. There is now an important position available for them, should they come to an agreement. Abutbol has been in talks with the Likud for a while, trying to get them in.

Another point is that Habayit Hayehudi had two of its represnetatives missing from the vote. The vote passed, despite irnfeld's opposition, by a vote of 9-8. Had the reps of Habayit Hayehudi been present and voted against, this would have been a major success of the opposition over the coalition. I suspect though that if the Habayit Hayehudi reps had been there Dirnfeld might not have voted against. He would have seen that in such a case the coalition would actually lose, and he probably would have toed the line..

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The new Green Line in Jerusalem

and once again real life can sometimes be so funny that satire is not even needed.

The City of Jerusalem has announced that it is adding a new line to the Light Rail system.

The new line will run from the neighborhood of Gilo to Har Hatzofim, Mount Scopus, and will be a 19.6km route. The current line, known as the "Red Line", will meet up with it at the Central Bus Station terminal, for people to be able to transfer lines as necessary. The new line will be called the "Green Line".

Really? They are naming the new train line in Jerusalem that goes to Har Hatzofim - the green line? Isn't the name "the green line" already significant, and troublesome, enough, especially in Jerusalem?

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Jerusalem of Colorful Umbrellas

The City of Jerusalem decorated Nachalat Shiva in this interesting and colorful way...

was it in solidarity with the recent ruling by SCOTUS?
Are they worried about more strange weather with recent summer rains?

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Picture of the Day

According to the New York Times:

Behind a barricade, a group of men wore the fringed Jewish prayer garment known as the tzitzit and held up anti-gay signs bearing the logo of a group calling itself the Jewish Political Action Committee.
“Judaism prohibits homosexuality,” one sign read.
But the men were not Jewish. They were Mexican laborers, protesting because they were paid to protest, said one of the men, who would not give his name.
Heshie Freed, a member of the political action committee, an Orthodox Jewish group based in Brooklyn, said that the men were supplementary troops, filling in for the Jewish students who would normally be called upon to demonstrate.
“The rabbis said that the yeshiva boys shouldn’t come out for this because of what they would see at the parade,” Mr. Freed said.

funniest thing I have read all day.. they hired Mexicans to dress up like hassidim and protest.. who needs satire when real life is even funnier!!??

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Interview with the Boston Hassidut Rebbe in Boston (video)

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Mariah Carey at the Western Wall (video)

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Menachem Herman to the tune of "Santana-Black Magic" (video)

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Facebook Status of the Day

in text:

One of the stops on our yam el yam hike was Kever Rashb"i in Meiron. After a long and tiring day of hiking we were planning to sleep under the stars that night, but before finding a spot, at dusk, we stopped at the kever, and then went to find some food.

Humus Eliyahu is at the entrance to Meiron. The staff / manager saw us with our backpacks (Simi, Aryeh and I must have looked somewhat tired and dirty) and immediately went out of their way to make us feel at home with some of the best humus I have tasted, with fresh pitot, piping hot 'schug' and 'full' as well as as much lemonade / freshly brewed coffee as we needed.

As we were leaving, the manager, Sharon Geula, asked us where we were sleeping. When I mentioned that we were looking for a good spot under the stars, he handed me a key, and told me to go check out a room round the back of the store, and to let him know if it could be an option for us. The room (with bathroom and sink etc) was clean and given the fact that a fairly cold wind had picked up, was a welcome option.

When I asked him how much I could pay him - his response to me was that we should simply find acts of chesed (good deeds) to do for others - and that would be sufficient.

Beyond the practical comfort that Sharon and his friends who run Humus Eliyahu provided us (food, shelter etc), the warmth, friendship, chesed and 'ahavat chinam' that they demonstrated was inspiring.

Thank you Sharon and Humus Eliyahu (Meiron).

To all my friends who are planning to travel in the north this summer, pay a visit and tell your friends to also. Ask for Sharon Geula - you will not be disappointed.

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Proposed Law: Self-employed unemployment

There has been a big problem with the way the State deals with self-employed people. We pay our taxes and we pay bituach leumi payments as if we were both the employer and employee (from what I understand), yet self-employed people do not get the same benefits as employed people.

For example, if such a person should God forbid have to close up shop, he does not qualify for unemployment. I understand there are issues with maternity leave for women who are self-employed, making it more difficult for them to qualify.

MKs from Kulanu, Eli Cohen and Roi Folkman, have submitted a law proposal to deal with these problems.

The Knesset Legislative Committee has now approved these proposals, so there is some hope for the future.

The law proposal would give unemployment benefits to self-employed people who have had to close up shop and leave the workforce. This law will give a bit of a security blanket to people starting small businesses, and give them some security in their decision to go into business.
source: Globes

This is good news. The next step would be to convince the US government to stop making self-employed expats pay the 15% social security tax. Salaried employees do not need to pay it, only self-employed workers. That's a bit bite out of the income of a self-employed person, and is essentially double taxation.

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local ad book in Bet Shemesh under threat for printing womens images

Walla News is reporting on an advertising booklet in Bet Shemesh that is seemingly making waves.

I have not counted in a while, but we get upwards of around a dozen or so ad books in our mailbox every week. Most of them go straight into the trash. A select few of them get brought into the house. One of them is the ad book that is the subject of the report on Walla News. Metzia is new, it is unique, it is colorful, and it is normal (and I advertise in it).

The story goes that Metzia is different than most of the other locals magazines in the sense that it includes women in its advertising. Meaning, if an advertiser wants to include an image of a woman, a woman that is modestly dressed, Metzia does not discriminate and will include the image. Most (not all) of the other magazines do discriminate and do not allow images of women, no matter if they are modestly dressed in the image or not..

Metzia has come under threat. One rav from RBS C (a.k.a. Gimmel) sent a letter to Metzia saying it is not appropriate, nor is it acceptable, and they should at least not distribute in their neighborhood, if not stop altogether (or take out women completely). Another influential rav is referenced who also called and had his people call saying to take out women. Theyy stated explicitly they would tell advertisers to pull their ads if Metzia would not comply, and some have begun to do so.

The owner of Metzia agreed to not distribute to any household that would opt out and send the address and state explicitly they do not want to receive the magazine, but he did not agree to cancel distribution to an entire neighborhood on the say so of one person or a few people who claim to be speaking for everybody.

People can decide to do business wherever they want. I can advertise in one book and not in another for whatever reason I want - budget, style, target audience, I like one and not the other.. Strong-arming and bully tactics are wrong, but at the end of the day, it is the choice of the advertiser to say he will or will not advertise in any given booklet. If they do not want to look for the business of the readers of Metzia, they do not need to.

However, besides for a few advertisers pulling advertisements, a woman who was in RBS C distributing the booklet came under attack. She had to be extricated from the mob by her husband who was in the area, and has filed a police report.. I am not quite sure what happened, but it seems she was spotted distributing the booklet and was told to either remove every single one from every mailbox she had put them in already or she would not be allowed to leave.

The owners of Metzia are standing their ground. They say there is nothing in halacha against the appearance of women in books and magazines, and they will not capitulate on these made up rules by extremists. Basically, anyone who does not like Metzia can take his ad booklet and toss it straight into the garbage, just like many people do with every other ad book they do not like but continue to receive.

Personally I appreciate the return to normalcy, or semi-normalcy, and I hope it shows others that it can work and the extremists do not need to be listened to. They can be extreme for themselves, but people do not appreciate when the extremists set the tone for the neighborhood.

If you are on a Facebook user, and if any of this speaks to you, feel free to show your support for Metzia by liking the Metzia Facebook page..

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Jay Leno's Serious Appreciation for Israel (video)

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Dilemas of Parenting on the Gaza border (video)

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Find Out What it Takes to Become a World-Class Fighter Pilot (video)

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Jerusalem Biking festival combines Sports & Fun (video)

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Ohr Alon on XFactor (video)

Ohr Alon, if you did not know, is the husband of MK Tzippi Hotoveli..



I like that the presence of his high profile wife did not sway them in any way in an unprofessional manner and influence the results... though I would have liked to see the show progress with such a high profile spouse...

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Shabbat Hayom star arrested

Meir Cohen, a Haredi yeshiva bochur who recently became an Internet star when a video of him csreaming at shoppers at BIG mall in Ashdod that it is Shabbos, was arrested.

When I saw the headline that he was arrested, I assumed he was arrested for his screaming. I did not understand why that would get him arrested. Maybe some harassment charges, but nothing serious - he did not really do anything, and I could not see him being held for a serious amount of time over this..  Maybe he would get a restraining order to stay away from the BIG mall, but I can't really see more than that happening.

By the way, many people in the Haredi community, including askanim involved in trying to get the BIG mall closed on Shabbos, have criticized him for screaming like that, even calling it a chilul hashem. Also, they say he might have good intentions, but they say he is harming their efforts to get the mall closed.

It turns out that his appearance and approach was not a one time thing, but he has gone to BIG on Shabbos repeatedly in recent weeks, and has approached people with the same style over and over again.

That could get annoying.

Walla and Ladaat are reporting that he has been arrested for disturbing public order. Supposedly, according to the charges, besides for being a creep and a pest, he also threatened people, attacked people (whatever that means), and disturbed a policeman trying to keep order.

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a few interesting links..

interesting comparison... Aryeh Deri and Pete Rose, by Rabbi Dov Lipman

how the Talmud became a best seller in North Korea

oops.. a Chabadnik put tefillin on someone, thinking she was a guy, but she was not.. she later apologized for letting him think she was a guy.. I feel bad for her, a bit, that she was so easily mistaken for a guy... truth is, Chabad must do things like this all the time. There is no way with the amount of people all over the world that they are putting tefillin on that they are not sometimes donning the tefillin on non-Jews, or on women mistaken as men...

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Proposed law: Nothing to even indicate possible kashrut in businesses serving food, without the Rabbanut

Shas, via ML Yoav Ben Tzur, is trying to get a new law passed, with coordinating with their coalition partners.

I am not sure if the bigger story of this is the lack of coordination and the attempt to push it through regardless of anyone else's opinion, or if the bigger story is the law itself.

Shas has announced that it wants a law passed by which a restaurant, any establishment serving food would have to get a hechsher from the Rabbanut confirming that the food is kosher. No private hechshers allowed.

This does not just refer to the hechsher itself - that they must have a Rabbanut hechsher in order to display a different hechsher. It also includes anything in the establishment that might indicate kashrut - e.g. pictures of rabbonim, prayers on the wall (prayer for successful business or the like), maybe hamsa, the word kosher, or anything else that might make someone think the food inside is kosher. If a restaurant is going to hang in the shop anything like that, he must first have a Rabbanut hechsher.

MKs from Kulanu have a problem with this law. It seems that the biggest problem they have is that Shas is trying to ram it down everyone's throat and did not coordinate at all, and is trying to push it through very quickly with no debate. I did hear MK Rachel Azaria on the radio, and she also does not like the wording of the law, as it is too oppressive - according to Azaria the law would criminalize people who serve coffee in their business meeting and have a "birkat haesek" hanging in the shop, for example.

Interestingly, this would not just affect restaurants looking to avoid the hechsher route (like those getting involved with the "hashgacha pratit" people), but would also require all restaurants with mehadrin hechshers to display Rabbanut hechshers. The radio show hosts on Kol Hai, when discussing the issue, refused to go there (when I was listening) and talk about that, but only wanted to talk about Kulanu's opposition to the law.

No, the government won't be brought down over this. Maximum, Shas will have to put it on hold for a bit while they work out the details with the coalition partners.

According to NRG, Shas says they are unwilling to compromise on this and change the wording.

I am not sure what the rush is. Why can't this wait a few days and get it done properly instead of being pushed through quickly? This makes me most suspicious.

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Facebook Status of the Day

This man begs for spare change at the corner of Ben Yehuda and King George in the center of town in Jerusalem.  I've...
Posted by Avi Noam Taub on Thursday, June 25, 2015

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Naftali Bennet: with love of the Land, desire and effort, you'll accomplish every goal (video)

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Hollywood in the Holy City (video)

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Lipa Shmelczer interview (video)

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Baseball in Israel - not Only for Anglos (video)

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Hakol Haba - S1E15 (video)

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Likrat Shabbat - Shlomo Katz (video)

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"No parks for Haredim"

The Kiryat Yovel neighborhood in Jerusalem is one undergoing change, and a battle. It is an old secular neighborhood in which many Haredi families have been moving in in recent years.

The change in demographics, and therefore the resulting change in the styles and views, in the neighborhood had led to off and on fighting between the communities and their supporters..

According to Ladaat, a recent period of quiet in Kiryat Hayovel has come to an end.

After some recent municipal approvals of Haredi institutions (they are described as illegal institutions, whatever that means) in the neighborhood, their opponents have filed a petition to prevent the City from allocating parks to the local Haredi community in Kiryat Hayovel. They also want the local Haredim moved to other nearby Haredi neighborhoods, such as Bayit Vegan.

They are calling for transfer. Sounds like Rabbi Kahane, but against Haredim. So I guess it is ok.

But it is the park situation that really caught my attention. As long as there are Haredim living in the neighborhood, they deserve parks for their kids just as much as anybody else. The call for no parks for Haredim makes no sense and is probably a crime against humanity.

But even more confusing to me is the call to not allocate parks for Haredim.

Are parks now denominational? Every part of the city, of each neighborhood, should have parks for kids. However the city planners plan parks, whether it is a park every x number of meters, or a park for every x number of families, or whatever formula they use, they should continue to use the same formula.

Are parks now denominational? A park is allocated for Haredim or for secular? Can a Haredi child not play in a secular park? Can a secular child not play in a Haredi park?

What does that even mean to not allocate parks for Haredim? There are parks in the neighborhood, and there might be new ones, and all kids can play in all of them. Are there rules who can enter which park? Is there segregation in the parks of Kiryat Hayovel?

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the end of the era of the fax machine

One of the most frustrating things about dealing with government offices (and banks) in Israel is their insistence on having you fax your paperwork to them, rather than email it in or upload it to them in some other fashion. Most people do not even have fax machines anymore.

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation has approved a law proposal of MK Miki Levi (Yesh Atid) by which government offices and public institutions funded by the government would be obligated to communicate digitally, via the computer with digital paper. The government will go one step closer to becoming a paperless government.

As Miki Levi says, it is time the government moved into the 21st century.
source: TheMarker

I hope the Knesset members votes to pass this law when it shows up at their doorstep. Then we can finally say goodbye to the fax machine. It was a fine invention, but there is a time and a place for everything. The fax machine had its time and its place, and I won't even miss it.

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Headline of the Day

Memorize the Quran, Get a Free Slave Girl in ISIS Competition

  -- The Clarion Project

with prizes like this, my performance in mishnayos baal peh as a child might have been so much different...

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Tzitzit with no corners

this is just too weird! Tzitzit in a snap!

an online store selling tzitzit corners - tzitzit hanging from leather snaps for the belt. I can't tell if it is satire or serious. They think the normal tzitzit are connected to the belt loops, so this is a solution for the complications of using the belt loop. They have a beautiful leather crafted corner snap with the tzitzit attached.

I wonder if the blue strings are made from one of the various tchelet options, or if they are just dyed blue.

In the list of benefits, they say it is good for teens, women and executives.

they say they have seen many begn to keep the mitzva as a result of these tzitzit. funnily enough, they are not keeping the mitzva by wearing these!

Besides for a variety of these tzitzit corners, the only other product on the website seems to be an attache case.

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The Arab "Muslim" who was really born a Jew (video)

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5th Annual International Cybersecurity Conference (video)

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What's it like to live on the border with Gaza (video)

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This Falafel Is Making Me Thirsty! (video)

weird commercial..

this is the "soup nazi" from Seinfeld..this is part of a project sponsored by Pepsi Max Israel to rate the top 50 street food spots..

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Aaron Razel and Ovadia Chamama: As the soul lights up (video)

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diplomatic immunity

There's a big brouhaha regarding MK Bassal Ghattas (UAL) and his plan to join the upcoming flotilla from Turkey to Gaza. Much of it is around the use of his diplomatic immunity to protect him from legal repercussions, or if his immunity should be lifted.


What's the point of diplomatic immunity if not to allow MKs to break the law and get away with it? What good is having it if every time you are going to break the law the immunity would be lifted to make you pay for your crimes? This is not such a great benefit of serving as MK, if you cannot even use it when you need it the most!

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Quote of the Day

We are on our way with the work that will change reality and will bring Gush Dan into the progressive world. It is unbelievable that this has not been done until today. If it took Moshe 40 years to bring the Jewish people through the desert, we are going to do it in 6 years.

  -- Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz

While the installation of a subway or light rail system will be great for the Tel Aviv region, I found it humorous to hear they Tel Aviv is not yet a part of the advanced and progressive world just because it does not yet have such a system. Of course the comparison with Moshe leading the Jews through the desert is also rich..

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Rav Lau and beis din allow the hetter mea rabbonim in divorce case

The 'hetter mea rabbonim' is an institution by which a man stuck in a marriage that he wants to get out of but cannot (e.g. wife refuses the gett, wife is sick and incapable to receiving a gett, etc), the beis din can determine that the husband has done his best and made every effort to do what is right, but cannot be locked into the marriage. They can allow him to marry a second wife, while leaving a gett deposited with them for the first wife should she change her mind, and circumvent the ban on being married to two wives at the same time.

The allowance requires the approval and signatures of 100 rabbis, spread out over 3 continents. Supposedly this is supposed to make it not too easy to get, as rabbis spread so far won't be obligated to each other and will not just agree just because so and so said to.

I don't know how often it happens that a beis din will employ the hetter mea rabbonim, but it does not seem to be too common.

Kipa is reporting that the Beis Din Hagadol of Jerusalem just overturned the decision of a regular beis din, and has theoretically allowed the use of the hetter mea rabbonim in a divorce dispute.

The case is of a husband who wants to divorce his wife, but she has been refusing to accept the gett. The husband claimed in the beis din that she has become disgusting to him and conciliation will not work. He wants to divorce her and marry someone else, as well as perform his mitzva of having children, which he was unsuccessful at doing with the current wife.

Beis din accepted his argument that this would be a reason to give him the hetter mea rabbonim, but did not accept that this is really the issue. Beis din decided that he is refusing to live with her for other reasons, such as he is afraid of her (not sure why) and he is unable to perform normal relations due to her children from a previous marriage living with them.

The beis din also determined that it might possibly be that he is unable to have children, as he did not with her nor with a previous wife, while she has children from a previous marriage. So, the argument that he wants to have children cannot be used.

The decision was appealed to the Beis Din Hagadol. Rav Dovid Lau, Rav Tzion Boaron and Rav Tzion Algrebeli decided to overturn the decision. They point to the fact that the husband left the home and has been living in poor conditions for a long period of time indicates that his argument of her disgusting him is true. They also say he has the right to try to fulfill his mitzva of having children.

The issue of having children should be easy enough to resolve. Send him for testing to see if he is or is not capable of having children. I do not know how much weight such tests bear in halacha, but it should be able to give them at least an indication regarding whether the argument can be used or not, or how much strength it has.

Anyways, the beis din overturned the decision and said that if she refuses to accept the gett within 30 days, he would be allowed to remarry with the hetter mea rabbonim.

gett refusal is a big problem on both sides of the marriage. At least on the mens side there is still a way out of it and around the refusal, even if it is not used too frequently. The women are stuck with no options when it happens to them

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Interesting Psak: bracha on tortilla

I did not even know this was a question, but it seems to be relevant enough that it is worth pointing out..

Rav Moshe Katz, from the Kosharot organization, has written a psak regarding the correct bracha to be made on tortillas.

Rav Katz says there is a dispute what the correct bracha is to be made on tortillas. 

Tortillas have been around for a long time in the USA and other countries, but they are still relatively new in Israel.

Rav Katz points out that the original form of tortilla, made from corn flour and water and then baked, has the bracha Shehakol made on it. Most tortillas sold nowadays in the supermarkets, at least in Israel, are not made from cornflour, but from regular flour.

With tortillas made from regular flour there is a dispute whether to make a mezonot bracha or hamotzi. Rav Katz says that because it is made from only flour and water, and is baked, it is clear the bracha should be Hamotzi.

I would note that some say it is a mezonot because it is very thin, does not qualify is pat haba bkisnin, isn't made the same as bread (fluffier wraps might be different and qualify for hamotzi according to this opinion), and is more of a snack than a sandwich meal.

I make a Hamotzi on tortillas. They always seemed like bread to me, and they are used as a replacement for bread in an alternate form of a sandwich - rather than as a different type of snack food, and I did not even realize that some say it is mezonot.

Interestingly as well, Rav Katz points out based on the Rambam that at the end of days, in the days of Mashiach, we will be blessed with tremendous amounts of good and treats will be found all over. Rav Katz says every time he goes into the supermarket he sees new delicacies and foods, from Israel and from elsewhere, and is impressed with the bounty and the variety, new forms of storage and ways to keep it fresh, freezers and refrigerators storing products from Israel and all over the world... there are always new products. Rav Katz suggests that this fits with the Rambam's comment about the days of Mashiach..

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Obama compares USA to Israel on gun violence

US President Barak Obama tweeted something strange yesterday, regarding the shooting in Charleston South Carolina:

Here are the stats: Per population, we kill each other with guns at a rate 297x more than Japan, 49x more than France, 33x more than Israel.

— President Obama (@POTUS) June 21, 2015

yes, he somehow found a way to connect Israel to it.. so how can we spin it as anti-semitic? just joking.

Obama's goal and intent seems to be to bring about some form of gun control.

I dont know what Obama is including in these statistics:
 * Is he talking about regular homicides between citizens using guns? If that is the case, I would be surprised that Israel's rate is only 33 times better.  Israel has some, but very little homicide.
 * Is he including terror attacks? that would increase Israel's rate of homicide, but most of the terror is not with guns, so I don't know that it would increase all that much.
 * Is he including the military? I doubt it. It does not make sense to include military in such statistics.
 * Is he including the Palestinians? I do not know how much gun violence they have but perhaps Israel and Palestinians together might make Obama's number closer to reality (or maybe not)

maybe his numbers are correct. Even if they are, and not even better than what Obama mentioned, they show that it is not the getting rid of the guns that will bring homicides down, though it will surely help (and I am not against gun control), but something more in the culture. Perhaps more training of responsible use. I do not know what it is, but in Israel guns are all over the place, so it is not just the presence of guns that means more violence. I have even heard some say that the presence of guns keeps the numbers down...

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Tweet of the Day

The Tweet of the Day today is actually a tweet that was deleted... but it made me laugh - not at the joke but at the initial stupidity of it being posted..

Silvan Shalom is the Minister of Interior. His wife, Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes, a media personality in her own right, tweeted the following.

Wife of Israel's interior minister apologizes after tweeting, "Do u know what Obama Coffee is? Black and weak" pic.twitter.com/OHQJEyG3iD

— Israel News Feed (@IsraelHatzolah) June 21, 2015

shortly after the stuff hit the fan, she deleted the original tweet and apologized claiming it was a joke she had been told that she then posted without thinking...

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Poster Design Contest Marks Decade Since Expulsion (video)

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10 Hours of Walking in Israel as a Woman in Hijab (video)

on its own, this video is not all that interesting.. but when you contrast it to the videos of Jews walking in European or Arab areas, it shows a lot.

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Benny Friedman - Toda! (The Music Video)

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Hakol Haba - S1E14 (video)

eh. I am less and less impressed by this each additional episode...

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Picture of the Day

An incredibly emotional moment as an elderly Bnei Menashe man, who just arrived in Israel, blesses the grandson he just met for the first time.

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Rolly Dickman sings Oren Chazzan Hagadol, in Chazzan's office (video)

this is strange. The Rolly Dickman band, a band of Haredi artists, went to the Knesset to show support for Oren Chazzan, and composed the following song and played it for Chazzan in his office.

I don't know why they felt they need to show support for Oren Chazzan..

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Prof. Oren Froy, Senior Lecturer, Institute of Biochemistry, Hebrew University (video)

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Building Communities on the Israel-Gaza Border (video)

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PM Netanyahu's Remarks at the The Genesis Prize Award Ceremony (video)

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Roky 5775 Hallelujah (video)

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ruining a wedding with the click of a button

this sign was supposedly posted at a wedding recently, and has been posted online in various places, including The Partial View:

while surely anybody has a right to request that people not post images from his or her private affair online or in a newspaper or anywhere else, just like they can make any request, it really is not very enforceable.

I find the reason given in the sign to be a bit curious. Would some random guest posting a photo of himself at the wedding, a selfie say with his good friend or cousin he has not seen in a while, or a picture of something interesting that happened at the wedding, really damage the bracha and kedusha of their marriage and of the evening? Perhaps a more specific request - not to post pictures of the chosson and kalla, or something similar - would be more sensible, and perhaps more adhered to..

One other thing - whoever initially posted this picture of the sign on line violated the request. I do not know if that was the only person to violate the request, or even if they were the first, but they posted online, to social media (it was also on Facebook), an image from the wedding. They will one day have to answer for the damage they might have caused to this poor couple's wedding...

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Picture of the Day

this is a no-mans-land created today for the davening of Rosh Chodesh, to prevent Women of the Wall from being handed a Torah scroll by any sympathetic men, as happened last month.

The people who administer the Kotel seem to be very creative, coming up with interesting new solutions each month...

I think the United Nations must be called in to administer this no-mans-land. They would also have to pass some resolutions about how it should be treated.

Next month we will see barbed wire on the fences demarcating the no-mans-land. Then next there will be signs warning about minefields.

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Pidyon Petter Chamor in RBS A

I went today for a few minutes of the Pidyon Petter Chamor in Park Ayalon of RBS A today, when picking up kids from school.

I only stayed a few minutes, as once they began the ceremony the crowds in the immediate area in front of the ceremony closed in so nobody else could see anything, and the microphone wasn't loud enough to actually hear anything, so I got a few pictures and then left.

It was nice to see the crowds of people who were interested in seeing this rare mitzva.

When better pictures and perhaps video will be publicized, I'll try to post them here (if they show anythign more interesting than my pictures below)

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Proposed Law: convicted felons not serving in high office

MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) has proposed a law that will go next week to the Committee for Legislation to be prepared for voting. Lapid's law proposal deals with corruption in government.

Lapid has proposed a law by which a Prime Minister, minister in government, MK or mayor of a city who would be convicted of a crime that bears moral turpitude (kalon, in Hebrew) would no longer be able to run for the office of mayor, MK or become Prime Minister or minister, or even deputy minister, in government..

The purpose of the law would be to discourage corruption, but more importantly to declare that such a person has lost the faith of the people and is unworthy of serving as a public representative. Having corrupt people serves in offices makes the public lose its faith in government.

good law, in my opinion. I hope it passes.

I did a little bit of research. In the United States, the Constitution does not prevent a convicted felon from  running for federal office. The House of Representatives and Congress have the ability to remove someone they deem unworthy of serving, though this is not true of the Senate. Who can hold State office is determined by State law rather than federal law, and most states have rules in place that prevent anyone convicted of various crimes like embezzlement, bribery, breach of the public trust, fraud, etc. from running for State office.

I think it is a good law. Unfortunately I don't see how it can pass, as there are members of the coalition for whom this would not work.

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USA announces woman to be displayed on new ten-dollar bill.

US Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew has announced that the USA will be introducing a new, redesigned, ten-dollar bill. The historic part of the announcement is that the new design will have the bill displaying the face of a woman - the identity of which has not yet been decided. The bill will be introduced into the currency in the year 2020, on the anniversary of the 19th amendment - that gave women the right to vote.

A truly historic announcement.

What is going to happen:
1. they will choose Hillary Clinton perhaps, to be the face of the new ten-dollar bill. Not likely, but it is funny to consider.

2. Jack Lew, an Orthodox Jew, is going to be excommunicated by the Haredi community of the United States of America, for his immodest decision to put a woman's face on the bill. They are planning a campaign to call him and pressure him to rescind his decision.

3. Haredi communities across the USA are working on a ban of the ten-dollar bill. All members, anyone who identifies as Ultra-Orthodox, will be refusing to accept $10 bills from the year 2020 on.

4. They will be also be working on a plan to create an alrternate $10 that any Haredi American wanting to use a $10 bill will have to use in its place. It will feature a blurred out face of the same woman, or alternately a man. The bill will also display a hechsher from a special organization established called the Committee for the Kashrut of Money and Purity of the Camp.

5. Money changers in Haredi neighborhoods and cities in Israel will refuse to convert the new $10 bill.

(do you have any other suggestions of ramifications of this decision?)

Obviously none of the above is going to happen. I am just poking some fun, based on what happens nowadays in Israeli Haredi towns and neighborhoods, or those with a significant Haredi presence, at the mere thought of a woman's image being in print.

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Jpost Annual Conference: Caroline Glick (video)

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Exclusive Interview with Former Defense Minister Moshe Arens (video)

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Michael Douglas in Israel (video)

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Asaf Goren - Audition - So You Think You Can Dance Season 12 | Week 3

Hebrew Breakdance?

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Jewish Music Wows Thousands at Central Park Concert at KultureFest (video)

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lack of dignity is the worst part of the baby story

The story from the other day that knocked a lot of people for a loop is certainly upsetting. The story was about a premature stillborn baby. In this instance, the father insisted on burying the baby rather than leaving it to the responsibility of the hospital and chevra kadisha. The father was upset that the chevra kadisha was going to be following its tradition (while claiming it as actual halacha) and not allow the parents to participate or know where the grave would be. Somehow, it is unclear who did this, the baby was placed in a cardboard box and given to the father with a sense of leave us alone, go deal with it yourself. Obviously this was very upsetting, and was turned into a big story.

I am not upset that the chevra kadisha wanted to follow its protocol and tradition. Tradition is very strong, especially in Jerusalem and especially with regards to matters of mourning and death. They make exceptions to their rules, but they are not that common and only in unique cases.

This could have been such a unique case warranting an exception, but I am not going to judge that.

The main thing they did wrong was act with lack of sensitivity to a grieving parent. Whether they were going to make an exception or insist on keeping tradition, they need to do whatever they do in a way that is more sensitive to the families they deal with. I am sure being a part of a chevra kadisha is very difficult - dealing with death and mourning all the time cannot be easy - and brings about delicate situations. The chevra kadishas should be highly sensitive to these situations and families, and whatever they decide to do in regards to the various traditions involved, the decisions should be made and conveyed with respect and dignity.
.

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a theoretical haredi in a mixed swimming pool

theoretically, and only theoretically, if a haredi [political/community] leader was caught on camera in a mixed swimming pool in Eilat, what should happen?

Theoretically, and I won't entertain guesses or anything of the like because it is only theoretical, if this were to happen, could this leader/askan/politician continue to function in his role as a representative of the haredi community?

In this theoretical scenario, I am told that this fellow was there because he had meetings coordinated with a working vacation, and was supposedly, theoretically, careful to avoid looking at the women in the pool and the area, though I doubt it was theoretically possible to avoid seeing any.

In this theoretical scenario, what would your reaction be?

On the one hand, perhaps we should applaud the lightening of the approach of Haredi leaders. We get upset when they walk out, or support walking out on female singers, when they support, or don't discourage, gender segregation on buses and in communities and leadership positions, and the like. Should we not be happy when we see something like that that indicates perhaps a reversal?

Or, on the other hand, should we look at it as hypocrisy? Perhaps such a person, a theoretical person, is not worthy of being a Haredi leader and representative? Even if he theoretically was careful to avoid, as much as possible, looking at the women who were theoretically present, perhaps the maris ayin of it kills his leadership abilities and worthiness?

Of course, this being a theoretical scenario means I am just interested in the debate, not determining or affecting someone's fate.

So, what do you think, considering this theoretical scenario?

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Mashgichim attacked in Jordan

Last night 6 mishgichei kashrut working in the farms in Jordan (established there to provide vegetables from abroad due to the shmitta year making it difficult to provide local Israeli vegetables) were attacked by Arabs. It seems these Arab workers attacked the mashgichim with stones and axes.

Local police were called to the scene,. They came and protected the mashgichim and transferred them to the border-crossing with Israel.

According to the reports, it is unclear what the Arab workers were angry about, but it seems it was the result of some financial dispute.
source: Kikar

All I have to say about it is that this was something that was easily foreseen. Somehow they who set this enterprise up thought it would be a good, and cheap, idea. They thought they could trust the Arabs there and that they would be safe. I would also note this is not the first incident, though it seems to be the most serious so far (that I have heard of).

I am surprised they thought this would be a good idea.

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Knesset Committee debate about Jewish prayer on Har Habayit (video)

the debate gets really heated..

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Moshe Feiglin vs Nitzan Horowitz on the funding of cultural events (video)

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StartUps (video)

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Open your eyes about Gaza (video)

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Micha Gamerman - Rak Simcha (video)

Rak Simcha - Music from the upcoming Album "Micha II" 
Composed by: Ari Goldwag
Arragments: Eli Klain & Yitzy Berry
Lyrics: Ari Goldwag, Miri Israeli, Eli Klain, Yitzy Berry & Micha 
Wtitten and Choreographed by: Miki Chayat (Studio Açaí) 
Directed by: Aharon Orian
Dancers: Studio Açaí
P.R: Israel Berger

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Facebook Status of the Day

awesome!

The cRc has been proudly servicing the kosher community since its inception in 1938 – the last time the Blackhawks won the Stanley cup in Chicago. Another winning combination.
Posted by cRc Kosher on Tuesday, June 16, 2015

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Is Rachel Dolezal white or black?

At first the Rachel Dolezal story sounded strange, like a joke, and even a bit ridiculous. Initial thoughts included thinking she might be crazy, maybe insane, wondering why a white person cannot run an organization for the advancement of colored people, wondering what's the need... but mostly thinking she must be crazy.

Now, as the dicussion about her situation continues on, my wonder has turned in another direction. Forget if she is crazy or insane or ridiculous..

Now I wonder what the big deal is. I wonder - if a man can consider himself a woman and be considered a hero, if a woman can consider herself a man, if anybody can pretty much consider himself whatever he or she wants and be considered normal in society, so why can't a white woman consider herself black?

Is Rachel Dolezal white? Is she black? Who cares what she calls herself? Why does it matter? People call themselves whatever community they want to associate with...

And if you do not like it, if you have a problem with a white woman considering herself black, you have a problem with our society in general today. Rahel Dolezal did not do anything out of the ordinary of today's society.

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possible new punishment for texting while driving

There have been way too many accidents caused by people using their phones while driving. Not necessarily to talk, but to send text messages, email, Facebook, Whatsapp and whatever else..

Fines, campaigns, images and knowledge of accidents and tragedies.. so far nothing seems to have helped curb the phenomenon.

The police are looking at new approaches that they hope will work better.

According to The Marker, the police are of the opinion that the punishment must be more serious, thereby creating a more serious level of deterrence. They are looking at the possibility of confiscating the phones of offenders.

I don't know if they are allowed to decide such a thing on their own, or if such a decision needs to pass through the Knesset, the Attorney General or some other process..

What do you think? Would knowledge of the possibility of your phone getting confiscated stop you from taking the risk?

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