According to reports, the United States is now warning civilians in ISIS-controlled areas that the area is about to be bombed and they should evacuate by using an Israeli tactic - the "knock on the roof" bomb.

It seems we Israelis can be the "ohr l'goyim" - the light to the nations - that we were meant to be. Even when we were criticized for not doing enough when we used that tactic. It seems that at the end of the day they decided it was a pretty good tactic.

my caption:
between all of us we should have a minyan..

yesterday I went skydiving as part of the event to benefit the children of Alyn Hospital in Jerusalem

Jumping out of the planewas a crazy experience - it was terribly frightening at the moment of jumping out of the plane and then totally amazing and exhilarating after that all the way down!

If I had not had an instructor on my back heaving me out of the plane I am not sure I would have actually been able to jump out of it!

people can still donate via the following link:
 https://www.alynride.org.il/rider?riderid=5A833C3C-1CFB-E511-BFBB-00155D011A00

The post is basically the Women of the Wall complaining about being prevented from performing their Birkat Kahanot event.
The reason this qualifies for FSotD is the funny use of one word in the post - "khilchata".
WoW, complaining about being prevented, describe what they were prevented from doing as performing "Birkat Kohanot khilchata" - the Birkat Kohanot ceremony according to its laws. As if this made up ceremony has any halachot and guidelines.

mounted Israeli policeman on horseback stops to sell his chametz in Jerusalem

Oh, learned readers. I have a question for you

if a Jew is going to be eating chametz on pesach - is it worse to not sell the chametz and continue owning it on pesach or is it worse to sell the chametz and then steal it from the gentile when taking it to eat?

Is there value in going through the mechira even though one is going to be eating chametz, perhaps for the sake of "tradition" and keeping a connection to customs or is it pointless if one is going to be eating chametz anyways?

What say you, dear reader?

The franchise-owner of the Cofix branch in Ramat Hasharon was going to be making some upsetting news over Pesach. He was planning to kasher his shop for Pesach only on Thursday, and not on Wednesday as per the instructions of the Rabbanut..

the Rabbanut told all the businesses that by Wednesday they need to be kosher for opesach. This branch of Cofix said that this would present a problem for them, as on Thursday they would have nothing to sell, as the Cofix supplier would only be kashering on Thursday. The Rabbanut said that if they don't kasher by Wednesday, they would lose the hechsher.

The owner of the branch was worried about a tremendous loss of money, with almost nothing to sell on Thursday.

The rabbi of the town, Rav Yaakov Edelstein, decided it was too important to not set a precendent and allow an exception to the Rabbanut's rule, so he wrote a check to Cofix for 3000nis to cover the financial losses due to his decision.

The fellow saw this and gave in and accepted his losses. He refused the check and agreed to kasher the shop on Wednesday. All he wanted after that was a bracha from the rabbi.
sources: Behadrei and Kikar

The Attorney General of Israel, Avihai Mandelblit, has put an end to what was surely going to become both a spectacle, a ridiculous event, a provocation and fight. Mandelblit said that the Biirkat Kohanot event is not one recognized as a religious event because it is unknown and has never happened before and therefore has also never happened before at the Kotel.

So, in accordance with the laws and directives protecting the Jewish holy sites, this cannot be deemed a religious event and cannot take place at the Kotel.
source: Behadrei

whew. a fight over a stupid made-up event is the last thing we need.

I wonder if they will relocate it to a local synagogue or to the egalitarian platform, and then try in future years to get it approved, as by then it will have already happened and they might be able to claim it then as a religious event.

There is a very strange story coming to light in Poland right now, in the town of Posnan.

A man shows up, appearing as a Haredi Jew - dressed in classic Haredi garb, sporting a beard and peyos, calling himself Rav Yaakov Ben Nistal from Haifa, Israel. Rabbi Ben Nistal was looking for a job as a community rabbi.

I guess he was charismatic and likable, and was soon hired by the community. Ben Nistal represented them in full capacity as rabbi, partaking in events organized by various organizations, City Hall, and all the normal things city rabbis do.

At some point it became clear that there was something suspicious regarding Ben Nistal - he spoke no Hebrew, new little about Judaism and almost nothing about Torah.

A local (Polish) newspaper just exposed Ben Nistal as being a fraud. Ben Nistal's real name is Yatzik Nishchota from another town in Poland and is not even Jewish. He was positively identified by another resident of his hometown when he was on national television for some interview, posing as the Chief Rabbi of Posnan.

Since he was exposed, the honorable "chief rabbi" has gone on the lam and has yet to surface anywhere in public.

A community representative has said that Nishchota never received any money for hsi services or for his participation in events. Supposedly people from the community are now claiming that they were suspicious for a while already that something strange was going on as it was clear that Ben Nistal did not know much about Judaism and customs and whatnot, did not know basic words of basic prayers, how to hold a Torah properly, and the like..

Weird story.

I don't think any comment on this is even necessary. I do wonder why he would do it. Someone suggested to me that there are many Christians in Poland who love the Jews and want to make up for past bad behavior of Polish Christians, and perhaps thought he had found a way to help a small community that needed leadership. That sounds too convenient to me. Also, he did not have to put on fake beard and peyos and color his hair and take a fake name and play rabbi - he could have done whatever in his capacity to help as a Christian.
Maybe he wanted honor and respect. Maybe he was just curious to see if he could get away with it. Maybe he started it off as a prank of sorts and then just continued it when he saw it was going well.

Or maybe there was another reason. Who knows? But it is a crazy story. The picture of him that is going around makes him look as if he is straight out of one of the many movies about hassidic Jewry where the actor is clearly dressed up...

I wonder if he was on the newly-formed Israeli Rabbanut list as approved for performing conversions..

We must be living in amazing times when Polish Christians want to dress up and act like Jews...

10 days of sightseeing and soul-searching, connecting with our heritage through an unforgettable immersion in our promised land. From visiting historical attractions to meeting state leaders, this is not only a trip, but a total learning experience.

Following on the heels of three outstandingly successful trips, JLI's renowned voyage to Israel will once again embark on a journey to the heart and soul of the Holy Land. 

this isn't new but I never saw it before.. pretty funny clip pranking the Kever Rachel spammers

cute

kol isha alert on this one:

The show must go on!

The Women of the Wall reently announced an event that will take place during Pesach and called upon all women to join. They will be havnig a "birkat khanot" event, in an attempt to copy the mass birkat kohanim event that takes place at the Kotel every Chol Hamoed. The birkat kohanot will have female kohanot bless the crowds.

This event is entirely made up and based on nothing. Unlike the issues of davening, wearing tallis and tefillin, reading from the Torah, where these are mitzvos and one can debate whether women shoyuld or should not perform them even if not commanded to, this is absolutely nothing and has no basis in the Torah.

An appeal was filed by the organization "Btzedek" with the Supreme Court to put a halt to this event, calling it nothing but a provocation.

Today the Supreme Court rejected the petition and decided that the show must go on. The reason for the rejection of the appeal is a bit surprising - because it was filed at the last minute.
source: Kikar

So what? As long as it was filed in time, so what? How could they file it before the last minute, considering the event was only just recently announced?

While I would not have expected the Court to approve the petition and block the women from having this event, I would have expected a different reason as the basis - discrimination, equality, etc.

They will only have a small number of women anyway, so they should be easily ignored. They are not really doing anything wrong, except at most a bracha levatala, so I suggest not making a big deal about this.

I do wonder that if the Women of the Wall continue to find ways to be provocative and make trouble despite the fact that they have come to an agreement already, will this somehow put the  agreement in jeopardy? At a certain point people , even those who supported the original agreement, might say "tafasta meruba lo tafasta" - we tried to help, we made agreements, but you still keep making trouble, so forget it and everything goes back to the way it was. They very well may lose everything. Of course then it might go to the Supreme Court (which is supposedly what the agreement was meant to avoid) and then anythign can happen - they might win anyway and get their way, but they also might lose.

I came across this product - crushed tomatoes with onion made by Yachin.


the can has two hechshers on it. They are side by side and both say that the product is kosher for Pesach. The difference between them is that one says it is only for those who eat kitniyot, and the other says there is no concern of kitniyot in this product.

So, which is it? Does it have kitniyot or not?

I suspect the issue has to do with the ingredients listing canola oil among them. There is an age-old debate as to whether canola oil should be treated as kitniyot or not. I suspect that one fo the hechshers considers canola oil to not be kitniyot and the other considers it kitniyot.

What say you, dear reader?

Co-founders of Ben & Jerry's arrested at Capitol

  -- CNN

arrested? I wonder if they were arrested for making charoset flavored ice cream that tastes nothing like charoset...

Our party needs to change the situation in the country without giving people the feeling that we are Arab-lovers

  -- MK Yitzchak Herzog (Hamachneh Hatzioni)

Is this any less racist than saying "the arabs are flocking to the polling stations"?

(females singing in the choir)

I have no problem with any of this. Women can dress how they want and they do not need my approval. If they think this will bring them to a higher level of kedusha, more power to them.

I only have a question about one of the points:
"I won't pass a mezuza without stockings"
Is that really a thing? I never heard of this before.

no, that is not Rav Kanievsky checking someone's aravos. Yes, that is Rav Kanievsky checking out someone's marijuana.

Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein issued a psak that medical marijuana is kosher for Pesach and are kitniyos-free, after he inspected it and the growing process and ensuring that there are no grains mixed in with the leaves...

Rav Zilbershtein then brought it to Rav Kanievsky who smelled it and made a bracha (borei minei besamim) after being told that smelling it helps to heal.

Degel Hatorah will work to advance  an amendment to the law to lower the minimum threshold for Knesset, in order to allow Degel to run separately and keep all its options on the table... we in Degel Hatorah are not afraid to run separately, it is not a threat [from Agudat Yisrael]. It also is not unreasonable to consider that we might run next time together with Shas

  -- MK Uri Maklev (UTJ)

I don't know why Shas would agree to this. what would they benefit from such an arrangement? Just to bring in more people who will eventually think they aren't getting their due respect and fair share?  I wouldn't mind seeing it, but I don't see it happening..

The Conservative Movement in the USA has ruled to lift the ban on kitniyos during Pesach. They point to the changing of composition of the Jewish community and its traditions as the reason for the lifting of the ban.

I have seen a couple of articles about this, but without too much explanation. They point to the increasing sefardic community in North America as the main factor.

The excitement among the followers of the Conservative movement seems to be focused on the ability to now serve sushi at the Pesach seder (and throughout Pesach).

Once sushi is on the menu, another idea for interesting change might be using the seaweed wrap for Karpas, and the Wasabi for Maror. Korech would just be a sushi sandwich in the matza.

Personally, I am still sticking to the traditional menus...

MK Yoav Kish (Likud) has proposed a law to strengthen the authority of the Knesset. Kish has proposed that the Knesset be granted the authority to fine private individuals who are invited to appear in the Knesset or in Knesset committees who do not appear. Kish would have the Knesset be granted a similar status to the courts that order someone to appear to testify that must show up or be held in contempt.

The punishment in the law would normally be a fine, but would also grant the authority to the point of a prison term for extreme situations.

Kish explains that the Knesset is chosen by the people to deal with issues important to the public. The Knesset committees need to be able to do its work, and that includes getting necessary information from people. The Knesset should be modeled in this after the US Congress regarding inviting private individuals. Today the Knesset only has the right to force public officials to appear before it.
source: NRG

sounds a bit totalitarian to me...

very cool

I don't know why Netanyahu needs to reaffirm right now that the Golan was and will remain part of Israel.. does it signify that something might soon be happening?

As of May 1, 2016, immediately after Pesach, enforcement will begin regarding bicycles being ridden on the sidewalks. At least in Tel Aviv.

Riders caught riding on pedestrian sidewalks will be given fines of 250nis. The enforcement will focus especially on electric bicycles, but will not necessarily be limited to them. The enforcement will be by a joint force of municipal inspectors along with Israeli police.

The enforcement will also include traffic violations, such as riding through red lights, riding against the flow of traffic, talking on a cellphone while riding, and disturbing pedestrians in crosswalks. The police will be allowed to fine the offender, and will also have the option of releasing the air from the tires of the bicycle, and confiscating the batteries of the electric bike if the rider is under the age of 16 years old.
source: Walla News

I imagine that if other cities see Tel Aviv successful in their attempts at enforcement, they will do the same.

I am curious about the option of the police releasing air from the tires. Will we see shootouts in Tel Aviv as offending bike riders try to get away and police shoot at the tires?

Me n my mom praying at the Holy of Holies breaking international Laws. pic.twitter.com/Jv1DYiuyOI

— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) April 17, 2016

As if we don't have enough to fight about, in a Melbourne, Australia shul two people got into a fight at the kiddush over a piece of herring. It led to one stabbing the other, and then running away.
sources: Yahoo News (without the reason), Kikar and Jewish Press

It must have been pretty amazing herring to be worth stabbing someone over!

Maybe he was just trying to pick up another piece of herring with his toothpick and accidentally stabbed the guy next to him who was also reaching for it?

not over a bowl of cholent, not over a shot of good whisky, not even over a scoop of chopped liver. Herring!

The OU is right - kiddush clubs are dangerous places!

I like this series..

Israelis like Trump...



and they don't feel the Bern

cute review

women dancing alert

This is from the annual communal pre-Pesach hagalat keilim sponsored by Keren Lev Yisrael in RBS...
The top picture is showing that somebody even brought his kitchen sinks to kasher!
(truth is he isnt kashering them for Pesach, but they are second hand sinks he is putting into a new kitchen and he does not know which was dairy and which was meaty, so he figured it is easy enough to bring for hagala... but it is still a funny sight to see, and might even start a new chumra for people who don't ask, and don't want to be outflanked by somebody who kashered more)

Minister Yuval Steinetz announced, in response to a question asked in public, that while he respects tradition, he does in fact eat chametz on pesach.

That should not bother me. What he does in his own home is his business. I don't know why he felt the need to publicize it, but he was asked and he answered truthfully. I guess he could have left it ambiguous and said that what he does in private is nobody's business, but he answered straight and honest.

It does bother me a little though, and I do not know why. I think mostly because of the publication of the matter, but I am not sure.

What bothers me more is why does this revelation bother me less than when MK Ruth Calderon of Yesh Atid announced that she puts chametz on her seder plate to represent some oppressed society. She did not even eat it, just put it on display, but that bothered me more. Was it because of the person rather than the act? Was it because she put it on the seder plate in a demonstrative way and harmed the symbol of Pesach? Was it because of the method of publication? I am not sure.

Another interesting comparison is what I heard on some of the talk shows today - why is it ok for Steinetz to announce that he eats chametz on pesach, especially because he is a senior minister and is not really a private person, yet when someone Haredi barbecues on Yom Hazikaron it becomes a national crime? If Gafni or Litzman would announce a party or concert on Yom Hazikaron, would the country be as understanding and forgiving as it is with Steinetz's announcement?

A group of women in New York have launched their own emergency medical response team, similar to Hatzalah. They say they will focus on women in labor, so women will feel comfortable calling them rather than men that they might see around the neighborhood and later feel uncomfortable around, but there is no indication that they will limit their work to calls from women in labor. And I hope they don't.

When someone calls a hatzala-type organization, there is often no time to grill them on what is wrong and then to try to figure out who to send or to tell them to call a different organization. If you are taking emergency phone calls, you have to deal with whatever comes in, though there would be nothing wrong with making it known in advance that for labor issues they should be the preference but not for other issues.

The women behind Ezras Nashim, the new EMT service, say that this has finally become necessary, and it is not a new idea, because Hatzalah refuses to allow women to join their ranks as EMTs. Hatzalah says they do not accept women because of tzniyus issues - men and women working side by side "could lead to improper relationships".

that might be true and is definitely a reasonable concern. Hatzalah could possibly alleviate that by forming all-female teams. Or maybe there are other solutions. I know that there are some towns in Israel, not many but some, in which Hatzala does allow females to be EMTs and work shifts just like the men. Speaking of which, I wonder if in those communities they have noticed a problem of such improper relationships being formed.

If women want to volunteer and are not included and not given the outlet, there is nothing wrong with them forming their own organization through which to do so.

Hopefully Ezras Nashim will be successful and spur existing organizations to find ways to include women.

when was this baked?



was this cake baked after this year's Pesach, that has not yet happened? was it baked after last year's Pesach? Pesach from two years ago?

I don't know how binding or significant a UNESCO resolution is, but the United Nations just showed how biased it is against Israel, again, with the latest UNESCO resolution.

The resolution that was just passed criticizes Israel for a number of things, including for considering the Mearat Hamachpela and Kever Rachel as Israeli heritage sites, and also for its actions on Al Aksa - Haram Al Sharif, and it ignores any Israeli historical and cultural connection to Temple Mount.

The United Nations position interests me less, as it has already come to be expected. What interests me more is Prime Minister Netanyahu's reaction to the UNESCO position. Netanyahu responded by saying, "This is yet another absurd UN decision. UNESCO ignores the unique historic connection of Judaism to the Temple Mount, where the two temples stood for a thousand years and to which every Jew in the world has prayed for thousands of years.The UN is rewriting a basic part of human history and has again proven that there is no low to which it will not stoop."

Yes, it is absurd. Yes, UNESCO is ignoring the Jewish connection. Yes, UNESCO is ignoring history.

But can we blame them? They are coming in with an anti-Israel bias? And what do they have to take as proof otherwise, to rethink their positions? All they see is Netanyahu and his governments ignoring the same history. All they see is Netanyahu denying the connection and authority Jews have over Temple Mount.

When Netanyahu severely limits Jewish access to Temple Mount, to allow Jews on in a way that considers them less than tourists, can you blame UNESCO for thinking the same? When Netanyahu lets the Waqf and Jordan almost entirely control the goings-on on Temple Mount, can you blame UNESCO for thinking that they really should be the ultimate authority? When you see Netanyahu denying the Jewish connection by not letting Jews pray, even to pray silently, on Temple Mount, can you really blame UNESCO for denying the connection?

If Prime Minister Netanyahu is so appalled at the way UNESCO relates to Temple Mount, perhaps he should look inwards and reconsider how he himself relates to it.

even with the critical points, people mostly have good things to say about him.. I was not overly impressed with some of Litzman's answers, but overall it is clear he works hard for everybody..

kol isha warning..

The Postal Authority has recently started using a new service in some post office branches. In participating branches one can use their new app to make an appointment at the post office. If you come at the designated time, you get to skip the lines and take your turn.

Somebody, a lawyer, is complaining that this is discriminatory against Haredim and elderly people who do not have smartphones. Advocate Chester says that the post office should make its services available to everybody, and even to people who choose to use a kosher phone that does not support the ability to make appointments. They are discriminated against by having to wait longer  in line, just because they chose, or like the elderly are often not technologically savvy enough, to listen to their rabbis and not use a smartphone. And it is absurd that young people come in and go before elderly people who were already waiting, a secular person goes in and goes before a Haredi waiting, just because he cannot use a smartphone.

The Postal Authority responded that they are working on creating the ability to order appointments by phone.
source: Behadrei

As if it is the fault of the post office that some people choose to not use smartphones. And nobody else should benefit just because some people choose not to. Many other aspects of religious life also make a person choose to not avail himself or herself of available benefits - that does not make the mere existence of such benefits discriminatory.


------------------------------------------------------

is he changing a tire? filling a tire with air? or cleaning his shtreimel with a gas station air pump?

caption?

something about a connection between eating a lot of matza and the need for diapers....

huh? why would he talk like this? Is there something wrong with him?

I remember when the library used to have amnesty programs and people could return overdue books without getting a fine...



and their funny commercial about it..

nothing can raise a ruckus as successfully as an innocent post about Jerusalem...

Recently Jean Claude Van Damme visited Israel and posted a picture to Facebook of him with Jerusalem in the background and said "hello from Jerusalem", and that caused quite a stir (he originally had said Jerusalem, Israel, which he then changed to just Jerusalem).

Now, Morgan Freeman has topped that. Freeman is in Israel preparing for a documentary called "The Story of God". Obviously such a film will take one to explore the religions and holy places in Israel, and Freeman came for that purpose. Freeman posted, to his Facebook page, the following simple and innocuous post, that simply said "Jerusalem #storyofGod"

As of this writing, the post has been shared 5,605 times, and on the original post alone 6171 comments were generated, with the Pro-Israeli commenters and the pro-Palestinian commenters pointlessly duking it out once again...

The pre-packaged set of a feather and wooden spoon for your bedikas chametz has been around for ages. It even sort of made sense - where would the average person get the traditional feather required for dusting chametz crumbs into the bag? and who has wooden spoons that can be burnt with the chametz rather than a regular spoon that would be washed and put away?


Then a few years ago came the pre-packaged, and numbered, ten pieces of bread for hiding and searching for before Pesach. This made less sense - who can't tear a piece of bread into 10 small pieces? But still, maybe some people's houses are so kosher for Pesach by then that they don't have any bread left in the house to do a bedika with.



and then last year came the pre-packaged jars of salt water for the seder plate. Really? Who can't put some salt into a bowl of water? But they made it and I guess they sold it.




and it seems this years newest item of entrepreneurship is pre-boiled eggs for the seder. Because boiling eggs is really difficult. And time-consuming.



I am surprised this came before the pre-roasted and pre-packaged shank bone.

If not the shank bone, what will next years Pesach-creation be? What is your prediction?

Are we getting lazier? Are we just too busy to deal with the small stuff that can be taken care of for a small fee? Is this part of the survival of the fittest?

and if you are looking for competition to yesterday's business of replacing your cellphone for Pesach because it is too difficult to clean, you can always get this cellphone cover instead:

Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman has come out against McDonald's. As Litzman said, "McDonald's out. Not in our country."

I don't think Litzman can ban McDonald's, though he can do whatever is in his power to discourage people from eating there. And McDonald's seems to be a symbol - a symbol of junk food, fast food that conforms to a low health barometer - and not the direct target.

Litzman spoke at a conference for cardiologists, and he was talking about preventing diabetes and improving health. He spoke about educating our children to not eat so much junk food, to not eat so much candy.

All that is good. It also can easily be coordinated with the Ministry of Educations new plan to minimize junk food served in schools and improve the quality of food served in schools. As of the coming school year, sweet drinks and various fat and sugar-rich foods, and processed foods, will be banned from school complexes. Sandwiches sold in schools will be made of whole wheat breads, cheeses and chumus will max out at 9% fat, and other health improvements.

So Litzman and Bennet and their respective offices can get together on the same page on this and work for real improvement in the eating habits of children.

The thing is, Litzman did not just talk about eating healthier foods. He pointed out McDonald's specifically. He did not mention other restaurants and food establishments selling unhealthy foods, like candy stores, like Burger Ranch, like ice cream shops, like other fast food chains, like burekas shops and bakeries selling pastries high in trans fats.

To that end McDonald's has issued a response saying Litzman is misinformed. They pointed out that McDonald's Israel has been on the forefront of improving health standards in food, such as listing nutritional information, such as removing trans fats from the french fries, such as lowering the fat content in their meats, such as encouraging more water drinking over sweet drinks, etc. McDonald's then questioned whether Litzman is targeting them for health reasons or if Litzman's real issue is that they are open on Shabbos. They did not mention it, but another reason to make them a target might be the fact that many of their branches are not kosher (and I know that in at least some of these places are not kosher only because they are open on Shabbos and not because the meat is treif or served with cheese).
sources; NRG, Kikar and Kooker

I am not going to defend McDonald's in this. I do wonder if Litzman is also going to work not just to get people in the general population to improve their eating habits and avoid places like McDonald's, or will he also create a program for the religious and especially the Haredi community to improve their eating habits. Will he come up with a separate campaign targeting cholent, gala and fatty brisket and discourage people from eating these foods, and maybe getting out to exercise a bit more? Will he encourage people in the frum communities to use less oil and sugar in their foods (especially in the foods served in schools), to eat less burekas and rugelach, to not give out so much candy in the nursery and kindergarten schools? That would be just as praiseworthy as a general campaign to get people to eat healthier.

It is also interesting that this announcement came at pretty much the same time Burger King announced that they are returning to Israel and opening some new locations. At least the first two locations opening are kosher and in Tel Aviv. In other words, even if Litzman's battle against fast food is honest and true, it is going to be an uphill battle.

I particularly liked Litzman's comment that he knows there are people who don't like this, there are big companies that don't like it, but "I don't have primaries, and I am the number 1 in my party. I chose the health Ministry because I thought this is the best place in which I can help save people". In other words, Litzman can't be pressured or bought off.