I choked up a bit when I saw this video...

It is always fun to watch God's accountants in action...

Recently Rav Amnon Yitzchak explained why we have merited to have missiles being shot at Tel Aviv. Rav Amnon Yitzchak explained that missiles were shot toward the most disgusting city in the world because of the sins performed within it. He specified the Pride Parade and homosexuality and said Tel Aviv is the most famous city in the world for homosexuality (which I doubt is true).
source: Walla

Yated Neeman has now gotten into action as well. Yated ran an editorial the other day in which they said that the sirens in Tel Aviv are because of the chilul shabbos in the city. Yated writes that people wanted to be busy on Shabbos, but the sirens wail and the streets of Tel Aviv are empty on Shabbos.
source: Kikar

Maybe they (one, the other, or both) are right, or maybe they are wrong. I have no way of knowing.

But if that is how this works, that we can attribute sirens and rockets overhead to specific things, perhaps we should also wonder why there are now sirens being blared in Modiin Ilit and Bnei Braq, and even missiles over Bnei Braq with shrapnel falling in the city.

What say you? What are your best reasons for the sirens in the frum cities?

It will be difficult to explain the sirens in Bet Shemesh, as everyone by now knows "there are no gays in Bet Shemesh", and also there is no chillul shabbos in Bet Shemesh because we have a haredi mayor. So why else could we possibly have sirens and missiles?

Jerusalem should be easy. There is enough chillul shabbos and tzniyus problems there, especially by the old Train Station with the beach, the recent zumbathon, etc. for an ample supply of missiles and sirens.

Modiin Ilit? Bnei Braq?

I heard someone say in the name of a rav (I will not say the name because I dont know if he actually said this or not) that the pieces of missile that fell in Bnei Braq did so because of the "Tachlis" supermarket that was located nearby where the missile fell.

For those of you that don't know, Tachlis si a new supermarket opened by Dui Weissman. Weissman is the part-owner of AM:PM that is open on Shabbos in Tel Aviv. He was also the owner, or part-owner of Shefa Shuk (Zol bShefa), and that was the reason for the (unofficial?) ban on Shefa Shuk by the haredi community. So now he started a new chain called Tachlis, and that, supposedly, perhaps, caused the missile in Bnei Braq.

So, let's all play Gods accountant and come up with good reasons.. come on - I want to laugh. come up with some good stuff.

What's going on in the Ukraine is very disturbing. The human tragedy is horrible, and the increase, or maybe just the increase in it being more open, in anti-semitism, has the Jews fearing their fates more than others.

That being said, I find it humorous, and perhaps sad, that the Breslav community in Uman has found a reason on which to ascribe the bloody uprising. The Breslav community has said that what has happened is a punishment directly from the tzaddik Rebbe Nachman because of the attempt to prevent Jews from visiting the grave by considering to charge an entry fee. The prime minister himself had to run away from the country, and he personally had supported the idea of the entry fee.
source: Kooker

I gave up pointing out every time someone plays God's spokesperson, knows the reasons for this or that tragedy or tragic event. This one deserves mention. Because they considered charging an entry fee to Rebbe Nachmans grave complex, so dozens of people, Jews included, are being killed in an uprising? Couldnt the prime minister who supported it, or the minister who promoted it, have lost all their money as punishment? Maybe be caught in some criminal activity that would disgrace them and make them resign or got o jail - but the whole country has to undergo a bloody uprising because one stinking anti-semite minister wanted to charge an entry fee?

If someone feels compelled to give an explanation or reason behind any given event or tragedy that happens, I would really like to see that person employ some careful thought and analysis and make solid connections, rather than just throw out whatever issue is closest to that persons heart.

I have always felt more in touch with Democrats than Republicans, generally voting that way as well, but this great quote comes to mind...

“I'm a registered Republican, I only seem liberal because I believe that hurricanes are caused by high barometric pressure and not gay marriage.” ― Aaron Sorkin via his character Will McAvoy

Rav Yaakov Addas has come up with the reason for the great storm of 2013 that shut down Jerusalem and many other parts of the country... and that is, the recent arrests of 3 yeshiva bochurim for not appearing to the IDF draft board when required.

Rav Addas qualified his statement saying on a private level every person must make his own accounting for his or her suffering and what he or she must improve. However as a general decree on the world, it is coming to wake us up on some communal level. and the timing works out very well for this to be the communal message.

Some other options, crowd-sourced on Twitter (some are funny, some could be serious):

 - to help those who are noheg to roll naked in the snow during Shovavim
 - ppl making ice cubes on shabbos
 - For every centimeter skirt is too short, you get 10 cm of snow
 - it was Friday the 13th + Asara Be-Tevet.
 - the Rabbanut told us to pray for rain. Like Choni Hameagel
 - because of the Jewish Home
 - chilul shabbos. Could be yair Lapids. Maybe the Chillul Shabbos allowed by Nir Barkat in JM
 - t's all the soy products they serve in yeshivas
 - Or shaking hands
 - bochrim using others' wifi on their secret smart phones.
 - people who voted bnei torah
 - tzniyus
 - talking in shul
 - haredim not saying prayer for State
 - haredi infighting
 - cutting funding from yeshivas and kollels

come up with more or take your pick on what you want to work on being metakein..

If Rav Amar and MK Moshe Gafni are right, Israel is headed for a major disaster. Literally.

Rav Amar said that the earthquake in Israel the other day was due to the attack on the Torah world, the attempt to stop them from learning Torah. He specifically said it was because of the criticism made against Torah scholars, against the Torah and against the learners.

MK Gafni said, at the Hamodia conference, that we can actually see that ever since they began attacking the Torah learners, the Israeli economy has turned on a downward trend.

If they are right, Israel is headed for a very seriously major disaster..


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Eli Yishai has taken today's role as God's spokesman and explaining why things happen, and in the process upsetting many.

Whenever someone claims to know why something happened, and attributes it to blame other people for not doing something you would have wanted them to do, it understandably upsets people.

Yes, we believe our prayers help, can move mountains, can overturn heavenly decrees, can persuade Hashem to help us. The issue is not whether or not Eli Yishai is right or wrong about the efficacy of prayer, though sometimes we pray and don't necessarily get the answer/response we hoped for. The issue is how dare Eli Yishai assume to know what spiritual reason caused a physical action, and blame that on other people. One can always look at a failure and take a spiritual lesson for himself (or herself) on how to improve, for example, one's own prayers or charity. The problem is when someone has the gall to look at the failure and explain how someone else is at fault, and ow someone else has to improve.

What did Eli Yishai say?

At some sort of conference, organized by Rav Reuven Elbaz, Yishai spoke and said

In the Six Day War all the Arab countries fought against Israel. For every Jewish soldier there were at least hundreds, if not thousands, of [Arab] soldiers. For every tank there were hundreds of tanks. For every plane there were hundreds of planes. And see what great miracles and wonders there were. Then we were the weakest army in the Middle East. We did not have a chance to win. Suddenly everybody ran away and Israel won.
In the Second Lebanon War we were the strongest army in the Middle East, not like during the Six Day War. The strongest. There was no Egypt, no Syria, no Lebanon, No Iraq, no Yemen, no Lybia. Just 2000 "Hezballonim". And look what happened in the Second Lebanon War.
Do you know what the difference is? In the Six Day War every Jew that went to war and went to the front lines, lifted his eyes to Heaven. But in the Second Lebanon War we said "Kochi V'Otzem Yadi" - we are powerful and strong. So Hashem said to us you are so strong? let's see how that works out for you.
Gentlemen, this is a tremendous lesson - when all the Arab nations oppose the Jewish nation, what saves the Jewish nation is those who learn Torah and serve the public and bring people back to Torah."

Eli Yishai might be right about what the reason the Second Lebanon War was not a resounding success, to put it mildly, or he might be wrong. I do not know. Either he is simply a demagogue, giving the crowd exactly what they are looking to hear, or he is a fool.

The first question to ask Minister Eli Yishai is with so many more yeshiva students learning and davening in the time of the Second Lebanon War than the number that existed and were doing the same in the time of the Six Day War, why were the results so vastly different, skewed in favor of the Six Day War?

The second question to ask Minister Eli Yishai is who's job is it to pray and learn for the success of the army? Sure, the soldiers (religious and non-religious alike) can/should offer their own prayers, but they are supposed to be fighting. the self-professed argument of the yeshivas is that the soldiers fight, and we are the division that protects via prayer and learning Torah. If there was not sufficient prayer in the time of the Second Lebanon War is that not something to criticize the yeshivas about more than the army?

Yishai could have used his analysis of the failure and exhorted them, those who came to hear him speak, to improve their prayer, or to strengthen their own faith, to learn more or better, to give more charity. Instead he simply spoke about how other people did not do enough.

I would recommend that in the future we look at failures, and successes, analyze them, and apply the [spiritual] lessons first and foremost to ourselves and to our communities, and not point the finger at other people.

-- UPDATE:

as a result of the ruckus that this issue made, Minister Eli Yishai said his words were misconstrued and misunderstood. he said:
Haughtiness is the worst crime. In the Six Day War we saw tremendous miracles. How could such a simple text be turned into a political axe? Unfortunately, they quoted portions of a Torah lecture in order to present me as a public enemy.

At a drasha in front of baalei teshuva from yeshivat Ohr HaChayim, all of whom have served in the army, some of whom served in elite units, I spoke about the calamity of haughtiness.... I added that when we, the people, lifted our eyes to heaven. to hashem, we merited great miracles and salvation. The Six Day War was proof of that. These are basic concepts that every Jew understands. The army itself established a prayer for the soldier for when he goes out to battle.

As someone who served in the IDF, and as someone who's family is one that is part of the bereaved families, it is shocking to me that words of faith that are so basic have been turned into an axe.

As I evaluate my words, I am shocked from the partial quotes, and especially from the added commentary and the misleading headline [that led the article]. Still, because the announcement hurt some bereaved families and those who serve, I wanted to express the pain I feel and explain my words.

----

I add, the words quoted above are what he said - Yishai's explanation is that the headline used by Channel 10 to present the article, and their commentary along the way about it, were what caused the misunderstanding of what he meant.