According to reports in the news, Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman is putting together a plan that would adjust the school schedule to be more in line with the general working schedule. Lieberman is willing to pay off the teachers to get their agreement to this change - the teachers union has always opposed changes to the school-vacation schedules in the past.

I have been wondering what Simchas Torah will look lie in light of the lockdown and regulations and safety precautions.

I think it is kind of funny to discuss what the regulations and restrictions will look like in two months - they get changed every few days and are frequently confounding. Still, Israel Hayom is reporting, and many other media are now re-reporting it, that it seems the Ministry of Health will order full closures for the upcoming holidays of Rosh Hashana and Sukkot, similar to the full closure on Pesach and Yom Haatzmaut a couple of months ago. That will include orders to only celebrate with he nuclear family - only with people living in the same house - no guests, no grandparents, no cousins, married children, grandchildren, no nephews and nieces, etc.

This is not just an assumption, but is something being said by officials within the Ministry of Health. Obviously this has not been officially decided yet and an official decision will come later and be based on the trends and numbers leading up to that time period, but the working assumption is that this is what is going to happen.

The idea of such restrictions is, again, that holiday meals brings a lot of family and friends together from various places causing a significant cross-pollination and risk of exposure and infection. The thought is that shortly after such a holiday we would see spikes in the numbers of infections and deaths. Such a closure would prevent that.

Right? Wrong? Fair? not Fair? I don't know. Minister Yuval Steinitz is calling for a full closure right now, immediately, for ten days. Zebang VeGamarnu, as they say. Beat Corona right now with an extreme 10 day closure. Would it work? Maybe, maybe not. A holiday closure would not even do that, but it might prevent, or avoid, a situation that could become really bad.

Either way, forewarned is forearmed.

Like the other holidays, my guess is that we will see the elected officials making the restrictions for the general populace ignoring them themselves. Or they will "move in to live together" a day or two before the holiday, or before the lockdown, to circumvent the rules.

A few days ago, a school in Herzliya held a holiday exhibition. I was going to ignore the issue but in honor of Christmas today I have decided to mention it.

It seems the students preferred to celebrate Christmas more than Hanukkah and put on an elaborate and glittery Christmas display while putting on a small and drab Hanukkah display.

Much of the religious press protested and criticized the school, teachers and students for the display, for allowing it and perhaps even for promoting it.

בית ספר חילוני בהרצליה חוגג:
לא את חנוכה,
אלא את כריסמס.
האמת,
בושה וחרפה pic.twitter.com/tj00qkTiOg

— ינון מגל (@YinonMagal) December 22, 2019

It seems to have scaled up a bit but the trend for Israelis and Jews, not really celebrating but commemorating in some way, Christmas has been increasing in the past decade, by my eyeball test. This year I was sure I noticed less of it, but then this happened. So yes, this is on a larger scale, but the trend was already there.

I don't know who is to blame so I dont know who to criticize, so I will just leave it at being a shameful display, a sorry and sad state of affairs that the pining for a foreign holiday is greater than for one that is our own.

And I find it interesting that when anything Jewish is introduced in the Israeli school system there are immediately screams of "hadata" - religious coercion in making the students study or experience something of Jewish religious significance, yet foreign religious experiences are embraced with nary a peep against.

Sure it is just one school. A very small incident with such a small number of people involved. For now. What starts with one will eventually be joined by many, as they find it fun and exciting, unless it is stopped and considered beyond the pale of an acceptable school exercise. people can personally celebrate whatever they want, but Israeli schools in the Jewish sectors of Israel should not be promoting and celebrating Christian, or other foreign, holidays.

As in years past, the City of Jerusalem will be distributing free Christmas trees to residents celebrating the holiday. The distribution will take place this Thursday (for details, if relevant, see Janglo).

I am surprised there are only 250 celebrating Christians in Jerusalem, but that's what it says. Maybe 250 is the city's limit on the free distribution and everyone beyond that has to go buy their own.

I have no problem with the City of Jerusalem being involved in this, though some people do. My only issue is why distribute Christmas trees for free and not Hanukkah menoras or matza for Pesach? Or maybe free lulav and esrog for Sukkos? I don't know what equipment Muslims need for their holidays (besides sheep?), but maybe they should get something free as well...

It started with a request/petition to put a Christmas tree in the courtyard of City Hall in the city of Rishon LeTzion.

Alon Balan, a 24 year old Jewish Israeli-born from immigrants from the Ukraine, made the request for the display of the Christmas tree. Balan claims there are many immigrants from the former Soviet Union that celebrate Christmas and he says just like elsewhere the tree and lights are displayed, they should be in Israel as well for those who celebrate..

Balan says he came up with the idea and made the request after the City marked the Ethiopian holiday of Sigd. Balan thinks such a display would attract many tourists and Russian immigrants to the city as well in order to celebrate in the festive atmosphere. Balan adds that while in some places it is a Christian holiday - Russia does not celebrate that. For Russians Christmas is a secular holiday celebrating the new year - no connection to religion. He says that just as he respects the Jewish holidays, others should respect what he wants to celebrate, especially as it has no connection to the gentile religions...

Obviously this initiative has drawn a lot of opposition, largely from religious and Haredi representatives and also from others unhappy with the idea of a Christmas display.

While Rishon Letzion is dealing with this issue, the administration of the BIG mall in Ashdod has now placed a Christmas tree and reindeer display next to a Hanukkah menora.

Obviously, this too is being met with opposition, as religious and Haredi representatives try to have it removed.

I have no problem with Baral, or anyone else, celebrating their preferred holiday, even if it is Christmas rather than, or in addition to, Hanukkah. He can decorate his house, put up a display with a tree or a full nativity scene. String colorful lights all over his home and yard (if he has one). That's his business. Nobody is stopping him or anyone else from celebrating his or her favorite holiday.

However, that is his private business. The city should not put up such displays. This is Israel, the Jewish country. We do not need to celebrate holidays like they do in Times Square or the way other countries do. Even if Baral or some other people consider it a secular holiday, Christmas in general is considered in many places a religious holiday and one coming from a different culture.

The case in Ashdod is different because it is on private property. The communities and people opposed to such a display should definitely let the administration of the mall know and they should put their monies where their mouths are and not patronize the mall until it is removed. If the people don't care, the administration won't remove it. If the people do care, they will too. They put it up thinking it will bring in more business - if they understand it will not, if they understand it will cause a decrease in business, they will remove it.

this report on Kikar is weird, but might even be brilliant!

According to the report, there has been an uptick in the number of people hospitalizing their elderly parents, who need care, just for the holidays as they are too difficult to deal with and provide the necessary care over the holidays. This is referring specifically to people who normally are caring for their elderly parents, but it just becomes too difficult during holiday season, so they hospitalize them instead. Obviously the elderly parents qualify for hospitalization and need to medical care, but usually the kids take care of them, perhaps with an on-call nurse or perhaps not, but it just becomes too difficult during the holidays.

This is a brilliant solution. I am going to look more into this option... I guess I'll find out firsthand if my parents read this or not... :-)

Christmas trees are the center of discussion in Israel right now.

Some hotels in Jerusalem that host Christian tourists who come to the Holy Land for the holidays want to serve their clientele and place a Christmas tree in the lobby. I guess they want to give them a holiday feeling.

The Rabbanut, as it has done before, has warned the hotels to not place Christmas trees and to not host [Christian] holiday parties. While they did not say their kashrus certification would be revoked from any hotel that does so, they did send out a warning that placing such a tree is prohibited.

As well, at the Technion in Haifa, the student organization decorated its lounge with Christmas decorations including a tree. A student complained, and the rav of the Technion has issued a psak saying that because the Christmas tree is a pagan symbol it is prohibited to enter the student lounge while the tree remains present.

At the Hebrew University they will be having a ceremony to light a Christmas tree.

In recent years on Facebook many Jewish (and frum) people talk nostalgically about how they miss Christmas from the US and discuss their favorite memories from the [Christian] holidays.

On the Time of Israel blogs you have a post from their media editor, a Jewish woman, about how she never celebrated Christmas until she moved to Israel.

There is a sad trend in Israel to try to connect with other religions and cultures. I don't really have much more to say about it, but it bothers me every year and unfortunately it seems to be growing as a trend rather than decreasing.

According to reports, the City of of Jerusalem is giving out Christmas trees to celebrating Christian residents of Jerusalem.

I have no problem with that, though some may. However, I would like to see the City of Jerusalem also give out menorahs, or chanukiyot, to celebrating residents of Jerusalem.

Walla brings us the latest interesting psak...

People often joke about Shabbos and holidays saying that on these days "calories don't count", meaning one can eat without concern of gaining weight or health ramifications...

Turns out, a rabbi has now announced this as  official psak..

Rav Efraim Zalminovitch, rav of Mazkeret Batya, said that all jews should spoil themselves and eat good food on the coming holidays. Rav Zalminovitch said that God promised to cover the bill. As well, dieting, not under doctors orders, is not recommended to be done during holidays or on Shabbos. It is a mitzva to spoil ourselves and enjoy the holiday, as that will effect a satisfaction and calmness that will lead to spiritual upliftment.

Rav Zalminovitch added that he believes God will cover all the expenses of the holidays, as an additional budget separate from the annual budget allocated from heaven on Rosh Hashana.

Rav Zalminovitch added further that people should not allow the difficult economic situation and high cost of living to ruin the holidays and Shabbos. Dieting is for weekdays, not for holidays and Shabbos.

What can I say? I hope he is right.

Today was, in the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day.

If you are like me, you did not celebrate it in any particular way. It is not a Jewish holiday, has its roots in Christianity and paganism (even though today it is less religious, at least in the USA), and is not really marking anything particularly significant.

If you consider that Israel is more closely aligned with Europe than the USA in many ways, and therefore calls the holiday by the European name - Sylvester - as most Israelis do, there is even more reason to avoid commemorating the day. Sylvester was a Pope and his death coincided with New Years Eve. I don't know if Saint Sylvester was good for the Jews or bad for the Jews, but either way I don't think it is proper for Jews to commemorate the yahrtzeit of a pope.

no shofar blowing this "rosh hashana"

I did see a lot of action online of [religious] Jews wishing people a happy New Year.. Of course they did not mean to be supporting any religious aspect of the day, and that is why I did not criticize them, but ignored it. The same went for Christmas, perhaps on an even larger scale - many Jews were remembering their days in the old country with the beautiful lights, the snow, the carols, etc. Personally I find it distasteful.

I would have continued to ignore it, but now I see an "official" psak about it, so my comments can take on a different approach.

Rav Elyakim Levanon, rav of Elon Moreh, has paskened that it is forbidden to celebrate New Years.

Rav Levanon starts off explaining some history of Christianity and how its belief in Jesus and his being murdered by the jews was the basis for many years of persecution of Jews.. Rav Levanon says form a halachic perspective it is prohibited to mark the day as it is showing support for avoda zara, idol worship, which is completely prohibited.

Rav Levanon does not just leave it at that. He says that from a national perspective as well we should not participate in the days commemoration. The day was one that, for hundreds of years, marked a day of fear among the Jews. The non-Jewish celebrants would get drunk and take out revenge against Jews for killing Jesus. Thousands of Jews were killed on this day throughout history.

Our national honor, Rav Levanon says, demands of us to not take part in commemoration of the day. For us it is a day of memories of thousands of Jews whose blood was spilled like water. We are not calling to get even with them, but we should protect our national honor and not celebrate with them their day..
(source: NRG)

I agree with Rav Levanon completely. Their Rosh Hashana is not like our Rosh Hashana.

Will the Knesset display a Christmas tree this week to commemorate the holiday on behalf of the Christian citizens and MKs?

No, it will not.

Speaker of the House Yuli Edelstein said he does not see the idea of installing a Christmas tree as being appropriate. Many MKs have seen it as a provocation and consider it unacceptable.
(source: Ladaat)

As it should not be.

Despite that, if you really want, you can buy from Hadar Geula these beautiful Christmas-themed cookies with a Badatz hechsher..  for 20 NIS those better be really good cookies!

Christmas is approaching... will the Knesset commemorate the Christian holiday with a Christmas tree?

True, there are Christians living in Israel, and the Knesset represents them. So perhaps there is room for the discussion of such a commemoration.

MK Hanna Swaid (Hadash) has petitioned the Speaker of the House, Yuli Edelstein, to place a Christmas tree in the Knesset.

Swaid says such a tree would be a nice gesture and a tribute to the Christian MKs and citizens, as well as a symbolic connection to Christianity in general. In addition, Swaid added, there are many Jews around the world who put such a tree in their homes during the holidays.


Placing such a tree in the Knesset would also be a clear statement against vandalism experienced by churches and mosques perpetrated by extremists.
(source: NRG)

Just because some Jews are misguided and try to celebrate in some way the Christian holidays does not mean the Knesset must honor them. Many of those who place Christmas trees do so because they are intermarried and "celebrate" the Christian holidays (sometimes together with the Jewish holidays and sometimes instead of the Jewish holidays).

The Knesset should NOT install a Christmas tree, despite having Christian residents and MKs. Maybe in an MKs office it can be allowed, but it should not be in the public areas of the Knesset. Israel is a Jewish State, and Jews should celebrate Jewish holidays, not Christian holidays. The fact that we are also democratic does not obligate us to also celebrate Christian holidays. it means those citizens who want to celebrate Christian holidays can.

In the US even with the separation of church and state they used to put Christmas trees by public buildings, and now they also have to place a menora. If the democratic aspect of the State must be seen to be in conflict with the Jewish part of the State in this regard, this could be a problem.We should not ban them all, because part of the definition of Israel is as specifically a Jewish State. The answer is that in the USA there is no official state religion, even though it is widely seen as an official religion. So, if they allow Christmas trees, they must allow displays of other religions equally. Israel has an official religion, Judaism, so it can display Jewish religious items and not Christian ones.

I personally eschew any form of Jewish celebration or enjoyment in non-Jewish religious holidays. I really eschew any involvement in non-Jewish religious events or locations. Meaning, I will not visit churches or mosques, or the like, I will not reminisce about all the great and emotional Christmas music I might have heard on the radio growing up in the USA, or the shows and culture I might have seen on television and movies growing up in the USA. I will not reminisce about the lights and trees and nativity scenes I used to see on neighbors lawns and miss oh so terribly . 

My form of Jewish pride is pride in being Jewish and not looking to the non-Jewish holidays and culture to make me feel good. That is for them, and this is for us. I admit, I am sure my lifestyle includes plenty of non-Jewish culture that I ingested as a child in America, but I will not spend time and energy pining for their religious holidays and surrounding culture.

This introduction to the post is more than just a comment on the report that will be below. It is also a rejection of the common trend I have seen in the past few years, but much more so this year, of Jews, even frum Jews, posting on Facebook and Twitter and other places, about how much they miss the holidays, or they post their Christmas memories, or what they miss most about Christmas now that they are in Israel, etc. Chrsitmas is out of bounds for me - not because I ban it, but because as a Jew I don't see Christmas, or other religious holidays and church culture, as being relevant to me, even if as a young man and child I did enjoy the tv shows or music of the holiday.

That is also true of the following report on bechadrei. The Beit Jimal monastery held Christmas services last night. it seems there was a significant group of Jewish spectators, mostly out of curiosity I imagine, from Bet Shemesh. Among the group of spectators were also religious and even haredi people.

According to the report, these frum spectators in a church at a religious holiday service, were shocked, SHOCKED, to suddenly hear as part of the service, a popular Jewish religious song. The song they heard sung by the nuns of Beit Jimal was the song "Avinu Av HaRachaman" written about 30 years ago by R' Chaim Bennet for the Seret-Vishnitz rebbe.

If you listen to the song in the video below (decide for yourself on kol isha relevance), you will notice that they sang a beautiful rendition of the song, but they garbled some of the words - specifically every time it mentions "Torah"


אבינו אב הרחמן של ר' חיים בנט במיסת חג המולד בבית גמאל from bhol on Vimeo.

The article expresses the shock and anger of these spectators, and eventually of the original composer after he was told of what was witnessed, that this song written by a God-fearing Jew for holy purposes could be used by the church in this way, sung by nuns for their own holy day. Bennet himself, the composer, sounded hurt when he heard how his song was being used.

I am not sure why the issue being made is of the church using a Jewish song in their services, albeit with slight changes. The real issue should be is why Jews, even frum Jews, are going to a non-Jewish religious service in a church. They claim curiosity, even knowing it is prohibited, is what drew them to attend the services. It seems to me that religious Jews going to a church on a religious holiday for services is much more shocking and troubling than nuns singing a Jewish song.

And furthermore, to the reported issue itself, should it really be shocking that they used one of our songs? Does it affect the holiness or spirituality of the original music (if there is any) just because someone else chose to sing it? Is there really any reason to care what they sing? And looking at it objectively, we do exactly the same thing so often - how many Jewish songs were originally non-Jewish songs? How many Polish marches were converted  into hassidic nigunim? Is it ok to take their music for our needs, but not for them to take our music for their needs?

The entire episode is shocking, but more so that frum Jews are actively involving themselves in celebrations of a Christian holiday.

If you feel you need to clean out your ears and head after hearing the nuns sing for their religious services, feel free to listen to a Jewish rendition of the original song, with all the words...

There are plenty of non-Jews in Israel who celebrate Christmas. There are also many Israelis who enjoy holiday parties, and/or greeting people with holiday wishes (perhaps based in humor and irony), and even light symbols of the holidays.

Using Christmas trees is taking it too far. This has been determined by the Rabbanut. Rav Eliyahu Shlesinger, the rav of the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem and the rav in charge of the national kashrus division of the Rabbanut.

Rav Shlesinger has said that any kosher hotel or hall that displays a Christmas tree will lose its kashrut certification.

Rav Shlesinger said, "A hotel that receives certification must be a Jewish hotel. It is impossible that in a place that has a hechsher there should be a Christian Christmas tree. We are proud to be living here in the State of Israel that is a Jewish state. It is completely illogical that in a place that has kashrut certification, and even mehadrin kashrus, they will act according to the Christian customs."

Rav Shlesinger stressed that the Rabbanut is only laying down this law regarding the outer symbols of Christmas - no tree. If people wish to have private parties, that is their business and the Rabbanut has no say in that. The Rabbanut cannot tell people all year round when they can or cannot have parties, even if it is on a Christian holiday. The Rabbanut statement is regarding the Christmas decorations alone (specifically the tree).

Here is a humorous tidbit I received by email....

Jewish holidays are for people with illnesses:


Purim is for alcoholics.

Pesach is for OCDs.

Shavuos is for insomniacs.

Lag Bomer is for pyromaniacs who weren't satisfied with Chanuka.

Tisha B'av is for manic depressives.

Rosh Hashana is for people who are obsessed over dying.

Yom Kippur is for anorexics.

Sukkos is for the homeless.

Simchas Tora is for those in their happier stages of bi-polar.

The picture is of the store front window of the chain clothing store Zara from a mall north of Haifa.

If you look at the picture, you might notice that they have "Merry Christmas" splayed across the window, along with the display consisting of Christmas holiday colors and Christmas trees.

The only problem with this situation is that the store, as mentioned, is located in Israel. Not in Spain where the main headquarters is, not in Europe or the USA, not in a Christian country, but in predominantly Jewish Israel.

It is a shonda that a store in Israel has such a display. Even if there excuse is true, that they are dictated by the main office in Spain what to display (and all stores have uniform displays), it makes no sense that they would not adjust the display to the local market. Even if they insisted in Christmas trees for the non-Jewish market in Israel, they are foolish for not catering to the much larger Jewish market and putting in symbols of Hannukah, like menorahs and dreidels.

It makes no sense, and was likely done without thought. But after the first few hundred calls of customers complaining about it, they should have removed the display right away.

I hope people "punish" Zara for the stupidity, and for their insistence on remaining stupid instead of taking it down right away after the first few calls, and shop elsewhere.

What kind of excuse is "We wanted to allow our customers to enjoy.. the atmosphere of the holiday and the internationality..." anyway?

Somebody asked Rav Sherlo, on the Moreshet website, a shailo if blogging is permitted on Chol Hamoed.

The question is posed three-fold, specifically, but not limited to, his blog which contains Torah content:

1. Is it prohibited to write a blog on Chag, especially if the content is not specifically connected to the chag and to the Chol Hamoed?
2. Is it permitted to write a blog on Chol Hamoed about the question "if blogging on Chol Hamoed is a denigration of the holiday", especially if the authors conclusion or his posek's conclusion is that writing blogs on Chol Hamoed about general issues is prohibited?
3. Would writing a blog on Chol Hamoed be considered a "Davar Ha'Aveid" - something that will be lost if not done in a timely fashion - as regular blog readers might stop following the blog [if they do not see new posts] (and this might cause them to read other blogs that have less Torah content)?

The questions seem a bit convoluted to me. I don't even know if I understand the 2nd question. He should have just asked is blogging about general content allowed or prohibited, and is blogging about Torah content allowed or prohibited? But I guess his shailoh was more personal and less general, so he was asking specifically about his blogging.

Rav Sherlo's answer was that: Blogs on Torah related materials can be written on Chol HaMoed, for a couple of reasons:

1. writing on a computer is generally not considered by the poskim as writing, in regards to requiring it to be for the needs of Chol Hamoed.
2. There is extra reason to be lenient when writing words of Torah.
3. Even more so, it is preferable that people should surf to sites such as these [sites of Torah content]
   

If the conclusion of the poskim would have been that it is prohibited, it would be brazen to write a blog on Chol Hamoed, like toiveling in a mikveh while holding a sheretz, unlessit was for the purpose of avoiding issurim.

Blogs that are closed, that might cause its readers to abandon it for other sites, and they have intrinsic value in their existence, how much more so is it justified to be written on Chol Hamoed.

While Rav Sherlo is specifically addressing a site with Torah content, as he discusses the added value of the Torah content as extra reasons for allowing the blogging and updating of material and content, he is also allowing general blogging to be done on Chol Hamoed. Both with the hetter of it being considered "a loss" because of readers abandoning it, and with the hetter of it not being considered writing.

I particularly liked the hetter of it being a "davar aveid" because of the decrease in readership.

(Thank you David for letting me know about the tshuva on the train this morning)