Many theories have been talked about as to what is the cause, the reason we deserve, the incessant rocket attacks. Just like reasons were given for Hurricane Sandy, and for every other tragedy that ever hits a community or the Jewish people, people have been coming up with reasons for the rockets as well, though I must say they have not been given as much press-time as they are given in other tragedies..

This one though is one that I don't think I have heard before, at least not in any direct relationship.

Pashkevils out and about are blaming the rockets on the grave disturbing (for the purpose of building housing or hotels or whatnot) around the country, and specifically in the Nesher area. The linkage is defined as the destruction of ancient cemeteries, and the largest one in Eretz Yisrael, done even with "supervision"... removing the bones from their graves in a disgraceful way, so the houses of Jews are destroyed and turned to dust by the rockets.
(source: Kikar)

As a result of all the recent hullabaloo over gender-segregation, examining every aspect of public life for instances of even the slightest slighting and/or [perceived] inequality of women has become the national sport. the secular are examining every detail of religious life for any possible point to attack on, and the haredim are examining every aspect of secular and dati life looking for hypocrisy and to show that there to they do not treat women equally (and plenty has been found).

The Rabbanut of Israel has announced, in two separate instances this week, of improving the level of equality for women within their systems:

1. The issue of women at funerals has been a touchy point in the past. Some chevra kadishas have been known to insist on the custom of women not attending, or eulogizing at, the actual burial. It caused a ruckus when the women in a family wanted to attend their fathers funeral and the specific chevra kadisha did not allow it.
   
   I will add that it is only some chevra kadishas, as I have been to plenty of funerals where women were present at the burial.
   
   While Yaakov Margi was originally waiting for a ruling by Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar before he decided how to instruct chevra kadishas to act in this regard, he has now decided to not wait any longer. Rather, he has decided to instruct the chevra kadishas based on a ruling already given by Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger. Rabbi Metzger already ruled that the tradition of keepnig women away is just that -  a tradition. It is not actual halacha. Margi has decided to rely on this decision to instruct the chevra kadishas that women should be allowed, when they so desire, to be present at funerals.
   (source: Ynet)
   
2. The Rabbanut announced that they are looking for ways to integrate women into positions within the Rabbanut. While obviously there will not be a "Rabbah" appointed, and there will not be female dayanim, as that is against halacha, other positions might be made available to women such as the position of mashgiach kashrut.
   (source: Israel Hayom)
   
   Hiring women as mashgiach kashrut, or as a mashgicha, is nothing new. In the USA and in [some places in Europe] women have been filling such roles for a long time. While it became less popular in recent years, female mashgiachot have been making a comeback. Cleveland is famous for having one, Rav Shternbuch has famously paskened that a woman could be a mashgiach kashrut, the Star K has had women emplyed as mashgichot for a long time and continues training women for these jobs. The OU has been training women in kashrut and said it is possible they might formally train them to act as mashgichot as well, and many cities local kashrut organizations have been employing women in this fashion for a long time already.
   
   I expect in Israel where everything is a bit [a lot] more extreme, this will be used as another reason to put down the Rabbanut as even more unreliable than they already consider it.  

What Happened Over A Year Ago
A year ago the entire country was concerned about the plan to build the new emergency room in Barzilai Hospital in Ashqelon. The start of construction was being delayed, as graves had been found on location, and Haredi groups were fighting against digging them up.

The Haredi community came under fire for its opposition to the plan, with such claims as "they are concerned more about the dead than the living". We were told how urgent it is that construction get under way immediately, the south was under intense rocket fire, with potential for getting worse, and they needed to prepare for the possibility of mass casualties, which coul donly be done by building the new emergency room right away.

Eventually the Haredi approach was rejected, and the government decided to approve the construction plan. They used a blitzkrieg to clear the ground of all graves immediately, again under the guise of the urgency of the matter.

Moshe Gafni In Knesset
Yesterday, UTJ MK Moshe Gafni stood up in the Knesset and strongly criticized the media and the MKs who had fought so strongly for the construction plan a year ago. (source: Ladaat.net)

MK Moshe Gafni said:

Over a year ago the ground shook when graves had been found on the site of the Barzilai Hospital in Ashqelon, and as a result of this the protected emergency room was not built, despite the fact that the hospital is on the front lines of the southern front close to the Gaza Strip where rockets, Kassams and Grads are falling. Everyone was enraged that the Haredim are not allowing them to build. 

They said Haredim do not care about  pikuach nefesh. They attacked the haredi public for not allowing the construction to begin. I screamed in the media and in the committees that they are not building not because of graves and Haredim, but because the Ministry of Finance is not letting them.

I have a long list of articles that were published with headlines declaring the Haredim find more importance with the dead than with the living. Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman presented an alternate plan that would allow the construction without needing to dig up the graves. The alternate plan was rejected, and Litzman was vilified. This is the first health minister that is shaking up the system. Secular health ministers previously did nothing on behalf of the hospital, and specifically by him was there a wild attack against the haredim that the dead have overcome basic logic. Within days all the graves were removed.

I waited to see the next day, after the removal of the graves, the tractors on site starting to build. After all, it was a great pikuach nefesh. Where are the MKs who screamed back then? Where is MK Zevulun Orlev? MK Rachel Adetto? MK Yoel Hasson? Everyone screamed PIKUACH NEFESH! Now, a year and 3 months have passed and not a single grain of the hospital has been built. What happened? Is there no longer a southern front? The dangers have not gone away, they have gotten more serious! It was obvious nobody was intending to build the hospital. It has become clear once again that all the energy of the hilonim and national religious is not pikuach nefesh, but simply the desire to attack the haredim. It has been mroe than a year and there has not been a word, or even half a word, in the media.

I think that if we want the hospital to be built, the haredim will have to plant a fictitious grave and announce there are graves and one cannot remove them. There is no other way to get everyone worked up, unless it is made into a haredi issue. There is a limit to hypocrisy. Where is the pikuach nefesh everyone was screaming about? The hypocrisy and the lies screams out to heaven.

That is a great speech by Gafni, and he makes a great point.

The only question I have is why they would make a big deal about such a thing? If they never intended to build the emergency room, why start the whole fight? just to remove a few ancient graves? What was the purpose in the first place? the result I understand - turning it into a haredi issue to heat up the conflict and get it done, but what was the original intent?

Picture Of The Day

hafgana outside of RBS C housing fair

Rav Eliyahu Zein, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Ohr V'Yeshua in Haifa, was asked a question in light of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, a family wants to move the body of a deceased relative buried in Algeria. is it halachically ok to do so, and being that the body is buried already for 70 years, is there a point - would there be anything left to move anyway?

Rav Zeini responded that if the person was not a great talmid chochom (who measures that and how?) then we already know Chazal have said in the gemara that bringing the bodies of such people defiles the land. Therefore, there is no mitzva to bring a regular Jew's body to eretz yisrael for burial, and for sure not since the expense is great in both the host country and in eretz yisrael.

Instead, the family should donate money to support torah and mitzvos in the memory of, and for the merit of, the deceased relative. This will provide the deceased with great merit of building the Land of Israel even posthumously. (source: Srugim)

It seems a bit strange as the haacha discussing the details of when reinterring a body is allowed grants the reinterrment of the body to Eretz Yisrael as the one time you can do it with no questions asked. To move a body anywhere else in chutz la'aretz, it requires a very good reason, a great need. To move the body to eretz yisrael is always allowed. if it was a defilement, why would the halacha give such carte blanche allowance?

There are also other benefits, such as kavod ha'meis to be buried in Eretz Yisrael. Also the concern of the seforim regarding having the pain of the body "rolling" to eretz Yisrael in the future, in the time of techiyas hameisim, also gives burial in Eretz Yisrael halachic preference. We don't find in halacha, that i am aware of, a limitation that this only applies to the great talmidei chachomim.

Regarding the expense, I am in agreement with Rav Zeini, that it might be considered excessive. I would suggest though that such a decision is in the hands of the family - only they can decide if it is something affordable or excessive, and how much priority this has. People do plenty of things, and waste plenty of money on trivial things when they could be using it to support torah. This seems better than many of the other things.

"Green burials" are becoming popular in the US.

The explanation of what a green burial is actually sounds just like Jewish burial.

From Green Chip Stocks:

While there are varying degrees of green burials, the general rule is that there is no use of concrete, metal, or chemicals in the burial process.

This means bodies are not embalmed, and are either wrapped in a linen or cotton shroud, or are laid to rest in a box made of pine, wicker, cardboard, or bamboo.

The GBC requires that, for the container to be considered green, it must be nontoxic and biodegradable — as well as made from materials sourced in a way that does not destroy habitats.

Embalming fluid, made with the chemical formaldehyde, has been proven to pose health risks, particularly among funeral directors.

Many countries throughout the world have banned it, and Jewish law prohibits it.

One thing to consider, though, that is if a body is not embalmed, it must be buried within a short period of time — usually within 48 hours. This can pose problems for loved ones needing to travel in order to attend a funeral.

If this is a concern, there are several formaldehyde-free embalming fluids available now, including one approved by the GBC made entirely of nontoxic and biodegradable essential oils.

Even if you're not an environmentalist or a lover of the outdoors, you might consider cost as a factor.

The average funeral in the United States costs $6,500, according to the National Funeral Directors Association.

The casket alone can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 — and no casket, regardless of its qualities, will preserve a body forever...

While cremation is a less expensive way of interment (usually around $1,500) and is lower impact environmentally, it is not considered green.

Cremation burns a lot of fossil fuels and can pump mercury or other chemicals into the air if a person has dental amalgam fillings or other surgical items inside them.

Rest assured, even if you aren't very green in life, it turns out that in death you are.

(HatTip to Commenter Abbi)

A recent debate in the local Bet Shemesh press has been the issue of the dead. That would be, where to bury them.

The local BS cemetery has been around for a long time. Since the beginning of Bet Shemesh. All local residents automatically get designated a plot upon death in the BS cemetery. if you want a specific plot, you have to pay extra, and that includes if you wish to reserve the spot next to your plot for your spouse, or if you want to be buried in a certain area, etc. if you don't want to take the chance of where you might be buried, you might purchase a plot in a different cemetery in the area of your choosing.

City Councilman Shmuel Greenberg (UTJ) recently proposed the concept of establishing either a separate section in the BS cemetery for those who are shomer shabbos, or establishing a new cemetery for shomrei shabbos.

Greenberg's proposal was not well received by all. It started a battle in the local press. Without dealing directly with the issue, David Louk, perhaps the most widely read columnist in Bet Shemesh who writes for the Tmura newspaper, wrote about how the haredi have come and divided the city and have now proposed a divisie proposal. now not only in life do we have to be seperate but also in death. He described how the haredim are the least unified of all people, with each sub-group requiring their own schools, styles of dress, etc. They come to a city that was unified and peaceful and have divided it in life and now try to divide us in death as well.

Another point I remember from the column was that until now none of the rabbonim of Bet Shemesh have ever found it necessary to work to designating seperate burial for shomrei shabbos, so what right does someone have to come to the city and push such an agenda where previous great rabbis did not deem it necessary. One more point was where will it end? Who will decide who is shomer shabbat [enough] and who is not? After shmirat shabbat, they will then find other ways to seperate even further....

Shmuel Peppenheim wrote a response this week in the Chadash (haredi) in which he spent something like 2000 words making just two points. 1. That the halacha mandates it. 2. "Unity" or "peace" is not the ultimate goal. Bringing honor to hashem's name is, and peace/unity is one method of acheiving that, but not the only method - sometimes disagreement is necessary as well.

The truth is that in this whole debate it is highly likely Greenberg is right and perhaps a seperate section should be designated for shomrei shabbos. the halacha and our tradion both mandate it. If you look in any of the large cities in Israel, there will be sections in the cemetary for shomrei shabbos (along with sometimes further distinctions as well). As well, I agree with Peppenheim that "unity" does not trump everything else. If something is being done just for the sake of unity, but is not correct, it should be corrected.

Is it absolutely necessary? Probably not. Does halacha absolutely require it? no. Does the halacha prefer it and mandate it? yes.

Perhaps Greenberg should have proposed it differently. Maybe he should have waited longer so as not to give the impression he is trying to immiediately turn the city around against the old-timers. Perhaps there are other ways he could have broached this subject. But at the end of the day there is room for this proposal, whether previous rabbis pushed it or not.

There was an interesting article in the Mishpacha newspaper this week. It was about the grave site of Rav Ashi (a tanna from the Talmud Bavli) and his son Mar bar Rav Ashi. The grave is located in southern Lebanon, just beyond the Israeli-Lebanon border.

I had heard in the past about Breslavers who used to sneak into Lebanon to go to daven at the grave. I had not heard about it in a long time, so I thought they no longer could because of tighter security at the border, perhaps because of the recent war. I was not really familiar with how it worked though - how they snuck in and exactly where it was.

Last week I saw somewhere on the internet - perhaps Bechadrey, perhaps Ladaat, perhaps Ynet (I don't remember) that some yeshiva boys (did not say Breslav, but I think it is safe to assume they were) were stopped/arrested when trying to sneak into the grave of Rav Ashi in South Lebanon. interesting.

This week, the Mishpacha ran the story of how they do this, and what happened with these yeshiva boys. I found it fascinating. They are not really sneaking into Lebanon (at least these boys did not - what they did in previous incidents I do not know). Basically there is a series of fences, and they were able to get through or around all of them until the last one. the last fence is just a couple of inches away from the grave, so standing at that fence is really being right at the grave.

It seems these boys at least knew not to touch the fence or reach in and touch the grave. They were quoted as saying they knew not to as that would start an international incident. I am not sure how they knew that, but did not know they should not be sneaking through the 2 or 3 fences they passed until that point, when they later claimed they did nothing wrong and did not touch the fence and did not know they were not supposed to be there, etc. The 3 fences up to that point should have given it away that they should not be there....and I am assuming there were signs on the fence to not pass (but that could be a mistaken assumption).

Anyways, the whole story and description was interesting. One point though struck me. After the boys were caught, the article quotes the boys, one of them had an opportunity to use his cellphone. he quickly called one of the tzedaka organizations (does not say which - no free advertising I guess) and gave his credit card info and a 36NIS donation. Shortly after that, the commander told them that they have a few moments before the police would arrive and he is going to let them leave. As long as they are gone by the time the police get there, they will be free. Needless to say they left immediately (there was a bit of an argument between 2 commanders - one did not want to let them go, but the other ended up convincing him).

I find it interesting that this was the boys first instinct. To call and donate tzedaka. Not to call his rebbe for a bracha or his lawyer for advice or parents, etc.. He knew the number of the tzedaka org and called them first.

It seems like in the next yeshua booklet put out by the tzedaka organizations describing some of the great salvations people had by donating money in a time of need, this story will be featured...

Going to a funeral in Jerusalem is always an experience. Especially when it is on Har Hazeisim. Granted, there are places most people would rather be than a funeral, but once you have to go to one, it is an experience.

Minhag Yerushalayim. The chevra kadishas of Jerusalem follow minhagim that people don't do in most other places.

I just went the other day to a funeral on Har HaZeisim. The chevra kadisha was the chevra kadisha of k'hal hachassidim. So they use minhag Yerushalayim, but they also do some other stuff.

They did some stuff there that I had never seen before. Allow me to describe it,to the best of my abilities...

We brought the body of the niftar to the grave. They placed the body on the floor, next to the grave, and asked the women to stay back and not come past a certain point until they would finish what they have to do. After saying some psukim, the members of the chevra kadisha surrounded the body (still laying on the ground), connected in a circle holding hands completely surrounding the body. Then they started encircling the body while saying some psukim. Each time they completed a circle, they would all stop, and the head guy would say some psukim, take a small piece of metal (I don't know what it was) out of his pocket, put it on the body for a moment and then throw it far away.

They would then encircle the body again, and go through the same thing. They did this 4 or 5 times....

Another minhag I had never seen was when we finished the burial. After the grave was filled in, they surrounded the grave completely with a border of stones. They were makpid that each stone had to be touching the one beside it.

I thought these minhagim were very strange and I have never before seen them.

Has anybody seen that before? Do you know what it means and the explanation for what they were doing?

For further information please see http://devorahhanevia.com

May HaShem reward your efforts in Olam Haba, amen.

It seems that there was a divinely inspired finding of an old grave recently.

No, I am not referring to the grave site of King Herod that was recently found.

I am referring to the grave of Chana, the mother of Nabi Samuel, a.k.a Shmuel Ha'Navi.

The only witnesses to the story are a group of men who witnessed the last half of the story. The first half remains uncorroborated and is only based on the two women involved in the story. You can be skeptical or you can accept it.

Two separate women, unknown to each other at the time, each had a dream. In the dream a woman appeared and claimed to be Chana, the mother of Shmuel Ha'Navi. She told these women, each in her dream, that she is also buried in the same grave site as her son, Shmuel. She then gave the women signs of exactly where in the grave site she is buried, indicating certain stones.

The two women, each on her own, each still not knowing about the other, went to the grave site of Shmuel Ha'Navi. They met at the grave as they were searching for the stones from the dream. They met up with each other and were shocked to find that they both had the same exact dream.

There is a group of avreichim who learn in the complex of the grave site who witnessed this meeting of the women. They decided to help search for the grave of Chana looking for the stones indicated in the dreams.

The story goes that they found the exact stones described in the dream, and assume that Chana is buried beneath them.

The women said that Chana, in the dream, said that women who have not been blessed with children should come to daven at her grave and she would (as an intermediary to Hashem) bring them salvation.