Apr 18, 2007
Quote of the Day (qotd)
PM Ehud Olmert said, "I am indestructible. I have been here for 35 years and I have survived everything."
Let me just say - nobdy is indestructible, especially not politicians, let alone politicians with approval ratings in the single digits. Sure, he might pull out of it and do something so popular that he survives and stays PM. There is the chance. However to declare at this time that he is indestructable, is the height of haughtiness.
Let me just say - nobdy is indestructible, especially not politicians, let alone politicians with approval ratings in the single digits. Sure, he might pull out of it and do something so popular that he survives and stays PM. There is the chance. However to declare at this time that he is indestructable, is the height of haughtiness.
not a Haredi attempt at control
YNet reported an incident in which:
I am not going to discuss the actual ruling of allowing women to eulogize. I, personally, see nothing wrong with it. The gemara discusses the situation of the times then that women were professional wailers and lamenters at funerals (they would get paid to do so when necessary), so the issues of tznius do not bother me in this situation. There are other gemaras that say that a woman in her time of sorrow or distress is not enticing, specifically I remember the gemara regarding sotah that the woman would have her hair uncovered and her shirt torn in the middle of the Beis HaMikdash. the gemara discusses how that could be as it is immodest, and the gemara says that a woman in such a situation would not cause improper thoughts among the people, as she is in distress and sorrow.
It also does not bother me to not allow women to eulogize. That is the custom and has been so for hundreds of years, and in Petach Tikva it has been so since its inception in 1878.
Whichever way they go with this will be fine with me.
I do want to mention that a number of blogs, including FailedMessiah, have taken this as another opportunity to bash the Haredim as trying to change the system and ban women from eulogizing. They, supposedly, have found this as another method of controlling society to act according to their own whims.
I protest such blatant anti-religious/anti-Haredi claims. His criticism is based on false assumptions, and I so commented on Fialed Messiah's post .
There are many unusual customs associated with "Minhagei Yerushalayim" - the customs of Jerusalem. They include nto allowing children of the deceased to the cemetary at a funeral, light shabbos candles 40 minutes prior to sunset on Friday, not saying v'shamru in the Friday night prayers, saying Sim Shalom in the Saturday afternoon prayers instead of Shalom Rav, along with many other customs. Another such custom was to not allow women to eulogize.
I do not know how these customs came about. They are generally, though not always, associated with the Vilna Gaon customs, as his students came to the Holy Land in the mid-1800's and established their customs as primary customs for the land, well before the establishment of the State.
Why these customs took root, I do not know. Specifically regarding the custom of women not eulogizing, I have no idea how it began. Maybe 200 years ago it was a form of suppresion, as women were generally suppresed back then. I do not know. Maybe it has halachic sources aside from social ones. I do not know.
I do want to say though that Petah Tikva was founded in 1878 by expatriates of Jerusalem. When they founded Petah Tikva, they established the town with the customs of Jerusalem, including all the minhagei Yerushalayim.
They light candles 40 minutes before sunset on friday, they skip "v'shamru" and all the rest of the minhagim. Petah Tikva is the city with the closest association to Yerushalayim of any other in the sense of its minhagim.
The Rabbonim leading the burial society who stopped Ms. Luvitch from eulogizing her father were not attempting to wrest control of society into Haredi hands. They were adhering to customs that have been in effect for 150 years or maybe even more. They were keeping the status quo and it was Ms. Luvitch who was, probably without her knowledge, trying to change the system.
Many of these customs are in the process of change, as modern society sees things differently than when the customs were established. I have been to many funerals where the children attended even at the cemetary, for example. The burial societies are more sensitive to the people's needs and do not always enforce the customs.
This specific custom in question is clearly on the chopping block and will be naturally phased out, speeded up with the aid of the current Supreme Court decision.
Again, the specific custom does not bother me. Either it will hold up or it will go the way of other customs that have fallen. I protest the grab of every opportunity to bash the Haredim, especially when it is baseless.
Rivkah Luvitch filed the appeal following the death of her father, Israel PrizeThe case was brought to the Supreme Court who ruled that such a separation of sexes and not allowing women to eulogize is religious coercion and discrimination and therefore illegal. If a woman wishes to eulogize, the burial society must allow her to do so.
Laureate Charles Liebman, a renowned sociologist. Luvitch sought to deliver her
father's eulogy but when she started to approach the microphone in the funeral
home a representative from the burial society blocked her path and told her that
"in Petah Tikva women do not eulogize." The guidelines were referred to as 'the
Jerusalem practice.'
I am not going to discuss the actual ruling of allowing women to eulogize. I, personally, see nothing wrong with it. The gemara discusses the situation of the times then that women were professional wailers and lamenters at funerals (they would get paid to do so when necessary), so the issues of tznius do not bother me in this situation. There are other gemaras that say that a woman in her time of sorrow or distress is not enticing, specifically I remember the gemara regarding sotah that the woman would have her hair uncovered and her shirt torn in the middle of the Beis HaMikdash. the gemara discusses how that could be as it is immodest, and the gemara says that a woman in such a situation would not cause improper thoughts among the people, as she is in distress and sorrow.
It also does not bother me to not allow women to eulogize. That is the custom and has been so for hundreds of years, and in Petach Tikva it has been so since its inception in 1878.
Whichever way they go with this will be fine with me.
I do want to mention that a number of blogs, including FailedMessiah, have taken this as another opportunity to bash the Haredim as trying to change the system and ban women from eulogizing. They, supposedly, have found this as another method of controlling society to act according to their own whims.
I protest such blatant anti-religious/anti-Haredi claims. His criticism is based on false assumptions, and I so commented on Fialed Messiah's post .
There are many unusual customs associated with "Minhagei Yerushalayim" - the customs of Jerusalem. They include nto allowing children of the deceased to the cemetary at a funeral, light shabbos candles 40 minutes prior to sunset on Friday, not saying v'shamru in the Friday night prayers, saying Sim Shalom in the Saturday afternoon prayers instead of Shalom Rav, along with many other customs. Another such custom was to not allow women to eulogize.
I do not know how these customs came about. They are generally, though not always, associated with the Vilna Gaon customs, as his students came to the Holy Land in the mid-1800's and established their customs as primary customs for the land, well before the establishment of the State.
Why these customs took root, I do not know. Specifically regarding the custom of women not eulogizing, I have no idea how it began. Maybe 200 years ago it was a form of suppresion, as women were generally suppresed back then. I do not know. Maybe it has halachic sources aside from social ones. I do not know.
I do want to say though that Petah Tikva was founded in 1878 by expatriates of Jerusalem. When they founded Petah Tikva, they established the town with the customs of Jerusalem, including all the minhagei Yerushalayim.
They light candles 40 minutes before sunset on friday, they skip "v'shamru" and all the rest of the minhagim. Petah Tikva is the city with the closest association to Yerushalayim of any other in the sense of its minhagim.
The Rabbonim leading the burial society who stopped Ms. Luvitch from eulogizing her father were not attempting to wrest control of society into Haredi hands. They were adhering to customs that have been in effect for 150 years or maybe even more. They were keeping the status quo and it was Ms. Luvitch who was, probably without her knowledge, trying to change the system.
Many of these customs are in the process of change, as modern society sees things differently than when the customs were established. I have been to many funerals where the children attended even at the cemetary, for example. The burial societies are more sensitive to the people's needs and do not always enforce the customs.
This specific custom in question is clearly on the chopping block and will be naturally phased out, speeded up with the aid of the current Supreme Court decision.
Again, the specific custom does not bother me. Either it will hold up or it will go the way of other customs that have fallen. I protest the grab of every opportunity to bash the Haredim, especially when it is baseless.
lack of confidence
My brother, a volunteer combat soldier in the Israeli army told me this story. He had a trainging session today with weapons. His instructor told the group that if the need should arise, they should kill first and ask later. He said, if you get captured you cannot rely on Olmert to get you back, so don't get captured.
Isn't it great that our army trusts the Prime Minister and the other "decision makers"???
Isn't it great that our army trusts the Prime Minister and the other "decision makers"???
Apr 17, 2007
funny story with former Israeli minister
I just heard this story from someone who was involved and knows the story firsthand. This person is the CEO of a mental health facility.
He told me: A certain Minister of Health (not the current one) came to tour this mental health facility.
Somehow at some point he got stuck on his own in an enclosed, "padded" area. He called over the nurses to help him get out and he said "I am the Minister of Health and got lost, please help me out".
The nurses responded to him that he should sit down right there, all these other people also claim they are all sorts of ministers...
He told me: A certain Minister of Health (not the current one) came to tour this mental health facility.
Somehow at some point he got stuck on his own in an enclosed, "padded" area. He called over the nurses to help him get out and he said "I am the Minister of Health and got lost, please help me out".
The nurses responded to him that he should sit down right there, all these other people also claim they are all sorts of ministers...
losing skills by improving technology
Modern technology is great; We save bundles on the phone bill. Whether you use Google Talk, Skype, or one of many such services. Whether you use VOIP services for your regular phone.
Communication has become fairly instant. Email. Messenger. Google Chat. Blogging. Downloading movies/music/software (legally of course). One million and one other ways as well.
But there is a downside as well.
My kids cannot tell time. They also cannot tie their own shoes.
This is the result of digital watches and Velcro.
I know plenty of yeshiva guys who can hardly read a page of gemara on their own. This is a result of ArtScroll.
I know plenty of people who cannot spell (typos not included). This is a result of the proliferation of sms text messaging that has developed its own "language" of shortened words. This is also the result of spellcheckers and automatic spell correcting in word processors.
While modern technology is great, it has its bad side effects.
Sure, ArtScroll has done great work opening treasures of Torah and making them available to people who otherwise would never have been able to learn a page of gemara. But all the guys who should be able to learn on their own but have been relying on ArtScroll gemaras as the easy path are now unintended roadkill.
Sure Velcro saves people time and hassle on many things, but kids do not learn to tie their shoes.
etc.
Does it matter? I do not know. What is the big deal if a kid needs to tell time by looking at his digital watch and does not ever learn to read an old fashioned timepiece? Who cares of he cannot tie his shoes? Is he missing any skills that will not allow him to survive in modern society?
Maybe I am just too old fashioned that I think these skills are important. Maybe they really are not.
I have been thinking about getting a GPS device. You know - those little machines that talk to you and tell you which way to drive so you don't get lost. It calculates the best route and helps you get to your destination in a timely fashion.
I am kind of neurotic about directions. When I get into the car to drive to a new unfamiliar destinations, I will usually take out the map and check the route. I will also do this before I get in the car. Then while we are driving I will make my wife hold the road map and follow along the route with occasionally updating me with directions.
Getting a GPS would save all that aggravation and my driving her crazy. But will it make me lose my sense of direction? Sure I occasionally get lost now, and with a GPS those days of driving around looking for a street not on the map (or with the map not available) will be long gone. But getting lost around Israel has also allowed me to see places I never otherwise would have seen.
Are all these time saving devices worth it? Do we really save time? I have read articles and studies that indicate that with all the time saving devices we have and use, our lives should be less stressful and more enjoyable. Yet, the studies say, our lives are full of stress and we have less time available than ever before.
So do I get the GPS and lose the skill of naturally getting from one place to another or do I keep on winging it every time I get behind the wheel?
Communication has become fairly instant. Email. Messenger. Google Chat. Blogging. Downloading movies/music/software (legally of course). One million and one other ways as well.
But there is a downside as well.
My kids cannot tell time. They also cannot tie their own shoes.
This is the result of digital watches and Velcro.
I know plenty of yeshiva guys who can hardly read a page of gemara on their own. This is a result of ArtScroll.
I know plenty of people who cannot spell (typos not included). This is a result of the proliferation of sms text messaging that has developed its own "language" of shortened words. This is also the result of spellcheckers and automatic spell correcting in word processors.
While modern technology is great, it has its bad side effects.
Sure, ArtScroll has done great work opening treasures of Torah and making them available to people who otherwise would never have been able to learn a page of gemara. But all the guys who should be able to learn on their own but have been relying on ArtScroll gemaras as the easy path are now unintended roadkill.
Sure Velcro saves people time and hassle on many things, but kids do not learn to tie their shoes.
etc.
Does it matter? I do not know. What is the big deal if a kid needs to tell time by looking at his digital watch and does not ever learn to read an old fashioned timepiece? Who cares of he cannot tie his shoes? Is he missing any skills that will not allow him to survive in modern society?
Maybe I am just too old fashioned that I think these skills are important. Maybe they really are not.
I have been thinking about getting a GPS device. You know - those little machines that talk to you and tell you which way to drive so you don't get lost. It calculates the best route and helps you get to your destination in a timely fashion.
I am kind of neurotic about directions. When I get into the car to drive to a new unfamiliar destinations, I will usually take out the map and check the route. I will also do this before I get in the car. Then while we are driving I will make my wife hold the road map and follow along the route with occasionally updating me with directions.
Getting a GPS would save all that aggravation and my driving her crazy. But will it make me lose my sense of direction? Sure I occasionally get lost now, and with a GPS those days of driving around looking for a street not on the map (or with the map not available) will be long gone. But getting lost around Israel has also allowed me to see places I never otherwise would have seen.
Are all these time saving devices worth it? Do we really save time? I have read articles and studies that indicate that with all the time saving devices we have and use, our lives should be less stressful and more enjoyable. Yet, the studies say, our lives are full of stress and we have less time available than ever before.
So do I get the GPS and lose the skill of naturally getting from one place to another or do I keep on winging it every time I get behind the wheel?
Apr 16, 2007
Yom Ha'Shoah blog roundup
Robbie gives us a review of some of the broadcasted aspects of the evening ceremonies. The he discusses whether we are remembering in the right way.
I wrote about a story I read, along with a review of the story behind the famous tune of ani maamin.
Dzeni from New Zealand remembers the variety of people who perished, including family members.
Irina discusses some of the psychology around the Yom Ha'Shoah remembrance.
Jack reminds us that the past is important to remember so that we will realize we must save our future.
Olah Chadasha brings us a video on holocaust denial that emphasises the importance of Never Again!
BagelBlogger points us to a website with shocking photos from the Shoah. He also reviewed the history of the Pope and Vatican regarding the Holocaust.
Ya'aqov at Esser Agaroth describes for us current holocausts in progress and points us in the direction of organizatons working on preventing them.
While this is a bit unconventional, Elchonon posted in a "talkback" to a YNet article on Yom Ha'Shoah, instead of on his blog. In the talkback comment he talks about how Chareidim are really the answer to the holocaust and the true manifestation of Never Again. Go down to the bottom of the article and open talkback #3 to read Elchonon's piece and then in #6 he continues with a response.
YidWithLid discusses abuse of the memory of the holocaust and then explains how we should be rededicating ourselves to ensuring nothing like this happens ever again anywhere or to anybody, instead of just remembering.
OneJerusalem talks about the strength resulting from Yom Ha'Shoah.
RHM has an important discussion the issue of the timing of Yom Ha'Shoah. This debate comes up every year. DovBear puts forth a strong argument in the debate of the appropriateness of the timing of Yom Ha'Shoah.
Carl points us to the stories of the torch bearers from this years ceremonies.
SmoothStone points us to the story of a collection of hidden family pictures.
The SultanKnish talks about how remembering is just something we do..
Heichal HaNegina relates a story about the famous Rav David Werdyger.
JoeSettler discusses how the kollel system is an appropriate response to the holocaust.
LOR shows us an image of Godliness and evil.
CosmicX tells us that nothing has changed.
Dave Bender points us to some online exhibitions. Little Frumhouse on the Prairie points us to some as well.
Kumah points us to a photo essay from the siren sounding.
Ari explains Yom Ha'Shoah and offers some recommended reading. Here Ari remembers his grandmother's brother. Then he connects the Eurovision to Holocaust remembrance.
BenChorin puts Yom Ha'Shoah into perspective.
Jeffrey at MyObiterDichta talks about a relative who left a diary buried in a milk can in Warsaw..
SJ tells us why she does not read Holocaust books.
WestBankMama sent in a post from last year about learning to shoot a gun.
Batya questions why the financial situation of the survivors in Israel is so bad.. and describes her experience with the Yom Ha'Shoah siren. She also describes how El Al commemorated the Holocaust
Jameel commemorated Yom Ha'Shoah in Hungary. If you are going to only read one Yom Ha'Shoah post, in my opinion this is the one it should be.
Martha remembers from the US Holocaust Museum.
Miriam is trying to remember her father in law appropriately.
There is always the story of how Rose survived the Holocaust at Roses Story.
Rick tells us a story of a survivor from a town called Bochelow.
It's Almost Supernatural describes the ceremony he attended at West Park cemetary.
I posted all the blog posts that were sent to me on the topic of Yom Ha'Shoah, and many posts that I found on my own. I apologize if yours was not included. It was not meant as a slight, I probably just did not see it. I would be happy to include it and can add it at any time, so feel free to send me your posts for inclusion. Email them to israeli.jew at gmail dot com or post them in the comments...
I wrote about a story I read, along with a review of the story behind the famous tune of ani maamin.
Dzeni from New Zealand remembers the variety of people who perished, including family members.
Irina discusses some of the psychology around the Yom Ha'Shoah remembrance.
Jack reminds us that the past is important to remember so that we will realize we must save our future.
Olah Chadasha brings us a video on holocaust denial that emphasises the importance of Never Again!
BagelBlogger points us to a website with shocking photos from the Shoah. He also reviewed the history of the Pope and Vatican regarding the Holocaust.
Ya'aqov at Esser Agaroth describes for us current holocausts in progress and points us in the direction of organizatons working on preventing them.
While this is a bit unconventional, Elchonon posted in a "talkback" to a YNet article on Yom Ha'Shoah, instead of on his blog. In the talkback comment he talks about how Chareidim are really the answer to the holocaust and the true manifestation of Never Again. Go down to the bottom of the article and open talkback #3 to read Elchonon's piece and then in #6 he continues with a response.
YidWithLid discusses abuse of the memory of the holocaust and then explains how we should be rededicating ourselves to ensuring nothing like this happens ever again anywhere or to anybody, instead of just remembering.
OneJerusalem talks about the strength resulting from Yom Ha'Shoah.
RHM has an important discussion the issue of the timing of Yom Ha'Shoah. This debate comes up every year. DovBear puts forth a strong argument in the debate of the appropriateness of the timing of Yom Ha'Shoah.
Carl points us to the stories of the torch bearers from this years ceremonies.
SmoothStone points us to the story of a collection of hidden family pictures.
The SultanKnish talks about how remembering is just something we do..
Heichal HaNegina relates a story about the famous Rav David Werdyger.
JoeSettler discusses how the kollel system is an appropriate response to the holocaust.
LOR shows us an image of Godliness and evil.
CosmicX tells us that nothing has changed.
Dave Bender points us to some online exhibitions. Little Frumhouse on the Prairie points us to some as well.
Kumah points us to a photo essay from the siren sounding.
Ari explains Yom Ha'Shoah and offers some recommended reading. Here Ari remembers his grandmother's brother. Then he connects the Eurovision to Holocaust remembrance.
BenChorin puts Yom Ha'Shoah into perspective.
Jeffrey at MyObiterDichta talks about a relative who left a diary buried in a milk can in Warsaw..
SJ tells us why she does not read Holocaust books.
WestBankMama sent in a post from last year about learning to shoot a gun.
Batya questions why the financial situation of the survivors in Israel is so bad.. and describes her experience with the Yom Ha'Shoah siren. She also describes how El Al commemorated the Holocaust
Jameel commemorated Yom Ha'Shoah in Hungary. If you are going to only read one Yom Ha'Shoah post, in my opinion this is the one it should be.
Martha remembers from the US Holocaust Museum.
Miriam is trying to remember her father in law appropriately.
There is always the story of how Rose survived the Holocaust at Roses Story.
Rick tells us a story of a survivor from a town called Bochelow.
It's Almost Supernatural describes the ceremony he attended at West Park cemetary.
I posted all the blog posts that were sent to me on the topic of Yom Ha'Shoah, and many posts that I found on my own. I apologize if yours was not included. It was not meant as a slight, I probably just did not see it. I would be happy to include it and can add it at any time, so feel free to send me your posts for inclusion. Email them to israeli.jew at gmail dot com or post them in the comments...
Kever Yehoshua (video)
INN reported on the nighttime visit to Kever Yehoshua Bin Nun and broadcast this video:
Apr 15, 2007
Yom Ha'Shoah roundup anouncement
If you write a post about Yom Ha'Shoah, feel free to send it to me (either in the comments or by email: israeli.jew at gmail dot com) and I will do a morning roundup of Yom Ha'Shoah posts
a schnorrfest
And I thought this kind of stuff only happened in Bet Shemesh. What a relief - now I know it is their general style and not just limited to BS...
I have become one of them!!!
To put it mildly, I am generally not the one in the shul with the longest shmoneh esrei.
I can daven pretty fast and on a day where I am fast forward setting, I can be one of the first to finish. On the other hand, I have been improving the level of my kavvana over the past few months, and while I still sometimes finish pretty fast, usually I am now somewhere in the middle. On a day that I can get some good concentration, I might even make it pretty far into the pack.
When saying shmoneh esrei, I always found that upon completion the chazzan almost always has to waita good few minutes to get the ten people so he can start the repetition. He might get 7 or 8 guys finished and then the rest will often be saying their own prayers slowly and everyone has to wait for a couple more guys to finish. That always annoyed me. Not a lot. I guess it would depend on how slow they were davening.
The kicker is that no matter how slow they were davening, as soon as the chazzan gets his final 10 guys ready and starts the repetition, most of the other slow daveners will finish their prayers within the next minute, almost as if they wanted to make sure everyone saw they were davening slowly. As soon as everyone notices, they can finish up.
As a "fast davener" I always noticed that and it sort of amused me, and if I was in a rush it annoyed me. I would sometimes think "tircha d'tzibbura" -they are causing us all to be delayed and wait for them. they should speed up.
Now that I am slowing down I find myself in a predicament. It has happened, more than once, specifically today at mincha, where we had a minyan m'tzumtzam, an exact minyan. By my davening a slow shmoneh esrei I am causing everyone else to wait for me. But if I speed up so people do not have to wait for me, I do not get to have the level of concentration I would have liked to have, and maybe I miss out on asking for certain requests and tefillos I would have liked to say. It happens to be that when I noticed that the chazzan had finished and was waiting for just a couple more people, including me, I sped up so the services would not be delayed because of me.
I now understand them a little better, as I find myself in their situation. My question is am I supposed to speed up, as I have been doing when I find them waiting for me, or am I under no such obligation and I can daven for as long as I want/need?
Something to think about (As Rabbi Yaakov Solomon from aish.com would say)...
I can daven pretty fast and on a day where I am fast forward setting, I can be one of the first to finish. On the other hand, I have been improving the level of my kavvana over the past few months, and while I still sometimes finish pretty fast, usually I am now somewhere in the middle. On a day that I can get some good concentration, I might even make it pretty far into the pack.
When saying shmoneh esrei, I always found that upon completion the chazzan almost always has to waita good few minutes to get the ten people so he can start the repetition. He might get 7 or 8 guys finished and then the rest will often be saying their own prayers slowly and everyone has to wait for a couple more guys to finish. That always annoyed me. Not a lot. I guess it would depend on how slow they were davening.
The kicker is that no matter how slow they were davening, as soon as the chazzan gets his final 10 guys ready and starts the repetition, most of the other slow daveners will finish their prayers within the next minute, almost as if they wanted to make sure everyone saw they were davening slowly. As soon as everyone notices, they can finish up.
As a "fast davener" I always noticed that and it sort of amused me, and if I was in a rush it annoyed me. I would sometimes think "tircha d'tzibbura" -they are causing us all to be delayed and wait for them. they should speed up.
Now that I am slowing down I find myself in a predicament. It has happened, more than once, specifically today at mincha, where we had a minyan m'tzumtzam, an exact minyan. By my davening a slow shmoneh esrei I am causing everyone else to wait for me. But if I speed up so people do not have to wait for me, I do not get to have the level of concentration I would have liked to have, and maybe I miss out on asking for certain requests and tefillos I would have liked to say. It happens to be that when I noticed that the chazzan had finished and was waiting for just a couple more people, including me, I sped up so the services would not be delayed because of me.
I now understand them a little better, as I find myself in their situation. My question is am I supposed to speed up, as I have been doing when I find them waiting for me, or am I under no such obligation and I can daven for as long as I want/need?
Something to think about (As Rabbi Yaakov Solomon from aish.com would say)...
HH#112 just woke up!!
Yid With Lid stayed up late to work on HH #112 - you can't even tell it was 2 am, that's how good a job he did!!
Yom Ha'Shoah
Last year I wrote about a Multi-Cultured Holocaust thought from a ceremony at work.
---------------------------------------------------
The Holocaust was never really "my thing". I was not big on reading holocaust books or listening to holocaust stories. I always felt we dwell too much on the Holocaust. Sure, it was horrible and horrific and all that, but it never really appealed to me.
We tend to abuse the memory of the Holocaust. We hear about people calling anybody they think is opposing them a "Nazi", from any member of the KKK or any stupid skinhead, to an Israeli policeman. We compare events and political issues to the holocaust and then we talk about how evil it is to make such comparisons.
Guilt has always been a big part of being Jewish. The Holocaust is no different. It is as if we all feel guilty all the time, and we are supposed to. It is as if we have no right to exist aside from the fact that they tried to exterminate us.
Whenever I heard "Holocaust" I would tune out. Sure, I've been to Yad Va'Shem a dozen times (though not recently). Sure I have read plenty of books over the years. Sure I had a grandmother who survived the Holocaust. She even wrote a book (unpublished) that I never read until recently.
But as I get older I seem to be coming to terms with it. Sure, I still think we overdo it; We still abuse the memory of the Holocaust. But I am more open to reading about it nowadays. I "enjoy" stories of gvurah (strength and heroism) from the Holocaust, be it gvurah on a religious level or a physical level (like the Warsaw Ghetto uprising).
Like the story I just read of the Satmar Rebbe. Someone in the town had taken a pair of shoes from stuff the Nazis had confiscated. The Nazis rounded up all the people from the town and asked who took them. When nobody came forward, the Nazi threatened to shoot everyone on the spot unless the person came forward immediately. The Satmar Rebbe, one of those among the group but not the one who had taken the shoes, stepped forward and said he had taken the shoes. He did so to protect the lives of all those people, while knowing he was giving up his own life in the process. The Nazi "stood down" and let them all go as he got distracted by another transport coming through just then.
Yom Ha'Shoah is tomorrow. We will have our ceremony at work, as we do annually, in which we say two chapters of Tehiillim, a mishna and a kel moleh for those who perished and we will conclude by singing the famous song of ani maamin.
This tune of ani maamin is itself a Holocaust story. I am copying the story from the website of Modzitz:
"Ani Ma'amin" - A Song of Ultimate Faith
The Niggun
based on "HaRakeves HaMisnaggenes - The Singing Train", a story by P. Flexer in M.S. Geshuri's
Negina v'Chassidus b'Veis Kuzmir u'Bnoseha and a story in Sichas HaShavua # 654
Although he was centered in Otvoczk, Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar of Modzitz had Chassidim throughout the major towns and cities of Poland. One of these was Reb Azriel David Fastag, who became noted for his exceptional voice throughout Warsaw. Many came to the shul where Reb Azriel David and his brothers, who were also blessed with lovely voices, would daven on the Yamim Noraim [High Holy Days]. Reb Azriel David was the ba'al tefilla [led the prayers], while his brothers accompanied him as a choir. His crisp, clear and moving voice had a profound effect on all who heard him.
He lived simply, supporting himself from a small dry goods [clothing] store, but his happiness and fulfillment came of another source - the world of Negina. His moving tunes made their way to Otvoczk, where his Rebbe, R. Shaul Yedidya Elazar appreciated them immensely. The day a new niggun of R. Azriel David's came to the Rebbe was like a "Yom Tov" for him. [One of his most memorable compositions is "M'heira Yishama," a wedding tune.]
Dark clouds began to cover the skies of Europe - the clouds of Nazism. In spite of the terrible decrees, the yellow patch and the ghettoes, most Jews could not fathom what was about to befall them. Only a few "read the map" correctly and managed to escape the clutches of the Nazi occupation to safe havens. One of them was the Modzitzer Rebbe, Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar, whose Chassidim made a tremendous effort to save him. As the Nazis entered Poland, the Chassidim smuggled him out of Poland to Vilna [Lithuania], and from there he made his way across Russia to Shanghai, China, eventually arriving in America in 1941.
Meanwhile in Poland, tens of thousands of Jews were being 'shipped off' daily to their death in cattle cars that were part of the railway system. Aroused from their warm beds in Warsaw, husbands were separated from their wives, children from their parents. The elderly were often shot on the spot in front of their loved ones. Then the Jews were gathered and sent off in these trains to a place where their existence would no longer trouble those dregs of humanity known as the Nazis - to Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek, etc. What did it look like in one of those cattle cars of the "death train"?
What could one expect to find other than people in their death throes - gasping, sighing and crying? One could hear the stifled cries of children, crushed together and trampled upon by the spiked boots of the evil, cruel Nazis.
However, in one such car, it seemed like a "tone" of life managed to emerge from these crushed people. What - people on their way to the slaughter, singing??? Is this not some cruel Nazi joke? Let us look a bit closer...
An elderly Jew, wrapped up in his ragged clothing, his face white as snow, makes his way over to his neighbor on the death train, begging him to remind him of the niggun the Modzitzer Rebbe sang on Yom Kippur for the Avoda, to "Ma'areh Kohen."
"Now - now - all you want to know about is niggunim?" answered the other, with a hard look at the Chassid, thinking that maybe all the suffering had caused him to lose his mind.
But this Modzitzer Chassid, Reb Azriel David Fastag, was no longer paying attention to his friend, or to anyone else on the train. In his mind, he was at the Amud HaTefilla [prayer stand] next to the Modzitzer Rebbe, and it is he who was the baal tefilla before all the Chassidim.
Suddenly, before his eyes, the words of the twelfth [of thirteen] Principle of Jewish Faith appeared: "Ani Ma'amin b'Emuna Sheleima, b'vias HaMoshiach; v'af al pi she'yismamaya, im kol zeh, achakeh lo b'chol yom she'yavo - I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Moshiach; and even though he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait each day for his coming." Closing his eyes, he meditated on these words and thought, "Just now, when everything seems lost, is a Jew's faith put to the test."
It was not long before he began to hum a quiet tune to these words. Amidst the heavy atmosphere of death and despair on the train, Reb Azriel David's dveykus [attachment to Hashem] took him above it all.
"How can one of us be singing at such a time?" wondered his fellow Jews on the train. And with such a sweet voice! It must be, that from Heaven they are accompanying us, in mourning, to our death... But listen, what is it that they are singing? You're about to be slaughtered, shot, poisoned or burnt and what are they singing? -- I believe!!!"
The Modzitzer Chassid was completely above it all, a pillar of song, bringing out of his bloodied lungs the song of his life -- the song of the eternity of the Jewish People. He was unaware of the silence in the cattle car, and of the hundreds of ears listening attentively in amazement. He also didn't hear the voices as they gradually joined his song, at first quietly, but soon - growing louder and louder! Meanwhile, he made sure to write out the notes of the newly composed song...
The moving tune, with its holy words, had penetrated the hearts of the Jews on the train, and had joined to the pure emuna [faith] in their hearts, which burst out from them in the form of this great song. The song spread from car to car. Every mouth that could draw a breath from those congested cattle cars, filled with live "corpses" and pungent with the odor of people crowded together, joined in a piece of "Ani Ma'amin - I believe." It became a wonderful, amazing symphony unto itself.
An elderly Jew, close to his death, asked for an explanation. His neighbor screamed to him, "We're singing the Jewish People lives - chai - lives! You too, sing with us - the Jewish People lives, Ani Ma'amin!" Closing his eyes, the elderly Jew clenched his fists and sang with his remaining strength - "the Jewish People is alive, I believe that Moshiach Tzidkeinu [the Righteous] will come quickly," and expired.
As the train neared the death camp, the railway workers wondered: from where is this amazing song coming? Could the Jews be singing their own burial service tune?
As if waking from a dream, Reb Azriel David opened his eyes to the sight of the singing train. His eyes were red from crying; his cheeks, wet with tears. Deeply moved, he yelled to whomever would listen, "My dear brothers! This niggun is the song of the Jewish soul. It is a song of pure faith, for which thousands of years of exile and troubles cannot overcome!"
Then, in a choked voice, he continued, "I will give my portion in Olam Haba [the World to Come] to whomever can take these notes of my song 'Ani Ma'amin' to the Modzitzer Rebbe!"
A hushed silence descended upon the train. Reb Azriel David lifted himself up by the ends of his thumbs, searching through the crowd that surrounded him. Two young men appeared, promising to bring the notes to the Modzitzer Rebbe, at any cost. One of them climbed upon the other, and in the small crack of the train's roof that only he knew of, made a hole from which to escape. Poking his head out under the open sky, he said, "I see the blue Heavens above us, the stars are twinkling and the moon, with a fatherly face, is looking at me."
"And what do you hear?" asked his companion.
Turning white, the young man answered, "I hear the Ministering Angels singing the Ani Ma'amin tune, and it's ascending to the seven firmaments of Heaven..."
Bidding farewell to their brothers and sisters on the train, the two proceeded to jump off, one after the other. One was killed instantly from the fall, while the other survived, taking the notes of the song with him. He eventually found his way to Eretz Yisrael [perhaps to the Rebbe's son, the Imrei Aish, who was in Tel-Aviv], and the notes were sent by mail to Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar in New York.
Upon receiving the notes and having the "Ani Ma'amin" niggun sung, the Rebbe said, "When they sang 'Ani Ma'amin' on the death train, the pillars of the world were shaking. Hashem said, 'Can it be that My Torah is a fraud? No! But whenever the Jews will sing 'Ani Ma'amin', I will remember the six million victims and have mercy on the rest of My People.'"
It is told that on the first Yom Kippur that the Rebbe sang the "Ani Ma'amin," there were thousands of Jews in the shul. The entire Kahal [congregation] burst into tears, which fell like water into the pool of tears and blood of the Jewish Nation. The tune soon spread throughout Klal Yisrael [world Jewry].
"With this niggun," said Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar, "the Jewish People went to the gas chambers. And with this niggun, the Jews will march to greet Moshiach."
Translated by Reb Yitzchak Dorfman of Yerushalayim, a Modzitzer Chassid Copyright © 1998 - 2004, Mosdos Modzitz
'
---------------------------------------------------
The Holocaust was never really "my thing". I was not big on reading holocaust books or listening to holocaust stories. I always felt we dwell too much on the Holocaust. Sure, it was horrible and horrific and all that, but it never really appealed to me.
We tend to abuse the memory of the Holocaust. We hear about people calling anybody they think is opposing them a "Nazi", from any member of the KKK or any stupid skinhead, to an Israeli policeman. We compare events and political issues to the holocaust and then we talk about how evil it is to make such comparisons.
Guilt has always been a big part of being Jewish. The Holocaust is no different. It is as if we all feel guilty all the time, and we are supposed to. It is as if we have no right to exist aside from the fact that they tried to exterminate us.
Whenever I heard "Holocaust" I would tune out. Sure, I've been to Yad Va'Shem a dozen times (though not recently). Sure I have read plenty of books over the years. Sure I had a grandmother who survived the Holocaust. She even wrote a book (unpublished) that I never read until recently.
But as I get older I seem to be coming to terms with it. Sure, I still think we overdo it; We still abuse the memory of the Holocaust. But I am more open to reading about it nowadays. I "enjoy" stories of gvurah (strength and heroism) from the Holocaust, be it gvurah on a religious level or a physical level (like the Warsaw Ghetto uprising).
Like the story I just read of the Satmar Rebbe. Someone in the town had taken a pair of shoes from stuff the Nazis had confiscated. The Nazis rounded up all the people from the town and asked who took them. When nobody came forward, the Nazi threatened to shoot everyone on the spot unless the person came forward immediately. The Satmar Rebbe, one of those among the group but not the one who had taken the shoes, stepped forward and said he had taken the shoes. He did so to protect the lives of all those people, while knowing he was giving up his own life in the process. The Nazi "stood down" and let them all go as he got distracted by another transport coming through just then.
Yom Ha'Shoah is tomorrow. We will have our ceremony at work, as we do annually, in which we say two chapters of Tehiillim, a mishna and a kel moleh for those who perished and we will conclude by singing the famous song of ani maamin.
This tune of ani maamin is itself a Holocaust story. I am copying the story from the website of Modzitz:
"Ani Ma'amin" - A Song of Ultimate Faith
The Niggun
based on "HaRakeves HaMisnaggenes - The Singing Train", a story by P. Flexer in M.S. Geshuri's
Negina v'Chassidus b'Veis Kuzmir u'Bnoseha and a story in Sichas HaShavua # 654
Although he was centered in Otvoczk, Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar of Modzitz had Chassidim throughout the major towns and cities of Poland. One of these was Reb Azriel David Fastag, who became noted for his exceptional voice throughout Warsaw. Many came to the shul where Reb Azriel David and his brothers, who were also blessed with lovely voices, would daven on the Yamim Noraim [High Holy Days]. Reb Azriel David was the ba'al tefilla [led the prayers], while his brothers accompanied him as a choir. His crisp, clear and moving voice had a profound effect on all who heard him.
He lived simply, supporting himself from a small dry goods [clothing] store, but his happiness and fulfillment came of another source - the world of Negina. His moving tunes made their way to Otvoczk, where his Rebbe, R. Shaul Yedidya Elazar appreciated them immensely. The day a new niggun of R. Azriel David's came to the Rebbe was like a "Yom Tov" for him. [One of his most memorable compositions is "M'heira Yishama," a wedding tune.]
Dark clouds began to cover the skies of Europe - the clouds of Nazism. In spite of the terrible decrees, the yellow patch and the ghettoes, most Jews could not fathom what was about to befall them. Only a few "read the map" correctly and managed to escape the clutches of the Nazi occupation to safe havens. One of them was the Modzitzer Rebbe, Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar, whose Chassidim made a tremendous effort to save him. As the Nazis entered Poland, the Chassidim smuggled him out of Poland to Vilna [Lithuania], and from there he made his way across Russia to Shanghai, China, eventually arriving in America in 1941.
Meanwhile in Poland, tens of thousands of Jews were being 'shipped off' daily to their death in cattle cars that were part of the railway system. Aroused from their warm beds in Warsaw, husbands were separated from their wives, children from their parents. The elderly were often shot on the spot in front of their loved ones. Then the Jews were gathered and sent off in these trains to a place where their existence would no longer trouble those dregs of humanity known as the Nazis - to Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek, etc. What did it look like in one of those cattle cars of the "death train"?
What could one expect to find other than people in their death throes - gasping, sighing and crying? One could hear the stifled cries of children, crushed together and trampled upon by the spiked boots of the evil, cruel Nazis.
However, in one such car, it seemed like a "tone" of life managed to emerge from these crushed people. What - people on their way to the slaughter, singing??? Is this not some cruel Nazi joke? Let us look a bit closer...
An elderly Jew, wrapped up in his ragged clothing, his face white as snow, makes his way over to his neighbor on the death train, begging him to remind him of the niggun the Modzitzer Rebbe sang on Yom Kippur for the Avoda, to "Ma'areh Kohen."
"Now - now - all you want to know about is niggunim?" answered the other, with a hard look at the Chassid, thinking that maybe all the suffering had caused him to lose his mind.
But this Modzitzer Chassid, Reb Azriel David Fastag, was no longer paying attention to his friend, or to anyone else on the train. In his mind, he was at the Amud HaTefilla [prayer stand] next to the Modzitzer Rebbe, and it is he who was the baal tefilla before all the Chassidim.
Suddenly, before his eyes, the words of the twelfth [of thirteen] Principle of Jewish Faith appeared: "Ani Ma'amin b'Emuna Sheleima, b'vias HaMoshiach; v'af al pi she'yismamaya, im kol zeh, achakeh lo b'chol yom she'yavo - I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Moshiach; and even though he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait each day for his coming." Closing his eyes, he meditated on these words and thought, "Just now, when everything seems lost, is a Jew's faith put to the test."
It was not long before he began to hum a quiet tune to these words. Amidst the heavy atmosphere of death and despair on the train, Reb Azriel David's dveykus [attachment to Hashem] took him above it all.
"How can one of us be singing at such a time?" wondered his fellow Jews on the train. And with such a sweet voice! It must be, that from Heaven they are accompanying us, in mourning, to our death... But listen, what is it that they are singing? You're about to be slaughtered, shot, poisoned or burnt and what are they singing? -- I believe!!!"
The Modzitzer Chassid was completely above it all, a pillar of song, bringing out of his bloodied lungs the song of his life -- the song of the eternity of the Jewish People. He was unaware of the silence in the cattle car, and of the hundreds of ears listening attentively in amazement. He also didn't hear the voices as they gradually joined his song, at first quietly, but soon - growing louder and louder! Meanwhile, he made sure to write out the notes of the newly composed song...
The moving tune, with its holy words, had penetrated the hearts of the Jews on the train, and had joined to the pure emuna [faith] in their hearts, which burst out from them in the form of this great song. The song spread from car to car. Every mouth that could draw a breath from those congested cattle cars, filled with live "corpses" and pungent with the odor of people crowded together, joined in a piece of "Ani Ma'amin - I believe." It became a wonderful, amazing symphony unto itself.
An elderly Jew, close to his death, asked for an explanation. His neighbor screamed to him, "We're singing the Jewish People lives - chai - lives! You too, sing with us - the Jewish People lives, Ani Ma'amin!" Closing his eyes, the elderly Jew clenched his fists and sang with his remaining strength - "the Jewish People is alive, I believe that Moshiach Tzidkeinu [the Righteous] will come quickly," and expired.
As the train neared the death camp, the railway workers wondered: from where is this amazing song coming? Could the Jews be singing their own burial service tune?
As if waking from a dream, Reb Azriel David opened his eyes to the sight of the singing train. His eyes were red from crying; his cheeks, wet with tears. Deeply moved, he yelled to whomever would listen, "My dear brothers! This niggun is the song of the Jewish soul. It is a song of pure faith, for which thousands of years of exile and troubles cannot overcome!"
Then, in a choked voice, he continued, "I will give my portion in Olam Haba [the World to Come] to whomever can take these notes of my song 'Ani Ma'amin' to the Modzitzer Rebbe!"
A hushed silence descended upon the train. Reb Azriel David lifted himself up by the ends of his thumbs, searching through the crowd that surrounded him. Two young men appeared, promising to bring the notes to the Modzitzer Rebbe, at any cost. One of them climbed upon the other, and in the small crack of the train's roof that only he knew of, made a hole from which to escape. Poking his head out under the open sky, he said, "I see the blue Heavens above us, the stars are twinkling and the moon, with a fatherly face, is looking at me."
"And what do you hear?" asked his companion.
Turning white, the young man answered, "I hear the Ministering Angels singing the Ani Ma'amin tune, and it's ascending to the seven firmaments of Heaven..."
Bidding farewell to their brothers and sisters on the train, the two proceeded to jump off, one after the other. One was killed instantly from the fall, while the other survived, taking the notes of the song with him. He eventually found his way to Eretz Yisrael [perhaps to the Rebbe's son, the Imrei Aish, who was in Tel-Aviv], and the notes were sent by mail to Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar in New York.
Upon receiving the notes and having the "Ani Ma'amin" niggun sung, the Rebbe said, "When they sang 'Ani Ma'amin' on the death train, the pillars of the world were shaking. Hashem said, 'Can it be that My Torah is a fraud? No! But whenever the Jews will sing 'Ani Ma'amin', I will remember the six million victims and have mercy on the rest of My People.'"
It is told that on the first Yom Kippur that the Rebbe sang the "Ani Ma'amin," there were thousands of Jews in the shul. The entire Kahal [congregation] burst into tears, which fell like water into the pool of tears and blood of the Jewish Nation. The tune soon spread throughout Klal Yisrael [world Jewry].
"With this niggun," said Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar, "the Jewish People went to the gas chambers. And with this niggun, the Jews will march to greet Moshiach."
Translated by Reb Yitzchak Dorfman of Yerushalayim, a Modzitzer Chassid Copyright © 1998 - 2004, Mosdos Modzitz
'
Apr 13, 2007
my spontaneous middle of the night trip to an Arab village
What were you doing last night at 3am?
I am not someone who does things spontaneously. I do not like surprises and like to stick to my general plans. Last night I did what is definitely one of the most spontaneous things I have done in a very long time.
At about 2:30 AM I get an sms text message from my friend Elchonon. I do not know why I saw it, but the message said that he had to beat up 50 people to get on the bus. I asked back "the bus to where?" and he tells me he is at the grave of Yehoshua Bin Nun. I told him I had been there a few years ago and had he told me about the trip I wold have like to go with him. He told me there are buses all night and I can go to Geula in jerusalem and get on the last bus still.
I got dressed and I was out of the house by 2:40 am and on my way to Jerusalem. I found the bus location and fought my way on to the last bus. I slept most of the way there and when I woke up we were already in the middle of the Arab village called Timnas Harsa, a.k.a. Timnas Heres as it is called in the navi Yehoshua described as the burial place of Yehoshua Bin Nun.
This shabbos is the yahrtzeit of Yehoshua Bin Nun and every year the army opens up his grave site for access to Jews on his yahrtzeit. It is the one day a year Jews can go there to pray.
Along with Yehoshua Bin Nun, in the same village is also buried Calev Ben Yefune. The grave with the blue marker is that of Calev, while the white-walled gravesite is that of Yehoshua. They are covered with graffitti as you can see from the following pictures.
I am not someone who does things spontaneously. I do not like surprises and like to stick to my general plans. Last night I did what is definitely one of the most spontaneous things I have done in a very long time.
At about 2:30 AM I get an sms text message from my friend Elchonon. I do not know why I saw it, but the message said that he had to beat up 50 people to get on the bus. I asked back "the bus to where?" and he tells me he is at the grave of Yehoshua Bin Nun. I told him I had been there a few years ago and had he told me about the trip I wold have like to go with him. He told me there are buses all night and I can go to Geula in jerusalem and get on the last bus still.
I got dressed and I was out of the house by 2:40 am and on my way to Jerusalem. I found the bus location and fought my way on to the last bus. I slept most of the way there and when I woke up we were already in the middle of the Arab village called Timnas Harsa, a.k.a. Timnas Heres as it is called in the navi Yehoshua described as the burial place of Yehoshua Bin Nun.
This shabbos is the yahrtzeit of Yehoshua Bin Nun and every year the army opens up his grave site for access to Jews on his yahrtzeit. It is the one day a year Jews can go there to pray.
Along with Yehoshua Bin Nun, in the same village is also buried Calev Ben Yefune. The grave with the blue marker is that of Calev, while the white-walled gravesite is that of Yehoshua. They are covered with graffitti as you can see from the following pictures.
as you can see from this picture below, someone had painted a swastika on the wall of the gravesite of Yehoshua and it was whitewashed over just before our visit to the grave
I got back at about 9 am, just a few minutes late for my weekly Friday morning chavrusa. Definitely a worthwhile trip, even though I lost a night of sleep.
It was a special experience to be able to go to Yehoshua's gravesite. He was one of our early leaders. He brought our nation into Israel and administered the division of the land among the Tribes. Yehoshua was the student and assistant of Moshe Rabeinu. We study the book he wrote as the first book of the Neviim. This was an experience of connecting with our past. An experience that is rare, and the opportunity must be jumped at.
I just found out that this night at Kever Yehoshua seems to have been sponsored by the jblog society. Every shift that was at the kever last night had a jblogger, which is pretty amazing considering 90% of the attendees are Breslaver Chassidim. I just got off the phone with Jameel - he was there on the first shift from 12:00 am to 1:30 am. Elchonon was there from about 1:30 until about 3:30. I was there from about 4:15 until 6:45.
Apr 12, 2007
qotd (Quote of the Day)
Shimon Peres, "Israel has invested some 60 billion shekels in the territories [Judea, Samaria and Gaza]. Instead of this, we must invest in the sea, and stretch our western border in that direction by building artificial islands."
He brings new meaning to the old desire of the Arabs surrounding us to "throw the Jews into the sea".
I assume that just like in the '70's Peres was a supporter of the settlements and even established settlements over the Green Line as Minister of Defense and then later changed his position and supports dismantling the settlements and handing that land to the Arabs as a token of goodwill for the possibility of future peace, the same will hold true with this idea. He will build artificial islands and eventually advocate handing them over for potential peace.
He brings new meaning to the old desire of the Arabs surrounding us to "throw the Jews into the sea".
I assume that just like in the '70's Peres was a supporter of the settlements and even established settlements over the Green Line as Minister of Defense and then later changed his position and supports dismantling the settlements and handing that land to the Arabs as a token of goodwill for the possibility of future peace, the same will hold true with this idea. He will build artificial islands and eventually advocate handing them over for potential peace.
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