Can there really be a shortage of butter at Tnuva or is the makolet guy just pulling my leg?

I mean, if you've got milk, can't you make butter?

And if Tnuva is short on butter, what about the other dairy suppliers like Tara?

According to this, there is a shortage of butter, due to a shortage of fresh milk.

Tell those cows to get back to work. We need our butter!

Rav Steinman's throwing his support in the Rehovot municipal race to the non-haredi candidate, despite his running against a haredi candidate, looks to me like a good move. A hedge perhaps.

The race is very close for the mayorship of Rehovot. The 2 main candidates are a haredi guy from the Likud party (formerly of Shas), and a secular Jew.

Rav Steinman told the Rehovot haredim to support Salant, the secular candidate, because the polls said he was leading, and haredim always like to follow the winning horse. Some say Rav Steinman was tricked and was told that Salant is religious.

I think it is a good hedge bet. If the haredi candidate, Malul, wins, he is not going to become non-haredi because Rav Steinman said to support the other guy. He will still support the haredi causes. Yet if Salant would win without the haredi support, it is possible he might ignore, or at leats not advocate, issues haredim are concerned with.

So whoever wins, with Rav Steinman's support behind Salant, the haredim win either way.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz last week made a statement about how the haredim need to get out and go to work, and the fact that they generally do not, that is the reason for the high levels of unemployment in the haredi comunity.

Yuval Steinitz has a pretty good relationship with the haredi parties, and with haredim in general. When he was appointed Finance Minister, the haredi politicians were satisfied, saying that he has always been a friend and supportive of the yeshivas. So, I would not consider any such statement by Steinitz to be based on stereotype and bias. Steinitz is familiar and on good terms with the haredi community, and any such statement is because he sees it as a serious as a problem.

MK Moshe Gafni responded saying that it is not that haredim do not want to work, but the government does not want them to. Gafni said the the Tax Authority refuses to certify graduates of Bais Yaakov as tax advisers, even though they have been accredited in a process that ends with exams similar to the regular bagrut (matriculation) exams. Adn, Gafni added, that this discrimination is despite the fact that most people say the haredi women are smarter than others who have gone through the process.

I really dislike it when the haredi parties kvetch how everyone is against them. Gafni is saying that the Bais Yaakov girls takes their own exams, not the ones required by the government for certification (I do not know if this is true or not - I know a lot of [mostly female] haredi accountants and tax advisers, so either they went through a different system or Gafni is wrong).

If somebody is a private entrepreneur and has a system in place what he requires of job applicants, he also has the ability to go around his own rules and hire somebody he likes, even without the proper background, training or education. It is his own business, and if he finds a particular applicant smarter, or more likable or quicker or whatever, he has that ability.

when there is a position that requires governmental oversight, and that position has requirements, people have far less leeway in circumventing the requirements.

So Gafni and his buddies want the girls to not get the appropriate education and testing, yet still be accepted for the jobs. Because he says the training is equivalent.

Stop kvetching about it and instead of designing your own system that does not meet the requirements, let the girls study the required material and take the required exams. Maybe they are smarter, but that is not the issue. There are requirements for these positions and it is not the governments fault that Bais Yaakov does not meet those requirements.

I grew up wanting to play second base for the Chicago Cubs, but my JCC Little League experience was not enough to get me the job. I cannot complain that the Cubs won't hire me if I don't have the training required...

The New York Post article on Yuri Foreman's championship win is very interesting.

Foreman is in a rabbinical studies program he expects to complete within two years. He doesn't see his faith being in conflict with his profession.

"People have stereotypes that if you've going to be a rabbi then it's got to be only peace: not necessarily," Foreman said. "The life is actually not peaceful. You have to really work hard every day. It's OK to fight and earn money and study to be a rabbi."

Hours after winning the title, the accomplishment of a life-long dream had not sunk in yet. It was a dream that began when his mother took him to a boxing gym after he was bullied at grade school -- a dream that helped him become a national champion in Israel while training alongside Arabs; a dream that brought him to Brooklyn at age 19 with the goal of becoming a world champion.

"I'm still like, wow," Foreman said, a cut over his left eye and bruise under his right serving a proof his title didn't come without sacrifice.

Foreman, 29, hopes his reign will have meaning beyond boxing.

"Sport transcends the differences between nations," he said. "When I came first to the Arab gyms, the first impressions were they really stared at me. They wanted a piece of me. But after a few sparring sessions and training they just forget and we become friends. Now I have a lot of Arab supporters. They Facebook me and say they've been praying for me. So it's good to hear."

Maybe we can adopt a similar model to solve the Middle East problems... throw some Israelis and Arabs into a ring, let them duke it out, and get out all their aggressions and then come to live happily ever after together...
I think Foreman is far more deserving of a Nobel Prize for this revelation than Obama who received it (for what, again?)

I have written up my 2 divrei torah that I said by the bar mitzva. You can find them at Torah Thoughts - one on responsibility, and the second on Eliezer and the Artscroll biography... enjoy

Perhaps I will also get around to writing down the bar mitzvah boy's drasha (which I wrote)

1. Ima on the Bima has Haveil Havalim #243..

2. Idan Keinan tells us why Ahhnuld Shartzenegger really came to Israel. It has to do with making a sequel to one of his earlier movies... hilarious!

3. Circus Tent asks where the OU has been during the Rubashkin situation.

4. With Hannuka fast approaching, Rabbi Bloomensteil debates an issue of lighting inside or outside, and discusses a psak by Rav Moshe Shternbuch.

5. Between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv unfortunately feel that he has to support chillul shabbat. Personally I think one can oppose the style of the hafganot and still oppose the chillul shabbat... there is no need to specifically support chillul shabbat.

6. The Jewish Side and In the Pink have lists of segulos and superstitions...

7. Frum n' Flippin is debating whether to go to Germany for a work conference or not..

8. The Zoo Rabbi is looking for help in buying an additional iguana..

The Nachshon Junction and the Shimshon junctions are both near Bet Shemesh, major junctions on the Highway 44. Nachshon and Shimshon are probably about 7 kilometers from each other (estimate).

It seems they are closer together than just in proximity.

The Shimshon Battalion recently held a protest during a ceremony in which they declared they do not take part in disengagements.
Now the Nachshon Battalion has also declared that they too will not take part in disengagements.

I reported once before about rumors that were cropping up regarding possible graves in the construction zone of RBS C/G/3, and that they might cause trouble with the expansion plans of Bet Shemesh.

Everybody in City Hall, and I had asked a few, at the time shrugged it off saying there is nothing to worry about - it is just a rumor, not really a problem, etc.

It seems that the rumor is becoming more serious. Kikar Shabbos is reporting that graves have been found, and while archaeologists say that they don't expect there to be more than just a few graves (which might not even be Jewish), the Asra Kadisha people say they have information about there being a lot more than what is being discussed openly. They do not trust the politicians or the archaeologists, and no land will be released for construction until they give the approval.

It might take RBS C/G/3 a lot more time to be built than previously discussed...

And if that is not enough, the Ministry of Interior might be canceling the tender for City Spokesman that was won a year ago by Mati Rosenzweig. The MOI is claiming that Rosenzweig does not meet the necessary [academic] criteria for the position.

I don't know the rules, what is or is not required, and if they will or will not work it out or reissue the tender from scratch, but it is another item throwing a wrench into Abutbol's plans...

The newspapers are all making a big deal out of Rav Chaim Kanievsky's recent statement regarding Arabs.

An avreich approached Rav Kanievsky the other day and asked for a bracha that he should be successful in his upcoming court case. rav Kanievsky asked why he is going to court, and he answered for hiring Arab workers (illegally I presume).

Rav Kanievsky refused to give him a bracha saying "you deserve whatever you get. Don't you know it is prohibited to hire Arabs because they are murderers?... whoever hires them deserves the punishment"

The papers are comparing it to a past statement of Rav Kanievsky in which he also then said that Jews should not hire Arabs because they are murderers, and claiming racism.

Personally, I prefer to compare it to a different statement of Rav Kanievsky, and rather than claim racism, I would say Rav Kanievsky is in favor of personal responsibility, reward and punishment, etc.

In July, a yeshiva bochur came to Rav Kanievsky for a bracha for his court case regarding a car accident he had been involved in, and he had been driving with no license. Then too Rav Kanievsky said he deserves the punishment for driving with no license, and he could not make any such claim that he knows how to drive if he was not trained in it.

Personally, I think this new statement fits with that old one. Rav Kanievsky believes that people should be held accountable for their actions. You drive with no license and get into an accident - you are a murderer and should be punished accordingly. You hire Arab workers illegally, they are dangerous and you should be punished accordingly.

Just because you are frum does not give you a free pass to break the law. The law is in place to protect us (most of the time at least). You get a drivers license because it means you were trained in operating automobiles. You cannot hire any illegal worker you want because the State needs to verify which Arab workers are safe and can be trusted and therefore hired, and which might be dangerous.

Rav Kanievsky is not a racist. he just believes in personal responsibility.

A double qotd today, both regarding the Palestinian "threat" of unilaterally declaring statehood.

The Palestinians should respond positively to the peace offer that the government under my leadership offered to them. They will not receive an offer better than that one - the balls is in their court.

--- Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the Saban Conference today

who knew that Olmert's offers were still on the table? Netyanyahu has said numerous times that nothing offered by Olmert's government would obligate his government...
--------

The situation is much better than the way it is being described. The visit of the PM was very good. There is an attempt to create an atmosphere of despondency, in order to force a political process. Just like what happened in 2005 with the disengagement - and we see where that got us. The Palestinians do not need to threaten us with unilateral steps. We can also take unilateral steps, such as annexing Judea and Samaria. The Prime Minister does not negate negotiations, but he has principles.

--- Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud)

Mazel tov to [future rabbi], Israeli boxer, Yuri Foreman upon winning his boxing match against Daniel Santos on motzei shabbos and took the superwelterweight championship title.

It is pretty boring. They dance around each other a lot. They need to throw far more punches in this sport.



and here is an interview with Foreman that took place last year..

This caricature in Haaretz is pretty funny. Obviously it could never happen like this, considering the Intel protests happened on shabbos, and the haredim would never burn garbage cans on shabbos...

If you were there, thank you for coming and being part of it.

We had a great, and meaningful, Bar Mitzvah weekend, starting from Wednesday and extending through Shabbos.

It was a lot of work, a really lot of work, and in the end it all worked out great. My wife gets most of the credit, as she is the one who arranged and prepared most of it. I kinda just made sure not to get in the way too much.

Wednesday night we had a seudas chaveirim for his class, and then invited a few friends and relatives for dessert. This was a seudas mitzva because it was the actual birthday.
Thursday morning, we went to Chevron to daven shacharis. The parsha being Chayei Sara, in which Avraham purchases the Me'aras HaMachpela in order to bury Sarah, makes this a very special period in Chevron. We could not go for shabbos, so we went on Thursday for davening. The Bar Mitzvah boy leined in the Me'ara, and we brought some burekas and juice which we shared with the soldiers after davening.

Shabbos we had the shabbos meals with our family and guests who came in for the Bar Mitzvah. Friday night we fed abot 35 people in our house. Shabbos morning was the big day, with the bar mitzvah boy leining the parsha. He did a fabulous job, and I, surprisingly, had not chased away too many people with my butchered rendition of leading the shacharis services.

After davening was a grand kiddush in which lots of people showed up from all over the neighborhood to say mazel tov. Near the end of the kiddush I ran out to say mazel tov by the bar mitzvah of a friend. After kiddush, we had lunch for our family and some additional cousins, totaling about 50 people. After having a few too many l'chaims with afew too many people, I think I was seeing everything in triplicate, so it looked like there were 150 or so people at lunch!

We were going economical, so my wife cooked everything and nothing was catered. That was a ton of work on my wife, but it came out beautiful and everything worked out much smoother than expected.

Now it will take a few days to get our house back in order, but the return to a daily, normal, routine looks like a possibility in the near future..

I will post my divrei torah from the bar mitzvah a bit later.

The media is all about the current Palestinian threat that they are considering declaring statehood unilaterally.

What do you think Israel should do if it should happen?

I think it is a fairly good idea. Negotiations are going nowhere, and have not gone anywhere for a long time. Now we are not even talking. From the viewpoint of the Palestinians, they have world opinion pretty much on their side and will support such a state, for the most part.
From our viewpoint, I see it not making much of a difference in anything. The benefit I see is that if they are an independent state, then we can respond in kind to any hostilities started by the State of Palestine without having to worry about world opinion (in a dream world of course) as any hostilities would be by a country, and not by an oppressed, occupied people.

Also, I see it as a way to keep them out. if they are a separate country and not an occupied people, perhaps we can keep them out of Israel. If they want in, they should have passports and visas. If they want to work they should be required to get work permits, like any other foreign worker.

I see it as a win-win. That is, if Israel will be willing to implement such policies.

If the desk has no entry for anybody, even employees, who is it for???