Picture of the Day

1. Did God get Me Discounted Tickets?

2. A Tale of Two Gardens

3. 5 Hours, 52.5 Miles, $2448.

4. Why Jews Dont Write Fantasy

5. Boys Will Be Boys

This is as crazy a story as any I have heard recently.

A beis din of financial issues in Mea Shearim was recently visited by a visitor that would just not leave. A dog showed up at the entrance to the beis din, and they were unsuccessful in their many attempts to chase it away.

When discussing what to do about the disturbance, they had decided to assume it was a gilgul coming "back" for a kapara of some sort, and they would say "machul lecha, machul lecha, machul lecha", you are forgiven, so that the soul could move on and ascend to heaven after receiving forgiveness for whatever its body had done wrong during it's life.

Before they did so, the dayanim of the beis din recalled that more than 20 years prior a famous lawyer (who remains unnamed) had taken the beis din to civil court regarding a psak they had issued. Beis Din had begged him to cancel the suit, but he refused. After they had to appear in court, they decreed upon the lawyer that after death he would return to the world in the form of a dog, and that would bring about his forgiveness.

They went to check it out and found that the lawyer died a few years ago. They then discussed how to proceeded and paskened that the dog needed to be stoned. The children of the area were called in to stone the dog, and they came and threw stones at it. After a while the dog left the area. (source: bechadrei)

Perhaps whenever the residents of Mea Shearim decide to throw stones they are really helping a troubled soul receive his forgiveness. Is it possible?

UPDATE: Maariv has apologized for misleading headlines..

The city of Haifa decided in 1998 to establish a park that would be named after the memory of those saved from the Holocaust by Yisrael Kastner. They have now begun work on constructing the park and have placed announcements in the area to that effect.

Dr. Rudolph Kastner

Many are now protesting the naming of the park in memory of Kastner. Dr. Rudolf Kastner, the subject of the book Perfidy by Ben Hecht, was accused of having been a Nazi collaborator. Kastner saved many refugees by getting them out of Hungary on what became known as the Kastner train, paying much monay, gold and diamonds to the Nazis. At the same time, 12,000 Hungarians a day were being taken out of Hungary for "resettlement". The accusation was the Kastner knew "resettlement" was the gas chambers, but played along and did not warn anybody or help them (besides for the 1685 Jews he saved), and in essence had traded tens of thousands of Jewish lives for a small number he wished to save.

Kastner At Trial
The Israeli government sued a writer on kastner's behalf after he called Kastner a Nazi collaborater. At trial the court rejected the defamation claim, speaking very harshly about what kastner had done. Kastner had to resign his government position and the Cabinet disbanded as a result. The Supreme Court later overturned the decision (similar to Demjanjuk). but not before Kastner was assassinated in 1957. The book "Perfidy" which was written about the Kastner scandal, was denounced by the Israeli government and was banned from being sold in Israel until recently.

[RG: I changed some details of the trial info, as what I originally wrote from memory had been inaccurate]

Many people remain unconvinced of his innocence, despite the Supreme Court overturning the lower court's decision, and consider it inappropriate to name the park after Kastner. (source: Mynet)

What Is Worse?
I don't know what is worse - naming the park after such a controversial figure (though really it is being named after the survivors, and not after Kastner himself, though his name is part of the memorial), or the fact that it took 13 years to implement the municipal decision to build the park!

Today, erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan, is the day that the Shlo"h wrote is especially important for the prayer he composed, known as Tefillas HaShloh, for a parent to say on behalf of his children that they should be righteous and God-fearing. 
This prayer can, of course, be said any and every day, but the Shloh pointed to erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan as the day of extra significance for this praye.


If the image above is too hard to read, Artscoll has an image of the tefilla on their website...

A local organization even paid to call local residents playing a recorded message reminding people to say the prayer of the Shloh, and offering to do it on your behalf with a minyan of talmidei chachomim for a donation.

Israel News is reporting from Egyptian sources that there is a deal in the works for the release of Gilad Shalit. It is possible, the Egyptian sources say, that the agreement might even be signed within the next few hours.

Mohammed Bassouny, former Egyptian Ambassador to Israel, is the source for these new reports, and they are also being reported on Hamas websites, according to Israeli news Channel 2.

According to JPost, the Prime Minister's Office is denying the rumors of any breakthrough in negotiations.

I normally do not report rumors, and this has happened many times before that we were told rumors that a deal is imminent, but it has been a long time since we have seemed, based on the rumors, to be so close to a deal that I thought it is worth reporting.

If we are that close, the only thing we can do is pray that it work out, and that Israel remains safe after w give whatever we give in exchange for Shalit's release.

Quote of the Day
In the private sector, there are businesses open on Shabbos. If the entrepreneur wants to open on Shabbos, it is allowed, and it exists. In the situation of Cinema City, the entrepreneurs preferred to develop on public grounds. In a business decision they decided they prefer to remain closed on Shabbos. Jerusalem will never be Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem does not need to be Tel Aviv. For example, go to the eastern side of the city, it is bustling. We are not trying to change that. We are proud of it. Besides for that, whoever wants to party on Shabbos travels to Tel Aviv. Jerusalem does not need to be anything more than Jerusalem.

 -- Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat

MK Michael Ben-Ari On Yom Yerushalayim In Knesset

Picture of the Day

Yom Yerushalayim at the Kotel, courtesy of Bukin

In case you were worried about the practical ramifications of the recently publicized psak of rav Elyashiv regarding the performing of a bris according to the sunset of Rabbeinu Tam, Kikar, the site that originally reported the psak, is now clarifying that since the psak was publicized someone went to Rav Elyashiv to clarify what he said and meant.

Rav Elyashiv said, supposedly, that he was asked about a specific case, and he paskened regarding that specific case alone. Nothing he said should be taken as a general rule for any other case or application.

Just Saying.

1. Interviewing A Rabbi

2. Touched By A Landing - a personal recounting from the plane that had landing gear trouble and had to make an emergency landing...

3. When Good People Do Crazy Things

4. Ben-Gurions Nightmare Come True

5. Givat Hnanya - Abu Tor

6. HaTikvah's Scandalous Past

7. Maarava - Not Enough or Too Much?

I think I was hasty when deciding earlier on Ruby Rivlin's statement on Jerusalem as the Quote Of The Day. I just found a far more juicier tidbit from Minister Matan Vilnai.

Vilnai, speaking at a school in Jerusalem in honor of Yom Yerushalayim, Vilnai mentioned the situation with Gilad Shalit. Vilnai said, "Hamas knows that the State of Israel will do everything possible to free Gilad Shalit. Neither Haniyeh nor the Chief of Staff of Hamas know where Gilad Shalit is being held. Only the group of people actually holding him knows where he is. And a large portion of them are no longer with us. It is a shame, but they have met with all sorts of "accidents". But we have not yet reached the end. Everybody who was involved in the abduction will have no need to be concerned about an old age home later on, as they won't make it that far."

I cannot make that QOTD, but it definitely would deserve it. It has a bit of brashness, boldness, and attitude. And it is easy top say such things when there is no need to back any of it up with facts and information. People just have to take him at his word.

And if the only people who know where he is being held are members of a small group, what is going to happen when Vilnai finishes arranging his "accidents"? Who will take care of Gilad Shalit then? Who will be able to tell us where he is? Who will be able to negotiate his release if nobody knows where he is?

Quote Of The Day
There are those who think that in the drive toward "progress" and toward the renewed Hebrew-ite and Israel-ite, that Jerusalem is holding them back. There are those who try to depict Jerusalem a a city of the past with no future, a city of minorities, of Haredim and Arabs, a city with no Israelis, so to speak...
We have promised a united Jerusalem, but we have not kept our promise.We built Ir David, we established Maale HaZeitim, we redeemed the Churva from its ruins, but what have we done for Ras al Amud? What have we done for the children living in East Jerusalem that are unable to find an educational framework appropriate for them? What have we done for the postal services in East Jerusalem that are practically not functioning? for the hundreds of streets there that have no garbage collection?..
The United Jerusalem will not be built if we will not build it as one city with all its sections, if we will not unite it in a single urban framework, if we will not invest into the eastern side the same resources that are invested in the western side.
The Israeli discussion is not indifferent to Jerusalem, and it is not possible to be indifferent to it. Our constant issue with the question of Jerusalem, both from the Right and the Left, proves that it is perhaps the most relevant in the whole Israeli discussion. As long as there is someone distancing himself from Jerusalem, there is also someone getting close to her, and there will always be some like these, such as the paratroopers who only in Jerusalem will allow themselves to "break" and to lower a tear and to leave as believers from the wall of tears. 

  -- Speaker of the Knesset Reuven Rivlin

To Whom Do The Territories Belong?

(the video has English captions in the top left corner)

Here is the English version of the Jerusalem: 4000 years In 5 Minutes video..

The Kotel: The Heart Of The Jewish People



The latest video from Aish