cute..

Bennet says learnign English is more important than a college degree..

mildly offensive, but funny

Mahmoud Abbas recently said that Jesus was a Palestinian. He raised a lot of anger and argument with that statement.

Over the past few days you could have seen article after article online arguing that Abbas is distorting facts, changing history, Jesus was a Jew, etc.

Personally, I see nothing to argue about. if the Palestinians want Jesus so badly, they can have him.

Nothing good happened to the Jewish people, over 2000 years of history, because of our association with Jesus. If the Palestinians think he will do them better, go for it. Jesus is all yours, Abbas. Keep him far away from us.

I made a mistake the other day. I thought the court's final deadline for announcing a decision in the Bet Shemesh electoral fraud case was going to be December 24, yesterday. It seems that either the real date was December 27, or else it was the 24th and they got a 2 day extension (which is what I heard, but I dont know who gives out these extensions, so it might be wrong or inaccurate).

Anyways, the rumor mills are churning. I did not post any of the rumors until now, but the latest rumor has been reported now on a Haredi news station called Chadashot 24, so I will share it with you. But don't get excited or disappointed, no decision is final until the court announces it, and anythign you hear until then is only a rumor.

The rumor reported says, "Community activist Rav Moshe Berg, activist in Bet Shemesh and confidante of Mayor Moshe Abutbol, in an interview to Chadashot  24: From information that has been leaked in the past few hours, the decision is for new elections in Bet Shemesh, so claims one of the court stenographers. We are preparing for new elections. The official announcement will come tomorrow afternoon."

Again, it is just a rumor, and nobody should bank on it just yet...


And, once we are dealing in rumors, something I usually try to avoid, I might as well mention that this strengthens the rumor that was spread last night. That rumor said that Justice Cheshin has decided for new elections in Bet Shemesh. Without having stated his reasons, those close to him think the decision is based on the moral principles rather than the level of evidence presented. It also said that this decision, which is a precedent, could effect the disputed elections in other cities as well, such as Netivot and Nazareth.

As well, Haredi ournalist Yaakov Rivlin tweeted a few hours ago that information leaking from the court has it that the decision will be announced tomorrow at 12:30pm and the prosecutors office says their information has it that the decision is for new elections.

A different source says the decision will be announced at 2pm tomorrow)

Again, just a rumor at this point. Don't take it to the bank just yet.

an interesting law proposal was submitted recently. It's goal is to make it easier for religious and non-religious Jews to live together in the same apartment building.

In 2011, a law was passed that said if a certain majority of residents in an apartment building vote in favr of having a shabbos elevator, the building would have to install one. This replaced the original law that required unanimous agreement in the building - if even one person did not agree, the elevator could not be forced.

The new law proposal would amend that even further and state what hours of the day shabbos elevators need to run. The law would now say, the shabbos elevator must be operated on Friday for 3 hours from the beginning of Shabbos, and on Saturday from 7am until 12pm and again from 3 hours before the end of Shabbos until the end of shabbos. And, if a majority of residents want, they can vote to extend those hours of operation beyond this minimum.

As it is stated in the proposal (rtf document), the purpose of this is to allow everyone the right to choose where to live, and to make it easier for religious people to live in buildings of non-religious people, usually buildings that are many stories high. Despite the previous law, many buildings have refused to operate the shabbos elevators even after installing them, thus rendering the original amendment useless. This new amendment would allow religious people their right to choose where to live.

According to Kikar, the proposal has secular opposition. They complain that the MKs are writing laws to make it easier for religious Jews while hurting the quality of life of those who believe less. They say this law is written so that if your neighborhood happens to be one that is being taken over, now the religious people will also be able to buy apartments in the top floors of very tall buildings. The haredim that will come to your neighborhood will take over, and will happily buy the top floor apartments at discounted prices, as the secular will no longer buy there.

They add, an elevator is not a major thing, and one can be considerate of the religious people. However, what about being considerate of the elderly, the young couples, the secular, the people who are in a hurry [and dont want to spend a few minutes in the elevator] (though I did not know "the people who are in a hurry" is a sector of society with rights of their own).

Little do they know, most haredim do not use shabbos elevators, so this should not be much of a problem. It would hurt non-haredi religious people, and possibly a certain percentage of haredi people, but overall the haredi community in Israel does not generally use shabbos elevators.

Someone placed stickers spelling out the 10 commandments inside a McDonalds logo


(Hattip to Ephraim of fundraisinisfun.com)

nice idea, but the person behind this clearly was not aware of the fact that the original tablets were squared and not with arches... :-)

the epic battle.. Hanes vs Hanes.. underwear vs hummus..

Hanesbrands Inc,. is suing a little Canadian hummus maker for using the name "Hanes" - Hanes Hummus.

Hanesbrands has not commented publicly on the matter, but Petros, maker of the hummus, has extensively. They say that there is no confusion between hummus and underwear, and Hanesbrands is not in the food business, so this is not a trademark violation. As well, the logos do not look the same.

From ABC News:

The Canadian hummus maker behind Hanes Hummus says he refuses to shut down his small business after Hanesbrands Inc., the underwear manufacturer, threatened to sue for trademark violation and demanded that he destroy his products. 

The difference between underwear and hummus may be as vast as the distance between Hanesbrands' headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C., and the food business that Yohannes Petros built in the city of Saskatoon, in Saskatchewan, Canada, five years ago.
But earlier this month, the gulf was closed, just like the plastic container sealing his hummus products when Petros received a two-page letter from Hanes' legal department.
The letter said Hanesbrands Inc. objects to Petros' use of the mark Hanes Hummus in his application to register the name in the U.S. and Canada. The company required a response by Dec. 16 in its request to "cease and desist from all use of the mark Hanes Hummus" and withdraw its pending trademark applications.
"I was shocked," Petros, 38, told ABCNews.com, explaining that the name of his company came from his nickname, Hanes, which is short for Yohannes. "Our logos don't look the same, the spelling and font are different."
In response, Petros' attorney, Nathan Dooley, wrote a three-page letter to Hanesbrands with 36 pages of supporting case law saying he disagrees with Hanesbrands' conclusion that consumers will confuse the hummus maker with the apparel brand.
"I was not aware that HBI [Hanesbrands Inc.] was in the business of manufacturing and selling hummus. In fact, I am confident that HBI is not in the food production business at all, let alone the production of fine and tasty hummus of the type manufactured and sold by Hanes Hummus," Dooley writes.
"I was not aware that HBI's T-shirts were edible, made with chick peas, lemon or garlic," Dooley adds.
Hanesbrands did not respond to a request for comment, and the company has seemingly remained silent to other media outlets. Petros and Dooley have not yet heard a response from the company.
Dooley holds back no punches, writing to Hanes, "It is safe to assume that you have done no research whatsoever" and "If you had done that research, you would not have sent the letter because, in reality, no rational person who is familiar with Hanes Hummus could possibly allege any confusion between Hanes Hummus and HBI's Mark or HBI's product."
Petros said he hopes Hanesbrands chooses to pick a fight with someone else. And in the meantime, he said at least one major potential distributor has delayed its business with Petros because of the threat by Hanesbrands.
"I can't compete with them financially. They have thousands of staff, I have four," he said of Hanesbrands Inc.
Kevin Smith, an attorney with Sughrue Mion in Washington, D.C., who is not involved in this case, said surnames like Hanes can be protected only after they acquire distinctiveness as a source identifier of a product or service.
"There is no doubt Hanes has acquired secondary meaning for apparel, but extending that to food products would be, in my opinion, very hard to prove," Smith, who specializes in intellectual property, said.
"If I wanted to pick a side in this dispute, based solely on the merits, I'm siding with Mr. Petros. However, as we all know, sometimes the 'economic theory of law' comes into play, and when that happens, it seems that deeper pockets usually prevail," Smith said.

From the Youtube description:
Watch Ambassador Danny Ayalon as he rebuttals to "The real Truth about Palestine" 
"Palestine was the Greco-Roman name for a region. In the year 135 AC, the name of the region became the official name of one of the provinces of the Roman Empire in an attempt to obliterate the connection between the Jewish people and Judea - the land they've inhabited for over 1000 years. 
However, like Antarctica, the Amazons or the Sahara, naming a place doesn't create a nation of Antarcticans or Saharans.
Oh, and for the record, Jesus was not a Palestinian, he was a Judean Jew."

from the best show in town.. the Knesset.. Limor Livnat and the Arab MKs get into it!

4+ years ago I brought you a fascinating story publicized in Ladaat about how Rav Chaim Kanievsky had served in the IDF when he was younger, during the War of Independence. The story was revealed when Rav Chaim Kanievsky paid a shiva call to the Grossbard family upon the death of Rav Shmuel Grossbard, a mashgiach at Ponevezshe Yeshiva.

It is so fascinating, I will post it here again in the original format as I  posted it then:

Rav Shmuel Grossbard, father of one of the mashgichim in Ponevvezh Yeshiva, passed away this week. His children were surprised when Rav Chaim Kanievsky came in to be menachem aveilim, and were even more surprised with what he told them shortly after he arrived.
"You have no idea why I troubled myself to come console you?" Rav Kanievsky asked.. "I have hakarat hatov for your father who was my commander in the army and helped me a lot!"
Those present were surprised by what he said that he had served in the army. One of those present had the courage to ask "The Rav was in the army? We never heard this before about our father, and about the Rav even more so!"
Rav Kanievsky smiled and related to them, "It was during the War of Independence, I was then learning in the Yeshiva of Lomza in Petach Tikva. The war started and everyone was drafted to the army with no exceptions. Of course, we knew nothing, until one day a large vehicle pulled up outside the yeshiva and they said everybody has to get in to go protect the country.
Because none of us knew how to hold a gun,they gave us sticks and stones and put us out to guard a large hill. I remember everyone was very scared and Rav Berel Povarsky hid in a bathroom and got out of it. But me and Rav Moshe Soloveitchik, we went, and he was sitting beside me the whole time saying tehillim while crying.
Your father, z"l, was appointed as commander, because he was the oldest in the group. because he was commander, he got the largest stick. When we got there, I asked him what we should do. he told me you should go up the hill and sit and learn where they can't see you, but take a stick and two stones so if the Arabs would come you can scare them away. We sat there for a long time, and after we left the place we were told the Arabs had shot to that same place."
When he finished relating this story he said, "Out of gratitude for then, I have come to console you."

Eventually, the source for the story disappeared. Ladaat, the source as I linked to it in my post, had a website registration problem and eventually had to change their url. The old URL no longer worked, and I was not able to find the story in the archives of the new Ladaat website.

The story has now resurfaced. This time on the Srugim website. The story as told now is told pretty much the same as it was back then, with some minor details changed or not mentioned. The difference is that the reporter now uses the story as an attack on the Haredi community, suggesting that while Rav Kanievsky chose to fulfill his obligation to society, the haredi community today decides to follow the way of Rav Povarsky, who his in the bathroom out of fear, under the guise of ideology and worldview.

Are you eschewing Zumba because you find it to be immodest, or because you adhere to the decisions of those rabbis who ban it? if yes, are you looking for an alternative?

Ballroom Dancing might just be your thing, and, at least according to some people, it is even rabbinicaly approved.

From Ynetnews:

One tango show knocked Nir Eliyahu's life off its course. About a decade ago, Eliyahu, a young religious man from Jerusalem, ended his role as a deputy company commander in the Duvdevan elite special forces unit. He went on vacation in South America and planned to start a company commanders' course upon his return.
"In Buenos Aires I saw a tango performance, and that's where my mouth opened and failed to close – it was amazing, and I decided that I wanted to bring that into my life," he says.
Upon his return to Israel, Eliyahu decided to give up on his military career and registered for the Eli Mizrahi Ballroom Dance School. Mizrahi took notice of the young religious man's talent and enthusiasm, and suggested that he specialize in the field.

At the same time, Eliyahu received a job offer at the Defense Ministry but shoes the first option, surprising his acquaintances.

"Even today, when I tell people what I do for a living, they usually raise an eyebrow in wonder – how can a religious guy be a dancing teacher?" he says.
Since then, Eliyahu and his wife Meital have become the owners of the Jerusalem branch of the Eli Mizrahi Ballroom Dance Schools, and he is one of the only teachers in Israel who can get members of the conservative faction of his sector to dance.

"More and more religious couples are coming here, because they want to spend time together," he says. According to Eliyahu, about 40% of the couples dancing in the studio are religious, and the teachers adapt to the restrictions of Halacha.
In order to create a modest environment, the teachers in the studio adhere to a strict dress code: The men wear suits and ties and the teachers avoid wearing vests.
"Dancing can be linked with immorality, and it's important for us that the studio is respectable, and perhaps that's the reason why religious people feel comfortable in it. In addition, due to the ritual purification laws, on weeks when couples can't dance together they arrive separately for men-only or women-only classes."
One of the religious couples dancing at the studio are Hagai and his wife, who prefer not to reveal their full names. They have been married for 11 years and have four children, but only recently took the courage and decided to try out dances for couples.

The desire to dance was his, and he did not immediately succeed in convincing his wife to join him.
"As a religious guy I was very embarrassed, but because I have been in the acting field for years, and my body is an instrument for me – it was easier for me than for my wife," he says.

"Ballroom dancing is not something innocent, it's dealing with one's body, and I just informed my wife that we were going – because if not with her, who would I dance with?"
Hagai, 39, first became familiar with the world of dancing as part of acting classes at a religious theater called Aspaklaria.
"I learned dancing only with boys, and it was a bit ridiculous," he says. "The religious society has an unresolved issue with the body. Even when I studied acting, the secular teachers used to tell us that we're like news anchors: Everything below the chest doesn't exist for us."
Hagai and his wife don't dance with other couples, but only with each other. "There are parties in the studio in which many couples dance together. It's not suitable for us," says Hagai.
Another obstacle faced by religious couples who dance every week is the days of Niddah, when a woman goes through menstruation. "We have days when we are forbidden, and it's very embarrassing explaining it. But because the teacher is religious, he doesn't ask unnecessary questions."
According to Hagai, despite the limitations imposed by religion, he insisted on learning ballroom dancing because of the work accompanying it. "In ballroom dancing there is an issue of listening and accuracy. The work in the studio is basically on a relationship. It's an opportunity in daily life to look each other in the eyes."
Liat and Roee, who became religious together and define themselves as haredim, dance in the Nir Eliyahu studio as well. According to Liat, they have both always loved to dance, but since drawing closer to religion the number of opportunities has decreased.

When they celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, Liat looked for a unique way to mark the occasion. They arrived at Nir and Meital's studio after a long search.
"I called a lot of places in Jerusalem and inquired whether there was a possibility to come in for a personal course, because we can't dance with other men and women. When Meital answered the phone, she immediately understood what I was looking for," says Liat.
Since then, Liat and Roee have been taking classes with a private teacher, in order to avoid a situation in which Liat dances in front of a man who is not her husband. She says that the fact the teacher also avoided dancing and dressed modestly made the couple feel comfortable. Although they didn't take part in the parties held in the studio, the training at home was as fun, they say.
"When we practiced the children would watch us, and then I would grab one child and Roee would grab another child, and we would all dance together."
Despite the great enjoyment the two experience and despite being strict about Halacha rules, Liat and Roee prefer to remain anonymous. In the haredi society, Liat says, ballroom dancing is completely off limits. She clarifies, however, that they have received the rabbi's approval.

"We once went to our rabbi's lesson after a dancing class. When I told him where we had come from, he was really enthusiastic about it."
Liat notes that during classed they mostly enjoy the fact that they are spending time together actively. "The dancing is like couples therapy," she says. "For example, you must understand that the man leads the dance, and it took me time to let go and let him lead. The teacher has been working with us on it a lot."

Eliyahu understands what Liat is talking about very well. "As opposed to other dancing styles, here if you're not attentive to your partner – it's worthless," he says.

"In order to dance together, the couple must learn to listen or lead. These are concepts you meet in any type of relationship in life – even between employee and employer."
"We have slightly lost femininity and masculinity," adds Meital. "If I look at women today, they are very independent and leading and have an opinion. In dancing the man is the frame and the woman is the picture. In our studio, the woman learns to be a woman."Nir and Meital owe their relationship to dancing too. "Dancing created contact between us," says Meital. "We were both looking for someone religious but open to the world of dancing, who would agree to mixed dancing. That's why the connection between us was so right."

Meital, who studied for a first degree in dancing, criticizes the perception of the body in the sector she belongs to. "The religious society drives girls away from their body," she says. "Nir and I are religious, but the thought that leads us in life is that there must be a connection between body and soul."
"The connection to the body and regaining control of it are a very big gift," Nir adds. "The dance floor simulates life. Many come to us when they realize that they have a problem finding a partner.
"In our generation the man is in a very complicated situation. He has to be tough, but also sensitive, and in addition the woman wants to face someone she can lean on. Through tango, for example, I help many men connect to their charisma, because you can't dance tango softly."
Nir says that 10 years after choosing to devote himself to dancing, he has no regrets. "There were many people who raised an eyebrow over the path I took, but today I laugh at all of them.
"We have our own business, in which we also dance and also help people go through internal processes. I don't know if an accountant, who deals with money all day, is more religious than me. For me, dancing has a religious aspect because it contains tolerance and attentiveness and an ability to help others."

too bad they don't tell us who the rabbi is. There are plenty of rabbis who are also ok with Zumba, though others are not. Without knowing who it is, how do we compare the allowance with the upcoming forbidding of it by others?

So, where do I sign up?