(HatTip: Hasidic Rebbele )

Rex started the 4th quarter with a big play to give Da Bears some breathing space. Hopefully he will finish strong...

A sack, a fumble, Bears recover, Touchdown!!!!

They gave us a scare for a bit but they have pulled away now. Hopefully it will hold.

39-14. They played a great 4th quarter to make up for the horrible 2nd and 3rd...

Superbowl here we come!!!

And speaking of Da Bears, this is a real Bears fan

With the Colts having won their game, we do not get to repeat the decimation of the Patriots from 1985, but it will be a Midwestern Superbowl. Hmmm, I wonder if that ever happened before...

Time to bring back the Shuffle..

check it out

My cousin Shmuel and his wife Chava have just given birth to their first child, a girl. Mazel tov!

This is hot off the press!

Since I posted the information on the most recent incident in the Slifkin saga I have seen a bit of an increase in page hits. Many of those hits come from local RBS residents. The reason I know this is because many people over the weekend have come over to me telling me they saw my blog, etc..

Aside from the above, many people have asked me to help them understand the situation. The main question being the situation with Rav Malinowitz seemingly opposing Rav Elyashiv in this whole deal. Another main question was did Rav Malinowitz really write the letter in response or was that a forgery as well - this theory even got posted on a couple other blogs..

First, I will deal with the second question (not a problem of answering out of order, because I chose the order to write them) . Let me say that Rav Malinowitz's letter is not a forgery. He made that very clear.

I was present when someone asked Rav M if he really thought Rav P's letter was a forgery. He responded by saying, "Isn't that what I wrote in my letter? It says it right in the letter." He was a bit evasive and curt on the issue and he made it clear that the letter was written tongue-in-cheek and "hameivin yavin".

I then gave Rav M a ride and took the opportunity to discuss with him the first question I mentioned above. He told me that he has no problem arguing with Rav Elyashiv on this, just like people argue with him in halacha, people can argue with him in hashkafa as well.

That being said, he explained there is no difference between them on this issue. As I mentioned in the comments of the earlier post, Rav Elyashiv never put Rav Slifkin in cherem, rather condemned those specific books that dealt with the issues under debate. Rav M added that he too never gave Rav S a haskama on those books (not sure if that was because he disagrees with the points made in the book or because he was not Rav Slifkins rav at the time) and Rav S does not lecture on those topics (at least in the current series of shiruim by Rav S in the shul).

That being said, Rav M then explained to me how the whole thing erupted. Rav S wrote his book and had the approval and haskamos of many Rabbonim in America. Rav Elyashiv in Israel opposed the book at the time. Rav Aharon Feldman, Rosh Hayeshiva of Ner Yisrael, went to Rav Elyashiv when he was in Israel and asked about Slifkin.

Rav Elyashiv explained to him why he is against, and based on that Rav Feldman retracted his haskamah and withfrew his support, which led to the other rabbonim falling into line as well.

Rav Elyashiv based his opposition on his own chiddush. His chiddush is that once contemporary rabbonim rule overwhelmingly in favor of one hashkafic opinion (not sure when this ruling ever took place), any opposing hashkafic view, even if based on sources in rishonim and achronim as is the case in the Slifkin saga, is kefira and minus (heresy).

This is truly a chiddush and has never been used prior to this situation. Rav M said that he argues completely on that idea, and we never see it in play anywhere else throughout Jewish literature.

A hashkafic thought based on sources in the Rishonim is considered kefira because a contemporary Rav does not agree with it.

That is the source of the controversy.

Don't forget to be aware of JBlog Awareness Month. Click on the banner at the top of my sidebar and you will be taken to a (semi) random blog. I am randomly changing the link daily (as long as I can remember to actually change the link, no promises), so you never know where you will end. How exciting.

I got a great "teudat hechsher" (kashrut certificate) today.

Softball season is fast approaching. Today is the day we had to take our stress tests to ensure that we would not collapse on the field from the overly strenuous sport being played, and if we do at least we would be insured.

At the end of my stress test I asked the technician how I did. The technician responded by saying, "As far as I am concerned, fine. You are in shape and fit. Keep doing what you are doing!"

I never thought I was in shape. At best, maybe not in bad enough shape to have a heart attack on the basketball course or softball field. But now I know I am in shape.

And not only that but they want me to continue eating red meat and hardly exercising (she said to keep doing what I am doing)!! There is a God!!!

Chaim from Life of Rubin blog has come up with a new project - this month has now been declared JBlog Awareness Month.

I have placed at the top of my sidebar the image supporting the program. In addition I have linked the image. I have decided to every day (or whenever I remember to) select a "random" blog, probably from my blogroll, and direct the link on that image/banner toward that blog.

Enjoy, and if you are a blogger, feel free to join the initiative...

Nothing to do with Israel (unless you file US taxes in Israel), but you have a one-time chance of getting an extra $30-$60 back on this years tax returns, simply by adding (or having your accountant add it, if you are an ignoramus like me). See here for the lowdown..

While it is not perfect and he admits to it, it is still a very intersting gematriya.. check out Yeranen Yaakov post about the connection between Halutz resigning and this weeks parsha

In an attempt to get some clarity on the issues, I will be interviewing R' Natan Slifkin. I do not have an exact timeframe due to some external and personal issues. It might be within a couple of days or might be a bit longer.

So, if you have any questions you ever wanted to ask of the Zoo Rabbi, whether about the controversy surrounding him or about the animal kingdom, or anything else (but let's try to keep away from questions about science and Torah, specifically age of the universe :-) ) send them to me.
Either post them in the comments, email me - israeli.jew at gmail dot com - or send them to me by telepathy, just get them to me quickly... I will select a number of them, probably the ones I consider the best and most relevant and interesting, and will include them in the interview..

I have been invited to participate in a "roundtable discussion" on the BBC, which will begin in a few minutes. The topic is the resignation of Chief of Staff Dan Halutz.

The link they gave me is here but I do not see any place there to listen. Maybe when it goes live there will be a link on that page.. they also told me it would be archived for listening later.... The link is on the right side where it says Listen Live

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well that was pretty painless... I was asked what I thought about Halutz's resignation and then further asked about whether more heads will and should roll...

As you all know, last night was a big night for the media. Two major events occurred last night.

1. The Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, resigned.
2. The Attorney Generals office officially opened an investigation into Ehud Olmert for one of the affairs he is involved in, specifically the possibility that he influenced a tender for the sale of Bank Leumi. There are two other items that are still in the queue that the Attorney General has not yet decided whether or not to open a full investigation.

Dan Halutz did the right thing, albeit too late. He should have resigned four months ago when the war was over and allowed the IDF to rehab properly under proper guidance and direction from someone else at the helm. It was clear that Dan Halutz was not the right guy for the job, and when everybody lost confidence in him he should have gone home. At least now he did the right thing.

The question I have is why now? All along he has been saying he will not resign until the Winograd committee comes back with recommendations and then only if they recommend he resign. They are scheduled to make their initial recommendations only next month, if I am not mistaken.

If Halutz could have stayed to fix the problems, then his position on not resigning would even be honorable. However, there has not been a day since the war in which he was not criticized and handcuffed. He simply was not in position to fix the problems. It is about time he fessed up and did what was obviously necessary.

All along Halutz has been saying that he takes responsibility for the failures of the war and IDF, but in his book responsibility does not mean resigning, rather working to fix the problem. I actually agree with that. After Barak quit politics (before the current comeback) after his failed stint as Prime Minister, he was heavily criticized for damaging the Labor Party and then disappearing into the business world. Netanayahu was similarly criticized after his issues with the Likud way back when. When Halutz decides to stay and fix the problems, he is criticized for that.

My conclusion is that we are simply just a bloodthirsty people. We want blood. If somebody resigns, we criticize him for resigning. if somebody does not resign, we criticize him for that.

We are Jews. That is just the way we are.

And on that note, on to Ehud Olmert. I have many times called for his resignation. I have been accused of being anti-democratic in this call. Just because I do not agree with someone does not mean he has to resign.

To that I say, this is different. I have gone through Prime Ministers I did not like or agree with. I did not like Rabin for what he did in Oslo. I did not like Barak. I am wary of Netanyahu and did not like some of the things he has done. Sharon in the end of his career made all his friends hate him and all his enemies like him. But I have never called on those Prime Ministers to resign. Just because I do not like or agree with certain policy is not a reason to resign. The PM was voted in and I have to accept that and work within the system and law to influence policy to the way I think is correct, but obviously I will rarely have the ability to have such influence. In other words, I am allowed to protest policy I think is wrong. I can call for change in policy. And I did. But I never called on a PM to resign. Until Ehud Olmert. And that does not make me undemocratic.

Ehud Olmert is a master of political spin. He is hardly qualified for the job of Prime Minister. For all of you who will say he was fairly elected and we have to live with it, I tell you that he was fairly elected, but not on his own merits. He rode the wave of sympathy everyone had for Arik Sharon right into electoral victory. But that victory was nearly lost as in the two weeks prior to election day we saw his support erode from 45 + seats to the final tally of 29. A little more time and the sympathy vote might not have won him the election.

Sure, he won. But he does not deserve the position. All he has done is bring dishonor to the Israeli people. He has been under investigation after investigation. He has mouthed off inappropriately. He has had three soldiers abducted under his care and he has practically abandoned them. He managed a failed war, despite his calling it a victory.

It is time for Olmert to go home. The politicians from the various parties should stop being so worried about their seats and leased cars and vote no confidence in the leadership of Ehud Olmert, if he will not have the honor to do the right thing and resign on his own.

This is a letter that has been circulatiing. It was sent out on Naomi Ragen's email list. It was sent to her from a woman living in a moshav near the border of Israel and Lebanon....


It appears as though the Hizbollah is preparing for Round 2.Up our way (Moshav Avivim), the entire border is now dottedwith Hizbollah flags and moving figures. There is not asingle Lebanese army flag in sight.In my opinion, this is NOT okay. A flag is not only a symbol that represents concepts and ideals, but also used to stakeclaims. Does this mean that the Hizbollah have reclaimedSouthern Lebanon?
While driving home form work one evening,will I encounter terrorists who have infiltrated through tunnels they have dug under the border-underneath the noses of the UN base that lies opposite my house?
For years these UN troops have been observers. They observed the way the Hizbollah prepared for the last war and armed themselves to the teeth, so why should anything be different now? And BTW, where IS the Lebanese army that was supposed to keep the border clean? Perhaps it was largely comprisedof Hizbollahs in disguise? Oops, sorry. If I don't keep quiet we'll never have peace with Syria...Looks as though we can all stay tuned to the same channel and same program for a repeat broadcast of the last war,coming soon to a neighborhood near you...

Devora Evgi
Moshav Avivim

The Tznius Road Show has been getting around.. It has made its appearances in Bnei Brak, Yerushalayim, Lakewood, recently Beitar and other places.

I have just found out that supposedly this coming Thursday the Tznius Road Show will be making its next stop in Bet Shemesh. The kannoim of Bet Shemesh felt they could not feel less frum than all these other cities by not hosting an appearance, so they put one together.

I do not yet know the format nor who will be speaking, but it will be held at Chanichei Hayeshivos Shul in Ramat Bet Shemesh.

If it would be held anywhere else, I would consider going, even if for the sole purpose of curiosity and blogging about what they say. However, because it is in the Chanichei Shul, I will not participate. That is the center for the kannoim of RBS and the place where all the crazy stuff you hear about goes down, so I do not go there.