Saturday night, we were returning from a nice Shabbos spent in Jerusalem. It was about 10:45pm or so, and we stopped to fill up with gas (prices were always ridiculous, so the new price increase has little affect on anything) at the Paz gas station just after Shaar HaGay on Highway 38.

I pull up to the self serve lane and start filling the tank. Generally, I take out the keys form the ignition when I get out to pump gas, but my kids were listening to a cassette (yes I still have a cassette player in my car, not a cd player), so I left it on for them.

A digression for some description: the area in the gas station just in front of where we are is a parking area for people going in to buy stuff in the station, along with an air pump for tires. There are always a number of cars parked there. There were some on Saturday night as well, including one or two I had seen pull up as I was waiting for my turn at the gas pump.

So, as the gas is pumping, I was washing the back window of the car. Just then I hear a screech and a smash, like the sound of a car smashing into another. I look up and see a small dark car, having smashed past another small red car, speeding towards me in reverse. He must have been doing about 50 or 60 kmph in reverse, and he was swerving. I thought he was either going to smash into my car, or into the gas pumps and we would all die. Sure enough, he avoided us both and sped away on the other side of the same pump. He turned the car around and sped out of the gas station the wrong way (he egressed through the entry) and sped away turning left (illegaly) towards Highway 1.

All of the sudden I saw about 5 or 6 other people jumping out of a few cars - the red car, another big white van that was partially blocking the gas station exit, and another car. Right away I ran to the front of the car and took out the car keys. At that moment I suspected the guy had stolen that dark car. I remembered that there were stories that in this gas station it is common that when people leave their keys in the ignition while pumping gas, sometimes somebody jumps in and steals the car. So I ran over and took the keys out of the ignition.

(BTW, this is all happening so fast, I did that as the car was speeding by me still)

As I was taking out the keys, I see the people who had jumped out of cars screaming to stop the car and running in various directions. One guy was carrying some sort of stick. Another guy was waving a gun around (about 3 feet in front of me). And all 5 or 6 guys were wearing sweat shirts with hoods.

As the guy sped away, they all got back in their cars and left to chase him (I guess).

Nobody knew what that was all about. The gas station attendant called the police I think, but while we were there nobody showed up. Meanwhile we were all talking about what it might have been. The main suggestions were either an undercover policeman trying to arrest someone on a drug deal or something like that, and the guy got away. the other suggestion was that it was meant to be a mafia/gang hit, and the guy got away. I finished pumping the gas and left. I saw nothing about it in any of the news media yesterday....

The latest pashkevil in Bet Shemesh.

It refers to a building that is being constructed at the edge of RBS B and was going to be some sort of mall. I do not know why this pashkevill came out now. This project has been dead in the water for over a year already because of previous protests against it. Maybe a new contractor is trying to take it over and get the project back on track.

The pashkevil basically calls for the cancellation of the construction of the mall in project Rasido. It claims that a mall there will attract people "distant from the style of our neighborhood", it will hold municipal and government offices and large stores, all that will bring people from the moshavim and kibbutzim in the area, etc.
It is a danger to the holiness of the neighborhood, etc.
Whoever can assist in getting the plans changed and canceled, and have the building put to use only in something appropriate and useful for the neighborhood, and definitely no government offices or large places of business, etc...
We call upon the builders who owe a debt of gratitude to the thousands of people who have bought apartments with the hard earned money (my translation - the Hebrew says ,"b'meytav kaspam"), listen to our request - do not pay back good with evil, etc.
We call upon anybody interested in buying or renting in the project: do not agree to anything in the current format, as we will not allow the Kanyon to be built there. Anybody who invests his money there is as if he is placing his money on the horns of a deer.
Beware - you have been warned. Don't say you did not know, etc...
Signed, by a bunch of local Rabbonim.

I am not sure what the big deal is, as the whole road leading up to that site is probably the largest shopping area in all of Bet Shemesh. The whole street is lined with every type of store imaginable (well, not every type). I guess the government offices might be more of an attraction for people who are not already coming to the area for shopping, and maybe that is the greater threat..

From what I understand from people who live in that area, this campaign is being run by the kannoim of RBS B, even though it has some of the Rabbonim from RBS A signed on it as well. They basically signed, supposedly, because of their connections to Rav Kupshitz.

Anyways, so the local residents, non-kannoim, are against the idea of a mall, but they do want a shopping area. Right now it is very difficult for them. The whole area is surrounded by Haredi projects - Yefeh Nof, the Kirya Haredit, the projects at the edge of RBS B, and others. There is almost no shopping, even for basic things, in the immediate area. the Kiryahhas just a small amount of stores, and small ones at that. There is the Gur makolet across from Yefeh Nof. Heftzibah has nothing. Even RBS B has nothing in that immediate area - just further down the road.

So in the meantime, all the residents - lower income Haredi families - have to take taxis to and from either Birkas HaRama shopping area or the supermarkets in RBS A. This causes them a burden, both physically and financially. They really want a shopping area in that immediate area.

Granted, they do not want a mall, and all that it includes. They want something more like a Merkaz Mischari Haredi, something similar to Birkas Ha'Rama in RBS B or even the Merkaz Mischari in RBS A, with the ability to do their shopping locally.

The problem is that the kannoim want no shopping area there other than the small local makolets and they have adopted this as their fight. They want to usurp the building for a shul and a school (possibly the school Tuv Yerushalayim, I hear, that just sent out brochures across RBS A) and not allow it to be used for anything else.

-------------------------------referral post-----------------------------

Don't you just hate those days off of work? You have no idea what to do with your free time. On the Israeli version of the federal holiday, the whole country is one big traffic jam, so it is difficult and a pain in the neck to go anywhere.

So what will you be doing this Thursday? All businesses by law must be closed. That means you have a full day of free time on your hands.

So what to do?

You can take advantage of all that free time by spending some it learning. Many shuls offer special learning programs for the morning of Yom Ha'Atzmaut. You can take advantage of a few hours of learning that you normally would not have.

Aside from that, there is, of course, the requisite mangal, or bbq. That is pretty much required as one of the miyzvot ha'yom.

That still leaves plenty of time unaccounted for.

You can arrange some sort of tiyul or form of entertainment and be stuck standing in line or behind large crowds of people, as pretty much every spot has tens of people fighting for extra inches of space, and if it is a really popular place, maybe hundreds of people. Makes it a bit unpleasant.

But if you book a trip with Israel Challenge, you will be going places and doing things that will not subject you to the throngs of people. Jeeps can go where the average car cannot. Rappel lines can go where the average feet and baby strollers cannot.

Check them out and book your Israel Challenge before they have no spots left.

----------------------------end of referral--------------------------

Aritz 7 has posted the following video from last week's trip to Kever Yehoshua...

This looks interesting...

They are trying to get a world record (certified by Guiness) for most people around the world singing a national anthem at the same time on the upcoming Yom Ha'Atzmaut later this week....

They say "Join thousands of Jewish people as we break the Guinness world record for "Most people singing an anthem simultaneously"

I don't know if "thousands" will be enough... A regular baseball game at Wrigley Field has about 40,000 people singing The Star Spangled Banner simultaneously every day. And Wrigley is a small baseball stadium. But good luck to 'em!

I don't know how many people that takes, but if you want to participate, or register your community.... good luck...

They have no problem charging the companies money and providing them with a hechsher, but the Eidah still put out the following pashkevil...

It calls upon the public to refrain from buying any food item that has the symbol of the Israeli flag on the wrapper (placed there in honor of the upcoming Yom Ha'atzmaut), and stores should refuse to allow these products onto their shelves. They say they requested from companies whose products are under their hechsher that they not place the flag on their labels. The companies, such as Osem and others refused, and have placed the flag on their products.

Bet Shemesh. A wonderful, peaceful community. We have almost the big-city feel, with the small town atmosphere. One of the ways this manifests itself, is the fact that there has never been a terrorist attack in Bet Shemesh. Sure, there is crime, but there is crime everywhere. There has never been a terror attack though in Bet Shemesh.

While Jerusalem has been riddled over the years with stabbings, stonings, shootings and bombings, while Tel Aviv has suffered as well by stabbings and bombings, while all other major, and some minor, cities have suffered the same at various levels, Bet Shemesh has avoided the terrorists.

Now we know why.

Maariv has published an article (in Hebrew) with many of the things Bruria Keren, leader of the Burqa cult, has said during the investigation over the past few weeks. She denies the allegations, and that is her right and they will obviously have to prove in court that she is guilty, claiming she did not abuse the kids, incest and other sexual issues are blatant lies, etc. You can read the article for the details. Ynet published some of it in English, so I am not going to bother translating the article.

The most interesting part of the whole thing is her claim that since she moved to Bet Shemesh there have been no terror attacks, and it is not because of the police protection, but because of her prayers. She has been protecting Bet Shemesh.

Regardless of the fact that even before she moved to BS there were no terror attacks, she knows that she has been providing our protection ever since she moved to BS. Keren claims that 5 years ago she went to America to marry off a daughter. While she was there, there was "almost a terrorist attack (an explosion of a device) in Bet Shemesh". She heard about it so she came back right away. Since she returned there has never again been any terror incident or any problem with Arabs. She says, "Instead of letting me pray quietly, you disturb me. I forgive you, but the one protecting us is me, not you, even if you think I am crazy."

Now why would anyone think that?

A Mother in Israel has posted on this as well, and will be providing a full translation of the Maariv article, at some point.

This is the video the IDF released proving that it was not an (errant) IDF rocket or tank shell that killed that family last week in Bet Hanun.

Snoopy the Goon has posted this week's edition of Haveil Havalim.... 164 for those of you counting....

Not to laugh at other people's misfortune, but any headline that includes both "severe storms" and "Ark", stands out. The only way this could have been better is had they interviewed a survivor named Noah.

was separate seatingAbout 3 weeks ago, in anticipation of the big annual Chabad concert celebrating the Rebbe's (zt"l) birthday, Motke Blau and his Rabbinic Committee for Jewish Music came out banning the concert and trying to convince the main performers, Mordechai Ben David and Yaakov Shwekey, to pull out from their commitment.

Yaakov Shwekey refused to back down, producing a letter from his Rav, Rav Ovadiah Yosef, allowing him to perform at the concert. MBD then also stood up to Blau and refused to pull out.

Blau then upped his level of threats by threatening anybody who comes to the concert. He said every person would be photographed and his/her picture would be publicized and Rosh Yeshivas and Seminary principals would be contacted. That did not work either, so Blau must have been feeling pretty insignificant.

He has now come out with his next move. He has put out the following letter:



Page 1 of the letter says: Because Mordechai Ben David refused to heed the warning not to perform at the concert in Ramat Gan, we have received instructions from the gedolim to publicize an issur on his recordings and from hosting him at events, and from advertising him in newspapers. Included in this issur, is Yaakov Shwekey, and his producer Yohi Briskman, who arrogantly performed in the same concert.

Page 2 follows with a list of all the singers that are assur to buy their albums, to host at concerts, to advertise. The list is pretty long:



What a joke. The Committee for Jewish Music. Indeed.

I received a series of pictures of a Haredi/Hassidic couple on the beach during Chol Hamoed Pessach. Originally I only posted the last picture - of him wearing the shtreimel on the beach in gotchkes. Now I decided to post the rest of them, blurring all the faces to keep his privacy.

I was not able to go last night to Kever Yehoshua. I was way too tired, so at the last minute I decided to pass.

A reader went though, and he sent me a bunch of pictures for me to share with you. These are the ones I selected (unfortunately I cannot post them all due to space restrictions, so I had to choose). His review is posted after the pictures...

Yasher Koach to you for sending this!





Last night we traveled from Efrat and RBS up to Kever Yehoshua and Kalev. The keverim are located inside an Arab town called Kefel Hares, located in the Shomron just outside Ariel. Tzahal allows access once a year, on the night of Yehoshua's yarzheit from 11 PM until dawn.

The Shomron Moatzah had cleared a large parking lot / staging area just outside of Ariel and it was prepped to hold over 500 cars and buses. Surprisingly (and not very Israeli), the situation when we arrived was VERY organized. Reflective vest wearing people were directing people where to park and leave their buses and cars. We tried to find a decent spot that would allow us to get out afterward without being blocked in by other cars. But we assumed we would end up being blocked in and stuck.

We walked a few hundred meters towards a large staging area of chayalim, humvees, jeeps, bulldozers and other security vehicles. I would estimate that at this time (11:45 PM) there were about 1000 people waiting around. Suddenly, a Chayal said "Yaaleh" and they swung open a large gate leading into the town and we were off.

To get to the kever you literally have to walk about 20 minutes through a dark, windy street in this arab town. There are NO street lights and it is pitch black! You see lights of a passing jeep every now and then otherwise - darkness. We literally had to shout to each other to make sure our group stayed together.

There were NO Arabs anywhere! No lights on the in the homes, no trissim open, nothing. They were obviously told to stay indoors and not to come out at all. They were chayyalim everywhere - I would estimate over 500. On every corner and turn they were stationed to direct traffic and to watch over everything. They were in a very no nonsense mood. I began to appreciate what they feel like when they have to got into one of these towns at night to apprehend a terrorist. It's dark, quiet, and very grating on your nerves.
But tonight, none of the crowd seemed worried at all. There was some singing, whistling, and generally a very lag ba'omer atmosphere.

The first stop after about a 15 minute walk was Kever Kalev Ben Yefuneh. The chayalim had set up generators and lights to make it easier to daven and gather there. It was amazing to see hundred of Jews davening there at a kever in the middle of nowhere that's about 3500 years old! We davened maariv and then continued down even darker alleyways to Kever Yehoshua.

Kever Yehoshua is located in the middle of the town next to a large open square. There is a mosque (of course) right next door, but tonight it was all ours. It was like mini-Meron. Davening, dancing and singing Aleinu (Yehoshua wrote it), shiruim going on from various rebbes. There was soda and water to drink. And of course the required fleshig cholent and yerushalmi kugel. Lots of pushing and shoving for food.. but overall a "chavaya".

Last stop is Kever Nun - father of Yehoshua. Frankly I did not even know he had made it into Eretz Yisroel, but apparently he had! Another short tefillah and then we headed further into the town to find the road back to the parking lot.

We finally got back to our car at around 2 AM and to our surprise, all the cars were neatly parked and organized - Moshiach is truly on the way!
Back at home in bed by 3 AM.

This letter from the gedoilim ran in today's Haredi newspaper "Yom Chadash". It decries the use of electric shavers and declares them to be prohibited, under the prohibition of not shaving with a razor. It says that nowadays the electric shavers have improved so much that they are just as bad as razors.

I do not know what prompted the letter. It could be because it is in this weeks parshat hashavua. Another option is because it has been the topic of the daf yomi learning the past could of days in Nazir. Or maybe it is for neither of those reasons.

the letter is signed by Rav Steinman, Rav Lefkowitz, rav Kanievsky and 2 others whose signatures I cannot make out.

In this video, Shmuel Poppenheim, the editor for the Eidah newspaper, "debates" with Yaron Yidan, the Director of an organization called Daat Emet, about the law permitting Chametz to be sold openly in jerusalem. The debate gets into what tradition is more historically correct, and Poppenheim ends up refusing to argue his point.

Ironic NOTE: if you pay attention, the first few seconds, when the bar describes who Poppenheim is, it describes him as the Acting Prime Minister. After that it corrects it to say he is the editor of the Eidah newspaper.