Jul 3, 2014
Joy of Israel Episode 4 - A Fruit Cocktail at Morad Winery (video)
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"America the Beautiful" in Yiddish and English (video)
July 4th is coming.. even in Yiddish it must be celebrated!
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Jul 2, 2014
Questions of faith after the murders
A lot of people have expressed, I think fairrly naturally, questions of faith in the wake up the murder of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali.
It happened after the disengagement from Gush Katif as well.
It is not unexpected. When people are told to daven to thwart the decree, they question when so much davening and act of kindness are performed but the decree moves ahead anyway.
I don't have such questions of faith. Not that I am a man of such great faith, but I dont seem to expect that the tefillos and acts of kindness must force God's hand in some way. Hopefully influence, but we usually don't have the full picture, so if we dont get the answer we wanted, it doesn't shake me.
What does bother me is something else,
Throughout the ordeal, and I think it happened in Gush Katif as well, and in many other situations in which the religious community felt it must get the decree turned around, is the great rabbis, and I dont say that flippantly, who said that they can see from this or that that the boys are alive, they are in specific places, and things like that. Whether it was the performance of the goral hagra, or other rabbonim who said such things, and there were plenty of them - what business did they have giving such false hope?
Do they have ruach hakodesh, that they should know such things, or do they not? If they do not, don't make it up. and if they do, why were they wrong? Are they false prophets? Were they making it up just to keep people optimistic?
Without weighing in on whether or not performance of the goral hagra requires a level of ruach hakodesh, it seems Rav Shteinman knew what he was talking about when he refused to perform it, considering the false results of the goral hagra that was employed.
That is what bothers me. Saying daven and hopefully we'll get good results - that doesnt bother me when we dont get those results. When rabbis act as if they are prophets and then give information that turns out not to be true - that bothers me. That makes me question things like daas torah and the "powers" of the rabbis..
It happened after the disengagement from Gush Katif as well.
It is not unexpected. When people are told to daven to thwart the decree, they question when so much davening and act of kindness are performed but the decree moves ahead anyway.
I don't have such questions of faith. Not that I am a man of such great faith, but I dont seem to expect that the tefillos and acts of kindness must force God's hand in some way. Hopefully influence, but we usually don't have the full picture, so if we dont get the answer we wanted, it doesn't shake me.
What does bother me is something else,
Throughout the ordeal, and I think it happened in Gush Katif as well, and in many other situations in which the religious community felt it must get the decree turned around, is the great rabbis, and I dont say that flippantly, who said that they can see from this or that that the boys are alive, they are in specific places, and things like that. Whether it was the performance of the goral hagra, or other rabbonim who said such things, and there were plenty of them - what business did they have giving such false hope?
Do they have ruach hakodesh, that they should know such things, or do they not? If they do not, don't make it up. and if they do, why were they wrong? Are they false prophets? Were they making it up just to keep people optimistic?
Without weighing in on whether or not performance of the goral hagra requires a level of ruach hakodesh, it seems Rav Shteinman knew what he was talking about when he refused to perform it, considering the false results of the goral hagra that was employed.
That is what bothers me. Saying daven and hopefully we'll get good results - that doesnt bother me when we dont get those results. When rabbis act as if they are prophets and then give information that turns out not to be true - that bothers me. That makes me question things like daas torah and the "powers" of the rabbis..
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The siege of Jerusalem...
With the road to Jerusalem being closed so frequently due to forest fires, it makes me think back to the War of Independence (no, I dont remember those days, but I have read about them)...
the thought struck me that Jerusalem seems to be under siege fairly regularly nowadays, similar to back then, minus the Arab snipers...
the thought struck me that Jerusalem seems to be under siege fairly regularly nowadays, similar to back then, minus the Arab snipers...
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Who killed the Arab boy in Jerusalem?
I don't know what happened.
An Arab boy was found murdered in the forest of Jerusalem early this morning.
So far that is all I know.
I do not know who murdered the boy. I do not know why that person murdered the boy.
A young boy was murdered, and that is horrible, for whatever reason, by whomever it was done.
Another thing I do know is that the public has no idea yet who is responsible for this, or why.
Yet, many, be it politicians, media or just regular people, were very quickly jumping on the assumption that it was perpetrated by "settlers" as an act of revenge for the kidnap and murder of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali.
And many others have been assuming that the murder was committed by other Arabs, be it family in an honor killing or other Arabs as part of a family feud, or other Arabs as part of some criminal activity.
And I have even seen some assume that this is some sort of blood libel - Arabs killed the boy and made it look like a "settler" revenge plot just to turn the media and public momentum away from backing Netanyahu's efforts to dismantle Hamas, and turn the blame on the evil settlers.
The one thing in common is that nobody yet knows, yet people are making assumptions. The problem is not making assumptions - not really. he problem is that they then publicize these assumptions, logical or illogical as they may be, and throw blame and accusations around based on them.
Another thing I find interesting - in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali, so many people were writing all over the internet and in newspapers and in chat groups, about how necessary it is to avenge the deaths of the three boys, how we must wipe out Gaza, how we must flatten PA Hebron, yadda yadda yadda - and then when the accusations start coming about the murder of an innocent boy (whether the accusations are baseless or not), suddenly everybody says a Jew would never do that!
Let's let the security forces do their jobs (according to reports they responded very quickly to the information when it was first reported), find who did this, and then we will know who to blame and what to fix.
An Arab boy was found murdered in the forest of Jerusalem early this morning.
So far that is all I know.
I do not know who murdered the boy. I do not know why that person murdered the boy.
A young boy was murdered, and that is horrible, for whatever reason, by whomever it was done.
Another thing I do know is that the public has no idea yet who is responsible for this, or why.
Yet, many, be it politicians, media or just regular people, were very quickly jumping on the assumption that it was perpetrated by "settlers" as an act of revenge for the kidnap and murder of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali.
And many others have been assuming that the murder was committed by other Arabs, be it family in an honor killing or other Arabs as part of a family feud, or other Arabs as part of some criminal activity.
And I have even seen some assume that this is some sort of blood libel - Arabs killed the boy and made it look like a "settler" revenge plot just to turn the media and public momentum away from backing Netanyahu's efforts to dismantle Hamas, and turn the blame on the evil settlers.
The one thing in common is that nobody yet knows, yet people are making assumptions. The problem is not making assumptions - not really. he problem is that they then publicize these assumptions, logical or illogical as they may be, and throw blame and accusations around based on them.
Another thing I find interesting - in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali, so many people were writing all over the internet and in newspapers and in chat groups, about how necessary it is to avenge the deaths of the three boys, how we must wipe out Gaza, how we must flatten PA Hebron, yadda yadda yadda - and then when the accusations start coming about the murder of an innocent boy (whether the accusations are baseless or not), suddenly everybody says a Jew would never do that!
Let's let the security forces do their jobs (according to reports they responded very quickly to the information when it was first reported), find who did this, and then we will know who to blame and what to fix.
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Do the Israeli people have faith in the police?
The police force in Israel has an awful lot to deal with, extreme situations and challenges much greater than simply crime, and it is probably unfair to compare them to other forces around the world, but I must say the police really have a lot of problems and need to be reformed or reorganized.
They do not seem to be capable of functioning efficiently in the policing of the State. People are afraid to turn to them for assistance and prefer to avoid them whenever possible, people see it as a waste of time when reporting crime, people see the police as lazy or even incompetent in evaluating serious situations, minor crime is dealt with by use of a heavy hand, while rioting, or threats of riots, and violence is usually dealt with by kowtowing to the rioters...
I think most (base don no scientific evidence, of course) of the public has no faith in the police system in Israel.
If the people have no faith in the police, it is time to make changes.
They do not seem to be capable of functioning efficiently in the policing of the State. People are afraid to turn to them for assistance and prefer to avoid them whenever possible, people see it as a waste of time when reporting crime, people see the police as lazy or even incompetent in evaluating serious situations, minor crime is dealt with by use of a heavy hand, while rioting, or threats of riots, and violence is usually dealt with by kowtowing to the rioters...
I think most (base don no scientific evidence, of course) of the public has no faith in the police system in Israel.
If the people have no faith in the police, it is time to make changes.
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Haredi paints away graffiti in bet Shemesh
While the walls of Bet Shemesh are not strangers to graffiti, sometimes innocuous such as Nach Nach or "guard your eyes", sometimes just random graffiti from kids, and sometimes vile graffiti in neighborhood and religious turf wars, this past week there have been a few graffiti invcidents in RBS B that really shocked many people around town with how vile they got.
One particular spot of graffiti called for all secular and dogs to leave the city, another called on all immodest people to leave the city, another called chabadnikim missionaries, and others.
Most of the time the graffiti stays up until the city workers get around to painting over it, but sometimes a plain old citizen is disgusted enough and on his own goes and paints it over. I know people who have done so in the past.
Kikar has some video from a Haredi fellow who decided he could not let the vile graffiti stay up any longer. He went on his own and painted it over. When asked , he said he lives here and does not want to live in a dirty city. Good for him. Kol Hakavod.
One particular spot of graffiti called for all secular and dogs to leave the city, another called on all immodest people to leave the city, another called chabadnikim missionaries, and others.
Most of the time the graffiti stays up until the city workers get around to painting over it, but sometimes a plain old citizen is disgusted enough and on his own goes and paints it over. I know people who have done so in the past.
Kikar has some video from a Haredi fellow who decided he could not let the vile graffiti stay up any longer. He went on his own and painted it over. When asked , he said he lives here and does not want to live in a dirty city. Good for him. Kol Hakavod.
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Book Review: Maran HaRav Ovadia, by Rabbi Yehuda Heimowitz
NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.
Book Review: Maran HaRav Ovadia, by Rabbi Yehuda Heimowitz
I will start off with an honest statement- this is a book I probably never would have bought. Rav Ovadia was a great man, and he lived in our generation, but I thought I basically knew enough about him, and I was not a follower of his. Especially it being an "Artscroll biography", I would just pass by this book in the book store, deeming it uninteresting to me.
Boy, would I have been wrong.
Maran HaRav Ovadia is a captivating biography of a great man, bu tit is more than just that. Heimowitz does a fabulous job giving so much historical background of the times in order to give the reader a better understanding of Rav Ovadia; of what he had to deal with, what made him tick, what his challenges were, and how he overcame them.
Maran HaRav Ovadia is the life story about Rav Ovadia Yosef, and it is also so much a historical overview of Israel in its pre-State form, the early days of the State and throughout the history of modern Israel, Egypt, the challenges of public office, dealings with politicians, and of course, as I said, about the various aspects of the greatness of Rav Ovadia himself.
The book goes through all the periods of Rav Ovadia's life, from when he was a small child until his death.
Yes, this is a typical "Artscroll biography" in the sense that the biography makes it seem like he had no personal failings, was so great he was like an angel, never did anything wrong, and all the other complaints about Artscroll biographies. And that is ok. Those complaints do not bother me, as a biography need not focus on the failings of the leader, if that is not the point of the book, but on his successes.
So, right from the start, we know Rav Ovadia is unusually great. He has a tremendous mind, a tremendous capability of sitting for hours and hours and hours and focusing and not getting distracted, he has tremendous hasmada, he probably had a photographic memory - though the book doesn't explicitly say so. As a young rabbinical student and as a young rabbi he was dynamic and charismatic, and he did not stand down when he felt an issue needed to be dealt with a certain way. All that together does not make a leader, and it does not even necessarily make a great person.
Rav Ovadia, however, was a leader who had tremendous influence on Israeli society, both those that directly put themselves under his authority and also for those that did not. And it was not just Israeli society, but even world sephardic Jewry.
Rav Ovadia was also a person who was very caring for other people, and there are fascinating stories in the book that show how he cared for those that came to consult with him and ask for his blessings.
Much of the book is dedicated to showing that.
However, the main focus of the book seems to be showing Rav Ovadia in the light of his concern for the Torah, and for the relationship Sephardic Jewry would have with it. Everything he did was to spread the Torah, learning and observance, among Sephardic Jewry. To bring them back to their days of glory. Rav Ovadia was tremendously dedicated to giving shiurim to anybody who asked him to for any group, and he instructed his kids to do the same, so that they could spread the word of the Torah. According to the book, even his formation and leadership of Shas was really to assist in the spreading of Torah.
That was really all that concerned him.
According to the book, Rav Ovadia dedicated just 10 minutes a day to giving directions to the political party of Shas, unless there were emergencies that required his attention. Politics did not interest him - only spreading Torah.
The book is filled with both fascinating history, and fascinating personal anecdotes.
Having seen Rav Ovadia and lived in Israel, and even near him for a few years, I thought I knew enough about Rav Ovadia. This book really gives a very broad perspective into understanding who Rav Ovadia is and what he wanted to do.
One short-coming I found in the book is that at times it talks of his "detractors" in different issues he was involved in. It never really explained what they wanted from him, why they were detractors, and I would have liked to hear more about that.
I was really impressed with the book Maran HaRav Ovadia, and I read the nearly 600 pages very quickly - it is a very fluid read. On its own I probably wouldnt have bothered buying it, but I am really happy I had the opportunity to read it. I think you will too, even if just to get an understanding into who Rav Ovadia was and what he was made of, but also to understand his life and the issues he was involved in, looking back, and to get a better perspective of what he accomplished, and what he was trying to accomplish..
buy Maran HaRav Ovadia on Amazon.com
buy Maran HaRav Ovadia on Artscroll Mesorah
NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.
Book Review: Maran HaRav Ovadia, by Rabbi Yehuda Heimowitz
I will start off with an honest statement- this is a book I probably never would have bought. Rav Ovadia was a great man, and he lived in our generation, but I thought I basically knew enough about him, and I was not a follower of his. Especially it being an "Artscroll biography", I would just pass by this book in the book store, deeming it uninteresting to me.
Boy, would I have been wrong.
Maran HaRav Ovadia is a captivating biography of a great man, bu tit is more than just that. Heimowitz does a fabulous job giving so much historical background of the times in order to give the reader a better understanding of Rav Ovadia; of what he had to deal with, what made him tick, what his challenges were, and how he overcame them.
Maran HaRav Ovadia is the life story about Rav Ovadia Yosef, and it is also so much a historical overview of Israel in its pre-State form, the early days of the State and throughout the history of modern Israel, Egypt, the challenges of public office, dealings with politicians, and of course, as I said, about the various aspects of the greatness of Rav Ovadia himself.
The book goes through all the periods of Rav Ovadia's life, from when he was a small child until his death.
Yes, this is a typical "Artscroll biography" in the sense that the biography makes it seem like he had no personal failings, was so great he was like an angel, never did anything wrong, and all the other complaints about Artscroll biographies. And that is ok. Those complaints do not bother me, as a biography need not focus on the failings of the leader, if that is not the point of the book, but on his successes.
So, right from the start, we know Rav Ovadia is unusually great. He has a tremendous mind, a tremendous capability of sitting for hours and hours and hours and focusing and not getting distracted, he has tremendous hasmada, he probably had a photographic memory - though the book doesn't explicitly say so. As a young rabbinical student and as a young rabbi he was dynamic and charismatic, and he did not stand down when he felt an issue needed to be dealt with a certain way. All that together does not make a leader, and it does not even necessarily make a great person.
Rav Ovadia, however, was a leader who had tremendous influence on Israeli society, both those that directly put themselves under his authority and also for those that did not. And it was not just Israeli society, but even world sephardic Jewry.
Rav Ovadia was also a person who was very caring for other people, and there are fascinating stories in the book that show how he cared for those that came to consult with him and ask for his blessings.
Much of the book is dedicated to showing that.
However, the main focus of the book seems to be showing Rav Ovadia in the light of his concern for the Torah, and for the relationship Sephardic Jewry would have with it. Everything he did was to spread the Torah, learning and observance, among Sephardic Jewry. To bring them back to their days of glory. Rav Ovadia was tremendously dedicated to giving shiurim to anybody who asked him to for any group, and he instructed his kids to do the same, so that they could spread the word of the Torah. According to the book, even his formation and leadership of Shas was really to assist in the spreading of Torah.
That was really all that concerned him.
According to the book, Rav Ovadia dedicated just 10 minutes a day to giving directions to the political party of Shas, unless there were emergencies that required his attention. Politics did not interest him - only spreading Torah.
The book is filled with both fascinating history, and fascinating personal anecdotes.
Having seen Rav Ovadia and lived in Israel, and even near him for a few years, I thought I knew enough about Rav Ovadia. This book really gives a very broad perspective into understanding who Rav Ovadia is and what he wanted to do.
One short-coming I found in the book is that at times it talks of his "detractors" in different issues he was involved in. It never really explained what they wanted from him, why they were detractors, and I would have liked to hear more about that.
I was really impressed with the book Maran HaRav Ovadia, and I read the nearly 600 pages very quickly - it is a very fluid read. On its own I probably wouldnt have bothered buying it, but I am really happy I had the opportunity to read it. I think you will too, even if just to get an understanding into who Rav Ovadia was and what he was made of, but also to understand his life and the issues he was involved in, looking back, and to get a better perspective of what he accomplished, and what he was trying to accomplish..
buy Maran HaRav Ovadia on Amazon.com
buy Maran HaRav Ovadia on Artscroll Mesorah
NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.
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A parking fine like one you have never before seen
What would you do if you received a parking ticket for 28 million shekels? What kind of illegal parking zone do you have to park illegally in to qualify for such a high fine?
Mynet reports on what is clearly a mistake, but the kind of mistake that can give someone a heart attack.
Some fellow in Tel Aviv, Tzion Elgarisi, collected his mail and discovered a letter from the court. He nervously opened the letter, his heart skipped a beat. The letter was a warning that if he does not pay his debt of 28.5 million NIS immediately, legal proceedings will be taken.
Elgarisi admits that he had parked, a year prior, in an illegal parking spot. He had received a 250NIS fine. He was planning on challenging the fine, but then had decided to just pay it, which he did, and says he can prove it.
Somehow, that ballooned into a 28+million shekels fine. Even with court costs and interest, it is a bit much!
It seems the fellow has a little bit of a sense of humor about it, even as it was a nerve-racking experience. He says he called City Hall and the clerk laughed when she heard about the problem, and she told him the computer went crazy. He says he asked for a payment plan - payments spread out over his entire life, and that his kids and grandkids will continue paying for it.. He also said even if he would sell everything he owns to pay the fine, he would not even get close to raising that kind of money.
Thankfully, the bureaucrats didn't turn it into a bureaucratic nightmare where they have to look into it, and the problem never goes away, but they took care of it right away and City Hall confirmed that Elgarisi has no open fines waiting to be paid.
And they say parking in Tel Aviv is expensive!
Funny story, but not one I would ever want to be a part of..
Mynet reports on what is clearly a mistake, but the kind of mistake that can give someone a heart attack.
Some fellow in Tel Aviv, Tzion Elgarisi, collected his mail and discovered a letter from the court. He nervously opened the letter, his heart skipped a beat. The letter was a warning that if he does not pay his debt of 28.5 million NIS immediately, legal proceedings will be taken.
Elgarisi admits that he had parked, a year prior, in an illegal parking spot. He had received a 250NIS fine. He was planning on challenging the fine, but then had decided to just pay it, which he did, and says he can prove it.
Somehow, that ballooned into a 28+million shekels fine. Even with court costs and interest, it is a bit much!
It seems the fellow has a little bit of a sense of humor about it, even as it was a nerve-racking experience. He says he called City Hall and the clerk laughed when she heard about the problem, and she told him the computer went crazy. He says he asked for a payment plan - payments spread out over his entire life, and that his kids and grandkids will continue paying for it.. He also said even if he would sell everything he owns to pay the fine, he would not even get close to raising that kind of money.
Thankfully, the bureaucrats didn't turn it into a bureaucratic nightmare where they have to look into it, and the problem never goes away, but they took care of it right away and City Hall confirmed that Elgarisi has no open fines waiting to be paid.
And they say parking in Tel Aviv is expensive!
Funny story, but not one I would ever want to be a part of..
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Real skyscraper approved to be built in Tel Aviv
The PLanning Comittee of Tel Aviv has approved a plan to build a real skyscraper in Tel Aviv. Not like the current skyscraperss that have 30 or 40 floors. This skyscraper is being planned for 100 floors!
source: Calcalist
Not quite in the competition for tallest building in the world, but it is the size of a world class skyscraper.
Here is a model image of what the building will look like:
source: Calcalist
Not quite in the competition for tallest building in the world, but it is the size of a world class skyscraper.
Here is a model image of what the building will look like:
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"Praise" by Lazer Lloyd in Rehearsal at 35th St Studio in Chicago (video)
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Do You Pass the Israel Test? (video)
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PM Netanyahu's remarks at the Defense Ministry (video)
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Amir Benayoun: Keil Nekamot Hofia (audio)
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Jul 1, 2014
PSA: Funeral information for Eyal, Gilad and Naftali
According to what is being reported, the decision has been made by the families to bury the 3 boys together.
The funerals will begin from each house at about 3pm and leave towards Modiin cemetery, arriving at about 5:30pm for the joint funeral, in which the boys will be buried side by side.
יהי זכרם ברוך
ה' יקום דמם
The funerals will begin from each house at about 3pm and leave towards Modiin cemetery, arriving at about 5:30pm for the joint funeral, in which the boys will be buried side by side.
יהי זכרם ברוך
ה' יקום דמם
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Baruch Dayan HaEmess
Baruch Dayan HaEmess.
I have nothing wise or unique to say, and I am not in the mood to call for restraint or revenge, so I am just not going to say anything. There will be no blogging for me today.
I have nothing wise or unique to say, and I am not in the mood to call for restraint or revenge, so I am just not going to say anything. There will be no blogging for me today.
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