L’DOR VADOR BY CHONI G. L'dor Vador, composed by Meir Finkelstein, is a headline choral classic in the rich repertoire of contemporary Synagogue liturgy. Here Choni G delivers a refreshing remix infusing this timeless favourite with a pop ballad feel.

Translation:
Ishay Ribo writes:

Friends, I want to share with you something personal, that happened to me several months ago.
The evening of Yom Hashoah I participated in a family event with my wife's grandmother, a holocaust survivor. Near the end of the evening I started to have light pains in my stomach that got progressively worse. That night the pains were very sharp and became unbearable. I had to go to the hospital emergency room and there they discovered stones in my kidneys and I had to go to surgery right away.
Surgery is never pleasant but with all of people's natural concerns, added to that was that this was just a few days before my big concer tin Ceasaria - and until things happen, and if the surgeon would be good, etc. What will be with all those people who cleared their calendars for the event, those who bought tickets?
And then someone pointed me to Rav Firer and he directed me to Professor Duvdevani, and took care of me in an amazing way. Just days before my concert I went into surgery, and two days later we were singing together in Ceasaria and we, thank God, shot through the skies.
It is clear to me that without the professional and humane help of Rav Firer, it would not have been possible.
I have not been exposed enough to the work of Rav Firer, but form the powerful help he gave to me, I can learn a lot about his 24 hours, times 365 days a year, times many years.
This morning I learned that unfortunately his fundraising event was canceled due to Rav firer's considerations.
As a note of personal gratitude to Rav Firer and to your work, I have decided to dedicate to the amazing organization Ezra Lamarpeh that you head one of the upcoming concerts of mine. All the profits from the concert will be donated to the organization and to the daily kiddush hashem you create.
It is clear to me that in heaven there is so much more waiting for us for every moment of action on behalf of everyone.
PS. This post was written from the heart, a personal discovery, and not as a starting point for debate. We should all be healthy, loving and accepting

I dont want to change the State. All I want is that what was will continue to be. Gantz says they wont drive in Bnei Braq on Shabbos? Thank you very much! The Supreme Court changed the status quo. I they would allow it to remain int eh hand sof the public, we would not be requesting anything... I never requested that this become a religious state, only Jewish and democratic, just as Ben Gurion established with the Status Quo, that the public sphere will be Jewish. Public transportation on Shabbos is dismantling the status quo. We will not know how to tell our children what a Jewish state is..

 -- MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ)

Rav Firer decided to cancel his fundraising event so as not to be involved in such machlokes. He said he has never been involved in arranging fundraising events.

To remind you, an event was organized for the general public to raise funds for Rav Firer's organization Ezra Lamarpeh that helps people find the right doctors and treatments, among other things in the medical field. The organizer had asked bands to participate in the event, but when a band was one that included females, he told them only the men should participate but not the women. When a reporter asked a band member about it, it became a hot topic and some of the performers backed out, not wanting to participate in the event that excluded women. Many spoke out against the exclusion of women and many spoke out against the movement to ban the event because of the exclusion of women. Other performers said they would perform in honor of Rav Firer even though they normally oppose excluding women.

I still think from everything I have read that the fault is not with the performers or even the journalist, and it is definitely not with Rav Firer, but the fault lays with the person who was responsible for making the arrangements. He could easily have done it in a way that would be respectful and honor Rav Firer's religious needs but it seems he tried to sneak it through without people realizing and was deceitful about his intentions.

Regardless of that, it is a shame the event was canceled, and it is a shame it became such a big fight. Even if I do not approve of a specific organization or event or something an organization did, does not mean I need to shut it down and go nuclear. We need to find ways to live together and respect each other's needs and lifestyles. There were enough performers willing to participate that the show could have gone on. So some people would not have gone to the concert, and many others would have.

Last night I found myself for a bit in the city of Rishon Letzion. When departing, I decided to stop for gas on the way out and there was a Sadash gas station right there. I pull in and find much of the gas station taped off by the police with a number of police vehicles there, along with a crime scene unit and a policeman photographing the area.

I pulled through and saw that outside of the taped off area there were another couple of gas pumps so I asked a cop standing nearby if it is ok to fill up. I expected a no, but he said you can fill up but only if you are paying by credit card. So I filled up the tank of gas and went on my way.



Not really knowing what happened but assuming there had been a murder (though no chalk drawing of a human shape was on the ground) or at least a shooting, I found it a little surreal that they even let cars drive into the complex, let alone fill up with gas!

If you are curious as to the actual story, the news reported that there had been a shooting and the victim is in stable condition. He had actually been shot outside a nearby wedding hall and ran away and collapsed in the gas station. I am not sure whether or not to feel bad for him, as a year earlier he escaped a situation in which an explosive device had been attached to his car. It seems as if this poor fellow is connected to the underworld. Or maybe he isn't and this is all a big case of a mistaken identity or whatnot...

this is a hilarious ad...



the ad is part of a campaign encouraging parents to clean up after their dog in public. You can see the image, the words say "that isn't chocolate, clean up after your dog's mess!" Israeli humor...

if true, this would be very cool. The Zoo Rabbi (Rabbi Natan Slifkin) told me there is no chance this is really a leopard...

this is a clip taken from a recent episode

Mako is reporting that the government has changed its policy, a policy in effect since 1992, regarding importing of non-kosher meats, including pork products.

In 1992 then-Prime Minister elect Yitzchak Rabin was forming a government and in an effort to persuade Shas to join his coalition he agreed to a condition to pass a law banning the import of non-kosher meat to Israel. The agreement did allow certain exceptions - certain pieces of meats and sausages, to be excluded from the ban and that could be imported.

This ban, with the exceptions, has been in effect since 1992 until today, with hundreds of tons of pork pieces being imported annually - under the more recent authority of Aryeh Deri the amount imported dropped drastically, but plenty was still imported.

The holding government has now issued a new directive, changing the policy in place from 1992. As of now, all pork pieces and fats will require a teudat kashrut in order to be imported. Without a teudat kashrut, meat and meat products cannot be imported - including all those items that were listed as exceptions until now. The new directive means no non-kosher meat can be imported to Israel.

I find it a little funny that the way the ban for formulated is not a law against importing pork and other non-kosher meats but the insistence that all imported meats, including pork, must have a teudat kashrut, effectively but only indirectly banning pork from being imported.