I was on the train last night going home from work. 2 brothers were sitting in the set of seats across from me. They had their shoes off and their feet up on the seats.

On the train when you have your feet on the seats, the ushers who walk up and down the length of the train tell you to put your feet down. If you do not have your shoes on they do not bother you.

These 2 guys (in their late teens I think) had their socked feet on the seats and they had placed their (clean) shoes up on the table.

The usher walked by and told them to take their shoes off the table. They did so immediately and began chatting with the usher about him telling them to do so.

The usher explained that a) they would not do that at home so why would they think it is ok to do so on the train and b) a table is like a mizbeiach (altar) and is inappropriate to treat in that fashion.

NOTE: the usher was a secular/traditional Israeli, not wearing a kippa and he unabashedly gave a very Jewish explanation to two secular teenage kids who were doing something wrong..

Leona Helmsley, who died last week, has left $12 million to her dog, Trouble.

She left $5 million to each of two grandchildren on condition they visit their fathers grave once a year. To her two other grandchildren she left nothing (for reasons known to them).

That dog, Trouble, must have been a pretty good friend to her. I wonder what a dog will do with so much money... hmmmmm

(this qualifies for this blog because Leona Helmsley was Jewish)

(HatTip: The Muqata)

Channel 1 of the Israel Broadcasting Authority has been in trouble for a long time. They have been having financial issues and have barely stayed alive. There is constantly talk about cancelling the station.

Anybody who owns a television in Israel is obligated to pay a television tax. This tax is meant to be funding the government controlled Station 1.

I just saw this notice in the newspaper regarding the station:

For the first time since the establishment of Channel 1, there will be a Hachnassat Sefer Torah at the shul of the station in Tel Aviv. The ceremony will be attended by the CEO of the station, along with Rav Yitzchak Batzri - son of the famed mystic Rav David Batzri.

One of the employees said, "This is a segulah to try to save the station." "Only a week and a half ago the employees went up to at graves of righteous for parnassah. Immediately afterwards we all received our salaries. I hope this time as well it will bring good fortune."

Ever wonder where the money you pay for the TV Tax goes? You thought it went towards broadcasting and developing good programming? Now you know it goes to segulahs and sifrei torah.

If anything can save them, it is the sefer Torah. But somehow I doubt the sefer torah is going to save a television station.

And you can even look at this as an "Only in Israel" story... even the employees of Station 1, which is known to be fairly left wing and not favorable to the religious, look for segulahs and resort to Jewish solutions to solve their problems...

Here is the drasha that caused the stir. Rav Ovadia Yosef has an accent that is very hard to understand, but I can follow a lot of it. The "controversial" starts at around minute 51 in the video (it is altogether an hour and 13 minutes long), and he talks about it for a couple of minutes.

BTW, for those who are explaining his words to be referring back to biblical times (i.e. soldiers then who were irreligious would die, not nowadays) are wrong because he is clearly talking about nowadays, and he even sighs and makes it clear how it disturbs him that that is the situation and how he wishes everyone would do tshuva and pray and keep mitzvos, etc (in the 53rd minute)...

Some are talking about his hatred for the secular, and the like. I do not hear that in his speech. He is not talking fire and brimstone and giving rebuke. I hear how it disturbs him and he wishes it to be a better situation. I just do not understand what he is saying because of the questions I have that I posted yesterday.

Yesterday we heard about the IDF officer who got lost and ended up in Jenin in front of a mob . The PA police prevented the mob from killing him and they got him out safely. Here is a video of part of the incident...

A number of Rabbonim from England approached Rav Wosner to ask for a signed letter prohibiting the use of a cellphone in shul. They were looking to take it up a step, rather than just leave it as a recommendation against or just a bad concept. They wanted to make it assur.

During the discussion someone suggested that they put cellphone jammers in the shuls. The idea caught on and was brought before a number of other gedolim in order to obtain a consensus to have permission to place such devices in shuls. Rabbis Wosner, Shteinman and Lefkowitz signed the "kol kore" decree urging gabbaim in shuls around the world to install such jammers in their shuls to prevent the use of cellphones during services.

I think it is a great idea, as we are all aware of the disturbance caused by people talkign on cellphones during services. Even if they do not talk, someone inadvertently forgets to turn his off or on silent mode and it rings during services. Even if he does not answer it and turns it off then, it has made the disturbance.

I am not sure as to the legal ramifications. I know in Israel it is illegal to have such a device. Maybe a shul will be able to get special permission (through political connections) from the Defense Ministry to install such jammers.

I have heard a lot of segulahs, but this one is new to me.

There is a famous segulah attributed to Rav Chaim Kanievsky that goes like this: if a baby is breech (at a late stage in pregnancy), one should look through the seforim in the house and see if any are placed upside down. If there are some, turn them upside right and the baby will flip over as well.

That one I have heard before. I only mention it here because it was told to me today at the same time as the one I am about to tell you.

This one is wild. It has been attributed to Rav Yisrael Yaakov Fisher zt"l. He was known for recommending segulahs of all types, along with many other great qualities he was known for. He (supposedly) said regarding a breech baby: the husband and wife have to stroll down to Lifta (a natural spring at the entrance to Jerusalem) or Moza (the site of another natural spring, just outside Jerusalem) -

Note: I assume this means any natural spring would work, but he mentioned those two. Or maybe he was specific to these two, so do not hold me responsible if you try it elsewhere and it does not work.

the husband then have to get some spring water into your mouth and put it directly into the wife's mouth.. 3 times! I think she has to drink the water, but the person telling me was not clear on that..

according to R' Fisher - if that doesn't work the baby wasn't meant to turn... and it is dangerous for it to turn.. (hmmm...that means it is not the segulah not working, but it was not meant to be. so you never know if the segulah really works or not.)

Hava Nagila, played by Andre Riuo, master violinist, at the Royal Albert Hall..


(HT: somebody on areivim)

I was going to write a post describing yesterday's shchita with more pictures, but I have written such posts in the past, and how different can it be anyway, unless something goes wrong.

If you want me to put up some gory pictures and a description, write so in the comments...

---------

I could just put up the old pictures from previous shchitas, and you guys would never know. the pics look pretty similar to the old ones. A cow with its head hanging off looks the same in August as it did in March (or whenever the previous one was). But you asked for it, you got it.


My 10 year old son accompanied me this time and took most of the pictures....

This weeks Saturday night drasha by Rav Ovadia Yosef is creating quite a stir...as happens fairly frequently.

Rav Ovadia is a fairly "charif" (spicy) rav and he often says sharp things in his weekly drasha. The media is always there waiting to here some spicy quote. Sometimes they take it out of context, but they often share with the rest of us who were not there what he had to say that week.

This week, Rav Ovadia said that the soldiers of the IDF die because "they do not keep the Torah, they do not keep mitzvos, they do not keep shabbos, they do not daven daily, they do not put on tefillin, so is it a surprise that they die? If they repent they will all live good peaceful lives."

Rav Yosef also compared the army to the armies of Israel of old and said that "the armies of yore were armies of tzaddikim and God-fearing men. Anybody who was not such a person was sent home from the army.."

He concluded that "when soldiers are believers and daven, Hashem helps them in battle. They do not get killed. One needs to be clean (spiritually I guess) to go to war."

I am not nearly as close to God's ear as Rav Ovadia Yosef is, so he probably has more of a right to speak in God's name than I do. However, I do find the statement problematic.

First of all, what about religious soldiers who die? How does he explain their deaths based on his theory? Many parents of religious soldiers are outraged by Rav Yosef's statements. One parent said, "I invite Rav Yosef to light a memorial candle on my son's, Yoni's, grave. Yoni was an alumnus of a yeshiva, donned tefillin, kept shabbos, davened daily, kept mitzvos."

Second, what about all the deaths (not army related) in the religious world? Recently we had the summer vacation and there were numerous deaths of yeshiva students on tiyulim or in car accidents. The chareidi newspapers eulogized all those young men with descriptions of how they were the best boys in yeshiva and were righteous and dedicated to the Torah, etc. Were the papers not telling the true story? Were these students really heathens? maybe in public they lived the lives of tzaddikkim but in private they transgressed everything? I would not want to cast doubt on the lives of the poor souls who died, but how would Rav Yosef explain their deaths?

Third, if the Jewish army is best prepared for battle when the soldiers are religious and God fearing and righteous, etc., then what right do the religious parties have to push for deferments/exemptions from the army for the yeshiva students? They should be forcing them to go to the army because they are the only ones who can protect Israel!

Fourth, the deferments the chareidi world get from the army are based on the idea that "by our learning Torah we are protecting the soldiers and all of Israel, better than if we would be in the IDF." What happened to the protection from the yeshiva boys? If these soldiers are dieing because of their not being religious enough, shouldn't the yeshiva boys Torah study be protecting them?

While it might not be my place to criticize Rav Ovadia Yosef, I would like some clarification as to the points above as to how that fits in to his theories...

Today's cultural post...

The Maggid has a great story for this weeks parsha. Enjoy...

Rabbi Lazer Brody has an amazing Only in Israel story. Check it out!

You know the old saying, "Wherever there is Coca Cola there is Chabad"?

That now needs to be adjusted.

Lev Leviev, the owner and manager of Africa-Israel, has been spreading his wings around the globe. He is now entering the Central American markets. he has begun buying up real estate in Panama City, and he says he plans to expand further in Central and South America.

So, as the saying goes, "Wherever there is Coca Cola there is Chabad and Lev Leviev."

Way to go! Hatzlacha!

I was hesitant to put this in the Torah Thoughts blog, so here it is.

Parshat Ki Seitzei

In this weeks parsha we have the Torah allowing us in battle to take the "captive woman" as a wife. The Torah gives some of the technical details of how he has to make her spend a month looking decrepit, such as letting her nails grow, shaving her head, crying over her family in the entrance of the house, etc.

Rashi says She should look ugly with all this crying so that he will look at her and compare her to the Jewish girl and see how the Jewish women make themselves beautiful and "made up" and this man will then likely abandon the captive woman and marry a Jewish woman.

We see from this Rashi that Jewish women are supposed to beautify themselves so Jewish men will be attracted to them and not be swayed by foreign beauty.

In many frum communities, we have developed the style that girls/women should not dress attractively. They think that by doing so it is not tzniusdig and is therefore inappropriate. So they dress bland and frumpy and shlubby.

Yet the Torah here tells us that Jewish women are meant to be beautiful and to appear beautiful. By doing so, they keep the Jewish men attracted to them rather than to others.