Where are you and your organization" that is supposed to protect Har Hazisim?
well ... you got your job cut out for you now! Forget the Arabs, we got enemies within .... look out for the guys that wear the tzizis out!
Police on Independence Day morning responded to a vandalism attack in the military section of Har HaZeisim. It appears extremist chareidim set wreaths that was placed on kevarim on fire.
The Satmar Yiddish weeklies, Der Goy and Der Bluteh, advocated for the cruel Iran deal, because, as they put it ... "we have to back the leader of our host country!" Especially since it is at the expense of their brothers and sisters living in Eretz Yisroel!
R' Aron Teitelbum, Satmar rebbe of Kiryas Yoel went so far as to have a "write in campaign" to Senators and Representatives begging them to not attend Netanyahu's speech in Congress!
Turns out that according to this past Sunday's New York Times, "the entire Iran deal was sold on lies" this according to Obama's own aide Ben Rhodes!
Obama had huge "Hakaras Hatoiv" to the holy rebbe for his support and promptly sent a team of FBI investigators to Kiryas Yoel to find evidence of fraud and corruption, on Yom Hatzmaot, no less!
How many times have i written that the Gedoilim basically live in a cocoon and don't have the slightest idea in what's going on in the life of a typical Jew! Helloooooooow! Is anybody home? The internet is here to stay and so is the smartphone ....now deal with it! Despite denouncements and bans imposed by rabbis and religious leaders, many of Israel’s 750,000 Haredim are secretly and increasingly using the internet, according to a new study conducted by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Ha’aretz reports (http://bit.ly/1rGvfCx) the study found that a majority of Haredim are using assumed identities or a “nick” – abbreviation for nickname – to browse the internet and are even attempting to guess the real identities behind the so-called nicks of their fellow surfers.
The study also found that the Israeli ultra-Orthodox community is surfing online and accessing websites at all hours – as often as less religious Jews – usually from a mobile device since Internet access is forbidden in Haredi homes.
The purpose of the study was to “characterize the Haredi surfer.” The findings revealed that Haredim are using the web to “consult with one another, gossip madly and discuss a vast range of topics touching on their community, their thoughts and anguishes, emotions and needs, politics, halacha, and their experiences with peers in the online Haredi world,” behaviors which would be condemned in their real lives. The analysis also determined that online usage in the ultra-Orthodox is not really much of a secret after all. In fact, major telecom companies like Bezeq have been specifically targeting Haredi users with advertisements geared toward the community. And Google Israel hosted its first ever conference for Haredi online marketers, entitled “Friday night over cholent and digital.”
The study concluded that an “internet revolution” has changed the way young Haredim are leading their lives.
Is there more to Israel Independence Day than just fireworks and flagwaving? Is Yom Ha'Atzmaut just a secular holiday commemorating our political independence, or does it hold a deeper meaning for us?
The Holiness of Mitzvot Rav Kook passed away in 1935, thirteen years before the State of Israel was established, but his son Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook interpreted the historic events of 1948 in light of his father’s teachings. In an article entitled “Affirming the Sanctity of the Day of Our Independence,” Rav Tzvi Yehudah analyzed the religious significance of Yom Haatzmaut. In general, our connection to sanctity and holiness is through the mitzvot of the Torah. Thus before performing a mitzvah we say, “Who sanctified us with His mitzvot.” The holiness of Yom Haatzmaut, Rav Tzvi Yehudah explained, is anchored in the holiness of mitzvot. But which particular mitzvah is connected to this historical occasion? The Ramban defined the mitzvah of yishuvha’aretz, settling the land of Israel, as “we will not abandon it to another nation, or leave it desolate.” This definition makes it clear that the mitzvah is first and foremost an obligation of the nation; the Jewish people are commanded to take possession of the land of Israel and rule over it. On the basis of that national mitzvah, there is a mitzvah for each individual to live in EretzYisrael.1 The Ramban emphasized that this mitzvah is in effect at all times. This view is upheld in the ShulchanAruch (Even Ha'ezer 75:6, Pitchei Teshuvah ad loc). This then is the significance of Yom Haatzmaut: that we have finally merited, after centuries of exile, to once again fulfill this lofty mitzvah, valued by the Sages as “equal to all the other mitzvot” (Sifre Re'eih), “to return and possess the land that God promised to our fathers” (Ramban). We should be full of gratitude to live here, in EretzYisrael, “the place that Moses and Aaron did not merit” (Ketubot 112a). We should be grateful to be alive at this time in history, to witness the hour of redemption that so many great and holy leaders of our people did not merit to see. Courageous Spirit And yet one may ask: why should the fifth day of Iyyar be chosen for celebrating this event? Perhaps a different date, such as the date of the ceasefire after the War of Independence, would be a more appropriate choice? While the military victory of a fledgling state over the armies of five enemy countries was certainly miraculous, that was not the greatest miracle of the establishment of the State of Israel. The true miracle was the remarkable courage displayed on the fifth of Iyyar in making the fateful decision and announcing the establishment of an independent state. This decision, in the face of heavy pressure from the U.S. State Department not to declare a state, and belligerent threats of the surrounding Arab countries to attack and destroy the Jewish community in EretzYisrael, was by no means a trivial matter. The motion to declare a state passed by only a thin majority in Ben-Gurion’s cabinet.
(One of the signers to the Declaration of Independence, Moshe Sharett, later recalled in his diary how he had signed with “a sense of excitement together with a clear premonition of danger, such as one might feel while standing on a cliff, ready to leap into a yawning chasm. We felt as though we stood on a very high crest, where roaring winds were brewing about us, and that we had to stand fast.”) This courageous decision was the true miracle of Yom Haatzmaut. The Talmud in BabaMetzia 106a states that a shepherd’s rescue of his flock from a lion or a bear may be considered a miracle. Where exactly is the miracle in this act? The Tosafists explained that the miracle is to be found in the shepherd’s “spirit of courage and willingness to fight.” This spirit of valor is a miracle from above, an inspired inner greatness spurring one to rise to the needs of the hour. This is the significance of Ezekiel’s prophetic description of the redemption: “I will place My spirit in you and you shall live. I will set you on your land, and you will know that I, the Eternal, have spoken and performed it.” (Ezekiel 37:14) AtchaltaDeGeulah Nevertheless, many people have difficulty reconciling the current moral and spiritual state of Israel with the vision of the redemption as portrayed by the prophets and the sages. Is this the Messianic Era for which we prayed two thousand years? The Sages determined that “The only difference between the current reality and the Messianic Era is [independence from] the rule of foreign powers” (Berachot 34b; Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 12:2). While we have certainly not yet merited the final phase of redemption, we have achieved this criterion of redemption - independence and self-rule over our geographical area. Many Torah scholars fought against the Zionist movement because they envisioned redemption as a future era that arrives complete from the very start, and not an ongoing process. But the import of the Talmudic statement (Jer. Berachot 1:1) that the redemption will appear “little by little,” like the spreading light of dawn in the morning sky, is exactly this: that the redemption is a process that advances in stages. We need to examine history with a perspective of faith in God. We need to recognize that the Master of the universe controls and governs all events. The Sages taught: “What is the meaning of the verse, ‘For who has scorned the day of smallness’ (Zecharia 4:10)? What causes the table of the righteous to be scorned in the future era? Their smallness of faith, that they failed to believe in the Holy One.” (Sotah 48b) Why is the future portion (the ‘table’) of the tzaddikim marred? Because they are tzaddikim who lack faith in God. They view the world with a narrow outlook, and fail to see God’s hand in the events of history. The redemption does not have to come through great miracles; God can also bring the redemption using natural forces and events. Ezekiel’s Prophecy of Redemption The various stages of redemption are clearly described in the order of events in Ezekiel’s prophecy. The prophecy first speaks of the initial stage of redemption, the ingathering of the exiles: “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the lands and I will bring you to your land” (36:24). Only after this initial redemption does the prophet describe the spiritual return and teshuvah of the people: “I will sprinkle over you purifying water and you will be purified from all of your impurities.... I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will place in you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My spirit within you so that you will walk in My statutes.... And you will be My people, and I will be your God.” (36:25–28) This narrative of the redemption concurs with the opinion of Rabbi Joshua in Sanhedrin 97b, that the redemption will come regardless of the merits of the Jewish people - “even if they do not repent.”2
(Excerpted from the book Silver from the Land of Israel, pp. 191-195. Adapted from LeNetivot Yisrael vol I, pp. 181-184, 192-200; Sichot HaRav Tzvi Yehudah 19, sent by Rabbi Chanan Morrison,Ravkooktorah.org)
Sources:
1 Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Nachmanides) of Gerona, Spain (1194-1270). The Ramban wrote this definition of yishuvha’aretz in his appendix to Maimonides’ Sefer Hamitzvot, positive mitzvah #4.
2 See LeNetivotYisrael, pp. 195-196, where Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook demonstrates that the Halachah follows this opinion.)
The Mekubal Rebbi Moshe Dovid bar Shmuel Volli z"l,from Padua Italy, writes that growing a beard during sefirah has absolutely no basis in halacha and is actually a custom instituted by gentiles!
According to the Mekubal, the Shulchan Aruch only discusses haircuts ...but not facial hair!
This Mekubal was a student of the Ramchal, who wrote numerous sefarim on Kaballah and was also a physician!
It is interesting to note and this will probably come to a shock to my readers. The Ramchal himself did not let his beard grow...some say that was because in those days in Italy the priests would grow their beards so the Rabbonim of Italy to look different than the gentile priests, cut their beards!
But There was an Italian kabbalistic tradition going back to R. Menachem Azariah of Fano to be beardless outside of Israel (this is a complex discussion; it became a major issue in the 19th and 20th century; in truth it seems that he wore a beard, but it was neatly trimmed).
Below is Haham Raphael Meldola, who was rabbi of the Sephardic Jews of London. A native of Leghorn, he was ordained by the Chida and was clean shaven...
"האבלות בימי ספירת העומר, שלא להתגלח עד ל"ג בעומר והמחמירים עד לחג השבועות ממש, הוא מנהג שאין לו טעם ואין לו עיקר, והוא מחוקות הגויים" - כך כותב המקובל הרופא מפאדובה, רבי משה דוד בר שמואל וואלי.
בצילום מספרו שהגיע לידי 'בחדרי חרדים' נכתב כי העיקר הוא שלא לגלח את שערות הראש לפי שהם דינים, ואין לחתכם ולבטלם בימי הדין שהוא עת התפשטות הגבורות כידוע.
"אבל המנהג שלא לגלח את הזקן אינו נמשך כי אם מחוקות הגויים שנתערבו ביניהם, שאינם נוהגים לגדל את זקנם ואדרבא חרפה היא להם".
"ומזה נתפשט המנהג שלוקחים גידול הזקן לסימן של צער ושל צרה ושל אבלות, ואנחנו יודעים ששערות הזקן הם צנורות של חסד, לפי שהם מצד הפנים, והשערות של הראש הם צנורות של דין לפי שהם מצד האחור".
"אם כן התספורת שאסרו בגלל האבל בשלושים הם רק בשערות הראש לרמז שהם ימים של צער ודין והוא הדין בימי העומר ולא היתה כוונתם על תספורת הזקן לפי שכבר היו מגדלים אותו כל ימיהם כמו שראוי לעשות".
לסיום כותב המקובל: "ואף על פי כן כיון דדשו ביה רבים שלא לגלח את הזקן בימי העומר ובימי האבל יש להפיס את דעתם ולתת טעם שהוא אדרבא כדי להמתיק הדינים של גידול פרע שער ראשם בגידול שער זקנם שהוא הממתק את הדין".
הרמ"ד וואלי, תלמיד חבר לרמח"ל, שמלבד היותו מקובל עצום אשר חיבר ספרים רבים והותיר אחריו כתבים לאלפים, היה גם רופא.
בחיבוריו מתגלה עולם שלם מופלא, ולעיתים אף שונה תפיסתית מכל המוכר לנו. לרגל יום ההילולא שלו החל השבוע, אנו מביאים בפניכם קטע קטן - אקטואלי ומעניין עבור בחורי ישיבה, מתוך מדברי תורתו. וגם, תפיסתו העקרונית בעניין השמחה, המזכירה במעט את שיטת ברסלב אשר התגלתה דורות אחר כך, על ידי רבי נחמן זיע"א.
In 1948 Israel’s annual GDP (in 2015 rates) was $6.66 billion. Today we are happy to report things have become much better, with the GDP reaching $294 billion.
Son of a fallen IDF soldier hugs his fathers headstone
There is a famous story, told about Rav Shlomoh Zalman Auerbach Z”L. He was asked by some of his students if they could leave the Yeshiva to go pray at the graves of Tzadikim in Teveria. Rav Auerbach responded. “If you want to pray at the graves of the righteous, you need not go far. Down the block is the military cemetery on Mount Herzl. There, at any grave, you can pray to a Tzadik.” Those at rest are righteous because they are Kedoshim-separated. Separated from us physically. But, more importantly, spiritually. They have merited an Eternal Life of Good because of their sacrifices. The living must work diligently to attain that great spiritual level that will yield them their Rewards in the World To Come. The Kedoshim, however, have earned their rewards by virtue of lives cut short, their ultimate sacrifice. We should view the slain as holy souls, whose entire lives were refined and sanctified through their self-sacrifice for the people and Land of Israel.
About such heroes our Sages, Chazal, say, “No one can dwell in the section of Gan Eden where those who were killed by the kingdom dwell” (Tractate Pesachim 50a).
A nonbeliever thinks that they are dead in comparison with the living, but a believing Jew knows that they are more alive than all the rest. They died young in this world, but they are very alive in the everlasting world, the World to Come. They are much more alive than we are. They are holy, and our Sages say, “What is holy exists forever” (Tractate Sanhedrin 92a).
By giving their lives in sanctification of G-d’s Name, they rose above the personal existence of an individual Jew to the comprehensive level of the holiness of Klal Yisrael.
By sacrificing their lives for Klal Yisrael, they were elevated to the stature of Klal Yisrael, and they are more connected to G-d, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, the source of life. Therefore, they added great light and blessing in both the World of Truth and this world when they died. Moreover, we live here today in their merit, and all of our accomplishments belong to them.
If we observe Yom Hazikaron, we must underscore the soldiers’ self-sacrifice in sanctifying G-d’s Name. We must emphasize how they demonstrated to us that the prophecy of the ingathering of the exiles and the rebirth of the Jewish nation in its ancient Homeland is so great that it is worthwhile to give up one’s life in this world for its sake. This will strengthen us and inspire us to follow their lead.
The children we bear and raise exist in their merit; the settlements we establish flourish because of them; the Torah we learn is theirs; the ethical Jewish society we want to build here, as the prophets foretold, is theirs as well.
If we remember this, and exert a great deal of effort, we will be able to continue in their path, the path of self-sacrifice for Klal Yisrael. Then we will truly honor them, as holy and pure souls, illuminating and shining like the glow of the heavens.
This is also what we must say to the bereaved families in whose midst these holy warriors sprouted:
Do not surrender to death; continue to live by their strength.
Do not bow your heads; rather, stand up straight and tall in their honor.
Lift your eyes beyond the ordinary horizon and look towards the vision of the redemption and the End of Days.
And even if there are tears in your eyes, let them be tears of grandeur.
That’s the message a leading Hasidic rabbi gave to his thousands of followers in response to the city Education Department’s investigation into its schools failing to teach secular subjects as required by law.
“These are bad times for us Jews,” said Satmar leader Aaron Teitelbaum during a May 4 speech. “We need to pray to God that (city officials) should not interfere with the upbringing of our children.”
“Worthless ... snitches” in the community are urging the Education Department to take action “which the government doesn’t even want,” the rabbi said at a large synagogue in upstate Kiryas Joel.
“This speech is concerning in many ways,” said Naftuli Moster, who founded Young Advocates for Fair Education, a group advocating for yeshivas to meet secular standards required by state law.
“Most concerning is the apparent collusion between community leaders and the (department) which might explain why the city investigation stalled early on,” he added.
The Teitelbaum address was transcribed and distributed to followers living in different areas.
The Hasidic leader also says the city has long ignored the state law regarding secular education.
“To put it bluntly, they simply turned a blind eye to what was going on by the Jewish children,” Teitelbaum said. “They didn’t want to look.”
City authorities say the review is active.
“We take this matter very seriously,” said Education Department spokeswoman Toya Holness.
In the past two weeks, the Jewish Heimishe community has lost two great kids who overdosed.... One in the 5 Towns and one this morning in Monsey ...in the Forshay area... both from great families... What are we going to do? How many still have to die? The rabbis are busy only accepting the Elite boys in Yeshivah and fail to tend to these needy kids... Communities must immediately start campaigns to make aware to everyone .... that drugs kill! We cannot keep this quiet any longer, it is hitting all families .. Hashem Yerachim !
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