Fanaticism & The Covenant of Peace ...

Parshas Pinchos 

by Rabbi Shmuel Knopfler

Fanaticism, particularly when garbed in the clothing of myopic fundamentalism, rarely evokes in us a sympathetic bent. How could it, given its association with an an uncontrollable zeal and violence for the sake of heaven?

But when we turn to the opening of this week’s portion, the Torah lauds Pinchas for zealously killing a Jewish man and a Midianite woman in the very heat of their sexual passion as they recklessly defy Hashem's command. For responding so quickly and decisively, we read that, “Hashem spoke to Moses saying, Pinchas, a son of Elazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, was the one who zealously took up my
cause among the Israelites and turned My anger away from them …Therefore tell him that I have given him My covenant of peace…” (Bamidbar 25:10-12)

The Torah summation is certainly one of praise and approbation. Indeed, Pinchas’ full genealogy is presented in this sequence; we are also given the name of his father as well as of his grandfather, Aaron the high priest, indicating that the Torah wants to underscore his linkage to Aaron, “lover and pursuer of peace”. Moreover, both grand-father and grand-son succeeded in stopping plagues sent by the
Almighty to punish the Israelites.

Hikind Tells Off Cryi'n Schumer

Open Letter by Dov Hikind to Cry'in Schumer

DEMOCRAT HIKIND RESPONDS TO SCHUMER’S PLEA FOR DONATIONS WITH ‘HELL NO!’

COUNTERS SLAM ON ‘HARD RIGHT AGENDA’ WITH UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS ABOUT ‘HARD LEFT’

Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D, Brooklyn) said he recently received a mailer from fellow Democrat, Senator Charles Schumer asking for contributions. The letter was riddled with attacks on the “hard right” but omitted vital information. In an open letter to Schumer, Hikind filled in the blanks.

“Senator Schumer, in your letter you promise to fight for Democratic values and go on at great length to fully villainize the current administration, but you left out certain facts that my fellow Democrats, to say nothing of all Americans, should also be aware of.

“You forgot to tell us about the economy. As good as it’s been, economists expect even more growth through the end of the year. That’s very good news, Senator.

Israelis Have One Of The Highest Life Expectancies Worldwide

A report released by the Israeli Ministry of Health that compares Israeli health care to that of the 33 other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries revealed that Israel’s average life expectancy is among the highest in the world. While the average OECD life expectancy is 80.8 years, the average Israeli lives 82.5 years, with women reaching an average of 84.2 years old and men 80.7.

Clouds Stolen from Iran Discovered in Jerusalem

Perhaps the Iranian claim that Israel stole their rain clouds is justified.

While walking in downtown Jerusalem, past the Italian Quarter, we couldn’t help but notice the clouds that were tied up to the buildings It didn’t take a genius to realize that these must be the missing clouds that the Iranian general claimed were stolen from them by Israel.

First Lady Visits a Kid's 'Concentration Camp in Arizona

92-year-old woman 'kills son' because he tried to put her in an assisted living facility

A 92-year old woman allegedly shot dead her son after he tried to put her in an assisted living facility.

Anna Mae Blessing, of Fountain Hills, Arizona, appeared in court, in a wheelchair and orange jumpsuit, to face charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping. 

She shot her 72-year-old son Thomas dead on Tuesday with one of two weapons she stored under her bed in her room in his girlfriend's condo. 

They moved her there six months ago and Anna had become worried that the pair were plotting to move her into a home.  

On Monday morning, Blessing hid two pistols inside her house robe and walked into her son's room and show him twice.

One bullet struck his neck and the other pierced his jaw. 

She then turned the gun towards her son's girlfriend, who has not been named, but the 57-year-old was able to wrestle it out of her hands.   

It was at that point, Blessing allegedly reached into her robe pocked and pulled out her second weapon, which the girlfriend also managed to wrestle out of her hand.

All out of guns, Blessing simply took a seat in a recliner chair and waited for the police to arrived.

As she was arrested, she announced: 'You ended my life, so I'm taking yours.' 

Israel Hit By Second Earthquake in 24 Hours; Emergency Teams

A second earthquake in less than 24-hours rattled Israel’s north and central regions on Wednesday night. Reports in the Israeli media listed the quake as a 4.3 on the Richter scale, eclipsing the one felt earlier in the day which ranked at 4.1. The epicenter of the quake was listed as being close to the border with Syria and Jordan just south of the Golan Heights.

Worried citizens who felt the quake contacted emergency services and reported feeling the tremors. One rescue service, United Hatzalah issued the following statement:

“United Hatzalah Dispatch and Command Center hotline of 1221 fielded dozens of calls by concerned citizens reporting feeling an earthquake in Israel’s north and central regions.

As of the time of this message, no physical injuries have been reported. United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Team, which provides emotional and psychological stabilization to anyone suffering emotional or psychological stress or trauma, has been instructed to put all volunteers in the north and center of the country on standby in order to provide immediate assistance to anyone who needs it

Hailen Schacher MISSING in the Mountains!

A 17-year-old Jewish teen has gone missing in Ulster County, and police have released details to the public.

Missing is 17-year-old Hailen M. Schacher of Ellenville, NY. She was last seen on Monday. She is 5 foot 6, 120 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a necklace with a Magen David on it, and a black color watch.

She has an illness which requires her to take her medication.

If you have any information that can assist police, please call the Ellenville Police Department at 845-647-4422.

It should be noted that although Catskills Hatzolah is involved in the search, it remains a law enforcement search as of this time, and no official search has been organized. Hatzolah stresses that people should not be offering assistance, but just to keep their eyes and ears open if they see this individual

Reform Rabbis remove 'Aleinu' prayer because it Offends Goyim

The Israeli Reform movement has decided to expunge a prayer recited by Jews for thousands of years due to concerns that it is offensive to non-Jews.

According to the Hebrew-language Makor Rishon newspaper, the Israeli Reform movement is in the final stages of editing a new prayer book. The culmination of four years of labor, the new prayer book will replace the previous edition that was last edited in 1982.

The updated liturgy will also include major alterations to the classical 'Aleinu' prayer. Recited by Jews at the end of its thrice-daily prayers for over a millennium, the prayer thanks God for creating the Jewish people and proclaims the supremacy of the traditional Jewish belief system.

The wording of the prayer upset Jerusalem's Kol Haneshama Reform congregation, who decided to phase out parts that dismissed non-Jewish belief systems after deciding that it was "problematic".

According to Reform spiritual leader Alona Lisitsa, who teaches at their Hebrew Union College's Jerusalem campus, the changes were made in order to render the prayers less disparaging towards non-Jews. "This is a historic procedure for the movement," she told Makor Rishon. "We tend to replace the prayer that is formulated with negative language to a prayer that is formulated with positive language."

Professor Dalia Marx, who is tasked with overseeing the prayer book, maintained the alternations were strictly cosmetic and did not change Aleinu's meaning. "We don't feel that we need to bring down others or nullify others in order to cite our uniqueness," she told 103FM's Eral Segal in an interview on Wednesday.

"To recite that 'they bow to nothingness and vanity and pray to a God that does not save' means that their belief is worth nothing," Marx added.

Traditionally believed to have been written by the biblical leader Joshua, the Aleinu prayer had been altered in the past by medieval European Jewish communities, who feared that the phrases belittling other religions brought on mortal danger by their wrathful Christian neighbors.

Other than the Aleinu prayer, the Reform prayer book will feature other changes as well, such as featuring contemporary Israeli poetry and returning elements of the Shabbat liturgy that had been left out in the previous edition.

Chassidim Play the "not sitting near women" Game with Austrian Airlines

The pilot of an Austrian Airlines flight had to leave the cockpit and convince several women to change their seats after haredi Orthodox men refused to sit next to female passengers.

The Friday morning flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna left 40 minutes late and was delayed for another half hour in Austrian airspace after failing to miss the morning rush hour, Ynet reported.

The 26 haredi men had been scheduled to fly to Vienna on the Polish national airline LOT, but when that flight was cancelled moved to the Austrian Airlines flight.

Stewardesses on the flight reportedly tried to convince the men to take their assigned seats but those next to women refused. Eventually, the pilot came out and convinced several women to move their seats, Ynet reported.

Austrian Airlines said in a statement: “We regret any inconvenience which may have been caused to our passengers. The flight was delayed due to the boarding and seating of passengers of the LOT airline whose flight had been cancelled and who boarded the plane at the last moment. Since it was a large group of passengers, 26 people, the cabin crew did everything in its power to help the passengers as much as it could.”

The incident comes a week after an El Al flight from New York to Israel was delayed by more than an hour after four haredi Orthodox men refused to take their assigned seats next to women. Two women eventually agreed to change their seats in order to allow the flight to take off.

Days later, the company CEO announced that the airline will “immediately” remove any passenger who refuses to sit next to another passenger for any reason, hours after a major Israeli tech company announced it would no longer fly its employees on the airline due to gender discrimination.

One year ago, an Israeli court ruled that El Al cannot ask women to move seats to accommodate a man who does not want to sit next to a woman. The court was responding to a lawsuit filed by a female Holocaust survivor in her 80s.