The Jewish baby who grew up to become a priest - then returned to Judaism

 

Yaakov and Rabbi Chanoch Gechtman

On a winter night in 1943, a young, frightened woman knocked on the window of the Vashkinel home in a small town not far from Vilna.

The woman quickly handed Amelia Vashkinel a small, tightly wrapped bundle containing a baby, who was just a few days old. That night was preceded by several secret meetings held between Amelia and Batya, the baby’s mother, who knew she had been sentenced to death and wanted to save her son.

With the Holocaust at its peak, Amelia was afraid to take in a Jewish baby and raise him. She explained to the mother that if it became known that he was Jewish she would be put to death. But Batya, determined to save her son at all cost, told Amelia: “You are a Christian. When he grows up he’ll be a priest and a teacher.”

Amelia hesitated, weighing the pros and cons of taking in the baby, and in the end decided to give life to the helpless baby in her arms.

Batya whispered the child’s name and disappeared into the darkness. “You had a very Jewish family name,” the adoptive mother told her son, when she revealed the secret to him 35 years later. “But I very quickly forgot it. I was afraid it would be a death sentence. And so I didn’t want to remember anything from that night.”

This is the story of that child, Yaakov, whose life has taken many turns. He discovered conclusively that he was a Jew when he was a senior priest in Poland. In recent years, however, his life has come full circle.

Yad L’Achim has been at Yaakov’s side during this process, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly. It provided him with sacred Jewish objects, and more. Recently, an extraordinary meeting was held between Yaakov and Rabbi Chanoch Gechtman, head of Yad L’Achim’s counter missionary department.

At the meeting, Yaakov was moved by the sound of the shofar, which he compared to the deep cry of a long-lost son returning to his father.

“This is my story, the baby that was taken captive,” Yaakov responded with great emotion.

Everyone in the room was moved by the sight of an 81-year-old Jew who had lost his Jewish identity as a baby during the Holocaust, returning to his people.

Yaakov added: “Look at how amazing things turned out. Hashgacha [divine providence] arranged things such that from a young age I was a teacher and then a priest. I never married, which means I never married a non-Jew, and I never had non-Jewish children. I imagine that had things worked out differently, it would have been much more difficult for me to leave everything and return to the religion of my fathers.”

Yaakov now lives in Jerusalem and works for Yad Vashem. He continues to enjoy a warm connection with Yad L’Achim.

'Money Heist' actors in hot water for supporting Israel?

 

Money Heist is one of the most popular television series in Israel in years and two of its stars have even visited the Jewish state, but it seems their affinity for the country is now costing them in terms of popularity in the world, or at least online.

In a recent interview with Channel 12 News to mark the premiere of the series' fifth season, the show's actors praised Israel and complimented the country and its security forces.

When asked about his trip to Israel, actor Darko Peric, who plays the character "Helsinki" in the show, answered: "It was a wonderful experience, and I hope to come back. I know there are a lot of fans here, and the people here are great. When people travel to Israel they always talk about the strict security arrangements and meticulous police activity. But when I got here, even the policemen wanted to take pictures with me. It was great."

Spanish-Armenian actor Hovik Keuchkerian (who plays the character "Bogotá"), also complimented the Jewish state, saying he had "heard wonderful things about Israel." Keuchkerian also praised the original Israeli Netflix action-drama series Fauda.

As expected, the comments sparked the consternation of online activists, anti-Zionists and keyboard warriors, who are now calling for Money Heist to be boycotted.

"While millions of fans of Money Heist eagerly await the fifth season, actors from the successful show interviewed with the Israeli press, expressed support for the Israeli occupation and praised its criminal activity against Palestinian civilians," said one person on Twitter.

"What a disgrace," wrote another.

Some of the social media commenters called on actress Alba Flores, who plays the character "Nairobi," to respond to her colleagues' remarks. In May, during Operation Guardian of the Walls in Gaza, Flores tweeted support for the Palestinians and condemned Israel's military activity.

Others went to IMDB, an online database of information related to films, television programs and more, and posted critical statements against the actors for their support of Israel.

"Our voices must reach the show's producers to make it clear to them that their actors' expressions of support for Israel will not go without a response," one individual wrote.

Taliban says it is willing to establish relations with all countries including the US - except Israel

 

The Taliban are willing to establish relations with all countries except Israel, a spokesman for the Islamist militant group has announced.

Suhail Shaheen told Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik: 'In a new chapter if America wants to have a relation with us, which could be in the interest of both countries and both peoples, and if they want to participate in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, they are welcome.'

But he went on: 'Of course, we won't have any relation with Israel. We want to have relations with other countries, Israel is not among these countries.'

The Taliban has a history of supporting al-Qaeda, which routinely makes threats against the State of Israel and uses anti-Semitic rhetoric in its jihadist propaganda.  

Last month, Shaheen caused surprise when he gave an interview to Israel's Kan public broadcaster. Just hours after it aired, the Taliban spokesman tweeted that he had been 'duped' into giving it.

'I do many interviews with journalists every day after the falling of provincial centers of Afghanistan and the capital Kabul to the Islamic Emirate,' he said. 

'Some journalists maybe masquerading but I haven't done interview with any one introducing himself he is from an Israeli media.'

Last Jew "The Get Refuser" leaves Afghanistan to the USA

 

They should have left there, for the Taliban to make a chulent from him, and that would have freed his wife .... but the misguided "askanim" got him out and now his wife continues to be chained by this scum!

The last Jew in Afghanistan, Zabulon Simantov, has left the country and is now in route to the United States.Simantov, 62, born in the western Afghanistan city of Herat, is also a divorce-refuser who refuses to grant his estranged wife living in Israel a bill of divorce.

Several days ago he left his home in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and was taken by bus along with close to 30 other Afghans fleeing the country, mostly women and children, to a border crossing with an unnamed neighboring country, KAN News reported.

Despite the recent takeover of Afghanistan by the extremist Taliban movement, Simantov had refused to leave the country and had said he was not worried by the new regime.

In recent days however, he became increasingly concerned by the threat to his life from the Afghan branch of Islamic State and other terrorist groups, and finally decided to leave.

Over the last few weeks, Moshe Margaretten, a prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi in Brooklyn, New York, and Israeli-American businessman Moti Kahana attempted to convince Simantov to leave the country and facilitated his departure, although Simantov initially refused.

Over the last few days he completed his journey to a border crossing and is now in neighboring Tajikistan before continuing on his way to the US.“I think what changed his mind is that his neighbors told him ‘Leave and take our children with you because our children are in danger,’” Kahana told KAN News.

Guards May Have Aided Escapees in Israeli Prison Break

Arab security prisoners rioted and set fires in seven cells in Israeli prisons on Wednesday in protest of new restrictions in the wake of the escape of six highly dangerous prisoners from Gilboa Prison on Monday. A prisoner at Gilboa prison threw boiling water at a prison guard.

Most of the rioters are followers of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Since five of the six escapees were PIJ terrorists, including four serving life sentences, over 400 prisoners were moved in order to scatter members of PIJ in separate cells.

The six escapees were high-security prisoners, between 26 and 49 years old, who had all committed deadly terror attacks in Israel. Three of them had attempted to escape in the past. Police suspect that some prison guards may have assisted the escapees and prison service staff members are being questioned by the police. Other guards failed to properly fulfill their duties, including the one that was in the guard tower above the escape tunnel who was asleep during the escape.

Walla News reported that according to a preliminary investigation, the prisoners coordinated the escape with accomplices outside the prison with smuggled cell phones. The accomplices were waiting outside the prison with an escape car, changes of clothing, and weapons.

The most well-known among the escapees is Zakaria Zubeidi, 46, who was a commander in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed group affiliated with Fatah, during the second intifada from 2000-2005, and responsible for multiple terror attacks resulting in the murder of numerous Israelis.

One senior police official said that the escape is one of the worst such incidents in Israel’s history.

Cops Place Siege On Chassidishe “Illegal Rosh Hashanah Minyan” During Lockdown

In Ripponlea tonight pic.twitter.com/2h4a2lpKyA

— Eddie Jim (@EddieJim2) September 7, 2021

A tense stand-off outside a Melbourne Shul has ended with police warning all adults who illegally gathered that they will be found and fined.

Up to 30 people are now believed to have attended a Rosh Hashanah Minyan, which let police and media in a stand-off with on Tuesday night as they gathered for the first night of Yom Tov.

Six people have been been fined $5,452 for breaching public health orders.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Russell Barrett has told other Mispalilim to come forward and turn themselves in.

He’s vowed to hunt down every adult inside the Shul and fine them.

‘I’m appalled,’ he said on Wednesday morning. ‘Come forward, identify yourself.

‘My instruction to my investigators today is every person at the gathering will receive a penalty notice.’

Supporters stood outside the Shul in Ripponlea, Melbourne on Tuesday night as the Rosh Hashanah continued inside.

There was initially believed to be 100 people inside, but police downscaled the estimated number to around 30 on Wednesday.

Police guarded every exit from the Shul to swoop on worshippers as they left, but many instead took to the roofs of nearby buildings to escape.

But a well-known Jewish community activist said that “Melbourne felt somewhat like Nazi Germany this year Rosh Hashana.. as police sieged a Shul for 14 hours”.

The activist, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions, said the following:

“We have ZERO COVID cases in the heimishe community of Ripponlea. Over 90% of the 40+ age group are double vaxxed. We asked for a legal way to daven outdoors on Rosh Hashanah, citing “bottle shops and building sites’ that are open for 50-100 people, some even spent thousands in the courts to try to push it through – and the government gave us zero. This prompted some people to go early to a shul (5:30am) and locked themselves in – no noise at all. Unfortunately, some local non-Jewish neighbors were up at 5:00AM and filmed some people going in Tuesday morning and sent the footage to the media. Police surrounded the block like there was a terrorist attack – and they did not leave until Wednesday night. This is appalling and disgusting.”

Father Of 10 From Beit Shemesh Killed In Crash As Bus left Uman

 

Tragedy struck in Ukraine on Motzei Rosh Hashanah, as a Young father lost his life in a serious crash while travelling to the airport in Kiev after spending Rosh Hashanah in Uman.

 A minibus was travelling from Uman to the Kiev Airport, when it was involved in a serious crash. Around 11 victims were injured.

One victim in the crash died at the scene.

He was identified as Reb Avrohom Lavy Z’L, 44, a Sanzer chassid and resident of Beit Shemesh, the son of Reb Hershey of Boro Park. He is a son-in-law of Reb Yechezkel Silverman of Williamsburg. Tragically, he leaves behind a  wife and ten children. Ichud Hatzalah and ZAKA were both on the scene and working with local authorities to ensure proper Kavod Hames.

The other victims appear to all be in stable condition. Four lightly injured passengers received first aid treatment at the scene of the accidents and were evacuated to local hospitals.

Extensive efforts are being made by ZAKA, the Chabad shaliach in Kiev, the members of the Kiev Chevra Kadisha and Israeli diplomats in Kiev to bring the niftar to Israel for kevurah before Shabbos as well as to bring in his parents and relatives from the US for the levaya.

Reb Lavy, z’l, moved to Beit Shemesh after his marriage, and grew close to Breslev through HaRav Avraham Tzvi Kluger, a Breslover mashpia.

A heartbreaking video shows Hatzalah volunteers and other Yidden reciting Kaddisha at the scene.

Lost Tribe of Bnei Menashe Sample their First Gefilte Fish

 

Five hundred and twenty-five Bnei Menashe olim from India who claim they are the descendants of a lost tribe of Israel are gearing up for their first Rosh Hashanah in the Jewish state. The olim, some of whom reside in Shavei Israel’s absorption center in Achziv, moved to Israel from Manipur, India, thanks to the efforts of Pnina Tamano Shata, Minister of Aliyah and Integration, the Jerusalem-based nonprofit Shavei Israel, and the Jewish Agency.

Part of the Bnei Menashe’s preparations for the High Holidays included a Gefilte Fish tasting – a traditional dish associated with the Jewish New Year. Shavei Israel, which has lobbied for the Aliyah of the Bnei Menashe community for the past 20 years, presented the dish to the community members for the first time. Some loved the dish, while others politely declared it to be “an acquired taste.

“After 2,700 years of exile, the descendants of the Bnei Menashe are finally returning to their ancestral homeland,” says Michael Freund, Founder, and Chairman of Shavei Israel. “There is no better time for them to begin their new lives in the land of their ancestors than the beginning of the Jewish New Year. The history of this special community, which preserved its connection to the people of Israel and the Land of Israel down through the generations, is exciting and inspiring, and I would like to wish each of them a Shanah Tova U’metuka, a good and sweet New Year, for the first time in their ancestral homeland.”

The Bnei Menashe, or sons of Manasseh claim descent from one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, which were sent into exile by the Assyrian Empire more than 27 centuries ago. Their ancestors wandered through Central Asia and the Far East for centuries before settling in what is now northeastern India, along the borders of Burma and Bangladesh. Throughout their sojourn in exile, the Bnei Menashe continued to practice Judaism just as their ancestors did, including observing the Sabbath, keeping kosher, celebrating the festivals, and following the laws of family purity. They continued to nourish the dream of one day returning to the land of their forefathers, the Land of Israel.

Thus far, Shavei Israel has made the dream of Aliyah, immigration to Israel, possible for over 4,500 Bnei Menashe and plans to help bring more members of the community to Israel. Another 6,000 Bnei Menashe are awaiting their return to the Jewish homeland.

'The escaped terrorists may be anywhere in Israel'

 

srael Police Operations Directorate officer Avi Biton on Monday warned that the six terrorists who escaped the Gilboa Prison may be anywhere in Israel, Maariv reported.

"I don't know if the six prisoners are together or if they split up," Maariv quoted Biton as saying. "From our perspective, all scenarios are possible."

He added that in the situational assessment conducted by himself and the Israel Police Commissioner, we have several working assumptions. We don't have an intelligence picture, but our worst-case working assumption is that they are all sentenced to life in prison for acts which harm civilians. We understand that there is potential here for a terrorist attack or a largescale attack.

Health Min: Prayers should be lead by people who received booster shot

 

The Health Ministry has issued recommendations for the Rosh Hashanah holiday ahead of the beginning of the holiday at Sunday tonight.

According to the recommendations, services should be held outdoors, and only people who have received a coronavirus vaccine booster shot should lead the services or blow the shofar.

If the prayer leaders or shofar blower has not received three doses of the vaccine, then they should present a recent negative coronavirus test.

All worshippers are instructed to wear their masks indoors throughout the duration of the services. The one who blows the shofar is allowed to remove his mask in order to perform his task but must keep it on at all other times. In addition, the shofar blower is instructed to blow in the direction of an open window and away from the congregants. If the shofar blower has not received the booster shot, then he should cover the opening of the shofar.