So How Much is a "ke'Zayis?

 When I was a kid growing up I knew what a "ke'zayis" was. I looked at the olives sold in the appetizing stores and I knew immediately how big or small an olive was. I could eat a "large" olive in about 30 seconds and that was with no front teeth. 

As I grew older and had a family, I suddenly saw "sefarim" being sold that debated how large an olive was? 

I learned in very well known yeshivos, my Rosh Yeshiva was a Talmud muvhak of the late Brisker Rav in Europe pre-WW2, and when we learned about "shiurim" no one mentioned how large an olive was. One could just go across the street and see one in a jar in the grocery store.

Let me tell you about the seder my father z"l ran.

My father z"l was a Holocaust survivor from a "heimishe" family and had a "mesorah" going back generations.

We all sat around the Seder Table, my father looked regal in his kittel and recited the haggada in Yiddish! He then took a piece of potato which he dipped into salt water and gave each one of us a piece. He didn't measure how much he gave, he just gave it as he saw by his own father.  

Of course when we are dealing with  "karpas" the Measurement is a "half an egg" there is no talk of "ke'zayis" here! Why that is, you can ask by the "ma nisthana?

When it came to Matza, my father z"l would not measure but broke a piece of matza, and placed it into each of our hands. He did not use a ruler, he didn't look at the latest "Pesach manuals" which stated that one has to literally choke down two "kzayisim" which they estimated to be a whole matza and a half in 20 seconds or less. He did what he saw by his father who saw it from his father who was a talmud of the Ksav Sofer,

I only found out about these "measurements" when I was a father of many children bl"eh, myself. When I asked my previous classmates what their fathers did, they said that their fathers also used no measurements but estimated what they thought was "ke'zaysim'. 

Now the new "talmeidei chachamim" buy these laminated ruler charts, sit around measuring "karpas, Marror, Matza. ..the whole flavor of the seder revolves around how much and how fast one can gulp down and entire kilo of matzah, and the story of Yetzias Metzrayim is now me imagining and picturing my poor grandfather, and grandmother running out of mitzrayim holding on tight to their laminated ruler charts choking down their dry burnt matzos. 

So how much is a "kezyis" ... you would think an olive, Right? 

No, these new "talmeidei Chachamim" that were manufactured in the litvishe Yeshivos fabricated a new measurement of how large an olive is.They don't really care how large or small an olive really is, because that would be too easy, they suddenly became farmers and they and only they know the measurement of a kzayis. 

I have seen large olives, lots of them, thank you, and never saw that the volume of an olive would be larger or equal to 3/4 of a matza? Never! 

So I'm glad that I came across an article by RationalistJudaisiam that puts  a light on the this whole mess!

The Kezayis Revolution Continues!

Good news for the Jews! The recent trend of insisting on ever-larger sizes of matza that need to be eaten on Seder night continues to be challenged. The latest work, released into the public domain, is called Zayit Ra'anan, by a Sefardic Torah scholar. You can download it at this link. I haven't had time to study it properly, but the numerous haskamot alone are fascinating in their diversity. Some of the rabbanim are greatly unnerved, some admit that the arguments seem compelling but are afraid to say that anyone other than "the Gedolim" can decide these things, and others forthrightly state that it is obviously true that a kezayit is the size of a contemporary olive.

The monograph that I wrote on the evolution of the kezayis, from the size of an olive to a matzah ten times that size, seems to be the most popular piece that I have ever published. It's now incorporated in my book Rationalism vs. Mysticism, which you can purchase at this link.

Here is a list of other posts relating to this topic:

Matzah/Maror Chart for Rationalists - so that you, too, can have a chart!

The Popularity of Olives - exploring why this paper is so popular and yet hated by some.

Why On Earth Would One Eat A Kezayis?  - discussing the strange notion that one should aim to eat a kezayis of matzah on Seder night.

The Riddle of the Giant Kezayis Defense - wondering why many people would not accept that a kezayis is the size of an olive.

Maniacal Dishonesty About Olives - exposing an error-ridden critique that appeared in the charedi polemical journal Dialogue.

It's Krazy Kezayis Time! - discussing the view that one should eat a huge amount of matzah in a very short time in order to fulfill all opinions.

The Kezayis Revolution - announcing the fabulous sefer by Rabbi Hadar Margolin, which presents the same arguments that I brought but in a more yeshivish manner. He also brings an astonishing array of evidence that many recent charedi gedolim likewise held that a kezayis is very small, including even the Chazon Ish! Best of all, the entire sefer can be freely downloaded.

Brisker "Chumreh Checkers" Checking Matzos ...

 

3rd Grader Sends Letter to his murdered Rebbe

 

Many eulogies have been written and heard regarding the five precious souls murdered in Bnei Brak. 

Here is a slightly different eulogy, a letter from an third grader in the Or David school, written to the family of his teacher, Rabbi Avishai Yechezkel:

Loosely translated

“To the family of Rabbi Avishai,

"Shalom. I wanted to tell you that Rabbi Avishai Yechezkel was a very good rabbi who always played with us, taught us well, and was like a real father to us. He would even hold lotteries and throw parties for us with rolls and sausages.

“He never missed a chance to teach us something. He would always teach us and spoil us, and I hope we will have another rabbi like Rabbi Avishai. He wanted to teach us the Pesach Haggadah, he wanted us to learn more psalms with him. He would learn with us and make us a Shabbat cake, bring candy, snacks, and always recite psalms with us and would not let a second go by without Torah in it. He would teach and we would learn all the time.

"Now my heart doesn’t feel well. It is very difficult for me, but at least his stories will stay with us, and also the lessons he taught us as he wrote them down in his beautiful handwriting. And my heart doesn’t feel well but I am sure he is now in the best place, the closest to HaShem and close to the tzadikim.

"And I want to make him happy in Heaven by doing what he always told us to do: 

'Be careful about the honor of your friend.'

1. Study well. 

2. Be nice to your friends. 

3. Happily help your friends.

4. Speak with clean language.

"You were privileged to have a father like this."

Lev Tahor Cult Leaders Nachman Helbrans And Mayer Rosner Sentenced To 12 Years

 

This is the same group that Yitzy "the frank" Frankfurter of Ami Magazine said were "pious Jews"..

A federal judge has sentenced Lev Tahor cult leaders Nachman Helbrans and Mayer Rosner to 144 months (12 years) in prison followed by 5 years of supervised released for the 2018 Shabbos kidnapping of two children who escaped the cult

Back in November of 2021, Helbrans and Rosner were found guilty on all six charges they faced, including conspiracy to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and conspiracy to commit international parental kidnapping.

Several other Lev Tahor cultists have been arrested in connection with the case, including brothers Yoel, Yaakov, and Shmiel Weingarten, who were picked up by Guatemala authorities earlier this year.

They are expected to be extradited to the United States to face charges and a trial.

Three others in the United States are reportedly cooperating with authorities.

YWN has been at the forefront for more than 10 years fighting the Lev Tahor cult – with dozens of articles over the years. Many victims of the Lev Tahor cult who managed to escape say they were terribly abused sexually, suffering constant violent beatings, forced starvation and other horrific abuse. The world is a safer place now that these two monsters are behind bars. Our hope is that the rest of the leadership in charge of this cult are arrested and thrown behind bars.

Many emails and phone calls from desperate parents and siblings of cult members who were unfortunately sucked into this nightmare and have lost contact with their loved ones. Most importantly, all possible efforts should be made to save children who are being dragged around the world now as this cult is on the run. Rescuing these children is literally Pikuach Nefashos.

Lev Tahor was founded and led by Shlomo Helbrans, from the 1980s until his drowning death in Mexico in 2017. Since then, the leadership has moved into the hands of his son Nachman Helbrans, along with Mayer Rosner, and Yankel and Yoel Weingarten – who are even more radical and aggressive than the late founder.

 Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter of Ami Magazine claimed  the following sentence below their headline, “The unjust persecution of a group of pious Jews, and the unsettling silence of the Jewish community.”

Ben Gvir Ascended the Har Habayit and Guess What – Nothing Happened

Otzma Yehudit Chairman MK Itamar Ben Gvir ascended the Temple Mount Thursday morning accompanied by police. Meanwhile, the police kept all the other Jews waiting at the entrance until Ben Gvir was done. There was great fear of a Hamas attempt to disrupt the visit with violence.

On Wednesday night, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum issued a warning to Ben Gvir “against approaching the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the group’s PC name for what Muslims have named for centuries “Bait al-Maqdis,” literally “The Temple.” Barhoum also warned: “We place responsibility on the Zionist occupation for the impact and consequences of this dangerous, provocative move.”

They care so much.

In response to a question from News 12, MK Ben Gvir said that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett did not try to prevent him from ascending. “I am the landlord of the State of Israel,” the MK told the cameras. To qualify: he didn’t mean that he, alone, was the landlord (Ba’al Ha’Bait) – all the Jews are.

Walking around the holiest Jewish site in the world, Ben Gvir sent a quaint message to the Hamas spokesman: “I suggest you shut your mouth.”

“Throughout the night, the Hamas spokesman was threatening me that I was their target so I won’t go up to the Temple Mount,” he said, adding, “I don’t understand why the Hamas spokesman is not eliminated in a targeted assassination. He is a terrorist like all the other terrorists and you don’t deal with terrorists in weakness and submission, like adding Waqf terrorists and restricting the number of Jews who can go up to the mountain. We need to stop this because weakness and submission invite terrorism.”

Palestinians Celebrate, Hand out Candy After Terror Attack that Killed 5

 

Palestinians in multiple cities came out in droves to celebrate a shooting attack by a terrorist in a Tel Aviv suburb on Tuesday evening that killed five people.

The terrorist, identified as Diaa Hamarsheh, 26, a Palestinian from near the West Bank city of Jenin, smuggled into Israel illegally and began a shooting spree with an M16 assault rifle in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak in central Israel, as Breitbart News reported.

Palestinians celebrated outside Hamarsheh’s family home and in other Palestinian cities later that evening.

Dozens of pictures and videos emerged of Palestinians all over the West Bank and Gaza handing out sweets as per the tradition in the aftermath of a deadly attack against Israelis.

One of the victims, Avishai Yehezkel, 29, was shielding his two-year-old son when the Palestinian terrorist sprayed bullets at him. His son remained in the street after his father was murdered. Apart from the toddler, Yehezkel was survived by his wife, who is eight months pregnant.

Hillary Clinton fined by FEC for lying about Steele dossier payments ..Trump right once again!

 

The Federal Election Commission has fined both Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee for lying about how they spent money used to fund the now-debunked Steele dossier on former President Donald Trump.

The Clinton campaign and the DNC will be forced to pay $8,000 and $105,000 respectively for mislabeling payments that ultimately went to Fusion GPS, the consulting firm that commissioned the dossier, according to FEC documents viewed by the Post.

The fines stem from a complaint originally filed in 2018 by the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, which was informed of the outcome on Tuesday.

The Clinton campaign and the DNC paid more than $1 million combined to powerful Democratic law firm Perkins Coie, which engaged Fusion GPS to dig for dirt on Trump. Fusion GPS, in turn, hired former British spy Christopher Steele — whose namesake dossier included allegations that Russian security services possessed a tape of Trump in a Moscow hotel room with prostitutes who were supposedly urinating on a bed where the Obamas had previously stayed.

Hey Blinkin "Get the Hell Out of Jerusalem"

 

Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King on Monday called on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to leave the city, saying he was “unwelcome” in the Israeli capital and that his presence was “creating a bad feeling.”

Blinken, who was in Israel for the first leg of a brief tour of the Middle East and North Africa, had tweeted a condemnation of the terror attack in Hadera on Sunday evening, which claimed the lives of two Israeli Border Police officers.

“We condemn today’s terrorist attack in Hadera, Israel. Such senseless acts of violence and murder have no place in society. We stand with our Israeli partners and send our condolences to the families of the victims,” he wrote.

The Islamic State terrorist organization took credit for the attack, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

In an English-language typo-laden reply, King wrote: “Dear sir. May I ask you as a deputy mayor of Jerusalem, the Jewish holy capital, to leave our city? You are not welcome at all. Your visit to Jerusalem is creating a bad feeling [among] most … Jerusalem residents. It seems that you intend to create [a] provocation. Please leave our capital.”

King, a right-wing politician and activist who has a history of making controversial statements, was appointed deputy mayor in 2020.

He is the founder of the Israel Land Foundation, which works to purchase Arab-owned property in Israel, and has been active in legal efforts to reclaim Jewish-owned land in eastern Jerusalem, including the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. His home in the city’s Ma’aleh Zeitim neighborhood has been repeatedly attacked, including with firebombs.

Footage From Policeman’s Body Camera Shows How Bnei Brak Terrorist Was Eliminated By Heroic Officers

 

תיעוד מדהים מחיסול המחבל אתמול בבני ברק ע"י השוטרים אמיר חורי ז"ל וע' ממצלמת הגוף.
מנעו אסון גדול ולצערנו גם שילמו מחיר יקר.
צל"ש. ותודה. pic.twitter.com/yTdTIrsWt5

— Josh Breiner (@JoshBreiner) March 30, 2022

A day after the brutal terror attack in which five people lost their lives on the streets of Bnei Brak, footage from a body cam held by the policeman who succeeded in neutralizing the terrorist shows how the two policemen riding on a motorcycle bravely confronted the terrorist, with one of them, Amir Ghori, paying with his life.

The footage shows the two speeding past other police cars after they were radioed the street where the terrorist was shooting at passersby. The two arrived at the scene within 6 minutes of the start of the incident and succeeded in identifying the terrorist. The policeman sitting behind, known by the initial Ayin, told his friend Amir to “be careful” but immediately the terrorist opened fire from point blank range, mortally injuring Amir. Ayin then managed to shoot the terrorist and neutralize him despite having only a pistol. At the end of the clip, Ayin informs the other officers that there is no need to continue shooting as the terrorist is dead. 

After 18-Year Legal Battle, Ateret Kohanim Moves Into Hotels Near Jaffa Gate

 

After an 18-year legal battle between the Ateret Cohanim association and the Greek orthodox church, members of Ateret Cohanim finally took possession of the Petra hotel and Imperial hotels, according to a Haaretz report. The hotels are strategically situated on the left side of Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

In June 2019, The Jerusalem District Court ruled that Ateret Cohanim had legal rights over three large areas in strategic locations in the Old City of Jerusalem, currently populated by mostly Arab residents. In 2004, three foreign real estate companies signed under a veil of great secrecy three different contracts with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate which owned the assets.

The publication of the deal in 2005 led to a crisis in the Greek Church in Jerusalem, which ended in the unprecedented dismissal of the patriarch Irenaios Skopelitis. His successor, Theophilus III, tried to deny the deal and cancel it, but the Supreme Court upheld it.