Sunday, October 13, 2024
Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney Spends Yom Kippur in Synagogue
Paul McCartney, 82, was photographed attending Yom Kippur services at a synagogue in Santiago, Chile, alongside his wife. The former Beatle was seen wearing a kippah during the Yom Kippur prayer services.
The photos captured the legendary musician participating in the services. McCartney, who previously performed in Israel in 2008 despite BDS boycott pressures, was later honored with the Wolf Prize in 2018.
The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for “achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of nationality, race, color, religion, sex or political views.
IDF Sends "Kapparos" to Hezbollah Via a Missile!
IDF soldiers say: This bomb will go to Hezbollah.
And we will go towards a good life and peace.
Syrian Rebels Taking Advantage of Israel/Hezbollah War ..Attack Pro-iranian Militias
Syrian rebels are attacking a position held by pro-Iranian militias. This front is heating up after threats were made for the pro-Iranian militias to leave the country.
Eyewitness Account When A Jew Defied the British Murderers and Blew the Shofar on Yom Kippur at the Kotel!
The following account is based on the memoirs of Rabbi Moshe Segal (1904-1985), a Lubavitcher Chassid who was active in the struggle to free the Holy Land from British rule.
In those years, the Western Wall did not have the large plaza we know today. There was a narrow alley for the Jews to pray, squeezed between the sacred stones of the Kotel and the Arab houses of the Mughrabi Quarter.
The British Mandatory government had imposed strict regulations, forbidding even the smallest sign of permanent sanctity. No Torah ark. No tables or benches. Not even a stool. The Jewish worshippers who gathered in the alley faced rules that seemed designed not just to limit their physical space, but to humiliate them at the very heart of their faith, at their holiest place of worship.
The prohibitions ran deep. Jews were forbidden to pray aloud, lest their voices disturb the Arab residents living nearby. Torah readings were exiled from the Kotel to the synagogues of the Jewish Quarter, as if the word of God could not be voiced at His most sacred site. And the sound of the shofar — symbol of Israel’s redemption and sovereignty — was silenced on the holiest days of the Jewish year. British policemen stood watch, enforcing these edicts with cold efficiency.
Give Me a Shofar!
It was Yom Kippur, 1930. I was standing among the worshippers at the Kotel, the air thick with the solemnity of the day. Between the Musaf and Minchah prayers, I overheard whispered conversations. “Where will we go to hear the shofar?” someone asked. “It is impossible to blow here. The police are everywhere — more of them than us…”
Even the police commander was present, to make sure that the Jews would not, God forbid, sound the blast that marks the close of the fast.
As I listened, a quiet resolve began to stir within me. Could we truly allow the shofar to be silenced? The shofar that proclaims God’s sovereignty over all creation? The shofar that blasts out the promise of Israel’s redemption? True, the custom of blowing the shofar at the end of Yom Kippur is just that — a custom. But a Jewish custom is Torah!
I approached Rabbi Yitzchak Horenstein, the rabbi of our ‘congregation’ and said quietly, “Give me a shofar.”
“What for?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“I will blow the shofar.”
His gaze flickered toward the policemen standing nearby. “What are you talking about? Don’t you see them?”
“I will blow,” I repeated.
Rabbi Horenstein turned away abruptly, but not before casting a quick glance toward the prayer stand at the end of the alley. I understood his unspoken message: the shofar was inside the stand.
As the time for blowing the shofar approached, I moved toward the prayer stand. My heart raced. I leaned casually against the stand, my fingers finding the drawer. Quietly, I opened it and slipped the shofar beneath my shirt. It was mine now. But what if they saw me before I had the chance to blow?
I was still unmarried at the time, and following the Ashkenazic custom, did not wear a tallit. I turned to the man praying beside me. “May I borrow your tallit?” I asked, my voice low but urgent. He looked at me with confusion. My request must have seemed strange to him, but the Jews are a kind people, especially at the holiest moments of the holiest day. Without a word, he handed me his tallit.
I wrapped the tallit around me, feeling its warmth and protection. Beneath its folds, I felt as though I had created my own private domain. Outside, a foreign government prevailed, ruling over the people of Israel even on their holiest day and at their holiest place, and we are not free to serve our God. But under this tallit, I was under no dominion save that of my Father in Heaven. Here I shall do as He commands me; and no force on earth will stop me.
As the congregation reached the final words of the Ne'ilah prayer — “Shema Yisrael,” “Blessed be the Name,” “The Eternal is God” — I took a deep breath. With one swift motion, I lifted the shofar and blew a long, resounding blast that echoed against the ancient stones.
Israel Caves to US Pressure and will not attack Iran's nuclear sites or Oil Facilities !
American officials believe Israel has narrowed down the list of targets it will strike in retaliation for Iran's massive ballistic missile attack two weeks ago and will not strike any of Iran's nuclear facilities, NBC News reported.
According to the report, Israel is planning to strike Iranian military and energy infrastructure sites. However, a final decision on which sites to strike has not yet been made.
On October 1, Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles at Israel in the largest ballistic missile attack in history. The vast majority of the missiles were intercepted, though the attack sent millions of Israelis into bomb shelters.
US President Joe Biden has stated or hinted at his opposition to Israel striking Iran's nuclear facilities or fields. The day after Iran's attack, Biden stated, “The answer is no," in response to a reporter's question about whether he would support an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites. He added that while Israel has the right to respond to the attack, it should do so “proportionally” without elaborating on what that means.
At another press briefing, Biden stated, "If I were in their shoes, I'd be thinking about other alternatives than striking oilfields."
Sources have told CNN that Tehran is "extremely nervous and has been engaging in urgent diplomatic efforts with countries in the Middle East" to determine whether it is possible to either reduce the scope of Israel's response or to garner aid in protecting Tehran.
The source added that Iran is very concerned about Israel's relation due to the "uncertainty about whether the US can convince Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear sites and oil facilities," as well as from the blows that Hezbollah, Iran's most powerful proxy in the Middle East, has sustained in Israel's operation in southern Lebanon.
Secret Documents Show Hamas Leaders Cited the Left's Opposition to Netanyahu's "Judicial Overhaul" as "political upheaval" in advancing Its Oct. 7 Attack
According to secret documents reviewed by The New York Times, Hamas had originally intended to launch the October 7 attack, codenamed “the big project,” in the fall of 2022. However, the plan was delayed as Hamas sought to secure the involvement of Iran and Hezbollah in the operation.
The documents indicate that Hamas leaders cited Israel’s internal instability, likely referencing the political upheaval surrounding Prime Minister Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul, as a key reason for advancing a strategic confrontation. In July 2023, Hamas sent a senior official to Lebanon to meet with a high-ranking Iranian commander, requesting assistance in targeting sensitive sites as part of the planned assault.
While Iran and Hezbollah expressed general support for the operation, the Iranian commander indicated they needed more time to fully prepare. The documents do not specify the extent of the plans shared with these allies, but they do reveal that Hamas intended to provide more details at a follow-up meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. It remains unclear whether that meeting took place.
Despite the uncertainty of full participation from Iran and Hezbollah, Hamas decided to move forward independently, partly to preempt Israel from deploying a new advanced air-defense system. Another factor driving the decision was Hamas’s desire to disrupt the growing momentum toward normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
In the two years leading up to the attack, Hamas deliberately avoided significant escalations with Israel in order to maintain the element of surprise. Leaders stressed the importance of making Israel believe that Hamas in Gaza sought peace. The documents further reveal that Ismail Haniyeh, a key Hamas figure, had been briefed on the plan. It had not been previously confirmed whether Haniyeh, who was killed by Israel in Tehran in July, was aware of the attack before it occurred.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)