Friday, September 30, 2005
Kummunique - Issue 2, Parshat Nitzavim 5765
Kummunique - Kumah's Shabbat Bulletin
Issue 2, Nitzavim 5765
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SHANNA TOVA!!!!! Welcome to the second Kummunique. We have great articles
for your reading pleasure - just print this baby out, and enjoy it
throughout your Shabbat and Rosh Hashanna holiday.
In this issue you will find:
1. From Malkah's table: Rosh Hashanna fruits
2. Dvar Torah by Yishai Fleisher
3. What Israel can learn from the Statue of Liberty... by Zev Orenstein
4. Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides by Ezra Halevi
5. Assorted Aliyah News
6. Rosh Hashanna Past: writings from Ben, Ze'ev and Malkah from two
years ago!
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1. Dear Kommemiyutniks!
Rosh Hashanah fast approaches - time to make that New Year's Resolution to
come home to Israel and to make Israel an even better home for you, me, and
all our good brothers and sisters.
Rosh Hashanah in Israel is a time of family and friends, where people get
together not just to heap plates full of delicious homemade food, but to
heap blessings on each other's heads. Many families take part in a "Rosh
Hashanah Seder", a custom which is now trickling down throughout the exile,
as well. So get thee to the local super or makolet, and scavenge these
delectables, for good eating and a good year.
We dip apples in honey or sugar to signify our wish for a sweet new year.
We eat different vegetables whose names are an allusion for the good.
We eat carrots (which in Yiddish are mehren also meaning 'increase'). We
ask the Almighty for our merits to increase.
We eat leeks, (which in Aramaic are karasai, also meaning 'to cut off'.) We
ask HaShem to cut off our enemies.
We eat beets, (in Aramaic silka), also meaning 'remove and pray that our
adversaries be removed.
We eat dates, (in Aramaic tamrai) and ask HaShem that our enemies be
consumed (yetamu).
We eat gourds (eg. Pumpkin, squash), in Aramaic kara, and ask the A-mighty
to tear (kara) our sentences and proclaim (kara) our merits.
We eat pomegranates and ask that our merits should be as numerous as the
seeds of a pomegranate.
We eat fish with a request to be fruitful and multiply like fish.
We eat (or at least mention) the head of a sheep or a fish with the wish
that the Jewish people should be the leaders (heads) of nations.
Add your own symbolic foods, and you'll be full before the meal even
starts! Full of food and full of blessings. (Thanks to our good friends at
Aish for their help in creating this list - www.aish.com)
The Kumah family, of course, won't miss its opportunity to bless you, as
well. May the good L-rd bless all of you with health, happiness, and
success this year, as well as friendship, love and fun! May He give us all
a sense of the greater Jewish destiny, and may He let us know how best to
be a part of it. And may He allow us to merit to celebrate the fulfillment
of these blessings, together in the Land of Israel.
Happy New Year.
Malkah
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2. Dear Kumah,
What connects repentance (TESHUVA) and return (LASHUV)?
Man's natural state is that of connection to G-d, while 'sin' is a state of
disconnect from G-d and from a natural state of being. Returning to G-d, is
a return to the natural state, and therefore real repentance is essentially
a process of returning.
This is also true for the Nation of Israel as a whole. However, when
dealing National repentance, there is an added factor: that of returning to
the Land of Israel. When the Jewish people repent and return to G-d, G-d
brings them back to His abode - to the Land of Israel. The natural state of
the Jewish people is to dwell (LASHEVET) in the Land of Israel, the "Land
which your fathers possessed."
Devarim 30:
1. "So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the
blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them
(VEHASHIVOTA) to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you,
2. and you will return (VESHAVTA) to the LORD your God and obey Him with
all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and
your sons,
3. then the LORD your God will restore (VESHAV) you from captivity, and
have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples
where the LORD your God has scattered you.
4. "If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD
your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back.
5. "The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers
possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply
you more than your fathers.
To return to Hashem is to dwell in the Land. Dwelling in the Land, is a
form of repentance itself as the RAMBAM tells us that one who is buried in
the Land of Israel - his sin are forgiven.
Reunification!
To return to Hashem is to reunify with ones nature.
To return to our National Jewish nature is to dwell on the Land.
For ALL the Jewish people to be reunited in the Land of Israel is true joy,
as King David tells us:
PSALM 133:
1. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell (SHEVET) together in unity!
2. It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron's beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3. It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing--life forever.
Mt. Hermon, is the tallest peak in the Land of Israel, and it looks down on
ALL the Children of Israel, sitting together in unity in the Land - what
can be more good and more pleasant than that?
Shabbat Shalom and Shanna Tova!!!
Yishai
Yishai@Kumah.org
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3. What Israel can learn from the Statue of Liberty...
by Ze'ev Orenstein http://israelperspectives.blogspot.com/
The United States of America has always been known as a country that has
welcomed immigrants from all over the world (In this post, I'm not going to
discuss the times when the US seemingly closed her doors on those who
needed her most).
In the harbor of New York, the gateway of immigrants to the United States,
stands proudly the Statue of Liberty, upon which one finds the following
words etched in stone (written by the Jewish Poetess Emma Lazarus):
Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...
The time has come for the State of Israel to take these words to heart.
In todays Ha'aretz we find the following troubling report:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/629290.html
Israel is set to deport a young ultra-Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn suspected
of having intended to assassinate Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Israel Radio
reported Monday.
The case is believed to be the first time that Israel has sought
deportation of a Jew for alleged intentions to commit security violations.
Perhaps the raison d'etre for the establishment of the State of Israel, a
basic definition that nearly all can agree upon, was that the Jewish People
would never again be homeless and defenseless. Every Jew who so desired
could come home to the Land of Israel, and live proudly, freely and
securely as a Jew. It is for this very reason that among the very first
laws legislated by the State of Israel was the Law of Return, granting
immediate and automatic citizenship to any Jew, from anywhere in the world,
who chose to move to Israel.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Politics/return.html
Equally troubling are those that argue that Israel should only accept Jews
who can support themselves financially, or otherwise not burden the state,
as candidates for citizenship.
http://amechad.blogspot.com/2005/09/restrict-aliya-and-taxes.html
Whether one is religious, and as such believes that the Land of Israel is
promised to the Jewish People by G-d, or if one is secular, and believes in
the right of the Jewish People to self-determination and sovereignty in
their historical homeland - in either case, no one has the right to refuse
any Jew from living in Israel.
Every Jew in the world, whether rich or poor, religious or secular, right
or left, criminals and convicts have a right to live in Israel. If a Jew is
poor, then the Jewish State of Israel will extend her hand in kindness to
him. If a Jew is sick, there must always be a bed in a hospital in Israel
to care for him. If a Jew is a criminal, then he has the right to sit in a
jail cell in the Land of Israel.
The State of Israel is not meant to serve as some type of exclusive country
club for elitist Jews where only those deemed desirable by the powers that
be may be admitted.
Perhaps the State of Israel should build a monument of her own, on which
the words of Jeremiah (and the unceasing prayer of Rachel Imeinu) will be
engraved:
V'shavu Banim L'Gvulam... / And the children (of Israel) will return to
their borders (the Land of Israel)
The children of Israel - the Jewish People - all of them... No questions asked.
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[This article is included as falling under the Neo-Zionism rubric. As the
center of Jewish life returns to center around Israel, so too our classical
Jewish Jurisprudence is taking form - the Sanhedrin. Furthermore, this
article deals with the budding Bnei Noach movement, non-Jews seeking the
Jewish approach to Gentile worship - a testament to the 'Light Unto the
Nations' nature of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel - Ed.]
4. Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides
By Ezra Halevi http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=90646
A council of non-Jewish observers of the Seven Laws of Noah has been
selected and will be ordained by the reestablished Sanhedrin in Jerusalem
this January.
B'nai Noach, literally "Children of Noah," known as Noahides, are non-Jews
who take upon themselves the Torah's obligations for non-Jews - consisting
of seven laws passed on from Noah following the flood, as documented in
Genesis (see below).
Until now, Noahide communities and organization had been scattered around
the globe, with a particular concentration centered around the southern
United States. The communities themselves are a relatively recent
phenomenon bolstered by the fact that the Internet has allowed individuals
sharing Noahide beliefs to get in touch with one another.
The court of 71 rabbis, known as the Sanhedrin, which was reestablished
last October in Tiberius following the reinstitution of rabbinic semikha,
decided, after numerous requests from the Noahide community, to assist the
movement in forming a leadership council.
Rabbi Michael Bar-Ron, with the Sanhedrin's blessing, travelled to the
United States to meet with representatives of the Noahide movement and
select members for the High Council. Bar-Ron, an ordained student, talmid
samukh, who currently sits on the Sanhedrin, is also one of the Sanhedrin's
spokesmen.
Bar-Ron organized a small conference in California where six of the
council's future members were selected and also addressed the annual
convention of the Vendyl Jones Research Institute - one of the Noahide
organizations represented on the council. At the VJRI convention, Bar-Ron
met five more of the Noahide leaders who will be joining the council.
The purpose of the council, which was the brainchild of Rabbi Avraham
Toledano, is to assist the B'nei Noach in their struggle to observe the
word of G-d. "The goal is to unify, serve and organize all kosher B'nei
Noach communities of the world under a single body that can operate under
the direct authority and supervision of the Sanhedrin," the decision to
establish the body reads. "To form a vessel through which the Torah, from
Zion (via the Sanhedrin) can effectively serve non-Jewish communities
around the world."
A third goal of the creation of the High Council and the Sanhedrin's
efforts in regard to the Noahide community, is to "transform the Noahide
movement from a religious phenomenon - a curiosity many have not heard of -
into a powerful international movement that can successfully compete with,
and with G-d's help bring about the fall of, any religious movement but the
pure authentic faith that was given to humanity through Noach, the father
of us all," said emissary Bar-Ron.
To that end, one of the primary functions of the council will be the
creation and development of effective outreach materials for the world.
Although Judaism does not require or encourage non-Jews to become Jewish,
the observance of the Seven Laws of Noah is incumbent upon humanity and
widespread observance is to be worked toward, even through active
proselytization, something that is anathema to Judaism.
The council is also seeking to identify and contact communities around the
world who observe the Seven Laws of Noah in order to invite them to learn
more about the movement. B'nei Noach in India and Brazil are already in
touch with Noahide leaders.
Asked why the Sanhedrin would reach out to B'nei Noach before concentrating
on outreach within the Jewish community, Rabbi Bar-Ron answered: "There was
no conscious choice to ignore the issue of outreach toward other Jews, but
there is a Torah principle that a mitzva, positive precept, that comes to
your hand should be fulfilled first and should not be put off. It happens
to be that the group that showed the most outward display of support and
genuine concern for the success of the Sanhedrin - contacting us from the
very outset - were the B'nei Noach. One of the great responsibilities of
the Jewish people is to spread the laws of Noach."
Bar-Ron said he had mixed feelings as he departed for the meetings with the
B'nei Noach leaders, as he left the day the forced expulsion of Jews from
Gaza began. "I was in such a horrible heart-wrenching pain about leaving -
I almost felt like a traitor to our people. But I realized then that
although the government was detaching itself from the Land of Israel - a
partial annulment of our covenant with G-d, similar to the sin of the ten
spies - there is another aspect of the covenant that has not been pursued.
That aspect is our obligation to be a nation of priests unto the nations.
This is the core of the covenant with Abraham and it is something the
Jewish people as a nation has not involved itself in since Second Temple
times. So as the government disengaged from the covenant, I was
participating in the reengagement with an aspect of the covenant that has
been dormant."
Bar-Ron was very impressed with the B'nei Noach leaders he met. "Each of
them had a different unique talent. One was an extremely talented media
coordinator, two were great scholars of Noahide law, one was secretary of a
large successful Noahide community and research institute and one was a law
enforcement officer for a number of years. Each had the wisdom and
experience that will help them lead the movement.
All of the prospective members of the High Council are obligated to appear
in Jerusalem this coming January, at which time they will be ordained by
the Sanhedrin as members of the High Council. "One of the things I thought
would be more difficult was implementing the fact that the Sanhedrin's
steering committee unanimously voted that the High Council members must
appear personally before the Sanhedrin to be ordained as such," Bar-Ron
said. "But the level of commitment of these people is so high that it is
not posing a problem at all.
Each member was screened very carefully and accepted not only on the basis
of their high reputation, wisdom and experience - there were many dedicated
and talented B'nei Noach who we would have loved to have accepted into the
council - but for their role as representatives of entire B'nei Noach
communities or as experts in a particularly field.
The acting head of the Sanhedrin, Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, has set up a Beit
Din for B'nei Noach to serve the needs of B'nei Noach worldwide. At this
point, the council will not serve as a adjudicating body.
"It is our sincere hope that in years to come, the knowledge of the
halakha, Torah law, of the Seven Laws of Noach will grow to such a degree
that there will be true Noahide judges," Bar-Ron said. "One of the goals is
to delineate clearly the seven laws and their applications according to the
Mishneh Torah of the Rambam."
"Never before in recorded history have B'nei Noach come together to be
ordained by the Sanhedrin for the purpose of spreading Noahide observance
of laws," Bar-Ron said. "This is the first critical step of bringing about
the ultimate flowering of the brotherhood of mankind envisioned by Noach,
the father of mankind."
The Seven Laws of Noah are:
Shefichat damim - Do not murder.
Gezel - Do not steal or kidnap.
Avodah zarah - Do not worship false gods/idols.
Gilui arayot - Do not be sexually immoral (engage in incest, sodomy,
bestiality, castration and adultery)
Birkat Hashem - Do not utter G-d's name in vain, curse G-d or pursue the
occult.
Dinim - Set up righteous and honest courts and apply fair justice in
judging offenders and uphold the principles of the last five.
Ever Min HaChai - Do not eat a part of a live animal.
For more information email the Sanhedrin's secretary at: dbtc@actco.com
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5. Assorted Aliyah News:
Unique Opportunity for Aliyah-minded Dentists!
http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=90652
Nefesh B'Nefesh is facilitating a group licensing process for North
American dentists who are interested in making Aliyah. Group participants
will prepare for the Israeli dental licensing exam in the U.S. with an
experienced, professional teacher who has successfully coached dentists for
this exam.
The dental exam that follows this course will be given in the U.S. and in
English. Dentists who pass this exam will be licensed in Israel upon their
making Aliyah, provided they arrive within three years of taking the exam.
It is a 2-week intensive (full day) course, and the cost is approximately
$1000. This program is contingent on participation of a minimum of 20
dentists.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email dentists@nbn.org.il
with your name, telephone number, email, address and anticipated aliyah
date. -- Courtesy of AACI (Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel)
********
French and American Jews Boost Aliyah
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=90632
(IsraelNN.com) A spurt of new immigrants from France, the United States and
Canada has pushed total aliyah (immigration to Israel) up over the previous
year's figures, the Jewish Agency announced.
During the past Jewish year, which ends next Monday night, 23,124 new
immigrants have arrived, an increase of more than 1500 over the previous
year. North American aliyah ballooned to 2926, almost one-third higher than
in the Jewish year 5764. French aliyah grew by a similar rate to 2875, and
3887 immigrants arrived from Ethiopia, an increase of almost 20 percent.
*********
Commemorating 30 Years of Aliyah From Ethiopia
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=90043
Thirty years of immigration and absorption of Ethiopian Jewry will be
commemorated at a special ceremony tomorrow in Kibbutz Shefayim, along the
coast north of Herzliya.
The event, sponsored by Tebeka, the Legal Aid Center for Ethiopian Jewry,
will also discuss ways to maintain and strengthen communal identity among
the Ethiopian community.
Some 105,000 members of the Ethiopian Jewish community are currently living
in Israel, including 28,000 Sabras, i.e., those who were born in Israel.
Among the guests will be former Justice Minister Dan Meridor, Canada's
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, past North American Conference on Ethiopian
Jewry president Joseph Feit, and Uri Lubrani, a former Israeli Ambassador
to Ethiopia who was very instrumental in bringing thousands of Ethiopian
Jews to Israel.
Among the topics to be discussed are problems in acclimatization for
Ethiopian Jewry; the younger generation and their attitude towards their
parents' culture; affirmative action in absorption for Ethiopian Jewry; and
more.
The convention will conclude with a panel discussion summarizing 30 years
of Aliyah from Ethiopia, with the participation of people who were involved
in various aspects of absorption of the new olim [immigrants].
It won't be all talk, however. Paintings and art works, traditional foods
and musical instruments, games and literature will be on display, and
videos portraying heroic Aliyah treks from Ethiopia to Israel will be screened.
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6. THINGS WE WROTE ON THE KUMAH BLOG TWO YEARS AGO:
http://www.kumah.org/blog/archives/2003_09_21_index.php
T'ka b'Shofar Gadol L'cheruteinu
We say three times a day: "Teka b'shofar gadol l'cheruteinu, v'sa nesh
l'kabetz galuyoutenu, v'kab'tzenu yachad me'arba kanfot haaretz
(l'artzenu)" - Sound the great shofar to announce our redemption, and raise
a banner for the ingathering of our exiles, and gather us together from the
four corners of the earth (to our land). (Nusach Ashkenaz leaves out
"l'artzeinu" - to our land. I say this word anyway, because we must be
clear about the destination of kibutz galuyot!)
Why is it the shofar which will announce our return to Israel? The main
function of the shofar, as Jason said, is to call us to repent. It is a
wake-up siren, waking us from our sleep to a state where we are conscious
of our sins. Sometimes, when I wake up, I don't remember where I am, or
what time of day it is. It takes a few minutes before I am fully aware.
This is the case on the national level as well.
When we in the exile wake up this Rosh Hashana, we may feel like we are at
home. But the shofar calls to us to remind us to wake up fully, and realize
where we are - we are in exile, that is, not home, not where we are
supposed to be. We are not in exile because we have been forced here; we
are in exile because we've chosen not to return to the land which God has
given us. We can only make this choice if we are not fully awake- if we are
not conscious of our exile.
May the shofar this Rosh Hashana awake in us a new consciousness, to lead
us to a full ingathering of the exiles to our land!
K'tiva v'Chatima Tova!
- posted by Ben (Friday, September 26, 2003)
Teshuva - More than just repentance
From Rosh Chodesh Elul, when the Shofar was first blown, through the
conclusion of the Neila prayer on Yom Kippur, the main theme is Teshuva -
traditionally defined as repentance. When one considers the purpose of
teshuva, the idea is that through confessing our sins, experiencing true
remorse over having commited them in the first place and resolving not to
commit them again in the future, that we are bringing ourselves closer to
Hashem.
The Rebbi m'Slonim, in his Sefer Netivot Shalom, says that the purpose of
all the mitzvot is for one, through observing the mitvot to become closer
to Hashem. If closeness to Hashem is the purpose of performing mitzvot, as
well as being the goal of teshuva, then I suggest, that we approach this
idea of teshuva from a different perspective.
If our goal (and purpose) as a Jew is to strive to become close to Hashem,
then there is no other place more conducive towards this end more so than
Eretz Yisrael. Teshuva should be defined, not as merely repentance, but as
an actual call for us to return Home - to return to the place where we can
experience true closeness with Hashem.
"Hashiveinu Hashem Eilecha V'nashuva, chadeish yemeinu kikedem" - "Return
to us Hashem, and we shall return to you, restore things to how they once
were". Hashem has returned to us - He has given every Jew in the world the
chance to come home - it is up to us to make the move.
May this year be a year where "V'shavu banim l'gvulam" - "where the
children (the Jews) return to their borders".
Shanah tova!
- posted by Zev (Friday, September 26, 2003)
READERS!
Shalom, Readers! As Rosh Hashanah rapidly approaches, I would like to ask a
favor from all of you who care about Aliyah, from all of you who care about
the State of Israel, the Land of Israel, the People Israel, all of these or
any combination thereof: Push.
Push your friends and family to sign up with us on our website, and with
any organization that does its best to help the Jewish people/land. Push
them to support such organizations with their time, their money, and their
voices. Push them to talk about Jewish issues with THEIR friends and THEIR
families. Push them to sacrifice MANY more hours and MANY more dollars, to
the point where they wonder whether they might actually be giving too much
(the answer, I assure you, will always be "No.").
Push them to move to Israel - it's in them to do it, anyway.
Push yourself. Push yourself to dare to do more than you're comfortable
with. Push yourself to take risks for the greater good. Push yourself to
try harder, dream larger, sleep less, sweat more. Push yourself to believe.
Push yourself to believe that everything will turn out for the best
(because, honest to G-d, it will), that Faith will land Goodness right on
your doorstep, that you can accomplish more than you ask from yourself,
that naysayers aren't any wiser than optimists and that you CAN live in
Israel, you WILL find that job and you'll be better than fine, you'll be
great.
Push every Jew you ever meet to love you and to love every other Jew that
he or she will ever meet. Push them to be as much a part of our amazing
people and our amazing land as they can possibly be.
Push yourselves, dear, dear readers, to always, always arise, arise, arise.
posted by Malkah (Tuesday, September 23, 2003)
SHANNA TOVA!!! SHANNA TOVA!!! SHANNA TOVA!!! SHANNA TOVA!!! SHANNA TOVA!!!
SHANNA TOVA!!! SHANNA TOVA!!!
Issue 2, Nitzavim 5765
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SHANNA TOVA!!!!! Welcome to the second Kummunique. We have great articles
for your reading pleasure - just print this baby out, and enjoy it
throughout your Shabbat and Rosh Hashanna holiday.
In this issue you will find:
1. From Malkah's table: Rosh Hashanna fruits
2. Dvar Torah by Yishai Fleisher
3. What Israel can learn from the Statue of Liberty... by Zev Orenstein
4. Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides by Ezra Halevi
5. Assorted Aliyah News
6. Rosh Hashanna Past: writings from Ben, Ze'ev and Malkah from two
years ago!
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1. Dear Kommemiyutniks!
Rosh Hashanah fast approaches - time to make that New Year's Resolution to
come home to Israel and to make Israel an even better home for you, me, and
all our good brothers and sisters.
Rosh Hashanah in Israel is a time of family and friends, where people get
together not just to heap plates full of delicious homemade food, but to
heap blessings on each other's heads. Many families take part in a "Rosh
Hashanah Seder", a custom which is now trickling down throughout the exile,
as well. So get thee to the local super or makolet, and scavenge these
delectables, for good eating and a good year.
We dip apples in honey or sugar to signify our wish for a sweet new year.
We eat different vegetables whose names are an allusion for the good.
We eat carrots (which in Yiddish are mehren also meaning 'increase'). We
ask the Almighty for our merits to increase.
We eat leeks, (which in Aramaic are karasai, also meaning 'to cut off'.) We
ask HaShem to cut off our enemies.
We eat beets, (in Aramaic silka), also meaning 'remove and pray that our
adversaries be removed.
We eat dates, (in Aramaic tamrai) and ask HaShem that our enemies be
consumed (yetamu).
We eat gourds (eg. Pumpkin, squash), in Aramaic kara, and ask the A-mighty
to tear (kara) our sentences and proclaim (kara) our merits.
We eat pomegranates and ask that our merits should be as numerous as the
seeds of a pomegranate.
We eat fish with a request to be fruitful and multiply like fish.
We eat (or at least mention) the head of a sheep or a fish with the wish
that the Jewish people should be the leaders (heads) of nations.
Add your own symbolic foods, and you'll be full before the meal even
starts! Full of food and full of blessings. (Thanks to our good friends at
Aish for their help in creating this list - www.aish.com)
The Kumah family, of course, won't miss its opportunity to bless you, as
well. May the good L-rd bless all of you with health, happiness, and
success this year, as well as friendship, love and fun! May He give us all
a sense of the greater Jewish destiny, and may He let us know how best to
be a part of it. And may He allow us to merit to celebrate the fulfillment
of these blessings, together in the Land of Israel.
Happy New Year.
Malkah
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2. Dear Kumah,
What connects repentance (TESHUVA) and return (LASHUV)?
Man's natural state is that of connection to G-d, while 'sin' is a state of
disconnect from G-d and from a natural state of being. Returning to G-d, is
a return to the natural state, and therefore real repentance is essentially
a process of returning.
This is also true for the Nation of Israel as a whole. However, when
dealing National repentance, there is an added factor: that of returning to
the Land of Israel. When the Jewish people repent and return to G-d, G-d
brings them back to His abode - to the Land of Israel. The natural state of
the Jewish people is to dwell (LASHEVET) in the Land of Israel, the "Land
which your fathers possessed."
Devarim 30:
1. "So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the
blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them
(VEHASHIVOTA) to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you,
2. and you will return (VESHAVTA) to the LORD your God and obey Him with
all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and
your sons,
3. then the LORD your God will restore (VESHAV) you from captivity, and
have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples
where the LORD your God has scattered you.
4. "If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD
your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back.
5. "The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers
possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply
you more than your fathers.
To return to Hashem is to dwell in the Land. Dwelling in the Land, is a
form of repentance itself as the RAMBAM tells us that one who is buried in
the Land of Israel - his sin are forgiven.
Reunification!
To return to Hashem is to reunify with ones nature.
To return to our National Jewish nature is to dwell on the Land.
For ALL the Jewish people to be reunited in the Land of Israel is true joy,
as King David tells us:
PSALM 133:
1. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell (SHEVET) together in unity!
2. It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron's beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3. It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing--life forever.
Mt. Hermon, is the tallest peak in the Land of Israel, and it looks down on
ALL the Children of Israel, sitting together in unity in the Land - what
can be more good and more pleasant than that?
Shabbat Shalom and Shanna Tova!!!
Yishai
Yishai@Kumah.org
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3. What Israel can learn from the Statue of Liberty...
by Ze'ev Orenstein http://israelperspectives.blogspot.com/
The United States of America has always been known as a country that has
welcomed immigrants from all over the world (In this post, I'm not going to
discuss the times when the US seemingly closed her doors on those who
needed her most).
In the harbor of New York, the gateway of immigrants to the United States,
stands proudly the Statue of Liberty, upon which one finds the following
words etched in stone (written by the Jewish Poetess Emma Lazarus):
Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...
The time has come for the State of Israel to take these words to heart.
In todays Ha'aretz we find the following troubling report:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/629290.html
Israel is set to deport a young ultra-Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn suspected
of having intended to assassinate Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Israel Radio
reported Monday.
The case is believed to be the first time that Israel has sought
deportation of a Jew for alleged intentions to commit security violations.
Perhaps the raison d'etre for the establishment of the State of Israel, a
basic definition that nearly all can agree upon, was that the Jewish People
would never again be homeless and defenseless. Every Jew who so desired
could come home to the Land of Israel, and live proudly, freely and
securely as a Jew. It is for this very reason that among the very first
laws legislated by the State of Israel was the Law of Return, granting
immediate and automatic citizenship to any Jew, from anywhere in the world,
who chose to move to Israel.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Politics/return.html
Equally troubling are those that argue that Israel should only accept Jews
who can support themselves financially, or otherwise not burden the state,
as candidates for citizenship.
http://amechad.blogspot.com/2005/09/restrict-aliya-and-taxes.html
Whether one is religious, and as such believes that the Land of Israel is
promised to the Jewish People by G-d, or if one is secular, and believes in
the right of the Jewish People to self-determination and sovereignty in
their historical homeland - in either case, no one has the right to refuse
any Jew from living in Israel.
Every Jew in the world, whether rich or poor, religious or secular, right
or left, criminals and convicts have a right to live in Israel. If a Jew is
poor, then the Jewish State of Israel will extend her hand in kindness to
him. If a Jew is sick, there must always be a bed in a hospital in Israel
to care for him. If a Jew is a criminal, then he has the right to sit in a
jail cell in the Land of Israel.
The State of Israel is not meant to serve as some type of exclusive country
club for elitist Jews where only those deemed desirable by the powers that
be may be admitted.
Perhaps the State of Israel should build a monument of her own, on which
the words of Jeremiah (and the unceasing prayer of Rachel Imeinu) will be
engraved:
V'shavu Banim L'Gvulam... / And the children (of Israel) will return to
their borders (the Land of Israel)
The children of Israel - the Jewish People - all of them... No questions asked.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[This article is included as falling under the Neo-Zionism rubric. As the
center of Jewish life returns to center around Israel, so too our classical
Jewish Jurisprudence is taking form - the Sanhedrin. Furthermore, this
article deals with the budding Bnei Noach movement, non-Jews seeking the
Jewish approach to Gentile worship - a testament to the 'Light Unto the
Nations' nature of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel - Ed.]
4. Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides
By Ezra Halevi http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=90646
A council of non-Jewish observers of the Seven Laws of Noah has been
selected and will be ordained by the reestablished Sanhedrin in Jerusalem
this January.
B'nai Noach, literally "Children of Noah," known as Noahides, are non-Jews
who take upon themselves the Torah's obligations for non-Jews - consisting
of seven laws passed on from Noah following the flood, as documented in
Genesis (see below).
Until now, Noahide communities and organization had been scattered around
the globe, with a particular concentration centered around the southern
United States. The communities themselves are a relatively recent
phenomenon bolstered by the fact that the Internet has allowed individuals
sharing Noahide beliefs to get in touch with one another.
The court of 71 rabbis, known as the Sanhedrin, which was reestablished
last October in Tiberius following the reinstitution of rabbinic semikha,
decided, after numerous requests from the Noahide community, to assist the
movement in forming a leadership council.
Rabbi Michael Bar-Ron, with the Sanhedrin's blessing, travelled to the
United States to meet with representatives of the Noahide movement and
select members for the High Council. Bar-Ron, an ordained student, talmid
samukh, who currently sits on the Sanhedrin, is also one of the Sanhedrin's
spokesmen.
Bar-Ron organized a small conference in California where six of the
council's future members were selected and also addressed the annual
convention of the Vendyl Jones Research Institute - one of the Noahide
organizations represented on the council. At the VJRI convention, Bar-Ron
met five more of the Noahide leaders who will be joining the council.
The purpose of the council, which was the brainchild of Rabbi Avraham
Toledano, is to assist the B'nei Noach in their struggle to observe the
word of G-d. "The goal is to unify, serve and organize all kosher B'nei
Noach communities of the world under a single body that can operate under
the direct authority and supervision of the Sanhedrin," the decision to
establish the body reads. "To form a vessel through which the Torah, from
Zion (via the Sanhedrin) can effectively serve non-Jewish communities
around the world."
A third goal of the creation of the High Council and the Sanhedrin's
efforts in regard to the Noahide community, is to "transform the Noahide
movement from a religious phenomenon - a curiosity many have not heard of -
into a powerful international movement that can successfully compete with,
and with G-d's help bring about the fall of, any religious movement but the
pure authentic faith that was given to humanity through Noach, the father
of us all," said emissary Bar-Ron.
To that end, one of the primary functions of the council will be the
creation and development of effective outreach materials for the world.
Although Judaism does not require or encourage non-Jews to become Jewish,
the observance of the Seven Laws of Noah is incumbent upon humanity and
widespread observance is to be worked toward, even through active
proselytization, something that is anathema to Judaism.
The council is also seeking to identify and contact communities around the
world who observe the Seven Laws of Noah in order to invite them to learn
more about the movement. B'nei Noach in India and Brazil are already in
touch with Noahide leaders.
Asked why the Sanhedrin would reach out to B'nei Noach before concentrating
on outreach within the Jewish community, Rabbi Bar-Ron answered: "There was
no conscious choice to ignore the issue of outreach toward other Jews, but
there is a Torah principle that a mitzva, positive precept, that comes to
your hand should be fulfilled first and should not be put off. It happens
to be that the group that showed the most outward display of support and
genuine concern for the success of the Sanhedrin - contacting us from the
very outset - were the B'nei Noach. One of the great responsibilities of
the Jewish people is to spread the laws of Noach."
Bar-Ron said he had mixed feelings as he departed for the meetings with the
B'nei Noach leaders, as he left the day the forced expulsion of Jews from
Gaza began. "I was in such a horrible heart-wrenching pain about leaving -
I almost felt like a traitor to our people. But I realized then that
although the government was detaching itself from the Land of Israel - a
partial annulment of our covenant with G-d, similar to the sin of the ten
spies - there is another aspect of the covenant that has not been pursued.
That aspect is our obligation to be a nation of priests unto the nations.
This is the core of the covenant with Abraham and it is something the
Jewish people as a nation has not involved itself in since Second Temple
times. So as the government disengaged from the covenant, I was
participating in the reengagement with an aspect of the covenant that has
been dormant."
Bar-Ron was very impressed with the B'nei Noach leaders he met. "Each of
them had a different unique talent. One was an extremely talented media
coordinator, two were great scholars of Noahide law, one was secretary of a
large successful Noahide community and research institute and one was a law
enforcement officer for a number of years. Each had the wisdom and
experience that will help them lead the movement.
All of the prospective members of the High Council are obligated to appear
in Jerusalem this coming January, at which time they will be ordained by
the Sanhedrin as members of the High Council. "One of the things I thought
would be more difficult was implementing the fact that the Sanhedrin's
steering committee unanimously voted that the High Council members must
appear personally before the Sanhedrin to be ordained as such," Bar-Ron
said. "But the level of commitment of these people is so high that it is
not posing a problem at all.
Each member was screened very carefully and accepted not only on the basis
of their high reputation, wisdom and experience - there were many dedicated
and talented B'nei Noach who we would have loved to have accepted into the
council - but for their role as representatives of entire B'nei Noach
communities or as experts in a particularly field.
The acting head of the Sanhedrin, Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, has set up a Beit
Din for B'nei Noach to serve the needs of B'nei Noach worldwide. At this
point, the council will not serve as a adjudicating body.
"It is our sincere hope that in years to come, the knowledge of the
halakha, Torah law, of the Seven Laws of Noach will grow to such a degree
that there will be true Noahide judges," Bar-Ron said. "One of the goals is
to delineate clearly the seven laws and their applications according to the
Mishneh Torah of the Rambam."
"Never before in recorded history have B'nei Noach come together to be
ordained by the Sanhedrin for the purpose of spreading Noahide observance
of laws," Bar-Ron said. "This is the first critical step of bringing about
the ultimate flowering of the brotherhood of mankind envisioned by Noach,
the father of mankind."
The Seven Laws of Noah are:
Shefichat damim - Do not murder.
Gezel - Do not steal or kidnap.
Avodah zarah - Do not worship false gods/idols.
Gilui arayot - Do not be sexually immoral (engage in incest, sodomy,
bestiality, castration and adultery)
Birkat Hashem - Do not utter G-d's name in vain, curse G-d or pursue the
occult.
Dinim - Set up righteous and honest courts and apply fair justice in
judging offenders and uphold the principles of the last five.
Ever Min HaChai - Do not eat a part of a live animal.
For more information email the Sanhedrin's secretary at: dbtc@actco.com
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5. Assorted Aliyah News:
Unique Opportunity for Aliyah-minded Dentists!
http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=90652
Nefesh B'Nefesh is facilitating a group licensing process for North
American dentists who are interested in making Aliyah. Group participants
will prepare for the Israeli dental licensing exam in the U.S. with an
experienced, professional teacher who has successfully coached dentists for
this exam.
The dental exam that follows this course will be given in the U.S. and in
English. Dentists who pass this exam will be licensed in Israel upon their
making Aliyah, provided they arrive within three years of taking the exam.
It is a 2-week intensive (full day) course, and the cost is approximately
$1000. This program is contingent on participation of a minimum of 20
dentists.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email dentists@nbn.org.il
with your name, telephone number, email, address and anticipated aliyah
date. -- Courtesy of AACI (Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel)
********
French and American Jews Boost Aliyah
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=90632
(IsraelNN.com) A spurt of new immigrants from France, the United States and
Canada has pushed total aliyah (immigration to Israel) up over the previous
year's figures, the Jewish Agency announced.
During the past Jewish year, which ends next Monday night, 23,124 new
immigrants have arrived, an increase of more than 1500 over the previous
year. North American aliyah ballooned to 2926, almost one-third higher than
in the Jewish year 5764. French aliyah grew by a similar rate to 2875, and
3887 immigrants arrived from Ethiopia, an increase of almost 20 percent.
*********
Commemorating 30 Years of Aliyah From Ethiopia
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=90043
Thirty years of immigration and absorption of Ethiopian Jewry will be
commemorated at a special ceremony tomorrow in Kibbutz Shefayim, along the
coast north of Herzliya.
The event, sponsored by Tebeka, the Legal Aid Center for Ethiopian Jewry,
will also discuss ways to maintain and strengthen communal identity among
the Ethiopian community.
Some 105,000 members of the Ethiopian Jewish community are currently living
in Israel, including 28,000 Sabras, i.e., those who were born in Israel.
Among the guests will be former Justice Minister Dan Meridor, Canada's
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, past North American Conference on Ethiopian
Jewry president Joseph Feit, and Uri Lubrani, a former Israeli Ambassador
to Ethiopia who was very instrumental in bringing thousands of Ethiopian
Jews to Israel.
Among the topics to be discussed are problems in acclimatization for
Ethiopian Jewry; the younger generation and their attitude towards their
parents' culture; affirmative action in absorption for Ethiopian Jewry; and
more.
The convention will conclude with a panel discussion summarizing 30 years
of Aliyah from Ethiopia, with the participation of people who were involved
in various aspects of absorption of the new olim [immigrants].
It won't be all talk, however. Paintings and art works, traditional foods
and musical instruments, games and literature will be on display, and
videos portraying heroic Aliyah treks from Ethiopia to Israel will be screened.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. THINGS WE WROTE ON THE KUMAH BLOG TWO YEARS AGO:
http://www.kumah.org/blog/archives/2003_09_21_index.php
T'ka b'Shofar Gadol L'cheruteinu
We say three times a day: "Teka b'shofar gadol l'cheruteinu, v'sa nesh
l'kabetz galuyoutenu, v'kab'tzenu yachad me'arba kanfot haaretz
(l'artzenu)" - Sound the great shofar to announce our redemption, and raise
a banner for the ingathering of our exiles, and gather us together from the
four corners of the earth (to our land). (Nusach Ashkenaz leaves out
"l'artzeinu" - to our land. I say this word anyway, because we must be
clear about the destination of kibutz galuyot!)
Why is it the shofar which will announce our return to Israel? The main
function of the shofar, as Jason said, is to call us to repent. It is a
wake-up siren, waking us from our sleep to a state where we are conscious
of our sins. Sometimes, when I wake up, I don't remember where I am, or
what time of day it is. It takes a few minutes before I am fully aware.
This is the case on the national level as well.
When we in the exile wake up this Rosh Hashana, we may feel like we are at
home. But the shofar calls to us to remind us to wake up fully, and realize
where we are - we are in exile, that is, not home, not where we are
supposed to be. We are not in exile because we have been forced here; we
are in exile because we've chosen not to return to the land which God has
given us. We can only make this choice if we are not fully awake- if we are
not conscious of our exile.
May the shofar this Rosh Hashana awake in us a new consciousness, to lead
us to a full ingathering of the exiles to our land!
K'tiva v'Chatima Tova!
- posted by Ben (Friday, September 26, 2003)
Teshuva - More than just repentance
From Rosh Chodesh Elul, when the Shofar was first blown, through the
conclusion of the Neila prayer on Yom Kippur, the main theme is Teshuva -
traditionally defined as repentance. When one considers the purpose of
teshuva, the idea is that through confessing our sins, experiencing true
remorse over having commited them in the first place and resolving not to
commit them again in the future, that we are bringing ourselves closer to
Hashem.
The Rebbi m'Slonim, in his Sefer Netivot Shalom, says that the purpose of
all the mitzvot is for one, through observing the mitvot to become closer
to Hashem. If closeness to Hashem is the purpose of performing mitzvot, as
well as being the goal of teshuva, then I suggest, that we approach this
idea of teshuva from a different perspective.
If our goal (and purpose) as a Jew is to strive to become close to Hashem,
then there is no other place more conducive towards this end more so than
Eretz Yisrael. Teshuva should be defined, not as merely repentance, but as
an actual call for us to return Home - to return to the place where we can
experience true closeness with Hashem.
"Hashiveinu Hashem Eilecha V'nashuva, chadeish yemeinu kikedem" - "Return
to us Hashem, and we shall return to you, restore things to how they once
were". Hashem has returned to us - He has given every Jew in the world the
chance to come home - it is up to us to make the move.
May this year be a year where "V'shavu banim l'gvulam" - "where the
children (the Jews) return to their borders".
Shanah tova!
- posted by Zev (Friday, September 26, 2003)
READERS!
Shalom, Readers! As Rosh Hashanah rapidly approaches, I would like to ask a
favor from all of you who care about Aliyah, from all of you who care about
the State of Israel, the Land of Israel, the People Israel, all of these or
any combination thereof: Push.
Push your friends and family to sign up with us on our website, and with
any organization that does its best to help the Jewish people/land. Push
them to support such organizations with their time, their money, and their
voices. Push them to talk about Jewish issues with THEIR friends and THEIR
families. Push them to sacrifice MANY more hours and MANY more dollars, to
the point where they wonder whether they might actually be giving too much
(the answer, I assure you, will always be "No.").
Push them to move to Israel - it's in them to do it, anyway.
Push yourself. Push yourself to dare to do more than you're comfortable
with. Push yourself to take risks for the greater good. Push yourself to
try harder, dream larger, sleep less, sweat more. Push yourself to believe.
Push yourself to believe that everything will turn out for the best
(because, honest to G-d, it will), that Faith will land Goodness right on
your doorstep, that you can accomplish more than you ask from yourself,
that naysayers aren't any wiser than optimists and that you CAN live in
Israel, you WILL find that job and you'll be better than fine, you'll be
great.
Push every Jew you ever meet to love you and to love every other Jew that
he or she will ever meet. Push them to be as much a part of our amazing
people and our amazing land as they can possibly be.
Push yourselves, dear, dear readers, to always, always arise, arise, arise.
posted by Malkah (Tuesday, September 23, 2003)
SHANNA TOVA!!! SHANNA TOVA!!! SHANNA TOVA!!! SHANNA TOVA!!! SHANNA TOVA!!!
SHANNA TOVA!!! SHANNA TOVA!!!
Friday, September 23, 2005
Kummunique - Issue 1, Parshat Ki Tavo 5765
Kummunique
Issue 1, Ki Tavo 5765
Welcome to the first-ever, hot-off-the-presses edition of Kommunique,
Kumah's new weekly. This circular is for all the warriors of the Aliyah
Revolution, the lovers of Zion, the good guys. If you wake up in the
morning with the taste of falafel in your mouth and Adi Ran in your heart,
keep reading!
We hope to give you the opportunity to learn, be inspired, and get active -
for yourself, for your community, and for the entire Jewish people. In
turn, this grassroots dispatch is the place for you to let the rest of us
know what's going on in your part of the world - are you hosting coffee
clutches for prospective immigrants in your house once a month? Let us know.
It's time to tie up the loose ends of the Diaspora and bring the Jews
home. If you're not here in Israel yet, we look forward to meeting you on
the good side of the sea. If you are, good to see you.
In this issue you will find:
1. Kumah Update by Yishai Fleisher
2. Revising the Prayers on Behalf of Israel and the IDF by Zev Orenstein
3. Avri Ran, Father of the Hilltop Movement by Ezra Halevi
4. A Letter to the Jews of New Orleans
5. Taste of the Holy Land
6. Announcements
Enjoy! Malkah Fleisher
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1. Kumah Update by Yishai Fleisher
I am very excited that you're reading the first issue of Kummunique! Our
continuing goal is to promote American Aliyah and revitalize the atmosphere
here in Israel. The whole vision - a proud, happy, and connected Jewish
people living in the Holy Land - is something we like to call Neo-Zionism.
Neo-Zionism is an intellectual idea, but we at Kumah, want to make it an
active reality. I thought, therefore, that it would be appropriate to let
you know in this first issue of Kummunique, what projects we're up to at Kumah:
1. Currently we are hard at work on a KuMatrix flash film and it's nearing
completion! When its done, it will be put up on AliyahRevolution.com - IT
WILL BE AWESOME - stay tuned...
2. We are working with Zev Orenstein and Yaavneh Olami to start Kommemiyut,
an educational project that will take about thirty yeshiva kids in Israel
for the year, and teach them every other Friday to become Aliyah Campus
Activists on their campus in America.
3. We are starting work on a weekly Kumah email, Kummunique (which you are
reading right now) and it will include articles, Dvar Torah, and Kumah updates.
4. We received $1800 for our beautification project of Kever Rut & Yishai
(the graves of the founders of the Davidic dynasty Ruth and Jesse) in
Hebron. You too can donate: http://www.kumah.org/donations.php
5. SingOlim, our singles project is moving forward. Some positive changes
have been made to the site www.SingOlim.org and we are considering
organizing events and creating a SingOlim show on the radio.
6. Our continuing relationship with Arutz Sheva is going well. Malkah and I
are at the radio station www.IsraelNationalRadio.com where an Aliyah
Revolution show can be heard, Ezra Halevi is writing amazing articles
(included below) and Alex Traiman is promoting the best free email news
service out there found at subscribe.israelnationalnews.com
7. Our website www.Kumah.org continues to operate, with the blog being
updated regularly with great content and pictures.
The future of Kumah:
A. Since many Kumah folks are already in Israel, and its hard to keep our
presence in the US, I have formulated Kumah's three pillars of continuing
operation:
A. Expanded and continued usage of the computer: Matrix movie, A7
News, Radio, Kumah site, SingOlim, Articles, Emails, etc....
B. Teaching and working with people that are in Israel for periods
of time: Yeshiva, College, Birthright, Camps, Groups, etc.....
C. Working with Olim already here: Events, Israel Center,
Tiyyulim, Singles events, Arutz Sheva cooperation etc....
I also believe it is time for Kumah to expand to more issues, issues that
involve "Keep Making Aliyah" for Olim or "Aliyah Ba'Aretz" for Israelis.
B. Two ideas that we would like to pursue in the near future:
- Aliyah Day in Israel
- an Aliyah Revolution CD featuring the best Aliyah songs of all time.
C. WANTED We need a web-programmer who will help manage our site.
That's it! Check out the great blessings promised to the Jewish people in
this week's Parasha. May all those blessing come true for you.
All the best,
Yishai
Yishai@Kumah.org
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2. Revising the Prayers on Behalf of Israel and the IDF by Zev Orenstein
From http://israelperspectives.blogspot.com/
In Shul this past Shabbat I noticed that that when the prayer for the
Welfare of the State of Israel, as well as the prayer for the Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) was recited, there were changes made to the text of
each of the prayers.
From the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel:
http://www.internationalwallofprayer.org/IWOP-014-Prayer-for-the-Welfare-of-the-State-of-Israel.html
Our Father Who are in Heaven, Protector and Redeemer of Israel, bless Thou
the State of Israel which marks the dawn of our deliverance. Shield it
beneath the wings of Thy love; Spread over it Thy canopy of peace; Place at
her head able men, those that fear G-d, men of truth, who hate unjust gain.
(This is in place of: "send Thy light and Thy truth to its leaders,
officers, and counselors, and direct them with Thy good counsel").
From the Prayer for the IDF:
http://www.aish.com/spirituality/prayer/Prayer_for_Israeli_Soldiers.asp
May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down
before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our
fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness,
and may He send blessing and success in all their missions against our
enemies... (This is in place of: "and may He send blessing and success in
their every endeavor".)
These changes were proposed, by among others, Rabbi Zalman Melamed, Shlita,
of Beit El. http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/default.asp?category=3&rabbi=&page=2
Rabbi Ya'akov Ariel, Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan, also expressed his views on
the matter. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=88979
The prayer for the welfare of the state should continue to be recited,
"even more fervently," with added emphasis on granting ministers and
advisors sound advice "and even add a supplication to grant them more
merciful hearts and more humane attitudes."
"I recommend that the prayer for the well being of IDF soldiers omit the
clause, '...and send blessing and success in all the work of their hands.'
Not all of the hands of the IDF's soldiers are worthy of blessing and
success - only those that fight against our external enemies,"
Personally, I don't have a problem with either change. I imagine that when
these prayers were instituted by Israel's Chief Rabbinate, that this was
their original intention, and it is only now it has been decided that these
ideas must be clearly expressed.
I think that the State of Israel would be a much better place (and more
Jewish State) if we had leadership that was G-d fearing and honest (not
that the two are mutually exclusive). As for the Prayer for the IDF, I do
not wish them any success in throwing Jews out of their homes, or in any
other actions against the Jewish People - that is not why they exist. For
more on this idea, see what Rabbi Melamed has to
say. http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/viewask.asp?id=38
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3. Avri Ran, Father of the Hilltop Movement by Ezra Halevi
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/print.php3?what=news&id=90208
Avraham (Avri) Ran, the revolutionary father of the hilltop outposts, gave
a rare public glimpse into his idealism and hopes for the future as he
defended himself in a Jerusalem court last week.
"I was born to live free," Ran told the court Wednesday. "I was born on a
Kibbutz. I was injured in the army. I was released. I opened a factory.
About twelve years ago, I received agreement from my family to engage in
settlement. I took a backpack and settled on a hilltop that I had
ascertained was ownerless. A struggle ensued that continued for many years
- with Palestinians, with members of the left, and with the Israeli
government."
Ran's achievements are impressive. He founded the largest and most
elaborate organic farm in Israel using only his personal funds; building it
little by little, without any help or protection from the police or IDF.
Everything on his hilltops was built using Avoda Ivrit - Jewish labor, an
old-time Zionist concept that Ran considers critical in renewing the Jewish
connection to the land. There are also no fences surrounding any of Ran’s
hilltops. He considers fences to signify defensiveness and a willingness to
forgo that which is outside the fence. Many others have now emulated Avri's
way of settling the land - leaving the confines of the gated communities
for the biblical bounty of the barren hills and valleys of Judea and
Samaria and making them blossom.
"In the beginning I was completely alone," Ran said. "Ten or fifteen Arabs
would come. Fierce confrontations. They had to bring me a needle and thread
to stitch up my wounds. Always alone. Nobody ever heard me scream ‘ay.’ "
"Slowly a group of youngsters formed around me - teenagers who had not
found their place. I had to live with the vomit and craziness of some of
them, to sign papers at the nuthouse that we would be responsible for
others. Everything with the agreement of their parents.
"We went to another hilltop and another. The moment a community was
founded, I would move to another hilltop and the confrontations would start
anew. I was portrayed as one of the things that I had tried to escape from
my whole life - as a leader, a guru. Incorrect claims. I never agreed to be
either a politician or a shaliach tzibor, a prayer leader.
"I was apparently threatening to the neighborhood, though," Avri added.
"The phenomenon was difficult for the members of the Yesha Council of
Judea, Samaria and Gaza Communities. After years of no communities being
founded in the State of Israel through private initiative and means, it was
unacceptable to them. They said to me, ‘Avri, because of you we are not
receiving budget allocations - get down quickly!’ I answered them, ‘I am
not your emissary. I am from the Land of Israel, and me and my sweet nation
are doing things.”
"Two frameworks were created," Ran complained to the court. "On the one
hand, every government minister that came to northern Samaria would ask to
meet with me. Former Shabak chief Avi Dichter, when he was learning the
ropes, knew he could come to me to discuss legal matters or stay the night.
When the IDF brigade or district commanders had to coordinate positions in
the region they would do so with me. On the other hand, there was an
organized program of persecution - the hunt for Avri Ran.”
Ran went on to describe those who gathered around his ideology of Jewish
self-sacrifice for the Land and Nation of Israel. "Hilltop youth," Ran
mused, "hundreds of people, many of them in elite units; family men. Some
of them pilots in the IDF, some pilots of settling the land. This youth, to
differentiate from how they were portrayed in the fear-sowing media,
learned to raise sheep, to love, to help. They are my children, some the
husbands of the mothers of my grandchildren. I ask that they be proud - it
is alright. The Land of Israel is worthy of suffering on her behalf.”
Avri's Wednesday court appearance marked the end of a five-month episode,
which started with Ran's arrest during a provocative left-wing/Arab
trespass on his planted farmland, continued with a court order confining
him to a house not his own, and concluded with his arrest by the police on
August 31st while vacationing with his family on the Jordan River, after
being on the run for four months.
In April, Ran was indicted for assaulting an Arab man under aggravated
circumstances. Members of the extreme-left International Solidarity
Movement, together with local Arabs, had driven a tractor onto one of Ran's
agricultural fields, followed by a herd of goats that proceeded to eat his
produce. Ran responded to the tractor driver's refusal to move off of his
crop by pushing him and tearing the electrical wires out of the tractor. He
was almost immediately apprehended by riot police and left-wing activists
who had been waiting nearby. "When there is an Arab attack it takes the
police sometimes two or three hours to get here," Avri's wife Sharona said,
"but Avri pushes a guy off a tractor tresspassing on our property and they
arrive, with Yassamnikim, special riot police, within three minutes."
"It was an utter and complete provocation," Ran claims. "There is no basis
for doing this kind of thing - taking a herd of goats and a tractor to
trample on my crop? I did nothing wrong."
Ran was put under house arrest far from his home and family, at the house
of his twin brother, Nir Ran, a senior Shabak agent who took leave from the
service three months ago. Ran decided to violate his house arrest, "ten
minutes after it was decreed," his brother Nir said - and hopped on his
motorcycle in rejection of the court order. For four and a half months he
lived in the wild, pursued all the while by the police. He planned to show
up, with his head held high, to a court hearing at the beginning of
September, but the police pre-empted him by five days, arresting him as he
vacationed with his wife, ten kids, five grandchildren and two dogs on the
Jordan River.
"When I started the outposts, I took with me a coffee-making kit and a
sleeping bag, before climbing a distant mountain and settling there alone,"
Ran told the court. "The Arabs did not like this. There were nights full of
struggles. Violent days. From every instance rumors emerged. The Arab
imagination is an active one. Today, if a solar water heater falls off of a
roof in some Arab village, they immediately say, ‘Avri was here.’
Ninety-nine percent of the time this is incorrect.
"The Arabs are not afraid of me. They revere me. They are wary of me, yes.
Have I set out regulations? Certainly. There is not one Arab in the Shechem
region who dares to work contrary to my rules. Every Arab knows this. What
does this say? This says that there is a Jew in town, a son of Abraham our
father - that the ancient Jews have returned a little to the Land of
Israel. A Jew must be respected. An Arab, when he sees a Jew, needs to
lower his head a little bit."
Ran, who is 50, was born in Kibbutz Nir Chen, in the Negev - the older of a
set of identical twins. His grandfather, Natan Rabinovitch, was a renowned
agriculturalist, who grew the most widely consumed melons in Israel. He is
the one who changed his family name to Ran. His grandmother, Penny, was an
actress at Tel Aviv's HaBima theater. They arrived as part of the founding
core-group of Kibbutz Sha’ar HaEmekim. Ran’s father was the first child
born on the kibbutz, which his family eventually decided to leave. They
then joined the core-group founding the town of Yokne’am.
Ran's father grew up and was injured fighting in the War of Independence,
during which he met Avri’s mother. They married and founded Kibbutz Nir
Chen, which was eventually dissolved, along with their marriage.
Avri’s identical twin brother Nir rose up in the ranks of the security
department of the Shabak to become the equivalent of an IDF brigadier
general in the agency. Avri’s name came up more than a few times in the
Shabak’s Jewish Department, which has somewhat of an obsession with the
‘hilltop youth’ who worked on Avri's farm. The two brothers’ positions on
opposite sides of the political barricades never lead to any division
between them, though. He chose to be put under house arrest at his
brother's home when he was ordered to choose a location outside the
Shomron. Nir took leave from the Shabak in order to spend time with his
brother during that period.
“The Shabak, I know well,” Avri said. “It is a serious apparatus that
carries out its work with much self-sacrifice. There is in the Shabak a
fault, however, called the Jewish Department. It is deplorable. I never
spoke about this with my brother. He is in a professional position
important enough not have to deal with these matters. Matters dealing
directly with his work we never spoke about.”
Asked if he thought it created problems for his brother at work that he was
related to him, Avri answered: "I assume it created problems for him. To be
identified with someone like me in that system, especially during the era
of appointments - it creates difficulties. But we don’t talk about that
stuff between us. We are good friends - very connected. I love him. We talk
all the time. In my opinion, our paths are very similar. He doesn’t have a
beard and he goes without a kippa and is not a settler but he is a man who
is connected to the Master of the World and to the Nation of Israel. All
his life he served the State of Israel. He is also frustrated and sad at
the situation."
“Avri was never a violent man,” Nir said of his brother. “Even as a child
he was always sticking up for the weaker party. He could see an injured dog
or a child who was not accepted by the other kids and he would run to their
assistance. It is almost absurd to use the words ‘violent’ and ‘Avri’ in
the same sentence."
Nir Ran, despite his years working at the Shabak, refuses to believe the
hype fed to the media by members of the agency's Jewish Department. "In my
assessment, there is no such thing as the ‘hilltop youth.’ That is not to
say that there aren’t youths on the hilltops and in Judea and Samaria. They
are there and they are, by and large, wonderful. But when they say ‘hilltop
youth,’ it sounds like there is some organization with such a name. It
doesn't exist. This originated from the left, from the police and from all
sorts of sources with interests in presenting such a thing. Avri is the
leader representing what they termed the ‘hilltop youth’ in one respect:
That he acts as a role model for them.
"There are, in the territories, left-wing activists - mainly from the
Ta’ayush organization. They call themselves 'peace activists,' but
basically they are 'war activists.' They have a religion they call ‘peace’
- it is a fundamentalist religion that is very dangerous. They are
warmongers that sow the seeds of war in every case where there is a chance
for coexistence and peace."
At 16, Avri left the Kibbutz he was living on. He had a girlfriend older
than he that the Kibbutz did not approve of so he left and went to Sharm
el-Sheikh to work. He eventually joined the IDF, serving first in the elite
Sayeret Matkal reconnaissance unit before leaving it to join the armored
corps. He took an officers training course, finished with honors and became
a platoon, and eventually company, commander. Today he is a captain in the
reserves.
“The other soldiers admired him very much,” a fellow soldier who served
with him in the same battalion told Maariv. “He was the best officer and
the best navigator. They look at him like he’s G-d. When they would go out
to inspect a roadway in the morning he would go on foot ahead of the
armored personnel carrier - he was better than any of the Bedouin trackers.
It was important for him to show them that a Jew is also able to do such
things."
In the armored corps, Avri met Sharona, who became his wife. She had
immigrated to Israel with her parents from the United States at the age of
four.
The Rans both grew up in secular homes, deciding to return to religion "by
chance,” according to Sharona. When their oldest daughter Batya was old
enough to go to school, her mother searched for a private school to send
her to, and decided on a religious school run by the American Reform
movement. “After that I traveled overseas and when I returned I had a
religious longing,” Sharona said. “I signed up for a seminar for those
returning to religion and there it clicked. I left there an observant woman.”
“A day later she simply said, ‘I am an observant woman.’ I said ‘OK, what
do I need to do?’ ” recalled Ran. “She bought me a big black kippa and I
simply put it on.”
“Avri didn’t have any doubts. He is not a man of indecision,” said Sharona.
“When you jump in a pool, you jump. He learned and studied, but also with
religion he found his own way. With regard to his way of thinking, he
retained it fully. We have a rabbi that guides us, Rabbi Auerbach. Every
time we moved from one hilltop to another I called him and he would offer
his blessing. But the question of whether or not to move to Itamar, to
G’vaot Olam (the Ran’s current home) - Avri never asked. The rabbi once
said to me, ‘And if I had told him 'No...'? He who needs to run to the
hills should go to the hills.’ ”
The idea of founding a community of newly religious Jews connected with
Rabbi Auerbach had already been raised - the chosen location was Rabbi
Shlomo Carlebach’s community of Mevo Modi’in. The plan never materialized,
though.
Ran began to work as a contractor, preserving old protected buildings in
Tel Aviv. Then, as today, Ran insisted on only hiring Jewish workers.
Former drug addicts in various stages of rehabilitation gathered around him
from around the city and he became not only their boss, but a father
figure. Ran’s first chicken coop in Itamar was built by them. “This group
were prepared to walk through fire and water with him,” said a relative of
one of the men. “He hosted them and took care of them and paid their debts.
In that respect, it was the beginning of what they call the ‘hilltop youth’
- youths to whom Avri was a role model.”
Avri commuted every day from Moshav Beit Meir, where he bought farmland and
set up an organic chicken farm and fruit orchard while working full time as
a contractor in Tel Aviv.
The Rans then joined several other families in establishing the community
of Bat Ayin, in Gush Etzion. The Rans helped found and build the unique
community, which like Avri’s later communities, only uses Jewish labor and
has no fence. They lived there for a while, but eventually decided to move
due to differences in outlook and philosophy.
Just over ten years ago, the Rans moved to the community of Itamar, in the
Shomron. Their conditions for moving there were that the community enable
them to settle outside the fence and not invest in them financially. They
established their first farm at the edge of the community. Veteran members
of Itamar, which was surrounded by a fence and consisted of rows of
caravans, thought them insane and would only visit them armed to the teeth.
Ran tries not to attack the mainstream settlement movement, “but,” he said,
“it is impossible to settle the land with fences and barbed wire - and with
the army watching over you. There is a public here that for years has been
slaughtered - and they respond by adding more defense systems and even
giving up on being responsible for their own well being. One of the central
hallmarks of settlement was guarding your community. How can you just go to
sleep in your bed while an entire IDF company watches over you?"
Ran is particularly irked by the practice of reinforcing car-windows and
security-fences to protect Jews from stone-throwers and infiltrators. "In
Itamar, five children were killed," Ran recalled. "The rabbis said at the
funerals, ‘for every victim we will plant a tree, for every victim we will
build a new house.’ What can you expect when a person’s response to those
who throw stones at him is to build another fence.”
Ran also has harsh words for the acceptance committees in most Yesha
communities. “They destroyed settlement,” he said. “They say, ‘We want
communal life here, everyone needs to be religious - not just religious,
but with the same kippa.’ Where were we during the Aliyah from Russia? Why
didn’t we bring one million immigrants to settle here [in Yesha]? By what
right does an acceptance committee say to a family that wants to move to a
settlement, ‘You aren’t suitable.’ Why? Because the woman is a
Freicha[partier, perhaps less concerned with laws of modesty -ed.]? So
what, a Freicha is not part of the Nation of Israel?”
Soon after moving to Itamar, Ran built a chicken coop and an egg storage
room and left his contracting job in Tel Aviv. He began to slowly develop
his organic egg business into a profitable endeavor. Today, it is so
successful that even the gigantic Tnuva corporation purchases Ran’s eggs
and resells them under their own organic label.
After a year and a half on the outskirts of Itamar, during the heat of the
Oslo Accords era, Ran decided to move out to a hilltop simply called “The
Point,” a mile away from Itamar. It was the first outpost in a long series
of them. His reputation and stories of his self-sacrifice spread. Rumors of
the non-conventional settler reached far and wide and youth began to make
their way to the outposts to see for themselves that Zionism was alive and
well.
Members of the Yesha Council were displeased. They did not understand how
someone could just get up and decide that he is going to found a community.
Even Ariel Sharon visited Ran and told him, “Enough. What do you need this
for? It is preventing the flow of budgetary allocations.”
Sharon Ran described what it was like when her husband left their home to
capture his first hilltop. “He took a tent - actually just the lining of
one - and just went to the hilltop,” said Sharona. “Our mode of
communication was via a taxi radio. I would bring him food and equipment.
It was a series of obstacles to get there, despite the not-so-distant
location. We would spend the Sabbath there with a small generator. We began
to sell our assets because we needed to fund everything on our own. We sold
two houses in Jerusalem and the farm in Beit Meir. Within a year there were
four families living on ‘The Point.’ "
Ran then moved to the next hilltop, Hill 851, another mile from the
previous one along topographically difficult terrain. It could only be
reached via tractor. He stayed there for a number of months until others
joined him and settled the place. Then he continued forward.
In 1998 Avri founded G’vaot Olam, which means “The Hills of the World,” a
name Sharona came up with. “We must connect the mountain communities of
Samaria to the Jordan Valley,’ Avri told me,” recalls Sharona, “ ‘this is
an indispensable corridor of settlement.’ ”
Now G’vaot Olam is home to animal pens, fields of organic vegetables, olive
and apricot groves, a dairy, flour mill and synagogue. An efficient
marketing setup brings G’vaot Olam’s goods to every natural foods store in
Israel. Almost all of Ran’s children live at G’vaot Olam, including his
married daughters, who all met their husbands at the farm.
The houses are well-groomed and the paths are lined with flowers. There are
no locks on the doors. Instead of a fence, there is a large watch tower.
Arabs in the neighboring village of Yanoun tell all sorts of stories about
Ran, claiming that he burned their generator, that he blocked their road
and that he demands that they inform him of any changes in the status quo
that they wish to make. Left-wing activists with the Ta’ayush organization,
as well as European volunteers, have entered the village and attempted to
help the villagers fight Ran's authority using the willing media.
“The left chose Yanoun in order to show the world ‘the Sheriff of the
Hilltops,’ ” Sharona said, “the man who terrorizes. How many time have they
opened a table in Yanoun and called Avri down to settle their internal
disputes? I witnessed many such night-time phone calls. When they didn't
have water we brought it for them. What the residents of Yanoun say now can
fly from here to Uganda. As long as the leftists were not there, they
didn’t say anything. True, there is no wimpiness here. Avri is a man, and
he behaves like a man - and one who knows Ishmael and the Arabs knows that
this is the language that speaks to them. That is the condition for quiet.
They don’t understand how there is a Jew here that is unafraid.”
“I am, as a settler, an anomaly and exception," Ran concedes. "When I have
a problem with members of a certain village, I go there and solve it with
the Mukhtar, the elder of the village. Once I caught someone who came to
steal from me. I brought him to the Mukhtar. They made him an ‘arrangement’
there. Not me. Afterward, he claimed that I beat him. I didn’t touch him."
Supreme Court Justice Esther Hayot is now deliberating on whether to free
Ran to house arrest at the ranch of Ariel Sharon's former brother-in-arms
war-hero Meir Har-Tzion.
"The story of Avri Ran is one that is indicative of the entire experience
our nation is going through right now," Sharona concluded.
On the horizon lingers the reported Israeli promise to the United States
that the IDF would be ordered to destroy 'unauthorized settlement
outposts.' Avri does not wish to go into detail, but expresses
disappointment in how the struggle against the Disengagement Plan was waged
and vows that anyone, Jewish or Arab, coming to destroy his patch of the
Land of Israel will not be granted a victory.
"I think that this land belongs to me," confesses the grandfather of the
biblical/hippy hilltops. "It belongs to me, from where I am now able to be,
all the way to where I am currently unable to be. If I could, I would make
my next outpost in Jordan. It has nothing to do with the Arabs. I don't
hate Arabs. Absolutely not. I am simply indifferent to them. They are not
in my field of play at all. I am not G-d’s executioner. I am not a violent
man, but if there is a war, I will fight it."
Some of the quotations for this article were translated from a report by
NRG-Judaism
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4. A Letter to the Jews of New Orleans
Dear Fellow Jews from Katrina-Stricken New Orleans,
We continue to be saddened at the terrible tragedy that has befallen the
southern coast of the United States. We would like to express our pain and
share in your sorrow over your family's misfortune and that of the
disintegration of your community.
All of Israel is bound to and responsible for one another, and in this
spirit we pray for your welfare and wish to help out in whichever ways we can.
The prospect of rebuilding your lives in a new location must be very
foreboding. New schools, new work, new communities, new homes. Many of us,
ourselves, are facing similar challenges, though under different
circumstances - the result of the "disengagement."
Could it be that this is the right opportunity for you to rebuild with us,
here in Israel?
Aliyah to Israel in normal circumstances is not easy, from several
standpoints. But now that you have been forced to make such a sharp switch,
might it not be a good idea to grab the bull by the horns and turn it into
the ideal Zionist/Jewish turnabout?
We are living in a complex, puzzling and difficult period, with many crises
facing us both nationally and across the world. Confusion, bewilderment and
frustration are our lot at present. The challenges are great, and the
rewards can be even greater. Amidst it all, we believe in the light of the
Redemption of Israel, of the revival of the Jewish People in our Land, and
the delicate but strong light that will arise from the darkness.
Housing, employment and educational opportunities abound here in Israel,
and we can help find them for you. You can choose from small communities in
Yesha, to large cities in central Israel, and many different options in
between. We invite you to start anew here with us in the Land of Israel,
the Land of our Fathers, "to build and be rebuilt."
May we all merit to see your rebuilding together with the rebuilding of the
Land of Israel and Jerusalem.
Sincerely,
Ariel Fendel, a student of the expelled Yeshivat Torat haCahim from Gush
Katif who has now started the school year in Shoresh
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5. Taste of the Holy Land
As Rosh Hashanah comes around, this is your big chance to resolve to come
to Israel - THIS YEAR! Wherever you are, may you be blessed with a sweet
and successful New Year, filled with love and hope. Think of all the
things you're grateful for as you dig into a piping hot chunk of this
delicious bread. The rabbis require that Jews all over the world take
challah (separate a small amount of tithing) when making bread. However,
Jews outside of Israel don't get any merit for doing a mitzvah from the
Torah, because it only counts if you do it in the Land of Israel! So if
you're here, keep racking up those points, and if you're not, - just one
more reason to come home to Israel!
Round Rosh Hashanah Challah
4 cups warm water
2 Tbs. Dry yeast
4 eggs
½ cup oil
½ cup honey
2 cups raisins (or less, depending on how you like it)
14 to 15 cups of flour
1 Tbsp. Coarse kosher salt
Glaze:
1 egg, beaten
Poppy seeds
Pour warm water into a large mixing bowl. Stir in yeast and then add eggs,
oil, honey, and raisins. Mix well and add about half of the flour. Stir well.
Let mixture rest 45 minutes to 1 hour until the yeast is bubbly. This is
the first rising.
Add the salt and most of the remaining flour. Mix and knead on a lightly
floured board, adding only as much flour as necessary to be able to handle
the dough. The dough should be soft. You may let the dough rise again for
1 hour, if desired.
Separate challah with a blessing (Baruch Ata Hashem, Elokeinu Melech
HaOlam, Asher Kidishanu B Mitzvotav, Vetzivanu, L'Hafrish Challah)
Divide dough (this recipe makes 6 loaves or 4 loaves and 12 rolls).
For each loaf, take the dough and roll it out into a long strip
approximately 18 inches long by 3 inches wide. One end should be tapered
thinner. Place the thicker end in the center of a pan (like a pie pan) and
coil the strip around itself. Tuck ends under the challah.
Place challah in greased pans and let rise 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F , or 177 degrees C.
Brush the tops of the loaves with beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy
seeds. Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour for loaves, or 30 minutes for
rolls. Remove from pans and cool on racks.
Enjoy with family and friends.
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6. Announcements:
GIVE YOUR MONEY AN ALIYAH!
Kumah is run almost entirely on a volunteer basis, on donations from good
people like you. One man sends us a dollar a month! Help us spread the
message of Aliyah - it will be some of the best money you ever spent.
http://www.kumah.org/donations.php
VOLUNTEER WITH KUMAH
Do you have a special skill or hobby that you could use to further the
Aliyah Revolution? Do you simply have an itch to make a difference? Put
yourself to work for the Jewish people, and drink in the spirit of our times.
Contact Malkah at shalom@kumah.org
CALLING ALL ARTISTS
Singer? Poet? Artist? Botanist? Part of our job is to bring the
Neo-Zionist vision into the cultural atmosphere. Write, record, photograph
or paint something which speaks to the future of a better Israel, and we'll
post it on our website, www.kumah.org. Of course, you will retain the
rights to your material - we hope you make it big!
SHABBAT SHALOM!!
Issue 1, Ki Tavo 5765
Welcome to the first-ever, hot-off-the-presses edition of Kommunique,
Kumah's new weekly. This circular is for all the warriors of the Aliyah
Revolution, the lovers of Zion, the good guys. If you wake up in the
morning with the taste of falafel in your mouth and Adi Ran in your heart,
keep reading!
We hope to give you the opportunity to learn, be inspired, and get active -
for yourself, for your community, and for the entire Jewish people. In
turn, this grassroots dispatch is the place for you to let the rest of us
know what's going on in your part of the world - are you hosting coffee
clutches for prospective immigrants in your house once a month? Let us know.
It's time to tie up the loose ends of the Diaspora and bring the Jews
home. If you're not here in Israel yet, we look forward to meeting you on
the good side of the sea. If you are, good to see you.
In this issue you will find:
1. Kumah Update by Yishai Fleisher
2. Revising the Prayers on Behalf of Israel and the IDF by Zev Orenstein
3. Avri Ran, Father of the Hilltop Movement by Ezra Halevi
4. A Letter to the Jews of New Orleans
5. Taste of the Holy Land
6. Announcements
Enjoy! Malkah Fleisher
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1. Kumah Update by Yishai Fleisher
I am very excited that you're reading the first issue of Kummunique! Our
continuing goal is to promote American Aliyah and revitalize the atmosphere
here in Israel. The whole vision - a proud, happy, and connected Jewish
people living in the Holy Land - is something we like to call Neo-Zionism.
Neo-Zionism is an intellectual idea, but we at Kumah, want to make it an
active reality. I thought, therefore, that it would be appropriate to let
you know in this first issue of Kummunique, what projects we're up to at Kumah:
1. Currently we are hard at work on a KuMatrix flash film and it's nearing
completion! When its done, it will be put up on AliyahRevolution.com - IT
WILL BE AWESOME - stay tuned...
2. We are working with Zev Orenstein and Yaavneh Olami to start Kommemiyut,
an educational project that will take about thirty yeshiva kids in Israel
for the year, and teach them every other Friday to become Aliyah Campus
Activists on their campus in America.
3. We are starting work on a weekly Kumah email, Kummunique (which you are
reading right now) and it will include articles, Dvar Torah, and Kumah updates.
4. We received $1800 for our beautification project of Kever Rut & Yishai
(the graves of the founders of the Davidic dynasty Ruth and Jesse) in
Hebron. You too can donate: http://www.kumah.org/donations.php
5. SingOlim, our singles project is moving forward. Some positive changes
have been made to the site www.SingOlim.org and we are considering
organizing events and creating a SingOlim show on the radio.
6. Our continuing relationship with Arutz Sheva is going well. Malkah and I
are at the radio station www.IsraelNationalRadio.com where an Aliyah
Revolution show can be heard, Ezra Halevi is writing amazing articles
(included below) and Alex Traiman is promoting the best free email news
service out there found at subscribe.israelnationalnews.com
7. Our website www.Kumah.org continues to operate, with the blog being
updated regularly with great content and pictures.
The future of Kumah:
A. Since many Kumah folks are already in Israel, and its hard to keep our
presence in the US, I have formulated Kumah's three pillars of continuing
operation:
A. Expanded and continued usage of the computer: Matrix movie, A7
News, Radio, Kumah site, SingOlim, Articles, Emails, etc....
B. Teaching and working with people that are in Israel for periods
of time: Yeshiva, College, Birthright, Camps, Groups, etc.....
C. Working with Olim already here: Events, Israel Center,
Tiyyulim, Singles events, Arutz Sheva cooperation etc....
I also believe it is time for Kumah to expand to more issues, issues that
involve "Keep Making Aliyah" for Olim or "Aliyah Ba'Aretz" for Israelis.
B. Two ideas that we would like to pursue in the near future:
- Aliyah Day in Israel
- an Aliyah Revolution CD featuring the best Aliyah songs of all time.
C. WANTED We need a web-programmer who will help manage our site.
That's it! Check out the great blessings promised to the Jewish people in
this week's Parasha. May all those blessing come true for you.
All the best,
Yishai
Yishai@Kumah.org
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2. Revising the Prayers on Behalf of Israel and the IDF by Zev Orenstein
From http://israelperspectives.blogspot.com/
In Shul this past Shabbat I noticed that that when the prayer for the
Welfare of the State of Israel, as well as the prayer for the Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) was recited, there were changes made to the text of
each of the prayers.
From the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel:
http://www.internationalwallofprayer.org/IWOP-014-Prayer-for-the-Welfare-of-the-State-of-Israel.html
Our Father Who are in Heaven, Protector and Redeemer of Israel, bless Thou
the State of Israel which marks the dawn of our deliverance. Shield it
beneath the wings of Thy love; Spread over it Thy canopy of peace; Place at
her head able men, those that fear G-d, men of truth, who hate unjust gain.
(This is in place of: "send Thy light and Thy truth to its leaders,
officers, and counselors, and direct them with Thy good counsel").
From the Prayer for the IDF:
http://www.aish.com/spirituality/prayer/Prayer_for_Israeli_Soldiers.asp
May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down
before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our
fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness,
and may He send blessing and success in all their missions against our
enemies... (This is in place of: "and may He send blessing and success in
their every endeavor".)
These changes were proposed, by among others, Rabbi Zalman Melamed, Shlita,
of Beit El. http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/default.asp?category=3&rabbi=&page=2
Rabbi Ya'akov Ariel, Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan, also expressed his views on
the matter. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=88979
The prayer for the welfare of the state should continue to be recited,
"even more fervently," with added emphasis on granting ministers and
advisors sound advice "and even add a supplication to grant them more
merciful hearts and more humane attitudes."
"I recommend that the prayer for the well being of IDF soldiers omit the
clause, '...and send blessing and success in all the work of their hands.'
Not all of the hands of the IDF's soldiers are worthy of blessing and
success - only those that fight against our external enemies,"
Personally, I don't have a problem with either change. I imagine that when
these prayers were instituted by Israel's Chief Rabbinate, that this was
their original intention, and it is only now it has been decided that these
ideas must be clearly expressed.
I think that the State of Israel would be a much better place (and more
Jewish State) if we had leadership that was G-d fearing and honest (not
that the two are mutually exclusive). As for the Prayer for the IDF, I do
not wish them any success in throwing Jews out of their homes, or in any
other actions against the Jewish People - that is not why they exist. For
more on this idea, see what Rabbi Melamed has to
say. http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/viewask.asp?id=38
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3. Avri Ran, Father of the Hilltop Movement by Ezra Halevi
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/print.php3?what=news&id=90208
Avraham (Avri) Ran, the revolutionary father of the hilltop outposts, gave
a rare public glimpse into his idealism and hopes for the future as he
defended himself in a Jerusalem court last week.
"I was born to live free," Ran told the court Wednesday. "I was born on a
Kibbutz. I was injured in the army. I was released. I opened a factory.
About twelve years ago, I received agreement from my family to engage in
settlement. I took a backpack and settled on a hilltop that I had
ascertained was ownerless. A struggle ensued that continued for many years
- with Palestinians, with members of the left, and with the Israeli
government."
Ran's achievements are impressive. He founded the largest and most
elaborate organic farm in Israel using only his personal funds; building it
little by little, without any help or protection from the police or IDF.
Everything on his hilltops was built using Avoda Ivrit - Jewish labor, an
old-time Zionist concept that Ran considers critical in renewing the Jewish
connection to the land. There are also no fences surrounding any of Ran’s
hilltops. He considers fences to signify defensiveness and a willingness to
forgo that which is outside the fence. Many others have now emulated Avri's
way of settling the land - leaving the confines of the gated communities
for the biblical bounty of the barren hills and valleys of Judea and
Samaria and making them blossom.
"In the beginning I was completely alone," Ran said. "Ten or fifteen Arabs
would come. Fierce confrontations. They had to bring me a needle and thread
to stitch up my wounds. Always alone. Nobody ever heard me scream ‘ay.’ "
"Slowly a group of youngsters formed around me - teenagers who had not
found their place. I had to live with the vomit and craziness of some of
them, to sign papers at the nuthouse that we would be responsible for
others. Everything with the agreement of their parents.
"We went to another hilltop and another. The moment a community was
founded, I would move to another hilltop and the confrontations would start
anew. I was portrayed as one of the things that I had tried to escape from
my whole life - as a leader, a guru. Incorrect claims. I never agreed to be
either a politician or a shaliach tzibor, a prayer leader.
"I was apparently threatening to the neighborhood, though," Avri added.
"The phenomenon was difficult for the members of the Yesha Council of
Judea, Samaria and Gaza Communities. After years of no communities being
founded in the State of Israel through private initiative and means, it was
unacceptable to them. They said to me, ‘Avri, because of you we are not
receiving budget allocations - get down quickly!’ I answered them, ‘I am
not your emissary. I am from the Land of Israel, and me and my sweet nation
are doing things.”
"Two frameworks were created," Ran complained to the court. "On the one
hand, every government minister that came to northern Samaria would ask to
meet with me. Former Shabak chief Avi Dichter, when he was learning the
ropes, knew he could come to me to discuss legal matters or stay the night.
When the IDF brigade or district commanders had to coordinate positions in
the region they would do so with me. On the other hand, there was an
organized program of persecution - the hunt for Avri Ran.”
Ran went on to describe those who gathered around his ideology of Jewish
self-sacrifice for the Land and Nation of Israel. "Hilltop youth," Ran
mused, "hundreds of people, many of them in elite units; family men. Some
of them pilots in the IDF, some pilots of settling the land. This youth, to
differentiate from how they were portrayed in the fear-sowing media,
learned to raise sheep, to love, to help. They are my children, some the
husbands of the mothers of my grandchildren. I ask that they be proud - it
is alright. The Land of Israel is worthy of suffering on her behalf.”
Avri's Wednesday court appearance marked the end of a five-month episode,
which started with Ran's arrest during a provocative left-wing/Arab
trespass on his planted farmland, continued with a court order confining
him to a house not his own, and concluded with his arrest by the police on
August 31st while vacationing with his family on the Jordan River, after
being on the run for four months.
In April, Ran was indicted for assaulting an Arab man under aggravated
circumstances. Members of the extreme-left International Solidarity
Movement, together with local Arabs, had driven a tractor onto one of Ran's
agricultural fields, followed by a herd of goats that proceeded to eat his
produce. Ran responded to the tractor driver's refusal to move off of his
crop by pushing him and tearing the electrical wires out of the tractor. He
was almost immediately apprehended by riot police and left-wing activists
who had been waiting nearby. "When there is an Arab attack it takes the
police sometimes two or three hours to get here," Avri's wife Sharona said,
"but Avri pushes a guy off a tractor tresspassing on our property and they
arrive, with Yassamnikim, special riot police, within three minutes."
"It was an utter and complete provocation," Ran claims. "There is no basis
for doing this kind of thing - taking a herd of goats and a tractor to
trample on my crop? I did nothing wrong."
Ran was put under house arrest far from his home and family, at the house
of his twin brother, Nir Ran, a senior Shabak agent who took leave from the
service three months ago. Ran decided to violate his house arrest, "ten
minutes after it was decreed," his brother Nir said - and hopped on his
motorcycle in rejection of the court order. For four and a half months he
lived in the wild, pursued all the while by the police. He planned to show
up, with his head held high, to a court hearing at the beginning of
September, but the police pre-empted him by five days, arresting him as he
vacationed with his wife, ten kids, five grandchildren and two dogs on the
Jordan River.
"When I started the outposts, I took with me a coffee-making kit and a
sleeping bag, before climbing a distant mountain and settling there alone,"
Ran told the court. "The Arabs did not like this. There were nights full of
struggles. Violent days. From every instance rumors emerged. The Arab
imagination is an active one. Today, if a solar water heater falls off of a
roof in some Arab village, they immediately say, ‘Avri was here.’
Ninety-nine percent of the time this is incorrect.
"The Arabs are not afraid of me. They revere me. They are wary of me, yes.
Have I set out regulations? Certainly. There is not one Arab in the Shechem
region who dares to work contrary to my rules. Every Arab knows this. What
does this say? This says that there is a Jew in town, a son of Abraham our
father - that the ancient Jews have returned a little to the Land of
Israel. A Jew must be respected. An Arab, when he sees a Jew, needs to
lower his head a little bit."
Ran, who is 50, was born in Kibbutz Nir Chen, in the Negev - the older of a
set of identical twins. His grandfather, Natan Rabinovitch, was a renowned
agriculturalist, who grew the most widely consumed melons in Israel. He is
the one who changed his family name to Ran. His grandmother, Penny, was an
actress at Tel Aviv's HaBima theater. They arrived as part of the founding
core-group of Kibbutz Sha’ar HaEmekim. Ran’s father was the first child
born on the kibbutz, which his family eventually decided to leave. They
then joined the core-group founding the town of Yokne’am.
Ran's father grew up and was injured fighting in the War of Independence,
during which he met Avri’s mother. They married and founded Kibbutz Nir
Chen, which was eventually dissolved, along with their marriage.
Avri’s identical twin brother Nir rose up in the ranks of the security
department of the Shabak to become the equivalent of an IDF brigadier
general in the agency. Avri’s name came up more than a few times in the
Shabak’s Jewish Department, which has somewhat of an obsession with the
‘hilltop youth’ who worked on Avri's farm. The two brothers’ positions on
opposite sides of the political barricades never lead to any division
between them, though. He chose to be put under house arrest at his
brother's home when he was ordered to choose a location outside the
Shomron. Nir took leave from the Shabak in order to spend time with his
brother during that period.
“The Shabak, I know well,” Avri said. “It is a serious apparatus that
carries out its work with much self-sacrifice. There is in the Shabak a
fault, however, called the Jewish Department. It is deplorable. I never
spoke about this with my brother. He is in a professional position
important enough not have to deal with these matters. Matters dealing
directly with his work we never spoke about.”
Asked if he thought it created problems for his brother at work that he was
related to him, Avri answered: "I assume it created problems for him. To be
identified with someone like me in that system, especially during the era
of appointments - it creates difficulties. But we don’t talk about that
stuff between us. We are good friends - very connected. I love him. We talk
all the time. In my opinion, our paths are very similar. He doesn’t have a
beard and he goes without a kippa and is not a settler but he is a man who
is connected to the Master of the World and to the Nation of Israel. All
his life he served the State of Israel. He is also frustrated and sad at
the situation."
“Avri was never a violent man,” Nir said of his brother. “Even as a child
he was always sticking up for the weaker party. He could see an injured dog
or a child who was not accepted by the other kids and he would run to their
assistance. It is almost absurd to use the words ‘violent’ and ‘Avri’ in
the same sentence."
Nir Ran, despite his years working at the Shabak, refuses to believe the
hype fed to the media by members of the agency's Jewish Department. "In my
assessment, there is no such thing as the ‘hilltop youth.’ That is not to
say that there aren’t youths on the hilltops and in Judea and Samaria. They
are there and they are, by and large, wonderful. But when they say ‘hilltop
youth,’ it sounds like there is some organization with such a name. It
doesn't exist. This originated from the left, from the police and from all
sorts of sources with interests in presenting such a thing. Avri is the
leader representing what they termed the ‘hilltop youth’ in one respect:
That he acts as a role model for them.
"There are, in the territories, left-wing activists - mainly from the
Ta’ayush organization. They call themselves 'peace activists,' but
basically they are 'war activists.' They have a religion they call ‘peace’
- it is a fundamentalist religion that is very dangerous. They are
warmongers that sow the seeds of war in every case where there is a chance
for coexistence and peace."
At 16, Avri left the Kibbutz he was living on. He had a girlfriend older
than he that the Kibbutz did not approve of so he left and went to Sharm
el-Sheikh to work. He eventually joined the IDF, serving first in the elite
Sayeret Matkal reconnaissance unit before leaving it to join the armored
corps. He took an officers training course, finished with honors and became
a platoon, and eventually company, commander. Today he is a captain in the
reserves.
“The other soldiers admired him very much,” a fellow soldier who served
with him in the same battalion told Maariv. “He was the best officer and
the best navigator. They look at him like he’s G-d. When they would go out
to inspect a roadway in the morning he would go on foot ahead of the
armored personnel carrier - he was better than any of the Bedouin trackers.
It was important for him to show them that a Jew is also able to do such
things."
In the armored corps, Avri met Sharona, who became his wife. She had
immigrated to Israel with her parents from the United States at the age of
four.
The Rans both grew up in secular homes, deciding to return to religion "by
chance,” according to Sharona. When their oldest daughter Batya was old
enough to go to school, her mother searched for a private school to send
her to, and decided on a religious school run by the American Reform
movement. “After that I traveled overseas and when I returned I had a
religious longing,” Sharona said. “I signed up for a seminar for those
returning to religion and there it clicked. I left there an observant woman.”
“A day later she simply said, ‘I am an observant woman.’ I said ‘OK, what
do I need to do?’ ” recalled Ran. “She bought me a big black kippa and I
simply put it on.”
“Avri didn’t have any doubts. He is not a man of indecision,” said Sharona.
“When you jump in a pool, you jump. He learned and studied, but also with
religion he found his own way. With regard to his way of thinking, he
retained it fully. We have a rabbi that guides us, Rabbi Auerbach. Every
time we moved from one hilltop to another I called him and he would offer
his blessing. But the question of whether or not to move to Itamar, to
G’vaot Olam (the Ran’s current home) - Avri never asked. The rabbi once
said to me, ‘And if I had told him 'No...'? He who needs to run to the
hills should go to the hills.’ ”
The idea of founding a community of newly religious Jews connected with
Rabbi Auerbach had already been raised - the chosen location was Rabbi
Shlomo Carlebach’s community of Mevo Modi’in. The plan never materialized,
though.
Ran began to work as a contractor, preserving old protected buildings in
Tel Aviv. Then, as today, Ran insisted on only hiring Jewish workers.
Former drug addicts in various stages of rehabilitation gathered around him
from around the city and he became not only their boss, but a father
figure. Ran’s first chicken coop in Itamar was built by them. “This group
were prepared to walk through fire and water with him,” said a relative of
one of the men. “He hosted them and took care of them and paid their debts.
In that respect, it was the beginning of what they call the ‘hilltop youth’
- youths to whom Avri was a role model.”
Avri commuted every day from Moshav Beit Meir, where he bought farmland and
set up an organic chicken farm and fruit orchard while working full time as
a contractor in Tel Aviv.
The Rans then joined several other families in establishing the community
of Bat Ayin, in Gush Etzion. The Rans helped found and build the unique
community, which like Avri’s later communities, only uses Jewish labor and
has no fence. They lived there for a while, but eventually decided to move
due to differences in outlook and philosophy.
Just over ten years ago, the Rans moved to the community of Itamar, in the
Shomron. Their conditions for moving there were that the community enable
them to settle outside the fence and not invest in them financially. They
established their first farm at the edge of the community. Veteran members
of Itamar, which was surrounded by a fence and consisted of rows of
caravans, thought them insane and would only visit them armed to the teeth.
Ran tries not to attack the mainstream settlement movement, “but,” he said,
“it is impossible to settle the land with fences and barbed wire - and with
the army watching over you. There is a public here that for years has been
slaughtered - and they respond by adding more defense systems and even
giving up on being responsible for their own well being. One of the central
hallmarks of settlement was guarding your community. How can you just go to
sleep in your bed while an entire IDF company watches over you?"
Ran is particularly irked by the practice of reinforcing car-windows and
security-fences to protect Jews from stone-throwers and infiltrators. "In
Itamar, five children were killed," Ran recalled. "The rabbis said at the
funerals, ‘for every victim we will plant a tree, for every victim we will
build a new house.’ What can you expect when a person’s response to those
who throw stones at him is to build another fence.”
Ran also has harsh words for the acceptance committees in most Yesha
communities. “They destroyed settlement,” he said. “They say, ‘We want
communal life here, everyone needs to be religious - not just religious,
but with the same kippa.’ Where were we during the Aliyah from Russia? Why
didn’t we bring one million immigrants to settle here [in Yesha]? By what
right does an acceptance committee say to a family that wants to move to a
settlement, ‘You aren’t suitable.’ Why? Because the woman is a
Freicha[partier, perhaps less concerned with laws of modesty -ed.]? So
what, a Freicha is not part of the Nation of Israel?”
Soon after moving to Itamar, Ran built a chicken coop and an egg storage
room and left his contracting job in Tel Aviv. He began to slowly develop
his organic egg business into a profitable endeavor. Today, it is so
successful that even the gigantic Tnuva corporation purchases Ran’s eggs
and resells them under their own organic label.
After a year and a half on the outskirts of Itamar, during the heat of the
Oslo Accords era, Ran decided to move out to a hilltop simply called “The
Point,” a mile away from Itamar. It was the first outpost in a long series
of them. His reputation and stories of his self-sacrifice spread. Rumors of
the non-conventional settler reached far and wide and youth began to make
their way to the outposts to see for themselves that Zionism was alive and
well.
Members of the Yesha Council were displeased. They did not understand how
someone could just get up and decide that he is going to found a community.
Even Ariel Sharon visited Ran and told him, “Enough. What do you need this
for? It is preventing the flow of budgetary allocations.”
Sharon Ran described what it was like when her husband left their home to
capture his first hilltop. “He took a tent - actually just the lining of
one - and just went to the hilltop,” said Sharona. “Our mode of
communication was via a taxi radio. I would bring him food and equipment.
It was a series of obstacles to get there, despite the not-so-distant
location. We would spend the Sabbath there with a small generator. We began
to sell our assets because we needed to fund everything on our own. We sold
two houses in Jerusalem and the farm in Beit Meir. Within a year there were
four families living on ‘The Point.’ "
Ran then moved to the next hilltop, Hill 851, another mile from the
previous one along topographically difficult terrain. It could only be
reached via tractor. He stayed there for a number of months until others
joined him and settled the place. Then he continued forward.
In 1998 Avri founded G’vaot Olam, which means “The Hills of the World,” a
name Sharona came up with. “We must connect the mountain communities of
Samaria to the Jordan Valley,’ Avri told me,” recalls Sharona, “ ‘this is
an indispensable corridor of settlement.’ ”
Now G’vaot Olam is home to animal pens, fields of organic vegetables, olive
and apricot groves, a dairy, flour mill and synagogue. An efficient
marketing setup brings G’vaot Olam’s goods to every natural foods store in
Israel. Almost all of Ran’s children live at G’vaot Olam, including his
married daughters, who all met their husbands at the farm.
The houses are well-groomed and the paths are lined with flowers. There are
no locks on the doors. Instead of a fence, there is a large watch tower.
Arabs in the neighboring village of Yanoun tell all sorts of stories about
Ran, claiming that he burned their generator, that he blocked their road
and that he demands that they inform him of any changes in the status quo
that they wish to make. Left-wing activists with the Ta’ayush organization,
as well as European volunteers, have entered the village and attempted to
help the villagers fight Ran's authority using the willing media.
“The left chose Yanoun in order to show the world ‘the Sheriff of the
Hilltops,’ ” Sharona said, “the man who terrorizes. How many time have they
opened a table in Yanoun and called Avri down to settle their internal
disputes? I witnessed many such night-time phone calls. When they didn't
have water we brought it for them. What the residents of Yanoun say now can
fly from here to Uganda. As long as the leftists were not there, they
didn’t say anything. True, there is no wimpiness here. Avri is a man, and
he behaves like a man - and one who knows Ishmael and the Arabs knows that
this is the language that speaks to them. That is the condition for quiet.
They don’t understand how there is a Jew here that is unafraid.”
“I am, as a settler, an anomaly and exception," Ran concedes. "When I have
a problem with members of a certain village, I go there and solve it with
the Mukhtar, the elder of the village. Once I caught someone who came to
steal from me. I brought him to the Mukhtar. They made him an ‘arrangement’
there. Not me. Afterward, he claimed that I beat him. I didn’t touch him."
Supreme Court Justice Esther Hayot is now deliberating on whether to free
Ran to house arrest at the ranch of Ariel Sharon's former brother-in-arms
war-hero Meir Har-Tzion.
"The story of Avri Ran is one that is indicative of the entire experience
our nation is going through right now," Sharona concluded.
On the horizon lingers the reported Israeli promise to the United States
that the IDF would be ordered to destroy 'unauthorized settlement
outposts.' Avri does not wish to go into detail, but expresses
disappointment in how the struggle against the Disengagement Plan was waged
and vows that anyone, Jewish or Arab, coming to destroy his patch of the
Land of Israel will not be granted a victory.
"I think that this land belongs to me," confesses the grandfather of the
biblical/hippy hilltops. "It belongs to me, from where I am now able to be,
all the way to where I am currently unable to be. If I could, I would make
my next outpost in Jordan. It has nothing to do with the Arabs. I don't
hate Arabs. Absolutely not. I am simply indifferent to them. They are not
in my field of play at all. I am not G-d’s executioner. I am not a violent
man, but if there is a war, I will fight it."
Some of the quotations for this article were translated from a report by
NRG-Judaism
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4. A Letter to the Jews of New Orleans
Dear Fellow Jews from Katrina-Stricken New Orleans,
We continue to be saddened at the terrible tragedy that has befallen the
southern coast of the United States. We would like to express our pain and
share in your sorrow over your family's misfortune and that of the
disintegration of your community.
All of Israel is bound to and responsible for one another, and in this
spirit we pray for your welfare and wish to help out in whichever ways we can.
The prospect of rebuilding your lives in a new location must be very
foreboding. New schools, new work, new communities, new homes. Many of us,
ourselves, are facing similar challenges, though under different
circumstances - the result of the "disengagement."
Could it be that this is the right opportunity for you to rebuild with us,
here in Israel?
Aliyah to Israel in normal circumstances is not easy, from several
standpoints. But now that you have been forced to make such a sharp switch,
might it not be a good idea to grab the bull by the horns and turn it into
the ideal Zionist/Jewish turnabout?
We are living in a complex, puzzling and difficult period, with many crises
facing us both nationally and across the world. Confusion, bewilderment and
frustration are our lot at present. The challenges are great, and the
rewards can be even greater. Amidst it all, we believe in the light of the
Redemption of Israel, of the revival of the Jewish People in our Land, and
the delicate but strong light that will arise from the darkness.
Housing, employment and educational opportunities abound here in Israel,
and we can help find them for you. You can choose from small communities in
Yesha, to large cities in central Israel, and many different options in
between. We invite you to start anew here with us in the Land of Israel,
the Land of our Fathers, "to build and be rebuilt."
May we all merit to see your rebuilding together with the rebuilding of the
Land of Israel and Jerusalem.
Sincerely,
Ariel Fendel, a student of the expelled Yeshivat Torat haCahim from Gush
Katif who has now started the school year in Shoresh
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5. Taste of the Holy Land
As Rosh Hashanah comes around, this is your big chance to resolve to come
to Israel - THIS YEAR! Wherever you are, may you be blessed with a sweet
and successful New Year, filled with love and hope. Think of all the
things you're grateful for as you dig into a piping hot chunk of this
delicious bread. The rabbis require that Jews all over the world take
challah (separate a small amount of tithing) when making bread. However,
Jews outside of Israel don't get any merit for doing a mitzvah from the
Torah, because it only counts if you do it in the Land of Israel! So if
you're here, keep racking up those points, and if you're not, - just one
more reason to come home to Israel!
Round Rosh Hashanah Challah
4 cups warm water
2 Tbs. Dry yeast
4 eggs
½ cup oil
½ cup honey
2 cups raisins (or less, depending on how you like it)
14 to 15 cups of flour
1 Tbsp. Coarse kosher salt
Glaze:
1 egg, beaten
Poppy seeds
Pour warm water into a large mixing bowl. Stir in yeast and then add eggs,
oil, honey, and raisins. Mix well and add about half of the flour. Stir well.
Let mixture rest 45 minutes to 1 hour until the yeast is bubbly. This is
the first rising.
Add the salt and most of the remaining flour. Mix and knead on a lightly
floured board, adding only as much flour as necessary to be able to handle
the dough. The dough should be soft. You may let the dough rise again for
1 hour, if desired.
Separate challah with a blessing (Baruch Ata Hashem, Elokeinu Melech
HaOlam, Asher Kidishanu B Mitzvotav, Vetzivanu, L'Hafrish Challah)
Divide dough (this recipe makes 6 loaves or 4 loaves and 12 rolls).
For each loaf, take the dough and roll it out into a long strip
approximately 18 inches long by 3 inches wide. One end should be tapered
thinner. Place the thicker end in the center of a pan (like a pie pan) and
coil the strip around itself. Tuck ends under the challah.
Place challah in greased pans and let rise 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F , or 177 degrees C.
Brush the tops of the loaves with beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy
seeds. Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour for loaves, or 30 minutes for
rolls. Remove from pans and cool on racks.
Enjoy with family and friends.
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6. Announcements:
GIVE YOUR MONEY AN ALIYAH!
Kumah is run almost entirely on a volunteer basis, on donations from good
people like you. One man sends us a dollar a month! Help us spread the
message of Aliyah - it will be some of the best money you ever spent.
http://www.kumah.org/donations.php
VOLUNTEER WITH KUMAH
Do you have a special skill or hobby that you could use to further the
Aliyah Revolution? Do you simply have an itch to make a difference? Put
yourself to work for the Jewish people, and drink in the spirit of our times.
Contact Malkah at shalom@kumah.org
CALLING ALL ARTISTS
Singer? Poet? Artist? Botanist? Part of our job is to bring the
Neo-Zionist vision into the cultural atmosphere. Write, record, photograph
or paint something which speaks to the future of a better Israel, and we'll
post it on our website, www.kumah.org. Of course, you will retain the
rights to your material - we hope you make it big!
SHABBAT SHALOM!!
