KUMMUNIQUE

Kummunique - Kumah's Shabbat and Holiday Bulletin
Issue 3, Yom Kippur 5766
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Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique: This issue is
meant to be a Yom Kippur Companion, filled with Yom Kippur thoughts and
prayers. PRINT & POCKET this issue for those moments in Shul when you need
a pick-me-up and some focus on the Land of Israel.

In this issue you will find:

1. From Malkah's table: Slow-cooked Lamb with Barley
2. Dvar Torah: 'Yom Ha-Ki-Purim' by Yishai Fleisher
3. Al Chet - (Forgiveness For the Sins) by Ze'ev Maghen
4. The Merit of Eretz Yisrael Protects Us (from Eim HaBanim Semeichah)
5. Live Here, Die Here by B.Z. Meyer (from To Dwell in the Palace)
6. Prayer for Jews Who Live in the Diaspora
7. Aliyah News: 94-Year-Old Makes Aliyah To Be Near Family

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1. Malkah's table

Once upon a time, in a land close, close by, there was a bunch of special
people who did a bunch of special things. One of those things was a little
atonement ceremony in which they would take animals and offer them for
expiation of their sins - instead of G-d knocking them all off every year
because they were so full of failings and wrongdoings, they would offer
animals in their place. Because of their great sins and continual failure
to fully understand how to be good boys and girls, they are as of now
unable to bring these sacrifices as they used to. But one day a year, they
can pray, humble themselves and beseech G-d to forgive them and give them
the time and opportunities to finally get it right. After all - one day,
they will.

Before your Yom Kippur fast, remember the sacrifices of yore (and the
service of the future) with a taste of the life of a Hebrew. Featuring a
favorite sacrificial offering and one of the seven species for which the
Land of Israel is famous, this dish will prepare your stomach and your soul
for the happiest, holiest day of the year - the day of our forgiveness and
renewal.

Slow-cooked Lamb with Barley

1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 kilo (or about 2 lbs) of lamb shoulder, cubed
2 large onions
6 carrots or potatoes (or a mixture of the two)
2/3 cup barley
3-5 cups boiling stock or water and 1 kosher beef stock cube
chopped thyme (or cilantro or parsley) to garnish
salt and ground black pepper


Heat half the oil in a non-stick frying pan and sauté the cubes of lamb
until brown all over. Put in a large plate. Cut the onions and
carrots/potatoes into small pieces and sauté these in the remaining
oil. Add the barley and seasoning, pour in half the stock and bring the
liquid to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes. Pour the vegetables and
barley into the bottom of a crockpot (what? You mean this meal will just
sit and prepare itself all day while I take a shower, say psalms and dust
off my husband's kittel?!), cover with the lamb cubes and add enough stock
to make a gravy. Cover and cook for 6-9 hours or more. Salt and pepper to
taste. Serve in the merit of our ancestors to a table full of your
favorite holy brothers and sisters.

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2. Yom Ha-Ki-Purim

I love Yom Kippur. I love the intensity of it... and I have a secret
special custom.

Every year during the break between prayers, I read Megilat Ester, the
Purim Scroll, from cover to cover. Why do I do this? Because Yom Kippur and
Purim are very much related.

The Vilna Gaon (18th century Lithuania) explains that PURIM shares the same
letters as Yom ha-ki-PURIM -- the official Biblical name for Yom Kippur.

On Yom Kippur we spend our whole day praying in the synagogue and we don't
eat a thing.
On Purim we feast, dress up and drink to excess.
In the Yom Kippur liturgy, G-d is everywhere.
In the Purim scroll, Hashem's name is absent.
On Purim, Ester begs the King to rescind the evil order.
On Yom Kippur we pray for the King to annul any harsh decree.
On Purim our fight is against a physical enemy - Amalek.
On Yom Kippur our fight is with our own evil inclination.

Yom Kippur and Purim, positioned at opposite ends of the year, are two
sides of the same coin.

On Purim, Haman wanted to hang Mordechai, but he was hanged himself.
Furthermore, in tractate Sanhedrin (96b) it is written: "The descendants of
Haman studied Torah in Benei Berak!" That's like saying, the grandchildren
of Hitler study Torah in Benei Berak today!!! Purim is all about evil
edicts flipping over to the good - Venahafochu!!!

This is a lesson for Yom Kippur as well. G-d has the power to flip any evil
edicts arraigned against us. Only sixty years ago our people were almost
completely decimated by the Nazis. Yet instead of total destruction, a
miraculous rebirth took place and the State of Israel emerged from the
ashes of the Holocaust. On Yom Kippur, it is good to think about the
Holocaust, and about the miraculous rebirth that we undergone.

May G-d give us strength this year.
May G-d hear our thanksgiving this year.
May it be written about us this year: "On the day when the enemies of the
Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so
that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them."

Gmar Chatima Tova,

Yishai
yishai@kumah.org

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3. Al Chet - Forgiveness For the Sins Which We Have Committed

The following advertisement appeared in a Jewish newspaper in New York over
a decade ago, and was put out by an organization that has since passed on -
HaIkar. The message is more poignant than ever:

TESHUVA MEANS ALIYAH

"One should be aware that the word 'Teshuva' means first and foremost the
return to the place from which an individual departs, as it is written:
'And his return was to Rama for there was his house,' (I Samuel 7:17). Our
Rabbis by way of implication made use of the word to refer to one who
returns from his sins. Such a definition is found only in the words of our
Rabbis, and because the term was needed and could be applied in all places
and at all times, the great sages spoke of it until it became natural and
there was no other meaning attached to the word 'Teshuva', its original
meaning being all but forgotten. Yet the process referred to by the word
'Teshuva' remains as described in the first definition: a return to the
land from which we have left."

-Rabbi Yehuda Shlomo Alkalai
Petach KiChudah Shel Machat (1849)

Fellow Jews: as we enter the Ten Days of Teshuva, it is abundantly clear
that most of us continue to hold to the popular definition of teshuva,
namely "repentance." Very well. Let's start repenting…

For the sin which we have sinned before You by having "outgrown" Zionist
idealism, the power that built the State of Israel and the only force which
can sustain it.

For the sin which we have sinned before You by treating the struggle for
Jewish national existence as a spectator sport.

For the sin which we have sinned before You by praying for two thousand
years to return to a restored Zion, and then spurning it.

For the sin which we have sinned before You by loving the exile.

For the sin which we have sinned before You by offering to the State of
Israel everything but that which it absolutely must have to survive and
flourish: ourselves.

But remember that in Judaism, repentance involves three actions:
recognizing the wrong, asking forgiveness, and rectifying the situation.

MAY YOUR ALIYAH INSCRIBE THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN THE BOOK OF LIFE.

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4. The Merit of Eretz Yisrael Protects Us

Eim HaBanim Semeichah, ('A Joyous Mother of Children') by HaRav Yisachar
Shlomo Teichtal, is surfacing after 60 years of concealment as the
definitive work on the holiness of the Land of Israel and the biblical
mandate for the Jewish people to return there. HaRav Teichtal took refuge
in Hungary during the Nazi onslaught on Europe. One night, as he watched
helplessly from a synagogue attic where he and his family hid with 10 other
families, as the town below was violently emptied of Jews, he made an oath
- if G-d would save him and his family from the Nazis, he would write a
book in honor of the Land of Israel. The book would inspire every Jew to
ascend to the Land of our forefathers and help rebuild it. With almost no
books at his disposal, almost entirely from his memory of Jewish texts, he
wrote Eim HaBanim Semeichah for a year, between 1942 and 1943. In 1944, he
and his family were captured and sent to Auschwitz. In 1945, as the
Soviets advanced through Poland, the Nazis transferred HaRav Teichtal and
other prisoners inland. On the train, the Nazis gave everyone a crust of
bread. When a Ukrainian non-Jew attempted to steal the bread of a starving
Jew on the train, HaRav Teichtal fought him. The other Ukrainians, with
the complicity of the Nazis, tortured him, and then murdered him.

Eim HaBainim Semeichah lives on, a compelling reminder of G-d's plan for
His people. In this time of reflection and growth, HaRav Teichtal casts
our glance toward Jewish natural defense:

"I discovered a letter written by the author of the Tanya, to the Rebbe of
Berditchev, informing him of his release from prison in Petersburg:
I shall recount and declare that which is too great to tell. For HaShem
has done wondrously in the land. Who am I, lowly of men, that HaShem has
helped me glorify and sanctify His name… This was all HaShem's doing. He
has arranged this by virtue of the merit of the Holy Land and its
inhabitants. This is what stood by our side and will always assist in
relieving us from the oppressor and delivering us from distress." (written
5559/1799 and printed in Beit Rebbe, chap. 18)

After searching through many volumes, HaShem enlightened me and enabled me
to find a genuine source for the Ba'al HaTanya's notion. I fount it in the
Torah itself! In parashat BeChukotai it is written, And I will remember my
covenant with Ya'akov, and also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My
covenant with Avraham I will remember, and I will remember the Land
(VaYikra 26:42) Our Sages discuss why the Land is mentioned in this verse
(see their answer in VaYikra Rabbah 32:4). Based on the principle of the
Ba'al HaTanya, the explanation is quite simple. Rashi, there, comments:
"Why were they [the Patriarchs] listed in reverse order? It is to tell us:
Ya'akov, the youngest, is worthy of this [to bring about redemption]; and
if he is not [sufficiently] worthy, behold, Yitzchak is with him; and if he
is not [sufficiently] worthy, behold, Avraham is with him."

We can now take this one step further. Even if all of them are not worthy
(in the eventuality that the merit of the Patriarchs has run out), still, I
will remember the Land. That is, the merit of Eretz Yisrael will deliver
us from distress. Thus, we have a "pure" source from the holy Torah itself
that the merit of Eretz Yisrael stands above all other merits. It is even
greater than the merit of our forefathers. Therefore, even if they cannot
come to our aid, the merit of Eretz Yisrael will protect and redeem us in
our times of trouble.

Since this is so, not that we, the Children of Israel, find ourselves in
dire straits (may the Merciful One save us speedily), we certainly need the
merit of our Holy Land to protect, guard, and rescue us from our
persecutors… (First Introduction, Eim HaBanim Semeichah)

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5. Live Here, Die Here by B.Z. Meyer (from To Dwell in the Palace)

"Whoever has the privilege of dying in the holy Land is forgiven all his
transgressions and is tentitle to be bounder under the wings of the
shechina." (Zohar)

There is a story in the Yerushalmi (Kilayim 9,3) of an amora who found
himself outside Eretz Yisroel when he realized that his life was coming to
an end. He wept, saying: I am relinquishing my pearl (= my soul) in an
impure land. There is no comparison between one who lets it go in his
mother's arms, and one who lets it go in the arms of a strange woman."

In fact, our sources compare the man who dies in chutz laAretz to one who
returns a deposited item to another party, while one who dies in Eretz
Yisroel is seen as returning the item to its rightful owner. (see Tzion
Beis Chayeinu, p. 57)

The Maharsha explains that Eretz Yisroel is called "Eretz Hachaim" (Land of
life) because it is the place on earth where the descent of souls from the
upper world to the lower, and their subsequent ascent back to the upper
world, takes place. It is also the place where man was first
fashioned. This "Land of life" here on earth parallels the "Land of life"
in the Heavens, and thus any transfer of neshamos (souls) which take place,
or will take place in the end of days, occurs here. (Chiddushei Aggados,
Kesubos, 111)

Thus throughout the ages, even when living in the Land was no simple matter
and earning a livelihood here was impossible, many Jews saved their pennies
so that they could travel to Eretz Yisroel in their old age. They hoped in
this way to have the privilege of dying here. Exactly what was implied by
being "bound under the wings of the Divine Presence" may not have been
clear; but if forgiveness for transgressions could be earned this way, it
was reason enough to "play it safe." The trip was often undertaken alone,
leaving all loved ones behind, and it was always an arduous, if not also a
physically dangerous, journey. But the benefits of giving one's sould back
in the "Land of life" could not easily be dismissed. With it all, this was
still the safer place to be at the end.

Today, the miracles of easy access to our Land, and ease of ravel abroad,
can be a double-edged sword. We could learn what the sources have to say
about the importance of living here and of dying here, and seize gratefully
upon the means which enable us to do so. But unfortunately, it seems that
the availability of our Land has had a reverse effect, making the priceless
benefits cheap in our eyes.

Many put off their aliyah for one year after another, until the move
becomes, seemingly, impossible. Getting here in time to die is not longer
stressed, and many satisfy themselves with the behest that they be buried
in the holy Land.

Our sages assert that living in Eretz Yisroel assures one of entry into
olam habba (Pesachim 113). They also declare that living here "frees" one
in some way from sin (Kesubos 111, and other sources). To live in Eretz
Yisroel is to raise the level and quality of one's service in countless
ways, and as such, it is certainly the safe road to take in this
world. Clearly, every Jew should plan to live in the Land of Israel.

But, if you haven't thought much about living here, think at least of this:
Our sages in Avos remind us, "Return the day before you die." This refers
to a person's everpresent obligation to repent, since he never knows for
sure that this day will nto be his last. But it would not be inappropriate
to apply the dictum to a return to Eretz Yisroel. The Land is now
welcoming back her children, gone from her borders for centuries. On a
national level, this is a glorious spectacle. On an individual level, the
message should be: You! Return, just one day before you die…. Return to
your Land so that you may be the beneficiary of the blessings of
forgiveness and of eternal connection to the Divine Presence.

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6. Prayer for Jews Who Live in the Diaspora

Master of the Universe, have pity on me! May Your great stores of mercy
and kindness be opened to help me merit going speedily unto our holy Land -
the Land which You chose from among all other lands as an inheritance for
Israel, the people You chose from all other peoples.

The Land is the source of our sanctity, Land of true life. It is the site
of the very foundation of holiness, it is where the comprehensive
sanctification of Israel has its roots. It is the Land which You are
always concerned with, as it says in Your Torah: "Land which the L-rd your
G-d scrutinizes constantly, the eyes of G-d your L-rd are on it at all
times, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year." (Devarim
11, 12) A Land to be coveted, a good and spacious Land which has within it
the city of G-d, city of beauty, His holy mountain, focus of joy for the
whole world.

Master of the Universe, in Your infinite mercy, have pity on us, and awaken
our hearts and the hearts of our children, and the hearts of all Your
people Israel, so that we may experience yearning and great longing, and a
fervent desire for the Land of Israel. May we ceaselessly yearn, long, and
desire to reach the Land of Israel until such time as You enable us to come
speedily to our holy Land. We will then merit being aroused to true
service and fear of G-d, and there we will serve You in awe as in days of
old and in years gone by.

- Attributed to Rabbi Natan, talmid of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, base on
Likutei Tefilot LaMoharnat, 20

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7. 94-Year-Old Makes Aliyah To Be Near Family
http://www.cjnews.com/viewarticle.asp?id=7482

At 94 years old, Holocaust survivor Elizabeth Neuman could rightfully sit
back and relax.

Just prior to Rosh Hashanah, however, Neuman and her daughter Jeanniane
Sternberg sold the home they shared in Hamilton and were in the process of
packing up their belongings and preparing to move to Israel.

It wasn’t a hard decision, Neuman says. “My daughter wanted to live near
her two daughters and grandchildren who live in Israel, and I go where she
goes.”

Family is “everything” to her, she says. “I lost three sisters and three
brothers in the war, so it’s important to remain with the family we have.”

Immigrating is not new to her, says Neuman. She moved from her native
Hungary to France in the 1930s, and later moved to Canada. “It’s my third
big move. I’m used to picking up and going.”

Sternberg, a former French and Hungarian freelance court interpreter, says
that for her mother, moving to Israel is the culmination of a lifetime
“full of bravery.”

During the war, while in Paris, Neuman’s husband was taken prisoner (he
survived the war), and she rented an apartment 30 kilometres from Paris
under a different name and gave shelter to a cousin.

“[My mother] feared for my life, so she took me to a Catholic private
school and hid me there. It was a very difficult time. She worried about
me, she worried about my father, and she had to take care of herself. Other
than the cousin, she was all alone,” Sternberg says.

“I look at my own two daughters, and I am thankful that they did not have
to live like that.”

Neuman, who was widowed 42 years ago, worked in Canada for 50 years as a
dress designer, says Sternberg, whose own husband died in 2003.

“She lost her family in the war, and then her husband died at a young age.
She did what she had to do to take care of us,” Sternberg says.

“She has lived with my family since 1965 and she always helped out ­
babysitting, cooking, baking. She was always active, and never complained.”

Neuman and Sternberg have visited their family in Israel a number of times,
“but it’s time to spend our futures in the same country. It’s the logical
thing to do,” Neuman says.

Sternberg says that she and her husband had talked about moving to Israel,
“but now the time is right. All our papers are in order and we’re ready to
go. I do plan on retaining my Canadian citizenship, however. I’ll be back
from time to time.”

Neuman is not too concerned about the big move because, she says, “God has
always looked after me. I know I’ll be happy there because my family makes
me happy. They keep me young at heart.

“I don’t know about the Hebrew, but at my age I may still learn or word or
two.”