Thursday, November 24, 2005
Kummunique - Issue 8, Parshat Chayei Sarah 5766
Kummunique - Kumah's Shabbat and Holiday Bulletin
Issue 8, Parshat Chayei Sarah 5766
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is filled with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!
In this issue you will find:
1. "Delicacies" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Elech" by Yishai Fleisher
3. "Remembering Reb Shlomo and Healing the Nation" by Ezra Halevi
4. "Arrivals: From New Jersey to Beersheba" by Yocheved Miriam Russo
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1. "Delicacies" by Malkah Fleisher
Chayei Sarah - "The Life of Sarah", barely mentions Sarah. No ode, no wrap-up, just a politically charged land purchase and the screech of tires as our Biblical story zooms forward. Seems mighty insensitive. Unless, of course, you understand Jewish women - especially this one. The beloved son of our deceased marries a strong Jewish girl with a good head on her shoulders. Her dear husband rises from mourning to remarry and have more children, and then is buried by her side, bequeathing his physical and spiritual inheritance to their son - her son. This parsha is entirely about Sarah - because these two men were her life. It was her influence which created the events following her death, forming the men she lived for, putting down roots in the Land of Israel, and setting the scene for the creation of the Jewish people.
Knowing it's what Sarah would have wanted, Avraham sends his servant back to the old stomping grounds of Aram Naharaim to find a wife for Yitzchak from among the family - the daughter of Sarah's sister. Eliezer meets Rivkah and knows that she's the right girl (with a lot of help from the Master of the Universe). After a short family sit down, Rivkah is allowed to go back to Canaan to meet and marry Yitzchak. Overjoyed, Eliezer showers the family with the best of everything, gifts from Avraham:
"The slave brought out objects of silver and objects of gold, and garments, and gave to Rivkah, and delicious fruits he gave to her brother and to her mother..." (Bereishit 24:53-54)
Doesn't produce seem out of place here - especially when juxtaposed with precious metals and finely woven linens? But Rashi redeems the notion in his commentary:
"This means 'delicacies', for he brought with him varieties of fruit from the Land of Israel."
The seven species, imbued with intense spiritual and physical nutrition, were as fine and prized a gift as gold - the recipients were surely not slighted when they got barley rather than bracelets.
Perhaps the chef at Milcah and Betuel's house whipped up a little salad for Eliezer in honor of the shidduch, made from the precious bounty of the Land of Israel:
Three-of-the-Seven Salad (featuring the Holy Olive, Fig, and Pomegranate)
1 head leaf lettuce (not iceberg)
3 scallions
3 medium cucumbers
cup pomegranate seeds (if you like more, add more)
A big tuft of alfalfa sprouts
2 large fresh figs
4-6 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
tsp. mustard
Ground pepper, to taste
1 tooth of crushed garlic
Salt
Slice the lettuce and scallions and place in a large bowl. Arrange the alfalfa sprouts on top. Chop the cucumbers (if you are unfortunate enough to be eating the huge, tasteless cucumbers of the exile, you might want to remove the seeds) and scatter them on top. Top with pomegranate seeds. Chop the figs and blend or process them. Add oil, vinegar and mustard, and process again - it shouldn't come out watery. Add crushed garlic, pepper, and salt - blend. Add the dressing to the salad just before serving, and celebrate the Jewish women in your life.
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2. "Elech" by Yishai Fleisher
HERE IS A TRANSCRIPT OF ELIEZER'S FAMOUS SPEECH TO LABAN AND BETHUEL GIVEN AT THEIR RESIDENCE IN ARAM:
"I came this day to the spring, and said, 'Hashem, the G-d of my master Abraham, if now you do prosper my way which I go. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let it happen, that the maiden who comes forth to draw, to whom I will say, Give me, I pray you, a little water from your pitcher to drink. She will tell me, "Drink, and I will also draw for your camels." Let the same be the woman whom Hashem has appointed for my master's son.' Before I had done speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder. She went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' She hurried and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.' So I drank, and she made the camels drink also. I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare to him.' I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands. I bowed my head, and worshipped Hashem, and blessed Hashem, the G-d of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. If not, tell me. That I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."
THIS IS HOW THEY ANSWERED HIM:
Then Laban and Bethuel answered, "The thing proceeds from Hashem. We can't speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rivka is before you, take her, and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as Hashem has spoken."
THIS IS HOW ELIEZER, ABRAHAM'S SERVANT REACTED:
It happened that when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth to Hashem. The servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He gave also to her brother and to her mother precious fruits. They ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night. They rose up in the morning, and he said, "Send me away to my master."
EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING GREAT WHEN SUDDENLY SOME TENSION ARISES:
Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young lady stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that she will go."
He said to them, "Don't hinder me, seeing Hashem has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master."
They said, "We will call the young lady, and ask her."
THIS IS IT, THE GREAT MOMENT OF CLIMAX, RIVKA IS ASKED TO MAKE THE DECISION HERSELF:
They called Rivka, and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will go." [Elech]
When Rivka was asked whether she will go with some stranger to a strange land, leave her family, her comfort zone, all that she know - Rivka has a one word answer - Elech! I will go!
Why was she so confident? The answer is simple: she understood that a miraculous process was afoot, and she was the lucky recipient of an invitation to be part of it. She heard Eliezer's speech, saw G-d's providence at work, and jumped at the chance to get on board.
What a lesson this is for us: when you see G-d's hand, reach out to grab it without hesitation! Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto, the Ramchal writes: "When a mitzva opportunity presents itself one must immediately act upon it. There is no greater danger than this because every moment another impediment may arise and inhibit one from fulfilling the mitzva."
When it comes to Israel, be like Rivka, if you have a chance to make Aliyah, jump at the opportunity. See the miracles of Israel, and come take part in it.
Moses' Psalm (90) states: "The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away."
Life is short, make the most of it, and if you ask yourself "Should I go?" Answer yourself: "Elech!
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3. “Remembering Reb Shlomo and Healing the Nation”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/print.php3?what=news&id=93416
Thousands of people packed Jerusalems National Convention Center Saturday night to remember Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, giving over his melodies together with his Torah lessons.
The yearly concert has always been a gathering point for the students of the late rabbi, who come from all walks of life and know their beloved teacher as simply Shlomo. The first such concert was held for Reb Shlomo’s shloshim - the memorial thirty days after his passing at Jerusalems Heichal Shlomo hall. From then on, it was held on Shlomo’s birthday for a few years. Emphasis began to shift to the yahrtzeit (anniversary of his passing) as spontaneous musical prayer-filled pilgrimages to the rabbis Har HaMenuchot grave became a yearly occurrence and the concert took place first at the Yeshurun Synagogue and then outgrew the venue in favor of Binyanei HaUmah - the largest hall in Jerusalem.
Memorial events are also held in New York, where Reb Shlomo’s synagogue which he inherited from his father, Rabbi Naftali Carlebach - is located, but the Jerusalem concert is where the part of the rabbis legacy that led him to move to Israel and found Moshav Meor Modiin is most apparent. The concert showcases the living nature of the rabbi’s teachings, which continue to move forward, develop, and affect the Jewish people and bring them home to Israel to the Land of their soul, as one English mainstay melody played at the annual concert terms it.
“So many people are living in Israel because of Shlomo”, said Yehuda Katz, the musical director of the concert and redemption rock-band Reva LSheva front-man. “I know that I am one of them.”
Katz said that he recently heard an ‘awesome’ Torah (teaching) from a student of the Vilna Gaon. When one returns to the Land of Israel they must sing. Song is what is going to bring achdut (unity) to the Land of Israel.
A video clip of Shlomo performing for an audience soon after the Six Day War on Israeli television was shown between performers at the concert. The tone and instructive nature of the video set the stage for an emotional evening one many audience members described as being a very healing experience following the trauma of the summers Gaza and northern Shomron expulsion. “Believing in the coming of the Messiah is the belief of every Jew, the Rambam says,” Shlomo said, “but what does that really mean? Ill tell you. According to our holy rabbis, it means that one must believe with complete faith that the nation of Israel has the ability to bring the messiah and the redemption.”
“Shlomo was the great suspension bridge between various communities within our country and indeed the world,” said Shlomo Carlebach Foundation founder Joe Schonwald. “Shlomo criss-crossed the globe bringing the message of Jerusalem to everybody. He did more for Jerusalem and Aliyah than a lot of other organizations that have that in their mission statement and receive funding from the State of Israel and the Jerusalem Municipality. The city has three cultural departments: religious, secular and hareidi. It is a shame that the three never meet and it is high time to recognize Shlomo’s legacy of contribution to Jerusalem’s culture through unity and diversity.”
“We owe the renewal of Jewish prayer and worship to the liturgy that Shlomo wrote. He was the singing rabbi, but he was also the father of Jewish music. Before that we had songs that came out of our European or geographic experiences, but that wasnt Jewish music per se. Shlomo invented Jewish music for our generation.”
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4. "Arrivals: From New Jersey to Beersheba" by Yocheved Miriam Russohttp://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1130954357979&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
"We never openly discussed aliya while my father was alive," says Linda Renkoff, who arrived in Israel with her husband Allan in April, 2004. "The funny thing is, my father is the one who was responsible for us all coming in the first place. He insisted on sending our oldest son for a summer while he was in college, even though our son wasn't especially interested. Once he arrived, he loved it. He made aliya in 1990, and then our younger son made aliya in 1997." "What was I going to do?" says Allan. "My grandchildren are all in Israel. I'm going to retire, and move to Florida? Of course not!" "But we love it here. We made many trips, we wanted to come," adds Linda.
Family History
Both Allan and Lynda were born of American-born parents, and raised in Union, New Jersey. Linda's father passed away in 1994, and her mother and brother are also deceased. Allan still has family in the States. "They think this is a phase we're going through," he says. "Boy, are they wrong."
Before Arriving
Although the Renkoffs finally arrived to stay just 16 months ago, they officially made aliya in 2000, when Allan passed his Israeli dental exams. "It took a while to close out our lives in the US," Allan says. "The dental exams were extremely difficult, mostly because I'd been out of school for 35 years. I studied a whole year, took several different trips over here, spent about $4,000 on textbooks. I had a regular routine: The test was given in segments, so I'd come, take the first part, find out what it covered, go home, study, then come back and take it again. "Then I'd come for the second part, take it, go back and study, and then come back to take it again. I did that for all four segments. The test was given on a Sunday, so I'd leave New Jersey on Thursday, arrive before Shabbat. I'd rest on Shabbat, take the test on Sunday, and then fly back on Monday."
But just as they were preparing to make aliya, Linda received disturbing news. "We were packing, getting ready to go. Our home was sold," she says. "We decided to go to Florida for two weeks to say goodbye, and when we got home, there was a message from my doctor about a mammogram I'd had just before we left. He said I had to come into the office at once." She did. After more tests and consultations, Linda learned she needed a mastectomy. "I asked my doctor how long after the surgery I could fly, and he said three weeks. That was it: Our house was sold, so we moved into a hotel. I had the surgery. It was difficult, I'll say that. But what could we do? The new owners were ready to move in, shippers were coming to pick up our things. We were so anxious to get here. There was no way we were going to wait while I went through chemotherapy and radiation in the States. "My oncologist wrote a long letter to a doctor here - we looked for the name of a doctor that sounded like someone who would speak English - and told him what treatment he would follow, if I were there. That was it. We got on the plane and came. I had chemotherapy and radiation here, and it was fine."
Upon Arrival
"We hired a taxi from the airport," Allan says. "I paid, because I'd used my free ride back in 2000. Of course, the cab driver got lost, but we settled into the Midbar Hotel for six weeks while we looked around for someplace to rent. The hotel was very nice. They're used to long-term guests, and our cat Vipress stayed with us, too." "I started in with medical appointments right away," Linda says. "Fortunately, our son was between jobs right then, so he was free to take us to all the places we needed to go. That really helped."
Living Environment
The Renkoffs found a large apartment on the 19th floor of Beersheba's second-tallest building. They had to find a really big place, they say, because they brought so much stuff. Allan is a ham radio operator, and the elevation is good for that, too. "I reach people all over the world. We see fireworks at eye-level, airplanes landing, and we have a gale of fresh air blowing through the apartment whenever we want it. The best part is, we're within walking distance of our two sons, all kinds of shops, and our shul. We'll move eventually, but right now, this is perfect," he says. "Lots of stuff still isn't unpacked," Linda says. "Last summer, I didn't feel well, and I didn't really care if it was unpacked or not. But this summer is much better, and I'm getting some of our art up on the walls, making it a real home again."
Work
Although Allan has his Israeli dentist's license, he may never practice here. He had shoulder surgery for arthritis about five months before they left, and has yet to recover full strength in his right arm. Still, he plans on working. "I can do just about anything, and I'm looking for something new and interesting," he says. Linda, a former legal secretary, says, "I'm done" with professional work. "Now I want to be with my grandchildren whenever I can. That's why we're here."
Routine
Linda gets up at 7:30, Allan at 8:30 or 9. One or the other transports grandkids to or from various places several times during the morning and afternoon. "That's not a complaint," Linda says. "This is what we want. To be able to take them to school, to judo classes, to Burger Ranch, to do the things they like. In a few weeks, our daughter-in-law has two weeks of vacation, so that's our vacation, too. Maybe we'll travel a little, to see Israel. We haven't done that yet."
Circle
"We have our sons here, and we're close to our daughter-in-law's parents," Linda says. Allan adds, "There was a Frenchman in my ulpan class, we've gotten to be friends. He speaks several languages but not English. I don't speak French, so we're communicating in Hebrew, which is good." "I made a good friend in chemotherapy," Linda says. "There was a lady in the chair next to me, and she saw me reading an English book. We started to talk, and we've become good friends. Now we even daven (pray) at the same beit knesset (synagogue). People have been very nice."
Identification
"I still slip sometimes, and refer to the US as 'home,'" says Linda. "Not me," says Allan. "I'm an Israeli. Period. We're very happy here. This is home."
Language
Allan started ulpan as soon as they arrived. "I was ready to start, too," Linda says, "but the first day of ulpan was the day I had my first reaction to chemotherapy, so I just couldn't do it. Just recently I started again, in a pensioners' class. I have the same teacher Allan had, and she's wonderful. There are about 15 Russians, two Argentineans, and me. I had to start at the very beginning - I didn't even know the aleph-bet. It's hard to learn when you're older."
Plans
"We're settling in," Allan says. "Someone told me there are three magic steps to adjustment: progress, get used to it, and manage. So that's what we'll do - but you know what? It hasn't been hard. I don't really understand what all the talk is about 'adjustment.' What's there to adjust to? "When you think about it, our only real adjustment problem is that we don't know the language as well as we'd like. In the scheme of things, that's not a major problem. We get along just fine." "Look at that down there," Allan says, gesturing toward the panoramic view 19 floors below. "Everything is out there. What more could anyone possibly want?"
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Issue 8, Parshat Chayei Sarah 5766
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is filled with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!
In this issue you will find:
1. "Delicacies" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Elech" by Yishai Fleisher
3. "Remembering Reb Shlomo and Healing the Nation" by Ezra Halevi
4. "Arrivals: From New Jersey to Beersheba" by Yocheved Miriam Russo
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. "Delicacies" by Malkah Fleisher
Chayei Sarah - "The Life of Sarah", barely mentions Sarah. No ode, no wrap-up, just a politically charged land purchase and the screech of tires as our Biblical story zooms forward. Seems mighty insensitive. Unless, of course, you understand Jewish women - especially this one. The beloved son of our deceased marries a strong Jewish girl with a good head on her shoulders. Her dear husband rises from mourning to remarry and have more children, and then is buried by her side, bequeathing his physical and spiritual inheritance to their son - her son. This parsha is entirely about Sarah - because these two men were her life. It was her influence which created the events following her death, forming the men she lived for, putting down roots in the Land of Israel, and setting the scene for the creation of the Jewish people.
Knowing it's what Sarah would have wanted, Avraham sends his servant back to the old stomping grounds of Aram Naharaim to find a wife for Yitzchak from among the family - the daughter of Sarah's sister. Eliezer meets Rivkah and knows that she's the right girl (with a lot of help from the Master of the Universe). After a short family sit down, Rivkah is allowed to go back to Canaan to meet and marry Yitzchak. Overjoyed, Eliezer showers the family with the best of everything, gifts from Avraham:
"The slave brought out objects of silver and objects of gold, and garments, and gave to Rivkah, and delicious fruits he gave to her brother and to her mother..." (Bereishit 24:53-54)
Doesn't produce seem out of place here - especially when juxtaposed with precious metals and finely woven linens? But Rashi redeems the notion in his commentary:
"This means 'delicacies', for he brought with him varieties of fruit from the Land of Israel."
The seven species, imbued with intense spiritual and physical nutrition, were as fine and prized a gift as gold - the recipients were surely not slighted when they got barley rather than bracelets.
Perhaps the chef at Milcah and Betuel's house whipped up a little salad for Eliezer in honor of the shidduch, made from the precious bounty of the Land of Israel:
Three-of-the-Seven Salad (featuring the Holy Olive, Fig, and Pomegranate)
1 head leaf lettuce (not iceberg)
3 scallions
3 medium cucumbers
cup pomegranate seeds (if you like more, add more)
A big tuft of alfalfa sprouts
2 large fresh figs
4-6 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
tsp. mustard
Ground pepper, to taste
1 tooth of crushed garlic
Salt
Slice the lettuce and scallions and place in a large bowl. Arrange the alfalfa sprouts on top. Chop the cucumbers (if you are unfortunate enough to be eating the huge, tasteless cucumbers of the exile, you might want to remove the seeds) and scatter them on top. Top with pomegranate seeds. Chop the figs and blend or process them. Add oil, vinegar and mustard, and process again - it shouldn't come out watery. Add crushed garlic, pepper, and salt - blend. Add the dressing to the salad just before serving, and celebrate the Jewish women in your life.
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2. "Elech" by Yishai Fleisher
HERE IS A TRANSCRIPT OF ELIEZER'S FAMOUS SPEECH TO LABAN AND BETHUEL GIVEN AT THEIR RESIDENCE IN ARAM:
"I came this day to the spring, and said, 'Hashem, the G-d of my master Abraham, if now you do prosper my way which I go. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let it happen, that the maiden who comes forth to draw, to whom I will say, Give me, I pray you, a little water from your pitcher to drink. She will tell me, "Drink, and I will also draw for your camels." Let the same be the woman whom Hashem has appointed for my master's son.' Before I had done speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder. She went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' She hurried and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.' So I drank, and she made the camels drink also. I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare to him.' I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands. I bowed my head, and worshipped Hashem, and blessed Hashem, the G-d of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. If not, tell me. That I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."
THIS IS HOW THEY ANSWERED HIM:
Then Laban and Bethuel answered, "The thing proceeds from Hashem. We can't speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rivka is before you, take her, and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as Hashem has spoken."
THIS IS HOW ELIEZER, ABRAHAM'S SERVANT REACTED:
It happened that when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth to Hashem. The servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He gave also to her brother and to her mother precious fruits. They ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night. They rose up in the morning, and he said, "Send me away to my master."
EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING GREAT WHEN SUDDENLY SOME TENSION ARISES:
Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young lady stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that she will go."
He said to them, "Don't hinder me, seeing Hashem has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master."
They said, "We will call the young lady, and ask her."
THIS IS IT, THE GREAT MOMENT OF CLIMAX, RIVKA IS ASKED TO MAKE THE DECISION HERSELF:
They called Rivka, and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will go." [Elech]
When Rivka was asked whether she will go with some stranger to a strange land, leave her family, her comfort zone, all that she know - Rivka has a one word answer - Elech! I will go!
Why was she so confident? The answer is simple: she understood that a miraculous process was afoot, and she was the lucky recipient of an invitation to be part of it. She heard Eliezer's speech, saw G-d's providence at work, and jumped at the chance to get on board.
What a lesson this is for us: when you see G-d's hand, reach out to grab it without hesitation! Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto, the Ramchal writes: "When a mitzva opportunity presents itself one must immediately act upon it. There is no greater danger than this because every moment another impediment may arise and inhibit one from fulfilling the mitzva."
When it comes to Israel, be like Rivka, if you have a chance to make Aliyah, jump at the opportunity. See the miracles of Israel, and come take part in it.
Moses' Psalm (90) states: "The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away."
Life is short, make the most of it, and if you ask yourself "Should I go?" Answer yourself: "Elech!
-----------------------------------------------------------
3. “Remembering Reb Shlomo and Healing the Nation”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/print.php3?what=news&id=93416
Thousands of people packed Jerusalems National Convention Center Saturday night to remember Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, giving over his melodies together with his Torah lessons.
The yearly concert has always been a gathering point for the students of the late rabbi, who come from all walks of life and know their beloved teacher as simply Shlomo. The first such concert was held for Reb Shlomo’s shloshim - the memorial thirty days after his passing at Jerusalems Heichal Shlomo hall. From then on, it was held on Shlomo’s birthday for a few years. Emphasis began to shift to the yahrtzeit (anniversary of his passing) as spontaneous musical prayer-filled pilgrimages to the rabbis Har HaMenuchot grave became a yearly occurrence and the concert took place first at the Yeshurun Synagogue and then outgrew the venue in favor of Binyanei HaUmah - the largest hall in Jerusalem.
Memorial events are also held in New York, where Reb Shlomo’s synagogue which he inherited from his father, Rabbi Naftali Carlebach - is located, but the Jerusalem concert is where the part of the rabbis legacy that led him to move to Israel and found Moshav Meor Modiin is most apparent. The concert showcases the living nature of the rabbi’s teachings, which continue to move forward, develop, and affect the Jewish people and bring them home to Israel to the Land of their soul, as one English mainstay melody played at the annual concert terms it.
“So many people are living in Israel because of Shlomo”, said Yehuda Katz, the musical director of the concert and redemption rock-band Reva LSheva front-man. “I know that I am one of them.”
Katz said that he recently heard an ‘awesome’ Torah (teaching) from a student of the Vilna Gaon. When one returns to the Land of Israel they must sing. Song is what is going to bring achdut (unity) to the Land of Israel.
A video clip of Shlomo performing for an audience soon after the Six Day War on Israeli television was shown between performers at the concert. The tone and instructive nature of the video set the stage for an emotional evening one many audience members described as being a very healing experience following the trauma of the summers Gaza and northern Shomron expulsion. “Believing in the coming of the Messiah is the belief of every Jew, the Rambam says,” Shlomo said, “but what does that really mean? Ill tell you. According to our holy rabbis, it means that one must believe with complete faith that the nation of Israel has the ability to bring the messiah and the redemption.”
“Shlomo was the great suspension bridge between various communities within our country and indeed the world,” said Shlomo Carlebach Foundation founder Joe Schonwald. “Shlomo criss-crossed the globe bringing the message of Jerusalem to everybody. He did more for Jerusalem and Aliyah than a lot of other organizations that have that in their mission statement and receive funding from the State of Israel and the Jerusalem Municipality. The city has three cultural departments: religious, secular and hareidi. It is a shame that the three never meet and it is high time to recognize Shlomo’s legacy of contribution to Jerusalem’s culture through unity and diversity.”
“We owe the renewal of Jewish prayer and worship to the liturgy that Shlomo wrote. He was the singing rabbi, but he was also the father of Jewish music. Before that we had songs that came out of our European or geographic experiences, but that wasnt Jewish music per se. Shlomo invented Jewish music for our generation.”
-----------------------------------------------------------
4. "Arrivals: From New Jersey to Beersheba" by Yocheved Miriam Russohttp://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1130954357979&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
"We never openly discussed aliya while my father was alive," says Linda Renkoff, who arrived in Israel with her husband Allan in April, 2004. "The funny thing is, my father is the one who was responsible for us all coming in the first place. He insisted on sending our oldest son for a summer while he was in college, even though our son wasn't especially interested. Once he arrived, he loved it. He made aliya in 1990, and then our younger son made aliya in 1997." "What was I going to do?" says Allan. "My grandchildren are all in Israel. I'm going to retire, and move to Florida? Of course not!" "But we love it here. We made many trips, we wanted to come," adds Linda.
Family History
Both Allan and Lynda were born of American-born parents, and raised in Union, New Jersey. Linda's father passed away in 1994, and her mother and brother are also deceased. Allan still has family in the States. "They think this is a phase we're going through," he says. "Boy, are they wrong."
Before Arriving
Although the Renkoffs finally arrived to stay just 16 months ago, they officially made aliya in 2000, when Allan passed his Israeli dental exams. "It took a while to close out our lives in the US," Allan says. "The dental exams were extremely difficult, mostly because I'd been out of school for 35 years. I studied a whole year, took several different trips over here, spent about $4,000 on textbooks. I had a regular routine: The test was given in segments, so I'd come, take the first part, find out what it covered, go home, study, then come back and take it again. "Then I'd come for the second part, take it, go back and study, and then come back to take it again. I did that for all four segments. The test was given on a Sunday, so I'd leave New Jersey on Thursday, arrive before Shabbat. I'd rest on Shabbat, take the test on Sunday, and then fly back on Monday."
But just as they were preparing to make aliya, Linda received disturbing news. "We were packing, getting ready to go. Our home was sold," she says. "We decided to go to Florida for two weeks to say goodbye, and when we got home, there was a message from my doctor about a mammogram I'd had just before we left. He said I had to come into the office at once." She did. After more tests and consultations, Linda learned she needed a mastectomy. "I asked my doctor how long after the surgery I could fly, and he said three weeks. That was it: Our house was sold, so we moved into a hotel. I had the surgery. It was difficult, I'll say that. But what could we do? The new owners were ready to move in, shippers were coming to pick up our things. We were so anxious to get here. There was no way we were going to wait while I went through chemotherapy and radiation in the States. "My oncologist wrote a long letter to a doctor here - we looked for the name of a doctor that sounded like someone who would speak English - and told him what treatment he would follow, if I were there. That was it. We got on the plane and came. I had chemotherapy and radiation here, and it was fine."
Upon Arrival
"We hired a taxi from the airport," Allan says. "I paid, because I'd used my free ride back in 2000. Of course, the cab driver got lost, but we settled into the Midbar Hotel for six weeks while we looked around for someplace to rent. The hotel was very nice. They're used to long-term guests, and our cat Vipress stayed with us, too." "I started in with medical appointments right away," Linda says. "Fortunately, our son was between jobs right then, so he was free to take us to all the places we needed to go. That really helped."
Living Environment
The Renkoffs found a large apartment on the 19th floor of Beersheba's second-tallest building. They had to find a really big place, they say, because they brought so much stuff. Allan is a ham radio operator, and the elevation is good for that, too. "I reach people all over the world. We see fireworks at eye-level, airplanes landing, and we have a gale of fresh air blowing through the apartment whenever we want it. The best part is, we're within walking distance of our two sons, all kinds of shops, and our shul. We'll move eventually, but right now, this is perfect," he says. "Lots of stuff still isn't unpacked," Linda says. "Last summer, I didn't feel well, and I didn't really care if it was unpacked or not. But this summer is much better, and I'm getting some of our art up on the walls, making it a real home again."
Work
Although Allan has his Israeli dentist's license, he may never practice here. He had shoulder surgery for arthritis about five months before they left, and has yet to recover full strength in his right arm. Still, he plans on working. "I can do just about anything, and I'm looking for something new and interesting," he says. Linda, a former legal secretary, says, "I'm done" with professional work. "Now I want to be with my grandchildren whenever I can. That's why we're here."
Routine
Linda gets up at 7:30, Allan at 8:30 or 9. One or the other transports grandkids to or from various places several times during the morning and afternoon. "That's not a complaint," Linda says. "This is what we want. To be able to take them to school, to judo classes, to Burger Ranch, to do the things they like. In a few weeks, our daughter-in-law has two weeks of vacation, so that's our vacation, too. Maybe we'll travel a little, to see Israel. We haven't done that yet."
Circle
"We have our sons here, and we're close to our daughter-in-law's parents," Linda says. Allan adds, "There was a Frenchman in my ulpan class, we've gotten to be friends. He speaks several languages but not English. I don't speak French, so we're communicating in Hebrew, which is good." "I made a good friend in chemotherapy," Linda says. "There was a lady in the chair next to me, and she saw me reading an English book. We started to talk, and we've become good friends. Now we even daven (pray) at the same beit knesset (synagogue). People have been very nice."
Identification
"I still slip sometimes, and refer to the US as 'home,'" says Linda. "Not me," says Allan. "I'm an Israeli. Period. We're very happy here. This is home."
Language
Allan started ulpan as soon as they arrived. "I was ready to start, too," Linda says, "but the first day of ulpan was the day I had my first reaction to chemotherapy, so I just couldn't do it. Just recently I started again, in a pensioners' class. I have the same teacher Allan had, and she's wonderful. There are about 15 Russians, two Argentineans, and me. I had to start at the very beginning - I didn't even know the aleph-bet. It's hard to learn when you're older."
Plans
"We're settling in," Allan says. "Someone told me there are three magic steps to adjustment: progress, get used to it, and manage. So that's what we'll do - but you know what? It hasn't been hard. I don't really understand what all the talk is about 'adjustment.' What's there to adjust to? "When you think about it, our only real adjustment problem is that we don't know the language as well as we'd like. In the scheme of things, that's not a major problem. We get along just fine." "Look at that down there," Allan says, gesturing toward the panoramic view 19 floors below. "Everything is out there. What more could anyone possibly want?"
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Friday, November 18, 2005
Kummunique - Issue 7, Parshat Vayeira 5766
Kummunique - Kumah's Shabbat and Holiday Bulletin
Issue 7, Parshat Vayeira 5766
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is filled with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!
In this issue you will find:
1. "Mazel Tov!" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Feeding the World" by Yishai Fleisher
3. "Kumah's Kever Rachel Trip Breaks Barriers"
4. "More Brits Mulling Making Aliya" by David Byres
5. "Hi Yishai" (a letter from a friend)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. "Mazel Tov!" by Malkah Fleisher
It's a boy! Sarah, our Matriarch, gives birth to our Forefather, Isaac, after a few decades of sorrow, maternal loneliness, and the jealousy of her handmaiden's accomplishment. Imagine having your first child after 75 years of trying - I'm sure you'd throw quite a party. Now multiply that by Avraham's tribal leadership, wealth, and awareness of direct G-dly intervention, and you have the bris of the millennium.
According to the Torah (and commentaries), Avraham and Sarah did indeed hold a huge thanksgiving celebration, and invited all the locals - heathens and all. Featured in the grandiose feast may have been the humble chickpea, in a dish known as Arbis. Some say that chickpeas are served at a Shalom Zachor or a brit as a consolation for having forgotten all the Torah the baby was taught in the womb (every Jew is said to be taught the entire Torah in the womb by an angel, who then flicks the baby on the upper lip immediately before he’s born, making the child forget all the Torah he learned). This forgetting of the Torah is a certain kind of death – which we are reminded of by the chickpeas, which are also traditionally served in houses of mourning because they are round, like the world, like the cycle of life.
You might also know that chickpeas are packed with folic acid, a crucial vitamin in the diet of nursing mothers. So if you're partial to Rashi's commentary in this week's parsha (see Yishai's article this week), Sarah probably loaded up her plate a few times with this simple, tasty dish. Soon by you!!
Arbis
4 pounds dried chickpeas
4 Tbsps. salt
2 tsps. white pepper (or black)
(adjust the seasonings to your taste, and include anything else you might like - cumin, garlic powder, ground coriander)
Begin a day in advance, if possible. Rinse the chickpeas thoroughly. In a large bowl, cover with enough water to cover by about an inch and a half, and soak uncovered for at least 2 hours. Drain. Put into a big pot and fill with water to cover. Add salt and pepper, and cook about 3 hours or until the skins begin to peel - try not to overcook. While still warn, drain thoroughly in a colander. Place in a large bowl, and season to taste. Serve to well-wishers and grandparents - Mazel Tov!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. "Feeding the World" by Yishai Fleisher
G-d promises Abraham and Sarah that they would have children. It seemed impossible, for the couple had passed the time of childbearing. Yet G-d made a miracle and gave Sarah back her softness and Abraham his strength. To the surprise of Abraham and Sarah, and all the people around them, Sarah did indeed give birth to a son, and they named him Yitzchak. The prophecy of the Abrahamic seed continuing through Sarah's son spread fear amongst the nations. They knew that G-d had promised that the land of Canaan would be inherited by the seed of Abraham - and now those prophecies began to come true.
3. And Abraham named his son who had been born to him, whom Sarah had borne to him, Isaac.
4. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5. And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born to him.
6. And Sarah said, "God has made joy for me; whoever hears will rejoice over me."
7. And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children, for I have borne a son to his old age!" (Chapter 27)
How many children did Sarah nurse? Did she not have only one son, one boy, one child? Why then does she say "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children" - "children" in plural?
Rashi, the great commentator sees this problem and says on the verse:
"Sarah would nurse children" Why is children in the plural? On the day of the feast , the princesses brought their children with them, and she (Sarah) nursed them, for they were saying, Sarah did not give birth, but brought in an abandoned child from the street.
And on a related verse the Torah states:
"And I will bless her, and I will give you a son from her, and I will bless her, and she will become [a mother of]nations; kings of nations will be from her." (17:16)
Rashi explains:
"and I will bless her" with breast feeding, when she required it, on the day of Isaacs feast, for people were slandering (Abraham and Sarah) by saying against them, that they had brought an abandoned child from the street and were saying, He is our son. So each (woman present at the celebration) brought her child with her, but not her wet nurse, and she (Sarah) nursed them all. That is what is said: (21:7): Sarah has nursed children.
The nations were calling Sarah a liar!
The nations were calling Sarah a thief!
They were accusing Sarah of taking an abandoned child that really belonged to them. There is no way she could really have given birth in her old age - she must have stolen that child!
But G-d made a miracle, and Sarah was able to breast-feed all of the other nations' children - proving that she was capable. Like Chanukah's miracle of the oil, Sarah never ran dry!
And why is this important? Why should we keep the miracle of the breast-milk in our mind today?
Because just as the nations of the world accused Sarah of stealing their baby, so too do they accuse the Jewish people of stealing their Land.
And just as the baby-theft story was a lie, so too is the Land-theft accusation a lie.
And just as Sarah breast-fed all the nation's children, so too will the Jewish people will bring forth light to all the nations from Zion. Sarah's maternity towards the crying baby-goyim is an expression of Ohr Lagoyim, being a light unto the nations. Sarah nurtured these children and filled them with the ultimate gift: Chalav Yisrael - wisdom and truth that emanates from Zion and Jerusalem, a Land flowing with Milk and Honey!
G-d told Abraham: "all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you." (Gen 12;3)
The blessing of the Jewish people on the Land of Israel, is a blessing for all the nations of the world!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. "Kever Rachel Trip Breaks Barriers"
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=92913
Huge concrete slabs, myriads of people, and two thousand years of exile did not stop a special trip of English speakers from reaching Kever Rachel - the Tomb of the Biblical matriarch Rachel.
The 11th of the Jewish month Cheshvan is the "Yahrtzeit" (anniversary of the passing) of the Matriarch Rachel. On this date each year, thousands of Jews converge on Rachel's Tomb to pray and to give homage to this great Biblical persona, the only woman in the Torah to be called a shepherdess. Arutz Sheva, Kumah, and the Jerusalem Capital Development Fund felt this was the perfect opportunity to bring together English speakers in Israel on a special trip. Billed under the banner "Have You Visited Your Mother Lately?" and with a subsidized price of 20 NIS, the trip was quickly booked up.
"We wanted to create a trip where new Olim (immigrants) can come to Kever Rachel and say to her, 'You can stop crying for us, because we've come home' said trip organizer Yishai Fleisher "When I asked how many people in the bus are Olim, most of the hands went up, and in my mind that was the real success - to bring all these Jews who have decided to come home to visit their mother."
Chaim Silberstein of the Jerusalem Capital Development Fund streamlined the access pass for the bulletproof bus and then took the group to the properties whose purchase his organization facilitated. Chaim told the story of how Rachel's Tomb was saved from the clutches of the Palestinians:
"During the Rabin administration, Kever Rachel was slated to fall into 'Area A', that is, under full Arab civil and military control. Upon seeing this, Knesset Member Chanan Porat decided that he must speak with Rabin in the hopes of changing his mind. As Chanan Porat was walking to Rabin's office, Knesset Member Rabbi Menachem Porush asked Porat where he was going. Hearing that Porat was about to fight for Kever Rachel, Porush asked to join in the meeting. At Rabin's office, Chanan Porat was diligently explaining the ins and outs of the security situation at Kever Rachel and making rational arguments that did not seem to move Rabin.
"Suddenly Rabin looked at Porush and saw that he was crying. Porush held Rabin's hands and with tears streaming down his face, said: 'Yitzchak, it's Mamma Rachel, Mamma Rachel.' At that moment Rabin's heart opened, and he altered the map so that Kever Rachel would remain in Jewish hands."
Silberstein also revealed that there are plans for growth at Rachel's Tomb - such as a Bat Mitzva center that would draw Jewish families from throughout the world on a pilgrimage to celebrate a Jewish girl's rite of passage to womanhood. "Rachel Imeinu (our Matriarch) is the paradigm of the Jewish people's selfless devotion to our G-d and our nation - people must be allowed to come here."
After the tour of the properties, the group went on to some personal prayer time. The halls adjacent to the actual grave were packed, but no one in the group seemed to complain about the cramped conditions. Shlomo Goodman, who made Aliyah from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and now lives in Maaleh Adumim, said: "I was intellectually prepared, and knew what Kever Rachel was all about, but the knowledge did not prepare me for the spiritual and emotional reality of the place. Without thinking, I was overcome, I went in there, and there wasn't a dry eye."
Following the hour-long prayer session, the group reconvened outside the complex and boarded the bus. The Kever Rachel part of the trip was over, but now the group needed some time to let the things they saw and felt settle in. The bus took the group to a park in the Gilo neighborhood that featured a spectacular view of Jerusalem. Lunch was brought out, including six bottles of the wine from the Beit El winery.
Yitz Berlin, who had come on Aliyah less than a week before from Baltimore, Maryland, said: "I enjoyed meeting the Arutz Sheva group, especially the faces behind Israel National Radio; it was a great welcome to Eretz Yisrael."
The Torah writes that Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, died when giving birth and was buried in Bethlehem on the road to Efrat, south of Jerusalem. Later, in the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, Rachel is heard weeping for her exiled children:
Thus says G-d: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more. Thus says G-d: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says G-d; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future, says G-d; and your children shall come again to their own border. [Veshavu Banim Le'Gvulam] (31:15-17)
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4. "More Brits Mulling Making Aliya" by David Byres
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1131955261592&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
A growing number of British Jews are considering making aliya or buying properties in Israel because of a growing climate of anti-Semitism, one of the countrys community leaders has said.
Alan Aziz, executive director of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, spoke to The Jerusalem Post after more than 8,000 people attended a massive exhibition it organized to promote aliya a rise from 5,000 the year before.
The London event, called From Israel with Love, contained more than 175 exhibits on how to make aliya, where to go traveling in Israel and how to buy an Israeli property. It also included booths celebrating and promoting Israeli culture and lifestyle.
As well as celebrating Israeli culture, a number of visitors to Sundays event were interested in Israeli real-estate and possible emigration.
I am sure that increased anti-Semitism is part of [the reason], Aziz said. People have said to me that the level of anti-Semitism is creeping up. In many ways it is disguised, but it is still recognizable. It is, perhaps, less in the mind-set of British people than elsewhere in Europe, in countries such as France but it is still there.
The fear of anti-Semitism in Britain was highlighted by Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks. Last month, in a special message to mark Rosh Hashana, he warned of a new wave of anti-Semitism, saying, There have been times, the first in my memory, when it has been uncomfortable to be a Jew in Britain.
In the message, Sacks condemned calls made by Sir Iqbal Sacranie, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, to abolish Holocaust Memorial Day and also cited remarks with anti-Semitic undertones by academics who unsuccessfully attempted to initiate a national university boycott of Israel earlier this year.
Fears of terrorism and Islamic extremism increased over the summer. The British government and Londons Metropolitan Police have repeatedly warned that other attacks are likely after July 7s quadruple bomb attack that killed 52 London commuters, and Prime Minister Tony Blairs attempt to introduce new 90-day detention-without-charge powers for suspected terrorists was defeated in Parliament last Wednesday after a massive rebellion by many of his lawmakers.
Aziz indicated this, too, could have had a bearing on why so many people expressed an interest in buying property in Israel or moving there.
Now is a time when people are concerned about whats going on in the world, both in Britain and outside, he said. It has definitely had an impact, he said, adding that the Zionist Federations event was the biggest Jewish event held in the UK during the last year.
We had 5,000 people last year, but we had over 8,000 this time, he said. I do not have the statistics on aliya files or on the number of properties that were sold, but there were certainly a number of them. But all the exhibitions, whether they were promoting moving to Israel, traveling to Israel or going on holiday, generated a huge amount of interest.
According to numbers from the Jewish Agency, 413 people made aliya from the UK in the first 10 months of 2005, an increase of 11 percent over the same period last year. This is the highest 10-month total since the intifada began. In comparison, 435 people made aliya from the UK in 2004 and 402 in 2003.
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5. "Hi Yishai,"
I'm not sure if you remember my email - it was about 2 years ago - I wrote to you and Eli under the moniker "Aryeh Yehuda". At the time I was really concerned that my bashert didn't share the same love for Ertez Yisrael as I do, and I'd despaired about ever making aliyah.
You guys gave me such wonderful and encouraging advice on your show. One thing that you said I still remember vividly, it was "perhaps you've been chosen to bring her closer to Israel and to God. Be joyous, be a Jewish hero!"
Well, my bashert and I were married in a wonderful traditional ceremony this past summer, and we've really laid the foundations for a warm loving Jewish home here in Washington DC. We're very involved in our local Orthodox shul, we've kashered our kitchen, we're learning Torah and growing together, and just everything is incredibly wonderful.
And we haven't forgotten the Land. Just last month, over the chagim, we had a crazy, incredible, fantastic, spiritual-physical-intellectual extravaganza of a honeymoon in Israel. All in all, we were in Jerusalem, Tsfat, the Carmel Mtn region (En Hod), and the Golan (Maale Gamla) for 17 days. Hiking, praying, eating (my Gd, the fruits & vegetables!) , even sleeping in & waking up late had such a sense of complete-ness, fullness, (and yes, holiness) that we can't even begin to explain in words.
We were so very sad to leave ('sad' is an understatement). We didn't want to leave. When we cam back to DC, we looked around the streets, the people, and kept asking each other "okay, now WHY do we live HERE?"
So now we're trying to figure out ways to come live in Israel for a year. And we've signed up for Hebrew classes. It's astounding, really. I think that maybe your analysis on the air those many months ago hit the nail on the head.
We're coming back to Israel. We're coming home. It may not be tomorrow or next month or next year, but we're on the road back home.
Thanks guys - enjoy our web album here - and you still most definitely ROCK!
Kol HaKavod,
Eric aka "Aryeh Yehuda"
Issue 7, Parshat Vayeira 5766
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is filled with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!
In this issue you will find:
1. "Mazel Tov!" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Feeding the World" by Yishai Fleisher
3. "Kumah's Kever Rachel Trip Breaks Barriers"
4. "More Brits Mulling Making Aliya" by David Byres
5. "Hi Yishai" (a letter from a friend)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. "Mazel Tov!" by Malkah Fleisher
It's a boy! Sarah, our Matriarch, gives birth to our Forefather, Isaac, after a few decades of sorrow, maternal loneliness, and the jealousy of her handmaiden's accomplishment. Imagine having your first child after 75 years of trying - I'm sure you'd throw quite a party. Now multiply that by Avraham's tribal leadership, wealth, and awareness of direct G-dly intervention, and you have the bris of the millennium.
According to the Torah (and commentaries), Avraham and Sarah did indeed hold a huge thanksgiving celebration, and invited all the locals - heathens and all. Featured in the grandiose feast may have been the humble chickpea, in a dish known as Arbis. Some say that chickpeas are served at a Shalom Zachor or a brit as a consolation for having forgotten all the Torah the baby was taught in the womb (every Jew is said to be taught the entire Torah in the womb by an angel, who then flicks the baby on the upper lip immediately before he’s born, making the child forget all the Torah he learned). This forgetting of the Torah is a certain kind of death – which we are reminded of by the chickpeas, which are also traditionally served in houses of mourning because they are round, like the world, like the cycle of life.
You might also know that chickpeas are packed with folic acid, a crucial vitamin in the diet of nursing mothers. So if you're partial to Rashi's commentary in this week's parsha (see Yishai's article this week), Sarah probably loaded up her plate a few times with this simple, tasty dish. Soon by you!!
Arbis
4 pounds dried chickpeas
4 Tbsps. salt
2 tsps. white pepper (or black)
(adjust the seasonings to your taste, and include anything else you might like - cumin, garlic powder, ground coriander)
Begin a day in advance, if possible. Rinse the chickpeas thoroughly. In a large bowl, cover with enough water to cover by about an inch and a half, and soak uncovered for at least 2 hours. Drain. Put into a big pot and fill with water to cover. Add salt and pepper, and cook about 3 hours or until the skins begin to peel - try not to overcook. While still warn, drain thoroughly in a colander. Place in a large bowl, and season to taste. Serve to well-wishers and grandparents - Mazel Tov!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. "Feeding the World" by Yishai Fleisher
G-d promises Abraham and Sarah that they would have children. It seemed impossible, for the couple had passed the time of childbearing. Yet G-d made a miracle and gave Sarah back her softness and Abraham his strength. To the surprise of Abraham and Sarah, and all the people around them, Sarah did indeed give birth to a son, and they named him Yitzchak. The prophecy of the Abrahamic seed continuing through Sarah's son spread fear amongst the nations. They knew that G-d had promised that the land of Canaan would be inherited by the seed of Abraham - and now those prophecies began to come true.
3. And Abraham named his son who had been born to him, whom Sarah had borne to him, Isaac.
4. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5. And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born to him.
6. And Sarah said, "God has made joy for me; whoever hears will rejoice over me."
7. And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children, for I have borne a son to his old age!" (Chapter 27)
How many children did Sarah nurse? Did she not have only one son, one boy, one child? Why then does she say "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children" - "children" in plural?
Rashi, the great commentator sees this problem and says on the verse:
"Sarah would nurse children" Why is children in the plural? On the day of the feast , the princesses brought their children with them, and she (Sarah) nursed them, for they were saying, Sarah did not give birth, but brought in an abandoned child from the street.
And on a related verse the Torah states:
"And I will bless her, and I will give you a son from her, and I will bless her, and she will become [a mother of]nations; kings of nations will be from her." (17:16)
Rashi explains:
"and I will bless her" with breast feeding, when she required it, on the day of Isaacs feast, for people were slandering (Abraham and Sarah) by saying against them, that they had brought an abandoned child from the street and were saying, He is our son. So each (woman present at the celebration) brought her child with her, but not her wet nurse, and she (Sarah) nursed them all. That is what is said: (21:7): Sarah has nursed children.
The nations were calling Sarah a liar!
The nations were calling Sarah a thief!
They were accusing Sarah of taking an abandoned child that really belonged to them. There is no way she could really have given birth in her old age - she must have stolen that child!
But G-d made a miracle, and Sarah was able to breast-feed all of the other nations' children - proving that she was capable. Like Chanukah's miracle of the oil, Sarah never ran dry!
And why is this important? Why should we keep the miracle of the breast-milk in our mind today?
Because just as the nations of the world accused Sarah of stealing their baby, so too do they accuse the Jewish people of stealing their Land.
And just as the baby-theft story was a lie, so too is the Land-theft accusation a lie.
And just as Sarah breast-fed all the nation's children, so too will the Jewish people will bring forth light to all the nations from Zion. Sarah's maternity towards the crying baby-goyim is an expression of Ohr Lagoyim, being a light unto the nations. Sarah nurtured these children and filled them with the ultimate gift: Chalav Yisrael - wisdom and truth that emanates from Zion and Jerusalem, a Land flowing with Milk and Honey!
G-d told Abraham: "all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you." (Gen 12;3)
The blessing of the Jewish people on the Land of Israel, is a blessing for all the nations of the world!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. "Kever Rachel Trip Breaks Barriers"
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=92913
Huge concrete slabs, myriads of people, and two thousand years of exile did not stop a special trip of English speakers from reaching Kever Rachel - the Tomb of the Biblical matriarch Rachel.
The 11th of the Jewish month Cheshvan is the "Yahrtzeit" (anniversary of the passing) of the Matriarch Rachel. On this date each year, thousands of Jews converge on Rachel's Tomb to pray and to give homage to this great Biblical persona, the only woman in the Torah to be called a shepherdess. Arutz Sheva, Kumah, and the Jerusalem Capital Development Fund felt this was the perfect opportunity to bring together English speakers in Israel on a special trip. Billed under the banner "Have You Visited Your Mother Lately?" and with a subsidized price of 20 NIS, the trip was quickly booked up.
"We wanted to create a trip where new Olim (immigrants) can come to Kever Rachel and say to her, 'You can stop crying for us, because we've come home' said trip organizer Yishai Fleisher "When I asked how many people in the bus are Olim, most of the hands went up, and in my mind that was the real success - to bring all these Jews who have decided to come home to visit their mother."
Chaim Silberstein of the Jerusalem Capital Development Fund streamlined the access pass for the bulletproof bus and then took the group to the properties whose purchase his organization facilitated. Chaim told the story of how Rachel's Tomb was saved from the clutches of the Palestinians:
"During the Rabin administration, Kever Rachel was slated to fall into 'Area A', that is, under full Arab civil and military control. Upon seeing this, Knesset Member Chanan Porat decided that he must speak with Rabin in the hopes of changing his mind. As Chanan Porat was walking to Rabin's office, Knesset Member Rabbi Menachem Porush asked Porat where he was going. Hearing that Porat was about to fight for Kever Rachel, Porush asked to join in the meeting. At Rabin's office, Chanan Porat was diligently explaining the ins and outs of the security situation at Kever Rachel and making rational arguments that did not seem to move Rabin.
"Suddenly Rabin looked at Porush and saw that he was crying. Porush held Rabin's hands and with tears streaming down his face, said: 'Yitzchak, it's Mamma Rachel, Mamma Rachel.' At that moment Rabin's heart opened, and he altered the map so that Kever Rachel would remain in Jewish hands."
Silberstein also revealed that there are plans for growth at Rachel's Tomb - such as a Bat Mitzva center that would draw Jewish families from throughout the world on a pilgrimage to celebrate a Jewish girl's rite of passage to womanhood. "Rachel Imeinu (our Matriarch) is the paradigm of the Jewish people's selfless devotion to our G-d and our nation - people must be allowed to come here."
After the tour of the properties, the group went on to some personal prayer time. The halls adjacent to the actual grave were packed, but no one in the group seemed to complain about the cramped conditions. Shlomo Goodman, who made Aliyah from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and now lives in Maaleh Adumim, said: "I was intellectually prepared, and knew what Kever Rachel was all about, but the knowledge did not prepare me for the spiritual and emotional reality of the place. Without thinking, I was overcome, I went in there, and there wasn't a dry eye."
Following the hour-long prayer session, the group reconvened outside the complex and boarded the bus. The Kever Rachel part of the trip was over, but now the group needed some time to let the things they saw and felt settle in. The bus took the group to a park in the Gilo neighborhood that featured a spectacular view of Jerusalem. Lunch was brought out, including six bottles of the wine from the Beit El winery.
Yitz Berlin, who had come on Aliyah less than a week before from Baltimore, Maryland, said: "I enjoyed meeting the Arutz Sheva group, especially the faces behind Israel National Radio; it was a great welcome to Eretz Yisrael."
The Torah writes that Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, died when giving birth and was buried in Bethlehem on the road to Efrat, south of Jerusalem. Later, in the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, Rachel is heard weeping for her exiled children:
Thus says G-d: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more. Thus says G-d: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says G-d; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future, says G-d; and your children shall come again to their own border. [Veshavu Banim Le'Gvulam] (31:15-17)
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4. "More Brits Mulling Making Aliya" by David Byres
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1131955261592&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
A growing number of British Jews are considering making aliya or buying properties in Israel because of a growing climate of anti-Semitism, one of the countrys community leaders has said.
Alan Aziz, executive director of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, spoke to The Jerusalem Post after more than 8,000 people attended a massive exhibition it organized to promote aliya a rise from 5,000 the year before.
The London event, called From Israel with Love, contained more than 175 exhibits on how to make aliya, where to go traveling in Israel and how to buy an Israeli property. It also included booths celebrating and promoting Israeli culture and lifestyle.
As well as celebrating Israeli culture, a number of visitors to Sundays event were interested in Israeli real-estate and possible emigration.
I am sure that increased anti-Semitism is part of [the reason], Aziz said. People have said to me that the level of anti-Semitism is creeping up. In many ways it is disguised, but it is still recognizable. It is, perhaps, less in the mind-set of British people than elsewhere in Europe, in countries such as France but it is still there.
The fear of anti-Semitism in Britain was highlighted by Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks. Last month, in a special message to mark Rosh Hashana, he warned of a new wave of anti-Semitism, saying, There have been times, the first in my memory, when it has been uncomfortable to be a Jew in Britain.
In the message, Sacks condemned calls made by Sir Iqbal Sacranie, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, to abolish Holocaust Memorial Day and also cited remarks with anti-Semitic undertones by academics who unsuccessfully attempted to initiate a national university boycott of Israel earlier this year.
Fears of terrorism and Islamic extremism increased over the summer. The British government and Londons Metropolitan Police have repeatedly warned that other attacks are likely after July 7s quadruple bomb attack that killed 52 London commuters, and Prime Minister Tony Blairs attempt to introduce new 90-day detention-without-charge powers for suspected terrorists was defeated in Parliament last Wednesday after a massive rebellion by many of his lawmakers.
Aziz indicated this, too, could have had a bearing on why so many people expressed an interest in buying property in Israel or moving there.
Now is a time when people are concerned about whats going on in the world, both in Britain and outside, he said. It has definitely had an impact, he said, adding that the Zionist Federations event was the biggest Jewish event held in the UK during the last year.
We had 5,000 people last year, but we had over 8,000 this time, he said. I do not have the statistics on aliya files or on the number of properties that were sold, but there were certainly a number of them. But all the exhibitions, whether they were promoting moving to Israel, traveling to Israel or going on holiday, generated a huge amount of interest.
According to numbers from the Jewish Agency, 413 people made aliya from the UK in the first 10 months of 2005, an increase of 11 percent over the same period last year. This is the highest 10-month total since the intifada began. In comparison, 435 people made aliya from the UK in 2004 and 402 in 2003.
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5. "Hi Yishai,"
I'm not sure if you remember my email - it was about 2 years ago - I wrote to you and Eli under the moniker "Aryeh Yehuda". At the time I was really concerned that my bashert didn't share the same love for Ertez Yisrael as I do, and I'd despaired about ever making aliyah.
You guys gave me such wonderful and encouraging advice on your show. One thing that you said I still remember vividly, it was "perhaps you've been chosen to bring her closer to Israel and to God. Be joyous, be a Jewish hero!"
Well, my bashert and I were married in a wonderful traditional ceremony this past summer, and we've really laid the foundations for a warm loving Jewish home here in Washington DC. We're very involved in our local Orthodox shul, we've kashered our kitchen, we're learning Torah and growing together, and just everything is incredibly wonderful.
And we haven't forgotten the Land. Just last month, over the chagim, we had a crazy, incredible, fantastic, spiritual-physical-intellectual extravaganza of a honeymoon in Israel. All in all, we were in Jerusalem, Tsfat, the Carmel Mtn region (En Hod), and the Golan (Maale Gamla) for 17 days. Hiking, praying, eating (my Gd, the fruits & vegetables!) , even sleeping in & waking up late had such a sense of complete-ness, fullness, (and yes, holiness) that we can't even begin to explain in words.
We were so very sad to leave ('sad' is an understatement). We didn't want to leave. When we cam back to DC, we looked around the streets, the people, and kept asking each other "okay, now WHY do we live HERE?"
So now we're trying to figure out ways to come live in Israel for a year. And we've signed up for Hebrew classes. It's astounding, really. I think that maybe your analysis on the air those many months ago hit the nail on the head.
We're coming back to Israel. We're coming home. It may not be tomorrow or next month or next year, but we're on the road back home.
Thanks guys - enjoy our web album here - and you still most definitely ROCK!
Kol HaKavod,
Eric aka "Aryeh Yehuda"
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Kummunique - Issue 6, Parshat Lech Lecha 5766
Kummunique - Kumah's Shabbat and Holiday Bulletin
Issue 6, Parshat Lech Lecha 5766
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Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is filled with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!
In this issue you will find:
1. "America Week (and Bread Pudding)" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Walk With Me" by Yishai Fleisher
3. "A Bus Ride and Jewish Destiny" by Ze'ev Orenstein
4. "The Kotel" by Miriam Shapiro
5. "100 Days and Counting Since Aliyah" by Nicky Halpert
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1. "America Week" by Malkah Fleisher
This week, the Israeli grocery store Supersol ran "America Week". With big American flags in the windows, it lured shoppers. Though I consider myself to be an extremely well adjusted immigrant, rarely waxing nostalgic for the old country, I gestured emphatically, with big eyes and dreams of consumerism, as my husband and I passed by a Supersol this week, on the anniversary of our Aliyah (2 years!). We parked the car and entered. What delightful products, what American ingenuity, what heretofore missed items would we reintroduce into our life? We scanned the aisles.
Ultimately, I picked up 2 cans of black beans, 2 boxes of Pillsbury cake mix (which I have seen elsewhere in Israel) and a jar of Fluff. And that was it.
But what of the abundance, and the superior quality which I once depended on? First, many of the products touted by Supersol are regularly available in Israel. Heinz ketchup, Hellmann's mayonnaise, Tide detergent - all available in the small grocery store in Beit El, and certainly available elsewhere. Secondly, the remainder of the products were simply just as good in the Israeli brands. Do I really need a Keebler elf on the box, or can I just enjoy a cookie from the local bakery (which ISN'T loaded with preservatives)? Is Kleenex brand tissue that much better than the cheaper generics from the Holy Land?
I bought some things I wanted, and I left the store contented. I realized that I'm happy just where I am, with what I have.
This week's Torah portion features another eager immigrant who left the good life for the G-dly life. Of course, for Avram (soon to be Avraham), arriving in Israel meant trials a more severe than the lines at Misrad HaPenim. His beginnings in Israel consisted of a large tribal war with entrenched and villainous warlords who had kidnapped his nephew. Having bested them, he was greeted by an ancestor, Malchizedek (who is identified by Rashi as Shem, the son of Noah, and the father of Semites), who brought him bread and wine (a little housewarming present - Bereshit, 14:19) with blessings of peace.
To Jews, bread is very special. So if Avraham was lucky, maybe his industrious and holy wife Sarah (who was the first Eyshet Chayil) made him a little treat with the leftover bread.
Malkah's Famous Bread Pudding
Bread
Milk/Juice/Soymilk
Eggs
Chocolate/Jam/Banana/Berries/Apple
Heat oven to 375. Crumble bread in a bowl, douse with milk, juice, or soymilk, or any combination thereof, until all the bread is soggy. Add eggs until you feel that the mixture will hold together (3-6). Add chocolate pieces, spoonfuls of jam, banana or apple pieces, berries, or any combination thereof. Mix. Butter or oil a cake pan. Pour in mixture ¾ of the way to the top. Bake until the middle is set (you can bake it covered or uncovered). Eat it warm or cold, but eat it in the Land of Israel.
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2. "Walk With Me" by Yishai Fleisher
'Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother's son, all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls who they had made in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came.' (12;5)
The Torah never wastes words - why then does the Torah tell us 'and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came' - what is it trying to teach us? If Abraham and company came to the land of Cannaan, isn't it clear that he went to the land of Canaan? The Torah could have sufficed to tell us: 'Into the land of Canaan they came', why then does the Torah go out of its way to tell us that: 'they went forth to go into the land of Canaan'?
The answer lies in the distinction between leaving the Galut and making Aliyah. We all know about the great gift of the Land of Israel and the mitzva of making Aliyah. However, coming to Land of Israel on Aliyah is the easy part - the real challenge is leaving the Galut.
Back in Ur Kasdim, Abraham had established himself, he was well to do, and he was influential. He had built up a whole Torah based life-style there when suddenly G-d tells him:
"Lech Lecha - Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father's house, to the land that I will show you." This was not an easy trial - and therefore, leaving Ur Kasdim is one of the ten tests that G-d gave Abraham.
Today, making it in Israel is certainly a challenge, but leaving our established communities, leaving the lives we built up, even leaving the Torah life of the Galut is even harder. Yet, this is exactly what G-d commanded Abraham - and us - to do.
While we are on the topic....
How many times did G-d promise the Land of Israel to Abraham in Parshat Lech Lecha?
First Time:
G-d appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." He built an altar there to G-d, who appeared to him. (12;7)
Second time:
G-d said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring forever; I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then your seed may also be numbered; Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it to you." (13;14-17)
Third time:
He said to him, "I am G-d who brought you out of Ur Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it." (15;7)
Fourth time:
"I will establish my covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you; I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God." (17;7-8)
How many Holy Cities in the Land of Israel are mentioned in Parshat Lech Lecha?
First city:
Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. The Canaanite was then in the land. (12;6)
Second city:
He left from there to the mountain on the east of Beit El, and pitched his tent, having Beit El on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to G-d, and called on the name of G-d. (12;8)
and then again:
He went on his journeys from the South to Beit El, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beit El and Ai; to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Abram called on the name of G-d. (13;3)
Third city:
Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to G-d. (13;18)
Fourth city:
Melchizedek king of Shalem [Jerusalem] brought forth bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. (14;18)
The four holy cities correspond to the four G-dly promises and by dwelling in them we bring those promises to fruition. Our enemies sense that these cities are the key to our G-dly promise, and that is why they are trying so hard to oust us from our Abrahamic inheritance: Shechem, Beit El, Hebron, and Jerusalem.
The holiness of the Land of Israel, the love of the Land of Israel, and the centrality of the Land of Israel is evident in this week's Parsha, and it calls to us with a clear message - Lech Lecha, go forth, go to yourself, go to the Land of Israel.
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3. "A Bus Ride and Jewish Destiny" by Ze'ev Orenstein
Recently, I had an experience which, had it happened to me anywhere else but in Israel, I believe would have pretty much ruined my day, but happening in Israel, it gave me one more reason to appreciate how fortunate I am to be living here.
It started off with a bus ride into Jerusalem, in the midst of which the skies opened up and began pouring rain. (It happens to be that in Israel, rain puts me in a good mood, as rain is such a precious commodity here, and it gives me the feeling that Hashem is listening to our prayers).
I got off at Jerusalem's Central Bus Station, as I had a meeting outside of Jerusalem, in the vicinity of Latrun.
Unfortunately, as I got off the bus I realized that I had gotten off one stop too soon, and I was forced to begin walking alongside the highway, with the rain still coming down. At that moment I received a call from the person I was meeting, informing me that he was unable to make our meeting (which meant that I had schlepped out for nothing).
As I began the 15 minute or so walk to the bus stop back to Jerusalem the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun began to shine. The air felt clean, and as I looked around me, I took in the lush green hills, the cacti with their sabras, and I thought of how fortunate I was to just being able to walk through a different part of the Land of Israel.
The area of Latrun holds special significance to the Jewish People, among the events that occurred in this area include:
1) The battle most identified with the Latrun area is the battle of Joshua ben Nun, which took place in the area of Beit Horon against the five Amorite kings in the 13th century BCE. Joshua, who made an alliance with the Givonites, came to protect them when the five kings sought to punish them for that pact. His famous cry, "Sun, stand still upon Giv'on; and moon, in the valley of Ayalon" (Joshua 10:12-13)
2) Among the battles of the Maccabees, the battle of Emaos is the most mentioned (Maccabees 1, 3\38 - 4\35) because of the importance of Judah the Maccabee's victory over the Seljuks in the year 167 BCE. It was during this battle that the military and leadership accomplishments of Judah the Maccabee reached their peak.
3) Latrun, situated on the road to Jerusalem and, thanks to its geographic location, a dominant stop along the caravan routes to and from Jerusalem, was considered an important and key goal for conquest. During the War of Independence, three separate operations were executed in order to capture Latrun from the hands of the Jordanian Arab Legion, and to open the road to the besieged Jewish Jerusalem:
"Operation Ben Nun I," "Operation Ben Nun II" and "Operation Yoram." Not one of these attempts resulted in the desired goal - the conquest of Latrun. However, valiant action took place leading to the opening of the famous Burma Road, which circumvented Latrun, and broke the Arab siege.
Many of the Israeli conscripts had just survived the Holocaust and were new immigrants; most were poorly trained. The equipment was also very poor, and artillery support was lacking. The official combined number of casualties for both the battles was 139 (an extremely high figure for an assault conducted mainly by two battalions).
Latrun remained a mined enclave until our forces vanquished it during the Six Day War, in 1967. The road was reopened and the fort became a museum and a memorial site for Israel's armored forces.
As I walked alongside the road, I was humbled by the knowledge that here I was, walking in the footsteps of generations of Jewish heroes who fought and died so that the Jewish people could live as proud Jews in a sovereign Jewish State in the Land of Israel.
To the Jewish heroes, all I can offer is my heartfelt gratitude and thanks. I can only hope that I can do my part, following in your footsteps, fighting for a strong and proud Israel and Jewish Nation, so that your sacrifices should not have been in vain.
All this from a bus ride on a rainy day in Israel.
Nothing else can compare to the feeling a Jew gets from walking in the Land of his forefathers and knowing he has finally come home and is another link in the glorious chain of the Jewish People and Jewish History and Destiny - nothing comes close.
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4. "The Kotel" by Miriam Shapiro
In Jerusalem, capitol of Biblical Israel
From the minute I passed through the entrance gates
Heard the first words of t’fillah, of prayer
I felt a change in everything around me
The air even seems to fill me with a sense of spirituality
A feeling which I have never felt before
I see the beautiful sand colored stones
Cracked and worn of age
Rare plants sprouting from its cracks too high to reach
Looking up, I see seemingly endless wall
Each stone as holy as the next
I look up further, I must stretch my neck
But I see the clear blue sky, perfect and cloudless
I look down at my siddur, my prayer book
Saying each word made up of the Hebrew letters
I think about what a holy place I am in
The Shaliach Tzibor, the leader of the congregation
Says each word with such fervor, his voice trembling
He begins to cry, for the prayer has such meaning
Along the wall, people line up to daven, to pray
Touching the wall which guarded the city
The very city in which the Beit Hamikdash
The Holy Tabernacle once stood
The memories live on, and will live forever
Yet the only tangible remnants are but a wall, a wall of stone
The women standing on the right side, men on the left
The mechitza, the wall in the middle separating the sides
Both sides full, yet when I close my eyes and recite the words of prayer
The same words which I have said every day for most of my life
Seem to take on new meaning, become part of me
The entire courtyard seems empty
For I alone stand before G-d in my prayers
No one can disturb me, for I am immersed in my thoughts
Concentrating on nothing but the strong connection between me and G-d
And how much stronger it becomes every second that I stand there
Eyes closed, slowly saying each word, letting it flow through me
I shake back and forth from the depth of my prayer
Looking up to the Heavens above
Where I can feel G-d watching over me,
Listening to every word of my prayer
Every word of each song which is sung to Him
Each word fills my head with concentration, with spirituality
I come to a prayer about the very place in which I stand
The words seem to have meaning like never before
They make me shake even harder
My thoughts full of mixed feeling
With that of love, of fear, of never wanting to leave
I know that the feeling sadly will not last forever
So I treasure each minute as though that minute will be the last
I feel like I have something now which many pray for their entire lives
Yet it never comes, and I stand here, a feeling for which I have waited
Waited so long, seeming like forever to stand in Jerusalem
“The City of Peace”, “the City of G-d”, “the City Where the L-rd is Seen”
And here I am a place which once seemed so distant, so far away
As I say the prayer, for the first time I really understand its true meaning
“…And to Jerusalem, your city, with compassion may you return…..”
Tears begin to roll down my cheeks, for I have returned home.
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5. "100 Days and Counting Since Aliyah" by Nicky Halpert
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3166625,00.html
Hi. I would like to introduce my family to you. My husband is Alan Halpert, I am Nicky, and we have four boys: Yoni, 12, Eli, 10, Ori, 5, and Kovi, 2. I was born in South Africa and everyone else in Toronto. We made aliyah from Toronto. Below is the story of our first 100 days in Israel. I hope you enjoy it.
One hundred days in Israel.
No family and close friends to see each and every day; we have left them behind.
Every day we all wake up in Israel, in the land Hashem has given to us to love and to cherish and for us to think, read and learn about all the time. It is truly a miracle to have been able to come. Hashem we are eternally grateful and pray that you continue to guide us on this path.
Home is Rehov Hatena #2, Hashmonaim, a friendly, warm community, an observant community that closes down for Shabbos and lets our children feel the true meaning of Shabbos.
Unemployed and have no car!!!!
Nice neighbors and friends, for us and the kids. But especially the kids: we can't keep them at home. They are off biking, playing basketball, or going to parks, or to play capture the flag, or soccer, or off to survival chug (after-school program), computers, rollerblade hockey, homework tutors and the list keeps going….
Drivers' licenses we have. We got them easily and quickly. Yeah, Halperts. Go! Now we just need to be able to use them.
Room for all our stuff and then some in our new house. Just as well, we certainly shipped enough.
Excellent junk food and the weight on my hips - need I say more.
Dozens of emails to read and still to answer so please forgive me.
Days of shopping, cleaning and laundry come and go. Just like in Canada or anywhere else you may be.
Alan has been doing the car hunting and schlepping from one end of Israel to the other. He is the one working for money sometimes; thank goodness one of us is. He also washes dishes, cleans the floors, plays with the kids, puts them to bed and all the other fatherly things he's suposed to do. I do love him. I just want a car!! and a fence, and a shed, and some plumbing fixed etc.....
Yearnings for things familiar: I want to shop at Sobeys. I want Aish HaTorah’s family minyan back. I want my favorite butcher’s boerewors and biltong. I want Netivot’s (our kid’s old school) schmooze in the parking lot. I want my old neighbors on my street; we had such fun. I want to understand what people are saying and I want to be able to read what a sign or paper or billboard are advertising. I want to be able to speak on the phone or hear a recording that I understand, even though I hated them in Canada. The list will go on and on and on....
Singing at our Shabbos table: it brings joy to the soul and warmth to my heart.
Inviting guests to our sukkah was very special, and so was our sukkah.
Nothing will stop us now. We are here, and we will take each day as it comes. Even the lines at (nearby supermarket) Rami Levi will not stop us. Even the people who leave their carts at the checkouts, letting you believe you have a short line, only to find them running back and forth to fill their carts, not even they will stop us. Not even those flashing yellows at the traffic lights that have people beeping so you can rev those engines and be ready for take off as the light changes and G-d help you if you don't, not even they will stop us. Not even the Hebrew will stop me, not even my endless hiking trips up that stupid hill will I be stopped......
Israel, the land to be for all Jews.
Six o clock wake up calls, lunches, water bottles and backpacks to be done. And then the kids are off to school. It's a whirl wind before the sun rises here. School is so early, but you definitely get a lot done if you can stay awake after they've all gone to school.
Real life, real people, the struggles they've endured to keep our land with G-d's help. We need to be so grateful we can come home to this real place.
Air conditioners that need to be cleaned! Well if I hadn’t see it with my own eyes I would not have believed that a hose pipe was poured into my air conditioner in my living room and down came a Niagara Falls of water and dirt. I was in full gear with the squeegee and mop, pushing the stuff out my front door. It was beyond belief.
Eilat, what a sight, the fish, the water, the desert and all. It was amazing; we loved it, and want to go again. We had an amazing holiday, one we will never soon forget, especially since I thought we might not survive our jeep ride.
Love it, like it, long for home, but we have come this far and we will see the next 100 days through as well.
The Halpert family and hundreds of others from North America are making aliyah through the organization Nefesh B'Nefesh , founded several years ago to improve and increase aliyah
South Africa native Nicky Halpert plans to continue writing about her family's experiences in Israel for the readers of Ynetnews
Issue 6, Parshat Lech Lecha 5766
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Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is filled with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!
In this issue you will find:
1. "America Week (and Bread Pudding)" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Walk With Me" by Yishai Fleisher
3. "A Bus Ride and Jewish Destiny" by Ze'ev Orenstein
4. "The Kotel" by Miriam Shapiro
5. "100 Days and Counting Since Aliyah" by Nicky Halpert
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1. "America Week" by Malkah Fleisher
This week, the Israeli grocery store Supersol ran "America Week". With big American flags in the windows, it lured shoppers. Though I consider myself to be an extremely well adjusted immigrant, rarely waxing nostalgic for the old country, I gestured emphatically, with big eyes and dreams of consumerism, as my husband and I passed by a Supersol this week, on the anniversary of our Aliyah (2 years!). We parked the car and entered. What delightful products, what American ingenuity, what heretofore missed items would we reintroduce into our life? We scanned the aisles.
Ultimately, I picked up 2 cans of black beans, 2 boxes of Pillsbury cake mix (which I have seen elsewhere in Israel) and a jar of Fluff. And that was it.
But what of the abundance, and the superior quality which I once depended on? First, many of the products touted by Supersol are regularly available in Israel. Heinz ketchup, Hellmann's mayonnaise, Tide detergent - all available in the small grocery store in Beit El, and certainly available elsewhere. Secondly, the remainder of the products were simply just as good in the Israeli brands. Do I really need a Keebler elf on the box, or can I just enjoy a cookie from the local bakery (which ISN'T loaded with preservatives)? Is Kleenex brand tissue that much better than the cheaper generics from the Holy Land?
I bought some things I wanted, and I left the store contented. I realized that I'm happy just where I am, with what I have.
This week's Torah portion features another eager immigrant who left the good life for the G-dly life. Of course, for Avram (soon to be Avraham), arriving in Israel meant trials a more severe than the lines at Misrad HaPenim. His beginnings in Israel consisted of a large tribal war with entrenched and villainous warlords who had kidnapped his nephew. Having bested them, he was greeted by an ancestor, Malchizedek (who is identified by Rashi as Shem, the son of Noah, and the father of Semites), who brought him bread and wine (a little housewarming present - Bereshit, 14:19) with blessings of peace.
To Jews, bread is very special. So if Avraham was lucky, maybe his industrious and holy wife Sarah (who was the first Eyshet Chayil) made him a little treat with the leftover bread.
Malkah's Famous Bread Pudding
Bread
Milk/Juice/Soymilk
Eggs
Chocolate/Jam/Banana/Berries/Apple
Heat oven to 375. Crumble bread in a bowl, douse with milk, juice, or soymilk, or any combination thereof, until all the bread is soggy. Add eggs until you feel that the mixture will hold together (3-6). Add chocolate pieces, spoonfuls of jam, banana or apple pieces, berries, or any combination thereof. Mix. Butter or oil a cake pan. Pour in mixture ¾ of the way to the top. Bake until the middle is set (you can bake it covered or uncovered). Eat it warm or cold, but eat it in the Land of Israel.
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2. "Walk With Me" by Yishai Fleisher
'Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother's son, all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls who they had made in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came.' (12;5)
The Torah never wastes words - why then does the Torah tell us 'and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came' - what is it trying to teach us? If Abraham and company came to the land of Cannaan, isn't it clear that he went to the land of Canaan? The Torah could have sufficed to tell us: 'Into the land of Canaan they came', why then does the Torah go out of its way to tell us that: 'they went forth to go into the land of Canaan'?
The answer lies in the distinction between leaving the Galut and making Aliyah. We all know about the great gift of the Land of Israel and the mitzva of making Aliyah. However, coming to Land of Israel on Aliyah is the easy part - the real challenge is leaving the Galut.
Back in Ur Kasdim, Abraham had established himself, he was well to do, and he was influential. He had built up a whole Torah based life-style there when suddenly G-d tells him:
"Lech Lecha - Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father's house, to the land that I will show you." This was not an easy trial - and therefore, leaving Ur Kasdim is one of the ten tests that G-d gave Abraham.
Today, making it in Israel is certainly a challenge, but leaving our established communities, leaving the lives we built up, even leaving the Torah life of the Galut is even harder. Yet, this is exactly what G-d commanded Abraham - and us - to do.
While we are on the topic....
How many times did G-d promise the Land of Israel to Abraham in Parshat Lech Lecha?
First Time:
G-d appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." He built an altar there to G-d, who appeared to him. (12;7)
Second time:
G-d said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring forever; I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then your seed may also be numbered; Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it to you." (13;14-17)
Third time:
He said to him, "I am G-d who brought you out of Ur Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it." (15;7)
Fourth time:
"I will establish my covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you; I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God." (17;7-8)
How many Holy Cities in the Land of Israel are mentioned in Parshat Lech Lecha?
First city:
Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. The Canaanite was then in the land. (12;6)
Second city:
He left from there to the mountain on the east of Beit El, and pitched his tent, having Beit El on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to G-d, and called on the name of G-d. (12;8)
and then again:
He went on his journeys from the South to Beit El, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beit El and Ai; to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Abram called on the name of G-d. (13;3)
Third city:
Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to G-d. (13;18)
Fourth city:
Melchizedek king of Shalem [Jerusalem] brought forth bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. (14;18)
The four holy cities correspond to the four G-dly promises and by dwelling in them we bring those promises to fruition. Our enemies sense that these cities are the key to our G-dly promise, and that is why they are trying so hard to oust us from our Abrahamic inheritance: Shechem, Beit El, Hebron, and Jerusalem.
The holiness of the Land of Israel, the love of the Land of Israel, and the centrality of the Land of Israel is evident in this week's Parsha, and it calls to us with a clear message - Lech Lecha, go forth, go to yourself, go to the Land of Israel.
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3. "A Bus Ride and Jewish Destiny" by Ze'ev Orenstein
Recently, I had an experience which, had it happened to me anywhere else but in Israel, I believe would have pretty much ruined my day, but happening in Israel, it gave me one more reason to appreciate how fortunate I am to be living here.
It started off with a bus ride into Jerusalem, in the midst of which the skies opened up and began pouring rain. (It happens to be that in Israel, rain puts me in a good mood, as rain is such a precious commodity here, and it gives me the feeling that Hashem is listening to our prayers).
I got off at Jerusalem's Central Bus Station, as I had a meeting outside of Jerusalem, in the vicinity of Latrun.
Unfortunately, as I got off the bus I realized that I had gotten off one stop too soon, and I was forced to begin walking alongside the highway, with the rain still coming down. At that moment I received a call from the person I was meeting, informing me that he was unable to make our meeting (which meant that I had schlepped out for nothing).
As I began the 15 minute or so walk to the bus stop back to Jerusalem the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun began to shine. The air felt clean, and as I looked around me, I took in the lush green hills, the cacti with their sabras, and I thought of how fortunate I was to just being able to walk through a different part of the Land of Israel.
The area of Latrun holds special significance to the Jewish People, among the events that occurred in this area include:
1) The battle most identified with the Latrun area is the battle of Joshua ben Nun, which took place in the area of Beit Horon against the five Amorite kings in the 13th century BCE. Joshua, who made an alliance with the Givonites, came to protect them when the five kings sought to punish them for that pact. His famous cry, "Sun, stand still upon Giv'on; and moon, in the valley of Ayalon" (Joshua 10:12-13)
2) Among the battles of the Maccabees, the battle of Emaos is the most mentioned (Maccabees 1, 3\38 - 4\35) because of the importance of Judah the Maccabee's victory over the Seljuks in the year 167 BCE. It was during this battle that the military and leadership accomplishments of Judah the Maccabee reached their peak.
3) Latrun, situated on the road to Jerusalem and, thanks to its geographic location, a dominant stop along the caravan routes to and from Jerusalem, was considered an important and key goal for conquest. During the War of Independence, three separate operations were executed in order to capture Latrun from the hands of the Jordanian Arab Legion, and to open the road to the besieged Jewish Jerusalem:
"Operation Ben Nun I," "Operation Ben Nun II" and "Operation Yoram." Not one of these attempts resulted in the desired goal - the conquest of Latrun. However, valiant action took place leading to the opening of the famous Burma Road, which circumvented Latrun, and broke the Arab siege.
Many of the Israeli conscripts had just survived the Holocaust and were new immigrants; most were poorly trained. The equipment was also very poor, and artillery support was lacking. The official combined number of casualties for both the battles was 139 (an extremely high figure for an assault conducted mainly by two battalions).
Latrun remained a mined enclave until our forces vanquished it during the Six Day War, in 1967. The road was reopened and the fort became a museum and a memorial site for Israel's armored forces.
As I walked alongside the road, I was humbled by the knowledge that here I was, walking in the footsteps of generations of Jewish heroes who fought and died so that the Jewish people could live as proud Jews in a sovereign Jewish State in the Land of Israel.
To the Jewish heroes, all I can offer is my heartfelt gratitude and thanks. I can only hope that I can do my part, following in your footsteps, fighting for a strong and proud Israel and Jewish Nation, so that your sacrifices should not have been in vain.
All this from a bus ride on a rainy day in Israel.
Nothing else can compare to the feeling a Jew gets from walking in the Land of his forefathers and knowing he has finally come home and is another link in the glorious chain of the Jewish People and Jewish History and Destiny - nothing comes close.
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4. "The Kotel" by Miriam Shapiro
In Jerusalem, capitol of Biblical Israel
From the minute I passed through the entrance gates
Heard the first words of t’fillah, of prayer
I felt a change in everything around me
The air even seems to fill me with a sense of spirituality
A feeling which I have never felt before
I see the beautiful sand colored stones
Cracked and worn of age
Rare plants sprouting from its cracks too high to reach
Looking up, I see seemingly endless wall
Each stone as holy as the next
I look up further, I must stretch my neck
But I see the clear blue sky, perfect and cloudless
I look down at my siddur, my prayer book
Saying each word made up of the Hebrew letters
I think about what a holy place I am in
The Shaliach Tzibor, the leader of the congregation
Says each word with such fervor, his voice trembling
He begins to cry, for the prayer has such meaning
Along the wall, people line up to daven, to pray
Touching the wall which guarded the city
The very city in which the Beit Hamikdash
The Holy Tabernacle once stood
The memories live on, and will live forever
Yet the only tangible remnants are but a wall, a wall of stone
The women standing on the right side, men on the left
The mechitza, the wall in the middle separating the sides
Both sides full, yet when I close my eyes and recite the words of prayer
The same words which I have said every day for most of my life
Seem to take on new meaning, become part of me
The entire courtyard seems empty
For I alone stand before G-d in my prayers
No one can disturb me, for I am immersed in my thoughts
Concentrating on nothing but the strong connection between me and G-d
And how much stronger it becomes every second that I stand there
Eyes closed, slowly saying each word, letting it flow through me
I shake back and forth from the depth of my prayer
Looking up to the Heavens above
Where I can feel G-d watching over me,
Listening to every word of my prayer
Every word of each song which is sung to Him
Each word fills my head with concentration, with spirituality
I come to a prayer about the very place in which I stand
The words seem to have meaning like never before
They make me shake even harder
My thoughts full of mixed feeling
With that of love, of fear, of never wanting to leave
I know that the feeling sadly will not last forever
So I treasure each minute as though that minute will be the last
I feel like I have something now which many pray for their entire lives
Yet it never comes, and I stand here, a feeling for which I have waited
Waited so long, seeming like forever to stand in Jerusalem
“The City of Peace”, “the City of G-d”, “the City Where the L-rd is Seen”
And here I am a place which once seemed so distant, so far away
As I say the prayer, for the first time I really understand its true meaning
“…And to Jerusalem, your city, with compassion may you return…..”
Tears begin to roll down my cheeks, for I have returned home.
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5. "100 Days and Counting Since Aliyah" by Nicky Halpert
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3166625,00.html
Hi. I would like to introduce my family to you. My husband is Alan Halpert, I am Nicky, and we have four boys: Yoni, 12, Eli, 10, Ori, 5, and Kovi, 2. I was born in South Africa and everyone else in Toronto. We made aliyah from Toronto. Below is the story of our first 100 days in Israel. I hope you enjoy it.
One hundred days in Israel.
No family and close friends to see each and every day; we have left them behind.
Every day we all wake up in Israel, in the land Hashem has given to us to love and to cherish and for us to think, read and learn about all the time. It is truly a miracle to have been able to come. Hashem we are eternally grateful and pray that you continue to guide us on this path.
Home is Rehov Hatena #2, Hashmonaim, a friendly, warm community, an observant community that closes down for Shabbos and lets our children feel the true meaning of Shabbos.
Unemployed and have no car!!!!
Nice neighbors and friends, for us and the kids. But especially the kids: we can't keep them at home. They are off biking, playing basketball, or going to parks, or to play capture the flag, or soccer, or off to survival chug (after-school program), computers, rollerblade hockey, homework tutors and the list keeps going….
Drivers' licenses we have. We got them easily and quickly. Yeah, Halperts. Go! Now we just need to be able to use them.
Room for all our stuff and then some in our new house. Just as well, we certainly shipped enough.
Excellent junk food and the weight on my hips - need I say more.
Dozens of emails to read and still to answer so please forgive me.
Days of shopping, cleaning and laundry come and go. Just like in Canada or anywhere else you may be.
Alan has been doing the car hunting and schlepping from one end of Israel to the other. He is the one working for money sometimes; thank goodness one of us is. He also washes dishes, cleans the floors, plays with the kids, puts them to bed and all the other fatherly things he's suposed to do. I do love him. I just want a car!! and a fence, and a shed, and some plumbing fixed etc.....
Yearnings for things familiar: I want to shop at Sobeys. I want Aish HaTorah’s family minyan back. I want my favorite butcher’s boerewors and biltong. I want Netivot’s (our kid’s old school) schmooze in the parking lot. I want my old neighbors on my street; we had such fun. I want to understand what people are saying and I want to be able to read what a sign or paper or billboard are advertising. I want to be able to speak on the phone or hear a recording that I understand, even though I hated them in Canada. The list will go on and on and on....
Singing at our Shabbos table: it brings joy to the soul and warmth to my heart.
Inviting guests to our sukkah was very special, and so was our sukkah.
Nothing will stop us now. We are here, and we will take each day as it comes. Even the lines at (nearby supermarket) Rami Levi will not stop us. Even the people who leave their carts at the checkouts, letting you believe you have a short line, only to find them running back and forth to fill their carts, not even they will stop us. Not even those flashing yellows at the traffic lights that have people beeping so you can rev those engines and be ready for take off as the light changes and G-d help you if you don't, not even they will stop us. Not even the Hebrew will stop me, not even my endless hiking trips up that stupid hill will I be stopped......
Israel, the land to be for all Jews.
Six o clock wake up calls, lunches, water bottles and backpacks to be done. And then the kids are off to school. It's a whirl wind before the sun rises here. School is so early, but you definitely get a lot done if you can stay awake after they've all gone to school.
Real life, real people, the struggles they've endured to keep our land with G-d's help. We need to be so grateful we can come home to this real place.
Air conditioners that need to be cleaned! Well if I hadn’t see it with my own eyes I would not have believed that a hose pipe was poured into my air conditioner in my living room and down came a Niagara Falls of water and dirt. I was in full gear with the squeegee and mop, pushing the stuff out my front door. It was beyond belief.
Eilat, what a sight, the fish, the water, the desert and all. It was amazing; we loved it, and want to go again. We had an amazing holiday, one we will never soon forget, especially since I thought we might not survive our jeep ride.
Love it, like it, long for home, but we have come this far and we will see the next 100 days through as well.
The Halpert family and hundreds of others from North America are making aliyah through the organization Nefesh B'Nefesh , founded several years ago to improve and increase aliyah
South Africa native Nicky Halpert plans to continue writing about her family's experiences in Israel for the readers of Ynetnews
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Kummunique - Issue 5, Parshat Noach 5766
Kummunique - Kumah's Shabbat and Holiday Bulletin
Issue 5, Parshat Noach 5766
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Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is flooded with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!
In this issue you will find:
1. "Welcome back to your life! (and Moroccan Fish)" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Ram Cheshvan" by Yishai Fleisher
3. "Aliyah: An Un-Orthodox Demand?"
4. "An Open Letter to American (Orthodox) Jewry" by Orit
5. "An Invitation To Return Home" by Eli Newman
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1. "Welcome back to your life!" by Malkah Fleisher
Thank goodness for all those holidays we just celebrated, and thank goodness that we're now back to our daily grinds, looking forward to only one sanctified day a week. Those of you who woke up somewhere in the Diaspora this morning are likely gearing up for serious overtime and groveling, promising The Man that you will make up all that work you failed so miserably to do, because of that nagging "Jewishness" you must continually profess. For those of you who woke up in the brisk air of a bright Jewish future, nursing your chocolate milk in a bag and chopping some tomatoes and cucumbers for breakfast, you're likely refreshed by a month's worth of holidays, ready to get back to work, where you will swap holiday anecdotes and revel in the knowledge that the company you and your colleagues work for paid you all half time for barely a stitch of work this whole month. Reason number 5,766 for making Aliyah.
This week is parshat Noach - insult, intrigue, and boats. In the story of the flood, we are reminded that justice can be harsh, and that G-d's kindness can be very gentle. Noach is saved, the world lives on, and fruitfulness and multiplication builds a new world. One creature, a symbol of fruitfulness itself, was said to have been saved from the annihilation brought by the flood - the fish. The fish is known to be part of its environment - it lives and breathes water. She is a metaphor for an ideal, a righteous Jewish life - breathing and living Torah everyday, all day, naturally. Though the State of Israel is far from the ideal nation-state we've envisioned, the Land of Israel is still the perfect place for raising ideal Jews, Jews who are a physical part of their environment, an environment which nurtures and loves them and IS them. Fish are especially blessed, Jews are especially blessed. Sounds like a good match. So in honor of the special Jews and the special fish, here's a great recipe from one of the great fallen exiles:
Malkah's Moroccan fish:
A kilo and a half of fish fillets (I like the really meaty fish, but don't use salmon)
4 potatoes, roasted and sliced
2 red or yellow peppers, sliced and sauteed
2 Tomatoes, quartered
Charmoula sauce:
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped parsley (or you can just use a cup of cilantro. If you really love cilantro, use more - why not?)
5 cloves garlic, chopped
5 Tablespoons lemon juice (you can reduce this if you're not a big lemon lover)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin (you can increase to a teaspoon if you'd like)
1/2 cup olive oil
pepper to taste
Preheat your oven to 425 Farenheit (aka: crank it up pretty hot). In a food processor, toss in all the ingredients for Charmoula sauce, and pulse a bit, until it's pretty well blended and the pieces are pretty small. If you don't have a food processor, just mince the greens and garlic, and mix with the other ingredients of the sauce. In a baking pan, lay roasted potato slices, peppers and tomatoes. Arrange the fish over the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and top with the Charmoula sauce. Bake 10 to 15 minutes (covered is preferrable). Voila - a feast fit for an ark full of your favorite people.
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2. "Ram Cheshvan" by Yishai Fleisher
Happy New Month - Rosh Chodesh Sameach!!!
Usually people will tell you that this month, Cheshvan, is called Mar, bitter. Usually people will tell you that we have no holidays this month either.
However, if you flip Mar it becomes Ram, which means great. Indeed this month is great, and it does have holidays....
In 1166 Maimonides, the Rambam, visited the Holy Land and this is what he wrote:
"We left Acco for Jerusalem under perilous conditions. I entered into 'the great and holy house' (the site of the Holy Temple) and prayed there, on the sixth day of the month of Cheshvan. And on the first day of the week, the ninth day of the month of Cheshvan, I left Jerusalem for Hebron to kiss the graves of my forefathers in the Cave of Machpela. And on that very day I stood in the Cave and I prayed, praised be G-d for everything. And these two days, the sixth (when he prayed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem) and the ninth of Mar-Heshvan I vowed to make as a special holiday and in which I will rejoice with prayer, food and drink. May the Lord help me to keep my vows.."
So the Rambam came to the Land and made Aliyah to the holy places, and it was in the 6th and the 9th of Cheshvan that he vowed to celebrate every year.
The 11th of Cheshvan is the Yartzeit of Rachel Emeinu, the matriarch Rachel. Rachel is closely associated with Aliyah because of this famous passage:
Yirmiyahu 31
15. Thus says G-d: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
16. Thus says G-d: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says G-d; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
17. There is hope for your future, says G-d; and your children shall come again to their own border.
Rachel weeps for her children, waiting for them to come home. When we do come home, it is important for us to come to her, to Kever Rachel, and to say: "Eema, we have finally come home to you." It is for this reason that the 11th of Cheshvan is a good day for the creation of a new Jewish holiday: Aliyah Day.
Also, every Cheshvan we read Parshat Lech Lecha, the story of Abraham leaving his place of birth and being the first Jew to set foot on the Land of Israel:
Bereishit 12
1. Now G-d said to Abram, "Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.
2. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you, and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
3. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curses you. In you will all of the families of the earth be blessed."
4. So Abram went, as G-d had spoken to him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5. Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother's son, all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls who they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came.
6. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. The Canaanite was then in the land.
7. G-d appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." He built an altar there to G-d, who appeared to him.
8. He left from there to the mountain on the east of Beit El, and pitched his tent, having Beit El on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to G-d, and called on the name of G-d.
Finally, this month is a personal holiday for me, for it was in this month that my wife and I came to Israel on the 7th of Cheshvan, and I too will celebrate this day with the help of G-d.
May G-d gather us from the four corners of the world and may we merit to make Aliyah and to Keep Making Aliyah.
May the words of King David come true for us:
Psalms 84
5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you; Who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage.
6. Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings.
7. They go from strength to strength. Everyone of them appears before God in Zion.
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3. Aliyah: An Un-Orthodox Demand?
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=92027
Is Religious Zionism's emphasis on Aliyah is harmful to the U.S. singles community? An intense e-conversation on this charge is underway in the Jewish Orthodox blogosphere.
Entitled Is Religious Zionism Destructive For Orthodox Singles?, the discussion was initiated by a man who felt that a prospective soulmate's insistence on Aliyah [immigration to Israel] as a possible option was destructive. "I can't believe," he writes, "you [the woman whose profile on a singles' site included Aliyah as an important condition] would give up on our future, our potentially amazing compatibility, just because of that one line! Just because you have a love for the Holy Land, does it necessitate giving up on a possible soulmate because you are convinced that you must live in Israel?"
The man wrote that though he loves Israel, and feels "the siren song of its holiness, the heavy and intoxicating weight of our history embedded in every square foot of the land," he cannot consider Aliyah: "The notion of moving away from friends and family, our [Torah classes] and rabbis, from our hard fought and well established careers and livelihoods, from our community and [kindness projects] involvements, and most of all not being able to see our darling nephews and nieces grow and blossom, is counterproductive to the kind of lives we seek."
The posting elicited a wave of responses, largely opposed to his view. "Living in Israel is not [merely] a 'spiritual indulgence,'" one wrote. "It is essential to our survival as individuals and as a people... The way I see this, you are taking a long, hard and cold look at a mitzvah [Torah precept] that's unpleasant to you and you are not only declaring that you will not follow it, but you are sniping testily at those around you who strive honestly to do so."
Another person wrote, "I think you're off base. How is this different than any other extremely important goal a person may have in life which they are committed to?"
Shoshana, on the other hand, agreed with the original writer: "I feel that, in relation to dating, it is important to keep an open mind about many things rather than counting potential dates out because of certain aspects or disagreements in viewpoint."
Another reader wrote: "Your whole premise about marriage disregards one main motivating factor of marriage - Children! That beautiful woman wants to have her children grow up in Israel, in the Jewish land, speaking Hebrew, going up to Yerushalayim - living the dream! Teaneck-living is not for her offspring - she wants a FULL Jewish life for them... and she wants a husband who will give her that life... I have seen it over and over again - Olim [new immigrant] couples are beautiful. It's so exciting for singles with a common background and language to meet here in Israel, or to make Aliyah together. It's realizing a dream, overcoming odds, growing together through a joint endeavor... The Aliyah movement is going to get only bigger - this very conversation testifies to that new reality."
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4. "An Open Letter to American (Orthodox) Jewry" by Orit
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=5679
First, I'd like to thank you, America, for being a wonderful host to me after the terrible Disengagement. It was nice to spend time with my family in sunny Los Angeles, relax with manicures and pedicures, and zone out to the latest TV shows. I was able to gather new strength, gain new perspectives, and clarify my mission to go back to Israel and change a country.
However, it was less fun to go to shul on the High Holidays at my folks' Modern Orthodox synagogue. Services were terribly boring. But what really annoyed me was that no one talked about Gush Katif. The sermons that I heard (or didn't fall asleep to) mentioned Katrina a lot, but rabbis were eerily silent on the topic of the Disengagement. I find this a little disturbing, because all throughout the holidays we pray for the joy and peace of Israel; yet, while thousands of Israelis are in a state of suffering, uncertainty and confusion, no one seems to care, even though the liturgy expresses otherwise.
It was also interesting that on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, when we're supposed to reflect rigorously on the state of our soul, no one really talked about the fate-altering Disengagement. This certainly should have been a hot topic on the Day of Atonement, but again, it was easily evaded, if it was even on anyone's minds. And still, we prayed - all day - for righteousness, honesty and peace of mind - personal and national.
But, in America at least, Judaism is not about the Jewish people anymore. Judaism is about having a nice life and wearing nice outfits to shul, where you can network with equally smart, successful and well-dressed people. It's about saying morning and evening prayers because it feels holy and idealistic, and, hey, everyone wants to feel good about themselves.
For many American Jews, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur seemed all about how to continue living a nice, suburban life. The Torah might as well be a Tony Robbins self-help book, because it outlines great techniques for living, sprinkled with a few historic traditions and ethical codes.
I realized, during my nice stay with you, that you say you care, but deep down, I don't think you really do. You say you love Israel and that you are Zionists, but I don't think you really are. You see, Judaism is not about nationalism to you. Judaism is not about a people living free, independent and strong in their homeland; it's about having a nice house, a good parnasa, and a way of life that's safe and comfortable.
That's why many of you (and there are exceptions), didn't really like talking about the Disengagement. That's why some of you were even happy that it occurred, and that America was appeased, because God forbid, your generous host - your real nation -- would be mad at you otherwise. As soon as you have to take a stand or interrupt your lifestyle, you retreat to your prayer books and everyday say words like:
"Blessed are You, HaShem, Who redeems Israel, Who gathers the dispersed of Israel, Who loves righteousness and judgment, Who breaks His enemies and humbles wanton sinners, Who builds Jerusalem, Who sprouts the rays of redemption, Who restores His Presence to Zion."
These are supposed to be your values, but are they? Do you mean these prayers? Do you want these blessings? No, you do not. Because if you did, you'd be taking a lot more risks for Israel than you are now. You'd seriously consider - and what a thought! - fulfilling the mitzvah of living in the country. You'd save some money, pick-up your family, and take part in realizing your prayers - the ingathering of the exiles, the building of Jerusalem, the restoration of Zion - no matter how difficult it will be.
Or maybe the flaws are in the prayers and the Diaspora Jews who penned them long ago, because it's easy to absolve all responsibility to HaShem and just say, "HaShem restores Zion, HaShem breaks His enemies, I don't have to do a thing!" But HaShem once said, through his prophet Isaiah, "Of what are your great many sacrifices to me? I am full of the burnt-offerings and the fat of fed beasts." Prayers are considered the modern-day substitute for animal sacrifices, and HaShem's sick of them. He doesn't want your new moon and Shabbat invocations - HaShem calls them "iniquity." He says that you can pray all you want, but he won't answer them.
HaShem wants us to do what's right and to seek justice - thus says Isaiah.
But Torah is not about doing what's right anymore, is it? It's about making enough money to send kids to Jewish day schools, so that one day, they could also have a big house and two cars in the same neighborhood and send their kids to the same school and shul, and so on and so forth, forever.
And when Israel is at war with her neighbors, and her people are dying, they'll continue to send their kids to Jewish day schools, and say the same prayers in the same shul, and maybe they'll send some money to Israel, but they'll be glad they are in their beloved America. When Judaism is too difficult, why put yourself on the line? Why risk your life or your lifestyle? Why shed blood? After all, it's only a religion.
And I wouldn't want you to risk your life for a religion. But it's not a religion we're talking about. It's about a nation - the Jewish nation and its people - me, you, your spouse, your kids, your parents. It's about fighting for what is right and pursing justice. But that doesn't seem to be too important these days.
So, farewell America. I had a good time. You're a good friend, you can be there for me in difficult times, but I have to catch a plane and start finding myself some justice.
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5. "An Invitation To Return Home" by Eli Newman
If there's ever been a time to think seriously about making Aliyah, that time is now. Our People have been praying to The Almighty throughout the centuries for the Final Redemption. Our sages have instructed us, that in the End of Days preceding the Final Redemption, Our People will have begun returning Home in considerable numbers. This process is already well underway. Right now, the majority of the global Jewish population still resides outside of Israel, but not by much. Every Jewish soul that relocates to Israel counts for two in this calculation; one towards increasing Israel's Jewish population, and one towards decreasing the number of Jews residing outside of Israel.
Religious or Political…
Whichever school of thought you're coming from, the Jewish Homeland is, was, and will be in the Land of Israel. Not the United States, not the United Kingdom, and certainly not Uganda. Still, after so many generations of Wandering, "Next Year in Jerusalem" has lost meaning for some of us. Why stand and wave a flag at a Pro Israel Rally in Washington, London or Toronto, when you can be contributing daily by living in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa or Netanya? It baffles me to hear Jews in the Diaspora complaining about Israel trading land for promises of peace with the Palestinians. I'm not a fan of these policies either, only because I don't believe they will be successful. However, as long as I'm not living in Israel, paying taxes in Israel, serving in the IDF, celebrating Holidays on Holy Land or voting in Israel, who am I to complain? G-d has shifted history for us such that we now have the option of going Home without considerable difficulty compared with the previous generations, who faced much peril on their road to Jerusalem. Imagine if NBN had been available to the Jews of Eastern Europe in the early 20th century? Or the Jews of Spain in the Middle Ages?
What is NBN?
Are you serious? If you still haven't heard of Nefesh B' Nefesh, I'd be honored and delighted to tell you a little bit about them. NBN is a non profit organization dedicated to bringing Jews home. They've been at it for a few years so far. They help in so many ways. NBN has entire departments devoted to helping new olim find jobs and communities to live in. They also provide financial assistance to eligible applicants to help them get started.
I can go on all day about NBN, but take a look at their site at www.nefeshbnefesh.org .
Big Picture
We've been all over the world throughout our history. Often from one exile into the next. The only place left to go is Home. North America is currently home to the majority of Our People. Next is Israel, followed by England and France. When the majority of Our People have settled in Israel, interesting things are sure to happen. In a political sense most likely, and in a religious sense, most certainly. What are you waiting for? Moshiach? It's coming.
The Rambam said so. I believe him.
Seasonal Sentimentality
Following the Holiday of Sukkot, let's keep in mind the differences between all that is temporary, and all that is permanent. In starting to read the Torah again this week, let's try to understand it better this year. Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tovah!
Editor's note: I will be making Aliyah, B' Ezrat HaShem, on December 27, 2005 with the help of NBN. Hope to see you all at Home soon.
Issue 5, Parshat Noach 5766
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Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is flooded with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!
In this issue you will find:
1. "Welcome back to your life! (and Moroccan Fish)" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Ram Cheshvan" by Yishai Fleisher
3. "Aliyah: An Un-Orthodox Demand?"
4. "An Open Letter to American (Orthodox) Jewry" by Orit
5. "An Invitation To Return Home" by Eli Newman
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1. "Welcome back to your life!" by Malkah Fleisher
Thank goodness for all those holidays we just celebrated, and thank goodness that we're now back to our daily grinds, looking forward to only one sanctified day a week. Those of you who woke up somewhere in the Diaspora this morning are likely gearing up for serious overtime and groveling, promising The Man that you will make up all that work you failed so miserably to do, because of that nagging "Jewishness" you must continually profess. For those of you who woke up in the brisk air of a bright Jewish future, nursing your chocolate milk in a bag and chopping some tomatoes and cucumbers for breakfast, you're likely refreshed by a month's worth of holidays, ready to get back to work, where you will swap holiday anecdotes and revel in the knowledge that the company you and your colleagues work for paid you all half time for barely a stitch of work this whole month. Reason number 5,766 for making Aliyah.
This week is parshat Noach - insult, intrigue, and boats. In the story of the flood, we are reminded that justice can be harsh, and that G-d's kindness can be very gentle. Noach is saved, the world lives on, and fruitfulness and multiplication builds a new world. One creature, a symbol of fruitfulness itself, was said to have been saved from the annihilation brought by the flood - the fish. The fish is known to be part of its environment - it lives and breathes water. She is a metaphor for an ideal, a righteous Jewish life - breathing and living Torah everyday, all day, naturally. Though the State of Israel is far from the ideal nation-state we've envisioned, the Land of Israel is still the perfect place for raising ideal Jews, Jews who are a physical part of their environment, an environment which nurtures and loves them and IS them. Fish are especially blessed, Jews are especially blessed. Sounds like a good match. So in honor of the special Jews and the special fish, here's a great recipe from one of the great fallen exiles:
Malkah's Moroccan fish:
A kilo and a half of fish fillets (I like the really meaty fish, but don't use salmon)
4 potatoes, roasted and sliced
2 red or yellow peppers, sliced and sauteed
2 Tomatoes, quartered
Charmoula sauce:
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped parsley (or you can just use a cup of cilantro. If you really love cilantro, use more - why not?)
5 cloves garlic, chopped
5 Tablespoons lemon juice (you can reduce this if you're not a big lemon lover)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin (you can increase to a teaspoon if you'd like)
1/2 cup olive oil
pepper to taste
Preheat your oven to 425 Farenheit (aka: crank it up pretty hot). In a food processor, toss in all the ingredients for Charmoula sauce, and pulse a bit, until it's pretty well blended and the pieces are pretty small. If you don't have a food processor, just mince the greens and garlic, and mix with the other ingredients of the sauce. In a baking pan, lay roasted potato slices, peppers and tomatoes. Arrange the fish over the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and top with the Charmoula sauce. Bake 10 to 15 minutes (covered is preferrable). Voila - a feast fit for an ark full of your favorite people.
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2. "Ram Cheshvan" by Yishai Fleisher
Happy New Month - Rosh Chodesh Sameach!!!
Usually people will tell you that this month, Cheshvan, is called Mar, bitter. Usually people will tell you that we have no holidays this month either.
However, if you flip Mar it becomes Ram, which means great. Indeed this month is great, and it does have holidays....
In 1166 Maimonides, the Rambam, visited the Holy Land and this is what he wrote:
"We left Acco for Jerusalem under perilous conditions. I entered into 'the great and holy house' (the site of the Holy Temple) and prayed there, on the sixth day of the month of Cheshvan. And on the first day of the week, the ninth day of the month of Cheshvan, I left Jerusalem for Hebron to kiss the graves of my forefathers in the Cave of Machpela. And on that very day I stood in the Cave and I prayed, praised be G-d for everything. And these two days, the sixth (when he prayed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem) and the ninth of Mar-Heshvan I vowed to make as a special holiday and in which I will rejoice with prayer, food and drink. May the Lord help me to keep my vows.."
So the Rambam came to the Land and made Aliyah to the holy places, and it was in the 6th and the 9th of Cheshvan that he vowed to celebrate every year.
The 11th of Cheshvan is the Yartzeit of Rachel Emeinu, the matriarch Rachel. Rachel is closely associated with Aliyah because of this famous passage:
Yirmiyahu 31
15. Thus says G-d: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
16. Thus says G-d: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says G-d; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
17. There is hope for your future, says G-d; and your children shall come again to their own border.
Rachel weeps for her children, waiting for them to come home. When we do come home, it is important for us to come to her, to Kever Rachel, and to say: "Eema, we have finally come home to you." It is for this reason that the 11th of Cheshvan is a good day for the creation of a new Jewish holiday: Aliyah Day.
Also, every Cheshvan we read Parshat Lech Lecha, the story of Abraham leaving his place of birth and being the first Jew to set foot on the Land of Israel:
Bereishit 12
1. Now G-d said to Abram, "Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.
2. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you, and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
3. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curses you. In you will all of the families of the earth be blessed."
4. So Abram went, as G-d had spoken to him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5. Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother's son, all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls who they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came.
6. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. The Canaanite was then in the land.
7. G-d appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." He built an altar there to G-d, who appeared to him.
8. He left from there to the mountain on the east of Beit El, and pitched his tent, having Beit El on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to G-d, and called on the name of G-d.
Finally, this month is a personal holiday for me, for it was in this month that my wife and I came to Israel on the 7th of Cheshvan, and I too will celebrate this day with the help of G-d.
May G-d gather us from the four corners of the world and may we merit to make Aliyah and to Keep Making Aliyah.
May the words of King David come true for us:
Psalms 84
5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you; Who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage.
6. Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings.
7. They go from strength to strength. Everyone of them appears before God in Zion.
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3. Aliyah: An Un-Orthodox Demand?
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=92027
Is Religious Zionism's emphasis on Aliyah is harmful to the U.S. singles community? An intense e-conversation on this charge is underway in the Jewish Orthodox blogosphere.
Entitled Is Religious Zionism Destructive For Orthodox Singles?, the discussion was initiated by a man who felt that a prospective soulmate's insistence on Aliyah [immigration to Israel] as a possible option was destructive. "I can't believe," he writes, "you [the woman whose profile on a singles' site included Aliyah as an important condition] would give up on our future, our potentially amazing compatibility, just because of that one line! Just because you have a love for the Holy Land, does it necessitate giving up on a possible soulmate because you are convinced that you must live in Israel?"
The man wrote that though he loves Israel, and feels "the siren song of its holiness, the heavy and intoxicating weight of our history embedded in every square foot of the land," he cannot consider Aliyah: "The notion of moving away from friends and family, our [Torah classes] and rabbis, from our hard fought and well established careers and livelihoods, from our community and [kindness projects] involvements, and most of all not being able to see our darling nephews and nieces grow and blossom, is counterproductive to the kind of lives we seek."
The posting elicited a wave of responses, largely opposed to his view. "Living in Israel is not [merely] a 'spiritual indulgence,'" one wrote. "It is essential to our survival as individuals and as a people... The way I see this, you are taking a long, hard and cold look at a mitzvah [Torah precept] that's unpleasant to you and you are not only declaring that you will not follow it, but you are sniping testily at those around you who strive honestly to do so."
Another person wrote, "I think you're off base. How is this different than any other extremely important goal a person may have in life which they are committed to?"
Shoshana, on the other hand, agreed with the original writer: "I feel that, in relation to dating, it is important to keep an open mind about many things rather than counting potential dates out because of certain aspects or disagreements in viewpoint."
Another reader wrote: "Your whole premise about marriage disregards one main motivating factor of marriage - Children! That beautiful woman wants to have her children grow up in Israel, in the Jewish land, speaking Hebrew, going up to Yerushalayim - living the dream! Teaneck-living is not for her offspring - she wants a FULL Jewish life for them... and she wants a husband who will give her that life... I have seen it over and over again - Olim [new immigrant] couples are beautiful. It's so exciting for singles with a common background and language to meet here in Israel, or to make Aliyah together. It's realizing a dream, overcoming odds, growing together through a joint endeavor... The Aliyah movement is going to get only bigger - this very conversation testifies to that new reality."
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4. "An Open Letter to American (Orthodox) Jewry" by Orit
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=5679
First, I'd like to thank you, America, for being a wonderful host to me after the terrible Disengagement. It was nice to spend time with my family in sunny Los Angeles, relax with manicures and pedicures, and zone out to the latest TV shows. I was able to gather new strength, gain new perspectives, and clarify my mission to go back to Israel and change a country.
However, it was less fun to go to shul on the High Holidays at my folks' Modern Orthodox synagogue. Services were terribly boring. But what really annoyed me was that no one talked about Gush Katif. The sermons that I heard (or didn't fall asleep to) mentioned Katrina a lot, but rabbis were eerily silent on the topic of the Disengagement. I find this a little disturbing, because all throughout the holidays we pray for the joy and peace of Israel; yet, while thousands of Israelis are in a state of suffering, uncertainty and confusion, no one seems to care, even though the liturgy expresses otherwise.
It was also interesting that on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, when we're supposed to reflect rigorously on the state of our soul, no one really talked about the fate-altering Disengagement. This certainly should have been a hot topic on the Day of Atonement, but again, it was easily evaded, if it was even on anyone's minds. And still, we prayed - all day - for righteousness, honesty and peace of mind - personal and national.
But, in America at least, Judaism is not about the Jewish people anymore. Judaism is about having a nice life and wearing nice outfits to shul, where you can network with equally smart, successful and well-dressed people. It's about saying morning and evening prayers because it feels holy and idealistic, and, hey, everyone wants to feel good about themselves.
For many American Jews, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur seemed all about how to continue living a nice, suburban life. The Torah might as well be a Tony Robbins self-help book, because it outlines great techniques for living, sprinkled with a few historic traditions and ethical codes.
I realized, during my nice stay with you, that you say you care, but deep down, I don't think you really do. You say you love Israel and that you are Zionists, but I don't think you really are. You see, Judaism is not about nationalism to you. Judaism is not about a people living free, independent and strong in their homeland; it's about having a nice house, a good parnasa, and a way of life that's safe and comfortable.
That's why many of you (and there are exceptions), didn't really like talking about the Disengagement. That's why some of you were even happy that it occurred, and that America was appeased, because God forbid, your generous host - your real nation -- would be mad at you otherwise. As soon as you have to take a stand or interrupt your lifestyle, you retreat to your prayer books and everyday say words like:
"Blessed are You, HaShem, Who redeems Israel, Who gathers the dispersed of Israel, Who loves righteousness and judgment, Who breaks His enemies and humbles wanton sinners, Who builds Jerusalem, Who sprouts the rays of redemption, Who restores His Presence to Zion."
These are supposed to be your values, but are they? Do you mean these prayers? Do you want these blessings? No, you do not. Because if you did, you'd be taking a lot more risks for Israel than you are now. You'd seriously consider - and what a thought! - fulfilling the mitzvah of living in the country. You'd save some money, pick-up your family, and take part in realizing your prayers - the ingathering of the exiles, the building of Jerusalem, the restoration of Zion - no matter how difficult it will be.
Or maybe the flaws are in the prayers and the Diaspora Jews who penned them long ago, because it's easy to absolve all responsibility to HaShem and just say, "HaShem restores Zion, HaShem breaks His enemies, I don't have to do a thing!" But HaShem once said, through his prophet Isaiah, "Of what are your great many sacrifices to me? I am full of the burnt-offerings and the fat of fed beasts." Prayers are considered the modern-day substitute for animal sacrifices, and HaShem's sick of them. He doesn't want your new moon and Shabbat invocations - HaShem calls them "iniquity." He says that you can pray all you want, but he won't answer them.
HaShem wants us to do what's right and to seek justice - thus says Isaiah.
But Torah is not about doing what's right anymore, is it? It's about making enough money to send kids to Jewish day schools, so that one day, they could also have a big house and two cars in the same neighborhood and send their kids to the same school and shul, and so on and so forth, forever.
And when Israel is at war with her neighbors, and her people are dying, they'll continue to send their kids to Jewish day schools, and say the same prayers in the same shul, and maybe they'll send some money to Israel, but they'll be glad they are in their beloved America. When Judaism is too difficult, why put yourself on the line? Why risk your life or your lifestyle? Why shed blood? After all, it's only a religion.
And I wouldn't want you to risk your life for a religion. But it's not a religion we're talking about. It's about a nation - the Jewish nation and its people - me, you, your spouse, your kids, your parents. It's about fighting for what is right and pursing justice. But that doesn't seem to be too important these days.
So, farewell America. I had a good time. You're a good friend, you can be there for me in difficult times, but I have to catch a plane and start finding myself some justice.
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5. "An Invitation To Return Home" by Eli Newman
If there's ever been a time to think seriously about making Aliyah, that time is now. Our People have been praying to The Almighty throughout the centuries for the Final Redemption. Our sages have instructed us, that in the End of Days preceding the Final Redemption, Our People will have begun returning Home in considerable numbers. This process is already well underway. Right now, the majority of the global Jewish population still resides outside of Israel, but not by much. Every Jewish soul that relocates to Israel counts for two in this calculation; one towards increasing Israel's Jewish population, and one towards decreasing the number of Jews residing outside of Israel.
Religious or Political…
Whichever school of thought you're coming from, the Jewish Homeland is, was, and will be in the Land of Israel. Not the United States, not the United Kingdom, and certainly not Uganda. Still, after so many generations of Wandering, "Next Year in Jerusalem" has lost meaning for some of us. Why stand and wave a flag at a Pro Israel Rally in Washington, London or Toronto, when you can be contributing daily by living in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa or Netanya? It baffles me to hear Jews in the Diaspora complaining about Israel trading land for promises of peace with the Palestinians. I'm not a fan of these policies either, only because I don't believe they will be successful. However, as long as I'm not living in Israel, paying taxes in Israel, serving in the IDF, celebrating Holidays on Holy Land or voting in Israel, who am I to complain? G-d has shifted history for us such that we now have the option of going Home without considerable difficulty compared with the previous generations, who faced much peril on their road to Jerusalem. Imagine if NBN had been available to the Jews of Eastern Europe in the early 20th century? Or the Jews of Spain in the Middle Ages?
What is NBN?
Are you serious? If you still haven't heard of Nefesh B' Nefesh, I'd be honored and delighted to tell you a little bit about them. NBN is a non profit organization dedicated to bringing Jews home. They've been at it for a few years so far. They help in so many ways. NBN has entire departments devoted to helping new olim find jobs and communities to live in. They also provide financial assistance to eligible applicants to help them get started.
I can go on all day about NBN, but take a look at their site at www.nefeshbnefesh.org .
Big Picture
We've been all over the world throughout our history. Often from one exile into the next. The only place left to go is Home. North America is currently home to the majority of Our People. Next is Israel, followed by England and France. When the majority of Our People have settled in Israel, interesting things are sure to happen. In a political sense most likely, and in a religious sense, most certainly. What are you waiting for? Moshiach? It's coming.
The Rambam said so. I believe him.
Seasonal Sentimentality
Following the Holiday of Sukkot, let's keep in mind the differences between all that is temporary, and all that is permanent. In starting to read the Torah again this week, let's try to understand it better this year. Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tovah!
Editor's note: I will be making Aliyah, B' Ezrat HaShem, on December 27, 2005 with the help of NBN. Hope to see you all at Home soon.
