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
// posted by Pinchas @ 1:00 AM 
