KUMMUNIQUE

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. "The Spy Who Loved Me" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Shelach Lecha: A Lesson Still Not Learned" by Levi Chazen
3. "Thoughts From Texas" - A Letter To Kumah
4. "Coming Home" by Iris Maimon-Toledano
5. "Arrivals: From Teaneck to Jerusalem" Rena Rossner

Check it out at: http://kummunique.blogspot.com/

*Dedicated to the Refua Shlema of Leah bat Faiga

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1. "The Spy Who Loved Me" by Malkah Fleisher

About this time every summer, a mirror is put up to the face of every Jew, in every synagogue in the world. As the chronicle of the catastrophic biblical struggle unfolds, those of us who are given over to private introspection and spiritual growth peer into that mirror and look for that ancient Hebrew who stood on the threshold of freedom. We try to smell that smell, to see that vista, to hear those words, and to feel the impact of that choice – the choice to forsake the Land of Israel.

As you read parshat Shelach this week, take a moment to channel your Siniatic Jew. Suffer the pain of the fear-mongering reports. Search the face of Calev ben Yefuneh as he begs for your strength. Hear the rip as you rend your clothes, mourning the wrath of Hashem and the shame of the nation’s weakness. You have failed as a Jew. And you will pay.

The “sin of the spies” is a favorite biblical allusion of Israel activists. Twelve spies are sent by Moshe to scout and strategize Jewish entry into Israel. Instead of fulfilling their mission, ten of the spies return with scathing and dreadful predictions of suffering and catastrophe. Only two – Calev ben Yefuneh and Yehoshua ben Nun – testify to the greatness and goodness that life will afford them: “The Land that we passed through to spy it out – the Land is very, very good! If Hashem desires us, He will bring us to this Land and give it to us, a Land that flows with milk and honey…”(Bamidbar 14:7-9) Ultimately, the Jews believe the 10 spies, incurring the wrath of G-d, who condemns the men to death in the desert, and foretells of Jewish suffering throughout thousands of years of exile, as punishment for their rejection of Israel.

Obviously, this Torah portion provides us with the opportunity to warn Jews against rejecting our birthright and plunging ourselves and our nation into darkness. We look to this portion as an incontrovertible sign that the Land of Israel stores deep and brilliant secrets and blessings for the Jewish people that are irreplaceable and inexchangable.

In light of this parsha, soul-searching may reveal some flaws in our relationship to Israel. Complaints about the “difficulty” of earning a livelihood in Israel, the frustration of dealing with “brusque” Israelis, the challenge of living with “less” in Israel – these little falsehoods stem from the same slanderous impetus that overtook the 10 spies in the desert, and distance us from goodness and Truth.

Know that there is a treatment ready to restore the glint to your eyes and return the vigor and might to your heart. Calev is still calling for warriors. The Hebrew you’ve always wanted to be is waiting for you in the looking glass. The world, even some Jews, may try to convince you of your inability, your neediness, your fear. But listen to that small, clear voice that tells you that you can live the dream of your people and of your Creator. Take a look at everything our Land has to offer and say to yourself – “the Land is very, very good!”

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2. "Shelach Lecha: A Lesson Still Not Learned" by Levi Chazen
From Israel National News

When one dwells on the apparently harsh punishment meted out to the ten spies and to the entire congregation, one wonders: Does the punishment really fit the crime? Our rabbis teach us that the men who brought forth the evil report about the Land of Israel died in a plague before HaShem. Rashi explains that the plague was measure-for-measure; they sinned with their tongue, and so their punishment was that their tongues stretched to their navels and worms came out of their tongues and entered their navels.

The congregation was also punished harshly, by being totally killed off from the age of twenty and up. The entire generation - wiped out. Only because of the great Chilul HaShem that it would have caused if they were to be killed off all at once (what would Egypt say?) was the punishment spread out over a forty-year period.

Even more puzzling is that we find in last week's parsha that when Miriam spoke lashon hara - evil talk - about Moses, she was stricken with tzara'at and had to be removed from the camp for a period of only seven days. After that, she returned to her former position as one of the seven prophets the Jewish people had in our history. If so, why is it that in the case of the spies, they and the entire congregation were so severely punished?

The answer is just as relevant today for us as it was back then for the spies; and unfortunately, just as deadly. Firstly, the spies were men of little faith. HaShem had promised the Jewish people that He would bring them into a good land, being able to remove the nations that lived here. The spies, though, did not believe that G-d had the capability to conquer the nations that lived here. To the spies, the nations living in the land seemed stronger than HaShem Himself. Being the Torah giants of their time, what we would call today the Gedolei HaDor, they gave a psak - a Torah judgment - that the danger to life outweighs the commandment to conquer the Land.

Little did it concern them that he who dwells outside the Land of Israel is as if he worships idols; little did it concern them that over 300 times in the Torah G-d states that He is giving this land to the Jewish people; little did it concern them that over 300 of the commandments can only be done in the Land of Israel; that G-d's entire blueprint for the Jews and humanity was to have the Jews enter into their land right away and set up a G-dly kingdom in this world.

And so they, the leaders of the Jewish people - the Gedolim of their time - fell, and took all of us with them. Their only wish was to return to the fleshpots of Egypt - what they knew as the Goldene Medina. This, though, was not to be. Because of their lack of faith in HaShem - that He could not bring them into the land, a land that they thought was dangerous, a land in which they thought they could not make a living - they were punished, and punished severely.

And the Torah wears sackcloth, for the sin of the spies runs after us and overtakes us and is still not corrected. In the time of Ezra, when the call went out to return to the Holy Land, we find that the great majority of the Jewish people had all kinds of reasons for not coming home. It is too dangerous; you cannot make a living; we're waiting for Messiah; who is this Cyrus, king of Persia, anyway, that he should be telling us to come back home? He is not even Jewish; they're not religious enough for us; and on and on it went.

Our rabbis, though, tell us that because the Jewish people did not come back to their land en mass, G-d's Divine Presence also did not come back, paving the way for the destruction of the Second Temple. Resh Lakish, a leading Talmudic rabbi, yelled out in anguish over this and said: "G-d, how I hate them, for they could have brought the Redemption to the Jewish people if they would have come home!"

And what can we say today? Why do we not heed the call? Can anyone look over the past 60 years of history and not see the hand of HaShem bringing His people home? Is the G-d of Israel not great enough to give us a livelihood also over here? Sure, there are problems, but with an influx of three, four or five million good Jews into the Land we would be able to fix all the problems, ensuring that there would be no more expulsions like the one from Gush Katif. What will we answer our Maker on our Judgment Day, when we are called into account? Will we be able to say that "our hands have not shed this blood"?

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3. "Thoughts From Texas" - A Letter To Kumah

Hi Yishai and Malkah,

First, we want to say welcome to Texas and we are happy you are here, that you had a safe journey from Israel and have been reunited with your family. It is never easy to come back to such difficult circumstances however and we are praying here in Fort Worth, Texas for Malkah's mother, a complete and speedy recovery. May Hashem watch over you and your family as you face this difficult time.

Yishai, thanks for your talk, " Thoughts from Texas. " My husband and I plan on making aliyah in the summer 2007 and have just returned from Israel, our first pilot trip. We have been on a rollercoaster of emotions since we began the process last year. Each stage of preparation brings with it new moments of joy as well as stressors but we are keeping our sanity thanks to our local shaliach and all the good folks at Nefesh B'Nefesh.

Your comments on Texas were very interesting. As would be expected from future olim, we are struggling with the prospect of leaving all the "comforts" of life in the western world but really it is truly as you say, the culture of consumerism we have grown accustomed to living in. I don't mean to sound dramatic but I wonder if Texans have an even deeper struggle when making aliyah because it has been drilled into us from birth that by American standards " Everything is bigger and better in Texas. " The Texan pride is very strong and I never knew how much until I lived overseas in the 90's. I lived in the UK for 5 years and whenever someone asked me where I was from, instead of saying, I am American or I am from the United States, I would always say " I am from Texas. " Historians attribute this Texan mentality to the fact that Texas was its own nation from 1836 to1845. Hence, slogans like " Texas - it's like a whole other country " promoting tourism...and " Don't Mess With Texas"... the do not litter slogan.

When I look at our future home, Israel, she is so tiny compared to Texas. You could fit 28 Israels into the State of Texas. Having just spent a month in Israel, we learned about living simply, how living in Israel means living among family. After returning to Texas early this month, our mood became somewhat melancholy, we were missing Israel.

American culture seemed so excessive, it was depressing to walk into a Wal Mart and watch people consume so much with such little regard. Two, three, four cars in every household is a way of life here and Americans complain about gas prices at $2.75 a gallon! Oh brother. When we announced at our shul that gas was over $7.00 a gallon in Israel they were shocked. Although we struggle with leaving the "comforts" of western society behind, and most importantly family, friends etc... we know Israel is our home and long for it everyday. Maybe it sounds corny but we want to be joined to Israel for better or for worse....come what may. It is our true home.

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4. "Coming Home" by Iris Maimon-Toledano
From YNET

10 years abroad is a long time – too long. Still, it isn't easy packing up and starting again

A few weeks before I and my family return to Israel after ten years in Canada, we are in the throes of packing and checking – what do we have to do about health insurance and national insurance? What about import duty, education, and finding a new place to live?

We are closing our lives here, gathering up the things we'll need in Israel, and I my anticipation and my worries are keeping me awake just about every night.

Gripped by fear

But the panic that struck me today was different. Today, I was overtaken by fear, a debilitating panic so powerful I couldn't even concentrate on the things I was supposed to be putting in the cardboard boxes all around me. As I watched my children playing happily in the garden, by heart suddenly started racing, and for the first time in months I asked myself, "What the hell am I doing?"

And my standard answer – "I'm going home" – didn't work this time. Neither did my laconic answers, the ones constantly on the tip of my tongue like a mantra and come out almost automatically. "Because my children think Canada's their home. I want their only 'home' to be in Israel."

Or: "Because if I don't do it now, I never will." Or: "I've got to give Israel an honest chance. We've never lived there as a family, and Israel is supposed to be heaven for families." Or a host of other answers.

I don't have a lot of family left in Israel. Two sisters and their families, some uncles and cousins we see at family celebrations, and that's about it. The "glue" we all know so well is no more.

Even my return will not give me back the years lost, the time I wasn't by their sides. It also won't atone for feelings of regret and guilt.

Maybe it will be easier to mourn, and to connect to the loss. When you are far away, even the death of a parent can be considered so distant as to be unreal. When you are far away, it's amazing just how easy it is "to continue."

My Israel

I'm coming home to my beloved country, a land I love so much it hurts. My Israel makes my laugh and cry, it warms my heart and freezes me with shock and horror. My Israel gave me a stubborn root. Even if it were to be removed, nothing could replace the hole that would be left.

Israel is a mother, a daughter, a wise old man who has seen it all, and who sometimes dresses up in clothes that don't belong to it, adopts foreign customs that add nothing positive to the country or culture. No other country inspires its people to the same levels of anger and love, of loathing and admiration, happiness and sadness like Israel.

Israel's got everything, and yet the country is poor and shabby, and for some reason I am afraid that I and my children are going to live there.

Building tomorrow

Naomi Shemer wrote about a better, nicer "tomorrow." For the past year, I have been living inside songs such as "I have no other country" and "Songs from the land I love." Is the reality of my Israel to be found in these lines, or is the reality to be found in the prophecies I encounter day after day, year after year, when I sit down at my computer?

I want to come home so I can play a part in perfecting our society and creating that better "tomorrow" for my Israel. Over the past 10 years I have done this in a foreign country. Today, I have great dreams and faith in the power of my ability to do it all again.

The fear that has overtaken me came from a conversation I had with a dispirited Israel who somehow found his way to Vancouver. There are hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands like him around the world.

Kosher émigrés

I never closed my ears to all those "dispirited Israelis". We were Israelis who went abroad for "kosher" reasons – teaching, aliyah representatives, etc. These claims allowed me to survive for several years happily and with no pangs of a guilty conscious.

But the years go by too quickly. Our visions of serving the country abroad dimmed as we moved on to other positions. Eventually, the years catch up with you and you begin to feel uncomfortable.

The Israeli I met today caused me to feel radically uncomfortable. He ran away, he harbored a deep hatred. He had been broken by life in my Israel. When I told him my entire house was for sale, that I'd just packed up my 40th box, he looked at me like I was a fool. Not crazy, not innocent.

My beloved awaits

So I packed up my kids toys and bid farewell to my distressed friend. When I heard them babbling about the squirrel running up the tree and about the fact it was cold already, I was filled with fear, so much so that I couldn't think about anything else.

I went in the house, stared at 40 packed boxes in the corner and a lot more to go. There are Israeli passports to renew, a huge health insurance debt to repay, and a million other things to do.

10 years, a fool's happiness, a little girl killed by a shell in Gaza, another Pesach abroad, a child who calls me "Mommy." And my Israel, by beloved, awaits.

Iris Maimon-Toledano is the coordinator of the Vancouver Jewish Federation's fight against poverty

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5. "Arrivals: From Teaneck to Jerusalem" Rena Rossner
From Jerusalem Post

Rabbi Bob Carrol, 47, Ruthie Levi, 47, and Mona: The Lion of Zion

When Ruthie Levi received an e-mail response to her JDate profile from Rabbi Bob Carrol, she knew he was not the man for her.

"He had written in his profile that he wanted to make aliya. I had broken up relationships with other men because of the issue of aliya," she says.

But Bob persisted.

"We only lived one mile away from one another. Why not just meet and see?"

Now, Bob looks at Ruthie across the table of their temporary Baka rental, surrounded by unpacked boxes and quips, "I elicited your inner Zionist."

FAMILY HISTORY
Both Bob and Ruthie grew up in New Jersey but came from very different backgrounds. Ruthie grew up in a German-Jewish modern Orthodox home, "I was a thoroughbred yekke," and went to Hunter, a New York public school for gifted kids. At 15, she graduated and went to City College, later working at New York City's famed Dean and Deluca Market, where she ran their gourmet food importing division. She currently runs a gourmet food company that sells upscale food products to supermarkets all over the US.

Bob was raised in a Reform household and had his bar mitzva in the local Methodist Church, where the Reform congregation met. In high school he got involved with the Conservative movement's USY (United Synagogue Youth).

"When I went to my first USY convention, I was blown away. I have never seen Jews doing the stuff talked about in the Bible. It was explosive! I was hooked," he recalls.

But it wasn't until he went to Brandeis University that he was able to fully practice Judaism the way he wanted to. There, he studied Jewish studies and philosophy, and then went on to Rabbinical School and got a Masters in Jewish philosophy. He later studied at Yeshivat Hamivtar in Gush Etzion and at Yeshivat Darche Noam, also known as Shapell's, in Jerusalem.

After working for a few years as a Hillel director and as a computer project manager and network administrator, Bob landed his dream job as program director for EDAH, a Modern Orthodox web portal that explores all aspects of Modern Orthodoxy and runs seminars, events and lectures in New York and Jerusalem.

BEFORE ALIYA
Ruthie was very involved in her Teaneck community. She ran a Yahoo Group with over 7,000 members called "Teaneck Shuls" and was comfortable and happy.

"Aliya was never on my radar screen," she admits.

Bob was captivated by Israel from the age of 13.

"I felt that Israel was just such a captivating story to be a part of," he says. When he started working for EDAH six years ago, he came back to Israel for the first time in 15 years. "I realized that I didn't want to look back when I was 70 and say, why didn't I make aliya?"

When Bob and Ruthie met and dated, in the end it all came down to aliya.

"I didn't want to risk losing Bob," says Ruthie. "I did my community work in Teaneck and I realized it was time to move on to a new chapter in my life."

UPON ARRIVAL
Bob and Ruthie came on the December 27, 2005 Nefesh B'Nefesh flight and were married 10 days later on January 6, 2006 at the Kehillat Yedidya shul in Baka.

They went back to the US immediately afterwards and stayed there until March 29.

"We had a lot of loose ends to tie up and it took Bob longer than we expected to sell his house," Ruthie explains. They returned on March 29 with Mona, their cat. "We bought one business class seat and one regular seat so that Mona would be more comfortable," Ruthie explains.

"On the flight the stewardesses kept coming over to me and asking me if everything was okay," says Bob. "I was sitting on the floor taking care of Mona."

ROUTINE
"I don't really have a routine yet," explains Ruthie, "there are still so many loose ends to tie up. We generally spend our days sorting out all the bureaucratic stuff and work at night."

Both Bob and Ruthie are able to do all of their work virtually.

"It's a little strange going out with friends, coming home at 8:30 p.m., getting on the computer and starting to work," says Ruthie, "but we're getting used to it. A day without Internet here is not a good day."

Bob catches up on the news for about an hour in the morning and then usually sets out for a few meetings.

"The phone starts ringing off the hook here at about 6 p.m. There is no such thing as a restful evening in this house," Bob says.

LIVING ENVIRONMENT
For now, Bob and Ruthie are renting an apartment near the Talpiot industrial area.

"We started looking for something to buy right after our wedding. When we saw our apartment, we made an offer immediately. We fell in love with it," she says of the 3-bedroom apartment they just purchased in Baka.

"It was very important to us that we be located near Kehillat Yedidya, our shul of choice," explains Bob. "We are just about to begin renovations and we hope all will go well."

FAITH
"I consider myself a talmid of Rav Kook," explains Bob. "Not in the ideological sense, but in the logical, mystical sense."

Ruthie concurs: "I'm on the same page. We have the same sense of tradition and Halacha."

LANGUAGE
"I consider myself a davener," Ruthie says with a smile. "But we have so much going on that I don't have the time for ulpan. So for now I hired a private tutor who comes to our house 3 times per week for an hour. But I really speak mainly to Anglos."

Bob had a much stronger Hebrew background, but after 15 years of not being in the country he needs a bit of time to get his Hebrew back.

"I go to many meetings that are conducted in Hebrew, but I couldn't quite read a whole Hebrew newspaper," he says. "I try to read a few articles a day. I suspect that I'll be up to speed in a few months."

PLANS
"I'd like to do some volunteer work once I have more of a set schedule. I'd also like to expand my business here," Ruthie says. "It's not essential for the survival of the business, but I was the one who developed kosher balsamic vinegar in the US, and I'd like to do something similar here. But I need to get to know the market a little better."

Bob intends to continue what he is doing, too.

"I am committed to building a Judaism that has integrity, that is relevant and meaningful to a greater society. The potential for a truly productive and creative society that combines religion and state exists here. I want to do whatever I can do to be a part of that."

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. "Stop Whining and Start Eating' by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Got The Fire, Now Light The Menorah" by Yishai Fleisher
3. "Unrest Spurs Venezuelan Jews' Interest In Aliya" by Ruth Eglash
4. "Israel And The Diaspora: A Post-Yehoshua Response" by Steven Bayme
5. "Dating Strategies Survival Tips for the Single Oleh"

*Dedicated to the Refua Shlema of Leah bat Faiga
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1. "Stop Whining and Start Eating' by Malkah Fleisher

In this week's Torah portion, the Children of Israel hit one of their all-time whiniest moments. Just one parsha after a series of beautiful nation-wide offerings through the princes of the 12 tribes, the Jews descend into epic crabbiness and faithlessness. Chaos insues - Moshe begs Hashem to free him from the hell of dealing with over a million abused slaves, Hashem starts burning down the camp - it doesn't look like good times will be coming around any time soon (sneak peak: they eventually do).

One of the most shameful moments in the collective tantrum occurs in response to Hashem's miraculous manna. Despite the fact that the Hebrews don't have to work for food, they're not starving, and that G-d personally selected their food source, they start to complain "Who will feed us meat? We remember the fish that we would eat in Egypt free of charge; the cucumbers, and the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our life is parched, there is nothing; we have nothing before our eyes but the manna!" (Bamidbar 11:5-6)

Flash forward 2500 years, to a little Passover seder at the home of Yishai and Malkah Fleisher in the holy city of Beit El. Seated together with friends and their children, we reminisce on our liberation from Egypt and our miraculous return to the Land of Israel. With words of Torah and personal anecdotes, our seder this year exemplified the commandment to personalize the coming out of Egypt, the belief and understanding that this event happened to us personally.

Now that I live in the Land of Israel, I can see first hand how truly faithless and embarassing our outburst in the desert really was. With all of our wild fear and frantic impulse to return to Egypt, we were so short-sighted, almost shutting ourselves off from the blessings which were flowing down to us. What's worse, some of us continue this unseemly behavior today. On the national journey to the Land of Israel which the ENTIRE Jewish people is taking part in today (whether they know it or not), there are those who dig their claws into their Egypt, almost irrationally denying any goodness or survivability in Israel, refusing to make themselves a part of something which they adamantly attest is certain death, or at least, certain misery.

At our Passover seder this year, as a testimony to the joy and bounty of the Land of Israel, as a form of thanksgiving to the Master of the Universe, who has taken so much care to sweeten our lives with variety and quality of so many things here, we made a meal based around certain foods: meat, fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. For all those Jews who were so convinced that G-d was abandoning them in the wilderness, leading them to a terrible, baren life in the Land of Israel - eat your heart out.

Here is one recipe from our seder:

Brisket in Wine Sauce, with Leeks, Onions, and Garlic.

1 hunk of meat (you can use something really fancy, or the cheapest piece you can find), at least one kilo.
2 bottles of dry red wine (you can use something really fancy, or the cheapest bottles you can find, but make it Israeli!)
2 leeks, sliced (discard the fibery green parts)
2 large onions, sliced or chopped
10 cloves of garlic, sliced or chopped
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil (from olives grown in the Land of Israel!)
salt to taste

Sweat the onions and half the garlic in the bottom of a large stock pot. Add the meat, and lightly brown on all sides, stirring occasionally. Pour in one bottle of wine, and half the leeks. Cook open until the liquid reduces, turning the meat every 15 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, and cook until the liquid is reduced and the meat is dark brown on all sides. Slice carefully and serve hot after the fish, with a slice of melon, a cucumber salad, and a smile.

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2. "Got The Fire, Now Light The Menorah" by Yishai Fleisher

"Hashem spoke to Moses saying: "Speak to Aaron and say to him: BeHaalotcha, When you raise the lamp, toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven lamps cast light."

However, if you look at most translations the word BeHaalotcha "when you raise", is usually translated as "when you kindle".

Why?

Rashi offers one explanation:

Rashi to Numbers 8;2: "BEHAALOTCHA - WHEN YOU KINDLE - Because the flame rises, Scripture writes of their kindling using the term "Aliyah" [Behaalotcha] an expression of "rising"; for one must kindle until the flame rises by itself."

Indeed the connection between Aliyah and candle lighting is deep and meaningful. Each Jewish person is a candle unto himself, but in the Galut that candle is dim and the light is dispersed. When a Jew decides to bring his light up, to make Aliyah, that candle joins up with the fire of the entire Jewish people to make a great conflagration. As the verse tells us: "The house of Jacob will be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame."

The Menorah is the symbol of the Jewish people's status as "A light unto the nations." The light of the Menorah represents the light of G-d that shines unto this world through the Jewish people. To make Aliyah, to go up, to make the mundane holy, is the great mission of this generation.

While we are surely responsible for our own physical and spiritual Aliyah, our job is also to inspire and facilitate the Aliyah of others - to ignite the flame of Aliyah passion in the hearts of our brothers and sisters. Encouragement, tips, and actual aid are all part of the package. However, the easiest and most important thing we can do is to speak well of Eretz Yisrael and to count its blessings. "For my brethren and friends, I will say, Peace be within thee. For the sake of the house of Hashem our God I will seek your good." (Psalms 122) By speaking good of Israel, we will turn on our fellow Jews to the wondrous gift of Israel, and undo the damage done by the Sin of the Spies who spoke ill of the Good Land.

In this week's Parsha we also find the only mention of the word "KUMAH" in the Five Books of Moses:

"And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Kumah, Rise up, O Hashem, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee."

Some people say that this passage and the one after it, which are separated from the rest of the Torah with upside down Nuns at the beginning and end of the paragraph, constitute a separate book of Moses, dividing the book of Numbers into three and bringing the sum total of the Books of Moses to seven. Why would this paragraph be its own book? Because these two verses are actually an uncompleted book, a book that is being constantly written, the book of the wanderings of the Jewish people. This week Steven Bayme, the noted Jewish historian wrote: "For the first time since the destruction of the First Jewish Commonwealth in 586 B.C.E., there will be more Jews living in the Jewish homeland than in the Diaspora." Well said! Our long exile is coming to an end, and our job is to speed that process along, and thereby bring an Aliyah to this world.

One illness that is prevalent in Israel today is post-Zionism, the feeling that "we are here, so now what?" So many people refuse to see is the reality of the Prophetic Return. However, when the Jewish people will all return, there will be no more room for post-Zionism, rather we will enter the era of post-Cynism. There will come a time when the people will understand that the prophecies are actually coming true and that Judaism is not just an ancient religion. Whenever a Nefesh plane, full of Olim, lands in Israel, it inspires people, it makes them believers, if even for a moment.

The Torah has a built-in guard against post-Zionism and cynicism and - you guessed it - it's called Aliyah! Even when the Jewish people all live in the Land we will always keep making Aliyah - we will always continue to go up!!! Three times a year, we will go en-mass on Aliyah to Yerushalayim. There, we will see all the Jewish people together in celebration, and we will witness the light of the Menorah shining bright. Shabbat Kumah Shalom!

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3. "Unrest Spurs Venezuelan Jews' Interest In Aliya" by Ruth Eglash
From the Jerusalem Post

A delegation of Jewish community leaders from Venezuela arrived here this week as part of a mission intended to explore options for Venezuelan Jews who want to leave the troubled South American country and move to Israel.

The members of the mission, including the 16 community leaders and their partners, met Wednesday with President Moshe Katsav in Jerusalem. They discussed issues ranging from Israeli politics to economic concerns. The visitors also told Katsav of the growing unrest in Venezuela and their fears for the future of the 15,000 Jews living there.

The trip was supposed to have been conducted under a low profile following growing friction between Venezuela and the US, as well as an alleged anti-Semitic statement made by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in December.

"The situation in Venezuela is very difficult," said Edwin Villamicar, 24, who moved to Israel in January. "It is a very violent country with many murders, and we have to work very hard to make a little bit of money."

Villamicar said that back home he did not feel connected to the Jewish community and that in Israel it was easier to connect with his Jewish roots and meet other young Jews.

Nathalie Mizrachi, 26, made aliya four years ago, leaving all her close relatives in Venezuela.
"They did not want to leave their lives and their jobs over there," she told The Jerusalem Post. "If something happens and Chavez says they might not be able to leave, then they will get out quickly."
"Venezuelan Jews are not really interested in coming to Israel," she said. "Most of them prefer to go to America, I think it is good that they are now encouraging Jews to come here."

"The situation over there is not good, but not specifically for the Jews, but in general," said Mizrachi. "There are no jobs and it is hard to make a living. Jews are now looking for other options."

"There is not a great feeling of anti-Semitism," she said. "There have been a few anti-Semitic remarks but nothing over the top."

Earlier this week, there were media reports that Chavez was planning to sell his country's fleet of 21 US-made F-16 fighter jets to another country, perhaps Iran. The reports were denied Tuesday by Venezuelan Defense Minister Orlando Maniglia. Previously, the US announced a ban on arms sales to Venezuela.

The visiting group, led by Freddie Pressner, president of the Confederation of Jewish Associations of Venezuela, visited a Tel Aviv University program for Spanish-speaking students on Wednesday, and on Thursday they will tour Kfar Saba, which has been designated by the Jewish Agency to absorb the growing number of Jews immigrating from Venezuela.

"The city of Kfar Saba is happy to be affiliated with the Venezuelan Jewish community," said Kfar Saba Mayor Yehuda Ben-Hamo, who is scheduled to visit Caracas next week. "I see this initiative as an important Zionist endeavor of which Kfar Saba is very proud." Ben-Hamo said that 25 families have settled in the city in recent months and that more Venezuelan immigrants are scheduled to make Kfar Saba their home this year.

The city offers new Venezuelan immigrants housing assistance, a program where families "adopt" older immigrants, extra assistance for children in the school system, information on work options and a network of immigrant organizations to help ease the transition into Israeli society.

Jewish Agency officials estimate there are around 2,000 Venezuelan Jews living in Israel and that just over 100 Venezuelan Jews arrived here during the past year.

"We expect that number to rise," one official told the Post.

In January, the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center accused Chavez of making anti-Semitic comments during a Christmas Eve speech. The Wiesenthal Center even wrote to Chavez demanding he apologize for what it said was a negative reference to Jews.

At the time, The Forward reported that Venezuelan Jewish leaders had defended their president and criticized the Wiesenthal Center.

"You have interfered in the political status, in the security, and in the well-being of our community. You have acted on your own, without consulting us, on issues that you don't know or understand," they wrote in a letter.

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4. "Israel And The Diaspora: A Post-Yehoshua Response" by Steven Bayme
From The Jewish Week

Israeli novelist A.B. Yehoshua provoked controversy at the American Jewish Committee's Centennial Symposium in Washington, D.C., last month when he accused diaspora Jews of "playing with their Jewishness" and lamented the great failure of American Jewry in not immigrating to Israel in droves. The resulting debate, covered at length in the Israeli media, has stimulated salutary discussion both of the reality of American Jewish life and how Israel and American Jewry need to relate to one another. AJCommittee convened the symposium as part of a yearlong centennial program designed to foster precisely such a "battle of ideas" and hopefully identify fresh communal policy challenges and directions.

What about Yehoshua's actual arguments? First, they are hardly novel. Twenty years ago, Yehoshua described the diaspora as the "neurosis" of the Jewish people. However, a decade ago he claimed to have modified his position, affirming the importance of diaspora Jewry and urging a joint agenda on behalf of achieving literacy in the Hebrew language and advocacy of Jewish social values. Yet at the recent AJCommittee meeting Yehoshua seemingly reverted to an outdated position that affirms Jewish identity exclusively in the Jewish state.

These arguments and even accusations are by no means entirely without merit. The birth of Israel in 1948 changed the meaning and map of Jewish peoplehood and identity in irrevocable and unqualifiedly positive ways. The return of the Jews to sovereignty and statehood constitutes the single greatest success narrative of modern Jewish history. To be a Jew in the 21st century necessitates a relationship with the Jewish state.

Yet, sadly, Yehoshua is correct in charging American Jews with failure. First, as AJCommittee research on young American Jews recently demonstrated, in pronounced contrast to the narrative of the Holocaust, the narrative of Israel has not penetrated the consciousness of young Jews today. The very same young people for whom Holocaust memory is critical to their Jewish identity know astonishingly little of modern Israeli history and culture. Courses on the Holocaust have proliferated on American campuses while Israel studies have remained very much in incipient stages.

Secondly, we are witnessing a demographic ascendancy of Israel over the diaspora. Within our lifetimes, for the first time since the destruction of the First Jewish Commonwealth in 586 B.C. E., there will be more Jews living in the Jewish homeland than in the diaspora. To some extent that demographic shift represents only the normalization that Yehoshua champions. However, it also confirms an age-old truism of Jewish history that Jewish immigration is driven primarily by economic conditions and opportunities. Affluent Jews, living in a relatively secure America, in turn make poor candidates for aliyah save among those ideologically committed to it.

In addition, Yehoshua correctly perceives an increased detachment from Israel among American Jews. As assimilation proceeds unchecked, a growing distancing of Israel occurs as part of a general distancing from matters Jewish. The very strength of American Jewry, namely its success as Americans, thus belies its weakness as Jews, translated as decreased attachment to Israel. Perhaps the best evidence of the detachment lies in the fact that fewer than 40 percent of the most affluent Jewish community in history has ever set foot in the Jewish state over the first six decades of her existence.

Yet Yehoshua erred in trivializing American Judaism. The resurgence of Orthodoxy, contrary to so many predictions of its demise, constitutes a remarkable statement of the viability of Judaism in the diaspora if Jews are indeed committed to its perseverance. The presence of diverse and pluralist options in defining one's Judaism in America constitutes a statement of Jewish vitality and strength rather than strictly a tribute to American democracy and separation of religion from state. Full-time Jewish education in a broad network of Jewish day schools is now available to more American Jews than ever before. Jews who avail themselves of these opportunities receive a strong Jewish education precisely at a time when leading Israelis are concerned about the weakness of Jewish education within Israel's school system.

Lastly, the growth of academic Jewish studies on virtually every American university of note underscores the intellectual attractiveness of Judaism within elite American culture while making possible the advanced study of the treasures of Judaic civilization for the overwhelming majority of today's Jewish youth.

Moreover, Yehoshua errs profoundly in dismissing the political significance of American Jewry. The special relationship between Washington and Jerusalem owes much to the vigilance and constant activism of the American Jewish community.

Most importantly, however, Yehoshua ignores time-honored Jewish values of peoplehood and mutual responsibility between Jews. Rather than advocate synergy between Israel and the diaspora in an effort to enhance the collective Jewish future, he effectively challenges American Jews either to move to Israel and become serious Jews, or stay in the diaspora and continue to "play with Jewishness."

In this context, Yehoshua inadvertently poses the correct challenge to the Jewish future: how seriously do we take our Jewishness? That challenge applies no less to Israelis than it does to diaspora Jews. In an age of freedom and volunteerism, Jews will survive as Jews only to the extent they seek to intensify their Jewishness and live creative Jewish lives.

Jewish identity needs to be constructed upon a language of Jewish values and traditions and pride in Jewish achievements. It is that challenge of creating a vital Jewish identity that should form the common agenda between Israel and the diaspora. In that sense, rather than lament the conflict provoked by Yehoshua's comments, we need to expand the dialogue and confront our common challenges as Jews seeking to give meaning to the concepts of Jewish identity and peoplehood in the 21st century. n

Steven Bayme serves as director of the Dorothy and Julius Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations, the American Jewish Committee.

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5. "Dating Strategies Survival Tips for the Single Oleh"
From Sasson vSimcha.org

You've dreamed of building your life in Israel, and you hope you might meet someone there to share that life with. Before you pack, read some tips that canhelp you achieve a successful move and a great personal life.

Be as prepared as you can by learning the difficulties most olim (new immigrants to Israel) encounter during the first two years of aliyah (immigration to Israel). Advance knowledge of the challenges you may have to face (many of which may never materialize) and how you can effectively deal with them is half the battle for any oleh, but it is especially important for someone who doesn't have a spouse to lean on for mutual support.

Learn Hebrew. Aliyah will be a more positive experience if you at least have a working knowledge of Hebrew before you arrive. Once you're in Israel, enroll in an ulpan if your Hebrew still needs work. You'll experience a double benefit; your Hebrew will improve and you'll form mutually supportive friendships with other olim.

Leave your extra "baggage" behind. Your lift will be heavy enough. If you are weighed down with "baggage" from old relationships, have low self-esteem or struggle with depression or excessive anxiety, work on eliminating these obstacles to a successful klita (absorption) before your move. Don't hesitate to obtain the help of a qualified therapist, if necessary.

Set up an Israeli support system before your aliya. The first year or two of aliya is a challenge for everyone, and people who can rely on a support system fare better than those who have no one to turn to for advice, friendship and moral support. If you are one of the many olim who don't have close friends or relatives in Israel, work on developing contacts several months before your move. Approach friends, friends' friends, relatives, relatives' relatives, rabbis, teachers and acquaintances, and ask for the names, phone numbers or e-mail addresses of recent olim who may be willing to share their experiences or give you advice. many olim are happy to do so.

You should develop a long distance relationship with a core group of people in the months before you move, and touch base with them as soon as you arrive. If your relationships with the people in your support system grow into mutually beneficial friendships, as so many do, you will have caring, supportive friends whom you can turn to in good times as well as tough ones.

If you want to find a future spouse, don't rely on the social structure of densely populated singles neighborhoods to help your dating situation. The "singles scene" is self-perpetuating. Minimize any "group dating" and instead make dating a one-one-one process. We suggest you develop a network of people who can introduce you to suitable, marriage-minded members of the opposite sex.

Start with the people who first helped you acclimate to your new life. In addition, get to know rabbis, teachers, co-workers, relatives, friends, and acquaintances from your neighborhood and synagogue and ask them to keep you in mind when they look for matches for people they know. Ask to meet members of some of the grass-roots "matchmaking" committees that have formed in many communities. You can also take advantage of some programs that enable singles to meet in a friendly, small-scale atmosphere.

We also suggest that you find one or two shadchanim whom you feel comfortable working with and use them as a resource. (See "How to Make A Matchmaker Work For You"). You may also want to ask one of your married friends to be your "dating advisor" – to help you meet new people and to be available for advice and "handholding" should the need arise. (You'll find that your married friends add a perspective on dating that you won't get from a single.)

Keep and open mind. Aliyah is an amazing experience. However, if you come with unreasonably high expectations, you will be disappointed. If you are willing to be flexible and consider new options and ideas about both your personal and professional lives, you can make a great life for yourself in Israel.

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. "Shavuot-The Giving of the Torah and Eretz Yisrael" by Rav Moshe Lichtman
2. "Immigrants From The West Integrate Best" by Hilary Leila Krieger
3. "From UsTo The US" Yocheved Miriam Russo
4. "Next Time Invite American Olim Instead of A.B. Yehoshua" By David Chinitz
5. "Jerusalem Day, Arutz-7 Style" by Yishai Fleisher

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1. "Shavuot-The Giving of the Torah and Eretz Yisrael" by Rav Moshe Lichtman
From K'Cholmim

We have elaborated many times upon the strong relationship that exists between Torah and the Land of Israel. There are numerous statements of Chazal (not to mention explicit verses in the Torah) to the effect that all of our mitzvot are more complete and meaningful when performed in G-d's Chosen Land. Chazal also underscore the primacy of Torah-study in Eretz Yisrael over that of Chutz LaAretz.

Based on this premise, we can ask a formidable question: If Torah and Eretz Yisrael are so closely related and interdependent, why wasn't the Torah given in the Holy Land? Wouldn't it have made more sense for HaShem to give it in the place where He intended it to be kept? Allow me to present two answers to this question, one proposed by a great Torah authority and one, my own idea (truthfully, I probably saw it somewhere else, but I can't remember where).

The Mabit (R. Moshe Tirani, a colleague of R. Yosef Cairo) addresses this issue in his work Beit Elokim (Sha'ar HaYisodot, chap. 32): Chazal already commented on this, that had the Torah been given in Eretz Yisrael [the Jews] would have said to the nations of the world, "You have no portion in it." Therefore, it was given in the desert, an ownerless place, [to indicate] that whoever wants to receive it may come and receive it. However, based on what we said, that the main perfection and fulfillment of the Torah is in Eretz Yisrael, this is insufficient. It should have been given in the most fitting place, and then, if the nations come [to join us], we should accept them. Moreover, G-d already revealed Himself to all the nations, [asking them] if they wanted to accept the Torah, and they refused. Thus, it certainly should have been given in Eretz Yisrael, after which the Jews could say to them, "You have no portion in it, because you refused to accept it."

At this point the Mabit explains the famous Midrash which states that HaShem offered the Torah to all the nations of the world. What would have happened - he asks - had they accepted it? Would we, the Children of Israel, have lost out? How can that be? The Torah was created specifically for us. G-d even gave certain aspects of the Torah to our Patriarchs. Furthermore, the language of the Torah proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was meant for the Jewish people. For example: I am the L-rd your G-d Who took you out of the land of Egypt; The L-rd spoke to Moshe saying, speak to the Children of Israel... etc.

The Mabit explains that the nations were not offered to accept the Torah in place of the Jewish people. Rather, they were given the opportunity to elevate themselves to a level close to that of the Jews by embracing all 613 mitzvot (not just the seven). Nonetheless, they would have remained subordinate to us, for the Torah was really created for G-d's chosen people, the Children of Israel. After clarifying this Midrash the Mabit returns to our question:

Had G-d (may He be blessed) given Israel the Torah in Eretz Yisrael, two factors would have come together enabling the Jews to say to the nations of the world, "You have no part in it." [These two factors are]: the fact that the entire Torah speaks exclusively to the Jewish people and the fact that it was given in Eretz Yisrael, which was designated for them. [The Jews could have excluded the Gentiles] not only at the time of the giving of the Torah, but also after it was given. When descendants of the gentile nations who did not want to accept the Torah would have come to find shelter under the wings of the Shechinah and convert, the Jews would have been able to say to them, "You have no part in the Torah, since it refers to us and was given to us in Eretz Yisrael." However, now that it was given in the desert - an ownerless place, indicating that whoever wants to come and accept it may do so - even though the entire Torah refers to Israel and speaks to them, they cannot say to the original or subsequent generations of Gentiles, "You have no part in it." For even though it refers specifically to them, and even though Eretz Yisrael is designated for the Jewish people and not for the other nations, nonetheless, they too can take upon themselves the fulfillment of all the mitzvot, in a secondary capacity to the Jews. This is why we accept converts throughout the generations... They fulfill the mitzvot just as we do, but they are not like us in terms of leadership roles and in terms of receiving a portion in the Land...

In short, the Torah really should have been given in Eretz Yisrael, its natural habitat, if not for the fact that G-d wanted to make it accessible to the entire world.

However, I believe that there is a much simpler answer to the question, one that sheds much light on the true purpose of living in Eretz Yisrael. Simply put: Torah is a prerequisite for entering the Land. We cannot exist here for even a moment without the Torah. Furthermore, our entire claim to the Land is based on the Torah and dependent on our fulfilling its commandments. Thus, we could not have approached our territorial inheritance before receiving our spiritual inheritance. Therefore, G-d gave us the Torah in the desert, in order to provide us with the necessary "tools" with which to survive in His Land. Put differently: before entering the Palace of the King we had to be told how we were expected to act there.

Every year on the holiday of Shavuot, we have an opportunity to reaffirm and strengthen our commitment to Torah and mitzvot. Thank G-d, our generation is privileged to be able to do so in the place where the Torah really belongs. For some of us, it may be a little too late for this year, but let us hope that next year we will all re-receive the Torah together in the rebuilt Jerusalem. Amen.

Chag Samei'ach from the Torah's natural home

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2. "Immigrants From The West Integrate Best" by Hilary Leila Krieger
From Jerusalem Post

Immigrants from the West integrate into Israeli society faster than any other groups of newcomers, according to a new immigration index released Monday.

The Central Bureau of Statistics released the index - examining immigrants' standard of living, social integration, and employment successes - as part of its annual conference on aliya and absorption. An additional, subjective section on identity and satisfaction is to be added next year.

Some 51 percent of Western immigrants hold professional positions, similar to 58% of the native Ashkenazi population. When it comes to education, they do better than any other group, with 51.2% holding at least one university degree. Only 40% of the next highest group, Israeli-born Ashkenazim, have degrees.

The figures were culled from Central Bureau of Statistics surveys of 7,212 Israelis (49.8% of them immigrants) and analyzed by the Immigration and Social Integration Institute at the Rupin Academic Center.

Ronit Dolev, associate director for the institute, called the findings about Western immigrants "fantastic." She suggested that their more successful absorption stemmed from "what they brought with them."

It is "an educated aliya, an aliya that prepared itself better, an aliya that came with the funds to buy a house. They came prepared to move forward," she said.

She noted that the average time Western immigrants had been in Israel was only eight years, shorter than for any other kind of immigrant, yet they were much more likely to resemble native Israelis when it came to standard of living and economic characteristics.

According to the index, Ethiopian immigrants lag behind, as do the children of those who immigrated from North African and Asian countries soon after the founding of the state.

"With the aliya of the 1950s, we see a second and third generation still in difficulty," Dolev said, stressing that their situation needed to be examined so that "the same mistakes aren't made with the Ethiopians."

Dolev was particularly troubled by the surveys of former Soviet Union immigrants, defined as those who arrived after 1989. The index found that not only were they less satisfied with life in Israel than other groups, but they also didn't expect their situation to change. "A large group of people is in despair," she said.

"The Ethiopian aliya is a much more optimistic aliya," said Dolev. "Even though there are lots of difficulties, they are optimistic, and that's a great force for integration."

Still, Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski declared that "the absorption of Ethiopian immigrants is especially hard. If the society does not make a tremendous effort in their absorption, their fate will be sealed."

He continued, "We must dedicate ourselves to this mission or we will pay a heavy price in the course of the next 10 years."

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3. "From UsTo The US" Yocheved Miriam Russo
From Jerusalem Post

Say "Shavuot," and most of us react with "cheesecake." But the holiday of Shavuot is also a harvest festival. In many communities, fresh flowers are prime, recalling that when the Torah was given on Shavuot, the entire Mount Sinai burst into bloom.

In Israel, fresh blooms for decoration are locally grown. But now the tradition is spreading. All across America, fresh Israeli-grown roses are occupying a place of honor.

It's all possible because Israel Rose, an Israeli fresh flower business, perfected the art of overnight shipping fresh flowers from Israel to any place in the US.

Israel Rose, the brainchild of husband and wife growers Miriam Klein and Myron Sofer, features roses grown in Sde Nitzan, a Negev moshav located nine kilometers from the Gaza Strip.

Growing perfect roses, packing them, dealing with import/export issues and guaranteeing hand delivery to any individual in any US community - no matter how remote - within 24 hours sounds almost impossible. But for Klein and Sofer, who have successfully delivered a quarter of a million perfect roses to people in Israel and all 50 US states - it's both a business and a daily labor of love.

"Sometimes they're very long days," says Klein, who grew up as a city kid in Melbourne, Australia, and qualified as a psychologist before becoming a rose grower.

"Before the Jewish holidays or Thanksgiving, we work from well before dawn until after midnight. Last year we shipped 25,000 roses over a two-day period for Rosh Hashana. Because we personally track every order and monitor every delivery to make sure it arrives, we put in some very long days."

Chicago-born Sofer acquired a love for agriculture when he came to Israel right after high school in 1961.

"I was a real young halutz [pioneer]," he says. "I loved Israel, but first I had to get my education so I went back, got a BA and a master's in plant pathology, then came back to Israel. I read a Jerusalem Post article about Sde Nitzan, an agricultural moshav in the Negev started by Eddie Peretz, the grandnephew of the Yiddish author. After the Six Day War, Peretz discovered his heart pumped Jewish blood, so he came to Israel and founded the whole hothouse industry. Tomatoes were Peretz's passion and when I came for good in 1974 I joined him at Sde Nitzan and grew tomatoes. But it didn't take long to learn that tomatoes weren't economically feasible. So I looked around for another crop, and roses were where the money was. We started growing roses about 25 years ago and shipped our flowers to international wholesalers in Holland - which is really the flower center of the world," says Sofer.

Farming can be an economically hazardous business. Things went fine for Sofer for a few years, but then the World Bank began to subsidize flower growing in Africa. Growers in South America expanded, and oversupply drove down prices.

"We went from selling our roses at 50 cents each down to 8 cents. There's no way anyone could stay in business at 8 cents, and a third of the Israeli growers dropped out," Sofer says.

It was a monumental crisis, and the business spiraled downward.
"Each day, we told ourselves we had to hang on just a little longer," Klein recalls. "I took an office job so we'd have a salary. Myron worked the roses, and I helped after work. We were just a hair from giving up."

Sofer struggled to come up with an innovation that would improve things. One morning he had an idea: What about growing "Jewish" roses? Maybe promote the idea that the roses came from the Holy Land.

"I asked a lot of people, but almost everyone discouraged us. 'Just grow great roses, cheap,' they said. 'No one cares where they came from.' But one neighbor encouraged us, and we decided to go ahead. What we did then was completely unique - we sold our roses to individual buyers, not the Dutch wholesalers," he recounts.

Then came the intifada.

"It's hard to say it, but the intifada helped us." Sofer says. "People were afraid to come to Israel, but there was the whole 'buy-Israeli' movement. We were still in a terrible financial bind and things didn't change overnight, but one big order came in and gave us hope: A travel agent in Houston, Texas, was getting married and ordered 30 dozen roses. But could we ship fresh roses to Texas, in 40 heat? People told us we were nuts to try, but we went ahead. The roses arrived in perfect condition."

Packing and shipping techniques have since improved, and local weather is no longer a special concern. "But there's plenty of room for other problems - anything from being given a wrong address to bad weather delaying planes. That's why we track every order until it's marked 'Delivered,'" says Sofer.

The roses are nurtured in 12 hothouses, in plastic troughs filled with volcanic rock.

"Now everything is computerized. We irrigate with water and nutrients six times a day, and hothouse windows are raised and lowered by computers. In the early days, Miriam and I did everything ourselves but now hired workers do the routine chores - spraying, trimming and weeding. But when it's time to pack, we're all in the cold room assembling the orders," says Sofer.

Technology has changed the way the business operates.

"Orders come through e-mail or phone - we have a US 800 number that rings here," Klein says. "Even so, it takes tons of paperwork - we're obsessive about getting orders right, so we make paper copies of everything. The flowers ship with complete care instructions plus food. We label here, both for international shipping to New York, then by Fed Ex direct to the recipient. Once the boxes have left the moshav, we start tracking. Every Pessah, right before our own Seder, we're glued to the laptop making sure every Pessah order was delivered."

Israel Rose is the only Israeli flower grower that markets directly to international customers.

"Our biggest orders come from organizations - shuls, schools, JCCs - that use the roses as fundraisers," Sofer says. "We give them a good price for a bulk order, and then they resell them at a profit. Our biggest order was 250 dozen for a fundraiser in St. Louis, Missouri. Sephardic shuls and Chabad centers place big orders for Shavuot. Other holidays like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Thanksgiving are also busy."

Sofer's idea for product differentiation worked.

"We ship to many Christian clients, too. Orders come in all possible permutations - we just filled an order for 75 roses for someone's 75th birthday. For US shipping, we have a minimum four dozen order due to packing requirements, but within Israel we'll ship whatever a customer wants. There are cultural considerations - Russians don't want yellow roses because they signal a split-up with a partner, and they always order in odd numbers, not even. So for them, we'll ship 11 or 13 roses, but not a dozen."

"Because we keep such close track of our orders, we get to know our customers," adds Klein. "We know what the wedding will be like, we know who's in the hospital, we know about the bar-mitzva. Every day our e-mail box is full of warm notes, such as 'My house is filled with happy smiles from each bud,' one lady wrote. That makes all the work worthwhile."

Color is a big consideration.

"Flower colors are subject to fads," Klein explains. "Look at fashion magazines - colors change as they do in home decor. The most popular color is still red, but there are hundreds of varieties of red. Right now, a yellow rose with just a tinge of orange on the petal tips is popular."

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4. "Next Time Invite American Olim Instead of A.B. Yehoshua" By David Chinitz
From the Forward

Earlier this month Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua created a tempest in a teapot by stating that one cannot live a fully Jewish life outside of Israel. As an American immigrant to Israel, I read with amusement and frustration about Yehoshua's blast at the American Jewish Committee's 100th anniversary conference and about the predictable indignation of his hosts — amusement because we've seen this road show before, frustration because the script is always a dialogue between straw men.

Yehoshua is a straw man because reality flies in the face of the assertion that one cannot live a fully Jewish life outside of Israel. Numerous Jewish institutions of learning, culture and social action flourish all over the world. There is nothing in Jewish law or history to support the proposition that you have to have an Israeli address in order to have a Jewish identity.

Yehoshua knows this, of course, which is presumably why he hastened to clarify his comments as furor over them mounted. But he also knows that his hosts invite him over and over to state the egregiously ridiculous because they like hearing it as much as he likes getting hosted to say it.

American Jews like Leon Wieseltier, literary editor of the New Republic and himself active in AJCommittee, are likewise straw men. They respond to Yehoshua by saying that there is no way all Jews are going to move to Israel, when they know full well that neither Yehoshua nor most Israelis think that should, or could, happen.

Indeed, the Wieseltier types feast on Yehoshua's hyperbole, fretting and kvetching that the author's type of Israeli brashness only serves to further remove Jews from any connection with Israel. And they wonder with concern whether all Israelis think that way about them.

This never-ending clash of Israeli absolutism with Jewish Diaspora relativism — both charming, but sometimes aggravating, Jewish traits — is a perfect recipe for straw-man arguments. And where there is straw, there is usually someone making hay.

Yehoshua, and dozens of other Israeli intellectuals largely ignorant of their American audiences and speaking English crippled by Israeli accents, get notoriety and perhaps some pecuniary benefit. Wieseltier and his ilk, for their part, find justification for their endless search for the holy grail of Jewish identity.

Millions of dollars and rivers of ink are invested in trying to determine whether Jewish identity is based on the Holocaust, or on Jewish texts, or on knowledge of Hebrew, or on the link to Israel, or on the fight against assimilation, or on some combination of all of them. And, as in most such quests, every budget cycle adds new increments to those American and Israeli institutions that are happily involved in the never-ending story of Jewish identity.

The sad truth behind this story is that the only Israelis who really spend any time thinking about Jews in the Diaspora are those figures distinguished enough to be invited on speaking tours. Rank-and-file Israelis don't have much time to spend pondering relations with their Diaspora brethren, and therefore have no well-formed opinion on the matter.

There is, however, at least one group that actually has something empirically grounded to say about these issues: the 60,000 Anglo-Americans who by choice have moved from the West to Israel. But we are never included in these self-perpetuating debates. The reason is that what Anglo-Americans in Israel have to say is perceived as combustible material to men of straw on both sides.

Open discussion of large immigration to Israel has been considered out of bounds since the 1950s, when Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, promised American Jewish leader Jacob Blaustein to keep the subject off the Jewish agenda. For American Jews, the risk of their children even considering moving to Israel was reduced, and for the Israeli establishment the money of American Jews was always preferred to their potential as local competitors for control over the Jewish state and economy.

Since no surveys have polled Anglo-American immigrants to Israel, permit me to suggest some hypotheses, based on my own experiences in the 25 years since I immigrated to Israel from the United States.

Only a tiny minority of us think that all Jews should live in Israel. What we would like to see, however, is more Jews at least consider the move realistically. In order for that to happen, the subject has to be tabled in the Jewish educational system — not as an ideology, but as a life option like any other. In reality this subject is ignored or systematically suppressed, including by the vaunted programs that bring American youth on visits to Israel.

In addition, Israel and the North American Jewish community should develop a strategy for supporting those young minds open to the idea of engaging in the exciting evolution of a society that combines Jewish and American values and enterprise. And American Jews living in Israel are the best source of input for developing these strategies.

The presence of, say, 1 million more American Jews in Israel would be a boon to the Israeli economy, lessening Israel's dependence on American aid. It would further develop Israel's democratic institutions, which are already impressive but still in need of improvement, with an infusion of people demanding standards of accountability associated with Western-style democracy.

Like the wave of Russian Jewish immigration in the early 1990s, an influx of American Jews to Israel would drive home to the Arab world the understanding that the Jewish state is a demographic reality that cannot be destroyed. Furthermore, issues of Jewish identity and Diaspora-Israel relations would likely fade, for the simple reason that most American Jews would have at least one relative who had moved to Israel.

And finally, Israel would cease to be perceived as little more than a haven for refugees and the residue of the Holocaust — as opposed to the vibrant expression of Jewish self-determination that is the country's real raison d'etre. In a world that is having to adjust to large waves of migration, accommodation of religious fundamentalism and adaptation of democracy to various cultural contexts, the project of Jewish immigration to Israel could be a source of important global learning.

Would that the periodic outbursts of Yehoshua and his fellow Israeli intellectuals, and the resultant American Jewish temper tantrums, serve as catalysts for such thinking in the organized Jewish world.

David Chinitz, a senior lecturer in health policy and management at Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Health, immigrated to Israel from the United States in 1981.

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5. "Jerusalem Day, Arutz-7 Style" by Yishai Fleisher
From Israel National News

This past Friday, the 28th of Iyar, Yom Yerushalayim, two buses packed full of English speakers left Binyanei HaUmah, the national convention center, on the way to a unique Jerusalem Day experience.

In a bid to imbue Jerusalem Day with meaning and style, Arutz Sheva and the Jerusalem Capital Development Fund organized a special trip to some of the less visited holy sites in and around Jerusalem. The day began at the National Convention Center where almost 100 people met at 9 AM and boarded two yellow buses that which wisked them away to their first stop: Kever Shmuel HaNavi, the Tomb of Samuel the Prophet.

Kever Shmuel HaNavi is situated on the north-western outskirts of Jerusalem, near the neighborhood of Ramot. It is a long-standing Jewish practice to pray and study at the holy site, and especially on the 28th day of Iyar, the Prophet's Yartzeit (anniversary of his death).

Samuel is considered one of the Jewish people's greatest prophets, likened to Moses himself. It was Samuel who anointed Israel first King, Saul, and subsequently also anointed King David, the founder of Jewish Jerusalem. Samuel wrote three of the books of the Bible: Judges, the book of Samuel, and the Scroll of Ruth which is generally read aloud on the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, also known as the Feast of Weeks.

Samuel's Tomb is strategically placed at one of the northern entrances to Jerusalem and dominates the entire area, including parts of the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway. During the Six Day War, the Arabs used the site as a military fortification, shelling Israeli forces and the passing traffic below. Providentially, Jewish soldiers entered the compound and liberated the Prophet's tomb from the Arabs on the 28th of Iyar, on the very day that Jews throughout generations marked his passing almost 3,000 years earlier.

The Arutz-7 group felt privileged to pay homage to the Prophet, to hear explanations, and to take in the awesome vistas afforded from the Tomb - from central Samaria in the north to southern Judea in the south, from the mountains of Moab in the east, to the coastal plain of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

The group then boarded the buses and headed to the Mount of Olives (Har HaZeitim). While the Mount is famed for its graves of sages and dignitaries, the visitors took the opportunity to see the very vibrant and growing Jewish community known as Maaleh HaZeitim. Piling in to the makeshift synagogue at the basement of the gigantic new apartment complex at the Mount of Olives, the group heard resident Miriam Schwab tell the complex story of the purchase and development of this extraordinary plot.

The land, it turns out, was originally bought by a group of Hassidim for the purpose of burial, but the ruling Turks did not allow them to bury there. Instead, the Hassidim leased the land to an Arab farmer, who paid rent and grew wheat. The Hassidic group, however, continued to pay the property tax on the plot throughout the years - and many years later, when the Arab tenant claimed to own the land, the tax receipts convinced both Jordanian and Israeli courts that it was really the Hassidim who owned it. The Hassidic conglomerate later sold the land to Dr. Irving Moskovitz, the ideological land purchaser from Miami Beach, for the purpose of development.

After passing many hurdles and receiving the necessary permits, construction began. Immediately, Yasser Arafat, sensing yet another victory for Jewish land reclamation in Jerusalem, intervened and asked then-U.S. President Clinton to have the project stopped. Clinton leaned on then-Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Netanyahu in turn secured Moskowitz's pledge to stop construction for a year. At the end of the year though, Moskowitz resumed construction.

After hearing the fascinating tales associated with the property, the group ascended a staircase which opened up to the roof. Suddenly, it became clear why Arafat was so intent on stopping the project, and why Moskowitz was so intent on completing it. There, directly across from the roof, was the Temple Mount and the Muslim shrines that bedeck it today. The group uttered a prayer that the Jewish attempts to reclaim Jerusalem would be successful and that G-d should reveal His glory upon the Mount.

Back on the buses, the group sat and stared as the bus navigated streets swarming with Arabs heading to their Friday prayers on the Temple Mount. Past the Lions Gate, through which the IDF Paratroopers burst into the Old City 39 years ago on this day, past the Rockerfeller Museum which became an overnight command post in the Six Day War, the buses took a left and entered an area called Wadi Joz, full of mechanic shops and the smell of grease.

Chaim Silberstein, who heads the Jerusalem Capital Development Fund, one of a few organizations dedicated to purchasing lands from the Arabs, explained that Joz in Arabic means "nut" and that some cartographers therefore mistakenly call this area the "Vally of the Nut." In truth, Chaim added, this area was originally called Emek Yehoshafat, the Valley of Jehoshaphat (as mentioned in the Book of Joel), a name which the Arabs could not verbalize and therefore shortened 'Yehoshafat' to 'Joz.'

The buses then banked right and the participants got off near a complex of caves penetrating into a rock face in the side of the mountain. This is the Tomb of Shimon HaTzaddik - Simon the Pious - who is mentioned in Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers 1:2) as "among the last of the Great Assembly." He is the author of the famous dictum, "The world stands on three things: on study of the Torah, on service of G-d, and on the performance of kind deeds."

Shimon Hatzaddik was the "Kohen Gadol," a High Priest in the Second Temple period for 40 years, and he was able to uphold a high level of observance during his tenure, including the preparation of two red heifers. The Talmud relates the famous story of the meeting between Alexander the Great, the world-conquering Macedonian Emperor, and Shimon HaTzaddik. At the behest of Jew-haters, Alexander marched on Jerusalem, with intent to destroy it. Shimon the High Priest donned the White Priestly Garments that he wore on Yom Kippur when he would enter the Holy of Holies, and went out to meet Alexander. To the surprise of his entourage, when the Emperor saw Shimon HaTzaddik, he dismounted and prostrated himself before Shimon. Alexander's generals asked him why he was bowing to this Jew, to which he replied that every night before a battle, he would see in a dream the figure of that Jewish High Priest, who would advise him on tactics to use the following day - a service that never failed him.

Shimon HaTzaddik took Alexander the Great on a tour of the Temple. Alexander was very impressed and requested that a marble image of himself be placed in the Temple courtyard. Shimon explained that it was forbidden for the Jews to have images, and certainly not in the Temple, but he suggested an alternative way giving homage to the Emperor: that all male babies born that year would receive the name "Alexander." The Emperor accepted, and that is how "Alexander" became a Jewish name.

At the Tomb of Shimon HaTzaddik, lunch was served to the group as they sat together under an awning, while Breslov Chassidim played guitar and sang joyfully. Over cups of grape juice and wine from the Beit El winery, participants heard tales of Shimon HaTzaddik, the words of the Paratoopers who captured the area in the Six Day War, and an explanation of the purchase of the property around the Tomb by an affiliate of Jerusalem Capital Development Fund. Today, seven Jewish families live in the vicinity of the Tomb and a kollel of 20 students is on premises.

The tour was winding down, and the buses came to a stop where they started that morning at the Jerusalem International Convention Center. As the participants disembarked they thanked the staff and wished them Shabbat Shalom.

Among emails later received at Arutz-7 were the following:

"We wanted to thank you for all the work you did to make today a successful tiyul. We really enjoyed ourselves and we learned a lot about the history of Jerusalem. All the best and Shabbat Shalom, Sruly & Rivkah"

"Thank you and all of your friends at Arutz Sheva for the lovely tiyul [trip]. As new olim (just under 2 yrs. since coming home), we very much enjoyed learning more about our new home. Thanks to Yishai, Malkah and Baruch, Alex, and Chaim (and anyone else who made this wonderful tiyul possible). Shabbat Shalom, Yechiel & Tova"

For more information about purchase of land and reclamation Jewish property in Jerusalem, please send email to < info@jcdf.org>.

The Arutz-7/Jerusalem Capital Development Fund trip was subsidized in the memory of Alexander Fleisher.