Two approaches

The Klausenberger Rebbe zt"l says Yaakov's ladder symbolizes the two approaches to self improvement. One way is to decide what you want to improve and map out a plan where you improve step by step until you reach your decided goal. This slow but steady journey has a good chance of success. If you work hard you will ultimately get there. That is what the pasuk says "V'Hinei Sulam Mutzav Artza V'Roishoi Magiah Hashamayma"; if the ladder is planted firmly on the ground, by climbing it one rung at a time you get you all the way as far as the heavens.

The second way is to go straight to the top and immediately begin to act according to your loftiest ideals, like the perfect tzaddik. This method usually ends rather quickly in miserable failure. To this the pasuk says "V'Hinei Malachei Elokim"; if you want to be like a malach right away, then "Olim V'Yordim Boi" you will rise very quickly but you will go right back down just as quick.
http://www.revach.net/parshas-hashavua/quick-vort/Parshas-Vayeitzei-Yaakovs-Ladder-Climb-It-Slowly-Or-Else-You-Could-Fall/1314

Honest reporting

Honest Reporting discusses the death of a Palestinian four-year-old boy and refers to a Sunday Telegraph report.

But there were signs on Saturday that not all the Palestinian casualties have been the result of Israeli air strikes. The highly publicised death of four-year-old Mohammed Sadallah appeared to have been the result of a misfiring home-made rocket, not a bomb dropped by Israel.
Continue reading: http://honestreporting.com/gaza-child-killed-by-hamas/

At 4:43 AM MaanNews reported about a strike at a building of journalists.
Khader al-Zahhar, a cameraman with al-Quds TV, had a leg amputated due to injuries sustained in the attack.

At 5:54 AM Asmaa Alghoul blogged, "More than three journalists were injured with different levels of injuries. Al Quds channel said that they amputated the leg of journalist Khader Al Zahar, but my friends at the Al-Shifa hospital said that they might be able to save it and it hasn't happened yet ..."

Why would a journalist blog about an amputation that didn't occur an hour after it was reported that the amputation did take place?

Every living thing

Kikar Hashabat reports on Shmuel Scharf, the husband of Mira Scharf who was killed in Kiryat Malachi this week during a rocket attack. He said that it was a miracle that he was alive and he thanked Hashem for keeping him alive.

Chadrei Charedim reports that Harav Kanievsky, who often visits a Rav in a hospital after Shabbos, also paid a shiva call to Shmuel Scharf who was at the same hospital.

Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi said in his weekly parsha shiur that when an individual recites Poteach et yadecha umasbia lechol chai ratzon”, “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing," we should be thinking of all our brethren and not only of ourselves.
Speaking of that verse, Rabbi Eliezer Kessler shares his thoughts in relation to tefillin.

When Jewish men put on tefillin in the morning, why is the tefillin strap wrapped around the left arm exactly seven times? Almost every observance we perform in Jewish life is full of deep symbolism. Wearing tefillin is no exception. Almost every aspect of tefillin has a metaphoric or kabalistic aspect connected to it. The reason we wrap our tefillin seven times around our arm is because each winding corresponds to the seven words of the following pasuk: “Poteach et yadecha umasbia lechol chai ratzon”, “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” As we wrap our arm, we ask God to open His, so to speak, and provide sustenance for all He has created.
http://www.torchweb.org/topics_detail.php?id=82&cat=philosophy

Taking sides

On November 15, Anderson Cooper hosted a report by CNN correspondent Sara Sidner. During the wind up to her report Cooper played a few video snippets of "victims" being dragged off the streets of the Palestinian held areas.
But one of those "victims" wasn't a victim at all but was instead a man merely acting injured all for the benefit of western cameras.
Read more: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/11/16/CNN-Uses-Faked-Palestinian-Casualty-Video-in-Coverage

Free Beacon reports, "Two Muslim advocacy groups closely allied with the Obama administration are aggressively attacking Israel and defending the terror group Hamas as it continues to fire rockets at Israeli civilians."
Continue reading:  http://freebeacon.com/obama-allies-accuse-israel-of-slaughter/


What is AP style for the city of Jerusalem? Friday morning, The Associated Press blasted this tweet for a story on Gaza-Israel conflict: “Air raid sirens wail in Jerusalem, signaling a possible rocket attack aimed at Israel's capital: http://apne.ws/U3UaeK -KH.” Just over a half hour later, the AP issued a “correction” tweet: “Air raid sirens in Jerusalem signal a possible rocket attack aimed at Israel's self-declared capital: http://apne.ws/ZXOoMR -KH (correction).” http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/11/the-aps-jerusalem-correction-149801.html

Diametrically opposed

Avrohom's death seemed to have sparked a chain reaction. On that same day Nimrod died, murdered at the hands of Eisav. Eisav, with that violent action, commenced his evil career. Coincidence? Of course not. But what is the connection between these history shaping events? Maybe the connection between all these events is the purpose of creation and the reason for evil in the world. At our core we are all good. Hashem would like to reward us so he challenges us to remain good in the face of evil. Therefore the evil we face must be diametrically opposed to the goodness we contain.

Avrohom's mission was to teach the world that there is only one Hashem who tends to every minute detail. Countering this, Hashem brought him a nemesis in the form of Nimrod whose whole lifelong goal was to extinguish Hashem's name from the face of the earth. His two famous appearances in the Torah were both wars. One against Hashem himself and the other against Avrohom when the four King's, among them Nimrod waged war on the five kings with Avrohom being the real target. Once Avrohom died, Nimrod had no reason to exist and he was immediately removed from the scene. By who? The next great evil, Eisav. He was an exact twin of Yaakov and the polar opposite.

Yaakov represented the Koach HaTorah and Eisav went out his way to commit the most horrendous aveiros of the Torah. Unlike the evolving nature of good that builds on the previous generation's work, as we first discover Yaakov cooking lentils in mourning for his grandfather Avrohom, the passing of the torch among the bad comes out of acts of violence with Eisav murdering his predecessor Nimrod. Not surprisingly Eisav's head was chopped off as Yaakov was being laid to rest.
http://revach.net/parshas-hashavua/quick-vort/Parshas-Toldos-From-Nimrod-to-Eisav-The-Changing-Faces-Of-Evil/1302

The following is an excerpt from a State Department briefing of November 15th.

MR. TONER: We’re obviously in close consultation with Israel, as you well know. The President spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday. Let me finish. Let me be very clear that Israel has a right to self-defense. As of yesterday, I believe the Israeli Government noted that since the beginning of 2012, more than 768 rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza, and over 12,000 in the past 12 years, and I believe over a hundred today alone. They have a right to self-defense.

QUESTION: Are --

MR. TONER: The onus – let me be very clear – the onus here is on Hamas. And as Jay Carney just said from the White House, it claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, but through its actions it’s showing a far different agenda.

QUESTION: Are you counting the number of rockets and air raids that Israel has conducted on Gaza into (inaudible)?

MR. TONER: Again, we need to see Hamas stop its rocket attacks and then we can see a de-escalation of the violence.

QUESTION: Do the Palestinians in Gaza have the same right to self-defense?

MR. TONER: This is violence instigated by Hamas. We have – as we’ve said very clearly in our statement yesterday, that we extend our sympathies to the victims, innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians that have been affected by this violence. But let’s be very clear where the onus likes.
Read all: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2012/11/200598.htm

Nosei be'ol chaveiro

Chadrei Charedim reported about a speech given in the wake of the situation in Israel.

Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovezh, Rav Povarsky,  addressed the yeshiva students today about the power of Torah to protect and save  and how we are losing the protection because of people's dismissive attitudes towards the Torah and its Sages.

The Rav referred to an interpretation of Chazal to the verse in kings 1:1 about King David and how "they covered him with clothes, but he couldn’t keep warm." Rabbi Yosi ben Hanina said that he who shows contempt for his clothes doen't enjoy them. Since "David arose and cut the coat," therefore he could not be kept warm with clothes.

The Rav stated that this also extends to any holy thing. When a person is dismissive of something holy, it will not stand in his merit. For example, a person who shows disrespect to prayer should not be surprised if  prayer will not help in time of trouble.

Rav Povarksy said that the state of contempt with respect to Torah and its sages was unheard of in recent generations, and thus it is no wonder that the lack of honor serves to weaken the power of the protection of Torah. We should do all within our means to strengthen it.

We must also share in the burden of the hundreds of thousands of our brethren in Southern Israel and it is our duty to strengthen ourselves in learning Torah and in relations with our fellow men.

Below is an incredible video of remarkable individuals who are sharing in the burden and heeding the Rav's call of strengthening our relations with our fellow men.

Finallly, check out this post titled Jerusalem predictions.

The hidden lights

Rashi says on the words in Bereishis, Vayar Elokim Es HaOr Ki Tov, that Hashem saw that the special light created at the time of the Bria, which enables people to see from end of the world to the other, was not suitable for Reshaim, so he hid it L'Asid Lavo. This light is said to be hidden in the Torah. It is what gives the great tzaddikim of each generation, who dwell in the depths of the Torah, their unique ability to know and comprehend things beyond what can they have seen or heard.
The Medrash tells us that Adam HaRishon enjoyed this light for 36 hours before it was taken away. The Rokeach says that we light a total of 36 candles during Chanukah (1+2+3...8=36), to celebrate the light hidden in the Torah, which shines during Chanukah. 36 is also the number of Masechtos in Talmud Bavli. 36 is also the number of tzaddikim that Hashem promises will exist in every generation.

The Bnei Yissaschar says that this is hinted in the word Kislev. The first two letter of Kislev are Kuf Samech as in Kisuy or covered. The last two are Lamed Vuv or 36, for the 36 hours of light that are hidden in the Torah and lit on Chanukah.
http://revach.net/moadim/around-the-year/Bnei-Yisaschar-The-Month-Of-Kislev-Reveals-The-36-Hidden-Lights/3053

Yesterday I posted a verse from Sefer Nechemia Chapter 9 which refers to "Amud Annan," the name the IDF chose for the current Gaza operation.
 
12. And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day, and with a pillar of fire at night to illuminate for them the way in which they should go.

Unfortunately, the same chapter in Nechemia ends on a sad note, after Bnei Yisrael turned their backs on G-d time after time. 

As we read about the casualties in Kiryat Malachi this morning, we find ourselves in great distress. May Hashem have mercy, light the way and may we merit peace.

36. Behold, today we are slaves, and the land that You gave our forefathers to eat its fruit and its goodness-behold we are slaves upon it.		לו. הִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ הַיּוֹם עֲבָדִים וְהָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ לֶאֱכֹל אֶת פִּרְיָהּ וְאֶת טוּבָהּ הִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ עֲבָדִים עָלֶיהָ:
37. And it lavishes its produce upon the kings whom You have appointed over us because of our sins, and they rule over our bodies and over our cattle as they wish, and we are in great distress.		לז. וּתְבוּאָתָהּ מַרְבָּה לַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה עָלֵינוּ בְּחַטֹּאותֵינוּ וְעַל גְּוִיֹּתֵנוּ מֹשְׁלִים וּבִבְהֶמְתֵּנוּ כִּרְצוֹנָם וּבְצָרָה גְדוֹלָה אֲנָחְנוּ:

The Blaze discusses the  biblical name behind Israel's military strike over here.


TheBlaze asked Haifa University bible scholar Dr. Jonathan Ben-Dov why he thinks the IDF chose this biblically significant reference as the name of the operation to strike Hamas. He said:

They chose it because it’s something for defense. The pillar of cloud stood to absorb the arrows of the Egyptians. That’s I think what they had in mind. It was in front of them and then behind them and then back in the front of them. The pillar of cloud is there to defend.

Pillar of Cloud

The IDF has launched a major Gaza operation named “Amud Annan (Pillar/Column of Defense)” with the goal of taking “out a large piece of the (Hamas) command structure without toppling the regime,” a knowledgeable source in Jerusalem told The Algemeiner.
http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/11/14/israel-launches-pillar-of-defense-operation-in-gaza-decapitation-wave-against-hamas-terror-leadership/

Yeranen Yaakov discusses the derivation of the name of the latest IDF operation in Gaza,  "Amud He'anan" which translates to "Pillar of cloud." (Pillar of defense)
He references the verse in Exodus 14: 19.

I discovered a few more references here including the one below.
 
Nechemia 9:19

But You,with Your abundant mercies, did not forsake them in the desert; the pillar of cloud did not turn away from them by day to lead them on the way, neither did the pillar of fire at night to illuminate for them the way in which they should go.

יט. וְאַתָּה בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים לֹא עֲזַבְתָּם בַּמִּדְבָּר אֶת עַמּוּד הֶעָנָן לֹא סָר מֵעֲלֵיהֶם בְּיוֹמָם לְהַנְחֹתָם בְּהַדֶּרֶךְ וְאֶת עַמּוּד הָאֵשׁ בְּלַיְלָה לְהָאִיר לָהֶם וְאֶת הַדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר יֵלְכוּ בָהּ:

May Hashem illuminate for us the way to go and protect us. I'm off to say some Pirkei Tehillim.

Questions at the briefing

Thank you, Mr. Mark Toner, for reminding people that Israel has the right to self-defense. Below is an excerpt from a State Department briefing of November 13th.

QUESTION: I wanted to ask about – I don’t recall there’s been yet a United States reaction to the shelling that happened between Israel and Syria over the weekend because of our long weekend. I just wonder how the United States is viewing this and whether you were concerned by what happened in the Golan Heights.

MR. TONER: Well, right. No, we very much condemn Syrian shelling across the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights and we stand closely with our friend and ally, Israel, and are continuing to consult closely on the path forward.

QUESTION: But you don’t condemn the Israelis firing back then?

MR. TONER: They have a right to self-defense.


Below is another interesting exchange about how diplomacy works.

QUESTION: Despite the President’s direct expression of displeasure to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority President, it seems that they are going ahead to the General Assembly. So – which will engender reaction, I guess, or then enforcement of the law as on the books. Could you share with us how, mechanically, how this happens? I mean, they go to the UN, they get accepted, then you shut off, let’s say, the PLO office like immediately?

MR. TONER: I’m not going to get into next steps. We’re still at the stage where we’re actively trying to convince them that this is a bad idea, that this is not going to get them the results ultimately that they seek. So we’ve been clear in the past about what some of the consequences that this would generate or engender. I think we put out a taken question about it a couple weeks ago. But in terms of next steps, our focus remains on convincing the Palestinian Authority that the only way to achieve the goals it seeks is through the negotiation table.

QUESTION: Can I ask how much more active can you be than having the President of the United States with an hour-long phone call to the President of the Palestinian Authority?

MR. TONER: Well, I think that shows how active and how serious --

QUESTION: And he still came out --

MR. TONER: -- and how seriously we take it.

QUESTION: -- in less than 24 hours and said basically I’m not going to listen to you, I’m going to go ahead and do it. What more active trying – what more active are you doing --

MR. TONER: Well, look, I mean --

QUESTION: -- to get them to change their mind when it’s clear when an hour-long phone call with the leader of the free world doesn’t do it?

MR. TONER: I think that we’re going to continue to press our case. David Hale is actually going to Europe this week. He’ll be in Bern and he’ll meet with President Abbas there.

QUESTION: And so you think that the Special Envoy for the Middle East – for Middle East Peace efforts has more weight than the President, than the recently reelected President of the United States?

MR. TONER: This is not a question of who has more weight. This is a question of us continuing to pursue --

QUESTION: Well, I’m just – do you --

MR. TONER: -- what we believe is the best course of action.

QUESTION: Is it your hope that David Hale’s meeting with President Abbas is going to produce a result that was different than an hour-long phone conversation from the President?

MR. TONER: You know how diplomacy works, right? This is – there’s --

QUESTION: Yeah, I do. And it’s usually when you get to the presidential --

MR. TONER: It’s incremental and it’s --

QUESTION: Yeah, but usually it goes the other way around. You start with the special envoy and get to the President.

MR. TONER: Well, again, our engagement speaks for itself.

Making sense

This makes a lot of sense.

President Obama is holding on to Eric Holder as the nation’s top law-enforcement official, The Post has learned.
The newly re-elected president asked his controversial attorney general to stay for the second term, and Holder has agreed despite enduring a firestorm of criticism from Republican lawmakers.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/keeps_holder_as_ag_KiFdPvjU8lAh00dkcJNTZN


This doesn't make a lot of sense.

Below are two screenshots of  what I got when  I typed in the words, "Jerusalem" and "West Bank" in the google toolbar.

When I typed in Jerusalem  I received a screen which included a map of the city and the words of explanation that "Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, though not internationally recognized as such..."

When I typed In West Bank I received a screen which included a photo of two Israeli soldiers, with their rifles raised, standing next to an elderly man, linking to an article titled The West Bank Isn't Occupied?  

After trying other locations, I saw that the screens only showed maps of the areas. Why does the West Bank screen link to a picture relating to the "occupation?" Why not show a photo of a "a luxury house under construction in the village of Mazraa al-Sharqiya near the West Bank city of Ramallah" pictured in this article?