Receiving your request

A friend and I went to a screening of "the Secret" which was aired at a local center. When I came home, I discussed the movie with another friend. She was very distraught and berated me, "This doesn't sound like Jewish Hashkofa. We don't always get what we want and we have to know that Hashem does everything for the best, whether we understand why our requests are fulfilled or not."

This morning I received an email from Rhonda Byrne from the Secret Daily Teachings. The reader is asked to imagine sending an email with a request to the Server of the Universe.

If you begin to worry and stress that you haven't got what you wanted, then you have just sent another email to the Universe to stop your order. And then you wonder why you haven't received what you asked for.

Once you Ask, know that the Server of the Universe is an automatic infallible system that never fails, and expect to receive your request!

Once I read the above words, I realized that my friend's words were so right. It is dangerous to think that anything we ask for will be greeted with a positive response. Sometimes our requests are not in our best interests. Imagine if I had really wanted a job at the World Trade Center during September 2001. Had I been turned down for the job, I could have been disappointed and upset that G-d had not fulfilled my request for something I really wanted. But, on September 11, I would have realized how being turned down for the job was the best thing that could have happened to me.

 

A woman named Yael

Shoftim 4. 21. And Yael, the wife of Heber, took the tent-pin, and placed the hammer in her hand, and came to him stealthily, and thrust the pin into his temple, and it pierced through into the ground; and he was in a deep sleep and weary; and he died.
22. And behold, Barak pursued Sisera, and Yael came out to meet him, and she said to him, "Come and I will show you the man whom you seek," and he came to her, and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the pin was in his temple.		.

A knife-wielding intruder broke into a woman’s home early Monday morning in a community in the Eshkol border region and was fought off by a tenacious mother protecting her four children. Later in the day, the mother, Yael — who was only identified by her first name and who was lightly injured in the attack — had her version of the story related to Ynet by her father.
Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/stabbed-in-the-face-and-shoulder-woman-fought-off-her-gazan-attacker/

If the attacker would have read the book of Judges - Shoftim, perhaps he wouldn't have started up with a woman named Yael.

Twitter times two

Amnesty International U.K. official reprimanded after tweeting anti-Semitic joke

A senior official with the human rights organization Amnesty International has been reprimanded for making an anti-Semitic joke about several British lawmakers.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/an-anti-semite-walks-into-a-bar/

A twitter feed associated with Hamas’ military wing, Izzedin al-Qassam, posted this photo of a chocolate frosted cake to celebrate what it’s calling a victory over Israel in the week of fighting that ended last Wednesday. Hamas called the operation in which it launched 1,506 rockets at Israeli civilians “Shale Stones,” and on the chocolate cake that phrase appears in Arabic, as does an M-75 long-range missile. The green used as the decorator gel is a color closely associated with Hamas and other Islamist movements.
Continue reading: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/food-fight-hamas-tweets-out-missile-cake-while-one-israeli-reveals-how-he-used-a-pastrami-sandwich-to-take-cover/

A Dutch news show has stirred controversy by airing a fake satirical video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bragging to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about civilian deaths in Gaza.
“We are trying to maximize the number of civilian casualties. We prefer that,” Netanyahu is seen telling Clinton in the video, which the broadcaster Vara aired on Nov. 21, as part of the satirical corner of the prime-time news show De Wereld Draait Door. Approximately 1.5 million viewers watch the show every evening.
Read more: http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/11/26/3112791/dutch-tv-airs-fake-netanyahu-speech-about-targeting-gaza-kids

The obvious enemy

by D. Fine

The scene is set as the two heads of completely opposed nations (Yaakov and Esav) meet each other for the first time since Yaakov got his bracha from Yitzchak. Before this meeting, Yaakov davens to HaShem to 'please save me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esav (32;12).' Why repeat things (why repeat things!) by saying 'the hand of my brother' AND 'the hand of Esav?'

An answer is that these two concepts ('my brother' and 'esav') represent the 2 tactics employed against us as individual Jews and as the Jewish people as a whole. One is the enemy who overtly and obviously comes against us by force to annihilate us (that is called 'esav' -the obvious enemy) anti-semitism. The other is much more dangerous, and that is 'achi' - my brother.
Continue reading: http://www.shortvort.com/component/content/article/114-rotator/11586-enemy-tactics

Anti-Israel demonstrators gathered on Friday in the heart of Vienna, protesting Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense and chanting slogans calling for the murder of Jews and bashing the Jewish state. Read more: http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=293435

Two children

CNN has a moving video and article about two children from both sides of the MidEast conflict who are being treated in the same Israeli hospital.

Four-year-old Yosef lies in a hospital bed with curiosity gleaming in his eyes as he listens to a family friend tell him the age-old story of Jonah and the whale.

 

The young boy is surprisingly bright-eyed after the traumatic ordeal he's endured as a result of the latest outbreak of warfare between Gaza and Israel.

Continue reading: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/25/world/meast/sidner-children-israel-gaza-conflict/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

Eight days

Jews the world over will celebrate the holiday of Chanukah this month to commemorate the eight days that the flask of oil burned.

YnetNews reports about a different type of celebration of the eight days of the Gazan Israeli confrontation which led to a ceasefire last week.

Less than a week after the declaration of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Operation Pillar of Defense has already left its mark on the people of Gaza, in a rather unexpected way.

Some parents from the Strip have decided to name their newborn babies after operation-affiliated icons – from assassinated Hamas commanders to long-range missiles fired at Israel.

Muhammad al-Shafi'i Abu Nassat named his son, who was born Friday, after the Fajr missile. Naming his baby Fajr, Abu Nassat told Gaza media, was his way of expressing his gratitude to Iran, which was responsible for supplying Gaza with rockets that, according to Abu Nassat "struck the enemy for eight days."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4311608,00.html

British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Sunday urged the United States to take a more active role in seeking a lasting settlement between Israelis and Palestinians, warning of a "final chance" for a two-state solution.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/11/25/uk-palestinians-israel-britain-usa-idUKBRE8AO06420121125?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Masculine and feminine

Hurricane Sandy’s $50 billion damage demonstrated the vulnerability of America’s largest cities to the effects of global warming. Christiana Figueres, the top United Nations diplomat for international climate negotiations, said Sandy serves as “yet another wake-up call” for the U.S. to cut carbon pollution.
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/11/24/1232221/un-climate-chief-calls-out-us-for-climate-inaction-hurricane-sandy-is-yet-another-wake-up-call/?mobile=nc

The other week I was listening to Rabbi Wallerstein speak about Hurricane Sandy and he mentioned that he was looking for some verse in the Torah which ties in the elements of nature in the storm such as trees, wind, etc. Someone in his shul came up with the verse from Chapters of the Fathers 3:17, "One whose wisdom is greater than his deeds, what is he comparable to?  To a tree with many branches and few roots; comes a storm and uproots it, and turns it on its face..."

While he was discussing the elements of nature, my thoughts immediately turned to the Rashi in this week's parsha 32:9.

And he said, "If Esau comes to one camp and strikes it down, the remaining camp will escape."
ט. וַיֹּאמֶר אִם יָבוֹא עֵשָׂו אֶל הַמַּחֲנֶה הָאַחַת וְהִכָּהוּ וְהָיָה הַמַּחֲנֶה הַנִּשְׁאָר לִפְלֵיטָה:

one camp and strikes it down: Heb. וְהִכָּהוּ הַמַחִנֶה הָאַחַת. [The word] מַחִנֶה is used both in the masculine and feminine genders. [Other examples are:] (Ps. 27:3):“If a camp encamps (תַּחִנֶה) against me.” This is feminine. (Below, 33: 8)“this (הַזֶה) camp.” That is masculine. Likewise, there are other things (nouns) that are used both in the masculine and feminine genders, e.g. (above 19:23):“The sun (הַשֶׁמֶשׁ) came out (יָצָא) upon the earth” ; (Ps. 19:7):“From the end of the heavens is its source (מוֹצָאוֹ) .” These are masculine. (II Kings 3:22):“the sun shone (זָרְחָה) on the water.” This is feminine. And likewise, רוּחַ, wind (Job 1:19):“when, behold, a great (גְדוֹלָה) wind came (בָּאָה) .” This is feminine;“and struck (וַיִגַע) the four corners of the house.” This is masculine. [Another instance is] (I Kings 19:11):“and a great (גְדוֹלָה) and strong (וְחָזָק) wind, splitting (מְפָרֵק) mountains.” This is both masculine and feminine. Likewise, אֵשׁ, fire, as (Num. 16:35):“And fire went forth (יָצְאָה) from before the Lord,” feminine gender; (Ps. 104:4):"burning (לֹהֵט) fire, masculine gender.
  המחנה האחת והכהו: מחנה משמש לשון זכר ולשון נקבה. (תהלים כז ג) אם תחנה עלי מחנה, הרי לשון נקבה, (לג ח) המחנה הזה, לשון זכר. וכן יש שאר דברים משמשים לשון זכר ולשון נקבה, (לעיל יט כג) השמש יצא על הארץ, (תהלים יט ז) מקצה השמים מוצאו, הרי לשון זכר. (מ"ב ג כב) השמש זרחה על המים, הרי לשון נקבה. וכן רוח (איוב א יט) והנה רוח גדולה באה, הרי לשון נקבה, (שם) ויגע בארבע פנות הבית, הרי לשון זכר, (מ"א יט יא) ורוח גדולה וחזק מפרק הרים, הרי לשון זכר ולשון נקבה. וכן אש (במדבר טז לה) ואש יצאה מאת ה', לשון נקבה. (תהלים קד ד) אש לוהט, לשון זכר: http://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=15554&p=1&showrashi=true

I am, by no means, supplying a reason for Hurricane Sandy but I find it interesting that it happened in an age when we try to obscure differences between males and females. This past month  "Six women were arrested at the Western Wall on Thursday for wearing prayer shawls during services in a manner that has been disallowed by the site’s management and police." This past month a man wrote an article about how he broke gender norms and baked challah at a class where the instructor defined the act as a traditional woman's mitzvah. This past month people may have voted for allowing a man to say to another man "Harei attah mekudash li."

Hurricane Sandy destroyed our machaneh - our secure encampment through wind and fire, through words that don't have a secure gender identity.

Shmirah and Mitzvot

Crown Heights Info has an article titled Students Perform Mitzvos for The Holy Land.

Rav Kanievsky addressed the residents of Bnei Brak about the words of yesteryear from the Chazon Ish that the city will not be struck by bombs. Rav Kanievsky wrote in a letter that it is not a kiddush Hashem if the words of a tzaddik  are only fulfilled during his lifetime and not upon the tzaddik's petirah. Thus, Rav Kanievsky reassured the residents that the words still apply to this day.
http://www.kikarhashabat.co.il/רבי-חיים-בבב-אין-לפחד-כלל.html

Shirat Devorah posts about The Shmira Project - For Soldiers and Residents in Danger.

Chadrei Charedim reports about an initiative to pray for every soldier. Click here for information in Hebrew.

BBCWatch discusses BBC’s Jon Donnison Tweets malicious fauxtography.

For the Twitter uninitiated, Donnison is retweeting to his 7,971 followers a Tweet by one Hazem Balousha – a Palestinian ‘journalist and social activist’ – including a picture titled “Pain in Gaza”, to which Donnison adds his own commentary – “Heartbreaking”.

Except – as has already been pointed out to Donnison – it does not come from Gaza.
Read more: https://twitter.com/JonDonnison

Jon Donnison has tweeted the following clarification.

A photo I retweeted from another journo yesterday showing children injured was NOT in Gaza as I said but apparently from Syria. Apologies.

Did he find this photo heartbreaking enough to retweet when the child was identified as one from Syria?

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?