The Blaze writes about The Amazing Thing Russia’s Chief Rabbi Did Last Week to Make Sure He Kept the Sabbath.
The rabbi landed in Moscow ten minutes before the start of the Sabbath after particpating in a ceremony along with the Russian President.
Rabbi Lazar phoned his home, notifying them about the debacle and started walking back to his home. A government official, seeing him walk, offered him a ride. “We’ll do it quick. No one will know…” the man said.
The rabbi declined the offer and proceeded to set out – on foot – for the eight hour, 18 mile walk home. He finally arrived at 6:00 a.m. the next day. Chabad Info reports that during Saturday morning prayer services at the Marina Roscha Synagogue, “the Rabbi could barely keep himself standing, however he gave a speech like he had slept the entire night.”
One comment posted under the article was the following:
Much respect to this man for his dedication to what he believes and his unusual determination to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.
Chadrei Charedim has a video of Rabbi Avraham Yosef speaking about ahavat chinam in Hebrew over here.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations criticized the international body for its anti-Israel bias after Syria and a slew other nations ordered the Jewish state to pay $1.1 million in “damages” resulting from its campaign to stop Hezbollah terrorists.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/un-general-assembly-criticized-for-anti-israel-resolution/
16 Jul 2013
15 Jul 2013
May Tisha B'Av become a Yom Tov
A pair of stolen tefillin was found in the home of a non-Jewish heart attack patient in New York, according to a paramedic in Crown Heights Brooklyn.
The paramedic of Crown Heights, who volunteers for a local ambulance service, was sent Wednesday to the home of a non-Jewish resident after he suffered a heart attack. After treating the patient, while sitting at the table filling out a medical report, he noticed a plastic bag on a desk and what looked like a tefillin bag inside.
Continue reading: http://www.yourjewishnews.com/2013/07/n28248.html
Chadrei Charedim additionally reports that the owner of the tefillin related that they were dear to him as they were written for him by his grandfather - who was a known scribe.
As Tisha B'av draws near, people are wishing each other that Mashiach should come so that the next Tisha B'av will be celebrated as a Yom Tov.
A Hamodia reader taught me a good lesson this week when I read her letter to the newspaper about her experience sitting down at the dinner table with her family when her son ran to the window, pointing excitedly.
"Moshiach is here; look - I can see him coming."
His enthusiasm was so catchy that all my children ran to the window, truly believing that Moshiach had finally arrived! However, my husband and I didn't make a move....we knew it couldn't possibly be true.
Moments later I was ashamed of my reaction..... Oh, how I wish I were a child again.
I will end this post by plagiarizing an email that was sent to me this afternoon by a friend.
The paramedic of Crown Heights, who volunteers for a local ambulance service, was sent Wednesday to the home of a non-Jewish resident after he suffered a heart attack. After treating the patient, while sitting at the table filling out a medical report, he noticed a plastic bag on a desk and what looked like a tefillin bag inside.
Continue reading: http://www.yourjewishnews.com/2013/07/n28248.html
Chadrei Charedim additionally reports that the owner of the tefillin related that they were dear to him as they were written for him by his grandfather - who was a known scribe.
As Tisha B'av draws near, people are wishing each other that Mashiach should come so that the next Tisha B'av will be celebrated as a Yom Tov.
A Hamodia reader taught me a good lesson this week when I read her letter to the newspaper about her experience sitting down at the dinner table with her family when her son ran to the window, pointing excitedly.
"Moshiach is here; look - I can see him coming."
His enthusiasm was so catchy that all my children ran to the window, truly believing that Moshiach had finally arrived! However, my husband and I didn't make a move....we knew it couldn't possibly be true.
Moments later I was ashamed of my reaction..... Oh, how I wish I were a child again.
I will end this post by plagiarizing an email that was sent to me this afternoon by a friend.
Wishing everyone an easy, meaningful ta'anis.
may Tisha b'Av become a YomTov VERY SOON.
Kol Tuv
Lib Dems and Jews
Damian Thompson has an opinion piece at TheTelegraph titled Free schools, frozen yogurt and Jew-obsessed Lib Dems.
This week Sir Bob Russell MP equated the plight of the Palestinians with the Holocaust. And this just after David Ward compared Israelis to Nazis. What is it about Lib Dems and Jews? Remember Baroness Tonge suggesting they were harvesting organs?
Clicking on the link brought me to an article at the commentator about Bill Russel's remarks.
British Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament Sir Bob Russell has landed in hot water after comments this week that "denigrated" the Holocaust, according to critics.
This week Sir Bob Russell MP equated the plight of the Palestinians with the Holocaust. And this just after David Ward compared Israelis to Nazis. What is it about Lib Dems and Jews? Remember Baroness Tonge suggesting they were harvesting organs?
Clicking on the link brought me to an article at the commentator about Bill Russel's remarks.
British Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament Sir Bob Russell has landed in hot water after comments this week that "denigrated" the Holocaust, according to critics.
Russell, who was speaking at a debate on the national curriculum in the House of Commons on Monday said, "On the assumption that the 20th century will include the Holocaust, will he give me an assurance that the life of Palestinians since 1948 will be given equal attention?”
14 Jul 2013
The upside down siddur
IsraelNationalNews writes about "two PA Arab women disguised as observant Jews caught attempting to bypass security checks."
In this instance, an officer of the Gal Battalion waved the #143 public bus over to the side of the road for a routine security check before allowing it through the Hizme checkpoint in Samaria.
While heading towards the back of the bus, he notice two women wearing the hair covering that is common to observant Jewish women. At least one was holding a siddur, a Jewish prayer book.
But something was odd: both were acting strangely, looked more tense than usual, and the one holding her prayer book was gripping it upside down.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169902
Yes, I agree that holding a siddur upside down would be deemed to be suspicious activity.
A note of caution for those making barbecues during the summer months.
GVA writes about the death of a nine- year- old child who died after becoming infected with E. Coli bacteria from poorly cooked meat at a barbecue in her home.
Below is a video which explains what we should be thinking about on Tisha B'Av.
In this instance, an officer of the Gal Battalion waved the #143 public bus over to the side of the road for a routine security check before allowing it through the Hizme checkpoint in Samaria.
While heading towards the back of the bus, he notice two women wearing the hair covering that is common to observant Jewish women. At least one was holding a siddur, a Jewish prayer book.
But something was odd: both were acting strangely, looked more tense than usual, and the one holding her prayer book was gripping it upside down.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169902
Yes, I agree that holding a siddur upside down would be deemed to be suspicious activity.
A note of caution for those making barbecues during the summer months.
GVA writes about the death of a nine- year- old child who died after becoming infected with E. Coli bacteria from poorly cooked meat at a barbecue in her home.
Below is a video which explains what we should be thinking about on Tisha B'Av.
Contrasting views
The following was reported on July 7th.
A female Muslim student at the University of Duisburg-Essen ripped down parts of a graphic novel exhibit, which included the work of the internationally known Israeli artist Rutu Modan.
...
The Muslim student cut with a scissor photographs from a collage based on Modan’s seminal work Exit Wounds (“Blutspuren” in German).
The collage showed a peace demonstration in Israel with a poster containing the word “Shalom.”
After the vandalism, the university pulled the plug on the exhibit.
http://www.israelandstuff.com/female-muslim-student-in-germany-vandalizes-israeli-art-exhibit
INN has an article by Giulio Meotti Op-Ed: I Am Going to Vandalize the Vile Museum in Paris.
I will stop at the Jeu de Paume museum, Place de la Concorde. Not to contemplate the wonderful paintings of Degas, Monet, Cézanne, Van Gogh or Renoir. No, I will be there to vandalize the Palestinian Arab photos exhibited there, which call to murder Jewish children, teenagers, mothers with infants and elderly couples in the land of Israel.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/13547
Well, if an act of vandalism pulls the plug on one exhibit, why not?
Jewish worshippers who arrived at the Cave of Patriarchs in Hevron after Muslim prayers on Friday were horrified to find that the site had been vandalised.
Read more: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169886
Who else will report on the desecration besides INN?
Two contrasting views on the Zimmerman verdict invoking the name of G-d.
One by MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes.
The second by Pamela Geller.
A female Muslim student at the University of Duisburg-Essen ripped down parts of a graphic novel exhibit, which included the work of the internationally known Israeli artist Rutu Modan.
...
The Muslim student cut with a scissor photographs from a collage based on Modan’s seminal work Exit Wounds (“Blutspuren” in German).
The collage showed a peace demonstration in Israel with a poster containing the word “Shalom.”
After the vandalism, the university pulled the plug on the exhibit.
http://www.israelandstuff.com/female-muslim-student-in-germany-vandalizes-israeli-art-exhibit
INN has an article by Giulio Meotti Op-Ed: I Am Going to Vandalize the Vile Museum in Paris.
I will stop at the Jeu de Paume museum, Place de la Concorde. Not to contemplate the wonderful paintings of Degas, Monet, Cézanne, Van Gogh or Renoir. No, I will be there to vandalize the Palestinian Arab photos exhibited there, which call to murder Jewish children, teenagers, mothers with infants and elderly couples in the land of Israel.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/13547
Well, if an act of vandalism pulls the plug on one exhibit, why not?
Jewish worshippers who arrived at the Cave of Patriarchs in Hevron after Muslim prayers on Friday were horrified to find that the site had been vandalised.
Read more: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169886
Who else will report on the desecration besides INN?
Two contrasting views on the Zimmerman verdict invoking the name of G-d.
One by MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes.
The second by Pamela Geller.
13 Jul 2013
Religious rights
In a case of political correctness run amok, a young boy was denied water on the hottest day of the year at a British primary school out of fear that it may upset a Muslim classmate who was fasting in observance of Ramadan.
Read more: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/07/13/teacher-denies-water-to-students-to-be-fair-to-fasting-muslim-classmate-79592
Poland's parliament on Friday rejected a government-backed bill that would have allowed slaughterhouses to produce kosher meat, angering Jewish groups who said the decision violated their religious rights.
Read more: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/Jewish_groups_assail_Polish_ban_on_kosher_slaughter.html?cid=36447166
Read more: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/07/13/teacher-denies-water-to-students-to-be-fair-to-fasting-muslim-classmate-79592
Poland's parliament on Friday rejected a government-backed bill that would have allowed slaughterhouses to produce kosher meat, angering Jewish groups who said the decision violated their religious rights.
Read more: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/Jewish_groups_assail_Polish_ban_on_kosher_slaughter.html?cid=36447166
12 Jul 2013
The art of rebuke
I received the following poem in an email and, since it tied in to this week's parsha about Moshe Rabbeinu 's rebuking bnei Yisrael, I thought I would share it with you.
The writing on the wall
The writing on the wall
A weary mother returned from the store,
Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.
Awaiting her arrival was her eight year old
son,
Anxious to relate what his younger brother
had done.
"While I was out playing and Dad was
on a call,
Dovid took his crayons and wrote on the
wall!
It's on the new paper you just hung in the
den.
I told him you'd be mad at having to do it
again."
She let out a moan and furrowed her brow.
"Where is your little brother
now?"
She emptied her arms and with a purposeful
stride,
she marched to the closet where her son had
gone to hide.
She called his full name as she entered his
room.
He trembled with fear - he knew that meant
doom!
For the next ten minutes, she ranted and
raved
About the expensive wallpaper and how she
had saved.
Lamenting all the work it would take to
repair,
She condemned his actions and total lack of
care.
The more she scolded, the angrier she got,
Then stomped from his room, totally
distraught!
She headed for the den to confirm her
fears.
When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded
with tears.
The message she read pierced her soul with
a dart.
It said "I love you mummy"
surrounded by a heart!
Well the wallpaper remained, just as she found
it,
With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.
Check out the details before you react - and scold.
11 Jul 2013
Shemeh Rabba
This morning I received an email with a fascinating devar Torah on the parsha by Rabbi Eli Mansour and thought I'd share it with you.
The Hachamim were very particular in the way they scheduled the weekly Torah readings, ensuring that each week’s reading would be relevant to that season. There is always some connection – either obvious or subtle – between the weekly Parasha and the time of year when it is read.
Each and every year, we begin the Book of Devarim on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Ab, during the period of mourning for the destruction of the Bet Ha’mikdash. Undoubtedly, some connection exists between this transition from Bamdibar to Debarim, and the period of mourning for the Temple.
Our Sages teach us that while we are in exile, the Name of G-d is not complete. The final verse of Tehillim states, “Kol Ha’neshama Tehalel Y-H” (literally, “Every soul shall praise G-d”). The word “Neshama” is related to the word “Shama,” which means “desolate,” and it thus alludes to our period of exile, when the Mikdash lay in ruins. The verse tells us that during this period of “Neshama,” of destruction and desolation, “Tehalel Y-H” – we can only praise “Y-H,” the first two letters of the divine Name of “Y-H-V-H.” In the times of Mashiah, the final two letters – “Vav” and “Heh” – will be added to the “Yod” and “Heh” to complete the divine Name. This is what we pray for in the Kaddish prayer, when we say, “Yeheh Shemeh Rabba.” The word “Shemeh” means “Shem Y-H,” and we pray that this Name shall be made “Rabba” – great, or complete, with the arrival of our final redemption.
Continue reading: http://www.dailyhalacha.com/WeeklyParasha.asp
The Hachamim were very particular in the way they scheduled the weekly Torah readings, ensuring that each week’s reading would be relevant to that season. There is always some connection – either obvious or subtle – between the weekly Parasha and the time of year when it is read.
Each and every year, we begin the Book of Devarim on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Ab, during the period of mourning for the destruction of the Bet Ha’mikdash. Undoubtedly, some connection exists between this transition from Bamdibar to Debarim, and the period of mourning for the Temple.
Our Sages teach us that while we are in exile, the Name of G-d is not complete. The final verse of Tehillim states, “Kol Ha’neshama Tehalel Y-H” (literally, “Every soul shall praise G-d”). The word “Neshama” is related to the word “Shama,” which means “desolate,” and it thus alludes to our period of exile, when the Mikdash lay in ruins. The verse tells us that during this period of “Neshama,” of destruction and desolation, “Tehalel Y-H” – we can only praise “Y-H,” the first two letters of the divine Name of “Y-H-V-H.” In the times of Mashiah, the final two letters – “Vav” and “Heh” – will be added to the “Yod” and “Heh” to complete the divine Name. This is what we pray for in the Kaddish prayer, when we say, “Yeheh Shemeh Rabba.” The word “Shemeh” means “Shem Y-H,” and we pray that this Name shall be made “Rabba” – great, or complete, with the arrival of our final redemption.
Continue reading: http://www.dailyhalacha.com/WeeklyParasha.asp
Israel and terrorists
Jonathan Schanzer writes, "Qatar’s ambassador to Washington, Mohammed Bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi, is about to receive a letter that will put his diplomatic skills to the test.
Congressmen Peter Roskam (R-IL) and John Barrow (D-GA) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter on Capitol Hill this week, collecting signatures to challenge the uber-wealthy Persian Gulf emirate over its financial ties to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.3
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/congress-qatar-stop-funding-hamas-93965.html#ixzz2YhlnGlFP
Stephen Marche opines about America's obsession with Israel.
Standard foreign-policy wisdom holds that Israel is the key, that once the crisis there is solved, everything else in the whole of the Muslim world will improve. The terrorists will no longer have the necessary symbolism for recruitment. But the only thing that would satisfy the terrorists is Israel's ceasing to exist, and Israel, rather gauchely, insists on existing. The symbolism cannot be solved; only its power can be diminished. The real historic opportunity at the moment is for the secretary of state to stop going to Israel, and for everybody else to stop talking about what there's no point discussing.
Read more: America's Israel Obsession - - Esquire
Click here to read Op-Ed: Terrorist Release? What About the "Jewish Terrorists"?
Congressmen Peter Roskam (R-IL) and John Barrow (D-GA) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter on Capitol Hill this week, collecting signatures to challenge the uber-wealthy Persian Gulf emirate over its financial ties to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.3
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/congress-qatar-stop-funding-hamas-93965.html#ixzz2YhlnGlFP
Stephen Marche opines about America's obsession with Israel.
Standard foreign-policy wisdom holds that Israel is the key, that once the crisis there is solved, everything else in the whole of the Muslim world will improve. The terrorists will no longer have the necessary symbolism for recruitment. But the only thing that would satisfy the terrorists is Israel's ceasing to exist, and Israel, rather gauchely, insists on existing. The symbolism cannot be solved; only its power can be diminished. The real historic opportunity at the moment is for the secretary of state to stop going to Israel, and for everybody else to stop talking about what there's no point discussing.
Read more: America's Israel Obsession - - Esquire
Click here to read Op-Ed: Terrorist Release? What About the "Jewish Terrorists"?
4 Jul 2013
July 4, 1863
Marc Saperstein has an interesting article at the Huffington Post titled 'Four Score and Seven Years Ago': A Jewish Connection regarding a sermon delivered by R. Sabato Morais on July 4, 1863, which also fell out on the 17th of Tammuz.
July 4, 1863 was a Saturday, and Rabbi Sabato Morais, a Sephardi immigrant from Italy serving as religious leader of Philadelphia's Mikveh Israel Congregation, delivered his Sabbath morning sermon. His sermon contains a phrase that might well have influenced the most celebrated speech in American history.
...Needless to say, some three months later, for the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery, Abraham Lincoln elevated the level of his discourse from "eighty odd years" to "four score and seven years, our fathers brought forth to this continent," possibly borrowing from the published text by the Philadelphia Sephardic preacher who, without knowing it, may have made a lasting contribution to American rhetorical history.
Read full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-saperstein/gettysburg-address-jewish-connection_b_3539959.html
Speaking of sermons, below are some excerpts from English translations of Rabbi Nit Ben Artzi's messages from the past few weeks.
27 June 2013 Message for the Week of Parshat Pinhas 5773
Egypt thinks everything is good and quiet - everything is not quiet. In Egypt there is a complete mess economically, politically and socially. They're not calm, they are a nervous wreck about to explode and it will happen - there will be a revolution in Egypt.
19 June 2013 Message for the Week of Parshat Balak 5773
there will be a revolution in Egypt.
06 June 2013 Message for the Week of Parshat Korach 5773
Egypt is gently bubbling and boiling, soon it will crack open and everything will boil over. They won't be able to make any order there. Everything is going to fall apart for them before their eyes, no less than in Syria.
http://geulamessages.blogspot.be/
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