UN condemnations

LiberalLogic101 asks, "Is the UN biased against Israel?…"  and posts a graphic detailing UN 2014 condemnations.  20 were against Israel while other countries were on the receiving end of 1 or zero condemnations.
http://linkis.com/liberallogic101.com/MiXlw

Egypt has banned a Hollywood film based on the Biblical book of Exodus because of what censors described as "historical inaccuracies".

The head of the censorship board said these included the film's depiction of Jews as having built the Pyramids, and that an earthquake, not a miracle by Moses, caused the Red Sea to part.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30605059


TheGuardian has an article titled Diaries reveal Jewish suffering during Holocaust in Hungary which describes how a "defiant doctor hid Jewish boy and his aunt from Nazis in her Budapest home during the late stages of the second world war."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/27/hungary-holocaust-diaries-budapest-jews


TheGuardian also has an interesting article titled Pakistan’s last self-declared Jew campaigns to save cemetery.

Below are two headlines of articles regarding the same event.

Israel saves life of Palestinian baby, after child collapses at border crossing

7-month-old evacuated after fainting while waiting at Allenby Bridge

The roar of Yehudah

This week's Parsha relates how Yosef Hatzadik wanted to incarcerate Binyomin for his "theft" of the goblet, telling his brothers that Binyomin shall remain behind while the rest of them return "B'Shalom" to their father's house. The Midrash states that Yehuda roared "How can there be shalom in our father's house if Binyomin is not there with us?!"The Midrash says that Yehuda screamed so loud that even Chushim Ben Dan, who was deaf, was able to hear him!

Why does the Midrash deem it necessary to detail the decibel level of Yehuda's cry?
Continue reading: http://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=45&ARTICLE_ID=55696

להקריב את החיים בשביל לא לבייש


For third time this week, shots fired at Paris Jewish target


The NYDailyNews has an article titled Israeli girl badly burnt by firebomb tossed at car.

The firebombing is the latest in a string of recent attacks against Israelis, including violence in Jerusalem and in West Bank settlements.

In October, a Palestinian man drove his car into a crowd of commuters in Jerusalem. At least eight people were injured and a 3-month-old girl was killed.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/israeli-girl-badly-burnt-firebomb-west-bank-article-1.2056585


An RT article has the headline 11yo Jewish girl critically injured as firebomb hits West Bank settlers.


A caption under a phot in the article reads, "Jewish settler children walk together after leaving school in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Bat Ayin, south of Bethlehem."


After detailing the attack, the article goes on to dig up incidents of Palestinian children being hit by rubber and sponge bullets, without mentioning that the incidents took place amongst clashes between the two sides.


Two articles describing the same incident, but with two very different perspectives.

Making amends

After 522 Years, Spain Seeks To Make Amends For Expulsion Of Jews


Collive has a video of Santa putting on tefillin for the first time over here.

Our Parsha begins with Yehuda drawing close to argue with Yosef on Binyomin's behalf. He tells Yosef that he is more involved than the rest of his brothers because he took responsiblilty for Binyomin by telling his father, if he doesn't return him alive he will lose his Olam HaBa.

The Vilna Gaon says that this is hinted in the Truppe (notes) of the first words of the Parsha. KADMA V'AZLA R'VI'I, ZARKA MUNACH SEGOL. KADMA V'AZLA - The 4th (son) went forward (in confrontation with Yosef), because he had thrown away(Zarka) his place among the Chosen (Nation)- "Munach Segol" -(when he promised Binyomin's safe return). It was therefore Yehudah who entered in to the controversy more than his brothers
http://www.revach.net/parshas-hashavua/quick-vort/Parshas-VaYigash-Vilna-Gaon-Yehuda-Sings-A-Tune-Of-Sacrifice/1492

Really caring

Yeranen Yaakov linked to an excellent article by Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz titled We Really Care.

The Lakewood Scoop writes about the petirah of a young child who was struck by a vehicle. Below is a comment posted under the article.

The girl is named after Rebbetzin Kanievsky… One of the most special women Klal Yisrael had. In her biography from artscroll page 335 there is a special letter that Rebbetzin Kanievsky wrote to parents who lost their young children. May she be meiltz yosher for Klal yisroel. http://www.thelakewoodscoop.com/news/2014/12/tragedy-toddler-niftar-after-being-struck-by-vehicle.html

I turned to page 335 and found a letter from Rebbetzin Kanievsky to Mrs. Kletzky, written after the murder of Leiby Kletzky.

Parshas VaYigash - It's Never Too Late

A scathing response

HuffPost Editor Likens Joseph and Mary to Palestinians — a Law Professor Wasn’t Having Any of That and Wrote a Scathing Response


This morning I read how a sniper from Gaza fired at an Israeli soldier. Check the headlines at Haaretz and the JPost regarding the incident. How was the soldier wounded in an exchange of fire as the Haaretz headline reads?


Israeli soldier seriously wounded in exchange of fire on Gaza border

Sniper fire from Gaza seriously injures IDF soldier; Army responds


A strong correlation exists between religiosity and personal happiness, according to a new study by the Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture.
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2014/12/24/religious-people-much-happier-than-others-new-study-shows/

The Kalamazoo menorah

A small group of Jews from throughout the Kalamazoo area were joined by a handful of interested citizens Sunday while they set up a Hannukah menorah in Bronson Park.
Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/12/hanukkah_menorah_raised_in_bro.html

Zidan isn’t a name usually heard at a Jewish circumcision, but a New York couple gave their newborn son the moniker to honor a Druze policeman killed while responding to a terror attack on a Jerusalem synagogue last month.
Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-couple-names-son-after-druze-cop-killed-in-terror-attack/#ixzz3Lu2qPpNC


CIF Watch reports Guardian editorial condemning CIA torture curiously includes image of a Jewish menorah.


One comment posted under the Guardian article reads, "Dubya with the huge shadow of a Menorah in the background. Score one for subliminal antisemitism."
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/14/observer-view-on-torture#start-of-comments

Paul Greenberg asks Can Seafood Be Kosher and Sustainable?


Israel Matzav points to an NYT correction of an obituary.
An earlier version of this obituary misstated the location of Alon Shvut, where Mr. Marks lived. It is in the West Bank, not in Israel.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/books/gil-marks-historian-of-jewish-food-and-culture-dies-at-62.html?smid=fb-share&_r=5



Alon Shvut (Hebrew: אַלּוֹן שְׁבוּת) is an Israeli settlement located southwest of Jerusalem,
...Alon Shvut, literally "oak of return", is a reference to the return of the Jews expelled from Gush Etzion by the Jordanian Arab Legion in 1948 following the Kfar Etzion massacre...
... Alon Shvut is located on the site of the Battle of Beth Zechariah, fought between the Maccabees and the Seleucid army after the defeat of the Seleucids in Jerusalem. The ancient town of Beth Zechariah, in northern Judea, is identified with the ruins of Khirbet Zechariah, less than a kilometer north of Alon Shvut. It was considered the nearest area to Jerusalem whose topography could be exploited by the Maccabees to block the northward advance of the Seleucid army, after the Maccabee defeat in the Battle of Beth Zur.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alon_Shvut


Two versions of an incident- You choose which one to believe.
Israeli settlers torched a West Bank mosque in an apparent revenge attack today, Palestinian officials said, as the US top diplomat headed to Jordan to discuss the spiralling violence.

“The settlers set fire to the whole of the first floor of the mosque” in Al-Mughayir village near the West Bank city of Ramallah, a security official said. Police confirmed the incident and opened an investigation.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/israeli-settlers-torch-west-bank-mosque-in-suspected-revenge-attack#sthash.7MQeknDk.dpuf

A fire at a West Bank mosque last month was most likely caused by an electrical fault and not the result of arson, Israel’s police said on Sunday.  
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/world/middleeast/arson-ruled-out-in-fire-at-west-bank-mosque-israeli-police-say.html?ribbon-ad-idx=4&rref=world/middleeast&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Middle%20East&pgtype=article

Four forces

The simple story of the Dreidel or Sivivon is that it was a decoy used by the little children learning the Aleph Bais in case the Yivanim caught them. The Bnei Yisaschar brings some deep remazim regarding the dreidel.

The four sides of the dreidel have the letters, Nun, Gimel, Shin, Hey. These stand for the four forces in a person. Nefesh or spirit-Nun, Guf or physicality-Gimel, Sechel or intellect-Shin, and a higher spirit combining the other three, HaKol-Hey. The four nations of Bavel, Yavan, Rome, and Madai each opposed a specific one of these forces. Moshiach, whose gematria is 358 the same as Nun, Gimel, Shin, Hey, will annul these forces forever. Then Hashem's reign will be accepted by all. Hashem Melech, Hashem Malach, Hashem Yimloch L'Olam Va'ed also equals 358 like our dreidel and Moshiach.

The dreidel spins on its point. All these nations on each side of the dreidel all focus on Bnei Yisroel. The four side gradually decrease and disappear into this point, as the four nations will disappear and become batel to Am Yisroel.
http://revach.net/moadim/chanukah/Chanukah-Some-Hidden-Secrets-Of-The-Dreidel/3164


Former CIA Director James Woolsey spoke to Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio) on Thursday, and emphasized that the ongoing incarceration of Jonathan Pollard (60), now in his 30th year behind American prison bars, has "no good reason."
Read more: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188557#.VI1S2JVATIU


What it really means to be a hero and the need to stamp out labels in Judaism were address at a great gathering at the Great Synagogue.
Continue reading: http://collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=33194&alias=stereotypes-crushed-in-jerusalem

Temporary versus eternal

The Jews may have originated in the Middle East but they were long ago scattered far and wide - to the Gulf, among other places. Few now remain, except in Iran. But a century ago, writes Matthew Teller, there was even a proposal to found a Jewish state at an oasis near Bahrain.
Continue reading: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-30447043


The Jewish Press reports , "A Jewish man found a swastika drawn on the gate to his home where he had put up decorations for Hanukkah."
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/hanukkah-decorated-florida-home-vandalized-with-swastika/2014/12/13/

Speaking about the Jewish Press, can they please correct the typo in the headline of another article titled 'Lieberman Open to Labor Coalition' means 'I am Running Sacred.' I don't suppose he is running holy, but rather running scared.

This afternoon I was reading Gateway to Happiness by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin and ruminated upon the following passage.

The only type of joy that can really be complete is the joy of fulfiiling a mitzvvah. Joy over material matters is by necessity limited since all material matters are only temporary. But the value of a mitzvah is eternal, hence the joy of fulfilling a mitzvah can be without limits.
... Phyiscal pleasures have an extremely short existence. Immediately after one has gratified oneself, the pleasure is no longer there.


A little while later, I was reading an article in the IHT and cam' across the following words, which seemed to reinforce the message that was transmitted from the above words.

Material things appear to be permanent, while experiences seem evanescent and likely to be forgotten. Should you take a second honeymoon with your spouse, or get a new couch? The week away sounds great, but hey — the couch is something you’ll have forever, right?

Wrong. Thirty years from now, when you are sitting in rocking chairs on the porch, you’ll remember your second honeymoon in great detail. But are you likely to say to one another, “Remember that awesome couch?” Of course not. It will be gone and forgotten. Though it seems counterintuitive, it is physically permanent stuff that evaporates from our minds. It is memories in the ether of our consciousness that last a lifetime, there for us to enjoy again and again.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/opinion/sunday/arthur-c-brooks-abundance-without-attachment.html?_r=0

Bayit U’Menucha: Happiness – “Keeping Up With The Jones’s” , Not Me!

The vending machine prize

The NYDailyNews reports 4-year-old Okla. boy puts quarter in vending machine, gets Nazi ring.


Faith schools are tightening their grip on the top spots in primary league tables, official figures reveal.

Of the 693 best-performing schools, 62 per cent were faith schools – up from 60 per cent last year – although they account for only a third of primaries nationally.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2870947/Faith-schools-gaining-spots-primary-league-tables.html#ixzz3LgfQD1Pd

Parshas VaYshev - Being Grateful ' Even for the 'Small' Things

Thanking G-d

Parshas VaYashev - This Too Is For My Best

Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis writes about a recent trip to Israel in an article titled The Sun is Ashamed to Shine.

The mother of stabbing victim Levi Rosenblatt was reunited with her son on Wednesday, thanking G-d for a "miracle."
Continue reading: http://collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=33196&alias=injured-bochur-reunited-with-mom

9-year-old Eli is fighting a battle against cancer. Imagine his surprise when the 8th Day Band showed up at his home.
Continue reading: http://collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=33195&alias=8th-day-surprise-boy-with-cancer

After watching the video below, which I discovered at Collive, I took a moment to thank Hashem for my health. Without a wake up call, I usually take it for granted.