Friday 3 July 2009

Parshat Chukat-Balak: The Sin of the Serpent

chukasn1

A very peculiar episode occurs in this week’s parshah. In chapter 21, the Torah tells us that upon journeying through the desert:

“The people spoke against God and Moses: ‘Why did you bring us up from Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul is disgusted with the insubstantial food!’ Hashem (God) sent the fiery serpents against the people and they bit the people. A large multitude of Israel died. The people came to Moses and said ‘we have sinned, for we have spoken against Hashem and you! Pray to Hashem that He remove from us the serpent’, Moses prayed for the people. Hashem said to Moses ‘Make for yourself a fiery serpent and place it on a pole, and it will be that anyone who was bitten will look at it and live.’ ” [Numbers: 21: 5-8]

Firstly, what was so great about the nation’s sin that it warranted such a great plague? Secondly, what is the symbolism behind the nation’s punishment? Why did Hashem specifically send down a serpent to carry out the plague? And thirdly, how do we understand the prescribed remedy for the plague? What is the meaning behind the fake serpent on the pole?

Read All at :

Parshat Chukat-Balak: The Sin of the Serpent

Posted using ShareThis

Rome gives citizenship to seized Israeli soldier - Yahoo! News

Rome gives citizenship to seized Israeli soldier - Yahoo! News

Esser Agaroth - Return To French Hill, part 1

Esser Agaroth - Return To French Hill, part 1

Israel Matzav: US to block Iran sanctions at G8 summit!

US to block Iran sanctions at G8 summit!

I don't have enough time to really comment on this, but it's too astounding not to post.

The United States plans to block the imposition of another round of tougher financial sanctions against Iran at next week's G8 summit.

According to officials, sanctions against Iran are expected to top the G8's agenda. Sources are also predicting a pointed debate between the heads of the industrialized nations over an appropriate response to Iranian authorities' suppression of reformist demonstrations in Iran led by Mir Hossein Mousavi and other Iranian opposition leaders.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: US to block Iran sanctions at G8 summit!

Israel Matzav: Israel's Iran options

Israel's Iran options

Stanford University's Peter Berkowitz has a lengthy article in the Weekly Standard in which he discusses Israel's options for attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. Not surprisingly, it's been discussed and analyzed as a realistic option by Israel's decision makers (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Israel's Iran options

Israel Matzav: Gaza tunnels now too deep to detect and destroy

Gaza tunnels now too deep to detect and destroy

Hamas has succeeded in dropping the depth of its smuggling tunnels underneath the Philadelphi corridor between Gaza and the Egyptian border to 60 meters, making them much more difficult to detect and destroy with the equipment currently in use.

The American engineers, deployed as consultants along the Philadelphi Corridor in Egyptian Rafah, have been using technology that can detect seismic movements to uncover tunnels. But it is more difficult to detect them once they have reached the 60-meter depth, the engineers told their Israeli counterparts.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Gaza tunnels now too deep to detect and destroy

Israel Matzav: Awww.... 'Palestinian' 'activists' had to sleep with roaches

Awww.... 'Palestinian' 'activists' had to sleep with roaches

Huweda Araf, one of the founders of the terror-facilitating International Solidarity Movement (ISM), and one of the passengers on the SS Moonbat, the ship intercepted by Israel on Tuesday for trying to run the Gaza blockade, complained to the Israeli media on Thursday that she and another 'Free Gaza activist' who are Israeli citizens were forced to sleep with cockroaches.

Houida Araf, who was released on Wednesday, told Ynet that she and a fellow Israeli peace activist were separated from the group and taken to the Ashdod Port.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Awww.... 'Palestinian' 'activists' had to sleep with roaches

Israel Matzav: Hmmm... Israel sends Dolphin class submarine through Suez Canal

Israel Matzav: Hmmm... Israel sends Dolphin class submarine through Suez Canal

Israel Matzav: Survey: Most 'Palestinians' believe Jews have no rights to Jerusalem

Survey: Most 'Palestinians' believe Jews have no rights to Jerusalem

This is from a 'Palestinian' survey about President Obama's Cairo speech in June and other places he visited on his trip. The three numbers for each question are 'West Bank,' Gaza and combined.

7. In his speech in Cairo on the 4th, President Obama said that Jerusalem should be (a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims." Do you agree or disagree with his statement?

Agree 14.7 20.2 16.8
Somewhat agree 24.6 12.6 20.1
Somewhat disagree 18.6 14.4 17.0
Disagree 37.8 50.8 42.7

Don’t Know 4.4 2.0 3.5

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Survey: Most 'Palestinians' believe Jews have no rights to Jerusalem

Israel Matzav: Assad invites Obama to Damascus

Assad invites Obama to Damascus

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has invited American President Barack Hussein Obama to a summit meeting in Damascus (Hat Tip: NY Nana).

Bashar al-Assad told Sky's Middle East correspondent Dominic Waghorn he wanted to meet the US President on Syrian soil to discuss peace in the region.

Read All at:

Israel Matzav: Assad invites Obama to Damascus#links

Israel Matzav: Victor Davis Hanson on what shocks the columnists

Israel Matzav: Victor Davis Hanson on what shocks the columnists

Israel Matzav: Moonbat McKinney refuses to sign deportation papers, will be deported in 3 days

Moonbat McKinney refuses to sign deportation papers, will be deported in 3 days

CNN is reporting that former Congresscritter Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) is being held in a detention center in Ramle and will be deported to the United States in three days. The only reason she is not being sent back sooner is that she refuses to sign the deportation papers.

McKinney was arrested along with 20 other people trying to run Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Reda All at :

Israel Matzav: Moonbat McKinney refuses to sign deportation papers, will be deported in 3 days

Israel Matzav: I know: Let's 'internationalize' Jerusalem

I know: Let's 'internationalize' Jerusalem

During the 19 years (1948-67) that Jordan occupied Jerusalem no one ever suggested a 'solution' of internationalizing the city. After all, the Muslims could reach their holy sites and the Christians could reach theirs. So what if Jews had to disguise themselves as Germans to reach theirs (yes, I knew someone who did this).

But now that Israel has been in control for more than 40 years and all religions have freedom of worship, President Obama's 'think tank' wants to 'internationalize' Jerusalem - an idea that has been around since immediately after the 1967 war. Of course, this time it's only 'temporary.'

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: I know: Let's 'internationalize' Jerusalem

Israel Matzav: Dershowitz: Has Obama turned on Israel?

Dershowitz: Has Obama turned on Israel?

In Thursday's Wall Street Journal, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz asks whether President Obama has turned on Israel.

Many American supporters of Israel who voted for Barack Obama now suspect they may have been victims of a bait and switch. Jewish Americans voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Obama over John McCain in part because the Obama campaign went to great lengths to assure these voters that a President Obama would be supportive of Israel. This despite his friendships with rabidly anti-Israel characters like Rev. Jeremiah Wright and historian Rashid Khalidi.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Dershowitz: Has Obama turned on Israel?

Israel Matzav: 'Palestinian' civil war watch: BYOB

'Palestinian' civil war watch: BYOB

Hamas has arrested more than 500 members f Fatah in the Gaza Strip in the last weeks, and apparently that has put a severe strain on Hamas' budget. In fact, the strain is so severe that Hamas has started allowing the prisoners to call home and ask family members to bring them food and drink.

"The prisons in the Gaza Strip are so full that Hamas doesn't have enough money to feed all the detainees," said a Fatah official in Ramallah. "In many cases the detainees receive permission to call their families and ask for food and soft drinks."

Hamas representatives in the Gaza Strip said the latest clampdown was a "routine" measure aimed at preserving law and order.

But another Fatah official said that Hamas was deliberately targeting senior officials of the faction in the Gaza Strip, including former ministers, members of Fatah's "revolutionary council," former Fatah legislators and former commanders of the Palestinian Authority security forces.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: 'Palestinian' civil war watch: BYOB

Israel Matzav: Sharon's chief of staff slams Obama for denying agreements

Sharon's chief of staff slams Obama for denying agreements

At YNet, Dov Weisglass, former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chief of staff, slams the Obama administration for denying the United States' agreements with Israel over 'settlement' construction.

The US Administration’s current position on the matter is embarrassing, to say the least. Talk such as “there was never such agreement,” “these were only verbal understandings,” or “if there was an agreement, it was violated by Israel, and in any case it should be annulled given the changing circumstances” is reminiscent of a person who at court claims that he never signed a promissory note, while at the same time arguing that he already paid it in full a long time ago.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Sharon's chief of staff slams Obama for denying agreements

Israel Matzav: Is a crushed Israel an American interest?

Is a crushed Israel an American interest?

Ari Shavit asks whether it is in the best interests of the United States for Israel to be crushed by 'tough love.' The answer is an unequivocal no.

The United States is a superpower. If the United States wants a broken, battered Israel, it will get a broken, battered Israel. This is a collision between a tank and an ATV, between a stealth bomber and a glider. But the question the White House ought to be asking itself is whether riding roughshod over Israel serves its goals - whether a crushed Israel is an American interest.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Is a crushed Israel an American interest?

Israel Matzav: Saddam faked WMD's?

Saddam faked WMD's?

The Washington Post is reporting that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein told the FBI before he was executed that he had faked having weapons of mass destruction to deter Iran from attacking him.

Saddam Hussein told an FBI interviewer before he was hanged that he allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was worried about appearing weak to Iran, according to declassified accounts of the interviews released yesterday. The former Iraqi president also denounced Osama bin Laden as "a zealot" and said he had no dealings with al-Qaeda.


Israel Matzav: Saddam faked WMD's?

Israel Matzav: Bolton: Time for Israel to go after Iran

Bolton: Time for Israel to go after Iran

In Thursday's Washington Post, former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton says that the 'already compelling logic' for Israel to strike Iran's nuclear program is now 'inexorable' in light of the option of regime change having apparently been lost, at least for the time being (Hat Tip: Memeorandum). Bolton argues that the Obama administration will never go for a military option, and that it is preparing the groundwork for a 'plan B' that will leave Iran with at least the capability of ramping up quickly to nuclear weapons.

Only those most theologically committed to negotiation still believe Iran will fully renounce its nuclear program. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has a "Plan B," which would allow Iran to have a "peaceful" civil nuclear power program while publicly "renouncing" the objective of nuclear weapons. Obama would define such an outcome as "success," even though in reality it would hardly be different from what Iran is doing and saying now. A "peaceful" uranium enrichment program, "peaceful" reactors such as Bushehr and "peaceful" heavy-water projects like that under construction at Arak leave Iran with an enormous breakout capability to produce nuclear weapons in very short order. And anyone who believes the Revolutionary Guard Corps will abandon its weaponization and ballistic missile programs probably believes that there was no fraud in Iran's June 12 election. See "huge credibility gap," supra.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Bolton: Time for Israel to go after Iran

Israel Matzav: Opportunity lost?

Opportunity lost?

Victor Davis Hanson argues that the United States has missed an opportunity to effect regime change in Iran (Hat Tip: Hot Air).

Unfortunately, Obama’s policy is a lose/lose proposition that will please neither side in Iran. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, isn’t suddenly going to embrace the U.S. because of Obama’s more charismatic approach, much less stop subsidizing terrorists and developing a nuclear arsenal.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Opportunity lost?

Israel Matzav: EU may pull its ambassadors from Tehran

EU may pull its ambassadors from Tehran

The New York Times is reporting that the European Union is considering pulling all 27 of its ambassadors from Tehran in protest over the regime's refusal to release Iranian personnel of the British embassy who have been arrested.

Withdrawing all 27 ambassadors would be a rare and unusually forceful display of European anger at Iran’s crackdown on dissent after the June 12 presidential election, and several diplomats said the European Union would prefer to avoid such a move.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: EU may pull its ambassadors from Tehran

Israel Matzav: Israel is bullied because it acts like a doormat

Israel is bullied because it acts like a doormat

Israel Harel reports that the reason Israel gets bullied all over the world is because it acts like a doormat.

It isn't the Americans who formulated the belittling and trivializing formula "natural growth" at which the Obama administration is now chipping away in an arrogant and bullying manner. An Israeli government, headed by Ariel Sharon, was responsible for the trivializing. And instead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring, here at home, that no independent nation can agree to have "natural growth" dictate its rate of construction, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has gone off to the United States to plead for this poor little lamb.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Israel is bullied because it acts like a doormat

Israel Matzav: Obama and Iran: Why are human rights on the backburner?

Obama and Iran: Why are human rights on the backburner?

Anne Bayefsky makes the same argument that I have made many times about why President Obama is ignoring the human rights catastrophe in Iran. It's the Jews - and specifically Israel - of course! But I love how she makes the argument....

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Obama and Iran: Why are human rights on the backburner

Israel Matzav: President Obama's true colors

President Obama's true colors

Kyle-Anne Shiver uses President Obama's support for the would-be dictator of Honduras as an occasion to sum up President Obama's true colors, based on his foreign policy six months into his term.

We now have had six months to observe the actions and words of President Obama in relations with foreign countries. Here's a brief recap:

Read All at :


Israel Matzav: President Obama's true colors

Israel Matzav: A place where Israel and Jews are loved

A place where Israel and Jews are loved

One of the advantages of being a 'real' reporter/columnist is that unlike me, you get paid to write. Another is that occasionally you get to go places and it's called a 'speaking tour.' Michael Freund just came back from one, and he reports on a place where Israel and Jews are loved. It's in Europe no less. It's Finland.
Read All at :

Israel Matzav: A place where Israel and Jews are loved

Israel Matzav: The 'peace process' is dead - Abu Mazen killed it

The 'peace process' is dead - Abu Mazen killed it

Yossi Alpher - who is definitely not a right-winger - laments that Abu Mazen's interview in the Washington Post in May has severely damaged the 'peace process.'

Every so often, a national leader makes statements in an interview that redefine his position on the world stage. Abbas appears to have done this. Abbas chose to interpret whatever statement of empathy Olmert made about the refugees--the effort the Israeli leader apparently undertook to offer the Palestinians some sort of psychological closure regarding the events of 1948--as acceptance of the right of return, while the Israeli prime minister understood he was saying the opposite and rejecting the right of return. Abbas looks at an offer of virtually the entire territory of the West Bank, internationalization of the disputed holy sites in Jerusalem and (according to him) the right of return, turns it down and says "the gaps were wide".

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: The 'peace process' is dead - Abu Mazen killed it

Israel Matzav: The 'then maybe they will' doctrine

The 'then maybe they will' doctrine

Steven Plaut describes the cognitive dissonance that is necessary to entertain the notion that 'two states for two people' will lead to peace. He calls it the 'then maybe they will' doctrine.

For the past 30 years the Israeli political establishment has been prisoner to the "Then Maybe They Will" doctrine. Every major policy decision made by the government has reflected the power of wishful thinking and faith in the make-pretend. Here is a brief recapitulation of the doctrine:


Read All at :

Israel Matzav: The 'then maybe they will' doctrine

Israel Matzav: Shocka: Arabs refuse to commit to normalizing ties

Israel Matzav: Shocka: Arabs refuse to commit to normalizing ties

Israel Matzav: Video: Khaled Meshaal: The Resistance in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan Led US Voters to the Option of Change.

Israel Matzav: Video: Khaled Meshaal: The Resistance in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan Led US Voters to the Option of Change.

Israel Matzav: Some MK's stay away from American Independence celebration

Israel Matzav: Some MK's stay away from American Independence celebration

Israel Matzav: Obama's kapo: Israel will say 'yes' to a 'settlement freeze'

Israel Matzav: Obama's kapo: Israel will say 'yes' to a 'settlement freeze'

Israel Matzav: All dressed up with no place to go

Israel Matzav: All dressed up with no place to go

A First for an American President

A First for an American President

Obama's policy is failing in Israel. He's strengthening the resolve of the wrong part of the nation.

I can't prove this, of course, and anyway, it's far too early days. But there is mounting anecdotal evidence, and now here's an inconclusive poll, to say that Obama's decision to single out Israel for high-profile public pressure in the Mideast is achieving the opposite goal. Israel's political center is hardening its positions.

The survey by Dialog, conducted Thursday under the auspices of Prof. Camil Fuchs of Tel Aviv University, found Netanyahu's approval ratings were 18 percent higher than Tzipi Livni's - a much larger margin than when they were competing for prime minister. Asked who was better suited to be prime minister, 52 percent said Netanyahu, while only 34 said Livni.
Netanyahu's approval ratings may have jumped 5 points since the last Dialog survey, on June 15. In the most recent survey, 49 percent of the 500 respondents said they were satisfied with Netanyahu's performance. The survey results have a margin of error of 4.5 percent. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman jumped 9 points since a May 14 survey, with a 40-percent satisfaction rate. Defense Minister Ehud Barak improved by only one point. Forty-six percent of respondents said Israel should continue construction in the West Bank even if this causes a confrontation with the U.S., and 44 percent said the opposite.

These are not decisive figures, but seen in historical perspective, they're rather startling. So far as I know, no Israeli prime minister, not even Ben Gurion in 1956, has ever faced down an American president with an explicit demand; because no Israeli electorate would tolerate such a thing. Moreover, the issue this time is one on which a majority of Israelis would usually agree with the American president's position anyway. There is no large political camp in Israel in favor of the settlement project anymore.

But there is a very large political camp which is exceedingly well versed in the issues including the minutiae. Non-Israelis who don't know us well cannot conceive the degree to which politics fascinate Israelis. I've never seen any Western electorate to remotely resemble us in this - probably because there's no other place where the issues are so immediately existential. Since we know the score, we can see the extent to which Obama's positions are detrimental to us. Pretending the Bush-Sharon agreements of 2004 didn't happen is dishonest but also cautionary. Insisting Upper Modiin is the same as Kiryat Arba, and perhaps also East Jerusalem, is not intelligent by any measure. Making believe pressure on Israel alone will bring peace is beyond childish.
taken from Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations

The Torah Revolution: There is no other country

The Torah Revolution: There is no other country

The Torah Revolution: Idea! Let’s have some Jewish-looking diplomats!

The Torah Revolution: Idea! Let’s have some Jewish-looking diplomats!

The Torah Revolution: It's not about Dov Weissglass. It's about the Jews!

The Torah Revolution: It's not about Dov Weissglass. It's about the Jews!

The Torah Revolution: Is partial reporting equals lying?

The Torah Revolution: Is partial reporting equals lying?

Then I'll Worry" Op Ed by Arlene Peck

Then I'll Worry" Op Ed by Arlene Peck
When They Are Paying my Salary,.. Then, I’ll Worry.

By Arlene Peck

Commenting on one of my recent columns, a reader noted that I was a woman who listened to the tune of my own drummer. Well, you betcha! Especially if that means that I am ‘politically incorrect’ to the max. That, is something that I can attribute to the memory of my mother, “Queen Mollie” who taught me the mantra, ‘’Darlin, when ‘they’ are paying your salary, you might have to listen to them and do what ‘they’ want. Until then, you damn well better do what you feel and know to be ‘right’.” And you know something folks; so far I haven’t noticed anybody paying my salary.

I also wrote in a previous column that I could never understand how the world let the atrocities happen the 1940’s. Well folks, I don’t wonder now because I feel that I am living through them. Have any of you noticed how the world is on life support and hanging by a thread? Medical costs are hitting the ceiling and financial institutions are crashing all around. And, the ‘change’ we were promised by the ‘world leader’ is changing my nation, that I was perfectly happy living in, into a dictatorial socialist state. It’s even faster than you can say Czar of the day or “Zeig Heil”. Riots are going on in Iran, North Korea is trying to export nuclear materials to the Arabs and yet all the media is enraptured with everything you never wanted to know about Michael Jackson and more! Overnight it seems this very weird, perverted pedophile changed into someone the whole world mourns. Now, the world only sees him as the greatest entertainer in history, the American version of Lady Di. Gawd…I truly can’t stand it!

Frankly, if I had my druthers, I think that now would be the time for Israel to go in and ‘take out’ that bomb factory in Iran and do whatever else it took to remove them from being a danger to anyone, especially Israel. Because if you haven’t noticed, when something as earth shattering as the death of a “King of Pop” happens, everything stops.

When “Michael” died, every news channel in the world, even FOX was filling the airways twenty-four seven with minute by minute of the shattered fans who were building shrines at every signpost. I’ve been suspecting for several years that we as a people have lost our way. But, watching this, I realized that our values have mutilated themselves completely

Hey, I’ll admit the (I hesitate to say it) ‘man’ was a talented singer and dancer. However, his constant groping of his crotch grossed me out. Still even that was tolerable as long as it was his own crotch. But, call me old-fashioned, call me silly, but when he was accused of drugging and molesting a 13-year old cancer patient, I kind of think he crossed the line. I come from the old school of ‘you may forgive but, you just don’t forget.’ And, as my mother of many quotes used to say, “Where there is smoke there is fire” (she also used to say a lot of things about virtue but I won’t go into that now). In the interest of fairness, it’s possible that some accusations against celebrities might be without merit, but, in Jackson’s case these felony complaints began to come up on a pretty regular basis. And, quite frankly, I thought it a little incriminating when books were seized from his house featuring nude prepubescent boys. Which were nothing compared to the millions upon millions (in one case twenty million dollars ‘hush money’ paid out to one of the victims of his sexual aggression against young boys). Even his El Salvadorian maid’s family was paid two million dollars to drop their case and disappear.

So, our society has gone, just a few short years ago from being inundated with daily stories of his ‘sleepovers’ in his bed with very young friends to all of “Hollywood” speaking about the great loss that the nation is suffering because of this ‘great’ man? Naw, that’s not the word…I was ‘groping’ for the word, he was an. ‘anti-Semite, and millions of his mourners are obviously unaware of this fact? But his comments while speaking of Jews as “leeches” and saying, “They suck…they’re like leeches. It’s a conspiracy. The Jews do it on purpose.” Were actually caught on tape by a former business manager’s voicemail. And, if you doubt me check out ABC’s Good Morning who played them in 1995 on the air. Oh, how convenient it’s been forgotten in is album called “HIStory” containing the song entitled, “They don’t care about us” which had the following lyrics: “Jew me, sue me” and “Kick me, Kike me” which despite the fact he promised to delete them because of outrage they caused, was rereleased the following year with the brazenly anti-Semitic remarks re-instated.

Instead of calling publicity seekers who were clamoring to go on television and share how their lives will never be the same with “dear, dear Michael gone," I called my friend, the world famous, Dr. Carole Lieberman, who regularly goes on ABC, FOX etc. as an ‘expert’ on cases such as this. She told me she filed the Complaint with Child Protective Services that resulted in the trial in which Michael was charged with molestation. She also said, "Michael's childhood, in which he was abused and exploited, caused him to have a dark side, as well as a musically talented one. If only the people, who claim to have loved him, would have gotten him into treatment for his psychiatric problems and drug abuse, he would not have committed his final self-destructive act that resulted in his death."

So, forgive me if I’m not out there joining the masses who are in deep mourning for this ‘great’ person, or rushing over to ‘Neverland’ to place wreaths of flowers and sad letters by his gate. I suppose it comes from another wise saying my mother, “Queen Mollie” told me on many occasions, “It’s OK to forgive…but, you must never forget!” And, in the case of perverts who hang their children from balconies…it makes me wonder...if the Pope ever learns to moonwalk do ya think he’ll get as big a send off?
taken from B'NAI ELIM (Sons of the Mighty)

My Gaza War Diary

My Gaza War Diary












The power of faith and unity on the frontlines.
Saturday night, December 27, the seventh night of Chanukah. I'm listening to the news at home that the IDF has launched a major operation. They called it "Cast Lead," from the song by Chaim Nachman Bialik known to every Israeli child, about a dreidel made of cast lead. Suddenly, a children's Chanukah song has become an army operation. "This is it. Maybe it'll put an end to the suffering in the South. It's no accident that they gave the operation this name.



The courage of the Maccabees lives within us!" I think to myself.
Eight years of never-ending mortar attacks. Eight years of air-raid sirens. Eight years of destroyed streets and homes. Eight years of fear. An entire generation of children in the south born into this; all they know is a life of "red alerts" and bomb shelters. "Color Red" is the slogan over the PA system that warns you you've got 15 seconds to run to shelter. And in the midst of this "routine," people try to lead normal lives. Eight years of Israelis in the south feeling abandoned. Maybe we'll finally be able to change things.

The call isn't long in coming. At 2 AM, the phone rings. It's my unit commander. "Ephraim, it's an emergency call-up! Report to the unit first thing tomorrow morning."
"For how long?"

"Don't know, but bring enough equipment for at least a month." At 5 AM, the bus to the unit picks me up. As we head down south I think, "What's going to happen tomorrow morning? Who will look after my family? What will be with my students?"

Suddenly, all the little everyday things seem less important. We reach the base, sign for the equipment, and I quickly find myself on the way to the border leading to Gaza.
Missiles are landing not far from us.
Every moment is a miracle.

Along the way, we already see signs of war. The roads are full of soldiers and tanks on their way into Gaza. In all the noise and confusion, we can't tell whether the artillery and the missiles are ours or the enemy's. Missiles are landing not far from us. Every moment is a miracle. At any moment, a missile can injure us and destroy our lives. I feel the Divine Protection watching over us.

We reach the assembly point. We check the tanks and armored vehicles, the weapons, the ammunition. And then the really hard part -- getting ourselves emotionally ready.
The first few days are pretty unclear. The operation has begun, but there still hasn't been a ground incursion. We're just "sitting on the fence" waiting for orders. There's a feeling that's hard to explain, not of fear but of questions: "What's going to happen? And when?"
When there's free time, especially before the danger starts, our thoughts race. A soldier comes up to me and seeing my religious appearance says, "I'm afraid. What's going to be? Which of us won't come back? My wife's in her ninth month and she's supposed to give birth any minute. When will I get the chance to see my son? Will I even become a father? For you, it's probably a lot easier."

"We can't allow ourselves to think this way," I answer. "We go into battle without fear. We are not alone! The entire Jewish people is here alongside us! And we're relying on them. This is how you have to think! This is how you have to speak! Think positively and things will turn out fine. This is how you go to war. We are not going to war because we seek money or honor or anything else, but only because we want our right to peace and quiet. No nation in the world could remain indifferent to what we've gone through! In a situation like this, there is no greater privilege. And because of this, there is no reason why we won't win. I promise you we'll come out of this okay, and not only that, but I'll come to your son's bris! That is our prayer."

My confidence comes from the words of Maimonides that I was raised on:
"He who fights with all his heart, without fear, with the sole intention of sanctifying God's Name, is assured that no harm will befall him and no evil will touch him. He will build for himself a lasting house in Israel, and he and his children will merit good all their days, and will be worthy of life in the World to Come" (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 7:15).

But I also have a question for him: "Why do you think it's easier for me?"
"Because you believe. You have someone to lean on," is his answer.
***

Calling in the Name of God

Before we go into Gaza, Hamas tries to frighten us. We're told that they have loudspeakers blaring: "Soldier, I am not afraid of you! Jewish soldier, though you have tanks and rifles, I am not afraid of you. I believe in God and I will triumph over you!"
As a believing Jew, a different thought comes to mind. It is written: "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we call out in the name of the Lord our God" (Psalms 20:8). But it seems like the opposite is happening. We are calling out to God and they are calling to the same God. What is happening here?

The answer is clear. This is not a struggle based on strength, on who will be victorious, for our enemies know very well that we have a much stronger army. They are trying to break our spirit. This is not just a physical battle; it's a battle of beliefs. Which will be the faith that triumphs? Will it be the God of Mohammed or the God of Israel?

This is a profound test. They know what they're fighting for. They want the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, al-Aqsa. Do we truly know what we're fighting for?



This battle is intended to strengthen our belief that "God will not cast off His people, nor will He forsake His heritage" (Psalms 94:14). The home front has got to be strong! The entire Jewish people must say without hesitation: We are here! We have returned to our land, and we will never be thwarted again! I feel all the words of the prophets, every verse. All the things that I believe in live within me. History is happening through me. It not my private fight but that of all the Jewish people, who are the bearers of truth in a world searching for peace without terror.

Saturday night, January 3, one week later. The order has come; we are going in. Long lines of soldiers, tanks, and armored vehicles wait at the entry point. I stand there marveling at this strength, this courage, this spirit. Everything takes on special meaning. No longer are we a weakened body living in Exile, a small child beaten by the neighborhood bully. We have stepped out of exile and into redemption. We are a people standing on its own two feet.

We no longer feel the bitter cold, just the courage and the power of the moment.
We no longer feel the bitter cold, just the courage and the power of the moment. We climb onto the tank and proudly hang the Israeli flag up high -- this unique symbol that only a few know is based on the colors of the tallit. A soldier walks among the tanks and gives out small pages with a special prayer said before going into battle. We grab a quick moment before everything begins to say the prayer. I say these words with special feeling: "May God...grant us the merit of triumphing over our enemies and putting them in their place. May the power and courage of Israel be exalted, and may we fulfill the verse: ‘And all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is upon you, and they will stand in awe of you.'"

***

We go in.

Three years earlier, I was in this same place, on these same sands, under these same trees. I had come to visit a friend. Since then, the prophesies of doom have come true. Instead of a battleground turned into thriving fields, the opposite has happened.
I serve in a rescue unit that extricates tanks that have been hit. The night is very dark. A tank has become stuck en route and we are laboring to get it out. Every report of a tank that is hit makes my heart stop for a moment. We haven't finished yet and a report comes in of another tank that needs to be pulled out. We continue till we've completed our mission.

Thank God, there's been no report of casualties so far. We're not allowed to go outside because of the shooting. We even have to go to the bathroom inside the tank, in a bottle or a bag that gets thrown out. We find the time to grab a little sleep sitting up inside the tank.

Morning comes and a sliver of light makes its way in through the opening. It's time to say the morning Shema prayer. I ask the commander for permission to take off my helmet inside the tank for a few minutes to put on tefillin. We say the prayers sitting down, inside the tank of course. Although we have to say them quickly, the prayers are very powerful. Every word takes on new meaning.

We finish praying and suddenly hear shooting in our direction. They miss our tank; we don't get hit. The tank that we had come to rescue fires back to the best of its ability. After an exchange of fire that lasts several minutes, the other tank commander notifies us over the radio that the enemy has been eliminated. We continue the rescue mission and manage to pull out the tank and all its crew alive and well. I have the feeling that I've contributed to the war on two fronts: in battle and in prayer.

The army endangered the lives of its own
soldiers to keep innocent Gazans safe --
something that no other army in the
world would have been prepared to do.

So it goes for the next few days. From time to time, we get reports over the tank radio of casualties and of the progress of our forces. The army had prepared us for a much higher number of casualties. They had told us we'd be rescuing crippled tanks non-stop. Thank God, the number of wounded is miraculously much smaller than anticipated.
During the war, we heard of many protests around the world. It's not clear to me why. Under combat, our moral code as fighters was evident to all. Throughout the fighting, the IDF did everything possible to protect the innocent. The army endangered the lives of its own soldiers to keep innocent Gazans safe -- something that no other army in the world would have been prepared to do.

***
Leadership and Responsibility

We went in, we came out. We've rescued several tanks, and performed our duties well. Now another force is brought in to help us. And the question comes up: What missions should we take? Now that there is a new force, should they handle all the work? Should we try, very discreetly, to ask for the less dangerous missions?

A fierce argument breaks out among the crew. Some of them decide that they've done their part, they've had enough. Other soldiers, full of faith, filled with a sense of personal and collective responsibility, ask to go out again and help in any way they can.
One of the basic principles that we teach at Aish HaTorah is not to ask 'why me,' but 'why not me.'

One of the basic principles that we teach at Aish HaTorah is not to ask 'why me,' but 'why not me.' This is the power of mutual responsibility. The power of leadership. In my eyes, this is the courage that is demanded of us. To do the job not just so we can check it off our to-do list, but to help and contribute the most that we can. Those who go in again and again, despite the fact that they could go home and be in a safe place, they are true heroes.

The Power of Faith

During the fighting, a friend and a student of mine are wounded, one of them seriously. The other one suffers "light wounds" -- which means that we're praying he'll regain the use of his arm. This remark -- that it's easier for me because I believe -- stays with me all the time. Maybe it's true of the sense of certainty when going into battle, but the believing Jew still has many difficulties. When he confronts the wounded, the dead, the pain of the families whose boys were killed, it's hard for him, just as it is for everyone. But his faith still strengthens him, and his belief in the justness of this war is not shaken.
Faith has the power to give strength. Faith has the power to give a different way of looking at reality. Faith had the power to take the people of Israel out of Egypt and carry them through the desert, from darkness into light. Faith has the power to give us hope even in hard times. People who believe do not despair! Hardship does not break them but motivates them to fight to rid the world of evil.

Only with great faith will we recognize -- and will the world acknowledge -- the justness of our path and our right to the Land of Israel.

"The power of His deeds He has declared to His people, in giving them the heritage of the nations" (Psalms 111:6). It is the Jewish people who must recognize the power of God's deeds. It is they who must recognize our right to the Land. And the moment that we know this, all the nations of the world will grant us our rightful place in our inheritance. They will understand that it is not dominance that we seek. We are nation charged with the mission to bring light to the nations of the world. We are a nation that leads and takes responsibility, that seeks to give and to help others.

***
Ceasefire

The day of our discharge arrives. Our feelings are mixed. On the one hand, it's good to return home from the front. But on the other, we know that the job isn't finished. We're prepared to do it again whenever we are called.
I feel that I want to thank God for the privilege I was granted. And I am certain that I am giving voice to thousands who feel as I do. I want to thank God that my comrades and I came home safe from the war and that we finished the war with a resounding victory. I want to thank God for the fact that the home front stood strong and united, and thanks to this, we were victorious. Despite all the hardships there, I have no doubt that it would have been harder for me to sit idle and not take part, with God's help, in aiding our heroes.

I also want to offer thanks for the public support that emerged in so many places around the world; from Mexico to England, people demonstrated in the streets on behalf of Israel. This support gave us great strength to carry on despite all the difficulties.
Unity brought us victory -- and so it will forever more! May the merit of these words bring healing to the wounded soldiers and success to the people of Israel.

This article can also be read at:
http://www.aish.com/jw/id/48962526.html
Like what you read? As a non-profit organization, Aish.com relies on readers like you to enable us to provide meaningful and relevant articles. Join Aish.com and help us continue to give daily inspiration to people like you around the world.

Jewish Defence League Parsha and Weekly Update

Jewish Defence League Parsha and Weekly Update


Rabbi Dov Begon, the Rosh Yeshiva of Machon Meir wrote the following about the Torah Parsha this week, 'Pashat Balak'.

Wicked Bilaam, in his desire to curse Israel, was instead forced to bless them, in accordance with G-d's will. His gaze encompassed the Jewish People from the start of time until the end of time. Of the start of time he said, "'I see [this nation] from mountain tops, and gaze on it from the heights. It is a nation dwelling alone at peace, not counting itself among other nations" (Numbers 23:9). Rashi commented, "I gaze at their inception, at their earliest roots, and I see that their Patriarchs and Matriarchs rendered them as strong and formidable as these mountains and hills "They shall not cease to exist with the rest of the nations, but shall live on eternal"
In later generations, the Jewish People exits Egypt and conquers Canaan. Then, their might and valor are revealed: "G-d shall devour His enemy nations, grinding their bones and piercing them with His arrows. Israel crouches, lies like a lion, like an awesome lion, who will dare rouse him" (24:8-9).
Finally, regarding the end of days, Bilaam states, "I will advise you about what this nation will do to your people in the final days". I see it, but not now; I perceive it, but not in the near future. A star shall go forth from Jacob, and a staff shall arise in Israel, crushing all of Moab's princes, and dominating all of Seth's descendants.... but Israel shall be triumphant" (24:14,17-18).
In the end, Bilaam offers an illustration: "Alas! Who can survive G-d's devastation? Warships shall come from the ports of the Kittim, and they will lay waste Assyria and Eber. But in the end they too shall be destroyed forever" (24:23-24). Rabbi Yochanan comments on this example:
"Woe to the nation that will be around when G-d redeems His children! Who would dare place his garment between the male and female lion when they are about to mate" (Sanhedrin 106a). Woe to the nation that would ever consider delaying Israel during the ingathering of the exiles, when Israel and G-d are gathering together and uniting in Eretz Yisrael (see Rashi, ibid.).
Today, we are living in that very generation. The Jewish People have been gathering together into Eretz Yisrael over the past hundred years. We see clearly how Bilaam's words are coming true, how G-d punishes all the nations that try to hold up Israel's redemption, and those nations disappear from the stage of history. The Ottoman Empire, which at the beginning of our national rebirth schemed against the Jewish population, fell apart. The British Empire, which received a mandate to assist the Jewish People in establishing a state, and betrayed its mission, decreeing the White Paper against them and preventing them from coming to Israel to settle, fell apart. The Soviet Empire, which armed the Arab countries and helped them directly and indirectly to attack the State of Israel, fell apart.
In our own day as well, the countries of Europe and the United States have joined together to establish an Arab state in the very heart of our country, the land of our life's blood, and that state would endanger our existence. Those countries will most certainly meet the same fate as those empires that disintegrated. The Arab countries and Iran, which do not stop for a moment their concrete military preparations to attack our country, will be the living fulfillment of Bilaam's words: "A star shall go forth from Jacob, and a staff shall arise in Israel, crushing all of Moab's princes, and dominating all of Seth's descendants"


I would like the reader to ponder these following policy statements that threaten the existance of Israel as a Jewish State.

  • A major Think Tank that is located just up the street from the White House, has proposed that a Third Party should govern Jerusalem Proposal: 3rd-Party to Rule Jlem.
  • Yariv Oppenheimer the current Secretary General of Peace Now in Israel, and a major leader in the campaign for Israel to give up land, stated the following: "This (Netanyahu Government's) outrageous and arrogant approach from one side taking it upon itself to decide for the other side will never lead to a peace agreement or reconciliation between the two peoples. On the contrary, a forceful, patronizing approach will lead the moderate Palestinian government to reject the crumbs Israel is throwing its way and cause it to lean towards the more extremist side which advocates violent resistance against the occupation, instead of negotiation. If Netanyahu continues to speak and act like he did at Bar Ilan, the third intifada will be just around te corner. But this time, international support will be firmly for the Palestinian side." JPost.com BlogCentral Building Bridges Netanyahu government ...
  • According to the Toronto Star June 28th article by Haroon Siddiqui about the anti Israel International Conference sponsored by York University: "On June 5, Marshall Cohen, chair of the board of governors, and Paul Cantor, chair-designate, joined him in another statement:"
  • "These issues are discussed on a daily basis in all parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, including Israel. There is no reason why they should not be discussed at a university in Canada."
  • The York senate asserted the right of "universities to organize and host academic conferences free from government intervention." What's discussed openly in Israel is toxic in Toronto


For Israel to be a Strong Jewish State, there must be Strong Jewish Unity. Which in simple terms means that the Jewish People must understand what it means to be Jewish and what is our true connection to the Land of Israel. From an understanding of these concepts must emerge a Jewish People that is unified and determined not to submit to anti Israel propaganda. And it is the mandate of the Jewish Defence League to expose and confront all of these threats to the Jewish State. One of the major threats is when anti Zionist 'Jewish' academicsattempt to join major Jewish Groups and influence the policy and direction from within. This is happening now: Israpundit » Blog Archive » Hillel Student Leaders Participate in ... Think-Israel

The Jewish Defence League of Canada did take the lead in the capaign to expose and confront the anti Israel International Conference sponsored by York University and we will continue to take the lead. Middle East conference anything but academic

Join the Jewish Defence League of Canada for our Monday evening weekly discussion groups at the Toronto Zionist Center at 788 Marlee Avenue 8:00 in the evening. These discussion groups are open to the public and are warm and friendly. Refreshments and snacks are provided. For more information call our office at 416-736-7000. Plans are underway to resume our Security classes for Tuesday evenings, please call our office to participate. Also, please give a meaningful contribution to the Jewish Defence League of Canada which will enable us to accomplish our/your goals.

With Love of Israel,

Meir Weinstein National Director Jewish Defence League of Canada

taken from B'NAI ELIM (Sons of the Mighty)

DoubleTapper: Islamic Terrorist Training Camps in tre USA

DoubleTapper: Islamic Terrorist Training Camps in tre USA

DoubleTapper: IDF Women

DoubleTapper: IDF Women

DoubleTapper: Iran in Pictures

DoubleTapper: Iran in Pictures

Chesler Chronicles » Should America Ban the Burqa?

Chesler Chronicles » Should America Ban the Burqa?

The Junk Drawer-SimpleToRemember.com - Judaism Online

The Junk Drawer-SimpleToRemember.com
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...