DoubleTapper: Purim Photos

Purim Photos

تنسيق-الكليات-لعام سكس نيك كس

Peter Parker at the Western Wall

Hat tip Rafi G

DoubleTapper: Purim Photos

Love of the Land: Jewish History Never Ends

Jewish History Never Ends

Daniel Greenfield
Sultan Knish
27 February '10

We all know the famous Santayana quote, "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it." But why is it that we are so forgetful that we cannot remember the past, and thus must keep repeating it, over and over again?

Human self-centeredness convinces us of our own specialness and uniqueness, and all too easily fosters the historically fallacious idea that we are living in a unique time and a special age. That we have left behind history with our progress and our achievements, and with our very existence. That we exist now apart from the great roll of human history. And as soon as we become convinced of this idea, the past comes sneaking up on us, dooming us to repeat it.

That is why it is so very dangerous to forget history, to sacrifice the past to our own egotism, to convince ourselves that it doesn't matter anymore. And that is why so many of the Jewish holidays are historical holidays. To observe the Jewish calendar, is to immerse oneself in Jewish history. Its holidays do not simply link the present to the past, they incorporate the past into the present, making them into one great whole.

In the winter, we rise up against an empire and fight for our freedom. In the early spring we are sentenced to death and fight for our lives in the streets of the Persian Empire. We build pyramids for a Pharaoh, feel the lash on our skin and are led out through the Red Sea by the hand of G-d. In the summer our temples fall and we are led into exile. In the fall, we wait out the desert heat of the Exodus in booths as we prepare for our new life. We cannot let go of history, because we are history. It is the history we have carried with us in our calendar, for our holidays and our history are one.

To observe Purim now and hear the Megillah read, is to bear witness to a planned Holocaust that is aborted at the last minute. Someone who comes to sit and hear the Wannsee Conference take place in Persia, 2500 years ago, understands that the Holocaust was not a new development, but a very old one. That is what too many Jews failed to understand in 1939. It is what too many Jews fail to understand in 2010. Because history has never ended. History never ends until it is done.

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Love of the Land: Jewish History Never Ends

DoubleTapper: Purim Begins Saturday Evening

Purim Begins Saturday Evening

Purim highlights from previous years

تنسيق-الكليات-لعام سكس نيك كس

All about Purim here

DoubleTapper: Purim Begins Saturday Evening

Love of the Land: UK Warrant for Queen Esther's Arrest

UK Warrant for Queen Esther's Arrest

Honest Reporting/Backspin
26 February '10

A UK judge issued an arrest warrant for Queen Esther, who is due to arrive in London for a speaking tour of British universities.

Tayab Ali, the solicitor who obtained the warrant, told Backspin editor Pesach Benson, "Mordechai and Esther had every right to resist the oppression of Haman's Amalekite regime, but Jewish defensive measures were disproportionate and war crimes did occur."

A spokesman for Queen Esther condemned the warrant, and reiterated her refusal to meet with a UN commission investigating civil unrest after the collapse of Haman's center-right cabinet.

Media reports, human rights groups, and Amalekite non-governmental organizations say 125,000 people -- mostly Amalekite civilians -- died in fights with the Jews. Jewish groups dispute this, putting the death toll at 75,000 -- all of whom were combatants.

Happy Purim to all our readers.

Love of the Land: UK Warrant for Queen Esther's Arrest

Love of the Land: Purim and the obsessions of crackpot professors

Purim and the obsessions of crackpot professors

Bataween
Point of No Return
26 February '10

With the festival of Purim around the corner, Jews turn to Persia and tell the story of how the Jewess Esther and her uncle Mordechai saved their people from extermination by the wicked Haman.

Same story, different time. President Ahmadinejad has again just announced he is looking forward to a Middle East without Zionists.

In leftwing circles it's become fashionable to downplay Ahmadinejad's threats to annihilate Israel as just so much empty rhetoric, or a mistranslation of the Farsi. We are now seeing a breed of young (Ashkenazi) Israeli academics who see Marxist dichotomies and hifalutin' theories of cultural dissonance where there is just plain old antisemitism.

This book, by professor Haggai Ram, at Ben Gurion university, reviewed here, is no exception.

(Read full article)

Love of the Land: Purim and the obsessions of crackpot professors

Purim on Motza'ei Shabbat

פורסם על ידי Mordechai Friedfertig ב- 23:45

23

פבר

2010

Question: What are the special Halachot when Purim falls after Shabbat? Answer: 1. We do not read the Megillah when Purim falls on Shabbat (nowadays only Shushan Purim can fall on Shabbat). It is a decree lest one go to a Rabbi to learn to read the Megillah and carry it in a public domain. There are later authorities (i.e. Aruch Ha-Shulchan, Orach Chaim 693:3) who forbid carrying the Megillah on Shabbat because of muktzeh (something prohibited to carry on Shabbat), but most authorities disagree and permit it (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 688 and Mishnah Berurah #18), and all the more so on a regular Shabbat which is not Purim. There is, however, a problem of bringing the Megillah to Shul on Shabbat because of the prohibition on preparing on Shabbat for a weekday. One should therefore learn something at Shul from the Megillah on Shabbat itself.
2. For the same reason, children may dress up in a costume on Shabbat before they come to Shul, since they have enjoyment on the Shabbat itself from the costume; therefore, it is not considered as if one were preparing on Shabbat for a weekday. This is obviously on the condition that there is no part of the costume which is muktzeh, and it does not involve painting, [forbidden] tying, and other similar things.
3. Noisemakers are definitely forbidden on account of muktzeh. And even if they are not muktzeh, it is impossible to bring them because of preparing on Shabbat for a weekday, since it is not possible to rely on the solution of using them on Shabbat itself, since one may not make noise [from any type of instrument, objects, etc...] on Shabbat.
Summary: It is permissible to bring a Megillah to Shul while it is still daytime on Shabbat provided that one learn something from it. It is permissible for children to dress up in a costume while it is still daytime, but it is forbidden to bring noisemakers.

Originally posted by Torat HaRav Aviner

Sending Mishloach Manot to Tzahal Soldiers: Two Teshuvot

פורסם על ידי Mordechai Friedfertig ב- 08:41

16

פבר

2010

I suggest that the community seriously limit sending Mishloach Manot to friends, and to concentrate on sending them to the soldiers in the area, whose lives are difficult. According to Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, the reason for sending Mishloach Manot is to increase love between Jews, and according to the author of Terumat Ha-Deshen, to provide someone with food for the festive meal of Purim. Regarding soldiers, both reasons apply. Therefore, no one should be offended if he does not receive a Mishloach Manot from his friend, and all of us will be aware that our gifts are lovingly going to the guardians of our security.
[Shut She’eilat Shlomo vol. 5 #49 in the original edition]

A year ago we began a tradition of seriously limiting sending Mishloach Manot from one person to his friend and to give Mishloach Manot to soldiers who safeguard our security and it is appropriate for us to continue to do so. This year there is also an organized trip to an army base. Everyone should therefore donate to Tzahal, and do not be offended if you do not receive a Mishloach Manot from a friend. I guarantee that he is your friend with all of his heart.
[Shut She’eilat Shlomo vol. 1 #234 in the original edition]

For example, you can send Mishloach Manot to Tzahal soldiers through the websites: www.hebrongifts.com/mimafoso.html or http://pizzaidf.org

Originally posted by Torat HaRav Aviner

Tzipiyah.com - It

It’s up to You

Written by: Florence

Sometimes we may underestimate how much impact we as individuals can have on others and the world. We may think, who will listen to us or can we really make a difference. As we approach Purim I think this concept is very relevant. As we know, the miracle of Purim is that the Jews were saved from the evil decree of Haman who wished to destroy them. If we look at the main players in this story Esther and Mordechai, who were the Jewish leaders who helped annul the decree, we notice something interesting. When they learned about Haman’s evil decree they realized that they needed to quickly act before it was too late. It is then that we see Esther going through the same dilemma I initially mentioned. As we are told, she second guesses herself and if she will really be able to make a difference and help the jewish people. It is then that Mordechai explains to her that it was not just by coincidence that she became queen at this time, but it is so she can take action to help the jewish people. As we know Esther understands that this is not a time to second guess herself, but to step up and put in her effort. She then risks her life and with G-d’s help the Jewish people are saved.

Still some may say, ok so Esther was the queen and she was in a powerful position to impact events but how does that work in my own life? To answer this I want to tell you about Avi Schaefer zl’ who was 21 and was killed by a drunk driver. Though his life was cut short at an early age, I believe that he was able to impact the jewish nation and those around him. He made aliyah straight after high school and joined the army. After his army service he returned to the U.S. to get his degree. Though he was not in Israel, he was still concerned for the future of the jewish people and tried to come up with different ways to help out. I recently met him three weeks ago at an Israel conference and though I only knew him for a short while he made an impression on me. We both were at the conference because we were aliyah representatives on our college campuses. Our mission is to help those who love Israel and want to make aliyah fulfill their dreams. As I think back to the conference I remember how passionate and dedicated he was to the future of the Jewish people and how he believed that he could make a difference. I think that we can all be inspired by his belief that he could make a difference though he was just one individual. We should also realize that we also have that same power to stand up and make a difference and we are the ones that underestimate our own abilities. This Purim may we all realize our strengths that can be used to help the jewish people and be able to make Avi’s dream a reality.

Tzipiyah.com - It’s up to You

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ISRAEL'S SPIRITUAL MIGHT

Israel’s Spiritual Might

Written by: Avital

As our boys defend our homeland, possibly with their lives, in the Gaza strip, we all must stop and take a few minutes to say Tehillim for them, or add a personal prayer for them into our daily routine. For the skeptics who don’t see how prayer can help such a situation, allow me to offer an example that might illustrate the power of prayer.

A friend related this short Dvar Torah to me today, and it struck a chord with me: Two of the most well known celebrations in the Jewish calendar are Purim and Chanukah. On Purim, we remember how Haman tried to wipe all the Jews in the Persian kingdom off the face of the map. He did not care if this Jew was assimilated or didn’t believe in Judaism, he wanted to physically kill out every single trace of Judaism he could. On Chanukah we remember how the Greeks tried to assimilate us. Our life was not their desire, just our culture. As long as we acted as Greek as we could, they were happy. They wanted to destroy Judaism not physically, but spiritually. On Purim, we combated Haman’s physical threat to our existence with prayer, fast and a slew of spiritual acts. On Chanukah, the Maccabim raised their weapons and waged war on the Greeks.
In both stories, the Jews were not destroyed. After all, here we are, reading Tzipiyah.com! Interesting to note that in both stories, the Jews successfully overcame their enemies with the force opposite that of the threat. When we were physically intimidated, we fought back with prayer, with spirituality. When we were spiritually intimidated, we fought back with war, the physical.

As a physical war wages on in the Middle East, as our boys put their lives on the line to protect those of the citizens of Israel, perhaps what we need to gain an edge is the force opposite that of the threat. Perhaps, to combat the physical attacks on our lives, we need some spirituality. Some prayer?

And, on another spiritual note, we are about to commemorate Asarah B’Tevet, the day that the Babylonian army laid siege to Jerusalem, eventually leading up to the destruction of the first Holy Temple. We commemorate this day spiritually, with fast and prayer. Over the course of the day, every time you get a pang of hunger, a desire to break the fast, if it really isn’t an emergency, think of our boys, risking their lives, and in their merit, overcome the hunger! Persevere as they are trying to do for us. A few hours without food is comparatively a small gesture for us to do for them.

May we soon see the end of this hardship, and may we merit seeing the light pierce this heavy, heavy darkness. May we witness the coming of Mashiach, Bimhera BiYamenu, Amen!

taken from : Tzipiyah.com