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Sunday, 28 December 2008
WE WILL NOT PUT OUR HEADS DOWN IN SHAME
Written by: Dan Illouz
For 2000 years, during our horrible exile, whenever a Jew was insulted, beaten or tortured, all he could do was put down his head in shame. For 2000 years, if a Jew ever tried to defend himself, he would be confronted to a system which excluded any possible defense for him and would get punished of any attempted to defend himself. He was forced to “turn the other cheek”, even when that meant letting his relatives be maimed, raped, tortured or killed.100 years ago, we said: “No More”. 100 years ago, we decided that we will start a movement that will bring back national pride to the Jewish people. We decided we will not be the punching bags of humanity. We decided that, for the first time in 2000 years, “Jewish blood will not be cheap anymore”. No, this was not a statement of blind racism speaking about a different DNA makeup. It was a statement which strove to bring back justice to a world which has unjustly cheapened the blood of Jews for over 2000 years. We were saying: “You will not be able to kill us without expecting a strong response from us! You will not be able to insult us without expecting us to defend our pride! You will not be able to shoot rockets at us without expecting us to exercise our right to self defense!”
Over the past few years, rockets have been constantly fired on the southern cities of Israel. The only thing these rockets could have been a response to, when they started, was the unimaginable concessions the Israeli government gave to the Palestinians by undertaking the expulsion of its own citizens from the Gaza Strip and giving away full control to the Palestinians. Not only were those rocket attacks constant and terrifying, they were joined together with other types of attacks, including, over 917 days ago, the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit who is still being held captive by Hamas. Over the past few years, 10 046 missiles fell on southern Israel. Yes, I did not mistakenly add a zero! 10 046 missiles!!
And what did we do?
In our constant, extreme, characteristic, blinding and sometimes problematic hope for peace, we did not do anything. We had a few minor operations here and there, in which we tried shooting at the launchers of the Kassam rockets, but those were never successful because by the time we could respond, the launchers of the rockets were already gone from the scene of the launch.
So, instead of responding, we kept on asking for calm. We kept on requesting a ceasefire. One day, as the limit to our unexplainable patience was obviously coming closer, and as Hamas was obviously in a need for a time of calm in order to renew its arsenal and better attack us in the future, we agreed to a ceasefire. Yes, everyone knew that a ceasefire would be detrimental to Israel because everyone knew that while we would try to use this time to plant the seeds of peace, Hamas would use it to regroup in order to better attack. Still, what can you do - we continued to hope!
After the ceasefire expired, Hamas had effectively regrouped. They refused to extend the ceasefire and started, once again, shooting rockets at Israel. Yes, the ceasefire actually gave them more strength! Some of their rockets could now hit Ashdod – one of the bigger cities of Israel!
Finally, after months – no, years!- of staying back, Israel decided it was time to defend itself. Over the weekend, Israel has started an operation in the Gaza strip. However, even after those years of attacks which make this response more than justified, there is a sense of shock at the numbers coming out of Gaza. Over 280 dead. Wow! 280 human beings were killed. For people who hate death, this is, honestly, a horrible tragedy. So, how are we to react to that?
In today’s world, there is an underlying pressure for Jews, and Zionists, to put their heads down in shame after seeing these numbers. Yes, even the strong Zionists are afraid to switch their facebook status in support of the Gaza operation. Yes, even the strong Zionists are afraid to scream their support for the State of Israel in such a time of bloodshed and conflict.
The Torah does tell us that we cannot, we are forbidden, to rejoice in our enemies’ suffering. So, we should not rejoice in their death. However, let’s make no mistake: I am not, in the slightest way, ashamed of the State of Israel. I am proud of the State of Israel for finally standing up and defending it’s citizens. Yes, every single death is a tragedy – a HUGE tragedy. I cannot express how annoyed I am that people need to die. However, the most basic moral duty of a government is to ensure it’s citizen’s safety. Finally, after many years of holding back, the State of Israel has regained its moral standing by once again ensuring the safety of its citizens. We should not rejoice in our enemy’s suffering or death but we should rejoice that the State of Israel is finally defending its citizens and that the Israelis living in the south will, hopefully, finally be able to start living a normal life again!
Let us not be blinded by the reports which have gone out in the past few days. The Israeli attacks are not an aggression – they are a legitimate response in self defense.
They are not in response to a few rocket attacks which came out in the past few days – they are in response to 10 046 missiles which have been launched on Israel in the past few days.
They are not un-proportional: Can someone tell me what the proportional response to 10 046 rockets would be? Can someone tell me what the proportional response is to years of living in fear where every few hours you must go hide under a desk because there is an alarm going off signaling an incoming rocket? Please! Let me know! What would be more moral than ensuring that the rocket attacks end!
The Israeli attacks are not targeting civilians but rather the Hamas infrastructure. While 100% of the rockets fired by Hamas have been targeting civilians, out of the 280 people who have been killed in Gaza in this past weekend, only 15 were confirmed to be civilians. Trust me, I know that 15 civilian deaths is a tragic number. It is huge. However, let us not forget to put things into perspective. Let us not forget that, as we see numbers of dead climbing in the news media, we can also rest assured that Israel is doing its best to ensure the safety of civilians while Hamas is doing its best to ensure the death of civilians.
Yes, I am shocked at the number of deaths in Gaza. Yes, I am appalled at that number. Yes, I mourn those who died innocent. Yes, I mourn the fact that those who deserved to die did not decide to live a better, more productive, more peace loving, life. However, I put the blame of every single one of those deaths on one organization – Hamas. If legitimate self defense causes death, the responsibility of that death must rest on the shoulders of the original attacker. I am angry at the number of deaths but I know, having studied the situation, that my anger must be direct towards Hamas and the other terrorist organizations who have constantly attacked the peace loving Israel.
As the attacks continue, I will not bow down my head in shame. I will raise my head up high in pride for a country who is not afraid to defend its citizens, after having tried for the longest amount of time a peaceful route. I will raise my head up high in pride for a country who is targeting the infrastructure of terrorist organizations in order to ensure the rocket attacks on Israel will finally stop. I will raise my head up high and say: “Thank You Israel, I support you!”
It is precisely in this time where moral relativism is pushing Jews to go in hiding, and hide their support for Israeli actions in shame, that we must stand up and scream with pride that we support Israel. We must stand up, and break the moral relativism, to show that there is clearly only one moral actor in this conflict between Israel and Hamas and that actor is Israel. I encourage all of you to express your support for Israel in any possible way – on blogs, on Facebook, on twitter, by email, by phone, etc…
May this conflict which we never wanted bring about the peace which we have always yearned for.
taken from :Tzipiyah.com (http://www.tzipiyah.com/)
ISRAELI OPERATIONS IN GAZA : AN OPEN LETTER TO THE "UNBIASED" WORLD PRESS
Dear Professional "Unbiased" Journalists of the World Press:
It never ceases to amaze me that so little has been said by you regarding the callous attacks by the palestinians of Gaza against Israeli civilians, schools, hospitals, children, etc., etc. with rockets and mortars day after day.
The death of an Israeli child or student or housewife or the destruction of an Israeli home never makes for news...but let Israel say enough is enough and what do you say? That the Israeli "retaliation" was "disproportionate ".
What do you mean by retaliation? Israel has been absorbing rocket and mortar fire from Gaza into its cities for months upon months without an incursion into Gaza. How long do you think the United States would tolerate San Diego being shelled by Mexico? This action is not retaliatory...it is Purely Defensive.
When Israel decides that enough is enough, and attacks Hamas military targets (which they always locate in populated urban areas) then you call the Israeli attacks "disproportionate ". Well you can kiss my Jewish touches you left-wing bleeding heart bastards!
Collateral damage is exactly what Hamas wants and you play right into their hands by portraying Israel as the aggressor. Never mind who has been supplying Hamas and Fatah and Hizbullah with rockets (which they launch from schoolyards and from behind civilian apartment complexes), mines, explosives and arms; never mind that Israel is the only free and democratic country in the Middle-East; never mind that Israel always supports and stands behind the United States; never mind that the same people who are now being attacked in Gaza are of the very same philosophy and mindset as those who attacked the United States on 911, killing thousands of innocent civilians and women and children (and the very same who danced in the streets afterwards); never mind any of that.
What matters to you, is that in your holier-than-thou judgment, Israeli response should be restrained - tempered and humane. Have you ever seen what’s left of an Israeli bus and those people inside after a palestinian (suicide bomber - no such thing) murderer blew up inside that bus...Or, the inside of a crowded restaurant after a palestinian murderer strapped with explosives exploded amongst the tables...Or, the inside of a Israeli classroom after a rocket came crashing through the roof?
How long would you take it and how restrained would be your response against those responsible? You never use the word "Terrorist" in conjunction with "Palestinian". No, you call them "Militants" like some unruly child. Well they are not militants, or unruly children, these so-called palestinians are Murdering Terrorists by every definition of the word.
Israel has tried all that is humanly possible to bring about peace between the palestinians and Israel. They don't want peace! They want Israel's destruction and will settle for nothing less. They are like a cancer that has been eating through the center of the body...What do you do with a cancer? If it will not respond to conventional therapy then you excise it!
There will never be a "Two State Solution", the so called palestinians don't want it, and the rest of the Arabs will never let it happen. Therefore, there should be a One-State-Solution...Israel from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea - and if the Arabs in between don't like it, then let them go back to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan - where they originated. If you don't like this Blogmaster's opinion, this is one Jew who doesn't give a damn! Never Again! Blogmaster
taken from : B´NAI ELIM (http://bnaielim.blogspot.com/)
ISRAEL'S FIERCEST CRITICS : HOMEGROWN
Gideon Levy has a one-track mind: Israel is awful. The funniest example for this came a few years ago when he was sent to Beijing to cover some event; while there he managed to dig up a Palestinian businessman. The fellow is married to a Chinese woman, drives a Mercedes and makes millions in the skyrocketing Chinese economy, but he was willing to give Levy an hour and to tell how awful it is to be a Palestinian refugee.
He has a regular column in Haaretz on weekends, called "The Twilight Zone", where he tells about the suffering of the Palestinians. This morning he published an extra-curricular column. His animosity against his country is even more explicit than what you find at the Guardian.
Yet I can live with Gideon Levy. One significant difference between him and our foreign critics is that he's here. When Palestinian terrorists were blowing themselves up in Tel Aviv, before we figured out how to block them, his life was in the same danger the rest of our lives were in, as Peter Beaumont's life isn't. The second difference is that he's criticizing his own county, not someone else's. Anyone who knows how to read between the lines knows that the American and British forces fighting their just wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are less scrupulous than the Israelis when it comes to trying not to his civilians, yet to the best of my knowledge no-one in any major media outlet in either country does what Levy does. The Guardian screeches about Israeli war crimes, factual or other, but never treats its own forces to a similar level of scrutiny. They're not only antisemites, they're also hypocrites, an accusation that can't be leveled at Levy. Third, since Levy is an Israeli, he has the right to hold his own society up to a higher standard, even one so high as to be cruel and unreasonable. It's his society he making his demands from, not someone else's.
He's wrong of course, in his interpretations, and not always accurate in his factual depictions, but he's a sign of our democratic strength, and I can live with him.
taken from :Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
WAR IN GAZA DAY 2 :MEDIA WATCH
Times of London can't make up its own mind abut the facts. First, it has us understand Israel is killing Palestinian civilians:
Children on their way home from school and policemen parading for a graduation ceremony were the principal victims of a bloody few hours that left the territory in flames.
Neat sleight of hand, that: children and celebrating policemen, one single category. Then, deeper into the news item, we're informed that
The strikes caused panic and confusion as black clouds of smoke rose above the territory. Most of those killed were security men — including Gaza’s police chief — but an unknown number of civilians were also among the dead.
If you keep on going all the way to the bottom of the page, you finally get some numbers:
Earlier in the day, when the death toll stood at 155, police spokesman Ehud Ghussein had said about 140 Hamas security forces were killed.
Yesterday I speculated that The Independent is probably awful. Perhaps I spoke too hastily. Their leader this morning is perfectly reasonable. They haven't become Zionists, but if everyone wrote like this, I wouldn't need to blog about it.
The Guardian, meanwhile, is even lower today than it was yesterday. They've got a column written by Peter Beaumont, none other than their Foreign Affairs editor. Obviously everything is all Israel's fault, you wouldn't expect anything else from the Guardian, but Beaumont goes even further and hopes that Israel has finally given the Arab world something that will focus their minds on how evil their real enemy is:
But perhaps in a wider Arab world, becoming more uncomfortable by the day about what is happening inside Gaza, something is changing. And Israel has supplied a rallying point. Something tangible and brutal that gives the critics of its actions in Gaza – who say it has a policy of collective punishment backed by disproportionate and excessive force – something to focus on.
Something to be ranked with Deir Yassin. With the Sabra and Shatila massacres. Something, at last, that Israel's foes can say looks like an atrocity.
Creepy, isn't it? The fellow is hoping that the Arabs will actively hate the Israelis as much as he, his newspaper and his readers do, and that the overtly antisemitic killers of the Hamas will serve as their rallying point. (Sabra and Shatilla, by the way, were massacres by Arabs of Arabs).
As a small side story, it's interesting to note the URL given to Beaumont's column:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/27/israelandthepalestinians-terrorism. Israel and the Palestinians terrorism. And you thought the Guardian never uses the word "terrorism" in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict.
Mahmoud Abbas apparently doesn't read his Guardian, because he's blaming Hamas for what he's calling a massacre, while standing next to the Egyptian Foreign Minister. It would be hard to make up such a story line, wouldn't it: Arabs condemning Hamas, while the Guardian prays they'll join it in its hatred of Israel.
taken from :Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
UNIVERSAL TORAH : MIKETZ
UNIVERSAL TORAH: MIKETZ
By Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum
Torah Reading: MIKETZ Gen. 41:1-44:17
"AND PHARAOH WAS DREAMING."
The exile of the Children of Israel in Egypt and their subsequent redemption and exodus are the paradigm of all exile and redemption, physical and spiritual. The chief oppressor is Pharaoh, King of Egypt, a figure first introduced in the Torah several parshiyos earlier, in LECH LECHA (Ch. 12, v. 10ff). Famine had forced Abraham to go down to Egypt, the "nakedness of the earth" (just as in our parshah, famine forces his descendents down to the same place). Egypt is the stronghold of MITZRAYIM, second son of the accursed Ham, who had "uncovered" his father Noah's nakedness. In the same tradition of sexual immorality, Pharaoh, representing the evil, self-seeking aspect of earthly power, kidnapped Sarah, embodiment of the Indwelling Presence of G-d, until a divine plague forced him to release her. According to tradition, Sarah was released on the night 15 Nissan, the date of the later Exodus of her descendants from Egypt.
Our parshah of MIKETZ traces the successive stages in which the snare was laid to force Jacob and his Twelve Sons to follow Joseph down into exile in Egypt in preparation for the ultimate redemption of the Children of Israel years later on that same date. The net is artfully prepared by Joseph, who alone of all the sons of Jacob had the power to stand in the House of Pharaoh. Joseph is the archetype of the Tzaddik who enables us to survive in This World. Having been drawn down to Egypt by Joseph, the Children of Israel are eventually redeemed by Moses, who, having been brought up in the House of Pharaoh, had the power to stand there. Moses is integrally linked with Joseph, and thus Moses "took the bones [= the essence] of Joseph with him" up out of Egypt. Moses is the Tzaddik who teaches us the path leading through the wilderness of This World to the Land of the Living -- the Land of Israel.
This World is but a dream. Pharaoh is dreaming. Pharaoh is the "back-side" (PHaRAO = ORePH, the back of the neck) -- the external appearance of This World as opposed to it's inner "face", the inner spirituality and meaning. The outward appearance is frightening: plump prosperity turning into wizened waste.
Pharaoh is the worldly ego. "So says the Lord G-d, Here I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great crocodile [=primordial serpent] lying down in his rivers, who says: 'The river is mine, and I made myself' (Ezekiel 29: 3, from the Haftara of parshas VO-ERO which recounts the plagues sent against Egypt). Pharaoh thinks he is all-powerful -- "I made myself" -- but in the end he is humiliated by G-d's plagues, which show him his limitations. As yet his downfall is still far-off -- a distant vision, a bad dream. Yet already Pharaoh is being humiliated. The dream is terrifying. Pharaoh's own magicians and wise men are helpless: they cannot give meaning to his dream. The only one who can help Pharaoh is "a man who has the spirit of G-d in him" (Gen. 41:38), the truly righteous Tzaddik: Joseph.
* * *
THE VIRTUE OF THRIFT
Temporal leaders may imagine they are pulling the strings, but the underlying forces that drive human history are great global cycles of success and decline ("Seven years of plenty" / "Seven years of famine") that are in the power of G-d alone. Likewise, G-d alone has the power to send truly wise leaders to guide us through these cycles to a better end.
While Pharaoh is the archetype of the self-seeker, Joseph is the archetype of self-discipline. The latter is the virtue needed to get through This World successfully. Pharaoh knows how to consume to gratify the self here and now -- to live the dream of This World. This may work as long as the river keeps flowing. But Pharaoh does not know what to do when the flow stops. He is unprepared, because Pharaoh is PARU'AH, undisciplined. He does not know how to conserve and save for lean times.
Pharaoh's self-seeking is rooted in the fundamental flaw of Adam: KERI, spilling the seed in vain -- waste. Thus it is said that the sparks in the seed spilled by Adam fell to Egypt, where they had to be rectified in the generation of Joseph and in the generation of Moses. The rectification in the generation of Joseph was accomplished by the DISCIPLINE which Joseph brought to the country. Joseph used the Seven Years of Plenty to teach the Egyptians to put limits on IMMEDIATE CONSUMPTION AND GRATIFICATION in order to SAVE for the FUTURE.
(Similarly in the generation of the Exodus, the Children of Israel, incarnation of Adam's spilled seed, were rectified through the building of Pharaoh's "store-cities".) We must all learn how to set limits to the physical gratification we receive from this world in order to make the best use of our time here to acquire and "save" Mitzvos and good deeds. These are our TZEIDAH LA-DEREKH, the "sustenance for the way" that leads to the Land of the Living, the Future World.
The world today is suffering from the catastrophic effects of IMMEDIATE CONSUMPTION on the global ecology in the form of reckless depletion of resources, pollution etc. and on the moral fabric of contemporary society. The model of happiness entertained by most of the world -- CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION -- is unsustainable and destructive, and must be replaced with Joseph's model: that we must "circumcise" ourselves and learn self-discipline. Only by thriftily "saving" Torah and good deeds can we attain true happiness. Thus Joseph told the "Egyptians" to "circumcise" themselves (see Rashi on Gen. 41:55).
The world today is suffering from the catastrophic effects of IMMEDIATE CONSUMPTION on the global ecology in the form of reckless depletion of resources, pollution etc. and on the moral fabric of contemporary society. The model of happiness entertained by most of the world -- CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION -- is unsustainable and destructive, and must be replaced with Joseph's model: that we must "circumcise" ourselves and learn self-discipline. Only by thriftily "saving" Torah and good deeds can we attain true happiness. Thus Joseph told the "Egyptians" to "circumcise" themselves (see Rashi on Gen. 41:55).
* * *
CHASTIZEMENTS OF LOVE
"It is good when manifest reproof stems from hidden love" (Proverbs 27:5).
The essence of good leadership is to teach people to lead themselves -- to take themselves in hand and use self-discipline to attain the good that is available in this world.
Had Joseph revealed himself to his brothers immediately on their first arrival in Egypt, he would have elicited little more from them than superficial expressions of contrition for a sin whose seriousness they still did not understand. "Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor" (Leviticus 19:16) -- don't "sit down to eat bread" when your brother is screaming in the pit (Gen. 37:25).
Joseph used his consummate wisdom to engineer events that would put his brothers in the same situation in which they had placed him. As the compassionate leader, Joseph sought to make his brothers draw their own conclusions, knowing that the lessons we learn on our own flesh are more deeply inscribed and instilled than those we simply hear from others.
Joseph engineered events that would force his brothers to "read" and "interpret" for themselves the message of reproof the events implied. So it had been from the beginning. When Joseph dreamed of the sheaves bowing down to him, it was the brothers who interpreted the message for themselves. "Will you surely rule over us?" (Gen. 37:8).
Years later, the brothers bowed before the Egyptian Viceroy TZOPHNAS PA'ANEAH ("Interpreter of that which is Hidden", as Joseph had been named by Pharaoh, Master of the Dream).
"And Joseph saw his brothers and he recognized them, AND HE MADE HIMSELF STRANGE [vayisNACHER] to them" (Gen. 42:7).
In order to chastise his brothers and bring them to genuine contrition, Joseph acted not like a BROTHER but like a NOCHRI, a STRANGER. He clothed himself in the garb of a stranger with a heart of stone, deaf to all appeals.
Joseph's way of teaching and educating his brothers can help us understand how G-d may sometimes have to beat down the walls of people's insensitive hearts by chastising them with enemies that appear strange and incomprehensible to them.
"G-d will bring up a people against you from afar from the end of the earth, like the eagle swoops, a people whose language you will not understand, a people of fierce countenance who will not show respect to the old or compassion for the youth." (Deuteronomy 28: 49).
But like Joseph's indirect, roundabout reproof to his brothers, G-d's reproof has but one purpose: "And they will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers and the treachery that they have committed against Me, that they went contrary [with KERI] against Me; So I will go with them contrary [with KERI, apparently chance events] and I will bring them in the land of their enemies, and then their uncircumcised heart will be humbled and then they will make appeasement for their sin. And I will remember my COVENANT." (Leviticus 26:40-42).
With consummate skill, Joseph brought a series of "troubles" upon his brothers that would bring them to successive levels of self-understanding and genuine contrition. Joseph's first step was to separate one brother (Shimon) from the others and hold him in detention. The brothers read the message: "And one said to the other, But we are guilty over our brother, the pain of whose soul we saw when he pleaded with us and we did not hear: that is why this trouble has come upon us" (Gen. 42:21).
The final stage was when Joseph engineered the framing of Benjamin with Joseph's "stolen" divining goblet (Gen. ch. 44). Still appearing to his brothers as the Egyptian Viceroy Sourcerer, Joseph's choice of scenario was one that had special meaning for the brothers, as they had all (with the exception of Benjamin) witnessed their DIVINER grandfather Laban (Gen.30:27) searching the tent of Rachel, for his stolen TERAFIM (idols).
At last the brothers grasped the complete message. They had stolen their brother and sold him as a slave. "And Judah said, What shall we say to my lord, what shall we speak and how can we justify ourselves? G-d has found your servants' sin."
In next week's parshah we will continue with the beautiful story of how Judah steps forward to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS BROTHER. This was the goal of all Joseph's "reproof".
The above-quoted words of Judah are woven into our TACHANUN (supplicatory) and SELICHOS (penitential) prayers:
"What shall we say? What shall we speak? How can we justify ourselves? Let us search out and investigate our ways and return to You. For Your right arm is stretched out to receive those who return. Please G-d, save us."
Shabbat Shalom! Chodesh Tov Umevorach! Happy Chanukah
Avraham Yehoshua Greenbaum
--AZAMRA INSTITUTEPO Box 50037 Jerusalem 91500 IsraelWebsite: www.azamra.org
WAR IN GAZA : MEDIA WATCH
The London Times still has an item up from yesterday, about two Palestinian girls who were killed by rockets fired by their own side that were aimed at Israeli civilians but fell short. I mention this merely as a reminder of who Israel faces - and how it doesn't get reported in some media organs.
The New York Times gives the story in its context. Its top headline, "Israeli Gaza Strike Kills More than 200" is followed by the subtitle "Air Attacks are a Response to Hamas Rocket Fire on Israel". The following article tries to be factual:
Most of those killed were Hamas police officers and security men, including two senior commanders, according to Palestinian officials. But the dead included at least a dozen civilians, including several construction workers and at least two children in school uniforms.
The rest of the long new item is reasonable reporting. It doesn't dig back into the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, nor tell much about the Hamas charter which is blatantly antisemitic ("the Jews are to blame for both world wars"), but that's not how newspaper reporters understand the world; given how they do, this new item is fine. Only once does the reporters' (3 of them contributed to the item) lack of historical perspective trip them up:
The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, said in a statement that “Palestine has never witnessed an uglier massacre.” Later, in a televised speech, he vowed to fight Israel. “We say in all confidence that even if we are hung on the gallows or they make our blood flow in the streets or they tear our bodies apart, we will bow only before God and we will not abandon Palestine,” he said.
Any idea what he's talking about, Mr. Haniya? It's a deft piece of propaganda. To Western ears, he makes it appear as if Israel is trying to destroy the Palestinians, massacre them and exile them from their land, none of which is true. For Palestinian ears, however, the same set of sentences means something different: "We're in this fight because we'll never give up any of Palestine", i.e Israel has no right to exist. Neat, huh? The NYT folks missed it, because though they're good journalists, you need to be more than a good journalist to understand this story.
The BBC has a 1000-word, titled "Massive Israeli air raids on Gaza". The fact of Hamas rockets on Israeli civilians is noted only more than 600 words into the report, unless you count an attribution to an Israeli announcement in the 5th paragraph; the BBC however only gets around to admitting that there may be some truth to that Israeli claim near the end of the report.
And then you've got the Guardian. I suppose I ought also to look at the Independent, and maybe tomorrow I will, since it really isn't fair to single out the Guardian for its straightforward antisemitism, but a few years ago the Independent starting requiring readers of its website to pay for the torture, so I stopped going there. The Guardian has a larger readership, I'm told, and is the top-notch paper of the British Left, so when it's antisemitic, this is the responsibility of all those who go along with it.
The Guardian starts it report with a headline one can stomach: Air strikes in Gaza kill 205 as Israel targets Hamas. But this is the first paragraph:
Israel stood defiant tonight in the face of mounting international condemnation, as it vowed to continue a massive bombing offensive against key targets in the Gaza Strip that left 205 dead and 700 others injured.
Most of the article is about how the international community, including the White House, is critical of Israel's actions; in the entire article there is only one, cryptic mention of the Hamas rocket attacks and that comes in an attribution to Ehud Barak.
I expect the fools at the Guardian really believe what they write, but that's no excuse. As for the facts, let's wait a day or two and see if the world's mumbles of caution really are "mounting international condemnation", or if they're mumbles of condemnation. One way or the other, it's hard to see what happened on the international scene today that might be described as mounting international condemnation. When that happens, it of course still won't mean the world is right, but so far, it hasn't even happened. It's a weekend, between Christmas and New Years, the Europeans are all on vacation....
And then the Guardian offers us Ian Black's punditry:
Devastating air strikes may limit Hamas's capacity to attack – but will almost certainly increase its support among Palestinians.
He doesn't know this, mind you; he's speculating. As he does throughout his article:
The bomb and missile strikes by F16 warplanes this morning hit Hamas compounds and positions from Gaza City to Khan Yunis in the south of the coastal strip. Civilian casualties, on a normal school and working day, must have been inevitable in the densely populated area.
In other words, he doesn't have any facts, but he assumes the Israelis "must have" killed many civilians.
Retaliatory Palestinian fire killed one woman in southern Israel – underlining the unequal military balance.
It's just not fair, is it. The Palestinians can't kill as many civilians as they'd like. And it's totally unreasonable that Israel is killing so many Palestinians when all the Palestinians are doing is kill your ocasional Israeli. (It was a man, by the way, Beber Waknin of Netivot. Not a woman.)
opinion polls shows that Binyamin Netanyahu, leader of the rightwing Likud, is likely to beat Livni's centrist Kadima party in Israel's elections, set to take place in February. Prospects for revived talks, which were already slim, must have now diminished further.
Background, you see, so you get the general picture: not only are the Israelis attacking today and killing Palestinians civilians, but next month they're going to elect a government that will halt peace negotiations.
The looming general election is another reason Israel is not keen to send troops into Gaza on a large scale, which would expose its own forces to heavy casualties. Instead Israel prefers to use its unchallenged aerial superiority – clearly a blunt instrument that cannot distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Cowardly Israelis, killing Palestinian civilians from the air with blunt intruments (see "hammer", as in the title).
This is nothing short of a massacre, an outrage," the independent Palestinian MP Hanan Ashrawi – no friend of the Islamists – told the BBC from her Ramallah home. "The cycle of violence is generated by the occupation and by the ongoing state of siege that is attempting to collectively punish a whole people.
"This will enhance the standing of Hamas. People are sympathising with Hamas as the people who are being ruthlessly targeted by Israel. They are seen as victims of ongoing Israeli aggression."
Which is interesting, since Ashrawi lives - as noted - in Ramallah, and Ramallah - as not noted - is blooming. The economy is up, the quality of life is up, the distance from Hamas-controlled Gaza is growing ever greater, and all of this a stone's throw from Jerusalem. Weird, these Israelis; they try so hard to hit the Palestinains they don't even notice that right next door, in Ramallah, the Palestinians are beginning to do well for themselves.
taken from: Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Friday, 26 December 2008
WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO SAY ????
Blogmaster: This cartoon from A7 says volumes...It expresses the frustration, the attitude and feelings of guilt that the Soldiers and Commanders in IDF feel when they see the enemy given a free hand in the relentless murder of Israeli citizens. I'll say it again: Shame on you Ehud Barak, and Shame on you Ehud Olmert. Hamas must be squashed like a cockroach, you know it, we know it, and the world knows it. You are making Israel the laughing stock of the world. No other nation would tolerate such aggression. You say you have authorized the IDF to make battle plans...what dreck! Everyone knows that the IDF stands at the ready and have been so since last summer. Your lies make you look like idiots because you actually believe that we will swallow them. It is time that the Citizens of Israel take the appropriate action necessary to throw our crooked and disgraced politicians out and while we are at it...let's make sure that the crazies who want to pacify our enemies never warm a seat in the Knesset with their cowardly toucheses again. When we vote, we must vote for the preservation of Israel. In my heart of hearts, I know that the future of Israel is not in the hands of the politicians...our future is in the hands of our Soldiers and their Commanders in the IDF. Please, turn them loose on the enemy before it is too late. Already you have allowed Hamas to arm themselves to the teeth, train as a regular military force, and build complex defenses that will surely cost our soldiers dearly. The Israeli blood that will most certainly be shed when you decide that the time has come to go into Gaza will be on your hands forever.
taken from B'NAI ELIM (http://bnaielim.blogspot.com/)
WE HAVE CREATED A NATION OF SUICIDE PEACEMAKERS
Reclusive Syrian Jews Denounce Hebron Eviction
By Michael Orbach
Wed. Dec 24, 2008
http://www.forward.com/articles/14797/
The recent eviction of Israeli Jewish settlers from a contested building in Hebron has provoked a loud and angry retort from the usually publicity-shy Syrian Jewish community of Brooklyn.
In a December 17 gathering that attracted some 300 Syrian Jews, including the community's leading rabbis, speakers rallied around one of their own: a local women's shoe wholesaler named Morris Abraham, who has played an unlikely role in the Hebron controversy.
"We have created a nation of suicide peacemakers," Abraham told the crowd gathered at Congregation Ahaba Ve Ahva, off Ocean Parkway, referring to the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and its supporters. Repeatedly, Abraham asserted his claim to have purchased the Hebron building from a local Palestinian.
It is Abraham's claim that now lies at the center of the controversy. And the government's treatment of his claim appears to have produced this rare public outcry from his insular community — one of the quietest, most conservative and wealthiest in New York.
"Morris is a very popular person in our community," explained Charles Dweck, a Brooklyn Syrian Jew who, like Abraham, works as a wholesaler.
The Syrians' harsh reaction could have implications for elections scheduled in Israel this February. The community is known as an important source of political contributors for hawkish Israeli political parties, as well as to Shas, a Sephardic Orthodox party.
Abraham, who is 40, says that together with his father, he bought the contested property in Hebron — called the House of Peace by Israeli West Bank settler supporters — through a middleman in 2004 for, he says, $1 million. Other reports in the press cite a price of $700,000.The deal was midwifed by the Hebron Fund, a Brooklyn-based group that provides financial aid to Israeli settlers in Hebron. Its executive, Yossi Baumol, also spoke at the rally.
With Israeli settlers in Hebron asserting a right of permanent Jewish rule over the overwhelmingly Palestinian city, in part through land acquisitions, Palestinians who sell properties to Jews face the possibility of execution by other Palestinians. After settlers moved into the Hebron site in 2007, its Palestinian owner went to court in Israel, claiming the alleged sale was fraudulent. Abraham presents a video and documents that purport to confirm his purchase.
Last month, Israel's Supreme Court gave the government custody of the property, pending resolution of this suit. And on December 4, Israeli security forces evicted the settlers and took control of it. The evicted settlers proceeded to riot and commit arson against the town's Palestinian residents as the security forces stood by, an event Olmert condemned as "a pogrom." Seventeen Palestinians were reported injured.
Abraham, an unpretentious man with a black velvet kipa and mild Brooklyn accent, told the audience at the synagogue, "Because there were young rioters doesn't mean the government can take land away that was bought legally.
"Abraham said he was motivated to purchase the Hebron property as a religious Jew. According to the Hebrew Bible, the ancient city was King David's original capital before he moved it to Jerusalem. Hebron is also home to the Cave of the Patriarchs, a site holy to Jews and Muslims, where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives are said to be buried.
Abraham claimed a personal connection to the city, as well. He said his grandfather lived there and escaped a 1930 massacre by Arab residents that killed 68 Jews, many of them members of Hebron's long-settled Sephardic community. He said the alleged purchase was also a business investment; the 40,000-square-foot property was to be renovated to fit 30 apartments to be rented for $300 to $500 per month each, he said.
In a community that reveres its rabbis' words as holy writ, close to 20 community rabbis and leaders attended the rally, most notably Syrian Chief Rabbi Saul Kassin.
The atmosphere was rife with disgust for what speakers declared was the anti-religious nature of the government. Parallels were drawn between the fight for the Hebron property and the Soviet Jewry struggle.
"We are more into business than politics," said Abraham Dayan, a silver haired gentleman with a heavy accent whose wife waited for him in a blue BMW as he discussed the quiet nature of the Syrian community. "But we are very Zionistic, one of the most in the world. [The community] has taken to heart what the government did and considers it unjust vis-à-vis religion and Judaism."
taken from B'NAI ELIM (http://bnaielim.blogspot.com/)
FAMILY MATTERS - TRUE LOVE
Posted by Mordechai Friedfertig
True Love
[From the parashah sheet "Rosh Yehudi"]
My friend told me a children's story about an 80 year old man who came to a doctor's office for a treatment. He requested that they perform the treatment as quickly as possible because he is in a hurry.
During the treatment the nurse asked: "Where are you hurrying off to? Do you have an important doctor's appointment?"
"No, I am eating with my wife in the hospital?"
"What is wrong with her?"
"She has had Alzheimer's for a few years already."
"And if you are a little late, will she worry?"
"No, she does not understand what is happening to her. For the last five years she does not recognize anyone, not even me."
"And you visit her every morning even though she does not know who you are?" – the nurse said surprisingly.
"She does not know who I am," the man said smiling, "But I know who she is and who she was."
PARSHAT MIKEITZ:GOD WAS WITH JOSEPH
Written by: Nathan Light
We mentioned last week about Joseph being sold as a slave to Egypt. The Torah explains that Joseph’s master “perceived that God was with him (Joseph)…he appointed him over his household…” [Genesis: 39: 3-4].
Later on, Joseph was thrown into prison for unjustified reasons. As a prisoner, the verses say “The prison warden placed all inmates of the prison in Joseph’s custody…as Hashem was with him…” [Genesis: 39: 22-23].
In this week’s Torah portion, Joseph was handpicked out of prison by Pharaoh himself, because Pharaoh was troubled by disturbing dreams he experienced, and he was informed that Joseph had a knack for interpreting dreams. After being told the meaning of his dreams, Pharaoh felt it necessary to put Joseph in charge of his palace, and he described Joseph as “…a man in whom is the spirit of God” [Genesis: 41: 37]. Sooner or later, Joseph was given complete dominion over Egypt.
It kind of sticks out that each time Joseph rose to power it was due to recognition of God being by his side. But how did Joseph’s master, the prison warden, or Pharaoh come to perceive that God was always with him? And just because God was “with Joseph”, why did it mean that Joseph had to become successful?I think the answer can be found by observing one of the Biblical accounts involving Abraham, Joseph’s great-grandfather. Earlier on in the Torah, it describes how three men wandering in the desert were invited by Abraham into his tent, and how he took care of them.
But immediately before Abraham runs after the men and calls them into his tent, the verse says “God appeared to him (Abraham)…” [Genesis: 18: 1].What was Abraham thinking!? God Himself appears before Abraham, and Abraham pushes Him aside for some strangers on the road!?However, later on as the men got up to leave, the verse says “The men had turned from there and went to Sodom (a city nearby), while Abraham was still standing before God” [Genesis: 18: 22].So in truth, Abraham didn’t really push God off, rather he “took Him along” while he tended his guests.
This episode was meant to teach a fundamental approach in serving God; our relationship with God is not meant to be limited within the prayer chapel, or only during the Sabbath or another Jewish holiday. Our connection to God has to take place in everything we do every day of the week. Furthermore, we may learn from this not to seclude ourselves in a corner and dedicate our lives solely to “religious” matters, we must go out in the world and make our day to day mundane encounters a religious experience as well.
We explained in last week’s portion, that Joseph recognized that everything was in the hands of God. But it wasn’t enough for Joseph to keep this idea in the realm of thought alone. Joseph allowed this overwhelming emotion to gush forth in every action he took, and he didn’t keep it to himself either, he lived this way of life openly for others to see and to learn for themselves.
The reason he was so successful was because, by possessing the ability to see God in everything and everyone, he was able peel off the layers of the physical world and understand its potential and true purpose. Being able to realize the true essence of every being allowed Joseph to understand how to relate to each and everyone he came into contact with and eventually find favor in their eyes.
Good Shabbos,
NZL
taken from: http://www.tzipiyah.com/
ANIMUS TOWARDS JEWS ON CHRISTMAS - 2: JUAN COLE
There most definitely is antisemitism at the Guardian, and the previous post is an example of the way it is disseminated in unmarked back channels. Is Juan Cole also an antisemite? Sometimes I think so, and his Christmas column today is a case for the prosecution.
As often with Cole, it's hard to know where to begin, his statements are so outlandish. But here are some partial remarks:
Some 15 percent of the 10 million Palestinians is Christian, and they are after all the original Christians. Bethlehem has a special place in their hearts because it is the birthplace of Jesus in Christian belief.
Actually, the original Christians were Jews, who regarded themselves as such and never thought they were creating a new religion. That happened only a few generations later, in a context the original followers of Jesus probably couldn't have conceived of. I also wonder where Cole's statistics come from - the 15% one, and the 10 million. But don't expect him to enlighten us anytime soon.
You also might want to note that Bethlehem used to be almost 100% Christian, and the decline has been happening literally for generations; if even Bethlehem is now down to a Christian minority, might this have anything to do with the general dwindling of non-Muslim communites all over the Arab world? If it's truly only due to the evil machinations of the Israelis, why so? Do the Israelis have a preferrence for Muslim Palestinians over Christian ones? If so, why? And how do they manage to selectively get rid of the Christians? How did they manage to start the dynamic prior to 1967, when they didn't even control the place?
Almost no one in the US knows that the Israeli wall or separation barrier, which has ghettoized many Palestinians and expropriated from them property and farm land, is strangling Bethlehem. The barrier cuts Bethlehem off from Jerusalem and steals private property from its residents. It has created an economic crisis that has caused Palestinian Christians to emigrate from the city. The "Christians of Bethlehem overwhelmingly (78%) blame the exodus of Christians from the town on Israel's blockade . . .
"Is the wall strangling Bethlehem? How so? Further down in his post he notes that tourism in Bethlehem is up this year, even though the wall is the same wall as last year: perhaps some other dynamic is at play? And what methodology does the august professor suggest for resolving the question? The article behind Cole's link, by the way, is a hodgepodge of nonesense, lies, innuendo, hearsay and general malice.
Why did the Israelis build the wall? Since Cole never mentions this one might note it was built because many dozens of Israeli civilians were murdered by Palestinian murderers who entered Jerusalem from Bethlehem between 2001-2004; since the wall has been erected and the checkpoints manned: a miracle! No more murders from Bethlehem!
The whole thesis about the evil of seperating Bethlehemm from Jerusalem is a red herring. Someday there may be peace between Israel and Palestine. When that happens, Bethlehem will be in Palestine, and most of Jerusalem will be in Israel. There will be a border in between, with guarded border crossings. One can argue about the precise line on which the Israeli barrier has been constructed, but it's hard to see how one can argue against its very existence. Given the close proximity of Bethlehem to Jerusalem, the border will always run close to both of them.
The distance from Bethlehem to Jerusalem is some 10km, but Palestinians must take a 26km secondary dirt road passing through Israeli checkpoints which are often closed with no warning or explanation. Palestinians in the West Bank are not permitted to enter Jerusalem without a date- and time-limited pass from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) - more often than not refused.
Actually, the distance from the northenmost houses of Bethlehem and the southernmost ones of Jerusalem isn't 10 km, it's about 100 meters, perhaps 200. Since the historic main road between the two goes through Jewish Talpiyot, (which is inside the Green Line), the Palestinians will have to use a winding secondary road to reach the Arab sections of Jerusalem - just like they did between 1948 and 1967, when Bethlehem and East Jerusalem were occupied by Jordan.
Cole's editorial choice to celebrate Christmas on his blog with one single post, entirely dedicated to misinformation and lies about Israel, needs to be recognized for what it is.
taken from : Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
ANIMUS TOWARDS JEWS ON CHRISTMAS - 1 : THE GUARDIAN
Easter was traditionally the worst time for Jews, because that's when their Christian neighbors were focused most on the crucifixion and the most likely to express their religion with a spot of pillage rape and murder. That was a long time ago, you'd think. So it's surprising to see how easy it is to find nastiness directed at Jews on this day of Christmas early in the 21st century, just before the dawn of the Era of Obama and the expectations some have from it.
First, the Guardian.The example I've chosen from today's edition isn't particularly malign; rather it's an example of condescending snottiness in an article that's otherwise harmless and quite insignificant - and that's why it's so significant.
Alex von Tunzelmann, a movie critic, fittingly chooses Christmas to ask how historically accurate Life of Brian is. She thinks it is; while I expect I know a bit more than she about that period, I'm not going to dispute her. Not because she's right, but because who cares? It was a fine film, with lots of good fun.
But her column does contain this disturbing paragraph:
As the film correctly hints, stoning was extremely popular with angry mobs. The Bible advises stoning for, among other offences, being a wizard, touching Mount Sinai while Moses receives the ten commandments, rebelling against your parents, or goring someone to death, if you are an ox. Further to this, stoning was often carried out summarily against traitors, and bad actors.
Quite the barbarians, those ancient Judeans. Almost as bad as the Londoners of the 17th Century.
Well, no. Actually, compared with the those Londoners, the ancient Judeans were paragons of human rights. The Talmud, much of which was created in Judea just about the time Brian wasn't there, contains a long discussion about the death sentence. Essentially, while capital punishment was on the book for all sorts of things, the rules for applying it were so severe that it couldn't happen. Witnesses to a murder, for example, had to remember the shape of the leaves on the tree behind the scene else their testimony be rejected, the assailant had to be warned by at least two witnesses, in advance, that his action was a capital offense, and so on. A court that condemned anyone to death once in 70 years was referred to derogatorily as a "lethal court", and the sages then had a big argument about whether such a thing had ever happened or not.
Why besmirch the Londoners of the 17th century? It wasn't until the 20th that the English reached such a level of reluctance to use capital punishment, the French got there in the 1970s, and the Texans aren't there yet.You would think no-one takes the Guardian seriously about anything, but you would be wrong. Many people actually do. This little tidbit demonstrates how deep (abysmal) the ignorance about Jews is over there; a fact that never stops them from pontificating, but also a demonstration of how deep seated their venom really is, that it's so easy to find even in a lightheaded holiday column about a lightheaded film.
taken from :Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
Thursday, 25 December 2008
STILL INVESTIGATING THE DEATH OF SALAH SHECHADE
Salah Shechade was one of the bloodiest Hamas murderers ever, so that when Israel killed him on July 22nd 2002, it should have been occasion for grim satisfaction. Even more so since there was concrete information that he was planing the next murders, so killing him saved lives.
Killing his wife alongside him was to be regretted, though to be honest, it was a time of war, she was an adult and knew exactly what she was married to, and the option of arresting him and bringing him to justice didn't exist. A woman who goes to bed with a man with blood under his fingernails isn't a saint herself.
Their daughter, however, didn't choose her father. And the other twelve neighbors were innocent non-combatants, some of them children. After the bodies were all counted there was a furious debate in the Israeli public. Most of us were unconvinced that there had been no other choice; the air force made things worse by protesting they hadn't known how much collateral damage a one-ton bomb would cause in a residential neighborhood. I mean: duh. At the time I condemned the action, and do so still.
Interestingly, the discussion is still ongoing, though now it's taking place in different venues. The government has set up a commission of investigation (earlier this year). Two days ago the High Court of Justice turned down a motion by a number of Left-wing organizations who complained the commission can't be expected to do its job since it is staffed by retired military types. Basically, the Court suggested waiting for the results before rejecting them. (The decision is in Hebrew, of course).
taken from: Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
GAZA,POLITICIANS,AND A FECKLESS MEDIA
Here's an image that was up on Y-net earlier today.
Yoav Guetta of Ashkelon, 10 years old, after his house was hit and partially destroyed by a Palestinian Grad missile earlier today.
This picture will never appear in the Guardian, or at the BBC. Actually, given that it's Christmas Eve, it won't appear anywhere outside Israel. Which is too bad not because of its propaganda value, but because it explains part of what will be in the news right after Christmas, when whatever retaliation Israel chooses creates good pictures of Palestinian suffering.
Israel's critics often erroneously assume the Israelis aren't aware of Palestinian suffering, and castigate them for not finding out. I don't remember ever seeing a piece of self reflection in which such a critic asks themselves if they've acquainted themselves adequately about the Israeli perspective.
There's an interesting discussion taking place in Israel these days. Rockets aimed solely at civilians are raining down on towns near Gaza, and also on towns that aren't so near (the Palestinian range is getting longer because while they're dismal failures at creating better lives for themselves, they're great at inventing ways of hurting Israelis). On the one hand you've got politicians from left and right facing elections, who are screaming for retaliatory actions against Gaza. On the other hand you've got Ehud Barak, Minister of Defense, apparently backed by many of the generals, who are wary of wielding the destructive power they've got, and who consequently appear irresolute and callous towards Yoav Guetta and hundreds of thousands of other civilians. In this argument I'm on the side of the hesitators, at least for the moment.
Not, mind you, because I think nothing can be achieved by violence and one must seek a rational accommodation with Hamas. It was only a few years ago, remember, when far worse Palestinian terror which was killing hundreds of Israeli civilians was stopped through the power of violence. The combination of killing or arresting most terrorists in the West Bank, followed by the justifiable assassinations of the top Hamas leaders in Gaza did the trick, not anything else, and certainly not sitting down to talk with the poor Palestinians.
Violence most certainly can achieve political goals, as human history consistently shows these past 5,000 years or so. Yet it must be wielded carefully, the violence: effectively, and morally. The West Bank isn't Gaza, and what worked in the one in 2002-2003 probably won't work in Gaza in 2009. We also ought not forget how a knee-jerk use of violence in Lebanon in 2006 ended badly: instead of kiling thousands of Hezbullah fighters, as we should have, we killed a few hundred, a number that was too small, along with hundreds of Lebanese civilians, a number that was vastly too large.
So if Barak (supported by Olmert, who is still Prime Minister) is carefully preparing an effective response to the Palestinian insistence on killing Israelis, I think it's worth waiting a bit if needed. Setting things up so that the Obama administration sees who's insisting on violence and who's being reluctant is also a worthy consideration. As long as sometime soon - say, in the fullness of not much time - something effective is done.
My preference would be to kill the Hamas leaders from the top down, rather than from the rank and file up. But then again, fortunately it isn't my brief.
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
TORAT HARAV AVINER
Torat HaRav Aviner
Inspiring Torah from Rav Shlomo Aviner
From Tzipiyah.com (http://www.tzipiyah.com/):
"...I highly suggest visiting the blog and adding it to your bookmarks. If you own your own blog or website, make sure to let your readers know about this new blog. There is very little material on it right now but it is sure to be a great resource for all those who wish to explore religious zionist thought."
LESSONS LEARNED FROM YOSEF
Filed Under Parshat HaChodesh, Vayeshev, Weekly Parasha ·
Written by: Ashira Gailor
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In Perek mem of this week’s Parsha, we find Yosef locked in a prison with Pharoah’s chief butler and chief baker. Both of these men, who had been thrown into the jail for offending the king, had dreams one night which had disturbed them. From previous experience, the charismatic Yosef knew he would be able to interpret the dreams, and invites the prisoners to explain their dreams to him. The former chief butler dreams of a grape vine with three branches growing and blossoming at a speedy rate, he then sees himself holding Pharoah’s goblet, filling it with juices and giving it to the king. The baker, on the other hand, dreams that he has three baskets full of food on his head. All of a sudden, a bird flies in and eats all of the baked goods from his baskets. Yosef informs both men that the symbolism of 3 in both dreams represents three days in which they fates would be decided and carried out. In the case of the butler, this would mean that he would be released from prison and reinstated in his job in three days’ time. The baker, however, was not as lucky-he too, would leave the prison in three days, but would not receive the same happy fate. Pharoah would hang him from a tree, and he would be left there for the birds to eat at his flesh.
When giving over his interpretation of the first dream, Yosef says to the butler:“Ki im ZICHARTANI itcha ka’asher yitav lach vi’asita na imadi chesed VIHIZKARTANI el paroh vihotzeitani min habayit hazeh” (30:14)I don’t have an Artscroll by me right now for a fancy translation, but the gist of the pasuk is that Yosef asks the butler to please remember him (”zichartani”, “hizkartani”) when he returns to work for Paroh, and put in a good word so Yosef can get out of jail, too.
However, the last pasuk of the parshah states:“Vi’lo zachar sar-hamashkim et Yosef, vayishkichehu”. The butler did not remember Yosef, he forgot him. A thought of Yosef did not even cross his mind after the incident for another two years, as we learn at the beginning of Parshat Miketz, when Pharoah has a dream that needs to be interpreted and the butler finally remembers the favour Yosef did for him all those years ago.A very interesting idea can be brought down here. When Yosef meets these two men and interprets their dreams, he has already spent ten whole years in jail. According to the midrash, each of those years was a punishment for the lashon hora he had spoken about his ten brothers (one year corresponding to each brother about whom he had spoken badly). Why would he have to wait another two years? The midrash answers he had to wait another two whole years as another punishment-one year for each time he asked the butler to remember him. (One year for having said “zichartani”, and one year for “vihizkartani”)
You’re probably wondering what could possibly have been wrong about Yosef asking the butler to “remember” him. The answer given, based on the midrash, is that Yosef should have had trusted in Hashem that everything would have worked out fine;he should not have been asking the butler to give him an “in” with Pharoah in order to ensure he would be freed. According to the Beit HaLevi, one should always believe that Hashem has planned out his destiny and will carry it out appropriately, and in a manner that suits our best interests. As can be seen from the two prisoners, we can never truly know what our fate is, regardless of the circumstances from which they develop. Both the butler and the baker were thrown into jail for the same reason, yet the outcomes they faced were polar opposites. Hashem always has a plan for us, and no matter which way it goes, negatively or positively, we have no way to know what it is. All we can do is keep our bitachon (trust) steadfast and know that everything will ultimately work out for the best, as Yosef should have done in this instance.
Rav Soloveitchik illuminates a slightly different dimension to this idea. When asked what would have happened had Yosef merely asked once, instead of saying Yosef would have been in jail for one year extra on top of the obligatory ten, The Rav answered that Yosef would have been freed that year, without any extra years added to his sentence. Although it appears this statement contradicts the aforementioned concept of Yosef being punished for his lack of trust in Hashem, Rav Soloveitchik continues to explain that (contrary to the idea brought down in the Beit HaLevi), one can not merely trust that Hashem will fix everything for us and not put in any effort ourselves. We must do what we can to help ourselves, while trusting in Hashem that things will pan out. According to this idea, it would have been fine, even proper for Yosef to try make an attempt to get help from the butler to get out of prison-that would be his personal hishtadlut (effort) in the matter, but then he would have to rely on his bitachon (trust) in Hashem to take care of the rest..as would have been demonstrated by not reiterating his request.
The lesson that we learn from Yosef is that it’s essential to have bitachon in Hashem and the plan that he has for our lives..but crucial not to forget to put in our own hishtadlut and make his plan pan out. May we all be zoche to find the balance between the two!!
Shabat Shalom
taken from Tzipiyah.com
PARSHAT VAYESHEV: JOSEPH'S DESCENT AND THE MESSAGE OF CHANNUKAH
Written by: Nathan Light
In this week’s Torah portion, we come across the story of Joseph and his descent into Egypt. Before being sold as a slave, Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers and the Torah depicts this event as follows: “…they cast him into the pit; and the pit was empty, no water was in it” [Genesis: 37: 24] Of course, if “the pit was empty”, it would be obvious that “no water was in it”! Why the redundancy?
The Talmud (a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history) answers that something is being hinted at within the verse. The Torah was trying to say that indeed “no water was in it” but there was something else in it: Snakes and scorpions. [Tractate Shabbos Page 22a].
This teaching is found in a very peculiar location within the Talmud. This specific section of the Talmud doesn’t discuss the story of Joseph what so ever, rather it discusses an entirely different topic: The holiday of Channukah. Unlike most of the other Jewish holidays, Channukah pretty much lacks a well-known text that illustrates its historical background. One of the only places that Channukah is spoken of in Jewish literature is in this very section of the Talmud. It starts off with a short historical description of what happened on that particular day and then goes on to discuss the different laws that pertain to celebrating the holiday in our time.In the middle of teaching these laws, the Talmud all of a sudden seems to take a break from discussing the topic Channukah! Out of nowhere it discusses the very verse in this weeks parsha (mentioned above) along with its explanation of “no water was in it”. This is extremely strange! Why does the Talmud deviate from it’s discussion and what in the world does the meaning of our verse have to do with the holiday of Channukah!?
Firstly, it’s important to define precisely where in the discussion of the Talmud does this digression arise. Within the laws of lighting the Channukah candles, the Talmud says that if the candles are placed too high above ground we have not properly fulfilled our obligation in lighting them. Immediately after this comes the “deviation” of our verse along with its explanation. After this the Talmud returns to its topic of the Channukah candles, and goes on to say that it’s best to place the Channukah candles by the doorstep of our homes. So, what intrinsic connection exists between our verse and the laws describing the placement of the Channukah candles?
Briefly, the main part of the story of Channukah describes how the Jews returned to the Holy temple after defeating the Greek army (we were under the Greek exile at the time). The temple was in shambles for it had been defiled by the Greeks, and the Jews were only able to find but one jar of oil, containing just enough oil to light the Menorah (the seven branched candelabrum of the Temple in Jerusalem) for one day only. But, as we know, God caused a miracle to occur and the Menorah remained alit for eight days.
The MaHaRaL of Prague (Rabbi Judah Loew, 1525 – 1609, an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic and philosopher) explains that the miracle of the oil was only meant as a sign. Its purpose was to show the Jews that their victory over the Greek army was just as much an act of God as the miracle of the oil itself. They were meant to understand that God is responsible not only for the occurences that seem completely out of this world and above the laws of nature (i.e the miracle of the oil), but even for those occurences that appear to be brought about by man, within the laws of nature (i.e the miracle of the war).
Going back to the story of Joseph: Joseph’s descent into the pit could be viewed as the first step in the later-to-be Egyptian exile. It was after being thrown into the pit that Joseph was sold and brought to Egypt where years later his family would join him and eventually be forced into slavery for 210 years!Who knows what thoughts were plaguing Joseph after being thrown into a pit by his own brothers, his own flesh and blood! And after discovering he wasn’t alone in the pit, but was accompanied by snakes and scorpions, he must’ve imagined that death was right around the corner. But the strangest thing happened: Joseph wasn’t harmed at all!
At this point Joseph realized that everything he was experiencing was a direct manifestation of the will of God. What seemed to be a planned conspiracy by his brothers was in fact a heavenly designed pathway. (*See footnote*)This event changed Jospeh’s outlook for the rest of his life and throughout his experiences in Egypt, Joseph felt safe and secure that God was watching over his every move and no matter what occurred, he was being cared for in the best way possible.
This was not only a message for Joseph during his descent into exile, but for our entire nation in our future descents into exile:In the future we may become caught in the midst of a raging war with our enemies or find ourselves in a land that is not our own, and even though we may undergo tremendous pain and suffering and feel that the greatest gap has evolved between us and God… He is infact right by our side, doing only what’s best for us, even if we don’t see it that way.
And of course this is not only a lesson for Jewish exile, but for everything that occurs throughout our lives, in our day to day experiences. The Baal Shem Tov (Rabbi Israel son of Eliezer, the founder of Hasidic Judaism) says that not a leaf falls from a tree without God carefully guiding it. We, as Jews, are supposed to believe that God is not limited in any fashion, and controls every little aspect in each and every one of our lives.
Now we can understand how our (above mentioned) verse fits in so beautifully within the Talmudic discussion of the laws of Channukah. The Channukah candles serve as a reminder of God’s supervision and how closely He cradles us in His arms. Therefore we are taught that we are not to place the candles too high above ground, symbolizing that we shouldn’t falsely believe that God only exists in heaven and merely watches over us from up high, without any involvement in our lives.Rather, the Channukah candles should be placed at our doorstep, symbolizing that when we leave the confines of our own homes into a world filled with so much danger and darkness, we should instill ourselves with faith that even down in this world our lives are being directed by the hand of God, Who is not only watching over us, but guiding us throughout every step of the way.
Good Shabbos and Happy Channukah,
NZL
taken from Tzipiyah.com
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
CHARLES WINTERS' B-17
The most famous of the USAAF heavies, the B-17 high altitude heavy bomber first flew as the Model 299 in July 1935. The Mainstay of the US daylight precision bombing in Europe, it was widely used in other theatres, in various roles and with other operators such as the UK and even Nazi Germany which had captured a few. Nicknamed the "Flying Fortress", the B-17 gained its name through its phenomenal array of defensive armament necessary to fly in the same skies as the Luftwaffe fighters.
Approaching Israel's War of Independence, the Jewish underground in Palestine was hard pressed for weapons and ammunition and had employed agents throughout the world to acquire these. In early 1948, an American agent managed to buy 4 Flying Fortresses for the price of $15,000 each. Retired USAAF examples, all 4 were devoid of guns or navigational gear and only one was fitted with the original turrets, the only one that had actually taken part in the Second World War. With the outbreak of the War of Independence the U.S. Government imposed a weapons embargo on the opposing sides in the war and the aircraft were forced to leave the U.S. or risk seizure by the FBI. On June 12th 1948, three aircraft left Miami for Puerto Rico. After filing flight plans for Brazil the aircraft actually left for the Portuguese Azores where fuel had been secured for the long flight across the Atlantic to Corsica, their next scheduled stop. On July 17th the planes finally landed in Ezion, an air base in Czechoslovakia from which the Czech government had allowed Israel to operate cargo flights. The long flight had however attracted American attention and when the fourth aircraft attempted to make it, it was seized in the Azores by request of the U.S. government. The three remaining B-17s remained in Czechoslovakia for three weeks during which attempts were made to acquire original turrets and equipment for the bare aircraft. These failed however, and the aircraft left for Israel on July 15th.
To read more...http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/hangar/2848/bomber1.htm
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