Olive harvest a cover for incitement

Many Palestinian Authority Arabs in the Samaria and Binyamin regions are using the olive harvest as an excuse to provoke conflict and incite against Israel, says Saryah Demski, head of the Agricultural Committee for both regions.
“Like what happened just recently near Elon Moreh, when they tried to uproot trees in an attempt to accuse us of the uprooting,” he recalled. “Thank God, in that case we figured it out in time, but there are many attempts to provoke violence here, leftist provocateurs come and exploit the Arabs to try to start riots.”
The IDF has been alert and helpful, he noted. If violence breaks out, he said, “the army responds quickly and puts a stop to it.”
On Tuesday, Arabs in Samaria claimed that Jews from the town of Elon Moreh had uprooted their olive trees. However, a video released Tuesday evening shows that the trees were uprooted by the Arabs themselves.
The Samaria Residents Council and Samaria Regional Council have asked Israeli residents of the area to carry cameras with them so that they can film any similar incidents they witness during the olive harvest. 

a little bit of music...

מנעי קולך (מביטה בחלון) - אודי דוידי

11 Cheshvan 5770, Rachel Imeinu's yahrzeit.

11 Cheshvan - Rachel Imeinu Passes Away

On the eleventh of Cheshvan, while giving birth to her 2nd son, Binyamin, Rachel, the beloved wife of Ya'akov, died, and was buried on the road to Bethlehem.
The site of her burial in Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem, known to us by tradition, is covered by a stone edifice.
For millennia, Jews have come to this site to pour forth their hearts in prayer, and to awaken her merit in any time of travail, for the community as well as for the individual.
Our mother Rachel was not buried in the tile cave of Machpelah in Hevron together with the other Matriarchs and Patriarchs of our people. Instead, she was buried on the road to Jerusalem, exactly where she died, while coming back to Jerusalem from the House of Lavan with Ya'akov.

Ashdod

Chodesh Tov!!!

The current Hebrew month, Cheshvan, is classically referred to as Marcheshvan, the prefix of which is the word mar. In Hebrew, this word means “bitter,” which our Sages connect to the fact that there are no special occasions that occur in this month. Even Av, the month when we mourn the destruction of the two Holy Temples, is not referred to as “bitter,” because the sad days of the year offer us an opportunity for introspection, to contemplate where we have gone wrong. Thus, both the festive days and the negative days can be used to connect to spirituality. A month that is bereft of any significant days, even sad days, is more bitter than anything, because there are no moments that arise to give us pause. 

It is significant to note that the original name of this month was not Marcheshvan. This Babylonian name was adopted when the Jews went through the 70-year exile between the first and second temples. The original Hebrew name for the month was Bul, which denotes the idea of “drying up,” as the leaves begin to decay with the approach of Autumn. 

Clearly, the month of Marcheshvan, or Bul, as its name suggests, is a month of darkness and decay. Indeed, the biblical Book of Kings cites Bul as the month when King Solomon completed the construction of the first Temple – though the dedication did not take place until a year later, in the Hebrew month of Tishrei. What is the deeper significance of this, and what can we learn from it? 

our Jewish little place: parashah Noach

our Jewish little place: parashah Noach: Colour clay doves for parashah Noach yonah

our Jewish little place: parashah Noach - Rainbow covenant

our Jewish little place: parashah Noach - Rainbow covenant: In the twenty-seventh day of the second month of the following year God told Noah "Come out of the ark with your family...

our Jewish little place: rosh chodesh Cheshvan - Mar Cheshvan

our Jewish little place: rosh chodesh Cheshvan - Mar Cheshvan:   children reproduction of Rachel Imeinu burial site 

Shavua Tov!

Shabbath Shalom

In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth (Bereshit 1:1)

 

The Torah says: "I was the tool of G-d's artistry." An architect who builds a palace does not do so on his own; he has scrolls and notebooks which he consults regarding how to place the rooms, where to set the doors. So it was with G-d: He looked into the Torah and created the world.

(Midrash Rabbah)

A Glimpse of Real Joy

Kinneret!!

Galilee

Defending Israel

a little bit of music...

 

Yonatan & Aharon Razel at Zedekiah's Cave presented by Ateret Cohanim, 2012

Wake the Dawn

The Story of Jerusalem's Holy Temple

have a joyfull and good autumn

The High Holidays have come to a close. Would like to wish everyone a healthy and joyous autumn and winter.

Bereshit

"..and fruit trees producing fruit according to its kind in which its seed is found.." (1:11)

The original purpose of man's creation was to have the body as perfect as the soul, the body being the "Sanctuary", and the soul the "the inner Sanctuary". Both body and soul would have enjoyed a life of intelligence. All other creatures on earth would have dwelled in a "higher" existence; there would not have been any trees that failed to produce edible fruit, for instance. When you look closely at the instruction issued by G-d to the Earth on the third day, you will find that the trees were meant to be edible themselves, i.e. the trunk, not just the fruit. (Gen. 1:11) Earth did not comply with G-d's command completely, since it was aware that G-d would have to hide the Original Light due to the eventual emergence of wicked people. This prompted Earth to withhold some of its goodness also.

(Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz was born in Prague around the year 1565. He served as Rabbi of Cracow and other congregations before he was appointed as the Rabbi of the community of Frankfurt on Main in the year 1610. In 1916, Rabbi Horowitz moved to Prague where he became the Chief Rabbi of the city. He moved to Eretz Yisrael about 1621. He was rabbi in Jerusalem and in Tiberias, where he died in or about 1630. In addition to his magnus opus, Shenei Luchot HaBrit, he also compiled an edition of the prayer-book with a comprehensive commentary. Many of his innovations, including his formulation of the Kol Nidrei prayer, have become part and parcel of the Ashkenazi Siddur. )

source

our Jewish little place: Bereshit

our Jewish little place: Bereshit: To be read on Shabbat Bereishit Shabbat Mevorchim 

our Jewish little place: Shemini Atzeret Tefillah Geshem

our Jewish little place: Shemini Atzeret Tefillah Geshem: As we have passed through all of the holidays and advance towards the winter we have begun to recite Mashiv Haruach Umorid Hageshem 

Simcha Torah

CHAG SAMEACH!!

our Jewish little place: Simcha Torah

our Jewish little place: Simcha Torah: Simchat Torah is a celebratory Jewish holiday that marks the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle. Simchat Torah literally means ...

 

praying for rain - tefillah Geshem

Shemini Atzeret, meaning "the eighth day of assembly," is a Biblical Jewish holiday that follows the Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is written: "On the eighth day you should hold a solemn gathering; you shall not work at your occupation".
Shemini Atzeret marks the beginning of the rainy season following the harvest in Israel.
The prayer for rain, Tefilat Geshem, is the only ritual that is unique to Shemini Atzeret. In ancient times, an offering was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem on Shemini Atzeret. But once the Temple was destroyed, the only Shemini Atzeret ritual that remained was the liturgy requesting rain for a plentiful year.
After the prayer for rain is recited on Shemini Atzeret, the phrase Masheev HaRuach U-Moreed HaGeshem (He causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall) is inserted into the Amidah prayer until Passover.
Ashkenazi Jews recite the Memorial Prayer, Yizkor, on Shemini Atzeret.

Even though Shemini Atzeret immediately follows the festival of Sukkot, it is a totally separate holiday. A new Shehechiyanu blessing is recited. And if one sits in the Sukkah on Shemini Atzeret, the prayer recited for sitting in the Sukkah is not recited.

lulav and etrog

bearing the lulav stamp

Shabbath Shalom

Each week of the year, another of the Torah’s fifty-four parshiot is studied, publicly read in the synagogue, and its lessons applied to daily living. Thus the Jew lives with the Torah: the Five Books of Moshè are his calendar, their chapters and verses marking, defining, molding and inspiring the weeks and days of his year.

Simchat Torah is the day on which we conclude the annual Torah-reading cycle. On this day, we read the Torah section of Vezot Haberachah (Devarim 33–34), and immediately begin a new Torah-reading cycle with the reading of the first chapter of Bereshit.

Simchat Torah means “the rejoicing of the Torah,” for the Torah rejoices on this day. The Torah is the stuff of the Jew’s life: his link to his Creator, his national mandate, the very purpose of his existence. But the Jew is no less crucial to the Torah than the Torah is to the Jew: it is he and she who devote their life to its study, teaching and practice; he and she who carry its wisdom and ethos to all peoples of the earth; he and she who translate its precepts and ideals into concrete reality.

source

A crown of slippers

From the writings of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch

One Simchat Torah, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem told his disciples: 
On Simchat Torah everyone sleeps in a little, because of the hakafot and the festivities of the previous evening. The heavenly angels, however, don't say lchaim on Simchat Torah, and they arose for the morning prayers at the usual time. But the angels found themselves with nothing to do: as the Talmud tells us, the angels cannot sing G-d's praises in the heavens until Israel sings G-d's praises on earth. So they decided to do some cleaning up in heaven in the meantime.  
They found heaven littered with strange objects: torn slippers and broken heels. The angels are accustomed to finding tzitzit, tefillin, and similar things up there, but they had never come across the likes of these. They decided to ask the angel Michoel, the supernal advocate of the Jewish people, if he knew what this was all about.  
"Yes," admitted Michoel, "this is my merchandise. These are the remains of last night's hakafot, at which Jews danced with the Torah. Michoel proceeded to sort the tattered shoes by community: these are from Kaminkeh, these are from Mezeritch, etc.
"The archangel Metat," boasted Michoel, referring to the most prestigious angel in the heavenly court, "ties crowns for G-d out of Israel's prayers. Today, I shall fashion an even more glorious crown for the Almighty out of these torn shoes."
source

The father of lone soldiers

Lt. Col. (res.) Tzvika Levy takes care of thousands of lone soldiers, doing whatever he can to alleviate the loneliness of serving in the military without one’s family

Author: Matan Galin

During Sukkot, thousands of lone soldiers- those serving without any immediate family in the country- make trips to their adoptive families in kibbutzim across the country. Lt. Col. (res.) Zvika Levi, the “father of lone soldiers,” is responsible for coordinating and mediating between these soldiers and their adoptive families.

At the height of preparations for the holiday, Tzvika Levi decided to start his day with a visit to the northern base of Mikve Alon, where new immigrants begin their army service. Tzvika sees a mission in these visits. For him, the greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that every single soldier will have a sukkah in which they can have a holiday meal. Tzvika himself celebrated the holiday in his own sukkah hosting five lone soldiers, just a few of the many that his family has embraced over the years.

Tzvika, who served in the paratroopers, is no longer in active service. However, to this day he continues to have daily contact with soldiers. Every new immigrant in Mikve Alon knows his name, and almost all will remain in contact with him throughout their service. During each new round of enlistment, Tzvika makes sure to visit the soldiers in order to answer their questions and allay their fears. His phone never stops ringing, whether it is concerned parents in Australia who have yet to hear from their son, or the soldiers themselves seeking help adjusting.

Holiday hospitalit​y in Beit Shemesh

Ambassador Shapiro had the pleasure of being hosted by local officials, female entrepreneurs and American residents in the rapidly growing town of Beit Shemesh. The first stop was the Mayor Abutbul's sukka and the nearby synagogue. In recent years, Beit Shemesh has become increasingly religious and the Ambassador had the opportunity to hear how different sectors are living together. Later he toured Mahuta, a women's health center, and learned about innovative business projects of about a half-dozen women. In the afternoon, he stopped by the home of David and Ziva Shapiro and talked with a group of Americans living in Beit Shemesh. To top off the day, the Ambassador brought Embassy staff to the local Schapiro brewery to sample several popular beers. Many thanks to the gracious hosts of Beit Shemesh for their hospitality

G-d Said, "Be Happy"

Try and do every mitzvah with simcha. 
Thank you rabbi Gutman!

Strengthen yourself over and over again

One begins to sense G-d's direct supervision over every detail. Anything that seemed unjust or unfair is now understood as being orchestrated in a wondrous way for the good. Only by passing through darkness and obstacles can we draw closer to G-d, which is a fulfilment of the Divine will.
Sometimes during difficult times we say ''Oy! This is too much! I've had enough obstacles and darkness! I'm finished!'' 
This way of thinking is erroneous, since we were not created to remain on a single level. 
On the contrary, we were created to continually ascend from level to level.  Difficult situations are necessary in order to progress and come closer to G-d.  The message of Rebbe Nachman is that it shouldn't even occur to a person to despair and think ''I can't go on''.  Strengthen yourself over and over again, and eventually you will make it through.
There is always a limit to difficulties because G-d doesn't leave us in difficult straits forever. 
The only purpose of obstacles is to create a vessel to receive light.
Material obstacles and the vessels they can create have measure and definition. However, G-d's light is unlimited.  We need only to strengthen ourselves and not give up. Sometimes one becomes so weak in the last moment and loses everything. This is a shame, since at that very moment a vessel is being completed to receive a higher light. At the end, the darkness can become so overwhelming that we think we are lost and give up completely, G-d forbid.
Constantly strengthening oneself is the secret to our existence. 
There is no book in the world that can tell the entire awesome story of what the Jewish people have undergone since inception. Yet, despite everything, we continue to exist.
This is only because of our patience, trust and will to strengthen ourselves anew each time, despite constant suffering.  We will continue to develop, and with the help of G-d, we will exist until the end, when the purpose for which we were created will be fulfilled. To know the unlimited light of the Infinite One.
Vessels to receive light are formed through obstacles. By overcoming the obstacles, the obstacles themselves are transformed into vessels of pleasantness.  Rebbe Nachman calls this pleasantness ''supernal delight'' which can now flow into completed vessels.  The delight that the upper intellect can experience is more pleasant than anything in this world. This is the meaning of ''May the Compassionate One raise for us the Fallen Sukkah of David.''
There is no such thing as despair! There is no situation beyond hope! The Jewish people have always found themselves in difficult situations, and today is no different. Instead of losing hope, we must strengthen ourselves with perfected faith, especially during the days of Sukkot, when we bring our entire physical being into the sukkah.  We will then be worthy of being illuminated with a new light, which will reestablish the ''Fallen Sukkah of David forever''.  Amen.

Translated and adapted from a shiur given in Tsfat.

a little bit of music...

Chilik Frank - Breslev version of "Dror Yikra

Birkat Kohanim

Chag Sameach

CHAG SAMEACH!!!

Shavua Tov!

Giant Etrog!

SHAVUA TOV

Wishing you a joyful Sukkot

Following on the heels of the High Holidays is Sukkot, a seven-day festival (8 days in the Diaspora) characterized by the outdoor Sukkah-huts that we sit in, and the “Four Species” of plants waved together each day.

Sukkot is a holiday of immense joy, where we express our complete trust in G-d, and celebrate our confidence in having received a “good judgment” for the coming year.

Throughout the week of Sukkot, we eat, sleep and socialize in a Sukkah, reminding us that:

• The Israelites lived in huts during the 40 years of wandering in the desert.
• G-d is our ultimate protection – just as He protected the Israelites in the desert with the Clouds of Glory (Exodus 13:21).

The Four Species

On Sukkot, we are commanded to wave the Four Species, each noted for its special beauty:

• Esrog – the citron, a fragrant fruit with a thick, white rind. It is often picked from the tree while green, and then ripens to a bright yellow.
• Lulav – the palm branch, which is defined in beauty by having a straight shape and leaves tightly bound.
• Hadas – the myrtle branch, which has a beautiful plated pattern of three leaves coming out from the same point in the branch.
• Arava – the willow branch, which should have oblong leaves with a smooth edge.

We bind all the branches together: two willows on the left, one palm branch in the center, and three myrtles on the right. We then lift them together with the Esrog and shake it in all directions, as a symbol of G-d’s mastery over all Creation.

The Four Species are waved each day (except for Shabbat) in the synagogue, during the recitation of the Hallel prayers of praise. Hallel is followed byHoshanot, where everyone circles a Torah scroll held on the Bima.

It is a special tradition to “beautify” this mitzvah by getting the nicest species available. At the very least, there are specific requirements to be valid for the mitzvah. Since the details are many and technical, it is not recommended to search through the forest on your own for these species! (Particularly the Esrog, which can easily be confused with a lemon.) Purchase a complete set from a reliable distributor; your local Jewish bookstore should have a “Four Species Set” with a rabbinical seal certifying their validity.

After the holiday, some have the custom to recycle the esrog as a “spice box” for use at Havdalah. In this way, the esrog goes “from one mitzvah to another.” Here’s how to do it: Buy a package of whole (not ground) cloves. Use an awl to make the holes, then place the cloves painstakingly into each hole. (Yes, this is a great way to keep kids occupied for hours on end.) Keep the cloved esrog in a box, to preserve the beautiful scent of the pungent citrusy etsrog mixing with the sweet ‘n spicy cloves. (A plastic container carries a higher risk of mildew.)

...sukkot...everywhere

 

 

shiva’at ha-minim

The biblical Seven Species (shiva’at ha-minim) are seven agricultural products listed in Devarim 8:8 as typifying the bounty of the Land of Israel. There are two grains , wheat and barley ,and five fruits, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and/or olive oil, and dates and/or date-honey(silan), which is alternately interpreted as honey.
At Sukkot, the Seven Species are traditionally used as decorative motifs all over the Jewish world. In Israel, however, they are actually harvested at this season and, like all things Israeli, these ancient fruits of the land are being adapted to the modern world.

Yom Kippur

In order to keep your body hydrated for the Yom Kippur fast, start to drink water (fluids) today. 

Also, it’s a Mitzva to eat today, just like its a Mitzva to fast tomorrow. 

Shanà Tovà ve Gmar ve Chatimah tovà to all Jews.

TZOM KAL!

Yonah and the fish...

from CrownHeights comics

kapparot

The five abstentions

A distinctive feature of Yom Kippur is its designation in the Torah as both a 'Sabbath' and a fast day. Fasting on Yom Kippur (from before sunset until after dark the following night), which the Torah expresses with the term ‘affliction,’ is a broader concept than a mere abstention from food and drink. The Sages (see Yoma 76a-77b) derive from Biblical exegesis that affliction implies abstention from five activities: 
(a) eating and drinking; 
(b) washing one's body; 
(c) anointing oneself with oils; 
(d) wearing leather shoes; and 
(e) marital relations. 
 In addition, all labors that are forbidden on the Sabbath are forbidden on Yom Kippur as well. 
 (from Artscroll)

Atonement

Atonement occurs by G-d’s grace; purification by dint of one's own efforts. Although Yom Kippur brings with it atonement and forgiveness, its ultimate objective is that you “purify yourselves before G-d,” inside and out, by your own efforts, even in those matters visible only to G-d Himself. 
Rabbi Moshe Alshech

Yom Kippur War Miracle

This video describes a miracle that happened on the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War. In what became known as "The Valley of Tears", a small Israeli force under Avigdor Kahalani held back the bulk of the Syrian army for four days, preventing them from overrunning Israel. After the war, General Raful Eitan, commander of Golan forces, told Kahalani, "You saved the Jewish People!" The most amazing part is that just when Kahalani's force was on the verge of collapse, the Syrians retreated!

Miracle at Golan Heights

B'H"The true story of a mysterious wind appearing suddenly to help some Israeli soldiers get through a field covered with land mines.May G.d always protect His sons.

Shavua Tov

G-d knows we will stray Now it is time to reflect about our Return
This past Shabbat was called Shabbat Shuva - literally, the Sabbath of Return. While we should always reflect on the choices we make and always “know before whom [we] stand“, the Ten Days of Repentance - and particularly Shabbat Shuva – is a time when we are more aware of our obligation to apologize to others, find peace with (return to) our G-d, and consider how each of us can be a better person in the year to come.
May we all had a meaningful Shabbat, an easy Yom Kippur fast, and find the coming year one of goodness and blessing.

Shabbath Shalom

Ha-azinu ha-shamayim v’adabera; v’tishma ha-aretz imrei phi

“Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.”

This sublime oratory of Moshe Rabbeinu really grabs our attention, just as it is meant to. Moshe knows he is about to leave his cherished people, and he wants to end his service by reminding them of why they.

“Neither with you only do I proclaim this covenant and this oath; but with him that stands here with us this day before the L-rd, our G-d, and also with him that is not here with us this day.”

Humanitarian hypocrisy

Apples and Honey for soldiers in Hebron

ער"ה תשע"ג - Rosh HaShana Eve 5773 - 2012