Toldot - Eisav the transformer

Our sacred Torah is often highly ambiguous. An example is the account of Yaacov and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac in our parshah.

Yaacov  is described as “a pure man, dwelling in tents,” and Esau is “a man who knew how to hunt, a man of the field.” This is understood as meaning that Yaacov represents goodness, simplicity and purity, dwelling in the tents of Torah study, while Esau represents evil. He is hunter, a man of battle and of conquest. Yet the Torah adds also a note of ambiguity, which has challenged scholars for thousands of years: their father Isaac openly preferred Esau to Yaacov.
If Yaacov represents good and Esau represents evil, how could the great patriarch Isaac possibly prefer Esau?
The same ambiguity is found in the teachings of the sages. They tell us that while Esau was a fetus in the womb, he struggled to come out whenever his mother went near an idolatrous temple. Further, they say, even before the twin babies were born they were struggling over the two worlds: the world to come, which was Yaacov’s choice, and this world, which was the focus for Esau.
Yet, conversely, the Zohar explains that when the Torah says “and the boys grew up,” it means this in spiritual terms: their spiritual inheritance from their grandfather Abraham began to be seen in them, and in fact Abraham himself, who was still alive, was active in educating them.

in your prayers

Please have our sons in the IDF in your thoughts and prayers.

He Who blessed our forefathers Avraham, Yitzack and Yaacov , may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Force, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our G.d from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.
May Hashem cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighting men from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor. May He lead our enemies under their sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is Hashem, your G.d, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you. Now let us respond: Amen.

Operation Pillar of Defense.

In response to the incessant rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip , more than 700 have struck Israel since the beginning of the year, and more than 120 since Saturday , the IDF has launched a widespread campaign against terror targets in Gaza. 
The operation, called Pillar of Defense, has two main goals: to protect Israeli civilians and to cripple the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.
We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead.
IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 14, 2012

Day 1 of the Gaza war 14-Nov-2012

In the past hour, the IDF targeted Ahmed Jabri, the head of Hamas’ military wing, in the Gaza Strip. Jabri was a senior Hamas operative who served in the upper echelon of the Hamas’ command and was directly responsible for executing terror attacks against the State of Israel in the past number of years.
The purpose of this operation was to severely impair the command and control chain of the Hamas leadership, as well as its terrorist infrastructure. This was a surgical operation in cooperation with the Israeli Security Agency, that was implemented on the basis of concrete intelligence and using advanced capabilities.
The IDF will continue to target sites that are used for carrying out terror attacks against the citizens of Israel while improving their daily security.

FINALLY!!!

Thank you IDF! Thanks to our soldiers.

our Jewish little place: parashah Toldot

our Jewish little place: parashah Toldot 

Today. Southern Israel

Life on the border with Gaza. Things people do not know, but should!

Barak working for expansion Itamar

Deputy Mayors Tour Itamar

Israel News photo: Courtesy of Lerner Com

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has approved steps for expanding the area zoned for residential building in the town of Itamar, in Samaria, where two Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists savagely murdered five members of the Fogel family in March 2011.

Officials from Itamar and the Shomron (Samaria) Regional Council confirmed to Arutz Sheva Monday that they have pressuring the government to allow re-zoning that would enable the town to build up to 538 more homes, more than double the number now existing.

The Haaretz newspaper reported that Barak approved the expansion in September after more than a year of pressure that followed the brutal  murders of the Fogel family members, including the parents and a young baby.

The rezoning also approves 137 homes already built, according to the newspaper.

Barak has been a major stumbling block to approving new homes in Judea and Samaria outside of areas that have been zoned for residential building. A few Jewish communities have succeeded in gaining approval for rezoning, but many others have faced political and bureaucratic obstacles.

Once zoning is approved, building usually can take place without the explicit approval of the Defense Minister, who officially is the final authority in Judea and Samaria, which Israel has not annexed as it did in the Golan Heights and all of Jerusalem.

However, the expansion of the residential zone in Itamar has a special clause that requires Barak’s approval.

Nationalists have argued for years that building new homes is the best answer to terrorists who kill Jews in Judea and Samaria.

Itamar Central Committee member Moshe Goldschmidt told Arutz Sheva Monday that it will take time for the re-zoning to reach final approval.

Shomron Regional Council liaison David Ha’Ivri said, “There also are negotiations between regional councils and the government. Barak always is trying to make it difficult [for us], but political give-and-take allows for opportunities.

“That does not mean that Barak has woken up to say, “How can I help Jews in Judea and Samaria.’”

Arutz Sheva

15 Seconds to save your mama, kids...

Ordinary life goes on in Gaza and in Israel. Then, without warning, the quiet is broken by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. It takes 15 seconds for the rockets to explode. That 15 seconds is all the residents of southern Israel have to get to shelter. That 15 seconds is all they have to save themselves and the ones they love.

85 rockets 2 days

Alarm in Ashdod

First you hear sirens and at 0:34 you hear the interception of an incoming Grad rocket by the Iron Dome battery at Ashdod.

Kerem Shalom closed

4 Soldiers Wounded by Missile, One Very Seriously
Gaza terrorists hit an IDF jeep with an anti-tank missile early Saturday evening. The IDF Spokesman announced that four soldiers were hurt.
IDF Radio said that on soldier was very seriously wounded and another soldier suffered moderate-to-serious wounds. Both were evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva.
Two other soldiers were in light to moderate condition, suffering from shrapnel wounds. They were evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.
The jeep reportedly caught fire. It had been driving along the border between Gaza and Israel, opposite the Zeitoun neighborhood in central Gaza, east of Gaza City.
Voice of Israel public radio said the jeep belonged to the Givati Brigade.
According to an Arab report, the IDF responded with heavy tank fire at the eastern part of Gaza and at an area east of Khan Younis. There were also reports of artillery fire and fire from helicopters.
By 9:00 p.m., reports said three Arabs were killed and 29 were wounded in Israeli counterstrikes on Gaza.
On Thursday, a huge tunnel packed with hundreds of kilograms of explosives blew up near an IDF force. One soldier was lightly wounded. The tunnel reached into Israeli territory.
Voice of Israel said that Islamic Jihad is believed to be behind the missile attack.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said following the fighting: "The IDF has given a stern response to the event and additional responses will be evaluated in the next few days. We will not look the other way following the escalation along the security fence."
Arutz Sheva

The Defense Ministry has ordered that the Kerem Shalom crossing be temporarily closed following the border attack Saturday, saying the IDF will not risk the lives of its own to ensure aid be delivered to Gaza. 
FINALLY, I add!

Rockets!

In the last hours, 20 rockets fired from Gaza exploded in Israel. 

The lives of over one million civilians are at risk. 

Share to show the reality of life under fire

Shavua Tov

"Walk discreetly with your G-d" -  Micah 6:8

This Shabbat is Shabbat Mevarchim ("the Shabbat that blesses" the new month): a special prayer is recited blessing the Rosh Chodesh  of upcoming month of Kislev, which occurs on Thursday of next week.

Prior to the blessing, we announce the precise time of the molad, the "birth" of the new moon. 

 Click here for molad times.

Shabbath Shalom

King David, also the embodiment of malchut (royalty), experienced this level of selflessness as well. Thus he is described as "leaping and dancing before G-d" (with an abandon that embarrassed his wife Michal, daugher of Saul). Like Sarah, he was able to maintain selflessness even in the midst of self-manifestation. For when one experiences the ultimate level of selflessness, there is no room for corruption even when joy is made manifest.
It is with the power of our past, the joy of Sarah and King David, that we are capable of experiencing the joy that will lead to the ultimate joy, when "they will come to Zion in song, eternal joy upon their heads…" (Isaiah 35:10)

[Adapted from Sefer Hamaamarim 5679 p. 87; Sefer Hamaamarim Melukat 2:145]

Behind the scenes

This video, filmed in Nabi Saleh this past Friday, shows Palestinians parents pressing their children to provoke IDF soldiers a side of the demonstrations not usually talked about, despite it being a frequent occurrence.

“Behind the Garden Walls”

The picture "Behind the Garden Walls" is part of a series of paintings of gates and windows in Safed, painted in watercolor and acrylic on paper. Safed is a picturesque hilltop town in the Galilee with narrow winding lanes , stone houses hundreds of years old, with arched stone ceilings, hidden courtyards with fig trees and grape vine arbors, underground water cisterns, and many ancient synagogues. It became famous as a center of Bible learning in the 1500's after many scholars expelled from Spain at the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition (1492) settled there. It also became known as the birthplace of Kabalah scholarship. Today Safed is considered a center for spirituality and kabalah learning.
The gate shows a glimpse of a walled garden. Many of the old stone houses in Safed have a walled courtyard that is hidden from street view. Inside the garden there is usually a grape vine for shade and for wine-making, sometimes there are pots full of flowers. Most of the windows and doors in Safed are painted various shades of turquoise or sky blue. According to tradition this is because blue is the color of the sky and thus reminds us of heaven and of the commandment to feel an awe of G-d at all times.

if you don't hear the melody...you won't see the light

renanim Tzefad

Gimpel: Obama votes show Jewish detachment

 arutz sheva

Jewish Home party candidate Jeremy Gimpel spoke to Arutz Sheva on Wednesday following U.S. President Barack Obama’s victory in the U.S. presidential elections.
The U.S. Jewish community was behind Obama’s victory, he said. “More than 70 percent of them supported Obama. There’s a message here for the people of Israel in the land of Israel, that the Jews there are completely detached from the land of Israel,” he declared.
The Israeli government ignored American Jewry for generations, he added, and now Israel is paying the price. “There’s a ‘silent Holocaust’ there, half of the Jews in the United States are unaffiliated and assimilated. Today there is not a single Anglo-Saxon representative in Knesset who can speak to this community,” he said.

Yitzack's Afternoon Prayer

Yitzack went out to meditate (lasu'ach) in the field toward evening." (Ber. 24:63)

The meaning of the word lasu'ach is unclear, and is the subject of a dispute among the Biblical commentators. The Rashbam (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, twelfth century scholar) wrote that it comes from the word si'ach, meaning 'plant.' According to this interpretation, Isaac went to oversee his orchards and fields. His grandfather Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040–1105), however, explained that lasuach comes from the word sichah, meaning 'speech.' Isaac went to meditate in the field, thus establishing the afternoon prayer.
Why doesn't the Torah use the usual Hebrew word for prayer? And is there a special significance to the fact that Isaac meditated in the afternoon?
The Soul's Inner Prayer
Rav Kook often expanded concepts beyond the way they are usually understood. Thus, when describing the phenomenon of prayer, he made a startling observation: "The soul is always praying. It constantly seeks to fly away to its Beloved."
This is certainly an original insight into the essence of prayer. But what about the act of prayer that we are familiar with? According to Rav Kook, what we call 'prayer' is only an external expression of this inner prayer of the soul. In order to truly pray, we must be aware of the constant yearnings of the soul.
The word lasu'ach sheds a unique light on the concept of prayer. By using a word that also means 'plant,' the Torah is associating the activity of prayer to the natural growth of plants and trees. Through prayer, the soul flowers with new strength; it branches out naturally with inner emotions. These are the natural effects of prayer, just as a tree naturally flowers and sends forth branches.
Why was Isaac's meditative prayer said in the afternoon?
The hour that is particularly suitable for spiritual growth is the late afternoon, at the end of the working day. At this time of the day, we are able to put aside our mundane worries and concerns, and concentrate on our spiritual aspirations. Then the soul is free to elevate itself and blossom.
(Gold from the Land of Israel pp. 56-57. Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. I, p. 109)