Shabbath Shalom

"And he (Esau) said 'Let us travel on and go; I will go before you.' He (Yaakov) answered him: 'My lord knows that the children are weak, and ...the nursing sheep and cattle. If they are driven hard..., all the sheep will die. Please go ahead of me, my lord. I will lead my group slowly, following the pace of my work..., and the pace of the children....' 'Let me put some of my people at your disposal,' said Esau. 'What for?', replied Yaakov. 'Just let me remain on friendly terms with you.'" [33:12-15]
Esau desired to share the future spiritual rewards in store for Yaakov. His proposal was to share olam hazeh, the material world. "If we travel together, we will make progress." Concerning the future, when Esau was supposed to have dominance, Yaakov being in exile, he says "I will walk before you," i.e. all alone; I will claim my rights. Yaakov declined; he preferred to be junior, insignificant, in the early stages of Jewish history, in order not to fall victim to Esau later on. He pointed to the fact that if "the sheep (i.e. Israel) are delicate" now, then at a time of exile, after such a partnership, "the sheep would surely succumb" totally to the harsh conditions when Esau had dominance
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PA killed Oslo, time for annexation

Mesika Samaria regional head urges Netanyahu to declare Israeli sovereignty over settlement blocs Israel plans to keep
In the wake of the UN vote on “Palestine,” Israel must declare sovereignty over its communities in Judea and Samaria (Shomron), Samaria regional council head Gershon Mesika said Friday in an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
The PA appeal to the UN was clearly “a media ploy, and an event that was in its entirety a pathetic attempt to copy Jewish history – from the selection of the date of voting, November 29, to the calls of ‘The nation of Palestine lives’ at the ‘spontaneous’ celebrations in Ramallah,” Mesika said.
However, he continued, “We must remember that this move is likely to have a growing impact, by upgrading its status to a member state.”
“But most importantly, this is the ‘Palestinian’ Authority’s final, decisive killing of the Oslo Accords,” Mesika declared. The PA appeal to the UN violated “both the spirit of the Accords and the first principle in them, that each step would be the result of negotiations.”
“Over the years the state of Israel has been the only one keeping the accords, while the Arab terrorist entity, imported from Tunisia, has regularly ignored it. But the appeal to the UN means the declaration of the accords’ death… Therefore the state of Israel has nothing to stop it from annexing all the communities it has established in Judea and Samaria, and the state lands,” he argued.
“Not only would it be the only useful response,” he added, “but first and foremost, it would be the morally and historically right thing to do. Judea and Samaria are the heart of the Jewish people.”
Declaring sovereignty “would turn today from a fake, copycat holiday of the terrorist PA to a real holiday for the Jews,” he concluded.
Arutz sheva

our Jewish little place: parashah Vayshlach - Yaacov gifts

our Jewish little place: parashah Vayshlach - Yaacov gifts: Yaacov hears that Esau is on the warpath so he prepares for war, prays and sends Esau gifts of appeasement. Yaacov fights with an angel a...

our Jewish little place: Channukah - hand made menorah

our Jewish little place: Channukah - hand made menorah: This year our hand made menorah is made of wood and of  blue and white glass mosaic pieces.

because is Israel

Because is Israel

Technion Israel - Hanukkah 101

Technion students Eyal Cohen and Tomer Wassermann from the Mechanical Engineering faculty and Matan Orian and Dvir Dukhan of Industrial Engineering and Management take on the challenge to build a Rube Goldberg machine that lights the Chanukah menorah. Hanukkah is the holiday of miracles and here is another one.
The film was made in the Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Robotics Laboratory in the William Davidson Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management.

a piece of...Gad Eden

vayshlach

By Lazer Gurkow
Yaacov sent a message to his brother Esau. When messages are sent we usually focus on the message, not the messenger, but this essay is actually about the messenger.
The midrash records a debate about the nature of Yaacov's messengers. One sage held that Jacob sent human messengers to do his bidding. The others held that Yaacov sent angels.
We marvel at Yaacov's familiarity with angels and his authority over them. How many people do you know who can send angels to run their errands? But in truth, in this sense Yaacov is not all that unique. We do it too.
Our sages taught that every word of our prayers summons an angel who collects it, cleanses it and perfects it, and presents it to G‑d. If the word was enunciated improperly, the angel remolds it so that it is presented correctly. If it was said without proper mindfulness, or worse, if it was chanted with inappropriate thoughts, the angel removes the stray thought and presents the prayer to G‑d in pristine form. If it was said in a language other than Hebrew, the angel interprets it and presents it to G‑d in the Holy Tongue.
Knowing that every word of our prayer is examined by an angel for grammatical correctness and for proper concentration serves to enhance our mindfulness during prayer. It inspires us to be alert to the words of our prayer and to pray with complete devotion.

Shabbath Shalom!

Shabbath at Gaza border

And Laban was told that Jacob had fled. And he chased after him a seven days' journey...
The Chassidic masters explain that, even after 20 years in Laban's house, there still remained "sparks of holiness" that Jacob needed to redeem; that is why it was neccessary that Laban should chase after him and the two should have their final encounter on Mount Galed.
In other words, there are two types of "sparks" which a person redeems in the course of his life. The first are those which he consciously pursues, having recognized the potential for holiness and goodness in an object or event in his life. The second are opportunities whose potentials are so lofty that they cannot be identified by his humanly finite perception. His redemption of these "sparks" can only come about unwittingly, when his involvement with them is imposed upon him by circumstances beyond his control. (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
Source

our Jewish little place: Parashah Vayetze - Yaacov's dream

our Jewish little place: Parashah Vayetze - Yaacov's dream: Yaacov left for Beersheba and headed for Charan. He came to a familiar place and spent the night there because the sun had already set. 

Operation Pillar of defence

At this time, Israeli residents are requested to continue to pay attention to Home Front Command’s instructions.

Over the course of Operation Pillar of Defense, the IDF targeted over 1,500 terror sites including 19 senior command centers, operational control centers and Hamas’ senior-rank headquarters, 30senior operatives, damaging Hamas’ command and control, hundreds of underground rocket launchers, 140 smuggling tunnels, 66 terror tunnels, dozens of Hamas operation rooms and bases,26 weapon manufacturing and storage facilities and dozens of long-range rocket launchers and launch sites.
Senior Operatives Targeted:

14.11 – Ahmed Sai’d Halil Jabri, head of Hamas’ military wing.
15.11 – Hab’s Hassan Us Msamch, senior operative in Hamas’ police.
16.11 – Ahmed Abu Jalal, Commander of the military wing in Al-Muazi
16.11 – Khaled Shayer, senior operative in the anti-tank operations.
17.11 – Osama Kadi, senior operative in the smuggling operations in the southern Gaza Strip.
17.11 – Muhammad Kalb, senior operative in the aerial defense operations.
19.11 – Ramz Harb, Islamic Jihad senior operative in propaganda in Gaza city.

Rocket Launched Towards Israel:

Total number of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip – 1,506
‘Iron Dome’ Interceptions – 421

Israeli Casualties:

Fatalities – 5 Injuries – 240

9.00 PM ceasefire

first line : Cease-fire went into effect
second line: Alarm in Beersheba
IRONIC?!

9:05 P.M. Four Grad rockets fired toward Be’er Sheva, one intercepted.
Well. That lasted long.!!!

Spirit of our soldiers .

The Muqata: Day 7 of the Gaza War 19-Nov-2012

The Muqata: Day 7 of the Gaza War 19-Nov-2012: Day 7 of the Gaza War 19-Nov-2012follow at the Muqata

A song of Ascents

IDF Reservists Prepare to Defend Their Homes

Thousands of IDF reservists were called up as Operation Pillar of Defense began. They left their jobs and families for one purpose, to defend their homes. 

Barrage of 16 rockets fired at Beersheba; 13 intercepted

Beersheva this morning

The Muqata: Day 6 of the Gaza War 19-Nov-2012

The Muqata: Day 6 of the Gaza War 19-Nov-2012: follow at the Muqata

Vayetze

Based on Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom
"Leah had beautiful eyes" (Bereshit 29:17).
Rachel is "the beautiful girl who has no eyes" (Zohar 2:95a).
Though Leah Imeinu  had beautiful eyes and Rachel Imeinu has no eyes, they have something in common. They cry.
Leah Imeinu  had beautiful eyes. She saw very well with them. She saw better than most people. Many people, including even Yitzchak Avinu (Tanchuma Yashan, VaYetze), said that Leah Imeinu was Esav's destined. Nu? A boy from a fine family. His brother, an upstanding scholar. Esav himself was rich and a leader of men (Genesis 33:1, 9).
It is possible to be wise - to "see" things - and still be faithless, utterly lacking in belief in God. This is not only true in regard to secular wisdom, but even in regard to Torah wisdom. One may be ordained, one may have a doctorate in rabbinics and still be lacking in faith. Esav also saw, but missed the point (ibid. 28:6, 8; Or HaChaim). True sight, says Rebbe Nachman, is wisdom and faith. "My heart saw much wisdom" (Ecclesiastes 1:16). How does this verse prove Rebbe Nachman's point? The answer is in the "heart." Leah Imeinu is the heart, binah (insight), the hidden world (Likutey Moharan I, 32).