Shabbath Shalom!

We came to the land where you did send us, and indeed it flows with milk and honey... (13:26)

Such is the way of defamers: they start off by saying something good, and conclude by saying evil.

Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Meir: Any piece of slander which has not some truth in the beginning, will not endure in the end.

(Midrash Rabbah; Talmud)

our Jewish little place: parashah Shelach 2

our Jewish little place: parashah Shelach 2: The final portion of the sedra is the third passage of the Sh'ma - the portion of Tzitzit. It contains the mitzva to put Tzitzit

Shelach. Garnements of the soul

Our sedra ends with one of the great commands of Judaism—tzitzit, the fringes we wear on the corners of our garments as a perennial reminder of our identity as Jews and our obligation to keep the Torah’s commands:
G‑d spoke to Moses, telling him to speak to the Israelites and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments for all generations. Let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner. That shall be your fringe: look at it and recall all the commandments of the L‑rd and observe them, so that you do not stray after your heart and eyes which in the past have led you to immorality. You will thus remember and keep all My commandments, and be holy to your G‑d.
So central is this command that it became the third paragraph of the Shema, the supreme declaration of Jewish faith. I once heard the following commentary from my teacher, Rabbi Dr. Nahum Rabinovitch.
He began by pointing out some of the strange features of the command. On the one hand, the sages said that the command of tzitzit is equal to all the other commands together, as it is said: “Look at it and recall all the commandments of the L‑rd and observe them.” It is thus of fundamental significance.
On the other hand, it is not absolutely obligatory. It is possible to avoid the command of fringes altogether by never wearing a garment of four or more corners. Maimonides rules: “Even though one is not obligated to acquire a [four-cornered] robe and wrap oneself in it in order to [fulfil the command of] tzitzit, it is not fitting for a pious individual to exempt himself from this command.”1 It is important and praiseworthy, but not categorical. It is conditional: if you have such a garment, then you must put fringes on it. Why so? Surely it should be obligatory, in the way that tefillin (phylacteries) are.
There is another unusual phenomenon. In the course of time, the custom has evolved to fulfil the command in two quite different ways: the first, in the form of a tallit (robe, shawl) which is worn over our other clothes, specifically while we pray; the second in the form of an undergarment, worn beneath our outer clothing throughout the day.
Not only do we keep the one command in two different ways, we also make different blessings over the two forms. Over the tallit, we say: “Blessed are You . . . who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to wrap ourselves in a fringed garment.” Over the undergarment, we say, “. . . who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the precept of the fringed garment.” Why is one command split into two in this way?
He gave this answer: there are two kinds of clothing. There are the clothes we wear to project an image. A king, a judge, a soldier, all wear clothing that conceals the individual and instead proclaims a role, an office, a rank. As such, clothes, especially uniforms, can be misleading. A king dressed as a beggar will not (or would not, before television) be recognized as royalty. A beggar dressed as a king may find himself honored. A policeman dressed as a policeman carries with him a certain authority, an aura of power, even though he may feel nervous and insecure. Clothes disguise. They are like a mask. They hide the person beneath. Such are the clothes we wear in public when we want to create a certain impression.

Baby Adelle Released To A Rehab Facility.

Baruch HaShem…Baby Adelle Released To A Rehab Facility.

Three-year-old Adelle Biton of the Samarian (Shomron) Jewish community of Yakir, who was critically wounded in an arab rock attack, two-and-a-half months ago near the western Samarian city of Ariel, was released from Schneider Children’s Hospital in Petach Tikva on Sunday. Her life is no longer in danger. She is, however, only partially conscious.
Accompanied by her family, Adelle was transferred to the pediatric and youth unit of the Beit Levinstein rehabilitation facility in Ra’anana, northeast of Tel Aviv.
May Hashem grant her a speedy recovery so she can return home to her family!
source

Tie your own tzitzit

The Muqata: History of Israel: The Legend of Summer Snow

The Muqata: History of Israel: The Legend of Summer Snow: Had it ever snowed in Israel in the summer?   Two people have reported snow in the month of Sivan (late May-early June), though in both ...

10 photos of jewish women

From the series 10 Photos Of Jewish Women Being Awesome  from Popchassid
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The pomegranate and the magen David

“Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my love.”
(Song of Songs 7:12)

Young Pomegranate Fruit resembles the Star of David -  Photo by Josephine Levin ©  2012

When the beautiful blossoms fall off the pomegranate bush, the bud that will become the pomegranate fruit looks exactly like a Magen David, and this Pomegranate Star is believed to have been the origin of the Star of David.

In Jerusalem the pomegranate Punica granatum called rimon in Hebrew  usually blossoms late May or early June. The pomegranate is one of the 7 species of the land of Israel.

G-d commanded that the priests in the  holyTemple in Jerusalem , bet hamikdash, should have pomegranates around the hem of their robes:

“And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.”(Exodus 28:33-34)
SOURCE

IDF Chief of Staff Prays at Tomb of Rachel, Bethlehem

Shabbath Shalom

"Your main weapon is prayer. You may have to fight many battles, both with the Evil Urge and with many things that prevent you from serving G-d. With prayer you conquer them all"

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

palestinian hole in security fence, but...

An Israeli security official said security forces are altering their previous “silk gloves” approach to rioters such as a group of Palestinians who entered Jerusalem on Friday without passing through a security checkpoint. The Palestinians used hammers to make a hole in the security barrier between Jerusalem and Abu Dis.

The Palestinian fence breach and protest was held as part of events related to the recently held annual Nakba (“catastrophe”) Day, a day on which Arabs mourn the establishment of the state of Israel.

The security fence was put up by Israel as a way of protecting its citizens from attacks by Palestinians from Palestinian-Authority-controlled cities in Judea and Samaria. But despite the presence of the fence, Yehuda Dana, security chief for the Beit El region, told Israel National News that Palestinians are continually “throwing rocks into the community, causing injuries.”

According to the Palestinian protesters, Israeli Border Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at them after they entered through the hole in the fence, and there were several injuries. Dana said such Palestinian rioters were often previously handled with “silk gloves,” but that “their brazenness has crossed the line.”

source

Rachel's tomb : Knesset discusses security measures at holy site

The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee discussed the security situation at Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem in Monday. It appears that a roof may be built over the compound, to protect the worshipers inside from incessant Arab attacks.

The IDF told Knesset Members that about 200 firebombs and 90 improvised explosive devices(IEDs) have been thrown at the compound since November’s Pillar of Defense military operation in Gaza. That means an average of almost two bombs a day.

The military said that the very tall walls that have been constructed around the compound – nine meters high, or almost 30 feet – have not sufficed to provide security.

Committee Chairman Avigdor Lieberman instructed the military to examine plans that were drawn up a long time ago, to add a roof over the compound, in order to provide security for the worshipers inside. Themilitary is to go back to the committee and report on its findings in a month’s time.

MK Orit Struk said after the discussion, “I am pleased with the results of the discussion and I hope that we will have the privilege of seeing Rachel’s Tomb turn from a bunker into a proper place of worship. I thank the IDF and the Border Police for the efforts they have been making in order make the place secure.”

Coalition Chairman MK Yariv Levin called the instruction to reexamine security arrangements “important” and predicted that it would lead to the protection of worshipers and of security personnel.

Arutz Sheva

Behaalotecha

And at times it was, that the cloud abode from evening until morning... then they journeyed (9:21)

 

The Sanctuary was a formidable structure, consisting of hundreds of foundation sockets, wall sections, pillars, tapestries and furnishings; a work crew of several thousand Levites assembled the Sanctuary at each camp and dismantled and transported it when the Divine command would come to move on. Yet the "Tent of Meeting" was erected at every encampment--even if only for a single day!

This teaches us that each and every one of our "stations" in life is significant unto itself. A person may find him or herself in a certain place or in a certain situation for a very brief period, and it may seem to him that he is merely "on the way" to some other place. Yet there is always something in that place or situation to be sanctified--something that can serve as a "Tent of Meeting" between Heaven and earth.

(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

Shabbath Shalom

This battle between body and soul is constant. There is hardly a situation in life in which the two do not have diametrically different preferences. We are faced with constant turmoil. It is peace from this turmoil to which the Priestly blessing refers.

Rabbi Shaul Rosenblatt

David Ha'Ivri: I'm on the "Temple Mount Blacklist"

Jewish girl gets in the face of Nakba Day protesters

CHAG SHAVUOT SAMEACH!

Shavuot: Today You Become a Nation

Underage Underwriters - Shavuot Video

the five names of Shavuot

Chag Shavuot” - The Feast (or Holiday) of Weeks 
“Z’man Matan Torateinu” - The Time of the Giving of Our Torah 
“Chag HaBikkurim” - The Holiday of the First Fruits 
“Atzeret” - The Holiday of “Being Held Back, or Restrained, Close to Hashem, in the Temple” 
“Chag HaKatzir” - The Holiday of the Cutting of the Crop 
“Chag Shavuot” - The Feast of Weeks