From Hallel to Hallel

בס״ד

So much has been going on, and I've had so much stuff going round and round in my head.  Maybe that's why I've been taking so many naps lately.

A 13 year-old girl, Hallel Yaffa Ariel, who loved to dance and who wrote beautifully about emunah*, was butchered in her bed in Kiryat Arba by a hate-trained,17 year-old Arab terrorist/murderer.  Her grand-mother is a friend and neighbor of ours.  We have met the family and had meals with them when they have visited in Efrat.  We even went to their vineyard and picked grapes earlier this year.

The murderer's Mother called him a "hero".

Then of course there's the political farce going on in the US Presidential campaign.

There's also our vacillating, indecisive Israeli government.

Then there's the ongoing work of overcoming my many shortcomings, and trying to find my place as a Jew.  I've started working - in actually a volunteer capacity - at the Emunah Center.  It's run by Rav Dror Moshe Cassouto - kind of a rebel Breslover Chasid.  He is baal tshuvah*, learned intensely with Rav Aroush for 12 years.  He has the ability to express the essence of having faith, and he cuts through a lot of the trappings and chumrahs* that can prevent a real connection to God.

Rav Dror’s approach is very attractive in that he de-emphasizes chumrahs while reminding us of the centrality of mitzvos*.  This is also appealing to a lot of non-Jews who are used to approaching God through faith.  Intellectuality is secondary to emunah.  In most of the frum world, learning is praised while faith and midos are expected to stem from that. I’m not completely convinced of either path.

So, I'm approaching this cautiously but getting a lot out of it as well.  Not becoming a groupie, but filtering the message for nuggets of gold.  There is something I need in there.  

I experienced an amazing Yom Ha'atzmaut this year. I was witness to and participated in the most pristine Hallel* ever.  A true outpouring of praise for and gratitude to the Creator for the miracle that we live every day - to be Jews in our Land.  Every other Hallel in my life pales before it.

That's the kind of "worship" I would like to have a lot more of.  I have no motivation to doven in shul except that I'm supposed to.

We're now on the slippery slope to Tisha B'Av, and I don't know how I'm going to get through it.  I need a lot more Yiddishe nachas* from my relationship with the Creator.  Misery does not bring me any closer, and I have consciously chosen Simcha* as the path for me.  Our religion has taught us very well how to be miserable, but we're pathetic at joy.  That's why, only after 64 years, I experienced true praise and thankfulness as Israeli Jews celebrated a miracle about which most of Orthodoxy says "Feh !”.

So I struggle with that.  There won't be any kinos* for me this year.  I haven't decided what I'm going to do.  My usual schedule is to sleep for as much of the day as possible.  This year, I might just find a nice secluded place and sing songs, and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, and be grateful that I am able to do such a thing on Tisha B'Av.  That's what we really need to do - be grateful.

So from Yom Ha'Atzmaut until now, I have travelled from Hallel to Hallel.  From a Hallel of true praise resembling the Simchas Bais HaShoeiva*, to the murder of Hallel Yaffa Ariel in Kiryat Arba, 20 minutes from my home, and 5 minutes from the kever that Avraham Avinu purchased for his wife Sarah, a few thousand years ago.

My daughter Tova and her husband Dovid are teaching their 20 month-old daughter, Raqueli, not to whine.  One day she started to whine, and then stopped herself and said "no whining" while she shook her little finger back and forth.

The other day she said "no crying", but Tova told her it's OK to cry.  She still wasn't clear on the difference, because she later said "I crying" when she wasn't.  She meant that she was crying on the inside.

It's OK to cry, even on the inside.  But whining seems to be what really got us into trouble on Tisha B'Av.  We whined because of our failure to appreciate Eretz Yisrael.  So this year, if I want to cry, I will.  If I want to sing, I will. But I'm not going to whine.  And I will be grateful.

Rav Dror says that waiting for Moshiach is stupid.  You go out and perfect yourself and your world to the best of your ability, and tell Moshiach you're not going to sit around waiting for him to change the world so you can be happy.  You're going to make yourself happy by changing what is in your hands to change.  And Moshiach is welcome to come whenever he is ready.

As Yul Brynner said in The Ten Commandments, “So let it be written, so let it be done”.

Or is it just me?







* Glossary:
emunah - faith
chumrahs- stringencies
midos - character traits
simcha - joy
mitzvos - commandments
baal tshuvah - someone who becomes religious
nachas - satisfaction
Simchas Bais HaShoeiva - water-drawing celebration in Temple times
frum - religious
Hallel - a service of praise on holidays
kinos - liturgical laments

Why I am Skeptical about the Allegations over the Duma Arson, as well as the Video of Wedding-goers Celebrating the Duma Deaths

A grotesque video has been published, which purports to be of an Orthodox wedding, in which people are celebrating the July 31, 2015 fire-bombing that resulted in the killing of members of the Dawabsheh family in the Arab village of Duma.

First let it be said that I in no way want to justify, rationalize, excuse, legitimize or otherwise defend what was a terrible crime.

But I have watched the videos, and it looks to me like a put-up job, a fraud.

I could surely be wrong about this.  It would not be the first time that I would be disgusted by the depths to which some supposedly “religious” people sink.  I have been equally disgusted by the actions of secularists and non-Jews.  But when “religious” Jews are involved, it really hits home.

So I would like to itemize here my reasons for being skeptical.

First, there are still questions about what happened in Duma:

1. There had been four other suspicious fires in Duma in a year, including the home of a relative of the victims on June 19, 2015.  These are related to an 18 year feud between Arab clans. 
2. The house is located in the middle of the village.  This makes it tricky to get in and out without being caught.
3. Yet not only weren’t they caught, but they were able to commit the arson, and write on the walls, without leaving any evidence by which to track them.
4. The ISA says they know “who is responsible”, and insists it was Jews.  How do they know?  By the Hebrew scribbling on the walls?  There aren’t any Arabs who know Hebrew, and would want to pin this on Jews?  Where is the evidence?
5. It is unlikely that amateur teenage “terrorists” would be able to pull off something like this without leaving a trail of evidence.  I think this was either an inside (Arab) job, or that of trained professionals.  Why would they go into the middle of the village, when it would be so much easier on the outskirts?  And why this particular house?

And now, about the videos:

1. It is suspiciously convenient that these videos show up just as protests mount concerning the treatment of the individuals who have been detained since September, but not charged.  Why haven’t we seen these videos before now?
2. Most of the time, when terrorist attacks take place, the security services pick up the culprits within a few days.  It’s quite remarkable.  But in this case, it has been almost six months, and despite “knowing” that it was Jews who did this, no one has been charged.
3. Then, very conveniently, we are told that the lawyers of the detainees have been identified on the videos.  Really now.
4. Every Israeli politician from every spectrum is vying to come out as the strongest supporter of the ISA.  I have never seen such unity about anything among Israeli politicians.  When was the last time they all agreed on something?  That in itself is suspicious.
5. If the people in the video can be positively identified, then why haven’t they been arrested and charged?  Why is Administrative Detention being used instead?
6. Why are the names of those under detention being withheld?
7. Statements have been released of the chatan, kallah and family members at the wedding (names also unreported), and they report that they never saw any such event occur.
8. Why don’t we know the date of the wedding, and the date of the video?
9. Why is the location of the wedding unclear?  We are told that it was somewhere in Jerusalem, but where?
10. 30 guests are being “questioned”.  If they appear on the video, then what is there to question?  If they aren’t on the video, then why question them?
11. If the “terrorists” were clever enough to pull off the Duma attack and leave no evidence, how can you believe that they would publicly dance around with knives, guns, molotov cocktails, and pictures of the victims - and let it be recorded!

As a backdrop, there is a history of anti-yishuv sentiment among the security forces.  The most infamous case of this was in 1994, when the Shin Bet set up a phony terrorist group in order to implicate the Dati Leumi community in acts of terror.  This was revealed in 2001.  The purpose was to de-legitimize the opposition to the Oslo Accords.

In addition, the Duma arson followed the abduction and murder of three Jewish boys by Arabs from Hevron the previous summer, and in the midst of the current wave of Arab terror attacks.  Duma has been viewed as a possible reprisal by “Jewish terrorists”.

Now, I’m not one to hold by conspiracy theories. But, I’ve seen and read enough mysteries and thrillers to know to be suspect of evidence as presented by “authorities”, especially when it looks too perfect.  So I will now present a theory that is based on the scanty information that is available outside of government circles.  It seems, at this time, just as likely as the line that we are being fed by official sources.  Think of this as the outline of the conspiracy novel that I will never write.

The kidnapping and murder of three Jewish boys by Arab terrorists makes the security services look bad.  One of the boys had actually called the Police, who considered it a crank call and never responded.  This makes them all look really bad, and it starts engendering sympathy for the “settlers”.

So, the security services set up a “revenge” attack.  Skilled agents are sent in to an Arab village where several fires have already taken place.  They know what they are doing.  They are able to get in, get out, and leave no evidence.  In any case, guess who would be doing the investigating?

Whether they intended to actually kill anyone or not is an open question. It might not have been the intention.  Or, perhaps, this family had some relationship with the ISA that the ISA did not want to be revealed?

In any case, now the “settlers” look bad, just as intended. As it turns out though, simply blaming it on Jews is not enough.  The world demands suspects.  Uh Oh, now what.  Either there is no evidence, or the evidence would point right back to the ISA.

So, as they say in Casablanca, “round up the usual suspects”.  They want to get some of these “hilltop youth” to confess to the crime.  They use Administrative Detention, but still have not been able to produce plausible evidence.  Opposition mounts to the treatment of the youths in detention.

Now they have to turn all that opposition into support.  They set up a fake wedding scene, complete with “hilltop youth”, knives, guns, and pictures of the victims.  Conveniently, the chatan and kallah never appear.  But they make sure that likenesses of the detainees’ lawyers show up in the crowd, to discredit and implicate them.

Now, Israeli politicians are shrewd characters.  They know a scheme when they see one.  They are skeptical of everything.  So how do they get everyone in line to give believability to the accusations?  Just like J. Edgar Hoover, the former Director of the FBI, the ISA has dirt on everyone.  They make it clear to the leaders of the entire political spectrum that if they don’t show their support for the ISA in the most glowing terms, then certain information might get leaked out.  Now all the politicos are jumping all over themselves to defend the ISA.

I don’t know how this is going to end.  All I do know is that nothing good is likely to come of it.

I’m willing to retract this whole scenario if I see clear proof to the contrary.

In the meantime, as Joe Friday would say, “just the facts, ma’am”.

Or is it just me?

"Vodka Martini, Shaken, not Stirred" - 007

I have met some amazing new people in my 2+ years here in Efrat, Judea, Israel.

Even better than that, I have discovered new depth in some of my Baltimore friends from way, way back who also live here.

One of these people is Joan (Joanie) Kristall.

She recently sent me an email, expressing her thoughts about the attacks in Paris. (ed. actually, according to the President of the United States, they were "setbacks".)

So I am introducing Joanie as my first "Guest Blogger".  The title of her short essay is "I Was Stirred".  I would add, "Stirred, but not Shaken".

I Was Stirred

On the way to my office on Mondays, I depart from the bus from Efrat onto a busy Jerusalem street. I walk up a hill, then down a hill, then up a hill once more before arriving at my sunny office on the second floor of an ordinary apartment building. What struck me yesterday was, on a busy, bustling, popular thoroughfare, there were large French flags lining both sides of the street, blowing in the wind. 

My immediate reaction was, what a compassionate people we are! It shouted to me, "We are with you in your pain; we are with you in your sorrow; we have been there and we still are there, fighting the awful barbarism that has seeped into both of our countries! You are not alone!"

My second thought was, "In what countries are the Israeli flags flying high? Where is the outcry and compassion of the "international community" when our innocent sons, husbands, wives, daughters and children are killed, attacked and targeted in the streets of our cities?" 

The members of the class I teach on Sunday morning, Group Therapy Training, came into our meeting room visibly shaken. Before Shabbat, they heard of the killing of a father and son headed to a celebration of a daughter/sister on the occasion of her upcoming wedding, a simcha, a joyous milestone, marred tragically. 

They heard of the Red Crescent (Arab version of the Red Cross) ambulance failing to stop to help aid the injured. 

Then after Shabbat, they read of the Paris massacre. They, my wonderfully sensitive students, were speechless....Enough! Enough! Enough! We, the warriors of Israel, had to pause to feel the terror of these events, the trauma of their occurrences. Once their speech came back and we talked out our feelings, we needed to move, to stretch, to reach, to bend, to breath, to shake and rid our limbs of the absorbed terror. How helpful that was and seemed to bring us back to a sense of balance. 

What will enable us to endure the awful and terrible events that are happening on almost a daily basis? 

The wise answer is kindness, life, simcha and, yes, compassion. 

For all the evil that is entering the world, we need to physically fight and spiritually fight! We are in a battle and we cannot become, G-d forbid, the barbarians of our enemies. 

About a month ago, our next door neighbors, a lovely young couple, had their first child, a sweet baby boy. I have yet to meet this infant, but I hear him each and every evening and also in the middle of the night....crying his lungs out! We share a common wall, so this little one's cries are clearly heard in our apartment. 

I must tell you, it is music to my ears! This beautiful new life, in addition to today's bris of a new great, great grand-nephew, are precious Jewish neshamas born here in Israel. I can't think of anything sweeter and more deliciously needed at this very moment in time.

May the spirit of our good deeds and kindnesses fill the world with Shalom, with Peace.

Happy Halloween

This picture caused some recent controversy:

This is a toy costume.  This has been removed from Amazon, WalMart, and eBay.  It has been deemed to "glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual, or religious intolerance".

This picture causes no controversy:

This is not a toy costume.  This is real.  This is active training in the glorification of  "hatred, violence, racial, sexual, or religious intolerance".

Or, how about this one?

This is considered acceptable.  Recently posted by Fatah, this is a rerun of a Nazi poster.   Note the additions in Arabic.

But this costume perpetuates racial stereotypes. (actually, looks just like my Uncle).






In my astonishing naivete, I can't conceive how anyone can live with such glaring hypocrisy.


Or is it just me?

Just Another Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today was just another beautiful day.

It rained a little yesterday - just as we began praying for rain in our daily prayers.  Perfect. So the air is fresh and clean today with most of the lingering dust from summer washed out of it.  Temperatures in the 70's, about 40% humidity.

I slept in a little bit this morning, lingering in bed until around 7:45, unfortunately missing out on my time with my morning learning partner.  The coffee was on.  I admired the new put-it-together-yourself microwave cabinet that I bought and constructed yesterday.  I dovened, had a leisurely breakfast of Cheerios and bananas, and spent the morning learning, until Tova (my daughter) arrived with my grand-daughter Raqueli.

Tova is our Personal Trainer.  She drives from Modi'in every Monday and Wednesday to "train" us.  I worked out while Marietta (my wife) fed Raqueli lunch.  Then I took Raqueli for a walk in the stroller while Marietta took her turn training.  And, most exciting event of the day, I identified for the first time a Pied Wagtail !!  I saw one yesterday at Kfar Etzion where Marietta and I went out to lunch for our 32nd anniversary, but I saw one again today in Efrat and looked it up in my field guide.
A first:

Everything is progressing in a sensible and relaxing manner.  Good weather, beautiful scenery, family, friends.  I learned some Torah with my friend Aryeh in the afternoon.  I walked in thinking I understood something, and left realizing I don't.  Also typical.  We're learning a very difficult sefer (book), so it's to be expected.

After dinner, Marietta and I played Scrabble.  I used up all my letters making the first word of the game - "toadied".  Now it's time to relax with a nice glass of locally produced Gewurztraminer (Gush Etzion Winery 2014).

Nothing really unexpected happened today.

An Arab attempted to run over a Policeman in the Shomron; another stabbed a female soldier in Binyamin; four people were injured in a stone throwing, attempted homicide by automobile attack near Hebron.  And the UN decided that the Tomb of the Patriarchs (Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov), and the Tomb of Rachel, are Muslim shrines. Ho Hum. Nothing unusual in the news.

It's a beautiful life, but it helps to be crazy.

Or is it just me?

Good Heavens !

Why are there two stories of Creation at the beginning of The Beginning (בראשית)?  

I have given this curiosity only glancing attention in the past.  Everyone is familiar with the way the Torah begins - six days of the Creation of Heaven and Earth, and the sequential development of life, culminating in Adam, Eve, and the Sabbath Day.  

Fewer of us get around to looking carefully at Chapter 2, “HaShem made Earth and Heaven”.  In this chapter, there has been no vegetation created, because there is no man as yet to request rain.  Then “a mist” ascends from the Earth to get the soil wet, so HaShem can form the now damp clay into the first Human.

If I were to make a movie from one of these, it would be number two.  I can see the mist rising mysteriously from a grey and treeless desert - no sound, no life, just matter.  What an opportunity for computer graphics and special effects.

While searching for an answer that would satisfy my curiosity, after looking at some of the famous resources - Rashi and others - I resorted to an internet search.  I came up with this article by Yitzchak Etshalom, on torah.org: http://www.torah.org/advanced/mikra/5757/br/dt.58.1.01.html entitled The Story of the Heavens, The Story of the Earth.

The first story tells us of the creation of Heaven and Earth.  The second relates the creation of Earth and Heaven.

Here I quote a few excerpts.  The underlining is mine.

“Version #1: The Story of the World”

“The first version is, indeed, the story of the creation of the heaven and the earth - in other words, it is the story of the creation of the world from the Divine perspective.  It begins with the Heavens, presenting an orderly world structured in an hierarchical manner in which every manner of life has its place….an orderly world created by God in which Man can be His partner, His agent - but not his ‘servant’.”

“Version 2: The Story of Man”

“There is another side of the story - the story of ‘the earth and the heavens’ - the story from the perspective of Man….From the human perspective, everything created serves a human purpose….but Man is not nearly as complete as the ‘detached’ view would have it.  Man is lonely, Man seeks out God as he seeks out meaning in this world of alienation and discord…Immediately the most crucial point in their relationship is realized - God commands Man!” **

(**The commandment being to eat of everything except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad.)

“Man is no longer lonely on one level because he is in relationship with God….however, he is lonely because there is no one with whom to share this new life…the first ‘non-good’ thing is introduced - loneliness.”

“The Torah is not telling us two conflicting versions about creation; rather, we are seeing two sides of the same coin.  The world is, indeed, an orderly place of hierarchical systems, where Man is the ultimate creature; yet, the word is also a place where Man feels alien and distant, seeking out companionship and meaning in his relationships with fellow humans, with a mate, and with God.”

The first version of Creation is from the perspective of the Creator.  First Heaven, then Earth. The second version is from the perspective of the Created.  Focus on Earth, then Heaven.  Of course, to the Creator, the whole of existence makes perfect sense.  But from the view of the Creations, it’s a jumble.  The only comfort is in relationship with the Creator, and with other Creations.  Maybe together this world will eventually make sense.

And who would have thought that the first non-good thing would have been loneliness?

I was discussing this with a good friend of mine (who shall remain nameless since I haven’t asked his permission).  He pointed out that we speak of the Five Books of Moses - Toras Moshe.  In other words, the entire Torah, with the possible exclusion of the first version of Creation, is told from the point of view of Moshe Rabbenu.  He is telling us how he sees it.  It simply never occurred to me that when we say that Moshe gives over the Torah, that the implication is that we are hearing Moshe’s point of view.  The view of Torah and the Jewish People from the perspective of our greatest teacher, here on Earth.

So, I’m wondering if the entire Five Books of Moses - from the second version of Creation on - could possibly be a commentary on the view of creation given first.  God creates the world - but then it is entirely up to us to explain and understand.

I wonder at the fact that, in our loneliness and desire for relationship, we are separated ever further from the Creator by our mistakes in understanding and implementing that relationship.  The very act of creating a mate for Adam is an act of separation.  They err in Eden, and are separated out - distanced from HaShem.  Kayin and Hevel (Cain and Abel), in what appears to be the first religious war in history, vie over who has the best relationship with God.  In so doing, Kayin distances himself even further from God, and from Man.

And so it goes - Noah is separated out in order to restore the proper relationship of Man to God.  That doesn’t work.  Abraham finds his own way to that relationship, but from him must be separated Ishmael.  And from Yitchok must be separated Esav.  Finally, it would appear, that Yitzchak has 12 sons who all have a proper relationship with the Creator.  So then, this entire people is separated out from the rest of humanity.  And the Cohanim, and the Leviim are separated out from the Bnei Yisrael.  It just keeps on going.

This process of smelting and refining seems endless, and possibly futile, since as we speak we still have not gotten it right.

But there is comfort - for me at least - in finally understanding that our lives are given to us in order to seek out a relationship with God, and with other people.  It’s a comfort to know that even the most minute of commandments is there for me to use to get closer to my Creator.  That has to be my intention.  And the mitzvot are there so that my good intentions don’t take me in the opposite direction, as good intentions alone often do.  It just seems, though, that the harder I try, the further away I get.

Or is it just me?

Addendum:

I'd like to elaborate a bit on my final statement about "good intentions" often taking us in the wrong direction, particularly in relation to Adam and Chava.

Whatever the serpent's intentions were, can we really assume that Chava's intention was to challenge God, and become "like God"?   Was it Adam's?

Couldn't we just as easily assume, in light of what I have indicated above, that it was Chava's good, though misguided, intention to get closer to God by becoming more like Him?

She was misguided in rationalizing that she could get closer to God by eating the fruit which she had been forbidden to eat - closer to God through violation of the mitzva than by the keeping of the mitzvah.

Thus, "the mitzvot are there so that my good intentions don't take me in the opposite direction".

Who Will Be the Last Man Standing?

בס׳ד

It has been some time since my last post.  It's not because I haven't had anything to write about.  Quite the opposite.  There has been way TOO much to think about, consider, and try to organize in my head.  Last week, while riding the bus into Yerushalayim, I worked the beginnings of a great essay in my head.  Of course, being too lazy to start writing once I returned home, it has mostly turned to vapor.

I feel like grabbing a large piece of oak tag (anyone reading this who is old enough to remember what that is?) and a thick black magic marker, and scribbling "The End Is Near!".  I want to picket in front of every European capital, and of course, the Osama Obama palace in Washington.  Because if the liberal west does not wake up, the non-liberal Muslims of Europe - and eventually America - will have them living under shari'a law.

I've been trying to understand why this obvious trend is so universally denied.  Does the West have a death wish? And the answer I have arrived at is as follows - no, but yes.

Let me explain.

Europeans hate themselves because they feel guilty for their colonial past.  They feel they must make it up to the colonized.  On top of that, within Europe nationalism has become a bad word.  Centuries of nationalistic war left Europe traumatized.  Bad things have been done, and Europeans wish to set things to rights, and atone for the past.

As Abraham Lincoln might say, "It is altogether fitting and proper" that they do this.

But introspection and atonement do not require suicide.  In an effort to be just, and to respect all cultures, Europeans have decided that they must reject all that was historically valuable and binding in their cultures and religions and replace it with no values at all.  That way they can't possibly impose those values on anyone ever again.

The problem, when such a value vacant culture encounters those who actually believe in something, there's a transference of values to the area of no values - just as in physics high pressure fills a low pressure void.  As long as Europeans of one country become culture neutral in relation to the Europeans of another culture neutral country, this might work out.  But not when, in an effort to repent the past, culture neutral Europe bends over backwards to make the benefits of their societies available to the formerly colonized - who are culture positive.  The result is not something resembling the American "Melting Pot".  The immigrants have no desire to blend in.  They want to change those host nations to reflect their own values.

Some place in The Lord of The Rings someone says, and I paraphrase, "Those who refuse to live by the sword, can still die by the sword." This seems to be Europe's choice.  Yet it is so unnecessary.  It is certainly reasonable and proper to try to make up for past wrongs.  But in order to recognize the worth of another, you also have to recognize your own worth.

Respect for distinctions does not require the elimination of distinctions.  And it has to be a two way street.  Secular Europe somehow expects religious Muslims to become secular Europeans.  They think that just as their own empty churches and Cathedrals are just historical centers of art, Muslim mosques will become just that.  But the Muslims aren't cooperating.  They're not satisfied to live by their values and be left alone, like the Jews wanted (but were rarely allowed) to be.  No.  They want to make the churches into mosques - like it or not.

Hence, shari'a law here, Mulsim only neighborhoods there.  And the Europeans just don't get it.  They refuse to recognize that they have gone way too far.  But that does not mean that hate is a thing of the past.  Like everyone, the thing they hate the most is to be told that not only are they wrong, but they've gone and joined the other side - the side of terror, jihad, oppression, coercion, brutality, and violence.  Back to everything they wanted to escape from.  And that person is Israel.  All the self-hate and self-loathing, and all the inevitable resentment of having to fear those who used to fear them, is turned on the one source of light that has the effrontery to stand and say "NO!".

And please don't accuse me of hating Muslims.  It is Muslims who hate me.  Of course not all Muslims.  But I believe that Brigitte Gabriel is correct.  She says "The peaceful majority are irrelevant".  There are about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world.  It can be argued that only 15% to 25% of those are "Radicals".  But this still means that between 240 million and 400 million are out to get us.  And they set the agenda.  So it's time to "take Politically Correct and throw it into the garbage where it belongs.".

And please don't call me a racist.  It's a stock phrase that can be used to silence anyone and make them run the other way.  No one wants to be called a racist, to the extent that many will deny the obvious truth.  In our time, those who accuse others of racism are usually the real racists. (Check out these two links).

http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/08/25/jewish-student-assaulted-by-palestinian-supporter-at-temple-university/

http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/08/25/anti-israel-activist-ali-abunimah-accused-of-african-hating-after-comparing-president-obama-to-white-supremacist/

Racism has been redefined in such a way that it no longer means anything.  Racism "should" mean the belief that one is superior to another simply by their race, and using that belief to cause injury to the other.  Human beings innately make destinctions based upon race, among other things, including gender, height, weight, attire, etc.  And these distinctions are often important to make.  If I walk through the Damascus gate, I'm nervous.  Does that make me a racist?  No. It means two things; 1) that I know that 15% - 25% at least of the people around me want me dead, and 2) that I'm an idiot for walking through the Damascus gate!  (here are 3 interesting links)

https://bloodytree.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/racism-universal/

https://notes.utk.edu/bio/greenberg.nsf/f83efe294f5c85f585257015006e1949/2fb79b1fd74e2136852572e90077ffa4?OpenDocument

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism


Every person on earth makes assumptions about people based on their appearance, or speech, or attire, or whatever.  Either everyone is a racist, or we are defining racism incorrectly.

So, when Muslims tell me that the Beit HaMikdash never existed, that there never was a Judea and Samaria, that Jews are dogs and should all be killed, that Judaism is a gutter religion, that Israel is not a Jewish State, that Moses was a Muslim and it was the Muslims who crossed the Red Sea, and then attacks me with fists, feet, rocks, cars, trucks, knives, guns, bombs and missiles - I think I should be given a little slack when I assume that the guy walking toward me dressed like a Muslim is someone to watch out for.

And I don't think Europeans should feel bad about recognizing publicly that there is something to worry about.

The recent murders in France, and the reactions to them, only serve to support my argument.  Radical Muslims murder cartoon journalists who lampooned their Prophet, as well as a French police woman, and Jews doing their grocery shopping.  Not to mention the murder of freedom of expression.  But no no no, it's not because of Islam.  And CNN actually wants us to believe that the murder of Jews in the kosher grocery was not anti-Semitic.  The PM of Israel is asked not to come to a "Unity" march against terrorism.  When he shows up anyway, he's accused of being a pushy Jew.  Fearing for their lives at the hands of rioting Musims, all of Europe - all of the world - is willing to ignore the obvious threat rather than be considered "racist", but it's OK to hate Jews, because the Muslims do.  This is not to say that they didn't already hate Jews, it just gives them the green light if their Muslims are OK with it.

And the United States was conspicuously absent from that act of "Unity".  What a mess.

I believe - I truly believe - that בס׳ד Israel will eventually be the last man standing.  By that I mean that the time will come when Europe and America will be so overwhelmed by a tide of Jihad, that they will call for the help of the only free nation on earth that recognized the threat early on.  There are good people of all faiths in all countries, but their leaders are, with a few exceptions, political hacks.  One exception is Stephen Harper of Canada.  Another is Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel.  Both of these leaders are unafraid to say what needs to be said, while the West remains dumb.  Even the Pope, while decrying the acts of murder, nevertheless blames the victims for being insulting.  (I have to give Vladamir Putin some credit - he has said flat out that anyone who wants shari'a law is welcome to leave Russia to find it.  But then, who would want to live in Russia anyway?).

And Israel בס׳ד will be there to rescue humanity from a new dark age.  That's what we're here for, after all.

Or is it just me?

Cottage Cheese

בס׳ד

Cottage Cheese?

That’s right, cottage cheese.

A news item caught my eye the other day, and it left me incredulous.

There is an organization of Israelis encouraging other Israelis to move to Berlin, of all places.  Why?  Because of the high cost of cottage cheese in Israel!  

The issue of cottage cheese was brought up in Israel about 2 or 3 years back.  It resulted in something of a popular rebellion over the cost of living.  But it started with cottage cheese.

As a new oleh (for just over a year) I can think of several things that might make a person reconsider living here.  Cottage cheese is NOT one of them.

And, in the spirit of absurdity, I must admit that I have come to the conclusion that on paper there is no logical reason why someone would give up the “good” life in America (or Berlin for that matter) to live in Israel.

Nevertheless, for my money, happiness is living in Israel.

I have never been happier in my life, and I truly feel that the Nefesh B’Nefesh slogan fits me - Live the Dream.

Having said that, here is my litany of complaints about life in the Holy Land:

The taxes are high - I have to pay real estate taxes on my RENTED apartment.  

The drivers are crazy, and the gas is expensive (about $100 a fill up). Driving the roads is an experience.  Rules of the road are only meant for people taking their licensing exam.  Many Israelis drive “aggressively”.  And, from my experience, the craziest drivers are the ones with the green and white license plates.  (For those not in the know, the PA issues license plates of that color).

The government is divided into fiefdoms with no agreed upon ideology, and the bureaucracy is a crawling octopus.  

I can’t figure out what the Police are for.  

Each bank branch appears to be a separate franchise - don’t try to get any banking done at a branch other than your own - and you are charged for everything including DEPOSITS.

Keeping kosher is a minefield.  There are dozens (at least) of different certification agencies - many of which consider all the others completely unacceptable.  And to add to the complexity, this year is a shmitta year - the last year of the seven year cycle - in which the rules for growing, purchasing, and eating produce become more complicated than usual.

Although I live in Gush Etzion - over the “green line” - I have yet to experience any problems from our Arab cousins.  In fact, my town of Efrat has good relations with the nearby Arab towns of Wadi Nis and Abdullah Ibrahim.  Nevertheless, every six weeks or so on average, Efrat’s security apparatus detects and foils attempted incursions - primarily for theft.

And that’s only some of the easy stuff.

We’ve had some heavy artillery fired our way during the last year.  A fatal kidnapping, and missiles from Gaza.

And it hurts my feelings that most of the world seems to think of us as one-eyed monsters.  

So then, why am I here?

There is a miracle going on.  After 2000 years, the Jewish people is being reestablished in its homeland.  How can I miss out on that?  And I want to emphasize the phrase “being reestablished”.  Israel is a developing country.  We’re still trying to figure out who we are, still trying to decide how to proceed.  The War of Independence is not over.  We still have a FRONTIER.  Our astounding successes cloud the fact that there is still lots of work to be done.  My wife and I have the opportunity to actually make a difference by being here, on both an historic and a cosmic level.

We are fortunate to have found a town that fits us - Efrat.  My wife - to whom I will refer, with her permission, as Eternal Patience - actually made the choice of Efrat.  Our deal was that if we move to Israel, we’d live where she wanted.

There are people we know who refer to us as the perfect olim. 

It’s an accident.  Well, to be more accurate, the Master of the Universe picked us up in His hand and placed us precisely where we should be.  I couldn’t be more grateful.

There are several things that make Efrat perfect for us.  

The weather is perfect three seasons out of the year.  Winter is chilly and wet, but doable.  We just finished Sukkot.  I was able to sleep out in the Sukkah every night, in perfect temperature, with no rain.

In my neighborhood, Gefen (Grape Vine), the people are amazing.  The people here are the ones I would have wanted to meet 30 years ago when I originally wanted to make aliyah.  I walked into shul on my first day here, and had a chevra in 5 minutes.  

A mixture of Anglos and IFBs (Israelis From Birth), they come

from every walk of life - including educators, Rabbis, doctors, lawyers, policemen, techies, plumbers and electricians - they are also very down-to-earth.  They are Ashkenazim, Sefardim, 

and Moroccans - Mitnagdim and Chasidim.  They like to learn Torah, laugh, talk, get together, and have a few l’chaims.  Very intelligent, and unpretentious - idealistic and, above all, still actively growing and becoming, just like the land they live in.

We live in a small apartment conveniently located so that we can walk to everything - shuls, grocery, hardware store, post office, library, medical center, etc.  There’s even a Yeshiva on the hill where I have been learning most days for a few hours.  And the view is spectacular.

Our adjustment to living in a new country with different ways of getting things done has been, for the most part, untroubled.  We came in with the desire to adjust, which is critical.

There aren’t many practical reasons for living here.  There is simply some intangible element that makes this my home.  I think it may have to do in part with with an inherent connection to the people around me, even strangers.  Somehow we speak the same internal language, even if my Hebrew is rotten.

I am fortunate to have children who, with Gd’s help, are smarter than I am, and have better characters than I do. (Isn’t that every parent’s goal?  If not, it should be!).  I sometimes try to convince my older son (The Rabbi!) that he should at least give living in Israel a try. 

He told me that he gives it a lot of thought from time to time.  The last time, a few months back, he was pondering why it might be that some people successfully make aliyah, and some don’t, and some don’t even try.  And I think there is wisdom in his words.  He said that the more “lishma” (for its own sake) one’s reasons are for coming to live in Israel, the less likely it is that the effort will succeed.

For instance, if my primary reason for coming is because it is a mitzvah to live in Israel, and my wife comes primarily because she wants to be a good wife, the chances of staying are reduced.  Alternatively, if one makes aliyah because he loves the land, feels more alive here, his learning is elevated here, and/or he feels a “resonance” with the land and the people, then success is in the air.

I mentioned “resonance”.  I have something to say about that.  I remember, in junior high school science class, an experiment in which we took two tuning forks having the same pitch, separated them, got one to vibrate, and then slowly brought them closer together.  As they were brought

closer, the vibrations from the active tuning fork started to cause the other tuning fork to vibrate as well.  This is what I am referring to as “resonance”.  The key is that the tuning forks have to have the same pitch.

I hear my son the Rabbi, and I agree with him.  For me, in coming to Eretz Yisrael, my world changed from black & white to living color.  Like in the Wizard of Oz.  When Dorothy is in Kansas, the film is in black & white, but when she lands over the rainbow, it’s all in living color.  I resonate.  We are pitched the same.

In theory, all Jews should feel the same resonance.  According to Yehuda HaLevi, in his sefer Kuzari, just as a plant will grow best in it’s native soil, so a Jew thrives best in his native soil, Eretz Yisrael.  Why this does not appear to be the case with many of us, I can not explain.  However, it’s not a new problem.  Why didn’t all of us return from Babylonia?  Tone deaf?

As for me, here I am, 62 years old, and feeling like I have my whole life ahead of me.  I could be back in Baltimore, just hanging on (as my mechutan says) until the ambulance shows up.  I try to resist becoming a shill for aliyah, because each person’s life is so different. But the happier I become, the harder it is for me to be objective.  So I sing the song that vibrates up from the ground beneath my feet.  Good Vibrations!

So my advice to my son, and to you, is not to focus on the cottage cheese.  Dance to the music!

Cottage cheese is such a small price to pay.

Or is it just me?