Count the Sukkahs

Today is the last day of Sukkot, Hoshana Rabba. Soon we will be parting from the precious Mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah.

"Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God."

I was in Ramat Beit Shemesh B the other day and took this picture after Minchah. Click on the pic and count the Sukkahs that you see:

Sukkot Revisited

What's the point of writing something about Sukkot now that it is already Marcheshvan? That's exactly the point: we have to carry the memories of Sukkot all year round.

I like to walk around the older neighborhoods of Jerusalem. These pics were taken in the Batei Neitin neighborhood, if I am not mistaken.Sukkot everywhere!

I love the way that the stairways are built upon arches:

Decked in white for Hoshanna Rabba:

The Temple Mount:

I am able to get a close-up with my zoom. [sigh]

עַל-זֶה, הָיָה דָוֶה לִבֵּנוּ--עַל-אֵלֶּה, חָשְׁכוּ עֵינֵינוּ. עַל הַר-צִיּוֹן שֶׁשָּׁמֵם, שׁוּעָלִים הִלְּכוּ-בוֹ

At the Kotel its the last day to use your lulav!

These Japanese (?) tourists may have thought that it was exotic to photograph the Jews praying at the wall. I thought that it was exotic to photograph the Japanese tourists taking pictures of the Jews.

The typical "Jews at the Wall" picture:

I hope that we have a nice rainy winter.

The Seventh of Marcheshvan

Today is the day we that start to request rain in the silent prayer, at least here in the land of Israel. Although the rainy season officially begins on Shemini Atzeret, when we start to say "Mashiv HaRuach U'Morid HaGeshem", we waited until now so that all the American Jewish tourists Babylonian Jews could return safely to their dwellings in America Babylon without being rained upon.

Perhaps this is a good time to look back at the holiday season that was. Here are a few observations:

1) You get out of it what you put into it. If you made an effort to get up early in Elul to say Selichot, if you devoted time to really reflect on your deeds, if you made an effort to change, if you fulfilled the mitzvot of Sukkot properly, I have no doubt that you were spiritually uplifted.

2) I had the opportunity do daven in the rebuilt Churva synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was really special. They have an interesting custom of not saying "Baruch Hu U'Varuch Shmo" during the repetition of the silent prayer. This I was told, was in keeping with the custom of the Gaon of Vilna. There is a certain atmosphere of splendor and honor that gave me a slight idea of what it might be like to daven in the Temple, may it speedily be rebuilt!

3) The Old City was packed with tourists from all over the world. BDS is a real big failure!

4) The Western Wall was packed with worshipers. The facilities available here have greatly improved over the years.

5) I was also in the City of David. That place has changed so much since in the almost three decades that I have been here. The more they dig there the more they reveal the ancient city of Jerusalem, much to the chagrin of the Arabs and the leftists. The City of David, like the Old City, was packed with tourists.

7) We are progressing towards full redemption, little by little. So I say to you Jews living abroad what Moses said to his father in law, " 'We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said: I will give it you; come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel.' "

Etrogrim After Sukkot

As we leave the month of Tishrei behind and head into the holiday-less month of Marcheshvan, I thought that a few pictures from Sukkot would help us keep that "Tishrei feeling", with all of its holiness, with all of its purity, for the rest of the year.

Near Jaffa Gate:



Pirchei Yerushalayim:



Armenian Quarter:



Jewish Quarter:



Churva Synagogue:



View of Temple Mount:



Lulavs and Etrogs:



Minchah by the Kotel:



Special Sukkah for taking the four species:





Next year in a rebuilt Jerusalem!

Gilad Shalit Deal is a Criminal Mistake

Very bad news:

The Israeli cabinet voted late Tuesday night on the deal to release kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The vote came following a stormy meeting.

26 ministers supported the deal with only three – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau, and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon – voting against the deal.

First of all, kudos to Avigdor Lieberman, Uzi Landau, and Moshe Ya'alon for opposing the deal.

What happened to all the other ministers? Are they unaware of the fact that terrorists from past "exchanges" have murdered again?:

The former IDF chief rabbi claimed that Palestinian terrorists released since the 90's have, over the years murdered over a thousand Israelis in a long line of terror attacks and the defense establishment is aware of the possibility that "within just a few months the Shalit deal might blow up in our face in certain terror attacks, there is no 'maybe' about it.

He added that this wasn't his stance; rather it was the opinion of professionals in the field – including some with a left-wing outlook that is "very far from his own"

As to the question of whether there would not be a huge blow to morale among the troops on the Israeli side when soldiers know that the IDF won't necessarily do everything to rescue them from captivity, Ronsky said: "Just the opposite. They don't want to be exchanged for terrorists; they want to be rescued through a military operation."

This is truly a mistake of criminal proportions.

I would write more about this but Sukkot is on the way. I would not be surprised if the timing of this decision was intentional: Most of the nation is busy preparing for the holidays and we do not have time to protest this folly.

May God save us from the stupidity of our leaders. Chag Sameach!

The Ultimate Shelter

Click here.

Hijabs For Sale!

Have we got a hijab for you! All the latest styles! All the best colors and designs! Cool pink, flowers, and fancy geometric forms!

Ya Mirvat, don't think twice! Sneak out of home while your husband is at work and treat yourself to a new hijab! You deserve it!

Ya Marwan, what have you done lately to make Fatima happy? Did you buy her a present for her birthday? We thought so! Here's your chance to make amends! Buy her a new hijab! Sahten!

Ya Jameela, aren't you tired of wearing the same hijab for the last twenty years? It's time to throw out that old rag and get a new fancy hijab! Be the envy of the entire Hamula!



Do you think I have a future as a hijab salesman? The photo was taken as I walked down Rechov HaGai (El Wad, Valley Street) on my way to the Western Wall during Chol HaMoed Sukkot.

Disclaimer: The photo has nothing at all to do with the above sales pitch and is for illustraton purposes only.

Sukkah of the Year?

21 Tishrei, 5769 (6th day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot, Hoshannah Rabbah)

One can see a lot of Sukkahs here in Jerusalem. This one really caught my eye. It's the old "I don't have a balcony, so I'll make a temporary one for building a Sukkah" trick:

The Stocks Go Down and the Sukkahs Go Up

14 Tishrei, 5769



Here in Jerusalem Sukkahs are springing up like flowers after the rain. They are everywhere: in the parking lots, in the courtyards and of course on the balcony. It's a real Kiddush Hashem to see how the nation is eagerly preparing for the holiday.

In deep contrast, the present financial crisis is no doubt a tragedy. How many people have seen their money, earned through years of hard work, evaporate like water in the Dead Sea on a hot day?

As we leave our comfortable homes and go to live in a shack, with a roof that really isn't a roof, we remember that money isn't everything. Really, it isn't! Just as the sukkah is a temporary dwelling, so are we temporarily dwelling in This World. In the end we die, and we leave all of the money and property behind. The only thing that we take with us to the Next World is the Torah we learned and the mitzvot that we performed.

So what if you lost a few thousand shekels or dollars? Keep things in perspective! Serve God with happiness! Chag Sameach!

A Quickie

11 Tishrei, 5769

We had perfect weather in Jerusalem for Yom Kippur: Nice and cool. That made fasting much easier.

I davenned in a "sunrise" minyan which was also good because we finished Musaf at about 10:45 AM. That gave me some time to rest before Mincha and Ne'ilah (3:00 PM).

Just finished building most of the Sukkah. Shabbat is on the way and then Sukkot. It's a marathon but I wouldn't have it any other way!