Emergency Aliyah Conference

A few days ago a bunch of idealistic people came together in Jerusalem and held an "Emergency Aliyah Conference". I also believe that it is urgent, that Jews all over the Diaspora pack up their bags and come home, Some interesting things were said:

Everything is Fine, Mom!

A short film from Tzvi Fishman with English subtitles:

The Secret of Making a Living after Making Aliya

A very good post from my friend Tzvi Fishman:

A lot of people say they can’t come on aliyah because they don’t know how they will make a living. The issue of aliyah and livelihood is a legitimate concern.

Read the rest!

A Hanukkah Song By John Lennon?

The Mitzvah of Living in Israel

Tzvi Fishman has been spending a lot of time trying to convince us that there is a mitzvah to live in the land of Israel. One of his readers, Shimshon from NYC, wasn't convinced until he asked his rabbi. Then he wrote a talkback(#46) entitled Fishman is right!:

I know that sounds strange coming from me. It isn't easy for me to write it. In fact, I went to my rabbinic mentor this week to get ammunition in my debate against Fishman. He is one of the well known and respected leaders of the UltraOrthodox world in Brooklyn. When I explained the reason for my visit I received the surprise of my life. He said that Fishman was right, that living in Israel was a mitzvah beyond all measure, and that anyone who could go there certainly should. When I asked him why he didn't announce this publicly he smiled and said, "Do you want me to be banned by the other rabbis?" He also answered that one is not allowed to teach something that a majority of the community cannot observe, and this is the case with aliyah since it is not practical for many families, and his task is to strengthen them in their Yiddishkiet until Moshiach comes, but that anyone who could go to Israel is certainly performing a great mitzvah. My head is still spinning around. But I gathered from his answer that I owe Mr. Fishman an apology for some of the things that I wrote. Also, if I led other Jews astray, I am sorry.

A truly great and enlightening talkback.

Some Truth From The Sultan

Sultan Knish telling it like it is:

Israel has no democracy anymore. It is ruled by a man supported by less than ten percent of the country and by a party illegitimately put into power by a dead man. This same government ruthlessly suppresses dissent and bribes its coalition partners. Non-violent protesters are kept detained for months. Ruthless brutality is practiced along with ethnic cleansing of Jews by the will of this government.

We want Mashiach now!

Update: This just in from Yisrael Medad:

Just five minutes ago I spoke with Tzvi Fishman. I had called him to let him know that I spied him on Channel One TV news holding up the poster reminding President George W. Bush of the Holy Bible's promise of God to the Jewish People that the Land of Israel is the patrimony of the Jewish People. It is Eretz-Yisrael and not Ertetz-Yishmael.

But Tzvi told me that while he is delighted that his sign was seen by hundreds of thousands, he himself was detained by the police and as of this moment is still in detention.

May he be released soon.

Update: Arutz 7 has a video of Fishman getting arrested.

Fishman's Folly

Tzvi Fishman seems to be stuck sometime in the 1970's, when ethnic humor a la "All in the Family" and "Sanford and Son", was acceptable. I guess that's why he thought he could get away with this:



Apparently he changed the caption to mollify angry readers as he published in comment number 29:29.

Apology and Retraction
Tzvi Fishman, Yerushalayim (21/11/07)
I apologize to anyone I offended with my first photo caption and have replaced it with a substitute. I hope you all like it.

Here's the new caption:

Rav Kahane Yahrzeit

Yesterday was Rav Meir Kahane's yahrzeit. Last night the annual memorial was held in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there. You can see some pics from the gathering here.

Tzvi Fishman observed the yahrzeit by posting a condensed version of one of Kahane's essays. One part of the essay caught my attention:

The average Jew is sublimely ignorant, comfortably materialistic, stupendously blind, a man utterly lacking in understanding and faith. The practitioner of ritual, the ostensibly “religious Jew,” defies the injunction to live in the Land of Israel and embraces the pagan and unholy earth of Exile.

Hmmmm.

BTW, Fishman also has a real schlager of a Halloween post.

Simon and Garfunkel: Breslevers at Heart or Prophets of Assimilation?

Not to long ago I linked to a post by Tzvi Fishman entitled "Prophets of Assimilation" where he disses Simon and Garfunkel:

The reunion engagement of Simon and Garfunkel, 2 lost brothers who sold their souls to the goddess of American success, reminded me of one of my short stories...

Then in the story the protagonist tells us:

At 34th Street, posters of Simon and Garfunkel were plastered all over Penn Station. In another week, they would appear at the Garden for a historic reunion. Sure, they had married shicksas, but man could they sing!

Today I see that Lazer Brody has only good things to say about the musicians:

Two good Jewish boys, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, are really Breslevers at heart, even though they don't yet know it. Such a beautiful melody could only come from the upper portals. I've often sailed through an hour or more of personal prayer, talking and singing to Hashem with this niggun.

Lazer even includes a clip from a Simon and Garfunkel concert in his post.

I am wondering if Lazer Brody is aware to the depths of Tum'ah that Simon and Garfunkel have fallen. Can one oppose the "shame parade" and sing the praises of these assimilated singers at the same time? Is this what Rabbi Brody calls "shmirat habrit"? I personally don't think that Torah Jews should look to ride the backs of Jewish celebrities that have turned their backs on the Jewish people.

Unfair Characterization Of American Jewry

Here:

The even better news is that they are shortening their trip and returning to Eretz Yisrael after only five days because my daughter says that the people there only talk about money and she feels bored. She also complains that the fruit has no taste, she is afraid to find insects in the salad, the buildings remind her of pictures of Rome, there are churches wherever you look, and Orthodox women walk around in public without covering their hair, as if they were single girls.

I think that Fishman went a little too far this time.

I Wish That I Could Write Like This!

Click.

Fishman Takes On Simon And Garfunkel

Read Prophets of Assimilation.

THE SECRET OF TZVI FISHMAN - Exclusive INN Interview

I really enjoyed this.

Tzvi Fishman On The Modern Orthodox

From his post Oscar Who?:

In honor of the occasion, I am posting an article that I wrote for IsraelNN a few months ago regarding the evils of movies. If you want to save your souls, don’t watch the Oscars tonight. If you want to be a holy Jew, you have to work on it. You can’t have the best of both worlds, as the Modern Orthodox like to believe. Holiness and impurity don’t go together. All of those actresses may look lovely in their sparkling, low-cut gowns, but is it worth it to frizzle your brain? When you pollute your eyes with things you shouldn’t see, the soul which sits in your brain is polluted as well. When that happens, your spiritual radar is smashed, and for example, the Land of Israel, becomes just a nice place to visit, like a Disneyland for Jews, and you think you can be just as serious a Jew in Beverly Hills, or Monsey.

So take it from someone who’s been there. Don’t watch the Oscars. Don’t watch movies at all. Do your brain a favor and study Torah instead.

I think he has a good point!

Torah, Kabbalah, And Sex

That is my copy of Tzvi Fishman's lastest book, Secret of the Brit: Torah, Kabbalah, and Sex. The book is available at Tzvi's web site, http://www.jewishsexuality.com/. Tzvi is also a publishes articles regularly at the Arutz 7 web site. (Full disclosure: He is also a friend of mine.)