COVID-19 and the Courtyard Minyans

Not long after the COVID-19 pandemic started it became known that the virus spreads quickly when there are a lot of people gathered in a closed space. For those of us who attend synagogue, davening became a potential "superpreading event". In Israel the government has put various limitations on public prayer, sometimes entirely forbidding worship inside buildings. These government regulations were the impetus for the creation of "courtyard minyans".

One can find at least one of these minyans on almost every street in Jerusalem. They may be taking place in the courtyard of a synagogue or an apartment building, in a parking lot, on a dead end street, or even on the median dividing a boulevard. Special canopies, tents, plastic "keter" chairs, and tables, in places where you would not expect to see them, were all signs that here is a courtyard minayn.

An interesting byproduct of these minyans was the creation of new congregations, based on geographical location more than on the religious rite or the style of the congregants. Asheknazim, Sefardim, Hasidim, National-religious Jews, each of which would usually prefer to daven in their own synagogues, were now davening together. Not that we needed any proof, but this once again showed that we really are one.

Now that the rainy season has begun, it will be interesting to see what will happen to these minyans.

WHY WE SHOULD STOP PRAYING: Opening the power line to the Divine

Interesting:

Worth Seeing in Eilat

I've written in the past that slowly but surely a Teshuvah Revolution is taking place here in Israel. And it seems like the revolution has not passed over Eilat, Israel's southernmost city.

I was there recently for a short vacation. The hotel that I was staying in did not have a minyan, so early in the morning I set out equipped with my talit, tefilin and siddur to search for one. I saw another Jew similarly equipped walking down the street and I asked him if he knew where I could find a minyan. He told me that he was on the way to the Queen of Sheba Hotel, and that I should come with him.

Now, usually the synagogues in hotels are a located underground in a dimly lit and poorly furnished room. So I was pleasantly surprised to see this spectacular synagogue on the second floor of the hotel:

Rumor has it that wealthy French Jews who frequent the hotel donated the money to make such a beautiful place for worship. Blessed be they that know how to use the wealth that God gave them.

So if you are in Eilat, along with the other wonderful things to do and see, don't miss the Queen of Sheba Hotel synagogue.

Contributing to the War Effort

How can you contribute to Israel's war against the Hamas, if you are not a soldier?

1) Pray - every prayer counts.

2) Take upon yourself to learn more Torah and perform more mitzvot.

3) Donate blood. The soldiers and the nation need it. I gave blood today.

4) Be an internet warrior. Counter the anti-Israel propganda spread by Arabs and other Jew-haters on the internet. Here are some sites that can help you:

Israel Defense Forces

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Naftali Bennett

Honest Reporting

And of course there are many good blogs. Two which I find especially useful are The Elder of Zion and Israellycool.

Ishmaelite Savagery

I was so sorry to hear that the three kidnapped boys, Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrah, were found dead 3 kilometers from Halhul:

Eyal Yifrah 19, from Elad; Gilad Sha'ar, 16, from Talmon; and Naftali Frenkel, also 16, from Nof Ayalon, went missing on June 12th, and officials soon identified Hamas as the culprits. Their bodies were found near between the Arab village of Halhul and the Jewish village of Carmei Tzur, near the city of Hevron, where the search operation for them - dubbed Operation Brother's Keeper - had been focused.

The bodies were apparently found together, bound and buried in a shallow grave in a field at approximately 5 p.m. The families of the boys have been informed of their tragic loss.

My heart goes out to their families. May they be comforted from Heaven.

Since the kidnapping the nation has been united in prayer for the safe return of the boys. In almost every prayer in the various synagogues that I have attended, special psalms were said after the regular prayer service for the boys. Unfortunately the prayers were not answered. I should have known that something happened when tonight, after ma'ariv, no psalms were said. It was only afterwards I received a phone call informing me of the bad news.

We do not know why this had to happen. I will not attempt to be God's bookkeeper.

What I do know that this is another manifistation of Ishmaelite savagery. Animals!

The nation of Israel will continue to build and be built, despite the acts of Arab terrorists and their Jew-hating supporters.

"He will swallow up death for ever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of His people will He take away from off all the earth; for the LORD hath spoken it." - Isaiah 25

Mother of Kidnapped Teen: Please Pray

This is Howard Cosell from the Kosel

Not really, just some pics from shacharit this morning:

I love the caper bush in bloom:

Free advert for Tova Embroidery:

Good Shabbos, Shabbat Shalom, have a good Sabbath!

Shmuel Shkedi Suffers Stroke

Please pray for Shmuel Yirmiyahu ben Breyna:

Jerusalem city council member Shmuel Shkedi, who is in his 60s and heads the nationalist United Jerusalem faction, suffered a stroke on Thursday at his Jerusalem home.

He was taken by Magen David Adom paramedics to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, and from there was transferred to the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer where Srugim reports he underwent an intracranial catheterization.

Srugim further notes that Shkedi's condition is still defined as critical, and that at this stage it is still unknown if Shkedi will be able to return to his role on the city council.

It is Good to Give Thanks to the Lord

MK Avigdor Lieberman after his acquittal:

:

This sums up the situation:

Lieberman has been a target of investigation by the State Attorney's Office for about 17 years, causing many to see him as a victim of political persecution by the state's legal system. Suspicions against him have come and gone, he has been questioned by police, and so have his relatives – but nothing "stuck" until last year, when charges were finally filed in the matter of Ben Aryeh.

One of the witnesses who testified against Lieberman was his former deputy, Danny Ayalon. Ayalon told the court that Lieberman had expressed preference for Ben Aryeh when the tender for ambassador was issued. This alleged fact, combined with Ben Aryeh's admission that he had leaked information about another investigation to Lieberman, were enough for the State Attorney to charge Lieberman with criminal behavior.

The judges found "problems" with Ayalon's testimony, which was given after Lieberman fired him as deputy minister.

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.

Gilad Shalit Blesses "HaGomel"

[source]

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.' "

Peisach 5772 - Old City of Jerusalem

Here are some sights and sounds from Jerusalem. Be sure to click on the pics for an enlargement.

This is what I saw in front of the Jaffa Gate:

For those of you who cannot read Hebrew the sign says, "Jews Eat Matzah During Passover". The guy was distributing Matzah for free to anyone who asked, and there were many takers. Kol HaKavod!

I saw this nice mural in the Cardo:

Mincha under Wilson's Arch:

Directing traffic near the Kotel:

The klezmer sitar player with the white clothes and face painted white attracted a lot of attention:

Hear him in action:

Fasting and Praying For Rain

Tomorrow, I will, (without making a vow), fast for the first time on a day that I am not absolutely required to fast on. The drought here in Israel is very serious, and the Chief Rabbis have called for prayer and repentance:

In light of the continuing drought in Israel, Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yonah Metzger have declared Monday as a second day of prayer and repentance, in which Israelis will be asked to fast and hold special prayers for rain. The Chief Rabbis called on everyone who is able to fast on Monday. Individuals who plan to fast should accept the fast upon themselves when praying Mincha on Sunday. The fast will begin at dawn Monday, and end at sunset.

The Chief Rabbis will participate in special prayers at the Kotel on Monday afternoon at 3:30 PM, and they called on those unable to get to the Kotel to hold prayers of repentance in their local synagogues. A similar day of fasting and prayer was held several weeks ago.

Secular Jews are also joining in:

The Head of the Regional Council Center, Shmulik Rifman, a member of secular-socialist kibbutz Revivim, called upon residents of all regional authorities to take part in the prayers and ask for rain.

May God answer our prayers with a lot of the wet stuff!

Two Hours To Go Until Selichot

26th Elul 5770

Selichot start tonight!

It's time to link to one of my favorite posts, original posted here and later on at Beyond BT.

I've Got That Selichot Feeling

Two weeks of selichot and I've got that selichot feeling...kind of dazed from not getting enough sleep. But it's worth it!

It's time to link to one of my favorite posts, original posted here and later on at Beyond BT.

Our Prayers are With RivkA bat Tirzel

Please read.

Please Pray For IDF Officer Aharon Karov

From INN:

IDF officer Aharon Karov was critically wounded Monday night in Gaza by a blast from a booby trap. Karov was married only a week and a half ago to Tzvia Mordechai, and the morning after his wedding, he was off to war.

Aharon, who is from the Samaria community of Karnei Shomron, is a second lieutenant in the Paratroopers Brigade. He commanded a company in ground fighting in North Gaza until being injured. Before joining the army, Aharon studied in a yeshiva (school for religious study) in Netzarim, one of the Jewish communities destroyed in the 2005 Israeli Disengagement from Gaza.

Aharon's family has asked that the public pray for his recovery. His Hebrew name is Aharon Yehoshua Ben Chaya Shoshanna.

Two and a half weeks ago, before Operation Cast Lead began, Aharon received leave from his unit to attend the traditional Sabbath celebration before his wedding. On the morning of that Saturday, the air force began bombing Gaza. Aharon had just finished the Sabbath prayers and sat down to eat lunch when his commanders decided to call him back to base in case a ground offensive in Gaza began.

The following week, Aharon was in the army preparing for the ground offensive set to begin any moment. On Tuesday evening his commanders decided to allow him to go home to prepare for his wedding on Thursday night. Aharon and Tzvia were married as planned, but the next morning the IDF already called Aharon back to base. By Saturday evening the army had begun its ground offensive, and with them, Aharon Karov in command of his Paratrooper company.

On Monday night, Aharon was wounded critically and two other soldiers moderately from a blast within a booby trapped home in Northern Gaza. Searches of the home after the blast uncovered another explosive device and a Hamas military vest.

Aharon's father, Rabbi Zev Karov, explained how a newly married groom could make such a sacrifice. "According to Jewish law, in a war of self defense even a newly married groom must fight," he explained. "More than that, [Aharon] is a commander who knows his soldiers, has prepared them, and knows what must be done. He couldn't just leave them on their own." Karov added that, "The bride was at first shocked, but then she understood that sometimes personal interests must be second to the common good."

What is really strange about this is the article that Rabbi Zev Karov published in last Shabbat's issue of Rosh Yehudi. Here's a scan of the article:



Update: You can see a press conference with Rabbi Zev Karov here.

Update: Here's the video in English.

A Quickie

1) Check out HH #199

2) Please pray for our soldiers. Today after Mincha where I work (a fairly large minyan of about 30 people) we read the entire book of Psalms (about 5 chapters for each guy).

3) I wish that I had some more time to write. Be well y'all!

Hebron

20 Tishrei, 5769 (5th day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot)

Last Thursday we were in Hebron. I parked my car in Kiryat Arba and we walked to the Cave of the Patriarchs. On the way from Kiryat Arba to Hebron we passed "Beit Hashalom" (the house of peace):

After about a fifteen minute walk, we finally make it to the Cave of the Patriarchs (me'arat hamachpeilah):



We davenned Minchah inside. Saying the first blessing of the silent prayer, Avot, when you are standing so close to where they are buried brought tears to my eyes.

Sinai Tor among other musicians played outside of the Cave. For me the music was way to loud!



It was great to be in Hebron. I hope to visit there more often.