A new mehadrin, super-kosher kashrut authority was launched this week from Safed, targeting the national-religious community.
The more discerning members of the crocheted kippa-wearing public will be now able to purchase fresh poultry slaughtered under the auspices of the Badatz Orot Eliyahu authority.
Badatz Orot Eliyahu is the brainchild of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, chief rabbi of Safed, and Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg, dean of the Orot Ha’ari yeshiva in Safed.
The birds will be slaughtered in accordance with the rulings of former Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, father of Shmuel, after whom the new authority is named. The nationalreligious Badatz stamp will apply to beef in the coming months.
I saw something interesting today in SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas' dissenting opinion on the OBERGEFELL v. HODGES case. This is what he wrote:
Perhaps recognizing that these cases do not actually
involve liberty as it has been understood, the majority
goes to great lengths to assert that its decision will advance
the “dignity” of same-sex couples.The flaw in that reasoning, of course, is that the
Constitution contains no “dignity” Clause, and even if it
did, the government would be incapable of bestowing
dignity.
Human dignity has long been understood in this country
to be innate. When the Framers proclaimed in the Declaration
of Independence that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights,” they referred to a vision of mankind in which all
humans are created in the image of God and therefore of
inherent worth. That vision is the foundation upon which
this Nation was built.
The corollary of that principle is that human dignity
cannot be taken away by the government. Slaves did not
lose their dignity (any more than they lost their humanity)
because the government allowed them to be enslaved.
Those held in internment camps did not lose their dignity
because the government confined them. And those denied
governmental benefits certainly do not lose their dignity
because the government denies them those benefits. The
government cannot bestow dignity, and it cannot take it
away.
The difference between a slave and a free person is not merely a matter of social position. We can find an enlightened slave whose spirit is free, and a free man with the mentality of a slave.
True freedom is that uplifted spirit by which the individual — as well as the nation as a whole — is inspired to remain faithful to his inner essence, to the spiritual attribute of the Divine image within him. It is that quality which enables us to feel that our life has value and meaning.
A person with a slave mentality lives his life and harbors emotions that are rooted, not in his own essential spiritual nature, but in that which is attractive and good in the eyes of others. In this way, he is ruled by others, whether physically or by social conventions.
Vanquished in exile, we were oppressed for hundreds of years by cruel masters. But our inner soul is imbued with the spirit of freedom. Were it not for the wondrous gift of the Torah, bestowed upon us when we left Egypt to eternal freedom, the long exile would have reduced our spirits to the mindset of a slave. But on the festival of freedom, we openly demonstrate that we feel ourselves to be free in our very essence. Our lofty yearnings for that which is good and holy are a genuine reflection of our essential nature.
Do you think that Justice Thomas is familiar with Rabbi Kook's writings?
I really do think that the time has arrived. Actually, the minute that it was possible to get on a plane or a boat and come to Israel, almost every Jew that puts spirituality before materialism should have gotten up and left. But in light of the decision of the SCOTUS regarding so called "marriage equality" a decision which flies in the face of the Seven Noahide Laws, all 50 states are obligated to tolerate and facilitate this abomination. Even though the gentiles have not been diligent in keeping the Noahide Statutes (see Bava Kama 38A), this decision, as I wrote, is particularly anti-Noahide and as such anti-God.
Now that evil rules from sea to shining sea (along with Hawaii and Alaska), it is worthwhile reviewing the words of our great master and teacher, Maimonides:
It is natural for a man's character and actions to be influenced by his friends and associates and for him to follow the local norms of behavior. Therefore, he should associate with the righteous and be constantly in the company of the wise, so as to learn from their deeds. Conversely, he should keep away from the wicked who walk in darkness, so as not to learn from their deeds.
This is [implied by] Solomon's statement (Proverbs 13:20): "He who walks with the wise will become wise, while one who associates with fools will suffer." Similarly, [Psalms 1:1] states: "Happy is the man who has not followed the advice of the wicked."
A person who lives in a place where the norms of behavior are evil and the inhabitants do not follow the straight path should move to a place where the people are righteous and follow the ways of the good.
If all the places with which he is familiar and of which he hears reports follow improper paths, as in our times, or if he is unable to move to a place where the patterns of behavior are proper, because of [the presence of] bands of raiding troops, or for health reasons, he should remain alone in seclusion as [Eichah 3:28] states: "Let him sit alone and be silent."
If they are wicked and sinful and do not allow him to reside there unless he mingle with them and follow their evil behavior, he should go out to caves, thickets, and deserts [rather than] follow the paths of sinners as [Jeremiah 9:1] states: "Who will give me a lodging place for wayfarers, in the desert."
There are many righteous gentiles in the United States who deplore this decision. My heart is with them, and I hope that they will be able to remove this blight from their nation. As for those Jews that are still loyal to God's Torah, I ask, what more has to happen to make them abandon the fleshpots? As for those Jews of the SCOTUS that contributed to this scandalous decision, I bring a verse from the prophet Malachi,
"For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall set them ablaze, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
In order to end on a good note, here is the continuation of that prophecy:
"But unto you that fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I do make, saith the LORD of hosts."
Most of this week's Torah portion deals with the "sin of the spies". It's been almost ten years since the expulsion from Gush Katif. In my mind, the expulsion was in many ways a repetition of that ancient sin, a sin which our sages view as being the seed of the destruction of the Temples and the exiles that we the Jews as a nation have suffered. I believe in the power of Teshuvah, that it is possible to learn from mistakes and that by doing so, we can make ammends for the bad deeds that were perpetrated. Of course, the first step is realizing that a mistake was made!
Here are some thoughts on the upcoming holiday of Shavuot that I heard/learned from others:
Tonight is the night that we will complete the counting of the Omer. But it is not enough to count the Omer. You have to make the Omer count! The period between Peisach and Shavuot is a time that one should prepare himself to receive the Torah.
The Torah that we learn, the Mitzvot that we perform, and the acts of loving kindness that we do are like glue that help us to cling to the Creator. If you want to glue two surfaces together, you have to make sure that they are clean before you apply the glue. Dirt will prevent the glue from sticking. Similarly, if we want to cling to God, we have to clean ourselves from transgression.
Humility is also a precondtion to receive the Torah. The Torah is compared to water. Just like water always flows to lower places, the Torah is acquired only by those who are humble.
This is a good thing to remember today, the 48th anniversary of the liberation of East Jerusalem and the reunification of our holy city. Things are happening here, but one needs to be sensitive to notice. Here is an example:
This a picture I took not too long ago of the Romema neighborhood near the western entrance to Jerusalem. Do you see what I see? Two new apartment buildings being built where previously smaller structures previously existed, if my memory is correct. Jerusalem's population continues to grow. The old vessels are simply too small to contain the blessing! Bigger ones are being built all over. Little by little the redemption is taking place before our eyes. But to see it, your eyes have to be open.
Recently I came accross the following article by a fellow who goes by the name of David Suissa:
With the Celebrate Israel Festival coming up this Sunday at Rancho Park, I thought it’d be an ideal time to write a love letter expressing my unabashed and unconditional attachment to Israel. But as much as I’d still like to do that, that column will have to wait for another week, because right now my mind is too upset about something that happened recently in the holy land.
It’s a little story that barely made the news, but it speaks to a growing cancer inside the Jewish state, the cancer of religious intolerance.
I smell somebody with an axe to grind! The article continues:
It was brought to my attention two weeks ago when I had lunch with Yitzhar Hess, who runs the Masorti (Conservative) movement in Israel.
In a nutshell, this is what happened: A Charedi mayor of an Israeli town decided to cancel a planned bar mitzvah ceremony for four boys with autism because the ceremony would be taking place in a Conservative, rather than an Orthodox, synagogue.
This special program for boys and girls was launched about 20 years ago by the Masorti movement, and it was introduced last year to the Lotem School in Rehovot, a school run by the municipality that accepts special-needs children from all religious backgrounds. Masorti trains the kids for months in preparation for the big day when they are called to the Torah.
Most of the kids trained in the program have severe autism, so the program developed creative ways to help them recite blessings, such as by pressing buttons on a tablet that plays a recording of the individual blessings. Needless to say, being able to have such a ceremony is an incredibly moving experience for the kids and their families.
But in Rehovot this year, just days before the ceremony was scheduled to take place, the mayor, Rahamim Malul, cancelled it by prohibiting the staff at the school from participating in the event. According to Hess, it was a chain reaction that began when a Charedi mother at the school (who did not have a child in the Bar-Bat Mitzvah program) complained to the Charedi head rabbi of Rehovot (Rabbi Simcha Hakohen Kook) who called Charedi MK Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) who then called Malul.
Read the rest. As is typical with such agenda driven dribble, the author does not bother to present the other side of the story. Why bother seeking the other side of the story when the author is obviously interested in presenting the event as an example of the "growing cancer inside the Jewish state, the cancer of religious intolerance"?
Through the wonders of Google I was able to find the other side of the story (in Hebrew). It turns out, according to the Rehovot Municipality, that we are dealing with a case of anti-religious coercion.
The school in question provides education to children with special needs from Rehovot and its surroundings. The students in the school in question come from secular, religious, and ultra-Orthodox homes. There were parents that objected to this "Bar Mitzvah" ceremony taking place in a non-Orthodox synagogue, as this would prevent their children from participating. A meeting was held where it was agreed to by all the parties involved, including the parents and representatives of the Conservative Movement, that the ceremony would take place in a synagogue that is located inside one of the city's schools. The CEO of the Conservative Movement in Israel rejected the compromise that was reached.
That's the story in a nutshell. If there is a party-pooper here, it is the CEO of the Conservative Movement in Israel. Chazak Uvaruch to Rahamim Malul, the mayor of Rehovot, and to the parents to standing up to such coercion.
As an aside, it's no secret that the Conservative Movement is imploding in the United States. They are not having too much success here in Israel either, and that's an understatement.
An additional aside: Apparently the rabbi of the Conservative synagogue where the ceremony was supposed to take place is openly gay.
This case is a typical example of why one should here both sides of the story before forming an opinion.
מעניין: רבי שמואל אלכסנדר אונסדורפר בביקור אצל הרבי מליובאוויטש בתקופת מלחמת המפרץ - י"ב בשבט תשנ"א. שיחה שאל את הרבי, היות שבתור רב באים לשאלו אם לנסוע מארץ ישראל ולארץ ישראל, מה עליו להשיב. הרבי הגיב כי יועיל כלום מה שיאמר לו הרבי מה לעשות כיון שדרוש שיענה תשובה רב מארץ ישראל, והוא - הרבי, אינו רב ולא מארץ ישראל. אם כן - סיים הרבי - עליך ללמוד הענינים בשולחן ערוך, והרי הדברים פשוטים, שאלו הדרים בארץ ישראל ודאי חל עליהם איסור לנסוע מארץ ישראל, ואפילו אלו שגרים כאן ופרסמו שהולכים לנסוע לשם, אם כן ביטול הנסיעה על ידי הפרסום שנלווה לזה הוא ודאי ענין שנגד השולחן ערוך.
My keyboard cannot possibly express how grateful I am to God for the State of Israel. King David said it best:
A Song of Ascents.
When the LORD brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing;
then said they among the nations: 'The LORD hath done great things with these.'
The LORD hath done great things with us; we are rejoiced.
Turn our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the dry land.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Though he goeth on his way weeping that beareth the measure of seed,
he shall come home with joy, bearing his sheaves.
A Song of Ascents. Israel is ascending! In spite of all of the difficulties, the nation is advancing materially and spiritually.
When the LORD brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream. Is this not a dream, that after almost 2000 years of exile we have been gathered from the four corners of the earth? Is it not a dream that the Hebrew language, which was more or less dormant, has come to life? Is it not a dream, that the land which was desolate is now blooming?
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing; We are happy indeed, however this verse will be actualized to its fullest extent only when the Temple is rebuilt.
then said they among the nations: 'The LORD hath done great things with these. The righteous among the gentiles recognize the great things that have happened, in some cases even before we see it ourselves. They rejoice with us. The wicked among them are also conscious of what is happening, and therefore they oppose us in every imaginable way.
The LORD hath done great things with us; we are rejoiced. Woe to those among us who do not see the hand of God in the establishment of the state of Israel. Woe to the ingrates! "The upright see it, and are glad; and all iniquity stoppeth her mouth(Psalms 107)."
Turn our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the dry land.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Yes, we sow in tears. The land is acquired through affliction. However, in spite of all the sorrow, it is worth it.
Though he goeth on his way weeping that beareth the measure of seed,
he shall come home with joy, bearing his sheaves.
Just as the farmer who plants will enjoy the fruits of his labor, so it is with the land of Israel. Those that labor to build and protect it will enjoy its spiritual benefits in this world and in the world to come.
The funeral of Shalom Yohai Sherki, the 25-year-old murdered in what police say was likely a car terror attack on Wednesday night, was held in the Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem on Thursday, the same day as Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Sherki, the son of prominent religious-Zionist Rabbi Uri Sherki, was murdered when an Arab driver ran over him and his date Shira Klein as they waited at a bus stop in the French Hill neighborhood. Klein is in serious condition herself, and the public is asked to pray for her recovery.
At the funeral at Har Hamenuchot cemetary, Sherki's father said: "for you my dear son it isn't difficult because your noble soul is ascending directly to the King of Peace. Not only did you merit to be among those killed for (G-d's) Kingdom, but in your death you also saved the life of the woman who stood by your side. You had an exalted soul."
I attended the funeral, along with, I estimate, a few thousand others. My condolences go out to the entire family. I have been privileged to hear many Torah lessons from Rabbi Uri Sherki, Shalom's father. May the Rabbi, his family, and the entire nation find comfort in the building of Zion.
The 27 year-old man who was trampled during the funeral Saturday night for Rabbi Shmuel Halevi Wosner has been identified Sunday as yeshiva (Torah academy) student Mordehai Gerber.
Gerber was one of 12 people injured early Sunday morning during the funeral, as some 100,000 people flocked to the ceremony to pay their respects in Bnei Brak.
Magen David Adom (MDA) medics rushed to the scene of the trampling on R' Dessler St. at about 1:30 am, where they described a grisly scene. Four people were seriously injured, including a 14 year-old boy.
Gerber died of his wounds at Tel Aviv's Ichilov hospital after suffering chest and abdominal injuries.
A resident of Elad, Gerber leaves behind a wife and child.
He himself was orphaned at a young age, and R' Wosner assisted him and supported him.
These funerals can be dangerous. Read about my "near death" experiences at the funerals of Rabbi Kaduri and Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef.
What seemed to be a lackluster election turned into an event that people are going to remember here for a long time. Netanyahu's victory, in spite of an incredibly hostile Israeli press and foreign intervention, was indeed remarkable.
As has widely been noted, this victory was at the expense of other right wing parties, particularly the Jewish Home party, which plummeted from 12 seats in the 19th Knesset to just 8 in the 20th. What has not been noted, is something much more important than the number of seats that a certain party holds. Bibi Netanyahu has adopted an important part of the Jewish Home platform, a very non-pc item which was unique only to the Jewish Home: an absolute "no" to an independent Arab State between the Jordan River and the Mediteranean Sea, what us known today as " a Palestinian State."
Indeed, much has changed since Netanyahu's speech at Bar Ilan University where he accepted the "two state solution." Netanyahu the pragmatist realizes that with militant Islam on the march and general instability here in the Middle East, combined with our sad experiences with the PA over the last 20 years, setting up a PA state would be an absolute folly.
There is no doubt in my mind that Naftali Bennett, by bravely stating his opposition to a Palestinian State for the past couple of years, in Israel and in television interviews abroad, paved the way for Netanyahu's change of heart. So in spite of the loss of Knessett seats, Bennett has chalked up a victory.
There are only a few days left. We've been flooded with polls, text messages, surveys and opinion pieces. Soon it will all be over. Then the agonizing process of building a coaltion and government. Let's hope that it will be a good one.
And now for some exclusive Cosmic X pics! (Click to enlarge)
Yachad headquarters in Giv'at Shaul with piles of the first issue of their newspaper, "HaNe'eman".
A defaced Shas poster. The sign read, "Father is looking from above". Someone changed it to, "The army is looking from above."
The defacers couldn't touch this one!
A few older pics:
The Zionist Camp: Herzog is a responsible, deliberate leader.
ICYMI: There was a very interesting article on Arutz 7 by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed entitled, Homosexuality: The Malady of Our Generation. I recommend reading the entire article. The article's closing paragraphs caught my attention in particular:
We must accept the commandments of the Torah, which determined that homosexual intercourse is strictly forbidden, and when we can, we must try to dissuade those who transgress this sin. Nonetheless, we must love even someone who fails to overcome his yetzer, and realize there is great value in every mitzvah he fulfills. And as long as he does not flaunt his homosexual inclination and is not defiant, we must bring him closer to the religious community, so he can become stronger in Torah and mitzvoth in whatever way he can.
And, as is well-known, the value of Evil is limited, whereas the value of Good is endless. Correspondingly, the severity of sins is limited, whereas the value of mitzvoth is endless. Therefore, even one who falters in transgressions, merits life in the World to Come thanks to his mitzvoth and good deeds.
Unfortunately, those suffering from this terrible malady have become ever increasingly flaunting and defiant. For some reason, they like to stalk the Facebook pages of Jewish Home candidates for the Knesset. If this continues, we'll soon see scenes like this:
The cartoon reads, "Did we hear you reading here anti-liberal content?"
With less than a month to go before the elections, the national religious public is divided. An example of this can be seen in two different lists of national religious rabbis: those that support the Jewish Home Party, and those that support the "Together - The Nation is With Us" party.
Traditional Shas supporters are also divided between Shas and Rabbi Mazuz's "Together - The Nation is With Us" party.
Among the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox, the "Jerusalem faction" is threatening to boycott the elections, which could cost Agudat Yisrael a seat.
There is very few signs of excitement about the upcoming elections on the street. Although there is a lot of activity on the internet, there are very few signs hanging from the balconies. It could be that people are not interested in being associated with the current divides in the community. Alternatively, it could be that people just don't have the time or strength to invest in this election, which is coming just two years after the previous one.
The quote of the day was uttered by Bezalel Smotrich, number 8 on the Jewish Home list IDF Radio reports:
It is permissable for anybody to decide that he does not want to live a normal life, it is his full right. It is not his right, just because he does not feel comfortable to be abnormal, to demand from us all to undermine the concept of norm and to say there is no such thing as normal already...Every person in his home is allowed to be abnormal and to establish any kind of family unit that he wants. He cannot demand (recognition) from me as a state, and this is where it starts. He feels uncomfortable to be an exception, it is not fun."
Upon hearing these things someone in the crowd shouted, "You dark homophobe, my brother is not an animal, my friends are not animals." Smotrich replied, "I'm a proud homophobe!"
Adelle Biton, the four-year-old terror victim who two years ago miraculously survived a rock attack which left her with severe neurological damage, passed away on Tuesday after her condition deteriorated rapidly from a bout of pneumonia.
She was admitted earlier this week to Schneider Children's Hospital in Petah Tikva for treatment, and on Tuesday it was revealed that she had been put in intensive care.
"With great sorrow we report the death of Adelle Biton who despite the efforts of the doctors passed away roughly an hour ago," stated the hospital on Tuesday. "Our condolences to the family."
Condolences to the Biton family, who sanctified God's name with their unwavering faith:
We have the problem of assimilation. We have the problem of intermarriage. We have the problem that too many generations of Jews don’t realize the importance of our institutions strengthening our community—particularly with the rise of anti-Semitism and global intolerance.
Intermarriage is a problem. Then we have this:
At an annual Jewish community event in my congressional district, I spoke about my personal connection to Judaism and in a larger context about the loss of Jewish identity and the importance of connecting younger generations to the institutions and values that make up our community. I do not oppose intermarriage; in fact, members of my family, including my husband, are a product of it.
So Wasserman-Schultz does not oppose intermarriage, even though it is a problem. Do you see the logic here? I don't.
The real problem here is not whether Debbie Wasserman Schultz opposes intermarriage or does not. The real problem is that most American Jews have no idea what being Jewish is all about. They are unaware of our role in the world, that of being a "kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." They replace our dedication to God and His laws with loyalty to the Democratic Party, its platform and "social issues". And when our real goal is missing, when being Jewish has been stripped of its original and genuine meaning, there really is no reason to be Jewish, to separate yourself from the rest of the world.
The good news is that any Jew who really wants to know what his heritage is all about can find out. The web is full of genuine Jewish web sites. It is all a matter of if one really wants to know.
Who remembers the quote from the title of this post? Here is the context:
1 And Ben-hadad the king of Aram gathered all his host together; and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it. 2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, 3 and said unto him: 'Thus saith Ben-hadad: Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.' 4 And the king of Israel answered and said: 'It is according to thy saying, my lord, O king: I am thine, and all that I have.' 5 And the messengers came again, and said: 'Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying: I sent indeed unto thee, saying: Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; 6 but I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.' 7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said: 'Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief; for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.' 8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him: 'Hearken thou not, neither consent.' 9 Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad: 'Tell my lord the king: All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do; but this thing I may not do.' And the messengers departed, and brought him back word. 10 And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said: 'The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.' 11 And the king of Israel answered and said: 'Tell him: Let not him that girdeth on his armour boast himself as he that putteth it off.'
Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, threatens Ahab the king of Israel, bragging about the multitude of soldiers that he has. Ahab answers him, "Let not him that girdeth on his armour boast himself as he that putteth it off," that is to say, a soldier putting on his battle gear should not boast as one who has already returned victorious from battle. Stop bragging until you do something that you can brag about.
Yitzhak Herzog, who fancies himself as the next Prime Minister of Israel, in an act of utter cluelessness, quotes the verse and then proceeds to brag about how he is going to win the election.
"I plan to defeat Netanyahu, I'll form the next government, and it will be the beast government for Israel," boasted Herzog."
As the rabbis said, "Silence is good for the wise, and all the more so for the foolish!"
If I am correct, the letter is in support of the Kolel which was set up in the house of Rabbi Shlomo Ra'anan zt"l after he was murdered by an Arab in Hebron.
That is a pretty long name for a political party. I must say that I am pleased that this party is up and running together with "Otzmat Yisrael". What does the list look like?
The combined Yachad-Otzma Yehudit list is headed by Eli Yishai, followed by Chetboun, and Michael Ayish, a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) political activist from Safed. In fourth spot is Marzel, while Sasson Trebalsi, a close associate of Mazuz, is at number five. The sixth spot will be taken by national-religious Rabbi Amital Bareli, and seventh by haredi candidate Dudi Shomenfeld.
According to the Srugim web site, soccer legend Eli Ohana has resigned from the Jewish Home list. Ohana wrote to Bennett that he did not expect the controversy that his candidacy would cause.
This is good news for the Jewish Home Party, in that it shows that the rabbis and the regular rank and file still have the ability to influence what happens in the party.
I hope that Bennett learned that although he is the leader, the Jewish Home is not a one man show, and that he still has to take counsel with others before making decisions.
1. Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home chairman)
2. Uri Ariel (Tekuma chairman)
3. Ayelet Shaked
4. Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan
5. Nissan Slomiansky
6. Yinon Magal
7. Uri Orbach
8. Motti Yogev
9. Bezalel Smotrich
10. Shuli Muallem-Refaeli
11. Eli Ohana
12. Nir Orbach
13. Avi Wortzman
14. Dr. Anat Roth
15. Orit Struk
16. Rabbi Avichai Rontzky
17. Ronen Shoval
18. Zevulun Kalfa
19. Avichai Boaron
20. Moshe Salomon
Sorry, but after reading up a little bit about Eli Ohana, it is clear to me that he is not fit to be an MK. I will not elaborate on this. Suffice it to say that this "pick" by Bennett is an insult to all party members. And if Bennett's idea was to add more "mizrahi" Jews to the list, he could have moved Avichai Boaron up to a realistic spot. Perhaps Bennett wants to strengthen Eli Yishai's party.
This lady is a pretty rotten actor. But my real complaint is with the journalists who are partners to this fraud:
In the latest incident of “Pallywood”, an elderly Arab woman who was evacuated by IDF troops from a business in Hevron for security reasons, put on a show for extreme leftists who filmed the eviction.
The business was evacuated after a firebomb was thrown from it at the homes of Jews in Hevron. The local Arabs, who knew when the troops would arrive to evacuate the business, invited leftist activists and journalists to document the evacuation.
In the video, the elderly woman is seen weeping as her daughter instructs her how to “cry” in front of the cameras. However, as the woman begins to cry, the daughter is seen moving aside and smiling towards the journalists and photographers.
I am happy to say that all my choices made it into the top twenty, with the top six having a realistic chance of being elected according to the polls.
It is interesting to note that in the primaries themselves, barring the elections for the party chairman, the top vote getter was Ayelet Shaked, a secular woman from Tel Aviv. Rabbi Ben-Dahan, who came in second place, could have made it into the list in one of Tekuma's reserved spots. Both candidates were rewarded by the voters for their outstanding work: Shaked in the Knessett and Ben-Dahan in the Religious Affairs Ministry.
1) The Party Chariman (99.99% chance that this will be Naftali Bennett)
2) Reserved for Tekuma (Uri Ariel)
3) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
4) Reserved for a female representative
5) OPEN
6) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
7) OPEN
8) Reserved for a female representative
9) Reserved for Tekuma (Bezalel Smotrich)
10) To be chosen by members of the party's Central Committee
11) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
12) Reserved for a female representative
13) OPEN
14) I am not sure about this: either reserved for Tekuma (Orit Struk) or OPEN
15) I am not sure about this: either reserved for Tekuma (Orit Struk) or OPEN
16) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
17) Reserved for a female representative
18) Reserved for Tekuma (Zevulun Kalfa)
19) OPEN
20) OPEN
Many are asking in the wake of the murder of four Jews by a Muslim terrorist in the Hyper Cacher store in Paris, "Should France's Jews make Aliyah? Should they leave their homes, livelihoods and all that is familiar to them to start anew in their true homeland, the land of Israel?
Of course they should! Just as I wrote a long time ago:
I believe that living in Israel is one of the positive precepts of the Torah, and as such I believe that every Jew should make his home here.
Even one who makes aliyah while single has to do it with the knowledge that Eretz Yisrael, along with Torah and Olam Habah is one of the things that is acquired al yedei yisurim. While I strongly encourage aliyah, it has to be done wisely. A person should know what he is getting into and be prepared for the challenges that face him.
Now that the ground is burning under their feet, they should get on the first El Al flight before they get burned, God forbid! Israël est la patrie de tous les Juifs!
I cannot say that I know enough about all of the candidates to claim that I can really make an informed choice. With my limited knowledge, these are my choices, in the meantime.
You only get to pics seven candidates. The top three get two points, and the remaining four get one point each. Here is my list:
1) Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan
2) Moti Yogev
3) Nissan Slomiansky
I have favored current Knesset members, who have already gone through the Knesset "boot camp" and know how to do the job. I have also left out some worthy candidates who are popular and are going to get elected anyway, as well as people who will receive "reserved" spots.
It will be interesting to see how many of my picks receive a realistic spot on the list.
The primaries will take place on the 23rd of Tevet (the 14th of January) from 3:00 PM until 10:00 PM. Some of the polling stations will be open at 10:00 AM.
How much will my vote count. Not as much as I would like, as much of the list has already been determined. This is the way the list will be formed.
1) The Party Chariman (99.99% chance that this will be Naftali Bennett)
2) Reserved for Tekuma (Uri Ariel)
3) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
4) Reserved for a female representative
5) OPEN
6) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
7) OPEN
8) Reserved for a female representative
9) Reserved for Tekuma
10) To be chosen by members of the party's Central Committee
11) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
12) Reserved for a female representative
13) OPEN
14) Reserved for Tekuma
15) Reserved for Tekuma
16) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
17) Reserved for a female representative
18) Reserved for Tekuma
19) OPEN
20) OPEN
Note: In the top 15 spots there are only three open slots. I guess you can't expect too much for 39 NIS!
According to Stephen Sackur's warped logic, the Charlie Hebdo magazine staff are responsible for the murderous attack at their offices. Yehudah Glick puts him in his place. See it at 20:30
Interviewed today on the “Galei Yisrael” radio station, Feiglin was asked if he might be interested in running as a candidate in one of the existing faith-based parties that are loyal to the land and heritage of Israel. He replied that he wasn’t interested, that what is important is not the party, rather its vision, and therefore he plans to form his own party.
One has to wonder what he is talking about and why. For nearly twenty years, Feiglin has been endlessly promoting the concept of influencing the political process from within the ruling party, the Likud. Often denouncing the smaller sectarian/nationalistic parties, he boldly proclaimed that he would achieve his national-religious objectives and achieve leadership within the Likud. Not satisfied with simply becoming a member of Knesset and increasing the national-religious membership in a party that was not religious at its ideological core, Feiglin inexplicably declared that he would eventually become the leader of the Likud, and he ran several expensive, but failed campaigns to achieve that objective.
To now establish a new political party and to say that “this is a continuation of the mission” sounds disingenuous and even hypocritical. In the above interview, Feiglin even disparaged those who told him that starting a new political party would split the national-religious vote, even though this is in fact what it would do.
The tragic irony is that the great champion of the “big party system” has taken a 180-degree turn, as a result of his personal failure to get reelected. To his credit, Feiglin’s policy goals have always been serious and consistent, and he has proven himself effective at explaining and getting publicity for those views, but his grand political strategy to change and take over the Likud from within has been a disaster. Despite a slight rightward shift in the composition of the party over the past few years, the Likud has remained basically the same Likud that talks about the land of Israel, yet freezes Jewish building in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem; that threatens the Palestinian Authority, yet doesn’t follow through on those threats; that starts wars, but doesn’t follow through or allow the IDF to win decisive victories.
I would like to mention that I know of an important rabbi, who also joined the Likud way back when, perhaps even before Moshe Feiglin, who also thought that the only way to really influence Israeli policy was to be a part of the ruling party.
It seems that politics has little room for ideological purists. If you are not ready to compromise on certain matters you will find yourself in the opposition or outside of the Knesset entirely.
Last night I had the great pleasure of hearing the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, speak. A whole lot of people crowded into the livingroom of one of my neighbors to hear the rabbi speak. He had plenty to say, explaining his accomplishments as the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs and the accomplishments of the Jewish Home Party in general. He is definitely going to be one of the people that I will vote for in the primaries.
In an unrelated development, the other day I was in Aminadav, a moshav located west of Jerusalem. The place has a wonderful view of the Judean hills. Click on the pics for an enlargement:
For the first time in a long, long time, I'm a member of a political party. Along with 20,000 others, I coughed up the membership fee (something like 39 NIS) and signed up. The reason for doing so is to try strengthen the religious character of the party. As much as I admire the work of the Jewish Home's secular MK, Ayelet Shaked, and in my opinion she has done a spectacular job, I don't want the successor of the National Religious Party to turn into an immitation of the Likud.
If you ask me, the answer is yes. We should be thrilled that we have an independent Jewish government here in the land of Israel. I know, not everything here is conducted according to Jewish Law. But even in such a situation, we have a reason to be happy. To prove this point, let's take a look at the start of Maimonides' Laws of Chanukah
:In [the era of] the Second Temple, the Greek kingdom issued decrees against the Jewish people, [attempting to] nullify their faith and refusing to allow them to observe the Torah and its commandments. They extended their hands against their property and their daughters; they entered the Sanctuary, wrought havoc within, and made the sacraments impure.
The Jews suffered great difficulties from them, for they oppressed them greatly until the God of our ancestors had mercy upon them, delivered them from their hand, and saved them. The sons of the Hasmoneans, the High Priests, overcame [them], slew them, and saved the Jews from their hand.
They appointed a king from the priests, and sovereignty returned to Israel for more than 200 years, until the destruction of the Second Temple.
Now, this 200 year sovereignty included some not so wonderful regimes, such as that of King Herod.
Still, the Maimonides sees this period as important, and mentions it among the reasons that we are praising and thanking God during these days of Chanukah.
So, let's get back to the upcoming elections. It is a privilige to be here, to live in this generation, to be able to take part in deciding who will govern us. However, and that is a big however, "Happy is the man that hath made the LORD his trust, and hath not turned unto the arrogant, nor unto such as fall away treacherously." Politicians are not always trustworthy, and that's an understatement. Anyone familiar with what politicians say before elections and what they do after they are elected knows this. So get excited, but don't get too excited. In the end you may be sorely disappointed!
A must read! This article explains how the ability to govern was taken out of the hands of the people of Israel and their elected representatives by a handful of lawyers.
And Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her; and he took her, and lay with her, and humbled her. And his soul did cleave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spoke comfortingly unto the damsel. And Shechem spoke unto his father Hamor, saying: 'Get me this damsel to wife.' Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; and his sons were with his cattle in the field; and Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to speak with him. And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought a vile deed in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done. And Hamor spoke with them, saying 'The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter. I pray you give her unto him to wife. And make ye marriages with us; give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. And ye shall dwell with us; and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.' And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren: 'Let me find favour in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me; but give me the damsel to wife.' And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with guile, and spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister, and said unto them: 'We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us. Only on this condition will we consent unto you: if ye will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised; then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.' And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son. And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter. And he was honoured above all the house of his father. And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: 'These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for, behold, the land is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men consent unto us to dwell with us, to become one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. Shall not their cattle and their substance and all their beasts be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.' And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city unawares, and slew all the males. And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went forth. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds and their asses, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; and all their wealth, and all their little ones and their wives, took they captive and spoiled, even all that was in the house.
Jacob, to put it bluntly, was not happy with the way that Shimon and Levi dealt with what happened:
And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: 'Ye have troubled me, to make me odious unto the inhabitants of the land, even unto the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and, I being few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and smite me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.' And they said: 'Should one deal with our sister as with a harlot?'
Jacob scolds his sons, telling them that now the entire family is in danger because of what they did. His sons' answer, 'Should one deal with our sister as with a harlot?', is strange, because it does not seem to deal with the very real concern that Jacob raised!
The Or Hachaim HaKadosh, gives two excellent explanations to what Jacob's sons meant. The first answer is that what Jacob's sons answered their father in the following manner: The Canaanites will not make a big deal about this, for we had a good reason to kill the men of Shechem. After all, they treated our sister like a harlot, and the punishment that we meted out to them was justified.
The second answer is that they answered their father, "On the contrary! We will be in danger if our neighbors see that this guy can do whatever he wants with our sister with impunity!" Since we fought back, they will fear us.
Israel’s march toward early elections set out last week with a political row over a nationality bill. This week it morphed into a clash over proposed housing changes and the state budget.
But Israeli political analysts said the call for elections, 20 months after the current coalition was sworn in, was not about nationality or reduced-cost housing or any other issue of ideology or principle.
Instead, they said, Mr. Netanyahu had simply had enough of his fractious coalition partners and wanted a more manageable government made up of rightist allies and the ultra-Orthodox parties he has long considered his natural partners.
“It is not about this law or that,” said Yehuda Ben Meir, a former politician and a public opinion and national security expert at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. Noting that there was room for compromise on the nationality bill and that Mr. Netanyahu originally voted in favor of the housing bill, he said the prime minister appeared to have used these issues to force a coalition crisis.
There is no question that the current coalition is not exactly what a Prime Minister dreams of. But it is my opinion that yes, the Jewish Nation Bill was the straw that broke the camels back.
On one hand we should be sad that so much money will be wasted on new elections. On the other hand, the true face of Livni and Lapid, and not to mention politicians further to the left, has been revealed. The law, which more or less gives legal status to a few sentences from Israel's Declaration of Independence, was just too Jewish for these people! They don't want a Jewish State. They want a "State of all of its citizens."
They had agreed to this law in the coalition agreement. They proved to be people who do not keep their word. Let's hope that the Israeli electorate pays these politicians back in kind, and that the next coalition will be proud of being Jewish.
Finally with English subtitles! Naftali Bennett's monumental address at the Ha'aretz's "Israel Conference for Peace"! Watch how Bennett puts the Israeli Left in their place:
They are the same Arabs that massacred in Hebron in 1929. They are the same Arabs that rammed passenger jets into the twin towers in 2001. They are the same Arabs that are presently decapitating innocent civilians in Syria and Iraq. They are the same Arabs that entered a synagogue yesterday morning in order to murder peaceful worshippers.
Even if Yishmael did teshuvah, apparently a large number of his descendants did not. Look at them celebrating the massacre:
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.
Do you remember the "intermarriage of the year", when Moral Malka "wed" Mahmud Mansour a couple of months ago? Well, it looks like Moral picked a real "winner":
Media outlets two months ago touted "coexistence" as Muslim Arab Mahmoud Mansour (26) married Moral Malka (23), a Jewish woman he met in their native Yafo - now Mansour has been arrested for drug trafficking and assaulting a police officer.
Mansour was arrested last weekend after more than 10 grams of cocaine were found on him, Channel 2 reported on Sunday.
Police say that he was riding on a motorcycle in Yafo when he saw officers in the area, at which he threw aside a bag containing 20 additional grams of cocaine. As he was being arrested, police say Mansour struck one of the officers.
למנסור עבר פלילי עשיר בעבירות של סחר בסמים. הוא ריצה בעבר עונש מאסר ואף נושא עונש של מאסר על תנאי של 40 חודשים בגין עבירות סמים, אשר הפרקליטות תבקש לממש. זאת, בנוסף על העונש שהיא רוצה שייגזר עליו בגין העבירה שהוא נחשד בה כעת
For those of you who (still) do not understand Hebrew, here's a translaton:
Mansour has a rich criminal background in dealing narcotics. He has spent time in jail in the past and currently has a 40 month suspended sentence for drug related crimes, which the prosecution will request to implement, in addition to the punishment which it (the prosecution) wants him (Mansour) to be sentenced for his current crime.
Now the question is what will Moral do? It seems that in Islam it is not easy for a woman to initiate divorce:
Khula is the right of a woman in Islam to seek a divorce or separation from her husband. A Muslim woman may petition a qadi, or in non-Islamic areas an Islamic community panel, to grant her divorce if the husband refuses. The waiting period (iddah) of a woman who seeks a divorce is one menstrual cycle or one month if she is post-menopauseal, i.e. ceased menstruating. This is to ensure she is not pregnant.[27] If the woman is pregnant, then the waiting period is until she gives birth.
Women's right to initiate divorce is very limited compared with that of men. According to shari'a law, there are two reasons for a wife to be divorced: when she can prove that the husband did not have intercourse with her for more than two months or if the husband does not provide her with what she needs for living such as food and shelter. While men can divorce their spouses easily, women face legal and financial obstacles.[28][29] For example, in many cases the woman must repay her dowry and marriage expenses. In general she also has to forfeit child custody, if the child is older than seven years. Even if she gets child custody, she has to give it to the father, when the child reaches the age of seven.[28][29]
I, in any case, hope that Moral does the moral thing and returns to her people.
After more than a decade without, Jerusalem finally has two new Chief Rabbis.
The capital city's 48-member council began voting at the Jerusalem Municipal Hall at 4 p.m., with an initial list of 19 candidates for the Chief Ashkenazic and Sephardic positions whittled down to just nine, after several candidates withdrew over the past few days.
Polling closed at 7 p.m., and results were announced just before the 8 p.m. deadline.
Former Israeli Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar was elected as the new Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, with 28 votes, while Rabbi Aryeh Stern of the Halacha Brura Institute was voted in as Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi with 27.
Following the results' announcement, Rabbi Stern - who was a close student of the late Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook - vowed to represent all the people of Jerusalem.
"It is in my intention to serve as the rabbi of all Jerusalemites: secular, modern-orthodox and charedi alike," he said in a statement. "The Jerusalem rabbinate is a great merit, but it also comprises a hefty responsibility. I will make sure that the religious services will become accessible and friendly and will serve as an outstanding model for all of the other rabbinates in Israel"
"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:
On my way to the Western Wall today I saw this just outside of Jaffa Gate:
No, it is not the Holy Ark, just a reproduction. In any case it caused a lot of excitement. Many people gathered around it, snapping pictures. I was one of them.
May it be Your will, O my God and God of my fathers, that the Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days.
For those of you that don't know, I grew up in New Jersey. However, it's been a long time since I've been there. For the majority of my sojourn in This World I have been privileged to live in the land of Israel. I am everlastingly grateful to God for giving me the wisdom and fortitude to leave the comfortable and familiar, and to pack my bags and return to the land of my fathers. I am grateful to live in a generation in which one can do so for the price of an airplane ticket.
That being said I still have a place in my heart for New Jersey, especially its Jewish community. One of the advantages of the age of internet is the ability to read news from the old country, to see "What's going on?" and "Whatever happened to?". One of the sites I visit regularly is the New Jersey Jewish News.
Bernard “BJ” Solomon and his husband Zev, better known as “Duncan” (ne William Hines, now Solomon also) called their huppa ceremony at Congregation Beth Israel on Saturday evening, Sept. 13, an “upgrade.” While it wasn’t exactly a first for them, it was the first same-sex wedding held at the Conservative synagogue in Scotch Plains.
The couple, who have been together for 12 years, had a Jewish marriage ceremony marking their civil union five years ago. But the celebration at CBI added the religious and secular recognition they wanted. “We feel more complete,” BJ said.
Held after the Havdala ceremony concluding Shabbat, it followed a bar mitzva celebration for Duncan, 35, during the Ma’ariv service that afternoon, and his conversion to Judaism last May. Their new license reflected New Jersey’s 2013 law granting gays full marriage rights.
I took a peek at Congregation Beth Israel's web site. If the Conservative Temple that I attended as a youth had a web site, it would probably have been similar. (Of course the Rabbi of my Temple, ob"m, would never have taken part in a "gay wedding" any more than he would have sold pork chops to his congregants.) Browsing the site, I saw that they have youth groups, "kadimah" and "USY".
The mention of USY took me down memory lane: the USY meetings, dances and conventions. I thought of those youth there in Scotch Plains, seeing their "rabbi" perfoming a gay marriage, and then going to Temple on Yom Kippur and hearing the Torah reading during Minchah:
1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: I am the LORD your God. 3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do; and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their statutes. 4 Mine ordinances shall ye do, and My statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.
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22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination. 23 And thou shalt not lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie down thereto; it is perversion. 24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations are defiled, which I cast out from before you. 25 And the land was defiled, therefore I did visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomited out her inhabitants. 26 Ye therefore shall keep My statutes and Mine ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the home-born, nor the stranger that sojourneth among you-- 27 for all these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you, and the land is defiled-- 28 that the land vomit not you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore shall ye keep My charge, that ye do not any of these abominable customs, which were done before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God. {P}
I imagine that they were quite perplexed. The Torah says one thing, yet the rabbi seems to be doing something else entirely!
The good news is that we are in the internet age. Authentic Torah is readily available on line. These confused youth, if they are interested, have the truth available at the click of a mouse.
After recovering from the shock I received from reading the article, I left the following comment at the NJJN web site:
The job of a rabbi is to uplift them to the Divine ideals of Torah and not lower tham down into the depravity of ancient Egypt:
“Lesbian relations are forbidden and it is among the “doings of Egypt” that we have been warned about as it is said, “After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do”. The sages said, “What did they do? A MAN MARRIES A MAN, and a woman marries a woman, and a woman marries two men.”
