When I came to Israel over twenty years ago, I arrived at Machon Meir with a suitcase in one hand and a guitar in the other. I had been a Ba'al Teshuvah for about a year and a half, long enough to know that I really needed to learn in Yeshivah. Little did I know that I would not only learn Torah at Machon Meir, but that I would acquire the spiritual tools to deal with the afflictions that are a part and parcel of living in the land of Israel.
I visited Machon Meir recently, and the place has changed dramatically. In my day the Beit Midrash was in an old building that was cold in the winter and hot in the summmer. I remember seeing students dovvening Shacharit wearing "dubonim", winter coats. Today they have a beautiful new Beit Midrash, which is heated well in the winter and air-conditioned in the summer. Way back when, it was very difficult to stay in touch with the family abroad. Letters sent from Israel to the United States would take two weeks to arrive. If someone was flying to the States, we used to give him our letters so that he would send them in the U.S. as local mail. Today, the Machon has an "email room" where students can send email or communicate with their family abroad using one of the "messaging" programs. Making a phone call in my time was no simple matter. You had to buy "asimonim" (tokens) to use the one pay phone that was in the Yeshivah. (You would not get a dial tone until one of the "asimonim" dropped down into the telephone. This is the source of the saying "nafal lo ha'asimon" as and allegory for understanding a certain matter.) There was usually a line to use the phone. Making a long distance call was tremendously difficult because the "asimonim" would fall faster than you could put them into the phone. Today of course everyone has a cellphone. What a life the Yeshiva students have today!
I also noted that many of the faculty members that taught in my time are still teaching there. I imagine that is because that teaching in a Ba'al Teshuvah Yeshiva must be a pleasure. All of the students are there by their own free will and they want to learn. This must be a true paradise for rabbis and teachers.
The point of this post is that Machon Meir was an awesome twenty-some years ago and it still is today. For those interested in learning in Israel it is a place that certainly deserves checking out.
A Jew's view from the capital of Israel and the future site of the Third Temple, may it speedily be rebuilt.
Stats
Monday, February 27, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Weird Yankel
When Yankel came into the Beit Midrash you couldn't help but notice him. Don't get me wrong: He was not an imposing figure. He was actually kind of short. He wasn't a great Torah scholar so nobody would rise in his honor when entered the Beit Midrash. Yankel was different. He would dress weird. He would talk weird. He would come up to you and ask you weird questions. Yankel was weird.
Yankel never married. That is probably because he was weird. What kind of girl would want to marry a weird guy? But then again, there are a lot of weird guys that get married. He just had to find a girl that likes weird guys. Perhaps Yankel was asexual. It seems to me that getting married wasn't one of his objectives. Did I say that Yankel was weird?
The love of the people of Israel and the land of Israel burned in Yankel's heart. He liked to read a lot. He was very interested in the political situation in Israel. Yankel wanted to hasten the redemption of the Jewish people. He would publish his thoughts on this matter and distribute them in the synagogues and Batei Midrash in Jerusalem. He would talk about his ideas with you whether you were interested or not. For some he was a pest. You could make him very happy by reading the sheets he distributed or by discussing his ideas with him. Yankel should have been a blogger. He was weird.
Yankel passed away last week. Nobody published mourning notices as is customary in the Holy City. Blaring megaphones mounted on the roofs of by taxi cabs did not spread the news of his demise in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of Jerusalem. A huge crowd did not take part in his funeral procession. I found out about his untimely death through a handwritten note that was tacked up on a synagogue bulletin board.
Yankel's family mourns. For them he was not weird; he was a brother and a son. Those who looked past his weirdness and valued his great love of the land of Israel and the people of Israel will miss him. Weird Yankel is no longer with us. May his soul be bound in the bundle of life.
Yankel never married. That is probably because he was weird. What kind of girl would want to marry a weird guy? But then again, there are a lot of weird guys that get married. He just had to find a girl that likes weird guys. Perhaps Yankel was asexual. It seems to me that getting married wasn't one of his objectives. Did I say that Yankel was weird?
The love of the people of Israel and the land of Israel burned in Yankel's heart. He liked to read a lot. He was very interested in the political situation in Israel. Yankel wanted to hasten the redemption of the Jewish people. He would publish his thoughts on this matter and distribute them in the synagogues and Batei Midrash in Jerusalem. He would talk about his ideas with you whether you were interested or not. For some he was a pest. You could make him very happy by reading the sheets he distributed or by discussing his ideas with him. Yankel should have been a blogger. He was weird.
Yankel passed away last week. Nobody published mourning notices as is customary in the Holy City. Blaring megaphones mounted on the roofs of by taxi cabs did not spread the news of his demise in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of Jerusalem. A huge crowd did not take part in his funeral procession. I found out about his untimely death through a handwritten note that was tacked up on a synagogue bulletin board.
Yankel's family mourns. For them he was not weird; he was a brother and a son. Those who looked past his weirdness and valued his great love of the land of Israel and the people of Israel will miss him. Weird Yankel is no longer with us. May his soul be bound in the bundle of life.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Why Isn't Cosmic X Posting More Often?
Some of you are probably wondering what happened to me. I used to post quite often and now I'm lucky if I post once a week.
The answer is that changes in my life have severly limited the time that I can devote to blogging. I'm spending more time doing other things. I miss blogging, and I miss reading other blogs even more. Such is life.
The answer is that changes in my life have severly limited the time that I can devote to blogging. I'm spending more time doing other things. I miss blogging, and I miss reading other blogs even more. Such is life.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Amona, Ehud Olmert, And Pharaoh
I imagine that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has a headache. True, it was the heads of the settlers and their supporters that were violently bashed by police batons yesterday in Amona. Their heads and broken bones are surely aching, in addition tho their hearts. However, this is Olmert's second blow to the head since taking the reins from the ailing Ariel Sharon. He probably needs an aspirin, or even a dose of valium.
The first blow was the Hamas victory in the PA elections. I personally took absolutely no interest in those elections. I fail to see the difference between the Hamas and the Fatah. They are both terrorist organizations, murderers outside of realm of civilization. However, the starry-eyed among our nation, those that daydream while they are awake, had a real stake in these elections. For them it was important for the beardless murderers to be victorious over the bearded ones. Their first false messiah of peace, Yasser Arafat, is currently burning in hell together with his Nobel Peace Prize. Now, their second false messiah of peace, which they called in classic Orwellian "disengagement", has been proven to be a farce. We have left the Gaza Strip, but the Gaza Strip is chasing after us, reminding us every so often that rewarding terror breeds more terror. The "disengagement" was the greatest crime against the Jewish people in this century, and one of the greatest crimes that Jews have ever committed against fellow Jews. The rotten fruits of this crime, in which Olmert played a key role, are creating a stench that even the starry-eyed are having a hard time ignoring.
The second blow to Olmert's head was yesterday's events in Amona. Olmert, his henchmen, and his publicity agents disguised as journalists in the Israeli MSM, all claim that the deployment of thousands of policemen, the cracking of skulls, the breaking of bones, were all necessary in order to promote "the rule of the law." Those few houses in Amona were the symbol of evil, something that must be obliterated at any cost. Yet there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of illegally built structures constructed by Arabs in the Galilee, in the Negev, as well as Judea and Samaria. The government does almost nothing against illegal building by Arabs. The brutality demonstrated by the government has nothing to do with the rule of the law; it has everything to do with politics. Olmert thought that playing the tough guy will help his party garner more seats in the next elections. I have a feeling that the pictures of demonstrators with their faces covered with blood as the result of yesterday's government sponsored police brutality will not sit well with the Israeli electorate. I have a feeling that Ehud Olmert understands that his intransigence with regards to a compromise with the settlers of Amona was a mistake. The settlers were willing to dismantle the structures. Olmert said "No." Olmert wanted to look like a gun-toting sheriff walking into a lawless town. Yesterday he ended up looking more like the late Syrian tyrant Hafez Assad or Saddam Hussein.
It is reasonable to surmise that Olmert is now running to his political and media advisors. The words "damage control" and "creative slogans" are probably being ping-ponged back and forth between Ehud and his advisors. I have another word they might consider talking about: teshuvah. The Rambam (Laws of Teshuvah 6:3) says that G-d took away from Pharaoh the ability to do teshuvah because of Pharaoh's wickedness. I sincerely hope that Mr. Olmert will attend services this Shabbat and hear this weeks Torah portion, "Bo". I hope that he takes to heart what Pharaoh did and what happened to him in the end.
The first blow was the Hamas victory in the PA elections. I personally took absolutely no interest in those elections. I fail to see the difference between the Hamas and the Fatah. They are both terrorist organizations, murderers outside of realm of civilization. However, the starry-eyed among our nation, those that daydream while they are awake, had a real stake in these elections. For them it was important for the beardless murderers to be victorious over the bearded ones. Their first false messiah of peace, Yasser Arafat, is currently burning in hell together with his Nobel Peace Prize. Now, their second false messiah of peace, which they called in classic Orwellian "disengagement", has been proven to be a farce. We have left the Gaza Strip, but the Gaza Strip is chasing after us, reminding us every so often that rewarding terror breeds more terror. The "disengagement" was the greatest crime against the Jewish people in this century, and one of the greatest crimes that Jews have ever committed against fellow Jews. The rotten fruits of this crime, in which Olmert played a key role, are creating a stench that even the starry-eyed are having a hard time ignoring.
The second blow to Olmert's head was yesterday's events in Amona. Olmert, his henchmen, and his publicity agents disguised as journalists in the Israeli MSM, all claim that the deployment of thousands of policemen, the cracking of skulls, the breaking of bones, were all necessary in order to promote "the rule of the law." Those few houses in Amona were the symbol of evil, something that must be obliterated at any cost. Yet there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of illegally built structures constructed by Arabs in the Galilee, in the Negev, as well as Judea and Samaria. The government does almost nothing against illegal building by Arabs. The brutality demonstrated by the government has nothing to do with the rule of the law; it has everything to do with politics. Olmert thought that playing the tough guy will help his party garner more seats in the next elections. I have a feeling that the pictures of demonstrators with their faces covered with blood as the result of yesterday's government sponsored police brutality will not sit well with the Israeli electorate. I have a feeling that Ehud Olmert understands that his intransigence with regards to a compromise with the settlers of Amona was a mistake. The settlers were willing to dismantle the structures. Olmert said "No." Olmert wanted to look like a gun-toting sheriff walking into a lawless town. Yesterday he ended up looking more like the late Syrian tyrant Hafez Assad or Saddam Hussein.
It is reasonable to surmise that Olmert is now running to his political and media advisors. The words "damage control" and "creative slogans" are probably being ping-ponged back and forth between Ehud and his advisors. I have another word they might consider talking about: teshuvah. The Rambam (Laws of Teshuvah 6:3) says that G-d took away from Pharaoh the ability to do teshuvah because of Pharaoh's wickedness. I sincerely hope that Mr. Olmert will attend services this Shabbat and hear this weeks Torah portion, "Bo". I hope that he takes to heart what Pharaoh did and what happened to him in the end.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Rabbi Kaduri's Funeral
I heard late last night that Israel's elder kabbalist, Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri zt"l, had passed away. I could not help but feel sad, even the though the rabbi was well over 100 years old. Our nation had lost a great and special man.
Many years ago I wanted to receive a blessing from the rabbi. After the morning prayers I took a bus to the Bucharian neighborhood in Jerusalem. Rabbi Kaduri had not completed the morning prayers, even though he had started them well before dawn. That is because the rabbi's prayers were said using special kabbalistic "kavanot". I waited for the rabbi to finish his prayers. After he was finished many who were there requested his blessing. Finally my turn came and he placed his hand upon my head. I did not understand what the rabbi said. That is probably because I did not know Hebrew well enough back then. Those who were there told me to say "Amen" so I did.
I saw Rabbi Kaduri on many occasions. People always requested his blessing, and he never refused. He would smile and place his hand upon the head of all those who wanted to be blessed. Such was the way of this great man, a man whose heart was filled with Ahavat Yisrael and sought neither material gain nor honor.
After bringing my son back home from kindergarten, I ate lunch. I fell a little guilty about this. How can I eat while the funeral of the great kabbalist is now underway? The radio announced that the funeral procession would make its way from the Bucharian neighborhood to the Givat Shaul cemetery. I decided that I would join the procession in Givat Shaul, not too far away from my home. This would surely be a huge event, with myriads of Jews taking part. My past experience had taught me that I would need emotional and physical strength if I wanted to be in the midst of such a massive crowd. I ate well because I knew what was ahead of me.
When I arrived on Givat Shaul Street I saw the crowds of people arrive from the Romema neighborhood, filling the entrance to Jerusalem. The crowd was mostly made up of black-hatted ultra-Orthodox Jews, but there were many kippot serugot as well. I had expected the procession to pass on Givat Shaul Street, but it continued on the much wider Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway. Making my way through some narrow alleyways, I succeeded in joining the procession. I was able to get within a few meters of the car that carried the rabbi's body. The car itself was surrounded by policemen, which in turn were surrounded by the thousands who had come to pay the rabbi their last respects. The mourners chanted "Yoshev Besetter Elyon" as the procession turned left at Ginot Sakharov. The crowd was dense to the point of being unbearable. I felt like a lone water molecule being driven forward by a vast wave in the ocean. Falling down at this point would probably mean getting trampled to death.
As the procession had reached the Herzog Hospital I decided that it was time for me to leave. I made my way to the sidewalk and started walking back towards Givat Shaul Street. I meet a few friends along the way. I hope the next time I meet them will be at a happier occasion. All of a sudden a commotion: Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak passes by surrounded by a bunch of boys that form a ring about him. I did not see his face, but it was him. His traditional Yemenite dress and hat are unmistakable. I remember seeing him for the first time about 13 years ago in Kibbutz Chafetz Chaim, when he wasn't so famous. Since then he has distributed millions of cassettes and helped thousands of Jews become closer to their Father in heaven. He also has some miracles to his credit, as is known to anyone who has seen his videos.
I returned home and the radio announced that the police estimate that there were over 200,000 people who took part in the funeral procession, over 200,000 people who took time off from whatever they were doing to pay last respects to Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri. The people whom Rabbi Kaduri loved showed that the feeling was mutual. May his memory be a blessing.
Many years ago I wanted to receive a blessing from the rabbi. After the morning prayers I took a bus to the Bucharian neighborhood in Jerusalem. Rabbi Kaduri had not completed the morning prayers, even though he had started them well before dawn. That is because the rabbi's prayers were said using special kabbalistic "kavanot". I waited for the rabbi to finish his prayers. After he was finished many who were there requested his blessing. Finally my turn came and he placed his hand upon my head. I did not understand what the rabbi said. That is probably because I did not know Hebrew well enough back then. Those who were there told me to say "Amen" so I did.
I saw Rabbi Kaduri on many occasions. People always requested his blessing, and he never refused. He would smile and place his hand upon the head of all those who wanted to be blessed. Such was the way of this great man, a man whose heart was filled with Ahavat Yisrael and sought neither material gain nor honor.
After bringing my son back home from kindergarten, I ate lunch. I fell a little guilty about this. How can I eat while the funeral of the great kabbalist is now underway? The radio announced that the funeral procession would make its way from the Bucharian neighborhood to the Givat Shaul cemetery. I decided that I would join the procession in Givat Shaul, not too far away from my home. This would surely be a huge event, with myriads of Jews taking part. My past experience had taught me that I would need emotional and physical strength if I wanted to be in the midst of such a massive crowd. I ate well because I knew what was ahead of me.
When I arrived on Givat Shaul Street I saw the crowds of people arrive from the Romema neighborhood, filling the entrance to Jerusalem. The crowd was mostly made up of black-hatted ultra-Orthodox Jews, but there were many kippot serugot as well. I had expected the procession to pass on Givat Shaul Street, but it continued on the much wider Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway. Making my way through some narrow alleyways, I succeeded in joining the procession. I was able to get within a few meters of the car that carried the rabbi's body. The car itself was surrounded by policemen, which in turn were surrounded by the thousands who had come to pay the rabbi their last respects. The mourners chanted "Yoshev Besetter Elyon" as the procession turned left at Ginot Sakharov. The crowd was dense to the point of being unbearable. I felt like a lone water molecule being driven forward by a vast wave in the ocean. Falling down at this point would probably mean getting trampled to death.
As the procession had reached the Herzog Hospital I decided that it was time for me to leave. I made my way to the sidewalk and started walking back towards Givat Shaul Street. I meet a few friends along the way. I hope the next time I meet them will be at a happier occasion. All of a sudden a commotion: Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak passes by surrounded by a bunch of boys that form a ring about him. I did not see his face, but it was him. His traditional Yemenite dress and hat are unmistakable. I remember seeing him for the first time about 13 years ago in Kibbutz Chafetz Chaim, when he wasn't so famous. Since then he has distributed millions of cassettes and helped thousands of Jews become closer to their Father in heaven. He also has some miracles to his credit, as is known to anyone who has seen his videos.
I returned home and the radio announced that the police estimate that there were over 200,000 people who took part in the funeral procession, over 200,000 people who took time off from whatever they were doing to pay last respects to Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri. The people whom Rabbi Kaduri loved showed that the feeling was mutual. May his memory be a blessing.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Blogging An Jewish-Arab Dialogue
Blogger Yoel Ben-Avraham apparently never rests! He has created a new blog called "Between Shilo and Turmos Ayya":
A Jewish "Settler" resident of the modern Jewish community of Shilo which grew up beside the site of ancient Biblical Shilo exchanges email messages with an Arab, resident of the village of Turmosayya, located in the valley beneath Shilo. Is there a place for true dialog between the two?So far, it looks like the answer is "no". But we will, bli nedder, check in from time to time to see what's doing.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Some New Links
Learn Hebrew Verbs - another great web site from Jacob Richman. From the site announcement:
Shofar News - Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak's Shofar organization has a Hebrew news site.
Darga - learn taamei hamikra.
Learn Hebrew verbs is a free, on-line, educational resource
containing 300 Hebrew verbs conjugated in all tenses
(past, present, future, imperative).
The site menu provides selection by one tense or all tenses;
gender or both genders; singular and/or plural.
For your convenience, you can choose a Hebrew or English
menu to navigate the site.
The site is unique because you do not need Hebrew fonts to
display the Hebrew words. All words (including the nikud - vowels)
are displayed using graphics. There are over 10,000 graphic
images in the system.
Both the student and the teacher will find the site easy to use
and very educational. As mentioned, the site is free to all.
Shofar News - Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak's Shofar organization has a Hebrew news site.
Darga - learn taamei hamikra.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
The NCSY Alumni Retreat
No, I was not privledged to be a member of NCSY. I did receive an email asking me to publicize this so here it is.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Is It Correct To Ask The Public To Pray For Ariel Sharon?
Last week's of issue Be'sheva provides several different opinions.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Our World: The fictitious 'third way'
Caroline Glick does it again, cutting through the spins of the MSM to give us some truth! A must read!
Tablature For "King Without A Crown"
Here are the tabs to that nifty guitar counterpoint in the chorus of Matisyahu's "King Without A Crown." Notice how it is constructed of tones from the chords.
(Note: This is my own work and represents my interpretation of the song. You may only use this for private study, scholarship, or research.)
Play this twice:
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B----------9-9-9----9-8-8-8-----------------6-6-6-----------8-8-8-8-8---
G-10-10-10-------10---------8-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-------7-7-8-8-8-------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Then this:
E-------8-8---8-6-6-6-----------------6-6-6-----------------------------
B-9-9-9-----9---------8-8-8-8-8-6-6-6-------6-6-8-8-8-------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------8-8-8-8-8---------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B----------9-9-9----9-8-8-8-----------------6-6-6-----------------------
G-10-10-10-------10---------8-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-------7-7-8-----------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Note: This is my own work and represents my interpretation of the song. You may only use this for private study, scholarship, or research.)
Play this twice:
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B----------9-9-9----9-8-8-8-----------------6-6-6-----------8-8-8-8-8---
G-10-10-10-------10---------8-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-------7-7-8-8-8-------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Then this:
E-------8-8---8-6-6-6-----------------6-6-6-----------------------------
B-9-9-9-----9---------8-8-8-8-8-6-6-6-------6-6-8-8-8-------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------8-8-8-8-8---------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B----------9-9-9----9-8-8-8-----------------6-6-6-----------------------
G-10-10-10-------10---------8-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-------7-7-8-----------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Arms Smuggling Into Gaza Strip Increases Tenfold
Arutz 7 reports
:“The smuggling of weapons and explosives into Gaza has jumped by hundreds of percent in comparison to the period before the disengagement,” Diskin told the committee. “If before the disengagement, 200-300 rifles were smuggled in per month, now, we’re talking about 3000” per month.But that's not all:
Terrorist attacks and attempts to carry out such attacks are also on the rise since the disengagement. Diskin said that in October there were 48 such incidents, as compared to 277 in December.A while back, I left the following comment on Kantor's blog:
The minute that the IDF stops patrolling the Egyptian border anything and everything will be smuggled into Gaza.You can't say that I didn't warn you.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
A Year Of Blogging
I've been blogging for about a year now, and it is time to see how successful this endeavour has been.
1) Much of the blogging was against the "disengagement", i.e. the destruction of the Jewish communitees in the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria in return for nothing. The destruction took place.
2) I came out against the starving of Terri Schiavo to death. R.I.P.
3) Here and there I criticized the MSM. Nothing has really changed on this front either. As Arik Einstein sang, "Baitonim kotvim mah sheheim rotzim" (The newspapers write what they want).
This blog has not been very successful at changing the world. For some it has provided a layman's view of life here in Israel. At least it has been interesting and fun.
1) Much of the blogging was against the "disengagement", i.e. the destruction of the Jewish communitees in the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria in return for nothing. The destruction took place.
2) I came out against the starving of Terri Schiavo to death. R.I.P.
3) Here and there I criticized the MSM. Nothing has really changed on this front either. As Arik Einstein sang, "Baitonim kotvim mah sheheim rotzim" (The newspapers write what they want).
This blog has not been very successful at changing the world. For some it has provided a layman's view of life here in Israel. At least it has been interesting and fun.
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