Birkat HaIlanot - Blessing the Trees in Israel in the Month of Nissan

It's that time of year again! So long winter, hello spring! I prefer to make this blessing on the trees that Shalom Sherki hy"d planted:

Here is a nice clip that explains this blessing:

The "National Union" Party's "Jewish Israel" Platform

Tuesday night I walked down to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jerusalem to take part in the National Union Party's christening of their "Jewish Israel" platform. The platform lays out the party's stance on several of the issues facing Israel and the Jewish People today.

One of the issues discussed was the observance of the Sabbath in the public domain. This is one of the major points of contention in Israel. For the observant Jew, the Sabbath is the Holy of Holies, and he is ready to sacrifice much in order to observe it. For others, the Sabbath is less important, and what interests them is having public transportation and open stores to shop at on their day off from work.

The National Union is proposing that the Israeli work week be changed to be in synch with most of the world. Instead of working from Sunday to Thursday, Israel will work from Monday to Friday (finishing work on Friday early enough to prepare for the Sabbath). The idea is that Sunday will be the day off where Israelis can go to the beach, shop, etc. and the Sabbath will be more strictly kept in the public sphere.

This is a very major idea, a game changer. I think that it is worth a try.

Predictably, the press ignored this item and concentrated on Rabbi Yehoshua's remarks on the LGBT issue:

“I have invested many hours in helping those who have difficulty in this area [of homosexuality],” he said. “But there is an illness that is spreading and taking over. We’re becoming a country that looks more and more like LGBT-stan.”

It was a great speech. Here's a pic:

Aly Raisman on Being Jewish

It's been a while since we've heard Aly Raisman talk about her Jewishness:

Aly Raisman, the Olympic gold medalist gymnast, told a BBYO conference she drew strength from her Jewish upbringing.

Raisman, addressing the pluralistic youth movement’s annual conference in Orlando, Florida on Friday, said she wanted to “talk about how proud I am to be a Jewish athlete,” which drew cheers.

“Being Jewish is all about family and I think being Jewish is all about being a good person,” she said. “I have so many amazing memories of being with family during the Jewish holidays.”

Of course she is right. Being Jewish is about being a good person. However, there are plenty of good people from other nations and faiths. I've met many fine Catholics, Protestants, Koreans, Irishmen, and Italians, just to mention a few. Being Jewish is also about being a good Jew: Being faithful to God, His Torah, and His nation. It is something that encompasses every aspect of life. It is something that one must devote a lot of time to learn.

But who is going to listen to me? I haven't won any gold medals.

No money for the #fakestinians

President Trump is not putting up with the bad behavior of the #fakestinians:

Tel Aviv Social Activist May Golan Totally Destroys Radical Leftist Journalist Larry Derfner

You may remember Larry Derfner as the journalist who was fired from the Jerusalem Post for justifying terrorism. He made another big mistake recently trying to debate May Golan:

See #Israel #Haaretz writer act like evil bully #HarveyWeinstein - Arrogant, Elitist, Egotistical, Chauvenistic & Disgusting he Violently Threatens me - a woman - coz its OK in his twisted #altleft world BUT i Stood Strong! ( @i24NEWS_EN edited out him shouting “F*** You” to me!) pic.twitter.com/PbAPKGSD0w

— May Golan מאי גולן (@GolanMay) 6 בינואר 2018

Here's the full interview:

I Recited Kaddish Today

Did you know that the 10th of Tevet was "ordained by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to recite Kaddish for Jews who perished in the Holocaust and whose yahrzeit is unknown"? Nowadays not too many are away of this. However, in the first decades following the rebirth of the State of Israel, the synagogues here were full of people reciting Kaddish for loved ones who were murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices. That is what I heard from Torah scholars old enough to know.

For the first time in my life a recited Kaddish for the elevation of the souls of my great-grandparents, who perished during the Holocaust in Bessarabia.

הי"ד

Today is The 20th of Kislev: #JewishFamilyDay

"Jewish Family Day" is a day when we will all work together to strengthen the traditional Jewish family.

Channuka is a time when Jewish families get together. Here is a video President Trump's and the First Lady's Channukah reception that I'm posting in honor of #JewishFamilyDay:

The Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's Capital

For quite some time now, under the logo of this blog, is the blog's description:

A Jew's view from the capital of Israel and the future site of the Third Temple, may it speedily be rebuilt.

Yes, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. If one recognizes this or one does not will not change this fact. The Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, is here in Jerusalem along with the president's residence, and the prime minister's office as well as most of the government ministries. This is reality. Not accepting reality will not stop it from being true.

In about an hour and a half President Trump is set to state that Jerusalem is indeed the capital of Israel. I commend him for acknowledging this. I commend him for not giving in to the Arab threats of violence. I commend him for not listening to the deaf and blind European leaders who are busy destroying their own contenent with unbridled immigration.

However, as Jews living in the land of Israel in general and in Jerusalem in particular, we must remember that we are here not because the United Nations says that it is okay or because of the good will of any politician. We are here because this is the land that God gave us. Period.

The 20th of Kislev: #JewishFamilyDay

The 20th of Kislev has been declared "Jewish Family Day". This is a day when we will all work together to strengthen the traditional Jewish family. Without a doubt the integrity of the Jewish family, its devotion to God, Torah and Mitzvot, and its dedication to passing these values on to the next generation have been crucial factors in the survival of the People of Israel from biblical times until this very day.

Why the 20th of Kislev? This is the day, "...the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month", that the Jews returning from the Babylonian exile after the destruction of the First Temple took upon themselves to strengthen the Jewish family, as recorded in chapter 10 of the book of Ezra:

1 Now while Ezra prayed, and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore. {S} 2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra: 'We have broken faith with our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing. 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of the LORD, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4 Arise; for the matter belongeth unto thee, and we are with thee; be of good courage, and do it.' {P}

5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they swore. 6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water; for he mourned because of the faithlessness of them of the captivity. {S} 7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; 8 and that whosoever came not within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of the captivity. {S} 9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within the three days; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the broad place before the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. {P}

10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them: 'Ye have broken faith, and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel. 11 Now therefore make confession unto the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do His pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.' 12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice: 'As thou hast said, so it is for us to do. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. 14 Let now our princes of all the congregation stand, and let all them that are in our cities that have married foreign women come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God be turned from us, as touching this matter.' {P}

15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this matter; and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. 16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of fathers' houses, after their fathers' houses, and all of them by their names, were separated; and they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 And they were finished with all the men that had married foreign women by the first day of the first month. {P}

So this year, on the 20th of Kislev(this year it comes out on the 8th of December), we will take a stand against intermarriage. We will do everything we can to strengthen the Jewish family. Happy #JewishFamilyDay!

Gratitude is the Key to Happiness

Here is a nice video from Prager U:

This is a very fundamental theme in Judaism. We Jews say "thank You" to God all day long!

Shalom Aleichem Like You've Never Heard It Before

Turn on this speakers and enjoy!

Interview With the Chief Rabbis

Dan Margalit interviews Rabbi Avraham Shapira zt"l and Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l. How I miss these great and humble rabbis!

Weiner, Prison and Teshuvah

It's final. Anthony Weiner a.k.a. Carlos Danger is going to prison:

He lost his seat in Congress, his audacious bid to resurrect his career as mayor of New York City, and his high-profile marriage. And he undermined Hillary Clinton’s shot at the presidency in the closing days of the tumultuous 2016 campaign.

On Monday, Anthony D. Weiner, sobbing as the judge spoke, learned the final, personal cost of his seemingly uncontrollable habit of exchanging lewd texts and pictures with women and girls: 21 months in prison.

Upon hearing this, especially now during the "Ten Days of Repentance", I could not help of thinking about the famous Midrash in Kohelet Rabba 7:32, brought down by Rabbeinu Yonah in his book "Shaarei Teshuvah":

Our sages tell of a band of robbers who were thrown in prison by the king where they languished for a while till they dug an escape hatch and fled. One of them, though, decided not to escape. And when the jail keeper arrived and turned one way and caught sight of the escape hatch, then the other way and noticed the remaining prisoner, he said to him, “Fool! There’s an escape hatch right before your eyes and you’re not using it?”

Way back in 2011 I suggested that Mr. Weiner leverage this scandal to return to who he really is. It is such a shame that he did not take my advice!

However, all is not lost. The gates of repentance are still open. Imagine if Anthony Weiner spends his 21 months in prison immersed in Torah study! Imagine what progress he can make in becoming the Jew he was meant to be!

Let us all learn from Anthony Weiner's tragic fall from grace to clean up our own acts. We all have something that needs fixing. The tunnel leading out of prison is wide open. Will we be wise enough to use it?

Immersing Yourself in Judaism

Here are some words of wisdom, and from Forward.com of all places:

If the Orthodox experience has taught us anything, it is that complete immersion succeeds. Like the immersion in the mikveh, in which every centimeter of the body must touch water, so, too, our commitment requires totality. It is an immersion in our books; immersion in prayer services as punctuation marks for time; immersion in a 25-hour Shabbat experience without smart phones and the internet; immersion in round-the-clock Jewish education, at all costs.

Are Jewish Sexual Ethics behind the times?

America's Liberal "Rabbis" Fail Again

There they go again, those ignorant and arrogant liberal "rabbis". These clowning frauds who make a joke out of our holy Torah, who as "leaders" are presiding over the destruction of their own congregations, are at it again. For details, click here.

Thoughts on the 17th of Tammuz

The head aches.
The stomach growls "ewww".
The Jew's body complains, saying, "Give me the food and drink that I am accustomed to!"

A voice, coming from deep within, answers:
"When is the last time that you thought about the Holy Temple that was engulfed in flame?
When was the last time you were in pain because of the ongoing desecration of God's Holy Name?"

The Jew answers, "My mind is devoted to making a living.
This is my exemption.
I don't have time to think about redemption!"

The voice lets out a hardy laugh.
"Lying to oneself is definitely not cool
It is no big deal to deceive a fool."

The Continuing Implosion of the Movement That Calls Itself "Conservative Judaism"

Modern American Jewish history as a Biblical narrative:

And it was in the second half of the previous century: The Children of Israel that dwelled in New York City, Newark etc. fled from their urban homes to the suburbs of New Jersey, Upper State New York and Long Island. These very same Children of Israel were not ready to serve The Lord with all of their heart and all of their soul and all of their might. On the other hand they not willing to worship the Ba'al. And it was that they built many edifices for their brand of worship, which they called "Conservative Judaism". And so it was that the land of New Jersey was covered with these edifices that they called Temples, complete with a full time rabbi, a Sisterhood, USY, and Bingo games to pay the mortgage.

And it was that these very same Children of Israel took wives and begat children. These children grew up among the nations, and learned from their deeds. The Hebrew School that they attended after Public School was loathsome unto them, as it took place at the time when the children of the nations were playing the holy game of baseball. And it was that two or three generations had passed, the number of congregants dwindled, and these Temples were sold to the local gentiles.

I was inspired to write this by the following article that I read in the New Jersey Jewish News. I added the emphasis in bold:

After more than 50 years of existence, Congregation Beth Ahm of West Essex in Verona held its final Shabbat service on June 3. The future of the building, at the corner of Grove and Personette avenues, is uncertain but the remaining members will find a new home at B’nai Shalom, a Conservative congregation in West Orange.

In the end, it came down to money, said Allen Paisner, 28, of Verona, who worked in the synagogue office until it closed last week. But to listen to him talk about the Conservative synagogue, where his grandparents and parents were members before him, it feels like the memories will never run out. “Something special has been lost,” he said. “We were a nice, warm place. There’s something comforting in such a small synagogue.”

Among the last tasks assigned to him was sorting through the books in the library. Some were already packed in boxes for donation, some set aside for burial, and another set placed against the wall to be given to B’nai Shalom.

Debbie Dretel Lawrence, 61, who served as the congregation’s final president, is another third-generation member. Her grandparents joined just one year after its founding in 1936. She remembers from her youth a robust community with a full Hebrew school, when the membership was near its peak of about 350 families, but she acknowledged that the synagogue has always had a niche among older people. It’s just that at some point, she said, it stopped attracting a younger crowd, which would have provided the critical mass necessary for growth. “It’s been a long time coming,” she acknowledged.

Congregants had taken to calling Beth Ahm, founded as the Jewish Community Center of Verona, “the little shul with the big heart.” Closing has taken its emotional toll. But Dretel Lawrence said, “This whole process is something we’ve done together.”

She described the last services as “sad and sweet at the same time.” She added, “There were people there who have been members for a very long time. It was very emotional.” Everyone had the opportunity to have one final aliyah during the Torah service, including Dretel Lawrence.

Looking around, she said, she took comfort in the physical names on the plaques, names she’s known all her life; each one holds a memory. “I find our shul a very comforting place to be. I can still see where my parents sat. I remember coming with my grandparents on Simchat Torah.”

The decision to close came as the synagogue was down to approximately 50 family units, according to Paisner. It was a significant drop from 2011, when the congregation celebrated its 75th anniversary with a gala at the Richfield Regency in Verona and still had about 160 members.

But there were concerns even then.

Throughout its history, the congregation was served by eight rabbis. But it was just two, Rabbi Alter Kriegel and his son Aaron Kriegel, who came to define the congregation. Rabbi Alter Kriegel served the community from 1937 until 1974; his son took the helm in 2001 and retired in 2013. The years that followed were difficult.

Rabbi Mark Biller, who succeeded Aaron Kriegel, tried many creative solutions to attract new members, including his “Top of the Morning Shabbat” in 2015, which offered a casual learning and discussion alternative to traditional services. And while Dretel Lawrence praised his ability to engage others in discussion, and to welcome anyone and everyone, it wasn’t enough.

It was something past president Marc Wurgaft, whose father was a close friend of Alter Kriegel, had foreseen in 2011. At that time, he told NJJN that the biggest challenge was neither financial nor a dwindling membership. “It’s what we are going to do when Aaron retires.”

A portrait of the senior Rabbi Kriegel graces the wall in the central entry hall, and the intersection of Grove and Personette avenues bears a second name: Rabbi A. Kriegel Way.

A deal, approved May 1 by the Verona town council to buy the building for $1 million to become the new home of the Verona Rescue Squad, fell through weeks later after neighborhood residents filed a petition citing concerns about the noise, added traffic, and other issues.

The congregation’s five Torahs have already been distributed: two to B’nai Shalom, one to Rabbi Yaacov Leaf at Chabad of Montclair, one to Rabbi Shalom Lubin and his Congregation Shaya Ahavath Torah in Parsippany, and one to Rabbi Efraim Mintz of Brooklyn, who came to the synagogue regularly to teach.

After the congregation sang “Adon Olam” on June 3, the congregation concluded its last service with “Hatikvah” and“My Country ‘Tis of Thee” (also known as “America”) the latter a tradition that goes back to World War II, in honor of the members serving in the war. The elder Kriegel is said to have directed that the congregation would sing the song until every serviceman returned. But one member, Private Max Novick, was killed in action, so they maintained the custom of singing, right down to the very end.

It is worthy of notice that most of the Torah scrolls were given to Chabad Rabbis. As the Conservative Temples close and merge with one another, Chabad keeps setting up more congregations.

Evidence of the Last Battle of Jerusalem from 2,000 Years Ago

Wow, I have not seen these excavations yet!

The Six Day War: An Event of Biblical Proportions

Wow! It's been 50 years since the day when Israeli troops liberated Jerusalem. Among other things, that means that I am getting old!

Much has been written and said about the Six Day War. One aspect of that war, which I believe is not stressed enough, is that we are dealing with an event of Biblical proportions. Something "really huge", as President Donald Trump might say.

Although prophecy has temporarily disappeared from the Nation of Israel, Divine Providence's guiding hand has not. In fact, through the annals of the Jewish People, the Creator of the world is revealed. "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy father, and he will declare unto thee, thine elders, and they will tell thee" (Deuteronomy 32:7). It's a mitzvah to learn Jewish history. Doing so increases one's understanding of the Divine.

History is being made here in the Land of Israel. One can sit back in his armchair and watch it on the screen, or one can be part of it.