Eretz Yisroel

PA Teaching Terrorism to Children

2008-02-13T10:14:00.000+02:00

PA TV Bunny Rabbit Threatens to 'Eat the Jews'

by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz

The latest TV character created to incite Palestinian Authority children to
anti-Semitism, Islamic triumphalism and violence has debuted on a popular
show produced by Hamas. The character is a cute rabbit who aspires to finish
off the Jews and eat them.

The rabbit's name is Assoud, which translates as "lions," and he has come
from Lebanon "in order to return to the homeland and liberate it," according
to the

Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) organization, which translated the

"I, Assoud, will finish off the Jews and eat them."

dialogue.

In a PA children's program called Tomorrow's Pioneers, a young girl
hostess asks the new character, "Why is your name Assoud, since you are a
rabbit?"

Assoud replies: "A rabbit is a [term] for a bad person and coward. And I,
Assoud, will finish off the Jews and eat them."

"Allah Willing!" the girl exclaims.

Can't see video screen above?

Click here.

Later in the show, children are taught that the Jewish city of Tel Aviv
is actually Arab and that it must be "liberated" by way of Hamas-style
terrorism.

Assoud asks the child hostess of the program, "Do you know the original
name of our city... Tel Aviv?"

"It's our city: Tel-Rabia," she replies, "but the Zionists today call it
Tel Aviv, but it will stay ours.... And we will return with Allah's will."

Assoud: "How will we go to our city if the Jews took it?"

"We will continue the resistance [a PA term for terrorism]," she answers.

The program ends with singing: "We will never recognize Israel...." with
the hostess emphasizing the call to "liberate our homeland from the Zionist
filth."

The show, Tomorrow’s Pioneers, first became known for its genocidal
Mickey Mouse look-alike character,

Farfur. The show's producers had Farfur murdered by Israelis and
replaced by

Nahoul the bee, who was killed off in an episode in which Israel would
not allow him to leave Gaza for medical treatment.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com

Day of prayer and fasting this Tuesday in response to the threats facing the Jewish people

2008-02-03T16:06:00.001+02:00

The hareidi-religious Council of Torah Sages in Israel and the United States has issued a call for a day of prayer and fasting this Tuesday in response to the threats facing the Jewish people.

Addressed to “Our fellow Jews living in Eretz Yisroel (the Land of Israel) and to Jewish communities everywhere,” the proclamation continues: “The difficult situation of the Jewish community in Eretz Yisroel fills us with trepidation. Nobody knows what the new day will bring. In our sins, we see the fulfillment of the posuk [Biblical verse] "Behold Your enemies are in uproar and those who hate You have raised their heads. Against Your nation they deviously plot, and take counsel against those whom You protect." Our eyes are lifted in prayer to the Creator, that all of the goings-on in the world turn out for the good.

“From both within and without the crisis mounts. The danger threatens both body and soul. During these days, items are on agendas that could place entire populations of Jews into grave danger, G-d forbid - including those in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Further, there are constant attempts to undermine the foundations of pure education in Eretz Yisroel and to cause harm to the holiness of the Nation of Israel.

Therefore it is incumbent on us to fortify ourselves with Torah, prayer and good deeds, to awaken the mercy of Heaven.“Dear brethren, awaken and inspire yourselves to pour out prayer before the Creator of the world, that He have pity and protect His nation from all who stand up against us, that He abolish the intentions of those who hate us and nullify the plots of our enemies, and that the eyes of the misguided be opened to the realization that their path is foolishness and they should leave Hashem's nation to guard its path and faith, without hindrance or interference.

We therefore call on members of Hashem's holy nation in all the places they reside, men, women and children, to gather in tefilla [prayer] on Tuesday, Erev Rosh Chodesh Adar Rishon, 5768, to recite chapters of Psalms and the liturgy of Yom Kippur Koton .

May Hashem hear our pleas, and turn His face to us so that we may be saved with a permanent salvation soon. And let us merit to see, quickly, the redemption of Yisroel, and gaze upon the building of the Beis HaMikdosh, quickly in our days, amen.

The proclomation is signed by the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (the hareidi-religious Council of Torah Sages), and the hareidi political parties Agudas Yisroel (Chassidic) and Degel HaTorah ("Flag of Torah”) – together the United Torah Judaism party. It was joined by the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America.

Special Sderot Prayer Added to Arsenal

2008-01-21T10:31:00.000+02:00

Special Sderot Prayer Added to Arsenal
by Hillel Fendel

"One must not rely on miracles," Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu reminds - after composing a special prayer to be recited on Sabbath for the residents of Sderot.

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, a former Chief Sephardic Rabbi (Rishon LeTzion) of Israel, has composed a special prayer for "Sderot, Ashkelon, and environs" - at the request of the Sderot Security Committee Chairman, Alon Davidi.

Davidi asked Tzfat's Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who visited Sderot this week, if his father could compose a special prayer on behalf of the residents of Sderot and the western Negev. Within a day, the prayer was written, and its author asked that it be recited every Sabbath morning just prior to the opening of the Holy Ark.

The prayer includes the idea that we may not rely on miracles, implying that we must take concrete steps to fight the enemy.

It is based on a prayer written by the late saintly Kabbalist of Jerusalem, Rabbi Salman Mutzafi (1900-1975). It is rooted in the Halakhic [Jewish legal] ruling of the Shulkhan Arukh code of law (O.C. 576) that calls for fasting and prayer for troubles such as "Gentiles that come to make war on Israel."

The English translation is as follows:

"Master of the Universe. We have come this day to place our supplication before You, on behalf of Your nation Israel, and to request mercy for them - for we rely upon the abundance of Your compassion, as is written: "And He said, I shall cause all My Goodness to pass before you, and I shall call out with the Name of G-d before you, and I shall show favor when I shall want to show favor, and I shall have mercy when I shall want to have mercy" (Ex. 33,19).

So much praise we must lay before You - for we have merited to see clearly the miracles and wonders You wrought for us against our enemies who plot to destroy us. Yet, in Your goodness, You have saved us and rescued us from thousands of rockets that they have fired at us - and especially at the cities of Sderot, Ashkelon, and environs; and from most of them we were saved, by Your great mercies.

Our Sages have taught that one must not rely on miracles, and especially in situations of danger that have already killed and maimed Jews. The residents of these areas and their children live in fright and fear, and many of them have left their homes. The honor of Israel is being desecrated, while the Government of Israel ties its soldiers' hands, preventing them from waging war in response - and is even scheming to give G-d's inheritance to terrorists, who would then, Heaven forbid, do in central Israel what they do in Sderot.

Master of the Univese, our eyes are turned pleadingly toward You, that you show us grace, and give to Your nation Israel favor, good sense, courage and bravery to fight the evil ones - and not to strengthen them. May we [have the strength] to smite and rout all our enemies, and to fulfill the prayer of King David, peace be upon him: "I pursued my enemies and caught them, and I did not return until I destroyed them; I crushed them until they could no longer rise up; they have fallen under my feet" (Psalms 18,38).

Please, G-d, shut the mouths of all those who denounce and besiege us, whether above or below. May this verse be fulfilled for us: "No weapon that is formed against you shall succeed, and every tongue that rises against you in judgment - you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of G-d and the recompense of their righteousness by Me, says G-d" (Isaiah 54,17).
And may this verse, written at the hand of Isaiah Your prophet, be fulfilled for us: "Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not dismay, for I am your G-d. I have adopted you and helped you and supported you with the right hand of My righteousness. All who rage against you shall be ashamed and disgraced... those who war against you will be as nothingness. For I am the Lord your G-d, Who hold up your right arm and says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.' Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I will help you, says G-d and your Redeemer, the Holy of Israel. Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. You shall fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the storm wind shall carry them - and you shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall glory in the Holy One of Israel.'

And may You redeem us completely and speedily, and may we merit to see the Messiah, son of David, crowned in his crown, and the Messiah, son of Joseph, complete in his glory and his beauty in the building of our Holy Temple, speedily in our days,

Amen, may it be Your will.

Special Prayes for Sderot

2008-01-21T10:29:00.000+02:00

תפילה מיוחדת למען שדרות ועוטף עזה
הרב מרדכי אליהו חיבר תפילה מיוחדת למען תושבי שדרות, אשקלון ועוטף עזה. הרב ביקש לקרוא את התפילה כל שבת לפני פתיחת ארון הקודש.
ישי פרידמן
במהלך ביקורו של רבה של צפת, הרב שמואל אליהו בשדרות השבוע, בקש ממנו אלון דוידי, יו"ר המטה לביטחון שדרות, אם אביו הראשון לציון, הרב מרדכי אליהו יוכל לחבר תפילה לשלומם של תושבי שדרות ועוטף עזה. הרב שמואל אליהו מסר לאביו את הבקשה, למחרת חוברה תפילה מיוחדת על ידי הראשל"צ הרב אליהו. הרב אליהו ביקש לקרוא את התפילה כל שבת לפני פתיחת ארון הקודש.
הרב אליהו אמר גם שאין לסמוך על הנס ויש להחזיר מלחמה שערה. "אמרו חכמינו זכרונם לברכה 'אין סומכים על הנס', ובמיוחד שחלק מבני ישראל נהרגו וחלק נפצעו. ותושבי המקום חיים בפחד ובבהלה הם וילדיהם. רבים גלו מבתיהם. כבוד ישראל מחולל וממשלת ישראל כובלת את ידי החיילים שלא להשיב מלחמה שערה. ועוד זוממים לתת נחלת ה' בידי המחבלים שיעשו במרכז הארץ כמו שעושים בשדרות וסביבותיה, חלילה".
תפילה למען שדרות אשקלון וסביבותיהם

על-פי קריאת הרה"ג המקובל הרב מרדכי אליהו שליט"א

פסק מרן בשו"ע [סימן תקע"ו סעיף א'] "כשם שמתענים ומתריעים על הגשמים כך מתענים על שאר צרות כגון גויים שבאו לערוך מלחמה עם ישראל או ליטול מהם מס, או ליקח מהם הארץ וכו' הרי אלו מתענין ומתריעין עד שירוחמו.
וכתב הרמב"ם [בהלכות תענית פרק א' הלכה ב] "ודבר זה מדרכי התשובה הוא שבזמן שתבוא צרה ויזעקו עליה וירעו ידעו הכל שבגלל מעשיהם הרעים הורע להן ככתוב: "עונותיכם הטו אלה" וגו' וזה שיגרום להסיר הצרה מעליהם". ובסעיף ג' כתב: "אבל אם לא יזעקו ולא יריעו אלא יאמרו דבר זה ממנהג העולם אירע לנו וצרה זו נקרה נקרית הרי זו דרך אכזריות וגורמת להם להדבק במעשיהם הרעים ותוסיף הצרה צרות אחרות".

תפילה זו חוברה ע"י המקובל האלקי ציס"ע רבי סלמן מוצפי זצוקלה"ה והותאמה לצרכי הזמן והמצב

רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶל עוֹלָם. הִנֵה בָּאנו הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לְהַפִּיל תְּחִנָּה לְפָנֶיךָ בְּעַד עמך בית ישראל וּלְבַקֵּש רַחֲמִים עָלֵיהם כִּי נִשְׁעַנְנו עַל רֹב חֲסָדֶיךָ כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶאֱמַר: וַיֹאמֶר אֲנִי אַעֲבִיר כָּל טוּבִי עַל פָּנֶיךָ וְקָרָאתִי בְּשֵׁם ה' לְפָנֶיךָ וְחַנֹּתִי אֶת אֲשֶׁר אָחֹן וְרִחֲמְתִּי אֶת אֲשֶׁר אֲרָחֵם.
וּמָה שֶבַח לְךָ נַעֲרוֹג, כִּי זָכִינוּ לִרְאוֹת עַיִן בְּעַיִן נִסִּים וְנִפְלָאוֹת שֶהִנְחַלְתָ לָנוּ נֶגֶד אוֹיְבֵנוּ אֲשֶר זוממים לְהַשְּׁמִידֵנוּ וְאַתָּה בְּטוּבְךָ הוֹשַעְתָנו והצלתנו מאלפי טילים שירו עלינו ובפרט על הערים שדרות, אשקלון וסביבותיהם. ומרובם הגדול ניצלנו ברחמיך המרובים.
אמרו חכמינו זכרונם לברכה 'אין סומכים על הנס', ובמיוחד שחלק מבני ישראל נהרגו וחלק נפצעו. ותושבי המקום חיים בפחד ובבהלה הם וילדיהם. רבים גלו מבתיהם. כבוד ישראל מחולל וממשלת ישראל כובלת את ידי החיילים שלא להשיב מלחמה שערה. ועוד זוממים לתת נחלת ה' בידי המחבלים שיעשו במרכז הארץ כמו שעושים בשדרות וסביבותיה, חלילה.
ריבנו של עולם עֵינֶנוּ לְךָ תְּלוּיוֹת שֶׁתְּחָנֵּנוּ ותתן לעמך ישראל חן ושכל טוב אומץ וגבורה להלחם ברשעים ולא לחזקם. להכות כל אויבינו שוק על ירך ולקיים תפילתו של דוד המלך ע"ה "אֶרְדּוֹף אוֹיְבַי וְאַשִֹּיגֵם וְלֹא אָשׁוּב עַד כַּלּוֹתָם, אֶמְחָצֵם וְלֹא יֻכְלוּ קוּם, יִפְּלוּ תַּחַת רַגְלָי".
אנא ה' סְתּוֹם פִּיוֹת כָּל הַמְקַטְרֵגִים וְהָצָרִים עָלֵינוּ בֵין מִלְמַעְלָה וּבֵין מִלְמָטָה. וְקַיֵּים בָּנוּ מִקְרָא שֶׁכָּתוּב: כָּל כְּלִי יוּצַר עָלַיִךְ לֹא יִצְלַח וְכָל לָשׁוֹן תָּקוּם אִתָּךְ לַמִּשְׁפָּט תַּרְשִׁיעִי זֹאת נַחֲלַת עַבְדֵי ה' וְצִדְקָתָם מֵאִתִּי נְאֻם ה'. וּתְקַיֵים בָּנוּ מִקְרָא שֶׁכָּתוּב עַל יְדֵי יְשַׁעְיָה חוֹזָךְ אַל תִּירָא כִּי עִמְךָ אֲנִי אַל תִּשְׁתַּע כִּי אֲנִי אֱלֹקֶיךָ אִמַּצְתִּיךָ אַף עֲזַרְתִּיךָ אַף תְּמַכְתִּיךָ בִּימִין צִדְקִי. הֵן יֵבֹשׁוּ וְיִכָּלְמוּ כֹּל הַנֶּחֱרִים בָּך יִהְיוּ כְאַין וּכְאֶפֶס אַנְשֵׁי מִלְחֲמְתֶּךָ. כִּי אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ מַחֲזִיק יְמִינֶךָ הָאוֹמֵר לְךָ אַל תִּירָא אֲנִי עֲזַרְתִּיךָ. אַל תִּירְאִי תּוֹלַעַת יַעֲקֹב מְתֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲנִי עֲזַרְתִּיךָ נְאֻם ה' וְגֹאֲלֵךְ קְדוֹשׁ יִשְּׂרָאֵל. הִנֵּה שַׂמְתִּיךְ לְמֹרַג חָרוּץ חָדָשׁ בַּעַל פִּיפִיּוֹת תָּדוּשׁ הָרִים וְתָדוֹק וּגְבָעוֹת כַּמוֹץ תָּשִׂים. תִּזְרֵם וְרוּחַ תִּשָּׂאֵם וּסְעָרָה תָּפִיץ אוֹתָם וְאַתָּה תָּגִיל בַּה' בִּקְדּוֹשׁ תִּתְהַלָל.
וְתִגְאָלֵנוּ גְּאוּלָה שְׁלֵימָה בִּמְהֵרָה. וְנִזְכֶּה וְנִרְאֶה מָשִׁיחַ בֵּן דָוִד מוּכְתָּר בְּכִתְּרוֹ וּמָשִׁיחַ בֵּן יוֹסֵף מְשׁוּכְלָל בְּהַדְרוֹ וְיָפְיוֹ בְּבִנְיָן מִקְדָשֵׁינוּ בִּמְהֵרָה בְּיָמֵינוּ אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן.
מצוות עשה דאורייתא לצעוק לפני ה' בכל עת צרה גדולה שלא תבוא על הציבור.

Fatah as 'Moderate'

2008-01-10T15:41:00.001+02:00

"Fatah as 'Moderate': A Hard Look Post-Annapolis, published by the Center for Near East Policy Research at the Beit Agron International Press Center in Jerusalem. The booklet may be viewed in its entirety by clicking here.

An Authentic Jewish Response to an Orthodox Rabbi Who Wants to Divide Jerusalem

2007-12-02T19:41:00.000+02:00

Question: How can an Orthodox Rabbi possibly reconcile advocating for the division of Jerusalem with Judaism?
-Loraine Meltz, Bakersfield CA

Answer: Thank you for that question Loraine, but unfortunately as Orthodox Jews we are unable to answer you so we are forwarding on the question to the Rabbi.

Shalom Rabbi,

This letter is being written with shivering hands and chattering teeth from a cold, wet tent on the border between Israel and Gaza. We have read and re-read your article published in the Jewish Journal “An Orthodox Rabbi’s plea: Consider dividing the Jerusalem.” As it is Jewish behavioral ethic to judge one’s fellow with the benefit of the doubt, we are trying to stifle our initial feelings of perfidious betrayal and thoughts that you are merely capitalizing on your status as an Orthodox Rabbi for opportunistic self-aggrandizement. With Israel’s fate being decided in Annapolis this week, we are trying to understand how you, an honest and sincere G-d fearing, Torah-observant Rabbi, could possibly advocate for the division of Jerusalem, the Capitol of the Jewish People.

In Israel today, there are hundreds of thousands of Arab Muslim citizens who proactively advocate for the destruction of Israel. Their elected Muslim Knesset members meet with terrorist leaders to conspire against us and consistently endorse policies that would lead to the eventual annulment of our Jewish State. We are surrounded by countries who have historically sought to destroy the State of Israel since before she was even created. Egypt, Syria, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and all the other countries in the Arab League have not given up the dream to put an end, once and for all, to the “Zionist Entity”. Honestly, these threats are nothing new and have simply become expected, but it is appalling for a self-described Orthodox Rabbi to advocate for the division of our sacred Capitol, and the undeniable moral and strategic weakening of the State of Israel that would follow.

Perhaps seeing the Middle East through the prism of CNN or the occasional solidarity mission to a five-star hotel would lead one to believe that simply relinquishing the Land liberated in 1967 would lead to peace. Please allow us to share a little bit of a different perspective. We are reservist soldiers who have left our lives and our families for up to a month every year to protect Israel and the Jewish people. For the past few years, we have been stationed in the Gaza region where we are located now. In 2005, the unilateral disengagement from Gaza evicted 8,000 Jews from their homes, and Gaza was ceded to the Palestinian Authority. Today, in place of the promised peace and calm that was to result from the disengagement, Gaza is now a war-torn territory controlled by the Hamas, and there are more guns, missiles, and artillery than ever before in history. Multiple rockets and missiles fall daily onto the helpless citizens of Sderot, within the 1948 borders of Israel! We recently visited with the people of Sderot to show our support, and a local teacher informed us that her young students, when asked why they thought snails had shells, unanimously replied “to hide from the Kassam rockets.” Is this the fate you wish upon the Jewish children of Jerusalem Rabbi Kanefsky?

While we could continue expending energy and focus on exposing the moral ambivalence, erroneous and specious historical assertions in your article, that would not be an honest depiction of our true difficulty with your proposals. If you were a politician or a journalist, perhaps such a discussion would be in order. But you, Rabbi Kanefsky, purport to be an Orthodox Rabbi. You know that Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Bible, while the Koran has not one reference to our holy city. You know that for more than 2,000 years our people have been praying daily for Jerusalem, solemnly breaking a glass in memorial of her Temple’s destruction, and leaving a portion of the walls in our homes unfinished because our cherished city lies in ruins. You know the words of King David who told us of the tears we shed “by the Rivers of Babylon… when we remembered Zion,” and both promised and warned of what would happen if we should ever forget our beloved Jerusalem. You know of our murdered ancestors who whispered Jerusalem with their last breath.

Rabbi Kanefsky, you call for honesty. You claim to believe in the Torah as the word of G-d, yet when composing an argument as critical as the division of our national and spiritual Capitol, you do not even quote one Jewish source! Rather than determining your stance based on Torah, Jewish Law, or the word of G-d, you quote “International Law” composed by many of the same nations who assisted or looked away as six million members of our family were slaughtered.

Intellectual Honesty, Rabbi Kanefsky. G-d demands it and your congregants, students, and followers deserve it. Please retract your article and stand with Jerusalem and the Nation of Israel. If you do not, accept our challenge to a debate and we will let the truth speak for itself. In these times of isolation and unparalleled danger, it is vital for us as a nation to unite with courage, clarity, and faith in G-d.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.
B’Ahavat Yisrael (With love of Israel),

Ari Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: WWW.THELANDOFISRAEL.COM

The Bostoner on Earthquakes

2007-12-02T19:39:00.000+02:00

The earthquake here in eretz yisroel was felt sometime after midnight. In the morning one chossid jokingly said it was Hashem rocking us in bed like a mother rocking her child in a cradle.

During Shalosh Seudos the Rebbe shlit"a said that after feeling the earthquake in the middle of the night he was pondering the meaning of trembling and awe and fear of G-d what we call in lashon hakodesh, Yiras Shamayim with retes, ziya and ra'ada.

The Rebbe gave a mashal using the parable of a tuning fork, where once hit the fork resonates a tone. One tine of the fork is hit however the companion tine shkes as well. Scientifically this is due to sound waves which are oberservable phenomonen in water. If I throw a pebble into water the water waves ripple and I can see the movement. This is tru in air as well but our eyes cannot observe it.

The Rebbe explained that what is true in the physical world holds true spiritually as well. If my neighbor quakes and shakes the message is that I must be shaking and trembling as well. Sometimes Hashem's message is that we have to unite and feel eachother's pain and fear. Perhaps this is one of the lessons of yiras shamayim.

THE BIG ONE IS DUE? Earthquakes in Israel

2007-12-02T19:38:00.000+02:00

THE BIG ONE IS DUE
The Jerusalem Post

Most Israelis can remember a day when their furniture started to
shake, and can also take credit for surviving that day with little
difficulty. But very few people are in a position to know firsthand
the effects of a truly disastrous earthquake, on a magnitude of seven
or higher on the Richter scale, as the last recorded such earthquake
in Israel occurred in 1033.

And that's the problem: Geology experts agree that Israel is long
overdue for the next "Big One," and it can happen at any time. This
poses a significant threat to population centers in the country, since
many buildings in Israel were erected prior to the formulation of
earthquake-resistant construction codes. There is also substantial
doubt that the codes are being strictly enforced. With the barrage of
immediate threats competing for Israelis' attention - whether
terrorism, car accidents, global warming or secondhand smoke - a major
earthquake may seem like an improbable, even paranoid fear.

While predicting the time of the next earthquake is nearly impossible,
says Dr. Amos Salamon of the Israel Geological Survey, "We know one
thing - we are sure there will be an earthquake in Israel."

This is because Israel is situated on two significant fault lines: the
Dead Sea Fault and the Carmel Fault. To understand which parts of the
country would be most vulnerable to a major earthquake, geologists
must base their knowledge on previous events - and in this case,
modern technology is of surprisingly little help.

"In modern times we usually monitor earthquakes by using
seismographs," explains geologist Dr. Shmuel Marco of Tel Aviv University.

But seismographs have only existed for about a century, whereas
geological processes develop over thousands, if not millions of years.
Therefore, there is a dearth of information on the major earthquakes
in Israel's past - and such information could be crucial to
determining which areas in Israel are in greatest danger.

This is especially true of the Carmel Fault, which poses a threat to
Haifa, among other places. Because the fault has been dormant in the
recent past, its potential threat is unknown.

For that reason, Marco has made it his mission to build a timeline of
Israel's earthquakes by delving into history and archeology, in
addition to geology. On the historical side, Marco has studied
hundreds of ancient documents that contain references to earthquakes,
in translations from the original Greek, Latin and Arabic. The
originals of some of these documents are assumed to reside in the
Vatican vaults. Even the Bible offers clues, as earthquakes are
sometimes mentioned as markers of time, Marco explains. For example,
prophets are often said to have become active a certain number of
years "after the earthquake."

With the aid of these documents, Marco has helped determine that a
series of devastating earthquakes hit Israel in the past two thousand
years. The major ones were recorded in the Jordan Valley in the years
31 BCE, 363 CE, 749 CE and 1033 CE, "so roughly," says Marco, "we are
talking about an interval of every 400 years. If we follow the
patterns of nature, a major quake should be expected any time because
almost a whole millennium has passed since the last strong earthquake."

Marco also uses archeological excavations to learn more about the
country's earthquake trends. For example, he is participating in the
excavation of Megiddo, the site of an ancient Canaanite city situated
on the Carmel Fault. He and geologist Prof. Amotz Agnon of the Hebrew
University are analyzing findings on the site, together with
archeologist Prof. Israel Finkelstein.

The geologists' focus on the archeological site stems from the hope
that archeological evidence will provide clues to the 5,000-year-old
city's geological past. The geological history of Megiddo would have
ramifications for the entire region situated atop the Carmel Fault,
Finkelstein explains.

"At Megiddo there's a sequence of cities. If one can keep track of the
earthquakes that damaged these cities, one can establish a timeline of
earthquakes in the north," he says.

Megiddo is an ideal candidate for such research because it is a site
with many layers of history, and each layer tells its own story of the
damage that took place. The most important - and only conclusive -
piece of evidence that researchers have discovered so far in the
investigation of the mystery that is the Carmel Fault, is damage to a
monumental temple, says Finkelstein, which corresponds to a biblical
reference to a major earthquake that occurred in the late fourth
millennium.

The nature of earthquakes is that they result from a buildup of
tension in the earth's crust along fault lines. The longer the period
between earthquakes, the more tension builds, with catastrophic
consequences upon its release. Since the last major earthquake was
1,000 years ago, "We are now in a deficit," Marco explains. "There's
been no release of tension, just buildup. It's like if you have a
strip of rubber between your hands and keep pulling it - you know that
it's going to snap eventually."

WHERE IS the next big quake most likely to hit? "We think that the
focus of major earthquakes will be in and around the Dead Sea Fault.
The seismic waves will spread around the epicenter and they will
affect buildings far away from the focus," says Salamon.

Places along the Dead Sea Fault include Eilat, towns in the North,
Kiryat Shmona, Tiberias and Beit She'an. "According to the historical
records we have, almost every place in Israel was damaged several
times in history [by earthquakes]," Salamon says. This is because
places that are not directly above the fault but are relatively close
to it, like Jerusalem, are still vulnerable to the effects of an
earthquake.

Tel Aviv is a good distance away from the fault and therefore may not
incur heavy damage, but on the other hand, Marco says that there is
evidence of earthquake damage to ancient Jaffa, possibly as a result
of activity along the Carmel Fault.

How much damage can we expect from the next earthquake? Salamon
explains that the extent of damage is determined by "a combination of
the effect of the earthquake and the strength of buildings."
[Tel Aviv as seen in Google Earth]

Tel Aviv as seen in Google Earth

Marco agrees that building quality is the most important factor in
preparing the country for an earthquake. "If you're out in a football
field, even a monster earthquake will not do any damage to you
physically. You might need a psychologist, but not a physician," he
says. "If you're in a building, your life depends on the quality of
construction."

Marco adds that in other parts of the world such as the US and Japan,
where the risk of earthquakes is high, seismic codes are strictly
adhered to. "All the skyscrapers in America are built with some
flexibility, so they're not too stiff," he explains. "Small or even
large earthquakes would make them sway a little, but not collapse."

The good news is that since 1975, Israel has instituted building codes
that are on par with international standards, in particular those of
California. Additionally, these codes have been revised and improved
over decades of accumulated research.

The question is whether these laws are actually enforced, and in that
regard, the issue becomes more uncertain. Building regulations are
issued at a national level by the interior minister, but the
responsibility for enforcement lies with local authorities. While
Interior Ministry spokesman David Pilzer states that building codes
are much improved and awareness of the problem is higher than it was,
he says that local enforcement of the codes "varies from place to place."

The reason for this variance, he explains, has to do with the seismic
calculations for buildings, which are the diagrams drawn up before a
building is approved to demonstrate its resistance to earthquakes.
These calculations are submitted to the local authorities before a
construction plan is accepted. But there's a snag, says Pilzer, which
is that most local authorities don't have professional engineers on
staff to check the calculations.

Even if the current building codes are enforced, that still leaves the
problem of older buildings that predate the 1975 laws. Pilzer agrees
that the prevalence of old buildings that do not comply with current
standards is a "substantial" problem.

Pilzer is a member of the Steering Committee for Earthquake
Preparedness in Israel, which was founded in 1999 in response to the
earthquake that year in Turkey. The committee comprises a diverse
assortment of government officials and researchers, and is responsible
for preparing the country for an earthquake. Such preparation extends
as far as training the IDF in search-and-rescue missions, as well as
in the retrieval and identification of casualties.

The steering committee is also responsible for revising building codes
as more information in the field of seismic resistance is discovered.

Even though geological discoveries are made all the time, enforcing
the corresponding changes to building codes is another story. "I don't
think [the municipal authorities] have enough manpower to physically
check that things are done according to the building codes," says
committee chairman Yael Kligman. "The engineer who plans the building
has to sign and commit, but most of the time no one else is checking."

ENFORCING BUILDING codes might seem daunting, but the issue of unsafe
older buildings is even more problematic. Geologist Dr. Hillel
Wust-Bloch, one of whose chief interests is earthquake prevention,
says that a large problem is that in places such as Beit She'an,
Kiryat Shmona and Tiberias - situated directly on the Dead Sea Fault -
there are entire neighborhoods built in the '40s and '50s that are
"cheap and vulnerable." Additionally, cities like Jerusalem and
Tiberias are rife with older buildings.

To counter this problem, the government instituted National Outline
Plan 38, a program granting extra building rights to people living in
pre-1980 buildings. Within these rights they are allowed the
construction of additions such as elevators, balconies or a penthouse,
adding value to the building.

"The concept is that the additions to the buildings provide revenue,
which can be used to strengthen the building," explains Pilzer.

One of the ways in which a building can be strengthened is by
enclosing its first floor. Many older buildings in Israel are built on
columns, which geologists say are an obvious hazard.

Plan 38 is currently being implemented in small sections of Tel Aviv
and Jerusalem, in the latter case as an "experiment" according to the
Jerusalem Municipality. There are a number of obstacles to putting the
plan into action on a broad scale, which Pilzer is hoping will be
solved with the introduction of additional incentives, such as tax breaks.

One of the reasons the plan has not been widely implemented is that
contractors are waiting for these incentives to be issued.
Additionally, at the present time a building can only take advantage
of Plan 38 if 75 percent of a building's residents consent. Pilzer
says that there is legislation under way to reduce that figure to 50
percent.

At a recent interministerial committee, incentive recommendations were
made that included granting low-interest loans for strengthening
buildings, says Pilzer. But this idea is controversial because of the
large costs involved, particularly when there are higher financial
priorities, he says.

As explained above, the success of Plan 38 is tied to the revenue that
is generated by the building additions. So what about places like Beit
She'an and Kiryat Shmona, where property prices are relatively low?

"That is still a problem," admits Kligman. Pilzer suggests that in
such places, erecting entirely new buildings would be of little cost -
but such a measure has not been implemented.

In addition to building safety concerns, Marco cites the chemical
industries in Haifa as a potential threat, estimating that the
breakage of one ammonia tank in the event of an earthquake would
result in the deaths of 10,000 people. However, Kligman is quick to
point out that the earthquake preparedness steering committee has
charged the Environmental Protection Ministry with the task of
checking the resistance of chemical containers in factories.

Even if a building is earthquake safe, there are additional measures
people can take to protect themselves. For example, Wust-Bloch, who
visits schools to teach earthquake preparedness, instructs students to
get under a table and hold onto the legs (otherwise the table may
slide away), or to protect their heads with their school bags. Also,
one should keep shoes by the bed because if there is an earthquake in
the night, the floor around the bed will be littered with broken
glass. Wust-Bloch also recommends bolting the fridge to the floor, so
that it doesn't topple.
[Tel Aviv as seen in Google Earth]

Tel Aviv as seen in Google Earth

Still, none of these measures are worthwhile if buildings aren't
secure, and both Marco and Wust-Bloch believe that building safety in
Israel is a matter for concern.

While Marco acknowledges that retrofitting all the buildings in the
country is preventively expensive, he says "We need money for research
that will tell engineers where to start, and which parts of the
country are more dangerous. We want to know if we should reinforce
first in Kiryat Shmona, Tiberias or Eilat.

"This is a heavy question," he continues. "It's impossible to enslave
the entire country's budget to retrofitting, but we need to start
somewhere. We should start from the most urgent place."

Israel's lack of progress in building safety is particularly
bewildering in light of the standards maintained elsewhere in the
world, he adds.

"The civilized state that we want to be should earmark some money for
this kind of research, that is not only scientific but also
applicable," concludes Marco. "We can and should do better."

Earthquakes in Israel continue

2007-12-02T19:36:00.000+02:00

4.0 quake felt; no damage, injuries
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

The fourth earthquake in two weeks shook parts of Israel and the
Palestinian Authority on Sunday, causing no casualties or damage.

The tremor had a magnitude of 4.0, according to a statement from
Israel's Geophysical Institute. Its epicenter was north of the Dead
Sea, the lowest point on earth, on the active Syrian-African rift
fault line where earthquakes are common.

On average, major earthquakes hit Israel once a century. But the
recent tremors do not indicate that a large-scale quake is on the way,
said Dr. Uri Frieslander, director of the Geophysical Institute.

"What we're seeing are typical movements along the Dead Sea valley,"
Frieslander told Israel Radio.

"These quakes... don't foreshadow anything or indicate that something
is about to happen," he said.

The last major earthquake to strike the area was in 1927. It had a
magnitude of more than 6 and killed 500 people. Israeli experts say
that because of population growth and high-rise construction, an
earthquake of the same magnitude today would kill more than 18,000 people.

------------------------------------

Sderot Challot Project

2007-10-23T12:17:00.000+02:00

Purchasing challot from the Eichut Mehadrin bakeryin Sderot is a great way to support a troubled cityin these hard times, and to enjoy good tasting challah and pastries, at the same time.

This service is brought to you by Standing Together;
see more info at http://www.stogether.org/.

Every week, you can order these items online, and they will be delivered to the local neighborhoodrepresentative (of your choosing) for pickup and payment on Erev Shabbat.

This service has been place for a number of months now,and continues to provide Shabbat delicacies forfamilies in Rehovot, Gush Etzion, Bet Shemesh, andJerusalem.

See http://www.stogether.org/sderotchallot for more information and ordering options!

Tizku l'mitzvot!-- Aryeh Koenigberg
Standing TogetherRegional Coordinator, Sderot Challot Project

Arvei Nachal Each part of Torah maintains a particular piece of land in Eretz Yisroel

2007-10-15T16:38:00.000+02:00

We find throughout the Book of Yehoshua that B'nai Yisroel captured Eretz Yisroel with relative ease. Their first conquest was that of Yericho, and because of the miraculous way in which the city fell to them, it was understood that they would not take of the spoils. They, the people, were not the real victors, but rather Hashem was. It is thus perplexing that we find (Yehoshua 15:16) Kalev making the following declaration, "Whoever will conquer D'vir, which was formerly known as Qiryat Sefer, I will give my daughter Achsha as a wife". We are then told that Osneal ben Knaz conquers it and is given Achsha as a wife. Why was this particular section of the land more difficult to conquer? The Book of Yehoshua does not inform us, but the Gemara (Temurah 16a) gives us a significant clue.

The above cited Gemara teaches that when Moshe died, 300 halachos were forgotten by the people. Osneal restored them using his understanding and erudition of the oral law. The text that the Gemara uses to prove that he restored these laws is the verse from Yehoshua that teaches that us that he conquered Qiryat Sefer. What might be the connection between these two subjects?

Harav Dovid Shlomo Eibshitz z"l, the author of the L'vush on Yoreh Deah and Orach Chaim, writes a most fascinating idea in his sefer Arvei Nachal ( Parshas Shelach, Drush 2). The reason that the Jewish nation conquered Eretz Yisroel with relative ease is because the Torah is the blueprint of the world.

Each part of Torah maintains a particular piece of land in Eretz Yisroel. Thus it is understandable that their primary preparation for the conquest of the land was not a military academy. Rather their training at Har Sinai, where their acceptance of Torah and their commitment to its perpetuation enabled them to conquer the land. When Moshe died and they forgot 300 Torah laws, they were lacking the spiritual munitions to conquer D'vir. Osneal conquered not only with the sword, but more importantly with the restoration of the sefer, by his Torah, as alluded to in the name Qiryat Sefer.

From Rabbi Benjamin Yudin
http://www.torahweb.org/torah/2004/parsha/ryud_kedoshim.html
Copyright © 2004 by The TorahWeb Foundation. All rights reserved.

The Temple Mount in Their Hands

2007-10-10T14:49:00.000+02:00

Posted by: "Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Esq." mailto:nitsanad@zahav.net.il?Subject=
Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:33 am (PST)

Throughout the four decades following the Six Day War, the Islamic authorities which still control the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, have engaged in a deliberate and concerted effort to destroy and remove all evidence of the Jewish historical connection to Har HaBayit.

In the course of this malicious campaign, The Muslim Trust ("the Waqf") which is custodian of the Temple Mount, has intentionally demolished a great number of priceless Jewish artifacts on this holiest of religious sites. These include the remains of the two Temples!

The Israeli authorities have, in their political cowardice, refused to undertake any action to stop the desecration and destruction of these ancient relics by the Waqf and refuse to safeguard World Jewry's heritage and property. In recent months the Waqf has brought in bulldozers and other heavy digging equipment to carry out "renovations" on the Temple Mount. Israeli archaeologists who have sifted through the discarded earth being dumped by the Waqf outside the Old City were shocked to have discovered a great number of Jewish artifacts brutally trashed by the bulldozers. A wall from the outer court yard of the Second Temple is believed to have been recently pulverized by bulldozers.

The Waqf is deliberately demolishing all ancient Jewish artifacts. Appeals to the government, the IDF and law enforcement agencies by the archaeologists to stop the Waqf's destruction have not been answered. The UN similarly is refusing to act.

Enough is Enough is Enough!

Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center is organizing a legal effort to stop the Islamic destruction on the Temple Mount. Utilizing an unprecedented legal procedure, we intend to criminally prosecute the Waqf, its leaders and the construction firms involved in the demolishing of the ancient Jewish artifacts. The intent of the law suit is not to appeal to Israeli officials to stop the Waqf but to indict and prosecute these Islamic haters directly ourselves.

If we are successful at trial the Waqf leaders and construction company officials will be sentenced to prison. We are doing what the Attorney General's office is too fearful to do - punish this anti-Semitic hate.

We, however, need your assistance. Israeli citizens are needed as plaintiffs in this land-mark prosecution. You need simple to email us your name, ID number and email address. We will then contact you with full information. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO COSTS INVOLVED.

Send your contact information to:info@israellawcenter.org
If you are tired of the Islamic desecration and deliberate destruction of Jewish artifacts on Temple Mount, then please join with us in sending the Waqf officials to prison. If you want to safeguard the Jewish People's sacred heritage and combat the Islamic hate, please email us immediately.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Adv.info@israellawcenter.org

Toras Eretz Yisroel

2007-08-16T10:39:00.000+03:00

"There is no Torah like the Torah of Eretz Yisroel and no wisdom like the wisdom of Eretz Yisrael."
(Bereshith Raba 16:4)

Rav Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook Movie Biography

2007-07-25T16:24:00.000+03:00

mms://msmedia.a7.org/arutz7/eng-perm/kook.wmv

Kinna for Destroyed Communities of Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron

2007-07-24T20:38:00.000+03:00

Kinna for Destroyed Communities of Gush Katif and the
Northern Shomron (May they soon be rebuilt)
By Rav Yehoshua Buch

About the Composition of the Kinna
This kinna was written in the style of the 16th century peytan Rabbi Eliezar HaKalir and his kinna of 24 stanzas about
the 24 mishmarot of the Kohanim in the Bet HaMikdash. Words of the kinna are borrowed from Rabbi Eliezar’s kinna
as well as from the first chapter of Megilat Eicha, according to (Hebrew) alphabetical order. The last line of each
stanza ends with the name of a destroyed yishuv (may they be speedily rebuilt).
All words of the kinna—except for one—are found in Tanakh. The kinna was made from connecting words and parts
of pasukim of Tanakh, although grammar may have necessitated some slight changes. Many words in the kinna have
double meanings. The first and last lines of each stanza rhyme with each other and lines two and three rhyme with
each other.

About the Content of the Kinna
The kinna mourns the destruction of the yishuvim of Gush Katif and the northern Shomron and the expulsion of their
inhabitants. Words of praise are used to describe them such as “heros”, “tzaddikim” etc. The kinna blames all Jews
who took part in the churban (destruction) and expulsion and describes them in harsh words such as “enemies”,
“pursuers” etc.

The first six words are taken from the kinna “Eicha Havatzelet HaSharon” (How the Rose of Sharon Sits) by Rav
Eliezar HaKalir and this is used as a double meaning: praise for Am Yisrael and a blatant hint about the current
situation of man who orchestrated this tragedy. The kinna criticizes him in the strongest manner. The next to last
stanza describes Am Yisrael with words of praise such as “vineyard” and “fruitful” and the last stanza is a prayer for
redemption and ends with the authors name.

For more information, contact Rav Buch at harav@machonshilo.org or +972-2-651-8519.

אֵיכָה?!
קינה על
חרבן עשרים וחמשה ישובים בארץ ישראל
וגלות יושביהם על ידי אחיהם בית ישראל
אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה חֲבַצֶּלֶת הַשָּׁרוֹן,
וְדָמַם רן בִּצְפוֹן הַשּׁמְרוֹן,
וְגרְשׁוּ יוֹשְׁבֵי עַזָּה בְּשִׁבָּרוֹן,
וְנָע מִמָּדוֹר אִיש כְּפַר-דָּרוֹם.
בָּכוֹ תִבְכֶּה, וְתִדְמַע עֵינִי,
כִּי שֶׁבֶר גָּדוֹל נִשְׁבַּר עַמִּי,
זֶה חָזִיתִי, הַשָּׁבָץ אֲחָזַנִי,
הָשְׁלַכְתָּ מִבֵּיתְךָ, נֵצֶר-חַזָּנִי.
גָּלְתָה עַזָּה, עֲזוּבָה תִהְיֶה,
כָּלְתָה הָרָעָה אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה,
אָבְלָה אֲדָמָה, שֻׁדַּד שָׂדֶה,
כִּי תְכַלֶּה אֶת פְּאַת-שָׂדֶה.
דַּרְכֵי שׁמְרוֹן אֲבֵלִים שׁוֹמֵמִין,
וַיָּפָג לִבֵּנוּ, כִּי לא הֶאֱמִין,
יָגוֹן תִּמָּלֵא הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת בַּגַּנִּים,
כִּבְרוּחַ קָדִים נָפצוּ הַכַּדִּים.
הָיוּ צָרֶיהָ לְראשׁ, איְבֶיהָ לַעֲנָה,
הֲפַכְתֶּם לְלַעֲנָה מִשְׁפָּט, וַיִּגְדַּל עֲוֹנָהּ,
בִּעַרְתֶּם הַכֶּרֶם, וְיָרַד הֲדָרָהּ וַהֲמוֹנָהּ,
לא יָרְאוּ לְשַׁחֵת אֶת כֶּרֶם- עַצְמוֹנָה.
וַיֵּצֵא מִמְּקמוֹ לָשׂוּם אַרְצֵךְ לִקְצָפָה,
אֲחָזַתְנִי זַלְעָפָה, כִּי רָעָה נִשְׁקְפָה,
גֶּפֶן פרִיָּה וַעֲנֵפָה הָיְתָה לִשְׂרֵפָה,
הָיְתָה לְתֵל שְׁמָמָה תֵּל-קָטִיפָה.
זָכְרָה יָמִים מִקֶּדֶם שְׁנוֹת עוֹלָמִים,
יְדוָד אֲשֶׁר הִצִּלַנִי מִיַּד הַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִים,
בֵּרַךְ נְוֵה צַדִּיקִים יוֹשְׁבֵי אהָלִים,
עַתָּה יָצְאוּ מְבהָלִים מִנְּוֵה- דְקָלִים.
חֵטְא חָטָא יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְגַם עָבַר בְּרִית,
לְהָקִים אֶרֶץ, לְהַנְחִיל מוֹרָשָׁה לִשְׁאֵרִית,
בַּעֲוֹן תָּכְנִית, הֵסַבּוּ אֶת לִבָּם אֲחרַנִּית,
הָלַכְנוּ קְדרַנִּית, כְּסָפוּ דוּגִית וְנִיסָנִית.
טֻמְאָתָהּ בְּשׁוּלֶיהָ, לא זָכְרָה פְּלָאָיו,
יָפוּצוּ אוֹיְבָיו וְיָנוּסוּ מְשַׂנְאָיו מִפָּנָיו,
רְאֵה כִּי הִגְדִּיל אוֹיֵב, חָרַק עָלַי שִׁנָּיו,
כִּי מִפְּנֵי הָרָעָה אָבָד וְנֶאֱסַף הַשְּׂלָו.
יָדוֹ פָּרַשׂ צָר, לֹא הֵשִׁיב אָחוֹר,
הֶחְשִׁיךְ לָאָרֶץ, הִקְדִיר מְאוֹרֵי אוֹר,
וַאֲיַחֲלָה כִּי יֵצֵא מִשְׁפָּטִי לָאוֹר,
וְעַתָּה לֹא רָאוּ אוֹר בְּגַן-אוֹר.
כָּל עַמָּהּ נֶאֱנָח, זָעֲקוּ אֶל טוֹב וְסַלָּח,
מַדּוּעַ דֶּרֶךְ רָשָׁע תִּצְלָח, מֵאֵן לְשַׁלַּח,
חֶפְצוֹ בְּיָדוֹ יִצְלָח, נָוֶה נֶעֱזָבומְשֻׁלָּח,
רוֹדִי יָדוֹ הַחֲזָקָה שָׁלַח אֶל הַבְּדלַח.
לוֹא אֲלֵיכֶם כָּל עֹבְרֵי דֶרֶךְ לָתוּר,
שָׂא קִינָה וָנֶהִי, כִּי נִצְּתוּ וּמִי יָסוּר,
עוֹרֵנוּ נִכְמָר כְּתַנּוּר, ולא רָאִיתִי אוּר,
כי לֹא יוֹסִיפוּ עוֹד לָגוּר בְּשָׂא-נוּר.
מִמָּרוֹם שָׁלַח אֵשׁ, וְאָכְלָה אַרְמוֹן,
אָז נִבְהֲלוּ עֲצָמָי, נְתָנַנִי בְּשִׁמָּמוֹן,
בֵּין עֲצוּמִים יַפְרִיד, וְהֶגְלָה הָמוֹן,
כּחוֹ עָצַם, וְהִשְׁחִית בְּנֵי- עַצְמוֹן.
נִשְׂקַד עֹל בְּיָדוֹ, עַל צַוָּארִי יִשְׂתָּרַג,
עָלַי תִּשְׁתַּפֵּךְ נַפְשִׁי, אֵלֶיךָ תֶּעֱרָג,
עַל דּוּשׁוֹ בֶחָרוּץ, וּפַחְדּוֹ יְשֹׂרָג,
הִנֵּה כִּלָּיוֹן חָרוּץ שָׂם לְמוֹרָג.
סִלָּה כָל אַבִּירַי לִשְׁבֹּר בַּחוּרִים,
רדְפֶיהָ הִשִּׂיגוּהָ בֵּין הַמְּצָרִים,
רָאוּהָ צָרִים, שָׂחֲקוּ עַל גִּבּוֹרִים,
נֶהֶפְכוּ לְזָרִים נִטְעֵי נְצָרִים.
עַל אֵלֶּה אֲנִי בוֹכִיָּה לַיְלָה וְיוֹמָם,
הוֹי יֹשְׁבֵי חֶבֶל הַיָּם, יָצְאוּ וְאֵינָם,
נָדְדוּ וְלֹא נוֹדַע מְקוֹמָם אַיָּם,
וְנָעוּ מִכְּפַר- יָם עַד רָפִיחַ- יָם.
רְֵּשָׂה צִיּוֹן בְּיָדֶיהָ אֶל הַשָּׁמַיִם מֵעָל,
מְבֹרֶכֶת אַרְצוֹ מִמֶּגֶד שָׁמַיִם מִטָּל,
לֹא יִהְיֶה עוֹד הַשָּׁנִים הָאֵלֶּה טָל,
כִּי הֻשְׁלַךְ עַל הָאָרֶץ וְהוּטַל גַּנֵי-טָל.
צַדִּיק הוּא יְדוָד בְּכָל דְּרָכָיו וְחָסִיד,
וְלָנוּ הִגִּיד, כִּי יִשְׁכֹּן לָבֶטַח יָדִיד,
וְעַתָּה לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתֶם לִי לְהַגִּיד,
כִּי יָבֵשׁ תָּמָר, כָּלָה וְעָבַר גָּדִיד.
קָרָאתִי לַמְאַהֲבַי, הֵמָּה בָּגְדוּ בַּידֹוָד,
אֱלִי וְאַלְלַי, אֶרֶץ רָעָשָׁה מִפְּנֵי סִינָי,
כִּסְּתָה כְלִמָּה פָנָי, וַתִּדַּד שְׁנָתִי מֵעֵינָי,
כִּי לֹא יוּכַל הָעָם לַעֲלת אֱלֵי- סִינָי.
רְאֵה יְדוָד וְהַבִּיטָה, מִמָּרוֹם תַּשְׁקִיף,
כִּי צַר יָדוֹ הֵנִיף, וּמְצוּדוֹ עָלַי הִקִּיף,
בְּפֶשַׁע בָּא תַּקִּיף, עַל חַטָּאתוֹ הוֹסִיף,
וּמַרְשִׁיעַ הֶחֱנִיף, וְאָסַף אֶת קָטִיף.
שָׁמְעוּ כִּי נֶאֱנָחָה אָנִי, אֵין מֵשִׁיב נָפֶשׁ,
בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִׁי מְצָאֻנִי רָעוֹת חֹמֶשׁ,
עָלוּ חֲמֻשִׁים, הִשְׁחִיתוּ הָעִיר וְהַקֹּדֶשׁ,
וְהִנֵּה הָפַךְ מִשֹּׁרֶשׁ, וַיַּכֵּה אֶל הַחֹמֶשׁ.
תָּבא לְפָנֶיךָ אֶנְקָתֵנוּ, וּשְׁמַע שַׁוְעָתָם,
חוּסָה יְדוָד עַלעַמְּךָ, חוּשָׁה לִתְשׁוּעָתָם,
יֵשׁ אַחֲרִית וְתִקְוָה, וְשָׁבוּ בָנִים לִגְבוּלָם,
וְאָז נָשִׁיר שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה כְּשִׁירַת-הַיָּם.
כָּתַב בְּדִמּוּעַ
מְצַפֶּה לִישׁוּעָה
בּוּךְ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ

http://machonshilo.org/PDF/Machon_Shilo_Gush_Katif_Kinna.pdf

Kinnos & 9 Av resources

2007-07-24T11:42:00.000+03:00

http://www.ou.org/holidays/tishabav

http://www.kiruv.com/FromTheAshes/

Tonight, 1,939 years since the destruction of the Second Temple, Rav Leff delivered words of hisorerus (awakening), introuducing the topic he will be focusing on in his explaination of the Kinos tomorrow. He discussed two things that we are missing since the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash - Shalom & Emes (peace and truth).

The video of the drasha Rav Leff delivered Tisha B'av night, 5767(2007) has been posted. You can watch it here:http://www.rabbileff.net/shiurim/moadim/tishabav/videos-leil-5767.htm

Kinot For Our Time
The destruction of the Six Million is our stark connection to the eternal Tisha B'Av. Two great and inspiring spiritual leaders of our time, The Bobover Rebbe and Rav Shimon Schwab composed Kinot lamenting and memorializing the unspeakable tragedy. In recent years, many congregations have adopted the practice of reciting these Kinot on the evening or morning of Tisha B'Av. We present these Kinot, with our translation, as a public service.
Click HERE for FREE download.

The Talmud on the Destruction
The classic Torah study for Tisha B'Av study is the series of Talmudic narratives about the destruction of the Second Temple. Included are narratives of the internal struggle between the leaders of the nation and the instigators of war.
For the benefit of our readers, we present a section of this Talmudic portion (Gittin 55b-56a), adapted from the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli.
Click HERE for FREE download.

Tisha b'Av - Movie in your own home

2007-07-19T21:33:00.000+03:00

"From the Ashes" - Originally made for internal use, the film is nowavailable for all to see. In August 2006 a group of sixty Aish HaTorahrabbis from around the world visited the death camps in Poland withtheir Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Noah Weinberg. This is the story of their journey and its relevance to Rabbi Weinberg'sfifty year battle against assimilation and the spiritual holocaustfacing the Jewish people.

Click here: http://www.kiruv.com/FromTheAshes/

Otzar Ha'aretz

2007-07-19T19:18:00.000+03:00

Otzar Ha'aretz (Jewish produce planted and harvested according to the laws of Shemita)

To sign up for Otzar Ha'aretz:

Telephone: 1-700-709-177 (you can pay with credit card) or on the website www.hashmita.co.il

You pay 50 NIS as a sign-up fee (and get a free sefer about shmita or another "prize" that they are presently giving away) and you will also be paying 50 NIS a month for a 50 NIS coupon each month that you can use at your local Otzar Ha'aretz store.

Jerusalem Quartered

2007-07-19T14:07:00.000+03:00

Jerusalem Quartered by Rabbi Yakov Goldman O.B.M.

This article was written by the late Rabbi Yakov Goldman, who served for many years with the Joint Distribution Committee in Israel. It first appeared in the Winter 1975 issue of Shma Yisrael magazine, published by Ohr Somayach. Although some of the material is dated, we feel that most of it is very relevant to our current situation and are therefore putting it on the Web just as he wrote it.

Foreword "If I forget thee, O Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem..." The Divisions Map-makers and Labels The 'Armenian' Quarter The 'Christian' Quarter The 'Moslem' Quarter Build First; Ask Later Lower East Side Control The 'Messiah' and the Pope The Prince of Peace City of God

"If I forget thee, O Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem..."

A closer look at the history of Jerusalem calls into question the designations of its districts. Just how non-Jewish are the Armenian, Christian, and Moslem Quarters? Is the Jewish Quarter simply Jerusalem's 'Lower East Side'?

Many people today are concerned about the future of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Pope, for example, is reported to have met the heads of three African states and, together, they decided Jerusalem should be international. Well, as the head of a Church called Catholic, i.e. universal, it may be expected of the Pope to view all things sub specie universelas. "Internationalize Jerusalem! Let every nation have a share in it!" King Hussein, not so general nor 'liberal-minded,' says he wants it for himself he wants complete control over Old Jerusalem. There are many other suggestions about the future of Jerusalem, but on one thing many seem to agree: Jerusalem should again be divided into two cities - the Israeli, i.e. the new city, and the Old City - which should no longer be part of the capital of the State of Israel. On that both the Pope and King Hussein appear decided.

I do not intend to discuss the historic claims of Jews, or Israel, to Jerusalem as its capital, nor do I want to go into the political issues as to whether it's feasible to make Jerusalem once again a divided or internationalized city. But I do want to discuss one particular aspect of this problem.
Many say to us Jews that, even in the best of days before the establishment of the State, Jews only lived in one section of the Old City, called the Jewish Quarter, and, since there are four quarters, and we have had only one, what claim do we have to sovereignty over the whole of the Old City? Unfortunately, I find that not only non-Jews, but even Jews seem to accept this apparently reasonable 'fact.' We Jews also speak of the "Jewish" Quarter. Even the Israeli government has laid down special regulations about the Jewish Quarter, regarding settlement of Jews, which do not equally apply to the other quarters. I see in this a false assumption, and a great danger if we accept such a way of thinking. For, in actuality, the entire Old City, all four quarters, has been inhabited by Jews for at least the last few centuries. And Jewish population has been, if not a majority, a substantial minority in these quarters, at various points in history.

The Divisions
Now, think of Jerusalem as a rectangle, crisscrossed by two streets that divide the city, into east, west, north and south. The first street runs from Damascus Gate to the Zion Gate and divides the city into east and west. The second street runs from Jaffa Gate - way down as you go to the Kotel (Western Wall). Don't turn right, however, as you would to go to the Kotel, but go on towards the Temple Mount, and that street divides the city into north and south. As a result, you get four quarters.

These four quarters are named after the communities that were supposed to have occupied them exclusively. If we enter through the Jaffa Gate and go down David Street there is the Christian quarter on the left, and in that quarter, you have the Church of the Sepulchre, the Tomb of Jesus, and the homes of the Patriarchs. You have the Latin, i.e. the Catholic Patriarchs, and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, who is the head of the so-called 'Russian' Church. And then as you continue down David Street, to your right, you have the Armenian Quarter. When you get to the Jews Street (from there to the left is the Moslem Quarter) you have the greater part of the Temple area. And to the right is the fourth quarter, which, we are told is called Jewish Quarter, with the obvious implication that the others are not 'Jewish.' Incidentally, the Jewish Quarter -everything to the right - is not strictly Jerusalem, but is called Mount Zion. According to a number of books written about two hundred years ago, there was a stone marking the boundary between Zion, i.e. the so-called 'Jewish' Quarter and the so-called 'Moslem' Quarter, which was Jerusalem proper.

Map-makers and Labels
This arrangement of Jerusalem into four neighborhoods, named according to the ethnic affiliation of the people who lived there: Christian, Armenian, Moslem, Jewish, is a very artificial and arbitrary division of the city. These classifications are more for the convenience of map-makers than an actual ethnographic description. In the Armenian Quarter, for example, there is only one Armenian church, but there are four churches of other denominations: the Syrian Church, the Maronite Catholic, the Greek Orthodox of St. George, and the Anglican, just opposite the Tower of David. Besides that there is the Catholic welfare station and the Lutheran hostel. All this in the Armenian Quarter. So it is obvious to anyone who walks through the area that though called the Armenian Quarter, it does not mean that only Armenians live there.
A similar situation prevails in the Moslem Quarter. If you go there in December you'll see that it's really a good 'Christian' quarter, because the greater part of the Via Dolorosa, a street that has significance only for Christians, lies in the Moslem Quarter, and it is lined on both sides with a great number of Christian sites, such as the Church of St. Anne, the Convent of the Sisters of Zion, Ecce Homo Church, the White Father Seminary, Austrian Hospice, and a number of monasteries; to name only some of the sites. So that just walking through these quarters you see at once that their names, like many names, are misleading if you accept them in the sense of being exclusive. This is apparent to anyone who walks through the streets of Jerusalem. However, what is unfortunately no longer so obvious is that in the three 'non-Jewish' quarters, there was an equally extensive Jewish settlement.

This fact is no longer obvious because, as may not be known, Jews have been driven from those quarters, and the signs of their previous settlement are no longer conspicuous. When I arrived in Jerusalem on my first trip, in 1924, everything was still conspicuous, and you could see the full extent of the settlement of the Jews in the whole of the Old City. However, things began to change after World War I, when the British arrived and took over. There were outbreaks of Arab mob violence in 1920, 1929 and 1937 - and the British said to the Jews, "Why do you live in far flung sections of the city? Withdraw into the Jewish Quarter and we will be able to protect you." When they got us into the Jewish Quarter, they said: "You're living too close to the edge move inwards." Finally they got us into a corner and annihilated the settlement.

The 'Armenian' Quarter
In the Armenian Quarter only one sector is actually occupied by the Armenian compound. The Armenian compound has a wall around it enclosing the big cathedral and its adjoining buildings. The rest of the quarter had to have a name. It wasn't Jewish, it wasn't Moslem, it wasn't Christian. So they applied to this section the name of its neighbor Armenian - simply a convenient fiction. Recently, an American Christian scholar made a study of the divisions of Jerusalem, and rightly calls this sector Hart el Yahud which means "The Jewish Section (of the Armenian Quarter)." Thus, here is an admission, from a non-Jew, that the 'Armenian Quarter' had a very heavy concentration of Jews.

The Armenian Quarter, on the west, and the Jewish Quarter, on the east, are divided by Chabad Street (Suq El Hussor Road). In other words, one half of Chabad Street is Jewish, the other half Armenian. Now, on one side of the Armenian Quarter there is, right opposite the Chabad Synagogue, a very famous yeshiva of Kabbalists called Yeshiva Hesed El, which was built in 1860 by a Jew from Baghdad. He endowed the yeshiva with a famous library of Kabbalistic works. Right next to Yeshiva Hesed El was the center of the Ashkenazi settlement in the Jewish quarter: the Hurva (Desolation) Synagogue, although the Hurva was far from desolate. It had a yeshiva and two big synagogues (the older one is still standing) and was a very busy center. Before the Hurva Synagogue was built, a century ago, the center of the Ashkenazi Jews was also in the Armenian Quarter, in a compound called chatzer, i.e. a square around which homes are built. It was called the Chatzer of Rebbe Shayeh - Reb Shayeh Bardakee - also known by the name of its synagogue, Sukat Shalom. Besides tens of dwellings, and a mikva (ritual immersion pool) and this beautiful synagogue, it was the seat of the Bet Din (Court) of Reb Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld. Built with money provided by the Jews of Amsterdam in 1836, it was the center of the Ashkenazi Jewish settlement until replaced by the Hurva.

Another very interesting building in the Armenian Quarter, is adjacent to the St. George Church. It was purchased by a Turkish rabbi who, in 1604, wrote a will in which he describes this building which he was leaving to his children so you can see how long ago he bought it. He delineated the boundaries, and mentions the church as one of them. The building is still standing; it is being renovated now. Strange thing: in his will, the Rabbi warns his descendants not to let the building out of the family's possession. "I bought this building," he writes, "so that when Mashiach comes, and we have revival of the dead, I will have a home in Jerusalem. And so, I want the building to remain in our possession." It has not gone out of the possession of this family, even until now. Two hundred years ago there was family litigation about this particular property and one of the rabbis, in his official response, quotes this will as a proof of the family's ownership from that early date.

There is, also, in the Armenian Quarter a whole section belonging to Jews called the chosh (in Arabic: a pen, an enclosure for animals). It was bought by a Hungarian Jew, named Zadok Kraus. The old-timers still call it Reb Zadok's Chosh. The story goes that he bought it for a sack of rice. (Some say it was a sack of potatoes, but they didn't have potatoes in those days -- it was a luxury unknown to this part of the world so it must have been rice which he offered the Arab owner.) Land didn't have the great value it does now in Jerusalem, and a sack of rice was a fair price then. In the chosh there are about thirty Jewish homes and two synagogues still standing today.

The 'Christian' Quarter
I remember Christian Street as a street of shops many of which were Jewish. In 1875 a German, named Gott, came here and wrote about Jerusalem. He describes it street by street. When he comes to the Christian Street he says that, 'unfortunately' all the shops on this street are owned by Jews and it could just as well be called the Jews' Street. I still remember a building on Christian Street (if you want to take the trouble to locate it, it's No. 80 - there's a parlor there now where you can have a tattoo done) where there was a synagogue. About forty years ago, as I was going to the Kotel on Shabbat, a man standing on the corner of Christian Street asked me if I could be a tenth (to a minyan). It was a synagogue of Yanina Jews - Yanina is a community in the north of Greece and its Jews had two synagogues in Jerusalem, one in the Ohel Moshe Quarter and this one in the Old City. Many Greek Jews had their shops on Christian Street and, nearby, the market called Aftimos was all Jewish. There also exists a copy of a deed of transfer dated 1826 of one Jew transferring his property in the Christian Quarter to another Jew. So you have an idea as to how 'Christian' the Christian Quarter was.

The 'Moslem' Quarter
The Moslem Quarter is described in detail by one of the great rabbis of Jerusalem, who died ten years ago, Ben-Zion Yadler. Rabbi Yadler would go to the Kotel on Tisha B'av at midnight, when he would begin teaching Midrash. Up till twelve o'clock he wouldn't appear - there were too many 'Zionists' who used to come. But at twelve we would all gather together and he would tell us about Jerusalem. I remember once that Arabs began throwing stones at us. He said to us in Yiddish, "Don't be upset. You wanted them to give you back Palestine; they're giving it to you stone by stone."

He writes a full description of what is today called the Moslem Quarter, and says as follows: Not only did the majority of Jews of Jerusalem live in the so-called 'Moslem' Quarter, but, also the more important Jews lived there, rather than in other sections of the city. And he goes on to describe twenty-two synagogues (I've been able to locate practically all of them), many mikvaot and yeshivot, among them, the biggest yeshiva in that part of the city - which is fortunately still standing - Torat Chaim. As you come from Damascus Gate, it's on the left side of El Wad Road. Very strange: it is right on the Via Dolorosa part of the street. (The Via Dolorosa curves at one point, and part of it is on El Wad Road.)

Then you have another big yeshiva, Chaye Olam, with a Talmud Torah of twenty-two classrooms -- each classroom today is an Arab home. (A Talmud Torah consists of eight grades, and here there were three parallel classes.) Part of the building is now unused. That part was never finished because the Arabs brought a case against it in 1927 when the yeshiva wanted to start a new wing. They weren't able to finish it, so they just have the walls up. The yeshiva is close to what is the holiest part of Jerusalem for Jews. Here is an entrance to the Temple area. It's called Bab el-Katunin which means Gate of Cotton, because there were cotton shops there. It's now being repaired by the Moslems. It leads straight to the Mosque of Omar which is called by the Arabs Sakra, meaning the 'Mosque covering the stone' which is our Even Shtia the holiest spot for Jews in this world, the ancient Holy of Holies, the stone upon which the Ark rested.
There is another building, very close to the golden-domed mosque, which a Hungarian Jew, who arrived here about a hundred years ago, put up. In that building were two yeshivot called Mishmarot (Watches) because twenty-four hours a day Torah was studied there. Rabbi Yadler described how at midnight one group would come from the farthest corners of Jerusalem and another group would go home at that late hour to a place called Bab-el-Hota, close to the Lions Gate. I was still able to find one or two Jews who lived there in their youth. A synagogue was there, but it's been abandoned for over forty years. You can still see the building near two Turkish baths. One is on the corner of the Bab-el-Katunin, and is called Hamam-el-en; and closer to the Temple Mount, very close, is the second bathhouse. Both of these bath-houses had good mikvaot under the supervision of rabbis. The Arab owners didn't want to lose Jewish trade, and they made special arrangements for mikvaot.

Build First; Ask Later
There was a very strange Turkish law in effect when this building was erected. Usually in building, you first have a plan, you get your plan approved by the government, and then you build. Well, by Turkish Law, they build first and then they make a plan and have it approved. But if you built not in accordance with the regulations, there was a law: once built, it could not be torn down. So you did a lot of building at night, under cover of darkness, and then, in the morning, the inspector came around, and even though the building wasn't according to regulations, it could not be torn down. This particular building was close to the Temple Mount and the Arabs objected to its being put up, so it was completed in one night. Two walls were put up at night, and because they were built with self-sacrifice, they are still standing. The other two walls, no longer are.

Lower East Side
So, you see, Jews lived not only in the 'Jewish' section. It's just as if someone would say today, "Jews in New York live only on the Lower East Side, not Brooklyn, not Bronx, not Queens - nowhere else." It's equally ridiculous for someone to say, "You lived only in the 'Jewish' section of Jerusalem." Jews lived in the Armenian section, in the Moslem section, and they had a synagogue and owned most of the shops in the Christian section.

Control
Once again, people are reviving the issue of international control of Jerusalem. Even such an authority as Dr. Kissinger has said that Jerusalem is holy to the three religions. There is a very great distinction. However, for the Christians and Moslems there are holy places in Jerusalem. But the city, as a whole, is not holy to them. However, to Jews the city itself is holy. We have the regulations in the Mishna: "The whole world is holy to Jews; Eretz Yisrael is holier, Jerusalem is still holier, the Temple Mount is holiest." There is a special sanctity that pervades Jerusalem as a city (irrespective of whether there happens to be there synagogues or other holy sites) which is not the same for Islam or Christianity.

In the idea of international control, there also lies a great danger. International cities do not work anywhere. It means bringing the Soviet Union into the picture, controlling the holiness of Jerusalem, and we know just how much holiness of religion means to them. It is the thin edge of the wedge for them to get something more than just control of the holy places. Holy places merit special treatment consulates, for instance, are extra-territorial. In the same way you might let Christians own their Sepulchre and manage it as they please, but that doesn't mean that you have to grant them control over the city ... In New York you have St. Patrick's Cathedral but that does not give the Catholics control over New York. Nor is New York, with all its sects, under international control.

The 'Messiah' and the Pope
When Jerusalem was under the exclusive control of the Moslems for nineteen years, under Trans-Jordan, no one was worried about it. The Pope wasn't worried about it. King Hussein certainly wasn't worried about it. Only when Jews get control does the world get worried. It is interesting that there is no conflict between the different religions about any particular site. We have no interest in the Sepulchre, and Christians have no interest in the Hurva Synagogue. It is only in Hebron where we have a clash. The Tomb of the Patriarchs is sacred to Moslems and Jews. But Jerusalem is different even in the Wall the Arabs showed no real interest. Christianity, however, has a basic belief which to them is proof that Jesus really was 'Messiah': the fact that the Jews, because they never really accepted him, are in Galut (Exile) for 2000 years. They keep saying: "These people are the proof of the truth of Christianity. These people have been cursed and they'll never have their country back until they accept Jesus as the Messiah." All of a sudden the Jews get their country back and young Christian people come and say to their religious leaders: "What's happened to all your theories? Jews have got their country back." So they begin to get worried.

I happened to have been present at a discussion on a very high level on this matter between Chief Rabbi Herzog and the Pope. This goes back to 1940 when I was Rabbi Herzog's private secretary. Since he was an Irishman and I was an American we could both travel in Europe; other nationals could not because war had been declared. (I am ashamed to tell that I traveled with a passport that said "missionary." We were scheduled to leave at six in the morning. At about eleven the preceding night, the American Consul informed me, "I'm sorry new regulations came out that you can't travel without first being cleared by Washington. That'll take a long time." I went over the regulations and noticed that two groups could travel - one was missionaries - so I said, "Mr. Consul, I'm covered, I'm going on a mission." So he said to me, "If it's all right with you, it's all right with me. But what will the Chief Rabbi say about it?" I said, "I'll tell him when I get back." So my passport said "missionary.")

We came to Rome, and when the rabbi spoke with the Pope, the question of the Jews returning to their land came up. The Chief Rabbi told him that the Pope would gain much if he could show the hand of Providence bringing back the Jews to their homeland after such a long time the fulfillment of prophecy, etc. That would mean more to Catholic youth than anything else. The Pope knew that what he said was true. He also knew that Jews have bent over backwards to show the Christian world that we take good care of their interests. It could not be otherwise, as I have pointed out many times to Christians. We have six million Jews in America and millions more in other Christian countries. Are we going to antagonize the Christian countries? For what? And yet, Christian public opinion is still largely in favor of internationalizing Jerusalem.

The Prince of Peace
Oddly, the only people who fight over the Sepulchre are the Christians themselves. It's divided among a number of Christian sects - The Greek Orthodox, the Catholics, the Armenians and the Copts; they keep fighting over which group has rights to it. Sometimes they even fight over the right to clean part of the floor and these are terrific fights. To keep the peace, there always was an Arab (of a certain Arab family in the Old City -- it was hereditary) who held the key to the Sepulchre - he opened and closed the doors. A Turkish guard in Turkish days and in British days, a Moslem guard had to watch that the Christians did not fight among themselves. They used to tell a story about a family of Christians who came here from England and took their little daughter to see the sites, and she saw this guard who kept the peace at the Holy Sepulchre. She came home, and her minister asked her: "You saw everything in Jerusalem?" She said, "Oh yes." "And did you see the Holy Sepulchre?" "Oh yes, and not only that, but I saw the Prince of Peace!" "The Prince of Peace?" he asked. And she proceeded to describe this Arab guard who kept the peace ...

What Israel has done since 1967, is remove that Arab guard and hand the keys over to the Christians themselves. The Jews went to the Patriarchs of the Churches and said, "You decide among yourselves who is going to administer the Sepulchre Church." They were told they could go to the court, but should not fight. And today, they no longer have this disgrace of having their holy place under the jurisdiction of Moslems or Jews. So, Christians really should be quite happy with Jewish sovereignty in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Then again, some who speak of international control imply not just the Old City of Jerusalem, but include Bethlehem an area of about a hundred square miles. Now, that is putting up another little state. Our poor little. country is already divided. The Jews and the Moslems each want their little share and then, in addition, there would be an 'International' Christian state. That's laying the ground for lots of trouble, which I sincerely hope we all will be spared.

City of God
According to an old tale, when the Ohr HaChaim came to Jerusalem from Morocco, two hundred years ago, the Baal Shem Tov told his brother-in-law, Rabbi Gershon Kitover, to go and meet him. When Reb Gershon came, he found that the Ohr HaChaim had just passed away. Among a number of letters he wrote from Jerusalem, I found a remarkable one in which he says, "I came to Jerusalem, took a walk through the city and recalled the prayer 'I will always remember and be amazed when I see every city on its own hill, built, and the city of God is humbled to the depths.' Instead of '... the City of God,' the prayer should have read ' ... the city of Jerusalem is humbled.' But, the change of expression teaches us that even if we build up Jerusalem so that it's as beautiful as any other great city, it means nothing. When the 'City of God' will no longer be disgraced, then we will have reached what we want to reach."
And how do you rebuild the City of God? By rebuilding its synagogues and houses of Torah study.

Jerusalem The Eternal City

2007-07-19T14:04:00.000+03:00

The Eternal City by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

The Eternal Nature of Jerusalem and the Jewish People

If you ask your travel agent to book you a trip to the Eternal City, chances are he will pick up his time schedule and book you on a flight to Rome.

He'd be wrong. The Eternal City is not Rome.

The Midrash tells us that when an historic sin was committed by a Jewish ruler the angel Gavriel stuck a reed into the Mediterranean Sea, and around that reed arose a sandbar, and from there grew Rome. Rome is not the eternal city. It wasn't there at the beginning of time. For something to be eternal, not only does it have to be there at the beginning of time, but it has to be there at the end of time as well.

When Hashem created the universe, He didn't create it as an expanse, as a myriad of stars spread out on an almost infinite blackness. Rather, He first created a single point, and from there all space and time unfolded.

We know where that point is. It is a rock that sits on top of a small hill nested between several others of very similar appearance. On that rock, Abraham brought his son Isaac as an offering. It was around that rock that the two Holy Temples were built. The name of that rock is the Even Shesia, the 'Foundation Stone.'

That rock is the center of the universe. Around that rock is the Temple and around the Temple is Jerusalem. Around Jerusalem is the Land of Israel. And around the Land of Israel is the Universe.

Exactly 30 years ago, the eternal city was united again under Jewish rule. The Hebrew date was the 28th of Iyar. It just so happens that the 28th of Iyar is also important in Jewish history for another reason: On the 28th of Iyar, Samuel the prophet passed away.

What do the two have in common?

At the beginning of the reign of King David, Jerusalem was not in Jewish hands. When King David re-conquered the Land of Israel, Jerusalem was in the hands of the Jebusites. The exact location of Mount Moriah, the place of the Even Shesia, was no longer known.

Before David could plan the building of the Holy Temple he had to know exactly where Mount Moriah was. It was the prophet Samuel, together with King David, who, through prophetic insight, established which of the hills in Jebusite Jerusalem was in fact the correct location.
So it was through Samuel the prophet that we know today the location of the Temple in Jerusalem. Maybe it was for this reason that Jerusalem was 're-discovered' in June 1967 on the exact date of his passing from this world.

But there's more.

It the first Book of Samuel 15:29, the following prophecy is written: "However, the 'Netzach Yisrael' will not lie."

That phrase 'Netzach Yisrael' can be understood in two ways. It can mean the 'Eternal One of Israel' - Hashem - Who will not lie, Who will never desert His people through the long night of exile.

But Netzach Yisrael can also mean 'the eternity of Israel' or 'the victory of Israel' will not lie. The survival of the Jewish People, through both persecution and the softly stifling embrace of assimilation, will not lie. It will stand as an everlasting proof that the Jewish People are what the Torah calls them: An eternal nation with a G-d given mission.

It was Samuel the prophet who said 'the eternity of Israel will not lie' nearly 3,000 years ago. How could he have known that the Jewish People would still be around in 1967, some 3,000 years after he spoke that prophecy? And not only were they around, but they were re-capturing the city he had helped to re-identify on the exact day that he passed on to the world of truth.

Sources: Yalkut Shimoni - I Kings 172; I Samuel 15:29; Talmud Berachot 58a; Talmud Zevachim 54b; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 580:1; Rabbi Mordechai Becher

Return to the Ohr Somayach Yerushalayim page

This article originally appeared in SEASONS OF THE MOON for Iyar 5757.

Written by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair.

General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman.

Production Design: Lev Seltzer.

Copyright © 1997 Ohr Somayach International.

All Roads Lead to Jerusalem

2007-07-19T14:03:00.000+03:00

All Roads Lead to Jerusalem by Rabbi Pinchas Kantrowitz

Jerusalem as the focal point of the Jewish People

"Hey, Joe, where ya headed ?"

"Jerusalem."

"What? That's quite a ways from San Francisco, my friend! How ya gonna get there? Hitchhike?"

"Jake, don't you know Rebbe Nachman's famous saying "Wherever I go, I am going to Jerusalem"? O.K., my feet happen to be heading to the supermarket to get a loaf of bread, but in my heart I'm going to Jerusalem. Wanna come?"

What did Rebbe Nachman mean? Why did he say he was 'always be going toward Jerusalem?' Jerusalem throughout the ages has been the focal point of the Jewish people. When a Jew prays, he faces the Holy City. At a wedding, a glass is broken in remembrance of the destruction of Jerusalem and its Holy Temple. The Yom Kippur service ends with the empathic prayer: "Next Year in Jerusalem!" We proclaim at the Passover Seder "Next Year in Rebuilt Jerusalem!"
The Ramban (Nachmanides) in the year 1268 wrote: "The glory of the world is Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), the glory of Eretz Yisrael is Jerusalem, and the glory of Jerusalem is the Holy Temple."

This teaching echoes that of the Talmud: "Abba Issa said in the name of Samuel Hakatan: 'The world is like a human eyeball. The white of the eye is the ocean surrounding the world, the iris is this continent, the pupil is Jerusalem and the image in the pupil is the Holy Temple. The focal point of the Jewish people is Jerusalem, and the image they are focusing on is the Holy Temple. The Talmud teaches: "G-d swore that He would not enter Jerusalem above (the spiritual Jerusalem) until He enters Jerusalem down below (the physical Jerusalem). Jerusalem below is the gate to Jerusalem above; G-d's palace below is the gate to G-d's palace above. That is why wherever Rebbe Nachman would go, he was going toward Jerusalem, and why Joe was joining him. I think I'll join them as well. Wanna come?

(Based on 'Jerusalem: The Eye of the Universe' by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (zatzal) NCSY: UOJC 5-9)

Return to the Ohr Somayach Yerushalayim page

Written by Rabbi Pinchas Kantrovitz.

General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman.

Production Design: Lev Seltzer.
Copyright © 1997 Ohr Somayach International.

FREE TEHILLIM DOWNLOAD

2007-07-19T13:53:00.000+03:00

Don’t just sit by helplessly as you watch Israel and the Jewish people being terrorized by their enemies. You can make a difference! As the world turns its back on the Jewish people’s plight we are forced to defend ourselves. Since time immemorial, Jews have survived and been victorious through the power of their prayers. At times of crises as we are experiencing now — everyone must do their part!

As the situation grows more acute in Israel and Jews are threatened by violent anti-Semitism worldwide, a call has been issued calling for the daily recitation of Tehillim (Psalms) by every Jew, of every background and affiliation. Specifically, Jews are urged to devote at least fifteen minutes a day to this form of prayer and to recite Psalms 20, 83,121,130 and 142 during that time. The essence of these prayers is connecting to the Almighty in a meaningful way.

In order to facilitate these meaningful prayers ArtScroll/Mesorah is providing a special edition of the recommended Psalms excerpted from the new Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Psalms for FREE DOWNLOAD. This new edition will allow you to recite the Psalms with meaning in a way that was never before possible.

It is our hope and prayer that the unity and prayers of the Jewish people at this time will herald in a reign of peace and security for the Jewish people wherever they may live.

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Eretz Yisroel

2007-07-08T23:32:00.000+03:00

"Dwelling in Eretz Yisrael is equivalent to all the mitzvos"

Midrash Sifrei Parshas Re'ei

Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh - settling the land is a mitzva which encompasses the entire Torah

2007-07-02T12:22:00.000+03:00

Yesterday was the Holy Rav Chaim ben Attar's yohrzeit, the Ohr haChaim haKadosh on Parshas Nitzavim:

Hashem says see I have placed before you today life and death. While admonishing us to choose life the verse continues "To Love Hashem your G-d and to listen to His voice and to cleave with dveykus to him for He is your life and the length of your days, to dwell upon the land that Hashem swore to your forebears Avraham, Yitzhok and Ya'akov to give to them."

Dvarim 30:20 - "LaSheves - to dwell on the land - because settling the land is a mitzva which encompasses the entire Torah. We see this from what our sages taught in Talmud Kesubos 111a He who walks 4 cubits in it has a portion in the coming world which is all life."

Simcha

2007-06-26T09:58:00.000+03:00

Previous posts on Simcha:

Simcha a source for rebuke

2007-06-25T00:20:00.000+03:00

The verse most often cited as proof for Simcha in seving Hashem is found where we are rebuked for not serving Him with joy "Devarim 28:47 Because you did not serve the Lord Your G-d in joy with a glad heart."

This implies that simcha is the cause for Galus - exile from the land. The very land which we are commanded to settle, which the Ohr haChaim explains is the greatest Simcha - is the land which we lose if we fail to serve Hashem out of Simcha.

We see that Eretz Yisroel is intertwined with Simcha in a profound way.

How are we to understand then the seeming contradiction that our sages teach in Talmud Berachos that Eretz Yisroel is aquired through yissurim? suffering and hardship?

Living in Eretz Yisrael - Israel

2007-06-24T19:00:00.000+03:00

VeHaya is a conotation that alludes to Simcha and Joy. There is no joy other than in living and dwelling in the Land [of Israel].
(Ohr HaChaim Parshas Ki Savo Devarim 26:1)

How do we express this Simcha? How do we find the joy of living in Eretz Yisroel? . . .