Jewish Blogs Archives

Israel Harel: Israel is Bullied Because it Acts Like a Doormat

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100

Israeli daily Haaretz has published a commentary by a former Gush Emunim founder and former Yesha chairman Israel Harel which echoes the points made in this previous IRIS blog post, that Israel is bullied because it acts like a doormat:

Anyone who acts like a doormat when he visits one foreign ruler should not be surprised when other rulers come along and act as arrogantly as the first. From day one we have let the world understand that we are a country with no self-respect, that we can be insulted and punched and will respond, if at all, with restraint and meekness...

It isn't the Americans who formulated the belittling and trivializing formula "natural growth" at which the Obama administration is now chipping away in an arrogant and bullying manner. An Israeli government, headed by Ariel Sharon, was responsible for the trivializing. And instead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring, here at home, that no independent nation can agree to have "natural growth" dictate its rate of construction, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has gone off to the United States to plead for this poor little lamb.

And to whom has he gone? To the president? To the vice president? To the secretary of state? No. To an envoy, who holds the mere rank of ambassador. The State of Israel's defense minister has tried to extract an agreement to build kindergartens in Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. And since George Mitchell has apparently sent the defense minister away empty-handed, the prime minister himself is about to go to him hat in hand. Maybe he'll change his mind.

The British government is on the brink of collapse. And with what is the British foreign minister busy? He "completely deplores" an Israeli decision to build 50 housing units in the settlement Adam in Judea and Samaria. Foreign diplomats in Israel are speaking in a lordly way to Israeli statesmen, and foreign journalists are asking them questions that are often biased, intrusive and insolent. These correspondents would never allow themselves to behave so crudely in their own countries. And why shouldn't they? Here, after all, everyone including prime ministers feels obligated to justify himself to them and gratify them. Only rarely does someone put them in their place.

The scorn for Israeli sovereignty and dignity runs from the lowest to the highest. Israelis, in contact with foreigners, tend to be self-abasing and massively critical of their country and its leaders. Those who excel at this in particular are people from Israeli organizations who get their funding from foreign governments and foreign NGOs, and in return, wittingly or not, serve their interests.

Azerbaijan, a Muslim country, has a dangerous border with Iran. Many of its interests, especially economic interests, inevitably intersect with Iran's. About three weeks ago Iran's chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Hasan Firuzabadi, paid a surprise visit to Baku. The aim: to prevent a visit to the republic by Israeli President Shimon Peres. Although it was made clear to them that Iran would take a dim view should they refuse (and indeed while Peres was there, Iran recalled its ambassador), the Azerbaijanis rejected the demand outright. Azerbaijan is a country with self-respect. They made it clear to the bullying Iranians that no one was going to tell them which guests to receive, or to whom to export goods, or especially from whom to import. Only Israel fired the director general of its Defense Ministry, Amos Yaron, because that's what the Americans dictated.

When the norm is to submit to pressure, the pressures only increase. If right at the start of the pressure campaign Netanyahu has bowed down to the Americans and given up his most basic principle - opposition to a Palestinian state - what is left for him to give when the next wave of pressure comes along? This is weakness and this is its wage.

Coffee and Chemo

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100

This post is so heart-wrenching. (via Treppenwitz)

What was Moses's sin?

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100

This week Moshe commits some unforgivable sin, and is banned from entering the promised land. But what did he do wrong? The nature of Moshe's sin is the source of much controversy among the big names.

- Rashi, recycling an aggada first found in Sifrei, says Moshe's mistake was hitting the rock instead of speaking to it.

- Ramban gives Rashi what comes across as a condescending pat on the head (There, there. What a nice aggada.) before asking: "If he wasn't supposed to hit the rock, why did God tell him to take the staff?" In the view of the Ramban Moshe sinned when he said "can we get water from this rock?" This made it seem like the miracle would be done through his own powers, and not by the hand of God. (Hasidic Rabbis who perform mofsim are hereby put on notice)

- Rambam in Shemonah Perakim says Moshe sinned by getting angry, and thereby suggesting to the people that God was angry when He was not. The Ramban thinks this suggestion is "vanities on top of vanities" i.e. a lousy answer in the extreme.

- Ibn Ezra goes a little Kabbalistic, and says some things about Moshe and his prayerful concentration before concluding the the sin was hitting the rock twice instead of once. Ramban's reaction to this answer brings to mind Nelson Muntz (Hah-Ha!)

- Abravanel is a bit more polite then the Ramban as he goes through the pros and cons of ten possible sins, all expertly weighed and considered by Josh Waxman here. (scroll down)

- Shadal, reacting to all of this, has the best line. He says: "Moshe Rabbenu only sinned one sin, but the commentators burdened upon him 13 sins and more, for each one invented of his own heart a new sin." (saw it on Josh's blog)

No disrespect to the medieval commentators (who, as you know, I adore) but they're late to the party. Often, the earliest commentators can tell us more about how the verses were first understood. One such early commentator, usually left unconsidered when the various interpretations of Moshe's sin are reviewed, is the opinion of King David. He, also, was a bible commentator, and his commentary can be found in the Book of Psalms when Biblical events are described. Tehillim 106 mentions Moshe's sin, and describes it his way (KJV): They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes; Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.

How do you read this? Josh says it means the Psalmist thought Moshe sinned by become angry.

So score one for Rambam?

Rav Elyashiv will reportedly ban the MP4

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100

Via the Yeshiva World:

According to the weekly Belz-affiliated BaKehilla newspaper, HaGaon Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv is going to comply with the growing number of requests from rabbonim and roshei yeshiva and will be prohibiting MP4 players.
Roshei yeshiva visited Maran this week, and one case that was shared was a bachor who he noticed was totally engulfed in the gemora, swaying back-and-forth rhythmically as he stared at the sefer, prompting the rav to go over to his talmid to experience the event. It was then that he noticed the bachor was swaying to the music and not his gemora, hooked into his MP4 player which was well hidden.
The report adds that seminary rabbonim concur, fearing many good students may be corrupted by the influence.
When Maran asked “what can I do?” he was requested to publish a letter prohibiting the device.
Rav Elyashiv asked, “The tzibur still pays attention to such letters?” to which they responded the letter lends credibility to their statements that the players are problematic. It also gives rabbonim in yeshivas and seminaries the authority to send students home if found with the “portable TV units”.
Rav Elyashiv indicated a letter would be released, a letter that other Gedolei Yisrael will also sign, but it is unclear if the letter will be directed to talmidim and talmidos, or a general ban on the device.
(Yechiel Spira - YWN Israel)

Of note is Rav Elyashiv's response: The tzibur still pays attention to such letters?

I would read this as a partial realization that the ban after ban after ban, and the flood of letters for causes citing Gedolim undermines the general effectiveness of such letters.

And all this on the basis of one "persuasive" case? I would guess that even if there were not video capability of an MP4 (whose video capabilities it does not seem he was using), he could still sway to the music with an MP3, or a tape player.

I remember from high school, though I did not have a Walkman, some other kids did. And my rebbe, or perhaps it was the school, made a policy that you could not listen to a Walkman on school premises. I think there was an exception if it was during recess and the tape was a kosher one. But this is the responsibility of a high school or elementary school rebbe or principal, not the Gadol HaDor. Askanim, stop harrassing Rav Elyashiv with your minor requests!

As Yisro advised his son-in-law:

יז וַיֹּאמֶר חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה, אֵלָיו: לֹא-טוֹב, הַדָּבָר, אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה, עֹשֶׂה.	17 And Moses' father-in-law said unto him: 'The thing that thou doest is not good.
יח נָבֹל תִּבֹּל--גַּם-אַתָּה, גַּם-הָעָם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר עִמָּךְ: כִּי-כָבֵד מִמְּךָ הַדָּבָר, לֹא-תוּכַל עֲשֹׂהוּ לְבַדֶּךָ.	18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee; for the thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.

and then

כב וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת-הָעָם, בְּכָל-עֵת, וְהָיָה כָּל-הַדָּבָר הַגָּדֹל יָבִיאוּ אֵלֶיךָ, וְכָל-הַדָּבָר הַקָּטֹן יִשְׁפְּטוּ-הֵם; וְהָקֵל, מֵעָלֶיךָ, וְנָשְׂאוּ, אִתָּךְ.

22 And let them judge the people at all seasons; and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge themselves; so shall they make it easier for thee and bear the burden with thee.

Not every school matter needs to be brought before the Gadol Hador. They should learn to respect their rebbe and their school administration.

There is a further problem. If a school wants to set up a policy, they are free to go ahead and do so. But different schools might have different philosophies towards this. If you get the Gadol to sign a letter about this, it is likely going to be applied across the board, or taken by askanim to apply across the board. And as noted in the article:

Rav Elyashiv indicated a letter would be released, a letter that other Gedolei Yisrael will also sign, but it is unclear if the letter will be directed to talmidim and talmidos, or a general ban on the device

I would guess that regardless of Rav Elyashiv's intent (and he does not know anything about the prevalence of these devices and how they are typically used), this will be part of a game plan of banning the device in general.

Anonymous Iran

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100

Just a quick Iran post today. Via Paul Stott, I came across Anonymous Iran, a notice board created, apparently, by the folks who brought us Pirate Bay. A lot of the stuff, posted by anonymous folks, is pure rubbish, gossip, panic, conspiracy, etc. Key posts are kept sticky at the top of each section. There are useful sections on keeping internet anonymity in Iran, on protest advice, and on missing persons. And there is a news section, with a news feed from the mainstream press and, more important, the Green Brief, Josh Shahryar's summary of carefully selected Twitter feeds. Here is yesterday's Green Brief, no.15, and here is well-informed blogger Scott Lucas reporting on how much of the Green Brief can be verified, and here are Lucas' own reports. To summarise all these reports, the uprising is continuing, violent repression is deepening, reports of mass summary executions are probably false.

The Fail Blog

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100

Spent a few moments here and there sifting through the Fail Blog and readily admit to laughing at some of what I saw there. But I find myself torn about it because I am troubled by some of it.

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology our greatest and worst moments can be forever immortalized. It is the kind double edged sword that troubles me because I know how badly I feel when I am embarrassed. Those sorts of moments stay with me, I am not always good about letting go of them.

So I have to ask myself what am I doing reading this blog. Am I being hypocritical or just finding another way to blow off steam. Maybe it is a little of both.

A Healthy Perspective on Life

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100

During a recent conversation with my son I spent time trying to explain what it means to have perspective. In some ways it is a relatively sophisticated conversation to have with an 8.5 year-old. And yes, that half year is quite important to him, so I have to include it.

Anyway, I tried to explain that sometimes when you feel very strongly about something it can affect your decisions. I told him that this is why we have to be careful when we are angry or upset. We talked about how when you feel a certain way it is easy to say or do things that we might not be happy with later on.

He asked me if I was proud of everything that I have done in my life and I gave him an honest answer. No, there are some things that I have done that were wrong and I am not proud of them. But I told him that this doesn't mean that we have to be forever guilty of these actions.

And I told him that some times life is not black and white and you find yourself involved in situations you never could have imagined yourself being in. And that sometimes these experiences offered you access to life lessons that were very valuable.

Even though he is an old man of 8.5 I was careful to only provide as much as he needed to know. But I have to give him credit for pressing me to give him more information about what it means to say that life isn't always black and white. I love that he is so interested in learning more.

Clearly I am biased, but I was impressed when he took that information and told me that killing someone who was trying to kill a member of our family was ok.

As the conversation meandered we discussed failure again. It seems that one of the television shows the watches made a big deal out of it and he was very concerned with trying to find out what it means and how to avoid it.

I looked him in the eye and told him that there were things that I have failed at. A very sad look came across his face, he was clearly upset by this. So I did my best to make him feel better.

There is a difference between being a failure and failing. I want him to do his best at everything he tries, but I don't want him to be afraid to try because of a fear of failure. So I told him that I had more respect for the person who makes an attempt and fails than the person who do not. I believe in Teddy Roosevelt's position quote:

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

I suppose that it is part of why I don't just give in or give up, but that is a post for a different time.

Kikar Safra

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100

One of the bloggers who politely corresponds with me in private, yet treats me like a stranger in public is highly aggrieved about the dirty-diaper throwing demonstrations that take place in Jerusalem for the sake of Shabbos. He's right to be upset about this Jew-on-Jew violence ("A Jew Doesn't Evict a Jew"? Fine. So pelting him with human feces is OK?)

I've made this point in real life, but most people I know are quick with excuses for the rock throwers... oh, he's so sincere... oh its only because he cares so much about shabbos; isn't that a wonderful thing? Others, like the goon-enablers at Cross Currents, imagine that such public desecrations of God's name are either exaggerated by the Jew-hating media, or blessed and coordinated by the all-knowing gedolim.

I say the problem starts with the schools where young Jewish boys and girls are trained in the ways of the timid and prepared to live their lives as hyper-defensive conformists.

The Land of Israel

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100

by Reb Gutman Locks at Mystical Paths

What is so special about the Land Of Israel? According to the Rambam,[i] a slave who is living outside the Land can force his master to come live in the Land. He writes that this is true even today during this time of exile. The accepted halacha (applicable Torah law) rules that once you are in the Land, there are only four reasons that you are allowed to leave, even temporarily. These reasons are: 1) if you cannot find a proper Torah teacher, 2) if you cannot find a proper spouse, 3) to escape invaders, or 4) if you cannot earn a proper livelihood.[ii] It seems to me that we can add one more good reason for leaving: if leaving the Land will enable you to help Jews who otherwise would not be helped. If you are the only one who will help them, then this is also a valid reason for leaving. So again, we have to ask, what is so special about this Land?

G-d assigned various lands to various nations. These lands are their inheritance. This small, special land, the Land of Israel, He promised to give to the descendants of Abraham and Sarah. This is our inheritance forever. It is special to us just because it is ours. It is also special because it is a beautiful land, but there are many beautiful lands in the world. So besides being ours, what makes it so unique?

When you live in your own land you thrive both physically and spiritually. This is simply the natural result of being where you belong. But this Land is called the Land of the Prophets. This not only means that the prophets came from this land, which they did, it means that living in the Land actually made them into prophets. Taking just four steps in the Land increases our spiritual awareness. The sages say that whoever walks even four steps in the Land is guaranteed a share in the World to Come.[iii] And this spiritual benefit increases with every additional four steps you take. But, since this increase in awareness increases so subtly, most people are not aware of it. It is like sitting in a pond of water while the temperature increases a quarter of a degree. You would have to pay strict attention to be aware of it.

However, even if you do not notice anything startling while you are here, you will notice it when you leave. As soon as you walk out of the airport in that other land, you will ask yourself, “What’s missing here?” Unless you are sensitive, you will shrug off the feeling, thinking that it is due to the cultural change. Then you will run after your daily business, wondering if you really did feel anything different in the Holy Land.

When you touch a holy object in a significant way, some of that holiness spreads to you.[iv] How much more so is this true when you live in the Holy Land? Here you are not merely touching a holy object, you are living in it.

Soon, in just a few years, for the first time in 2,000 years, the majority of the Jewish people in the world will be living in the Land of Israel. This will not only be a unique physical milestone in the long history of the Jewish People, but it will also bring about a significant spiritual change. As the holiness of the Land spreads to more and more Jews, the level of spiritual awareness in the Land will increase. This increased holiness will be experienced more openly, and it will even overflow and go out into the rest of the world. As it is today, the spiritual awareness will be experienced most vividly in Jerusalem. But to a lesser degree, it will spread and touch the entire world.

What does this mean today? It means that there is a guaranteed way for each of us to increase our spiritual opportunity. Simply walk four steps in the Holy Land.

[i] Rambam Hilchos Avodim 8:9
[ii] Rambam Hilchos Melachim 5:9
[iii] Gemora Ketubos 111a
[iv] Leviticus 6:11

(Used to be) Big in Japan

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0100

Fascinating article on the life of a Japanese Ger, who is being sent back to Japan to help with the Yeshiva boys there.