Bat Aliyah

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi - Parshat Bo 5772

2012-01-27T12:39:00.000+02:00

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Bo

A message to Am Yisrael in the Landand throughout the world

The Master of the world has tied thehands of all the Arab nations! He has restrained their hands! They don’t knowwhat has shut them down or why their hands are restrained!

The quiet in the Arab nations – is afalse calm! In just a little time – a very short time – they will continuetheir war against each other and into each other! The Holy One will destroythem all! The Holy One sits on the seat of Judgment regarding the entireworld – except for the Holy Eretz Yisrael! The Holy One is waging a battleagainst all evil and arrogance, against all those who do not keep the Ten Commandments. The patience of the Creator has come to an end! Evil, andall the evil places in the world will become extinct through great forces ofnature – earthquakes, floods, volcano eruptions, extreme heat, fires, tsunamis,and hurricanes! All of these threaten to increase! Beginning next week, therewill be a sharp increase of shock in the world and severe hatred of the Jews!

At the time of the Egyptian exile,Moshe said to the Holy One, “Why have You made it so bad for the people?” andthe intent was that the Holy One, who reigns over purity and impurity, gavepermission the sitra achra to chastise Am Yisrael even more. The same thing ishappening now! The Holy One has given permission to the sitra achra, beginningnext week, to disturb all the Jews outside of Eretz Yisrael! He will implanthatred within the nations against the Jews in order to drive out the Jews fromtheir cars, their homes, their places of work, from their synagogues with nolet-up! Because the Holy One’s patience has run out! If they come toEretz Yisrael – they will have endless blessing!

The Holy One strikes the Arabnations with occasional blows in order to give respite to the Jews who live inthe holy Eretz Yisrael! He brings hardships upon them, one after the other –one trouble ends and the next one begins! The Arab nations are waiting to seewhen, God forbid, we will turn on each other as they have.

All the Gedolimin Israel must work from a place of loving allJews and Eretz Yisrael, and set aside personal interests. They must ache forthe Jews in the holy Eretz Yisrael as well as outside the Land, who are makinga grievous mistake by remaining in exile because of money and materialism andnot because there is something holy there – they have left the Holy One! Theultimatum is over!

All the Gedolimin Israel: Don’t be“modern,” be humble! You must be pained at the Jews in Eretz Yisrael andthroughout the world who fight against each other! It hurts the Holy One – Hewill pain you as well. The Holy One wants unity and love within Am Yisrael,without regard to the type of Jew, color, style of prayer, appearance, statusin Eretz Yisrael, all Jews who are Jews – are equal! It is forbidden topain the Holy One with fights among Jews! This hurts the Holy One, and he willgreatly pain those who are responsible! It is forbidden to harm Jews!

All leaders ofIsrael have a role! The Holy One isasking that every Jew in a leadership position should faithfully execute theirtask with the purpose of saving Jews in the holy Eretz Yisrael! We have noother land – only the holy Eretz Yisrael which is the strongest countryin the world and which has absolutely everything! Because of this, everyonewants to devour her and tear pieces from her!

Across the world major economic“chaos” will continue! It appears calm for the moment, but it’s the calm beforethe storm! The world is unstable! Very soon there will be another huge drop inthe world’s economy! Eretz Yisrael will not be harmed with this drop in theworld’s economy!

Precious Jews, anything that a Jew does in the Land or in the world, good or bad –everything will come out in the open and become revealed in the eyes of all Israelpublicly! Repent (do teshuva) sincerely – all the bad from the pastwill be erased!

All wealthyJews in Eretz Yisrael and throughout the world, all money must be invested in Eretz Yisrael, to expand the Negevfrom Be’er Sheva to Eilat, to revive the Negev! Hundreds of thousands ofJews are ready to arrive from the diaspora!

Real estate will continue to expandand building will continue! There is a promise from the Master of the world:In the 20 years to come, there will be no stoppage of expansion of real estateand of roads and of holy Eretz Yisrael! Don’t worry about investing in realestate – only in Eretz Yisrael! All will be bought and sold!

All the tycoons(using the language of the people) must tithe (give truma andma’aser): to build synagogues, yeshivot, hospitals, mikvas, tithes for thegrandeur and spreading of Torah! One should spread the ma’aser to variousplaces, so that profits and assets can increase many times over! If not – onewill fall and not be able to rise! If there are misers who refuse to give theirtrumot and ma’asrot to Jews – the children of the Creator – they will have ahuge fall, without exception! The Holy One has given you money to help Jewsin the holy Eretz Yisrael!

Congratulationsto the government of Israel onits decision to restrain establishments from publicizing their alcoholicbeverages! It’s a small step – but a huge impression on the youth and adults inEretz Yisrael!

Jews of AmYisrael! The Creator is battling for you against the Arab nations! The Creatoris begging you for unity in Am Yisrael and peace among Am Yisrael! Be cognizantand thankful of the King of Kings, the Holy One blessed be He, who gives youlife and who protects you! Keep the TenCommandments and the Holy One will do what you need- the guarding andprotecting of the holy Eretz Yisrael!

Mashiach ishere!

He’s working!

Get going!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi - Parshat Va’aira 5772

2012-01-20T13:33:00.000+02:00

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Va’aira

A message to Am Yisrael in the Landand throughout the world

The King of Kings, the Holy One Blessed be He, is showing the entire world, in order that Am Yisrael will seeand understand, that the hand of the Holy One is in everything! The HolyOne is doing things in the world that no scientist, no brilliant person, indeedno individual on this planet can understand how these things happen! He doesthings that the human mind cannot comprehend, whether it is accidents withcruise liners, airplanes or cars, or natural disasters of all kinds includinghurricanes, earthquakes and snow blizzards. Any time these things happen, wehear that nothing like this has happened in hundreds of years.

The Holy One does it all – in orderto awaken Am Yisrael to believe in Him and cleave to Him.

The world finds itself in a steady earthquake! It’s in the world andabove the world! Nothing is firm, everything is hard and difficult and inconfusion, because the time has come for an end for hatred and arrogance inthe world!

The Holy One “takes” a Persianscientist, who understands atomic power, and He gets involved in Iran andcreates an explosion here and there – in order to thwart Iran’s plans againstAm Yisrael!

The quiet thatreigns among the Arab countries – this is the calm before the storm! The Holy One is agitating among and between them.

The Holy Onepromised that until the Mashiach is revealed there will be no quiet and peace,neither in the Arab countries nor throughout the world, EXCEPT for the HolyEretz Yisrael! The Holy EretzYisrael is the most guarded and protected place in the world, forever and ever!There is life and livelihood for every Jew that comes to live in Eretz Yisrael!

The Government ofIsrael must hike its budgets and invest in savingthe children of Am Yisrael from drug clubs and alcohol! This comes beforebudgeting for safety against Iran and Arab countries, before everything! Iranand the Arab countries are in the Holy One’s hands! He is leading them! Alcoholand drugs are in human hands and it is urgent to save the children of AmYisrael!

A big yasherkoach to Tzvi Hendel, for you havebecome famous in the media, continue to do so, in order to wake up Am Yisraelfrom this slumber! In all the Arab countries they are destroying each other and “eating each other up!”

Government ofIsrael: We must work very hard on unity and“being together,” starting from the Knesset in Israel down to each Jew in EretzYisrael!

We must befaithful towards Am Yisrael!

The IsraelDefense Forces (Tzahal) does its workfaithfully, with all their heart! We should honor every soldier in Tzahal –from the lowest to the highest ranking – they deserve the greatest blessingsin the world every moment!

The demonstrations that have takenplace in Eretz Yisrael – these we have learned from the goyim, and from theArab nations. Jews! You are different than the Arab nations!

Jews! You havea neshama that was given to you by the Master of the world! Don’t go in theways of the goyim!

All giants ofTorah and leaders of Am Yisrael: wemust make peace among ourselves in Am Yisrael! This is your responsibility and iswithin your power to make peace! The Master of the world is waiting!

All Jews in thediaspora: It’s time to gather up all the Torahscrolls and Holy books, all the synagogues and study halls and come to EretzYisrael immediately! Many warnings have come from the Holy One! All Jews inthe diaspora who remain there due to their finances and material concerns needto understand that the Creator of the world raises and lowers, lifts onehigh and brings one down, makes one rich or poor!

At this moment, the Holy One isdismantling the world’s economy except that of Eretz Yisrael and says to theJews: Come to the Holy Eretz Yisrael, to Holy soil – immediately! Thesalvation of Hashem can come in the blink of an eye, and its opposite can alsocome in the blink of an eye! Don’t fight with Hashem! He loves you! TheHoly One has been too patient, and can cease this patience in an instant! Afterthat, no one will listen to you!

Am Yisrael mustfulfill the ten commandments in their entirety!

Am Yisrael: We must feel unity among us, with love and togetherness between us,so that the Creator of the world will protect us and guard Am Yisrael anddestroy all the Arab nations – for the sake of Am Yisrael! There is aredemption of Am Yisrael!

All Jews,without exception, all the groupings and all the colors – whoever is a Jew – weare all brothers! We are the children of one Father and 12 tribes! We must loveeach other equally – Chareidim, Ashkenazim and Sefardim! To our Father inheaven, we are all equal! If in the eyes of the Holy One we are equal – let notone person come and undermine this!

Mashiach benDavid is with us, working and doing, and soon will lead Eretz Yisrael and theentire world!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Tandoori Salmon - A Photo Blog

2012-01-18T21:35:00.004+02:00

I kind of need a vacation. Before we made aliyah, we always came to Israel. Now, I have no desire to leave the country. I just want a bit of a break from the routine.

Don't misunderstand, often my routine is quite lovely, and I can prove it. Here's a little taste of today's routine afternoon.

When we first made aliyah, we planned to visit the shuk every Thursday night to shop for Shabbat. The first time we went, we did our shopping and stopped for a late dinner in a tiny restaurant nearby. By the time we got back to the parking lot, the attendant was livid. Didn't we know that the parking lot closed 45 minutes ago?! Actually, no we didn't. But we never made that mistake again.

In the end, we found cheaper and more convenient places to buy most things, but the shuk is still a treat, and when we need specialty items, or really, really, really fresh dates, there is no place else to go. The whole thing is always an experience - a chavaya.

The shuk is filled with colorful characters, like the guy screaming his prices for strawberries from one side of his mouth with a cigarette dangling from the other side, the tzedaka collector with the incredibly thick eyeglasses who is there every single time and, despite the fact that there are hundreds of people there, always comes up to us, the 60-something year-old man who wears a gold paper crown without irony and tries to get people to try his halava, the Asian tourists, the 10th generation Yerushalmis, the birthright Israel groups in University of Rochester sweatshirts... You get the idea. At the shuk, you're not just buying bananas. You're in the midst of a multi-sensory experience. And lately, I've been understanding most of the prices that are shouted at me, so I'm a much more confident shuk shopper than I used to be.

On the way to the shuk, I noticed red something stuck in a stone wall.


Is it an antique mailbox?


Pomegranates are still available in Israel in mid-January.


After shopping for awhile, we sat and my husband had a cup of hot sachlav with cinnamon. According to the guy who sold it to us, it's made from the roots of orchids, cornflour and warm milk. Yeah, he promises it's good but I'm just not brave enough.


Winter fruits and vegetables are amazing here. I went a little crazy buying peppers and they wouldn't all fit in the fridge. These are the overflow and they are in the big wooden bowl that my grandmother used to make gefilte fish.

Since childhood, I have loved eating raw peas in the pod. In America, they are in season for about 20 minutes a year, usually in early June. (Hence the name June peas). In the shuk today, there was a single vendor with a small supply of fresh peas. I went to his stash and started to pick out the firmest, plumpest ones. And I had my first-ever somewhat heated exchange in Hebrew:

He: You can't pick them one at a time.
Me: Why not?
He: While forcing a pile into my bag - They're all good. Just take a pile. On the inside, they're all good.
Me: I want what I want.

I was persistent and I kept picking out the ones I wanted. Okay, it's not academic oratory, but I understood him and I stood my ground. I stand proud.

And they were yummy.

Now the main treasure we went to get was tandoori paste. A friend served it on salmon and claimed in was available "in any supermarket". Turns out that's not true. I've been to about 7 grocery stores looking and no one had it. But the shuk is perfect for this sort of specialty item shopping.

So I go into a spice store that always has everything I need and ask for tandoori paste. The English-speaking sales clerk hands me this and says it's the same thing.


Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I bought it because I'm sufficiently unsure... and desperate. Also, it wasn't that expensive.

But I'm not sure, so I keep stepping into different spice stores to ask. I don't know how to say tandoori paste in Hebrew so when one clerk asks me what it is, I tell him, in my limited Hebrew - It's red? For fish? From India? Not surprisingly, he doesn't recognize it from this description and waves me off.

After the sachlav break, I see a dark, dank hole in the wall spice store. I go up to the man behind the counter (who clearly hasn't looked in a mirror recently) and, with pretty low expectations, I say, "Tandoori paste?"


SCORE!

After the shuk, we make one more stop at a charedi grocery store where everything we buy is a few shekels cheaper than at Rami Levi. After we get home, as we're unpacking our haul, my crazy funny 17 year-old daughter holds up the bag with medjool dates (truly the BEST in the universe) and dried apricots and says, "Hey, dried fruit! Old people candy!"

And, after all the food is put away, I make the tandoori salmon that this trip was really all about.

It was yum.

Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi Parshat Shemot 5772

2012-01-13T10:38:00.000+02:00

Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi Parshat Shemot

A message to Am Yisrael in the Landand throughout the world

The Holy Oneblessed be He is our Father – theFather of Am Yisrael – the Jews! Am Yisrael – the Jews, these are our children!

Am Yisrael – the Jews, need tounderstand that Father in heaven is the one who guards and protects them!

The Jews of Am Yisrael need tounderstand, that the complications the Holy One is creating among the Arabcountries have their purpose in protecting Am Yisrael! The relative quiet thatpervades now among the Arab countries, is the quiet before the big storm!

Hatred against the Jews in the worldis increasing daily. Soon major anti-Semitism will break out in France – alsothroughout Europe and North and South America – a harsh hatred.

The King ofKings, the Holy One blessed be He, is begging Jews throughout the world: come immediately to the Holy Eretz Yisrael, before it’s too lateand you lose your honor, wealth and possessions that you’re holding which willhave no benefit! Do not tarry – the galut of Bnei Yisrael has ended!

The economy of the whole world willgradually wear down – except that of Eretz Yisrael. The clowns of thegeneration will arise and make fun and say “true”, “not true,” and will pay!

Jews, who areJews, in all the world, are children of the Holy One! The Holy One is warningand begging: Do not believeand don’t be tempted by anyone of flesh and blood, of any country – for exampleTunisia and Libya – who claim that their economy has stabilized and its worthcoming back to live there, is a downright lie! This is a seduction! If youbelieve in this, God forbid, you will stumble and fall greatly, and there willnot be, God forbid, any help!

The Creator of the world speaks withall Jews at eye level, so they shouldn’t say, God forbid, that He didn’t warnthem!

Floods will continue and get worse.The time is near for the dam of Egypt to overflow! There will be harsh anddifficult winds.

Volcanoes are heating their cores,in order to burst and pour out their lava. Earthquakes are preparing andplanning for the next one – and in Holy Eretz Yisrael, the protected andguarded – the will be livelihood for every Jew! Never has a Jew said, “Iregret being in Yerushalayim” and never will it ever be said, “I regret beingin Eretz Yisrael!”

In Turkey there will be a revolutionvery soon, and the revolutions will spread far beyond Arab countries.

Rich Jews inIsrael and the diaspora: If their desireis to remain rich – they will do the will of Hashem and give ma’asrot fromtheir private accounts and businesses, to the needy, yeshivot, students ofTorah, establishing mikva’ot and synagogues. In this way they will actualizetheir purpose and will never fail! If they don’t do this – they will fallgreatly like a house of cards, one after the other. The Creator of the worldcreated them and sent them to the world and gave them wealth, in order to doacts of kindness. The contributions of Jewish people must go only to Holy EretzYisrael – in this way they will have great abundance on this earth and inheaven!

Our preciouschildren, who are guarding and protecting Am Yisrael – the soldiers of theIsrael Defense Forces – we need to honor them and pray for them every moment!

All heads ofcommunities and leaders of communities in Eretz Yisrael, must raise a loud and powerfulcall to stop the civil war in the Holy Eretz Yisrael! The leaders areresponsible for everything!

Yasher Koach tothe government of Israel for the budget approval of free education from the ageof 3! It is the government’sresponsibility to continue the war against drugs, alchohol and clubs that areruining the children of Am Yisrael!

The spirit andlight of the righteous Mashiach ben David is being felt in the Land andthroughout the world!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Dear Dave

2012-01-10T08:02:00.000+02:00

Hi Rivkah,

I'm jewish and am wondering how life in israel is. Although i am far from ready to move, so please don't try to give me any compelling spiritual reasons to! I'm just not ready in many ways (:

So, how is it different than living in the US? Or is it so much different?

Thanks,

Dave

Dear Dave,

It has taken me a few days to respond to you because I really wanted to think about what you've asked. I started to list things that define my life in Israel. I don't pretend to speak for all Israelis (how could I?) or even all olim, or even all members of my own family. Everyone else will have his or her own list. Here's a somewhat random list of what life is like in Israel, but just for me:

seeing Arab villages and shepherds on distant hills, instead of signs for Target and McDonald's
living in smaller quarters
feeling blessed with a life far richer than I could have imagined
learning to rely on context because I can't understand every word
although having some is crucial, learning how unimportant having lots of money is
rediscovering how to cook more from scratch because so many convenience products are unavailable here or just too expensive
adding many new recipes to my repertoire because groceries are different here
welcoming friends and family from the Old Country, either those who are visiting or those whose aliyah followed our own
having so many friends who see Jewish history like I do
living with people who love this place too, even with all its flaws
learning patience because everything seems to take more time here
thinking about Hashem more
wearing sweatshirts all winter because, in a country that's hot most of the year, insulation is non-existent and heat is expensive
having opportunities fall into my lap
passing Har HaBayit on the bus every morning and evening
learning to do everyday things, like shopping and banking, over again in new ways
appreciating that my neighbors have lived all over the world and come from a dozen or more different countries to be here together
figuring out how to get English books to read
learning what I can live without
being happy with crowds and traffic because it means so many other Jews live here
learning to network
giving up the illusion that I am able to function independently and learning to rely on others
laughing with other olim about how small our paychecks are, but how big our lives feel
living on the edge of my seat, really, truly anticipating Moshiach
feeling proud of myself for every little thing I learn how to do by myself
understanding Israeli geography
having access to rabbis and women scholars whose Torah makes my neshama sing
feeling proud to be a citizen of the State of Israel
passing a wadi while walking to visit a friend
thinking of everything that happens to me in spiritual terms
losing my breath at the view from my bedroom window every morning
driving though barren sand dunes to get to the grocery store
feeling comfortable negotiating public transportation
taking pictures of things that only happen in Israel, like this sign on the bus about the importance of not gossiping

actually knowing soldiers in the IDF
going away for Shabbat whenever we want
realizing my everyday life seems exotic to some
learning to think in kilos, shekels and liters
constantly clarifying, and often defending, my priorities
negotiating with friends and family to get the few consumer goods I still value delivered from the Old Country
feeling very American in Israel and very Israeli in America
letting Hashem run the world
being unspeakably grateful every single day

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi - Parshat Vayechi 5772

2012-01-06T13:19:00.000+02:00

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Vayechi

A message to Am Yisrael in the Landand throughout the world

The Hand of God is in all the Arabcountries and in everything that is happening in the entire world! The Hand ofGod sows confusion and chaos within and among the Arab nations, beginning withone nation and moving to the next, and while one calms down it opens with thenext one. The Hand of God will neither leave them alone nor the entire world,until all evil is removed from the world!

The Hand of God will not depart fromnatural disasters until evil is destroyed in the world! The Hand of God willdestroy the economy of America, China, Russia and nearby, and Europe, and willdo so through the agency of natural disasters – in order that the preciousJews of the Holy One will come to the holy and pure Eretz Yisrael!

The Hand of God is creating tenrepetitive plagues until all evil ceases in the world!

Dear andprecious Jews: Don’t be indoubt, do not delay and don’t “play” with the Hand of God! Anyone who ridicules– there will be no pity on that person – the Hand of God is a judgment beingrevealed with mercy, but there is a limit – and the limit is ready to expire!

All of the natural disasters we haveseen, such as earthquakes and hurricanes and the like – will strike heavily inthe world, such as no eye has ever seen before! Everyone will be in total shockwhen seeing them in the media. All Jews must keep the 10 commandments! Nowis the time, when there is help from Heaven!

The Arab world is in chaos andeveryone is fearful of chemical missiles from Syria – Assad is crazy enough andcan do it all! The Holy One is causing the swords of Arab nations to entertheir own hearts, in order that they leave the Jews alone.

In Israel – instead of loving each other, bring hearts closer, educatingchildren and finding solutions so everyone can work – there are fights withcharedim and non-charedim. The government must act and not just talk!The media is creating disturbances! The Master of the world is askingthe media – if there will even be a media – not to “inflate” and speakonly the truth! When the truth is spoken – there are solutions, and when wetell lies – there is war among brothers.

There is no educational or culturalbasis among Am Yisrael, as the educational budget and other necessary budgetsare moved aside- what a shame!

The Holy One is asking all leadersof Am Yisrael, to gather their constituents and give them mussar – Derech Eretzprecedes the Torah! You shall love your neighbor as yourself – this is theentire Torah!

Fights and slander among brothers,stemming from arrogance and stroking of the “self”, cause difficult problems. Ifall of Am Yisrael was humble, they would not fight about nonsense, like theexclusion of women.

The Creator of the world loves allJews who are Jews, from Jews who do not keep the Torah and commandments tothose who do – the Holy One loves all of them, every Jew has his timeand purpose in this world.

Real Jews: The Holy One is asking that we stop fighting brother againstbrother, as this angers and annoys the Holy One!

Precious Jews: Immediately, stop angering and paining the Holy One! This is notthe proper way that the Holy One desires!

There is alivelihood for every Jew in the holy Eretz Yisrael – all works give honor to the worker! One who works with his 10fingers and with clean hands – endless blessing will come upon him!

All the lies, passions and desires –will float away so that people will be afraid, will have fear of Hashem, andwill repent fully!

Precious Jews:Don’t be seduced by the words of the leaders of Tunisia and Libya and don’tleave the Land! Be careful,this is a trap that you will regret if you are tempted by it! There will be noresponse and no one to extend a helping hand – this is a severe warning!

Precious Jewsin the Diaspora: The Holy One is begging that you come to the holy EretzYisrael – NOW! Don’t believe the stories that the Diaspora economy is improving – these are just words – the opposite is true! All the space stationsthat send space probes – one after the other will fall and crash. The Creatorof the world tells them “enough – stop playing with the heavens!” There arecurrently satellites – but just for now!

Medinat Yisraelis the strongest country in the world! It is the place most guarded andprotected – Eretz Yisrael! We must embrace and bless the soldiers of Tzahalevery day! The salvation of the Holy One is close, and the King Mashiach willbe revealed in mercy!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Guest Post: Are You Anxiously Awaiting the Geula?

2012-01-04T00:20:00.000+02:00

This guest post was written and translated by Devorah (Heshelis) Fastag.

Below is a translation of part of the commentary of the Kli Yakar on this week's parsha, which speaks about the importance of not being settled in the gentile lands, and always awaiting the ge'ula.

The last verse in parshat Vayigash reads: "And Israel settled (vayeshev) in the land of Egypt,in the land of Goshen, and they possessed it and they werefruitful and multiplied in it." The Kli Yakar, a classic commentary on theChumash, comments on this:

This entire pasuk is speaking about the guilt of Bnei Yisrael [theJewish People].

Hashem decreed upon them "Foryour seed will be an alien" (ger), but they wanted to be permanentresidents in the place that they were decreed to be aliens, as Chazal commenton the words "vayeshev Yaakov (Ya'akov settled down): "Ya'akov wantedto settle in peace, the turmoil of Yosef jumped upon him. [i.e. the Kli Yakar is showing that the term vayeshevrefers to a feeling of being permanently settled, which was not right forYa'akov and not right again here – translator]. The pasuk is blaming them becausethey wanted to take possession of a land where they were meant to be temporarysojourners. At first he said to Par'o "we have come to sojourn in theland". This shows that at firstthey did not intend to permanently settle down, only to reside there asforeigners. Now, however, they changed their minds, and they became so settledthere that they did not want to leave Egypt until Hashem had to take them outwith a strong hand, and those that did not want to leave died in the three daysof (the plague of) darkness."

Then, when explaining the first pasuk of Parshat Vayechi, the Kli Yakarsays:

"…the Akeida [the name of a commentary] interpreted the medrashwhich says that when Ya'akov wanted to reveal the ketz [the end of all exile]Hashem said, "Vilo Oti karata Ya'akov" – And Me you did not call,Ya'akov to mean that you were not concerned with My honor. This is becausethis knowledge [the knowledge of the time of the end of the exile] causes thepeople not to call out to Hashem. The earlier generations will not call toHashem to plead for the redemption. Instead they will want to become citizensin the lands of the [gentile] nations and acquire possessions in those lands, as if they despaired of the redemption. Therefore, Hashem hid from us the ketz ha'acharon [this phrasecould mean the time of the end of the last galut, or it could mean the latestpossible time for the redemption, which can come earlier if we merit it, butcannot come later than that date] so that every generation will plead for Hashem's presence and for David their king [Mashiachben David] and not desire to be permanent residents in the lands of thegentiles, but rather constantly awaiting the end when Hashem will save them.Due to our sins, this problem exists amongst us now, even now when the date ofthe end [of the exile] is not known, even so, there are many Jews who settle inthe lands of the gentiles and build beautiful and sturdy homes for themselvesto be strong and permanent, and for this reason they never beseech Hashem witha full heart to bring them to their land. Therefore Hashem leaves them there.

Note: The Kli Yakar lived about 500 years ago. He became the head of theBet Din in Pragueafter the passing of the Maharal of Prague. His commentary, which is deeplylogical occasionally includes kabbalistic insights. It appears in all standardMikraot Gdolot Chumashim.

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Vayigash 5772

2011-12-30T11:53:00.001+02:00

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Vayigash

A message to Am Yisrael, in the Landand throughout the world

The King ofKings, the Holy One blessed be He, guards and protects his entire nation ofIsrael, with great love and with great mercy! Am Yisrael is a people filledwith light, holiness and purity! Am Yisrael in the people chosen by the HolyOne – a treasured people! The Holy One protects from all the surroundingnations!

Nasrallah and Lebanon are in fear,and do nothing – they have no backing from Syria because Assad is busy withnice and pleasant work – he is destroying his entire nation! Syria is inunending chaos and Assad is not ready to give up his throne. The armies of theworld will not touch Assad because he has chemical warheads. The Holy One isholding Assad with strings as a puppet. The Holy One wants to destroy Syria. Hewants to destroy Syria’s plans because they all lead to the destruction of theHoly Eretz Yisrael.

The soldiers ofIsrael “are resting,” the Holy One is doing the work – for the time ofrevealing the Mashiach has come! No one can harm Am Yisrael! Lebanon cannotdo anything – their swords will enter their hearts. Assad wants to save hisskin, he will fight to the finish – as long as he can retain his throne.

Lebanon cannotdo anything, not even one step, because they received backing from Syria, andnow it has ended!

There is badblood in Egypt – their swords will enter their hearts! All the Palestinians arecollapsing from day to day, they will devour each other, they are fearful forthey don’t have Egypt’s backing. When Egyptians fight each other there is noone to support the Palestinians. This is a big advantage to the Holy EretzYisrael. In Iran, they will continue to explode among themselves. The HolyOne will not give them the pleasure of harming Eretz Yisrael!

The governmentof Israel and the great leaders of Israel: stop dealingwith matters that have no importance. Boys – girls, together or separate! Gowith your own feet and see with your own eyes the children of Am Yisrael, ages3 to 18 and more who are destroying themselves with the drug culture and drinkuntil they are unconscious! An entire generation can be destroyed because ofdrugs and drinking and crime. In this area the government of Israel mustopen its eyes wide and be concerned about children in Israel! They need toworry about their education and close all the drug clubs that are destroyingthem. Drug clubs – this is the quiet way of destroying the children of Israel!We must have massive public efforts to save our children, our boys and ourgirls! No amount of money can be spared, no strength and resources withheld –to save our children! We should not get involved with other things – boys,girls, for this is simply unnecessary.

Am Yisrael: Wemust come together and unify as one! We, Am Yisrael,are forbidden to follow the ways of the gentiles. We have the Torah andthe Ten Commandments and we have to conduct ourselves according to them. Thisis what we must teach to all, to all of Am Yisrael!

The Jewishpeople of Am Yisrael must not assimilate! Am Yisrael area people of love, and unity and giving! The Holy One wishes all Israel to meritbeing the first to the revelation of King Mashiach! Therefore the Holy Onecontinues to destroy the evil and hatred in the world in order to bring theworld to absolute humility! No one will “chirp”. All will say with one declaration,that Hashem is Elokim, Hashem is One, and He is Everything!”

All forms ofnatural disasters will continue with force! Boats will sink into the water,planes will fall out of the sky and there will be complications among thenations of the world!

Jews in thediaspora, the Master of the world is warning you: “Don’ttell Me I didn’t tell you!” There will be hatred of Jews everywhere in theworld! The place of each Jew is in the Holy Eretz Yisrael! The Master of theworld is expelling Jews from the nations of the world in order that they cometo the Holy Land!

The Europeaneconomy will continue to collapse and China is next in line, it’s not too longbefore it falls too, also England, Russia and North and South America. Wherethere is money there are Jews and where there are Jews in the diaspora there ismoney – therefore the Holy One will sink the economies of the world – in orderthat the Jews will come to Eretz Yisrael!

To wealthy Jews: Atenth of private wages and earnings must be separated (ma’aser). In this wayyou will be rewarded with double, and you and your livelihood will be protectedalways! If you don’t give a tenth (ma’aser) – you will suffer the consequences– you will fall and crash! This is a warning from the Master of the world. Don’ttake Him to task – He gave you in order that you give to others! To give to thepoor and the needy, to build mikvaot and synagogues. All is a preparationand the pattern of the King of Kings, the Holy One blessed be He, as He workswith all His might prior to the revelation of the King Mashiach!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Gad Asher haLevi A"H

2011-12-28T14:44:00.000+02:00

My father died 17 years ago today. In this picture of us together, he was four years younger than I am now. When this picture was taken, we didn't yet know it, but his tragedy had already begun. I have more recent pictures of him, of course, but the later ones are too hard for me to look at. I can see the disease in his eyes. Here, although the symptoms had already begun to surface, he still looked relatively normal.

My entire adult life, until his death 17 years ago, my father suffered from bipolar disorder, more commonly known as manic-depression. Although there is no known cure, some people with this diagnosis can, with long-term treatment, live relatively normal lives.

My father was not one of those people. His mood swings were huge, his depressed periods were prolonged and his manic stages were known to be destructive. When his disease was full-blown, it was not easy to be with him.

This is an understatement.

In the end, he died from pancreatic cancer, just weeks from diagnosis until death.

The last time I saw him, I was 10 weeks postpartum. I flew from Baltimore to Florida with my newborn daughter, today a senior in high school. I laid her down on the bed so my dying father could meet her. She was pink and wriggly; his skin was jaundiced from cancer. The memory of that contrast remains strong. Except for his voice, he was unrecognizable to me. Always a hearty man in life, he lay on what was literally his death bed, his body a fraction of its former self.

Ironically, my father, who was more than once picked up by the police in his manic phases, who spent time in psychiatric wards, heavily medicated and strapped to the bed lest he hurt himself or others, who called me at 3 AM with delusions that he was at the Kotel (which he always called the Wailing Wall) was utterly lucid in the last days of his life. As we sat talking, a Chanukah menorah at the window, I was able to ask him everything I always wanted to know about him and about our family. He sometimes waxed philosophical with me. "Don't be afraid," he advised, "Death is a part of life."

Although his bipolar disorder eclipsed the last decade and more of his life, I always knew, from my earliest childhood, that my father loved me.

Once, long ago, just before a birthday, I spotted an unfamiliar carton in the trunk of our car. My father told me it was a tire. How old was I at the time? Seven, maybe 8 or 9? Knowing my father was in the auto repair business, his answer made perfect sense. But the box actually held a doll house, a fantasy gift for a little girl.

That story is my father to me. He created worlds, for what is a doll house if not another world? Sometimes he did it with words. Sometimes with gifts. He created worlds when he decorated our homes. In the house of my childhood, there was a game room with a built-in wet bar. In our adolescent rec room, we had black-light posters and the special bulbs that made them pop. My sister and I shared a room where everything was matching shades of green and blue. I had already moved to college by then, but I remember a room in another house with an African jungle theme. And I remember the Jewish theme, the symbolism of which I neither understood nor appreciated at the time. My father constantly created other worlds. Perhaps he was always trying to escape the chaos in his mind.

Once, when he visited me in Baltimore after I was already religious, he came to shul on Shabbat morning. Although we sat separately in the small Orthodox shul that was my first spiritual home, I recognized that the men had called him up, as a guest in the congregation, for an aliyah. Gevalt! What did my father know about getting an aliyah? They were going to have to feed him the words of the bracha slowly, one at a time.

I was startled to hear him make the bracha, as loudly, clearly and confidently as if he had just done so the Shabbat before. Walking home later, I asked him how he pulled that off. "Didn't you know?" he answered with a sly smile, "My bar mitzvah was in an Orthodox shul. It's like riding a bike. You never forget how."

My father was too sick to ever really discuss my return to traditional Judaism, but I have often imagined that, had he been well, he too might have done teshuva and been living as a Torah Jew today. He might even have retired and come to live in Israel near us - me, my husband, children and my brother, his only son.

When I lit the yahrtzeit candle for him last night, I thought of how, when I see him again, he will be well. My father's disease was a force in my life for a very long time. But his love was even stronger.

When I first met my husband, his physical resemblance to my father spooked me. We married in the late afternoon on the 7th day of Chanukah and, though we didn't realize it when we set the date, that night was my father's second yahrtzeit. My brother, sister and I, uncharacteristically together on that date, lit yahrtzeit candles for him in the wedding hall.

Newly divorced with two young children, I met my husband almost 18 months to the day after my father died. Eighteen is a pretty significant number in Judaism. It's the numerical value of the Hebrew word chai, which means life. Once the disease infected his essence, my father could no longer take care of me. But he had a hand in sending me someone else who could. And he sent someone who resembles him, so I wouldn't miss the gift.

Fifteen years later, my husband, who never met my father, and I celebrated our Chanukah wedding anniversary in Jerusalem. I often think that my husband embodies all the best parts of my father, a reflection of what my father might have been, without the calamity that was his disease.

I got the message, Dad. Thanks for looking out for me.

Thank You Hashem

2011-12-25T13:07:00.002+02:00

When an awareness dawns, fully formed, we are sometimes blessed enough to perceive it as the Divine gift it is.

When I was a newly-minted religious woman, Hashem sent me an insight about the role of women in Judaism. There is no way this understanding was my own because, at the time, I had precious little Torah knowledge. And, in fact, I came to question it over the years, since I had no source for it. But I remember exactly where and on what occasion I first said it out loud, in front of some equally recent ba'alot teshuva and a much respected rebbetzin in Baltimore.

The idea was a simple one: that the way women are treated in normative Orthodox Judaism is not God's original intention. And that someday, things would align again with His original intention.

In 2006, a book came into my field of vision that basically made the same argument, this time deeply sourced in Torah, with 192 endnotes.

The Moon's Lost Light: A Torah Perspective on Women from the Fall of Eve to the Full Redemption by Devorah Heshelis is a book that comforts me every time I feel a twinge arising from being a woman in a traditional Jewish life. I summarized the book and taught its principle points to groups of religious women on two separate occasions over the past year.

The first time was my very first teaching experience since making aliyah. And I left that evening thinking that I will never teach in Israel again.

The ideas in the book, which I believe are original and brilliant and astonishingly comforting, were not well-received. I felt emotional walls going up as we discussed the book. I was told, "We've all dealt with the 'women's issues' decades ago. We've moved on and we don't want to hear about that stuff anymore."

I, who had often received encouraging feedback when teaching adult women for over 20 years, walked away from that experience in shock. I knew my presentation was solid - well-organized,clear and interactive. The only thing I could conclude was that I was not meant to teach in Israel. The very thought devastated me.

I was invited to teach an entirely different text a few months later by a different group of women. With trepidation, I agreed. That series of talks turned out to be much more typical of my teaching experiences. So, in thanking them for the invitation, I told this group of women the story of how the last talk had gone horribly wrong and they persuaded me to teach the ideas in the book to them. That was my second presentation of the ideas in The Moon's Lost Light.

I've read the book a few times, and am in the middle of yet another reading. This time, it was prompted by meeting the author at a shiur.

There is a woman from Brooklyn named Evelyn Haies who, passionate about the message of Rachel Imenu, bought a building near Kever Rachel and started an organization called Rachel's Children Reclamation Foundation (RCRF). RCRF sponsors Torah talks in a hall very close to the kever.

Every since my husband spoke there about a year ago, I have been on their mailing list. When I saw the announcement that the author of The Moon's Lost Light was speaking, I committed to attend. In the book, the section called ABOUT THE AUTHOR says:

Devorah Heshelis is the pen name of a Bais Yaakov graduate who presently resides in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kiryat Tsanz. In addition to being a wife and mother of eleven children, she has been teaching women Torah for over twenty-five years.

I wanted to meet this woman.

Her talk, entitled "The Essence of the Greek Exile", was fascinating. I took copious notes and came home and excitedly told my husband and one of my daughters the highlights.

But she was even more fascinating to me. Here was a woman who, under normal circumstances, I would never have met. We don't exactly live in the same weltanschauung. But Torah, and the RCRF, brought us together.

As it happened, I went to the shiur with a friend who volunteered to drive the author to her bus stop in another part of Jerusalem. So we got to talk more during the car ride and now we have begun a personal email correspondence.

I don't know what lies ahead in our correspondence, but I have already benefited. The whole experience, meeting the author of a book that touched me deeply, learning Torah about exile and redemption in very close proximity to Kever Rachel and beginning a correspondence with a chassidish woman whose life experiences are so different from mine have already been spiritually nourishing.

So I was feeling pretty blessed by the opportunities life in Israel provides when we went to a wedding in Jerusalem a few nights ago. Upon walking into the wedding hall, the first thing we heard was the sound of women singing. It caught my attention because it was loud. But also because it was so novel. Walking toward the joyful sound, I saw a phalanx of young women, arm-in-arm, singing and dancing in front of the seated bride.

It's common to see this among young men who are friends of the groom's, both in the moments before the chuppah when guests approach to bestow good wishes on the bride and groom and later, at the chuppah, especially if the groom is a yeshiva student or in the army and has a lot of young, energetic male friends. But in my experience, it's rare, and quite delicious, to see young women do this for their friend, the bride.

And when a couple of hundred Jews sing Im Eshkachech Yerushalayim at a chuppah IN Yerushalayim, my eyes well up.

My heart is full. Thank You Hashem for the many spiritual opportunities, large and small, that nurture my soul. Thank you for the blessing of allowing me to live my life in the Land of Israel.

I Hope You Liked My Country

2011-12-18T11:20:00.002+02:00

Thursday night, we drove to Ben Gurion airport with a family member traveling to the US for a few weeks. While waiting for her to check her bag, I saw a somewhat raucous group of American college students, joking around while waiting for their turn through security. They were tossing around kitschy souvenirs from Israel and making jokes about what things cost in shekels.

Since Taglit: Birthright Israel season has begun in Israel, it's not unusual for me to see groups of college students clustered together in touristy places in and around Jerusalem as I go about my daily errands. This time, in the airport, I had such a wildly novel thought.

I know these young people came from a US college campus and just spent 10 days exploring Israel. I know many, if not most of them are Jews with Jewish identities that are still in formation. I know that many of them came to Israel, in large measure, because it was a free trip.

I felt a new level of responsibility for representing Israel. I felt compelled to go over to them, let them know that our family lives here now, that we are normal people, that we are Israelis, and that we hope that they had a positive experience here and, if there is anything we can do for them, please contact us. I so wanted to go over to them and say, in my American English, "I hope you liked my country."

Did I do it?

No.

But I thought about it. And in that thought, I realized how much I identify as an Israeli now.

Chanukah in the White House

2011-12-16T13:43:00.004+02:00

About five years ago, when we still lived in America and my husband was a synagogue rabbi with a prominent community profile, we were invited to attend the annual Chanukah celebration at the Governor's mansion in Annapolis. I remember it especially because it fell on the night of our wedding anniversary. We went to Annapolis and hobnobbed with politicians and leaders of the Jewish community and later, we enjoyed a more private celebration back in Baltimore.

At the Governor's mansion, where a large silver chanukiah was placed on a central table amidst Christmas decorations, kosher food was provided, in a separate room in the back, apart from the main celebration. And I remember thinking that the whole thing was farcical. Although Chanukah was the theme, it was an entirely politically motivated evening and I was not impressed. I felt as if the government appropriated a private family celebration, dressed it in politics and paraded it in front of the Jewish community to show how "tolerant" and "ecumenical" they were.

I hadn't thought of that experience until yesterday, when I read this article about how the White House kitchen was kashered for the White House Chanukah party.

The article was all about making the case that, "...watching the distinctly non-Jewish White House kitchen turn itself upside down, wrap itself up, and scour, boil and disinfect itself for a one-time event was to witness a hosting effort of astonishing generosity and thoughtfulness." [Emphasis mine.]

Clearly, a lot of people agree with that point of view. What a nice thing for the White House to do to show how religious tolerance reigns in the US! How thoughtful to have a Chanukah party in the White House! How they honored their guests by making the food kosher so those Jews who care about kashrut could eat comfortably!

In his radio show on December 9, conservative talk show host Michael Savage did not have anything positive to say about the event. He accused the Obama White House of insulting Jews by having a Chanukah party two weeks too early, for lighting all candles in the chanukiah together and for the impromptu joke Obama made about being happy to kiss and hug everyone there,"except for the rabbis with the whiskers." Savage took issue with the rabbis who acted like court Jews, falling all over themselves to prepare the kitchen and attend the celebration.

I posted the New York Times article to Facebook along with this comment: Having the American rabbi supervising the kashering of the White House refer to the White House as,"the most powerful house of our day," is incredibly disheartening.

Indeed, it hurts me to hear an Orthodox Jew make that kind of comment. It hurts me to see that some Jews think this sort of event is a good thing.

Why are there Chanukah parties at the White House or the Governor's mansion in the first place? Because America is a Christian country and there is a common perception is that Chanukah is the Jewish Christmas. So already, I'm uncomfortable because, as lovely as Chanukah is, it's hardly the most important holiday in the Jewish calendar as we observe it today. So Chanukah gets raised to a level of significance it doesn't truly have, davka because it's being celebrated in exile, surrounded by Christmas. These celebrations have little to do with the meaning of Chanukah and everything to do with politics.

This event struck me as particularly distasteful, given the hostility of the current administration to Israel. It reminds me of the status of Jews in Iran today. Ahmadinejad wants to wipe Israel off the map, but Iranian Jews are protected under Iran's constitution. Obama is often named the most anti-Israel president in US history, but American Jews can light the chanukiah and eat kosher latkes at his party.

From my perspective, the whole thing was nothing but a hollow PR event, farcical and vacuous. It gives me a stomach ache that so many Jews went along with it. Happily! Proudly! How polite and respectful of us they are! The feeling that some Jews sold out for a kosher latke hurts my soul.

But even more troubling than all this is the hostile feedback I get every time I mention something about the perspective of American Jews. I am often told, in a nutshell, "leave American Jews alone." Write about all the lovely little moments in Israel and stop judging us.

What I cannot seem to put across to some, no matter how often and in how many different ways I try, is how genuinely pessimistic I am about the future of the American Jewish community and the dangers that lurk there. It's a classic case of shooting the messenger.

Like at a simcha, I miss having the whole family together here in the Holy Land, enjoying who we are meant to be. I worry over those of my fellow Jews who clearly demonstrate, by their speech and their behavior, over and over again, that they are much, much too comfortable in galut. I fear that the price they will have to pay for that misguided loyalty will be great.

Who am I but a very simple Jew? If it hurts me so much that so many refuse to see what God has asked of us and repeatedly reject the chance to come Home and build up Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael, I dare not imagine how devastated Hashem must feel.

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Vayeshev 5772

2011-12-15T18:30:00.001+02:00

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Vayeshev

A message to Am Yisrael in the Landand throughout the world

Father in Heaven asks of all Jews tobe united and cohesive, for this is their protection, their strength andtheir success!

When Am Yisrael is united andcohesive, doing kindness, loving each other and helping each other withoutexpectation of return – no nation and no human being can harm them!

The Holy One blessed be He protectsand shields the Holy Eretz Yisrael! There are many miracles occurring, and whenAm Yisrael is united and cohesive and performing acts of kindness – the HolyOne guards and shields Am Yisrael most strongly! We see the miracles,missiles are shot from Lebanon and Gaza, and the Creator of the worldprotects the Holy Eretz Yisrael – and only the Jews who live in the Holy Land!

There is no fear, not from Iran, notfrom Syria, not from Lebanon or Gaza. The Creator will turn everything ontheir faces! The Creator will protect Am Yisrael! All their evil designstowards Am Yisrael will turn on them – their swords will enter their hearts!

Father in Heaven asks of Jews wholive in North and South America, in Europe and everywhere in the world, isasking and begging in every language of urgency: make aliyahimmediately to the Holy Land, for this is the place of your residence!

The Holy One is showing signs in allparts of the world: earthquakes, volcanoes, floods and hurricanes, and turningnations against each other, one nation after the other. He uses nature’s forcesin order to rid the world of evil, and to show Jews living in the diaspora thatHe can reach every place. He hit Japan – and will continue to do so in order toshow Jews from afar what He can do!

Do not messwith the Creator’s signs in the world! If you don’t come to the Holy EretzYisrael now, don’t come complaining to Him, as He won’t listen to any complaintof yours!

One should leave the world of moneyand materialism, and homes , and a defiled land that has no value – and movequickly to Eretz Yisrael! Here you are safe and protected! In thediaspora, protection over the Jews has ceased! Whoever doesn’t believeshould look with his own eyes – there is no longer any protection of the Jewsin the diaspora! In the days to come, within weeks, Jews in the diaspora willsee exactly how unprotected they are, and will understand that the Holy Oneis extremely serious! They will escape in huge numbers and come to the HolyEretz Yisrael!

All Jews living in the Holy EretzYisrael, with their families, and who want to work in the diaspora, they willleave for short periods of time and return to the Land, and will succeed intheir livelihoods! Jews living in the diaspora will see with their own eyeshow they are being stolen from!

The entire world is in chaos,members of parliament fight among themselves! What they show on television – isa tiny fraction of what is actually occurring in the world!

All the presidents and heads ofgovernments in the world are concerned with their own tenure and the HolyOne steers them in the direction He desires!

Am Yisraelshould not be complacent! Although the Creator’s protection is upon Am Yisrael,the Holy One hopes that Am Yisrael will become as one, in love and unity!

The soldiers ofthe Israeli Defense Forces – they are our children! They guard and protect HolyEretz Yisrael, and assist Medinat Yisrael truthfully and honestly!

I beg of you,speak only good of them, bless them each and every moment, embrace them and love them! When there is protection of the Jews inthe Holy Land – here down below – there is protection from above also! We mustrespect all soldiers of Tzahal – the Holy One considers all Tzahal“Tzaddikim” without exception! And if the Holy One calls them Tzaddikim- woe to the one who doesn’t!

“Chazaku’Baruch” (kudos) to the large group of Rabbis who got together, unified andworked together to help Am Yisrael! This is the joy of the Master of the world!You have succeeded in gladdening Him! So may this continue, that many moreRabbis and Gedolai Yisrael (revered Sages in Israel) join in unity and harmony,and in this way advance the revelation of King Mashiach, in mercy!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

As The Challah Burns

2011-12-09T14:28:00.001+02:00

Largely due to the fact that there was amazing and readily available Rosendorf challah for sale in Baltimore, I only occasionally made challah in America. But for years, I dreamed of making challah in my own kitchen in Israel. It seemed to tie together so many mitzvot.

After making aliyah, I didn't actually rush into it. Up until a few months ago, we were still buying challot every week. Not surprisingly, challot are even more plentiful, accessible, diverse and delicious here than in Baltimore.

Some months ago, I had an astonishing homemade honey-wheat challah at a friend's one Shabbat and decided to try to duplicate it the next week. Since then, almost every Thursday night, there's challah baking in my kitchen.

As every traditional Jews knows, the mitzvah of challah is actually in removing a symbolic piece of dough, making a bracha and, in the absence of the Beit haMikdash, burning it. During the times I made challah in America, I burned it in the oven, double wrapped it and threw it away with the household trash. Here, I set it on a gas burner on the stove top. Once it starts to char, its odor and smoke permeate the house. If my kids are home, they grouse, "Eew, that stinks!"

A few weeks ago, I watched a serious Jew, a religious woman I know, put the piece of dough on which she had made a bracha into a plastic bag, pour dish soap on it, rendering it inedible, put it in a second bag and throw it away. No mess. No smell.

I checked with a posek and found that this is a valid halachic option.

But it doesn't sit quite right with me. Not because it's not halachic. Historically, I tend toward adopting the more lenient halachic option. But this one seems a bit too easy to me.

While the charring piece of dough does make for an unpleasant olfactory experience, it reminds me that this is what we have to do because we don't have a Beit HaMikdash with attendant kohanim to actually give the challah to.

To douse it with dish soup and throw it away is a perfectly acceptable option in Jewish law.

It just doesn't feel quite right to me. Can't say exactly why this practice, above others, makes me so desire authenticity, but I'd like to think it has something to do with the fact that, on every bustrip into Jerusalem, I pass Har HaBayit and silently say the "Yehi Ratzon" for the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash.

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Vayishlach 5772

2011-12-09T13:13:00.001+02:00

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Vayishlach

A message to Am Yisrael in the Landand throughout the world

The King of Kings, the Holy Oneblessed be He, protects, guards and shields, together with the Shechina, theHoly Land and Am Yisrael in the Holy Land, a people that dwells on pure soil.

Many miraclesoccur to the Jewish people and more will be coming, especially in this month!There will be great miracles and wonders, and each and every Jew willexperience these unique miracles!

All the Arab countries, their swordswill enter their own hearts as it was with the tower of Bavel. They fight eachother, and all that they scheme against the Holy nation of Israel willeventually come upon them – their swords will enter their own hearts!

They will not succeed in harming AmYisrael. Israel’s Defense Forces puts its life on the line with great sacrificeand great work, and it is for all of Am Yisrael, without exception, to honorand pray for, bless and strengthen every soldier of Tzahal every day!

The world is going down the drain!The economy in Italy, Greece, Spain and other places in Europe – should all godown the drain! No one can help them. There is no way to help them. Theythemselves don’t know what will be, and all of them are scared, worried andconfused, feeling that one will “consume” the other. This is a fear thatgrips the world! This includes worry that the American economy willcollapse.

Many Jews, affluent and not, “cry”that they lack sufficient money or success in work or livelihood. Listenwell, understand well and read this well: The Master of the world will givemoney to those who give a tenth of their earnings (ma’aser) and those whocontribute money to the needy, the poor, synagogues, students of Torah, and thesick!

All rich people acquired theirwealth solely for the purpose of giving ma’aser to the Jews of Eretz Yisrael.There is no differentiation between one rich person and another or between richand poor – all are children of the Holy One!

Just as the Holy One sends a messengeror messengers into the world, so too there are messengers upon whom the HolyOne relies to give of their ma’aser to Jews. The reason they fall is becausethey don’t give donations. The Holy One does not excuse anyone!

Do acts ofkindness, give ma’aser, and I will return your gifts ten-fold, and when theMaster of the world says “deal with me graciously in this matter”, give a tenth(t’ahser) so that you can become rich (k’dai she’tit’asher) – this is theCreator speaking and not flesh and blood!

Ma’aser and charity must be givenfrom wages and personal monetary gains of each Jew, and in this way the rich ofthe Land will not fall in their businesses; they will be strong and becomewealthier. This applies to employees as well. If they don’t do this, they willfall greatly!

The Creator doesn’twant stinginess, rather He desires wide open hearts – the world is built onChesed!

It is for every Jew across theworld, to leave the diaspora and arrive immediately in Eretz Yisrael.All synagogues, their Torah scrolls and all their contents, should be broughtimmediately to Eretz Yisrael. Jews have completed their task in thediaspora! The exile and diaspora are ending! There is no success for anyJew in the diaspora, as he lives there with family and children – everythingwill be lost! When they live as a family in Eretz Yisrael, he can travel to thediaspora for a few days or a week to do business – then there will be success!

We need aleader for Eretz Yisrael and the entire world calledMashiach! He is very close to coming!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Vayetzei 5772

2011-12-02T10:48:00.001+02:00

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Vayetzei

A message to Am Yisrael in the Landand throughout the world

The King of Kings, the Holy Oneblessed be He, is aiming the entire world in one direction- the removal of eviland materialism from the world. He is aiming towards a new world, of love andpeace – let there not be distress in the world! The Holy One is leading theworld towards the redemption of the Jewish nation, and the revelation of KingMashiach!

The situation in the world continuesto be complicated; each day is more difficult than the day before, and worsethan the day before. The world economy continues to fall and crash. In Europe,North and South America, Russia and China and other nations in the world,collapse with continue.

All Jews in the world must comeimmediately to the Holy Land! World Jews, in America and Europe and in everyland: Come to Israel immediately! And until then, buy property and housesin holy Eretz Yisrael! Don’t delay! Don’t miss out on this opportunity! Don’tcome afterwards, God forbid, with complaints to the Master of the world – Hewon’t listen to you! Leave the world of materialism and money! Money comes andgoes, goes and comes!

The Holy One is wreaking havocwithin and amongst all the Arab nations surrounding Israel, nothing will helpthem – it won’t stop until they are destroyed at their core! Like it waswith the tower of Babel! The Holy One is doing all this, so that they will havearguments with each other and leave Am Yisrael to cleave wholly to the HolyOne!

Am Yisrael: Don’t be complacent, take this opportunity to come together andbe united and all come back in repentence!

Real estate in Eretz Yisrael willcontinue to widen. There will be jobs for every Jew who reach Eretz Yisrael. Thereis no fear in Eretz Yisrael, the Holy One guards and protects Am Yisrael. Theexplosions in Lebanon and Iran, the hand of Hashem was in it – their swordswill enter their hearts! This is only the beginning! There will be much more of“their swords will enter their hearts”! Even all their inner conflicts are partof “their swords will enter their hearts!”

The Israel Defense Forces – thesoldiers of Tzahal are doing their job with a full heart! They are protectingAm Yisrael and the Holy One protects them! It is for every Jew, withoutexception, to honor and bless them and to pray for them to succeed in all theirendeavors!

Thank God, Tzahal does its workquietly and efficiently, and they do Holy work. Am Yisrael should gowith head held high, and stop locking itself in fear and trepidation – this isforbidden! We need to be confident and loving and unified, and rely and leanon the King of Kings, the Holy One!

The Holy One isbegging from the Jews in Am Yisrael, from the youngest to the oldest, to workfor unity and baseless love, to forgive one another and to love one another.

All giants ofTorah and leaders of Israel: weneed to find a new way, of unity and togetherness, to love one another – oneJew should love another and be with one heart – you are the models for allJews in the Land and throughout the world! And however our elders behave ishow our children behave – it’s all in your hands! One and yet anotherone, and in the end we’ll all be united as one with one heart for all!

We have toencourage Tzahal and its soldiers, togive them our trust – they are our children, they do their best and what isbest for the holy Eretz Yisrael!

The entireworld’s economy will collapse, and holy Eretz Yisrael will become the richestof all! This is the time! This is the last generation for the redemption of AmYisrael with mercy! This generation has merited the revelation of KingMashiach!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Donuts and No Dough

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, my husband and I spent a rare day-off together in Jerusalem, doing errands, but also absorbing the pre-Chanukah atmosphere. I took lots of pictures of sufganiot (Israeli donuts for Chanukah)

and other signs of Chanukah's arrival in Jerusalem. I intended to write a light-hearted piece to contrast with the seriousness of some of my more recent posts. Truly I did.

But then an issue keep nudging me from different directions and I thought that maybe this is what I was meant to write about instead.

I spend a lot of time in the geula world - the largely Internet-based world where people think and dream and learn and write about the Ultimate Redemption of the Jewish people and who search for signs of geula in headline news.

Yesterday, there was a whopper. A "Kristalnacht" in Highland Park where five Jewish-owned businesses in Highland Park, NJ had their shop windows smashed. This followed a few days after the Hillel at Rutgers had a brick thrown through the window. Most disheartening to me were the comments on the article urging people to, (I'm paraphrasing here) Stop making this sound like another Holocaust. This is America and nothing bad can happen here because our good non-Jewish neighbors will fight with us against this kind of violence.

There are a handful of rabbis who have been exceedingly influential on my thinking, teaching me to wake up and PAY ATTENTION to what's going on in the world, and especially in America. Rabbi Pinchas Winston was the first to teach me the idea that, in whatever Diaspora community we find ourselves, historically, we Jews miss the signs that it's time to move on. We always stay too long.

Not only do I spend a lot of time thinking of these things, I also correspond with people around the world who are somewhere in the aliyah process. And lately, I've noticed a trend, a distressing question, a heart-breaking dilemma coming up with ever-increasing frequency.

In a nutshell, the dilemma is, "Okay, I get it now. I see where all this is headed and I'm ready to pack my bags and move to Israel. But, there's a huge glitch. I have no money. I live paycheck-to-paycheck and I can't afford a plane ticket to Israel let alone an apartment there. Rabbi X is telling us to leave America and I'm ready, but I don't have any savings/haven't worked in months/can barely buy groceries here, etc. What am I supposed to do now??"

What a sad question. What a harsh test. At this moment, the Jewish Agency considers aliyah from America to be aliyah-by-choice. How far are we from the point where the Jewish Agency will revise its perspective and define aliyah from America as rescue aliyah? You may think it's far-fetched, but it's not at all difficult for me to envision the Jewish Agency sending in planes to rescue American Jews, setting up temporary housing here and feeding and clothing them until they can build new lives in Israel.

I asked Rabbi Winston what he thinks about this dilemma of people who finally want to leave but find they cannot. His answer, "The truth? They're stuck, short of a great miracle, and they must work on creating a mini-Eretz Yisroel where they live to remain protected, b"H. This can open doors to aliyah they don't even know about yet, and bitachon and emunah is a must."

What I think that that means, practically speaking, is that people who are stuck in the US due to financial limitations must talk to Hashem and ask for, beg for, help. I was listening to a shiur earlier this week by Rabbi Lazer Brody, about talking to Hashem and asking for what we need. He told a story of a student in their yeshiva who went to his rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Arush, for help because he wasn't making enough money to pay rent. Rav Arush sent him to the field to do six hours of hitbodedut, private, personal prayer. He came back to Rav Arush shortly after and said that the situation was worse and now he was being kicked out of his apartment. Rav Arush sent him to do six more hours of hitbodedut. Shortly after, he got an inheritance from an aunt and is now living in a paid-off apartment three blocks from the yeshiva.

Rabbi Brody encourages 30 minutes of talking to Hashem and asking him for what we need for 30 days. This is emunah in action.

Short of a miracle, what else can be said? If you're here already, praise Hashem for your good fortune and say chapter 122 of Tehillim for those who are not yet Home. If you're not here yet but can still afford to come, come now! And if you're stuck, if you want to come but find your cupboard is bare, pray for God's help.

Hashem has no shortage of dough.

A Natural Progression

2011-11-29T11:40:00.001+02:00

I have no actual data to support this, but I do have a long-standing gut feeling that ba'alei teshuva and converts are overrepresented among olim. In plain English, I have observed that those who chose Jewish observance as adults, either Jews who were born into assimilated families and became religiously observant later in life, or those who were born into non-Jewish families and chose to become observant Jews, make aliyah in greater proportion than they exist in the general Jewish population.

My own experience certainly echoes this. I was raised in a nominally Jewish household, one that had been tossing off vestiges of traditional Judaism for a few generations. I always knew I was a Jew, but it meant very little to me. Until it started to mean the world to me.

In a very real sense, my relationship with Israel grew in exactly the same way. At first, it meant very little to me. Until it started to mean the world to me.

There are many parallels between the processes of becoming religiously observant and making aliyah. When I became religiously observant decades ago, I had to integrate a whole new worldview. There was a new idiom to master. New customs to learn. A new social circle within which to interact. New ideas to study. New foods to eat. So many things I had to relearn. And, accompanying the process, the inevitable discomfort of being a newbie. There was so much I didn't know about being a Jew that others seem to understand intuitively.

Making aliyah requires the exact same adjustments. Just last night, my husband and I were taking a walk not far from our house. We ran into a neighbor who was so happy to see us because her car had just died and she wasn't sure what to do. In the Old Country, in the former lifestyle, we knew what to do. As newly observant Jews, and again as olim, we have to figure everything out all over.

In many ways, making aliyah is a natural progression on our Jewish journeys. We have already overturned so much of our lives in the process of clinging to Torah, to God and to the Jewish people. When we became observant Jews, we reclaimed our connection to the God of Israel, Torat Yisrael and Am Yisrael. So too, by making aliyah, we have reclaimed our connection to Eretz Yisrael.

Like any deep growth, it ain't easy. But it surely is worth it.

Do I Hate America?

2011-11-27T10:40:00.001+02:00

When I write soft, fluffy, feel-good pieces about our new lives in Israel, I often get a heartwarming response.

That feels good. I like showing people a side of Israel that may differ from their preconceived notions of what Israel is like. I enjoy pointing out the glory of life here and, because I blog, I'm always looking for charming, only-in-Israel stories that might translate well to blog posts or Facebook statuses.

But that's not the only thing I think about, nor the only thing I blog about.

A short time ago, I wrote a series of posts about how the gender issues in Judaism gnaw at me. One indignant reader wrote a comment about how tiresome she finds my incessant harping about women's issues and, when I didn't approve her comment, she called me a hypocrite and let me know that she will never read another word I write.

Similarly, whenever I write about America from the perspective of one who couldn't wait to leave, I spark strong reactions from Jews who rush, sometimes in the same breath, to both defend America and to attack me.

I've been told that, by not celebrating Thanksgiving, I created a chillul Hashem (a profanation of Gd's name) in the eyes of non-Jews. By not celebrating Thanksgiving even while I was in America, it seems that I spit in the eye of the country that took in the persecuted, downtrodden Jews. One reader drew an entire psychological profile of me based on the fact that I chose not to celebrate Thanksgiving. From this, the reader concluded that,"...you feel nothing towards it, and feel no obligation whatsoever to express that gratitude together with the rest of the citizenry, in a non-religious, non-sectarian forum." By virtue of the fact that I didn't celebrate Thanksgiving, s/he asserts, "But to openly state that even when you lived in the US, you felt "nothing" towards the country in the way of appreciation?... Now, imagine the non-Jew who reads that. If that does not border on the chillul hashem, I don't know what does."

Just to be clear, I said no such thing. What I actually said was, "Thanksgiving may not be a religious holiday, but it's certainly not a Jewish one. I'm not declaring that it's wrong to celebrate the day. There are certainly worse things a religious Jew can do than celebrate Thanksgiving. But to me, it's totally irrelevant. It's someone else's holiday."

I see, in the accusations of this reader, an unvarnished galut mentality. What is s/he worried about? That by skipping the turkey and football, I, as a Jew, seem ungrateful to America and that non-Jews might find out and then what will they think? It's a shanda fur die goyim - something embarrassing to the Jews that non-Jews might see. Shush! They might hear you.

And that, my friends, is why I am so grateful to live in a Jewish country. I don't have to be concerned about accusations of dual loyalty because I have none. My loyalty is singular.

Tzvi Fishman, in his blog, Hollywood to the Holy Land, recently wrote Should a Jew Celebrate Thanksgiving? His take is brilliant and well worth the brief read. In fact, Tzvi Fishman, who routinely writes about how Jews in America need to wake up and get their priorities clear, recently published a collection of his blog posts. In his true, unapologetic style, the book is titled "From Israel with Love: It's Time for Jews to Come Home" For 350 pages, he pounds the point that Jews belong in Israel and anyone who tries to make the case otherwise is misreading Torah.

He gets a lot of hate mail.

To his credit, Tzvi Fishman honors the writers of the hateful talkbacks by suggesting that, in their vociferous defense of America and concomitant attacks on Israel, they are actually playing out a deep attachment to Israel. It's negative, no doubt, but it's spiritually superior to the wide swath of Jews in America who are utterly indifferent to Israel.

I also received a different, lengthy personal comment from someone who identifies as American yeshivish: "You may think I'm crazy, but I am very proud to be a Jewish American. (And no, my thinking is not skewed because I live outside of Israel.)... why do you so greatly despise America? You are not here anymore. So why do you (seemingly) constantly comment negatively on things/customs/natural disasters/holidays/etc. pertaining to America? I often become very upset when I see your statuses and hate towards America. I know this country may be dirt to you, but its not for all of us (Jews)."

Since this comment came from someone I know personally, I took a long time to craft my response. It's slightly edited here, largely because I deleted personal references. Rereading it, I am pleased at how accurately it reflects what I think, feel and believe:

I don't hate America, but I do feel very, very detached from it. I never felt like a true-blue American, even when I wasn't yet religious and I never much cared for Thanksgiving either. So when I became religious and had such a rich calendar of celebration and so many expressions of thanks to Hashem, Thanksgiving became pretty irrelevant to me. I wholly identify as a Jew who came from the Diaspora community of America and I thank Gd every day that I live in Israel now.

My Facebook comment was about my confusion over why religious Jews would celebrate a holiday that is not ours, especially after they make aliyah. It was not a general excoriation of America.

Having said that, I see that you are asking for a more complete response, so I'll offer one. You felt free to speak your mind and I respect that. What I appreciate about your challenges to my position is that it shows me that you are still questioning. You want to believe what you're being taught now and I keep making you uncomfortable. I think that's very positive. You're still thinking. Kol hakavod.

You asked if I've ever studied the non-Tzioni version of these issues. I am well aware of the view that Jews are not obligated to come to Israel until Moshiach arrives and that there are people who feel that, until Eretz Yisrael is guided by Torah leadership, living in Israel is neither compulsory nor even preferred. I know there are American rabbeim who refer to America as a medina shel chessed and who argue that we are obligated to express hakarat hatov to a country that allows Jews to live with religious freedom.

Just as you follow your rabbis, I follow mine. I believe that the non-Tzioni version of geula, Moshiach, Eretz Yisrael question is dead wrong and, what's more, dangerous for the Jews who cling to the Diaspora at this time in Jewish history. I also find it highly ironic that religious Jews will not move to Israel because the government is a secular one, but they willingly celebrate secular holidays such as Thanksgiving, in someone else's country. The truth is, I find it offensive that non-Tzioni Jews are loyal to a foreign government and feel that they are not obligated to come and help build the nation that Hashem, in His great mercy, gave back to Am Yisrael after 2000 years. I find it offensive that non-Tzioni Jews feel that it's okay to wait it out in the relative material comfort of America while the rest of the Jewish people build and die for a country which non-Tzioni Jews plan to show up to after all the hard work has been done.

I also believe that, through world events such as extreme weather, economic crashes, social unrest and increasing antisemitism, Hashem is begging the Jewish people to leave the Diaspora. And the non-Tzioni world, encouraged by their rabbis, are deaf, dumb and blind to the call. Religious people who know Jewish history are still building magnificent Jewish institutions in chutz l'aretz, buying houses there and, in general, behaving as if their future is there rather than here. I believe with all my heart and soul that it is a big, fat historical mistake. I am hurt, for the kavod of Hashem, that so many of His people are turning their backs on Eretz Yisrael and choosing to dwell in a land that is not ours. Learn a little Eim Habanim Semeichah and you'll see how we've already made that tragic mistake in the past.

While there are many, many moments of joy here and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, life in Israel is not a picnic. It's hard work and Israel hasn't come close to reaching its potential. If there were more religious Jews here, the work would go faster. The future of Am Yisrael is here, not in the US or France or any other diaspora community. So yeah, even while I worry for the safety of the Jews I love in America, it irks me that so many non-Tzioni people choose to sit on the sidelines in America.

It may be possible that the resentment I feel towards the pull America has on non-Tzioni Jews who are ignoring Hashem's call comes across as hate. I don't hate America. But I believe that the time has come for Jews to leave, while the gates of Israel are still open and it's still possible to come b'kavod.

It's not fun to receive and read comments that are critical of my views. But, in the end, I find that they help me clarify my message. And for that I'm thankful.

Maybe I should go grab a turkey sandwich.

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi - Parshat Toldot 5772

2011-11-25T13:38:00.001+02:00

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Parshat Toldot

A Message to Am Yisrael in the Landand throughout the world

The King of Kings, the Holy Oneblessed be He, said, “The heart of a king is in the hand of Hashem.”

The Creator controls the heart ofevery president and head of state in the world, their work is not of their own,and the Creator complicates matters between them. This is how God runs theworld – by natural means.

The presidents and heads of governmentspeak nonsense, with mistakes and contradictions. Each day they contradicttheir words from the day before, and appear ridiculous in front of the wholeworld – in the media.

The end of thepresident of Syria – if he doesn’tescape – will be like Kaddafi! The Creator works in an orderly fashion, hedisassembles, destroys and finishes off one nation after another. He finishesoff one nation – and then comes the next one in the order, or perhaps the nextthree or four nations.

The enemies that surround us will finisheach other off between themselves. Syria and Egypt among them, “and I willinstigate Egypt within Egypt.” Next in line – Jordan, which is coming very soon.In Lebanon, they will fight with Hamas and Nassralah, in Gaza Hamas and Fatahwill kill each other – for pride and honor, they are ready to die!

The entire world is confused,aching, frightened and complicated, we don’t know what each day will bring. Theeconomy in the Americas – North and South America as well as Canada, will fadewith no hope for revival, with the same in Russia, China and Europe. There willbe a world economic collapse and the Holy Land of Israel – will become richer,and grow and develop and stretch like the hide of a deer, and all the worldwill see, and understand and be awed by the greatness of the Creator of theworld!

Jews across theworld: do not “play” with the Holy One, do not rebel against him. He loves youvery much and wants to help you. Do not disappoint the Holy One!

The Holy One, with great love andjoy, is waking you up, to leave the impure land, to leave money andmaterialism, and come immediately to the Holy Eretz Yisrael!

Do not pain, donot anger, do not disappoint the Holy One! He turns to you in compassion; theHoly One wants you to make aliyah to the Land now!

In EretzYisrael you will have security, protection,and a good livelihood, and the Land, it is a Holy Land! If we do thewill of Hashem – there will be a redemption with compassion. Do notdisappoint the Holy One! All the clowns who ridicule Hashem’s messages and say,“this is not what’s happening now” – “we’ve seen this before” – will carrygreat responsibility and pay a heavy price.

The nations who ignore the creationof a nuclear bomb in Iran, these are nations who are indebted and dependent onIran for their fuel, and support it at the expense of the rest of the world.

Whoever is worried about peace inthe world – will stop Iran, and whoever has personal gain for this nation,ignores it and blocks attempts to stop it.

Medinat Yisraelmust work quietly and not publicize what Tzahal and our security forces do.

Volcanic eruptions will continue, andearthquakes, floods, heavy storms and hurricanes will continue andstrengthen in many places. Things that the human eye saw and that were unimaginablewill be seen in the world by way of the media!

(Hashem’s) judgment is gettingharsher week by week across the world. In Eretz Yisrael, real estate, streetsand infrastructure continue to grow. Many Jews in the exile understand the HolyOne’s messages and are flocking to Eretz Yisrael and investing in it.

To all theGiants of Torah in the Land, community Rabbis and synagogue Rabbis: it is your obligation to join together, to have unity and unify AmYisrael – there is no separation between Sephardim and Ashkenazim and Charedim,it is for all of us to have one mouth and one heart, like one person! TheHoly One is counting on you!

The Holy One ismessaging Am Yisrael: Is it not sufficient for you what you see in theworld?All that I am doing- is for Am Yisrael! I am showing you so that you willsee and fear! Every Jew should be strong in keeping the 10 commandments, andshould prepare oneself for the revelation of King Mashiach soon! Mashiach isinvolved and working within the Holy Eretz Yisrael and is influencing theentire world!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

No Turkey for Me, Thanks

2011-11-24T19:30:00.001+02:00

Yes, I know I sound like a curmudgeon. But I seriously don't get the whole "religious Jews celebrating Thanksgiving" thing. I didn't get it in America and I really, really don't get it in Israel.

This was the Facebook status I posted 18 hours ago. So far, there are 38 comments on my status. My pro-Thanksgiving Facebook friends, a good percentage of whom are religious Jews living here or back in the US, variously argue that Thanksgiving is:

a holiday lacking religious significance and basically just an excuse to get together with family and friends, watch football and overeat.
the time to appreciate that America affords religious freedom to Jews.
an excuse to party with other American ex-pats.
a national holiday that all Americans can share.
a great time to get together with non-religious family because religious Jews can drive and cook and are off from work.

It's Thanksgiving in America and today, I went to work in Jerusalem and then came home and put up the challah dough to rise, pretty much like I do every Thursday. Personally, I have zero attachment to Thanksgiving. I stopped celebrating it a long time ago and I haven't once missed any aspect of it.

The Jewish calendar is so full of special celebrations, and a Jewish life lived well is so full of opportunities to express gratitude multiple times a day, that I personally feel absolutely no need for the ritual. And if I want turkey and stuffing, I'll make it for Shabbat.

Thanksgiving may not be a religious holiday, but it's certainly not a Jewish one. I'm not declaring that it's wrong to celebrate the day. There are certainly worse things a religious Jew can do than celebrate Thanksgiving. But to me, it's totally irrelevant. It's someone else's holiday. I would no more make a festive meal for Thanksgiving than for Easter or Kwanzaa or Eid al-Adha.

One comment asked, "Why does aliya have to be all or nothing? First people tell them to make aliya with the assurance that they won't miss anything they have here, then once they do, they criticise them because they speak English too much, or have too many chutz-nik friends, or have a "golus mentality", or want to keep any traditions frum chutz laAretz. I think it should be enough that they made aliya... let them travel the journey at their own pace."

As I said, in recent decades, I didn't celebrate Thanksgiving in America either,so for me, the two things are not connected. But since the point was raised, I'd like to address it.

I live in Israel and, despite the considerable amount of time I've invested in learning Hebrew, I speak English 98% of the time. I read English books and raise charitable contributions in my community (more than NIS10,000 so far) through the sale of used English books. I have no Israeli friends, except those who also speak English. There are things I still import from the US, either because they are cheaper there or simply not available here. I miss Chinese food, WalMart, the Baltimore County Public Library and free shipping from amazon.com.

I will always be an American immigrant and my kids, who came as teens, probably will be as well, albeit to a lesser extent. I am completely, totally and unapologetically okay with these realities and I am singularly uninterested in the criticism of anyone who thinks that I am not doing aliyah right.

And there is still no pumpkin pie in my oven today.

Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi Parshat Chaye Sarah 5772

2011-11-18T10:41:00.001+02:00

Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi Parshat Chaye Sarah

A Message to Jews in the Land andthroughout the world

The King ofKings, the Holy One blessed be He, isstrengthening and intensifying the forces of nature every week – in order toeliminate evil from the entire world.

Each day the rains, storms and snowsand earthquakes will get stronger. Even if the wags of our day will maintainthat “only empty buildings have been destroyed” – these are merely warnings.The Holy One pours out his wrath on stones and wood, and if the lesson isunheeded – there will be worse disasters.

Through the medium of the forces ofnature, the Holy One is cleansing the world and Eretz Yisrael, as apreparation for the Redemption and the revelation of Mashiach – ben David –with mercy.

The heads ofall the governments in the world battlewith each other and are confused, unsure what the day will bring, oneday they agree and one day they disagree, and cannot agree on anything.Governments convey confusing and contradictory messages – as it was in thetower of Babel – until everything will collapse.

Sins of bribery, theft, and otherindiscretions – all will be revealed! We are living during a time in whichthe plan is to eliminate evil from the world, to enable a Redemption withmercy.

The Creator ofthe world is first dealing with countries that contain Jews, so that Jews will come quickly to Eretz Yisrael. The Holy One willbreak apart those economies, so that Jews in those countries – given that thereason they remain in exile is due to materialism and money – will all come tothe Holy Land. One cannot “buy off” the Holy One with gold, silver anddiamonds.

It’s not from today that a harshhatred of Jews exists in America, Canada, South America, Europe and Russia- itwill only continue and get worse day to day!

All the congregations across theworld should “fold,” gather all the contents of them, and come immediately toEretz Yisrael! Actions against synagogues will get worse by the day!

Despite the slowdown – in order toget Am Yisrael and real estate agents to pay attention – real estate,construction, roads and infrastructure will continue to expand in order to makeroom for the hundreds of thousands of Jews who will come to Eretz Yisrael verysoon, that they should have a place and their own home in Eretz Yisrael – themost protected, safe and holy place in the world!

There is nofear regarding any nation surrounding us – their swords will be in theirhearts! The Creator of the world and the Shechina – protect Am Yisrael!

We find ourselves in a verydifficult time, where the sitra achra is bothering Am Yisrael very much. Parentsneed to be very careful not to transfer their anxiety and anger to theirchildren. They should not hit or be angry with them, since the children are notto blame – the parents are.

From the anxiety, the children getscared and close up, and it’s hard for them to study. Jewish parents first needto educate themselves and then their children. They should not bringinto the house what is inappropriate from the outside. When the home is holyand the table – is like the altar, peace, safety and security reign in a Jewishhome.

By way of manysigns that He is showing, the Creator is begging, in every form of pleading:Jews, come live in Israel now! The exile is coming to an end, I need you inEretz Yisrael! Redemption of Am Yisrael is at hand!

Precious Jews:we must pay attention to all the clues and hints of the Creator. The world ofarrogance and deception is over! Redemption has begun! The light of Mashiachcan be found! Mashiach is on his way, to give commands to the leaders of theworld!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Blind Anxiety

2011-11-17T23:20:00.001+02:00

In Holon, an Israeli city just south of Tel Aviv, I had a most unusual experience this past week. On the grounds of the Children's Museum in Holon, there is an exhibit officially called "Dialogue in the Dark" but more commonly known as The Blind Museum.

I heard about it from my kids, who both went with school trips.

It's not a simple thing to get in as an individual because you have to go through the experience in groups of 10 and groups with English-speaking guides are less common. So when I found that the OU Israel Center was organizing a tour for English speakers, I signed up immediately.

The exhibit puts a group of 10 people together in total darkness, led by a blind or visually impaired guide. For an hour and a half, you have only your white cane, your wits and the assistance of your blind guide to get you through a maze of experiences, including visiting a park, a busy city street, a market and getting on and off a boat.

Our guide, Meir, was a calming presence in anxious moments. At the beginning of the tour, Meir reminded us that we are all virtually addicted to sight, relying on it nearly to the exclusion of our other senses.

Especially in the beginning, I felt completely vulnerable just stepping forward. I had no sense of orientation, no way to anticipate what was coming and a general, low-level anxiety about getting though the experience without getting lost or hurt.

Later, it occurred to me that this feeling was familiar. Being suddenly unable to rely on one's sense of sight is a lot like being an adult olah chadasha and being unable to rely on one's language and one's familiarity with the surrounding culture.

Frequently, as a new immigrant, I am faced with the need to do things that cause me anxiety. Not paralyzing, but certainly uncomfortable. So many things are still so new and, because I don't understand the language well enough to be a confident communicator, some days, there is a near-constant hum of disquietude.

This experience, the necessity of frequently facing things that make me uncomfortable, is a truthful part of my klita story. I didn't know to expect it when we made aliyah.

To be certain, it's not every day that I feel it. And, as I get used to certain routines, the areas over which I feel a sense of competence increase. For example, I think I'm getting the hang of using the Rav Kav card.

And tonight, I made cinnamon challah in my Israeli kitchen and they look and smell fabulous.

So, for today, I've banished my low-level olah anxiety with the mitzvah of challah for Shabbat. In Israel.

And that about captures what my life feels like these days.

Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi Parshat Vayera 5772

2011-11-11T10:22:00.001+02:00

Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi Parshat Vayera

A Message to Am Yisrael, in the Landand throughout the world

The King ofKings, the Holy One – there is none besides Him – He alone runs the world!

The Master of the world is concernedwith every creature, it’s beginning and end. The Creator safeguards AmYisraeland the Shechina shields Am Yisrael with her wings.

The Holy One communicates with everyJew at eye level and through forces of nature: one Shmini Atzeret we prayed,“who brings the winds and brings rainfall,” – and a winter wind blew, the kindeveryone felt. Last week we asked, “please bring dew and rains for blessing” –and rain fell everywhere in the Land. By way of these signs, the Holy One showshis great love for us! Thus says the Holy One: “I am with you, my children!”

Leaders of AmYisrael must be united and as one, attentive to the Creator. So that our country will be strong, without fear of enemyactivities – all members of Knesset and ministers need to work as one body!

We should learn from the ways of thenations, and boast about things that haven’t yet happened – better to workquietly and behind the scenes for this is Hashem’s will! That which is hiddenfrom the eye is accompanied with blessing and success!

When government officials and Knessetmembers fight with each other, our enemies exploit our words for their own gain;they are guided by the Knesset and their disputes, and according to thesedebates they determine how strong Medinat Yisrael is.

It is forbiddenfor people to compete and seek to stand out by being the first at something –just in order to go down in the pages of history. All the leaders must act inconsultation with others, and in secrecy, for the greater good of Am Yisrael.When the world sees Am Yisrael and its leadership with one mind – no one willbe able to challenge and change our policies!

Jews inAmerica, Europe, and all nations throughout the world: Sell everything or sell your home to the bank and getready to move to Eretz Yisrael!

Notwithstanding the threats withinEretz Yisrael – you will be more safe and protected than any other place in theworld!

The Holy Onehas declared an ending to the evil in the world!

There will be harsh floods, strongwinds, volcanic eruptions, blizzards, strong rains and earthquakes in manyplaces – nations surrounding us will eliminate each other – all for the benefitof Am Yisrael!

Precious Jewsliving in exile: do not bestubborn, don’t wait, don’t “play” with the Master of the world, it’s a pity – thedamage can be huge!

It pains Hashemdeeply that Jews cannot get along. Itis forbidden for Jews to make protests and to quarrel with each other – thisangers and saddens the Holy One. The Holy One is joyous when there is love andunity and togetherness in Eretz Yisrael. We are all the children of AvrahamAvinu, of blessed memory, there is no difference between one Jew and the next!

Rabbis inIsrael: It is up to you to unite and unifyAm Yisrael, to safeguard and protect Am Yisrael through your prayers and theprayers of the public.

The Holy One ispurifying the world, through water and forces of nature, and is preparingeverything for the revelation of KingMashiach!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Letter By Letter

2011-11-04T14:30:00.000+02:00

Back in the Old Country, when I was still a rebbetzin, there was a woman in my husband's congregation who wanted to study for an adult Bat Mitzvah. She had wanted to do so for many years, but she was paralyzed from beginning because she thought she would have to learn to read Hebrew, and she didn't think she could do that.

I began meeting with her every week. First I taught her the shape and name of the letter alef - the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Then we went through a Hebrew prayer book and, moving her finger right to left on each line of text, she stopped at every alef she found and said, "alef".

The next week, we added the letter bet. Then gimel. Before long, she purchased, and was using, her own large print Tehillim. She would move her finger from right to left on each line of text, calling out the names of the letters she recognized.

I added a new letter or two each week, and at the beginning of each lesson, she would tell me how she had stayed up until the wee hours practicing. When my husband and I went to Israel for two weeks, rather than missing any time, she asked me to teach her four letters before we left. And while we were gone, she practiced like a demon.

In time, very gradually, she learned the names of every letter in the Hebrew alphabet and, in her way, could "read" any Hebrew text. She often exclaimed how things in the shul were opening up for her. She could distinguish letters on the yahrtzeit plaques, in the prayer book and on the aron kodesh. I had her "read" the chapters of Tehillim that Jews around the world were saying for the safety of Israel. She always used to tell me that, in her next life, she would be born a sabra.

When we studied together, she was 80 years old.

After she mastered the letters, we tried to move on to vowels, but I could see that it was too much for her. Instead, I taught her to recognize the shapes of a few common Hebrew words - shalom, Israel and the two ways that God's name most often appears in print. By then, she could "read" her text, letter-by-letter. And when she got to one of the names of Hashem, she would stop her finger, point, and say, "Hashem!" and look up at me with a huge smile.

It was a rare privilege to teach and know a person who, though lacking formal Jewish education, possesses a neshama that is so wide open.

Sally, you are still my Jewish hero.

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi - Lech Lecha 5772

2011-11-04T12:53:00.001+02:00

Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi Parshat Lech Lecha

A Message to Am Yisrael, in the Landand throughout the world

The King of Kings, the Holy Oneblessed be He, is continuing to repair the world until all the evil in itstops. The Holy One will transform this world into a pure and holy world. AmYisrael - King Mashiach and the Holy Temple will become first andforemost and all that will remain in the world – will become subservient toEretz Yisrael and Mashiach ben David.

The floods, snow storms, extremeheat and freezing cold will continue in the world. Volcanoes will continueerupting, hurricanes and earthquakes will continue with greater force. Whathas happened until now is only the beginning. The economy in Europe andAmerica and every place where Jews live – will crash. Clashes, arguments andwars will have nations turning on themselves. Arabs who surround us will waragainst each other, like what we see in Syria. Assad has extremely dangerousweapons, and therefore no one “challenges” him. According to plan, he willfinish off Syria!

All the Arabsreleased in the Shalit matter – their swords will go into their hearts! They will “celebrate” among themselves and kill each other.

The Holy One is “dripping” – hintingto every nation and state in the world: Anyone who wants to harm or destroythe Land of Israel – the Holy One will retaliate strongly! The worlddoesn’t understand, or try to understand, what the Holy One wants from them!

If Jews in the Land and thethroughout the world understood what the Holy One wants from them at this time,and why He brings natural disasters in the world – all the Jews would come to theLand of Israel and repent (do teshuva) completely and all non-Jews living in theLand would flee – this phase will happen.

The means of communication that theHoly One has with the world is through events that shake and rumble and cleanseof evil. But the people don’t understand what the Holy One is saying. Jewsneed to understand that the Holy One is purifying the world to prepare it forrevealing the King Mashiach! Therefore, all Jews need to unify and cometogether, do acts of kindness and return to Hashem!

The world thinks that natural forces– those that destroy with their power and remove evil – that this is the way ofnature. The earth and its natural forces have not “gone mad,” this is the HolyOne “pushing the buttons” and directing the entire world, with a specific plan,in order to banish evil from the world.

The Creator of the world will causeAm Yisrael to come to a place of baseless love, doing kindnesses for oneanother, and peacefulness – between husband and wife in their home, and afeeling of unity “as one entity with one heart.” Whoever doesn’t believe this –will see it soon with their own eyes. If Am Yisrael will understand the will ofthe Holy One, with all Jews living in the diaspora making aliyah and those Jewsliving in the Land uniting on their own – this will be ideal. But if Heavenforbid they don’t understand, the Creator will make them feel united and lovingon His own terms, ways that are severe!

The protests in Eretz Yisrael willnot achieve their purpose- it’s too bad, we shouldn’t learn from the ways ofthe gentiles. Representatives from the groups need to chose spokespeople tospeak with the government – this is the best way to solve problems.

The State ofIsrael must not pay any attention to Nasralla, and needs to quietly plan for his “madness.” When he receives anyattention from Israel – his arrogance grows and he becomes wilder! We must notbe afraid of him, and we also can’t be passive about him because he is verydangerous. Pay no attention to him, as if he doesn’t exist!

All the disturbances from Gaza,Lebanon and places surrounding Jerusalem, this is the “whip” that the Holy Oneis using to bring Am Yisrael to repentence.

Giants of Torah, leaders and Rabbis!It is your task to come together, to bring strength and protection to the HolyLand and Am Yisrael. Am Yisrael is hurting when its leaders are not unified andunited, don’t be stubborn, this is not the time for “games.”

Moses our Teacher, peace be uponhim, gave his soul for Am Yisrael. All our leaders together can be like Moshe Rabaynu – unity and togetherness amongst you will bring the same within AmYisrael, and thus bring safety and protection.

Regarding the economy of Europe –there is no solution, the situation will get worse and America will crash,falling and plunging deeper and deeper. Jews, I beg of you, leave thematerialism and come to live in the Holy Land of Israel. There is Redemptionand there is Mashiach, who is waiting to be revealed!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Little Tiny Moments of Joy

2011-11-01T16:40:00.000+02:00

Periodically, I have little tiny moments of joy here in Israel. They aren't necessarily big enough to blog about, so I usually dash off a line or two and update my Facebook status. I thought it would be fun to knit a bunch of these tiny little moments of joy together.

What follows are the 30 or so most recent nuggets, starting in early July, when we celebrated our first aliyahversary, and ending with the one I wrote just last night.

Today is our very first aliyahversary. We have been blessed with so many brachot during our first year in Israel. I have learned to accept, with emuna, the challenges that Hashem sends to me personally. Living here strengthens my awareness that the Master of the World is always looking out for me, even when it feels like maybe He's a bit distracted.

Shop Wednesday. Cook Thursday. Play Friday. Just realized how much better this system is.

One of the biggest thrills of making aliyah is hearing about newer olim who are coming to join the family.

The Google home screen has big red hearts where the "oo" goes. Is Google aware that it's Tu b'Av, the Jewish Day of Love?

Just had a young Israeli man deliver a contract for me to sign. I asked if he wanted something to drink. Before drinking, he took a piece of paper from the contract, held it over his head and made a bracha. Man, I love this place!

Attended a beautiful outdoor Jewish wedding ceremony last night, high in the hills overlooking Jerusalem. Warm breezes. Great music. How did I get so lucky to have such an authentic Jewish experience?

I love Fridays in Israel. My daughters and I alternate cooking. My husband goes out to the makolet to pick up the ingredients we forgot and later, he sweeps and mops. Quality family time :-)

A year ago this week, I started the 5-month long intensive ulpan (conversational Hebrew class) for new immigrants. On the bus this morning, it occurred to me that the reality is, I can learn Hebrew. Just a lot slower than I would like.

So holy is the produce grown in Israel that, after I eat Israeli grapes, I make the after blessing with different wording than what I used to say in America. Same for olives, dates, figs, pomegranate and wine.

On Friday, while preparing for Shabbat, I spilled very, very hot zucchini soup on my arm. Every day, the burn it looks a little better and I marvel at the fact that Hashem made it possible for skin to heal itself.

Fun with Hebrew: I texted my Hebrew tutor about setting up our next meeting and she texted back כן בעזה. I was confused. We should meet in Gaza?! What she meant was, "Yes, B'ezrat Hashem," meaning, "Yes, with Gd's help."

‎9/11 changed my life. I was in Baltimore and didn't witness it firsthand. But on that day, I heard Hashem tell me it was time to make aliyah. In a moment, my whole perspective on the issue shifted

Today, I shopped for a new wallet, in Hebrew, all by myself. I am inordinately proud of myself.

On my way home from work, I saw my bus already at the stop from across the street. Crossing the street, I said, "Hashem, if You want me to make that bus, you're gonna have to hold it for me." Not only did I make it onto the bus just before it pulled away, but my daughter was on that exact bus. She gave me her seat and she stood the whole time while we planned our Shabbat menus.

In the mornings, as I stand in my kitchen packing lunch, I see and hear men walking to and from shul, children leaving for school, neighbors tossing their recycling, city buses passing by and, you know, life.

My brother just texted me: "Rain in jlem... G-d loves us." How can I not love this life?!

My new mantra: "Thank you, Hashem."

Every day on my way to work, I think of how much I love being amidst the bustle of a Jerusalem morning with somewhere familiar to go.

Yesterday, I saw a sign in Hebrew that seemed important to understand. At first, my eyes glazed over and I was tempted to ignore it, but I gave it a try. To my surprise, certain words were clear. I understood it was an announcement of a ruling in Jewish law. I understood that something was being forbidden but I didn't understand exactly what it was. So, in a few simple Hebrew sentences, I explained to someone working there that I needed help understanding the sign. She didn't speak any English, but she understood what I needed and called a bilingual friend to explain it to me in English. Epic success!

As I was getting off the bus just now, my bare-headed bus driver said to me, "Gmar chatima tova." Man, I love this place!

I just returned a library book that was 22 days late. The fine? Wiped out because of where we are in the Jewish calendar. There's no place like Home!

STOLEN FROM AVIVA ADLER (no relation): My biggest "WOW! I'm in ISRAEL!" moment so far (I arrived Rosh Chodesh Elul) is the radio announcer on the classical music station who announces the SHEMA every morning just before 6:00 a.m., and who, erev Yom Kippur,
wished all his listeners a Gmar Chatima Tova!

STOLEN FROM SHIRA YASHIN: My son knew a rabbi who was in a bank, and when he went to leave, the guard stopped him and said he couldn't leave. He turned around and saw that they were gathering a minyan for mincha, so he went and joined them.

An ad in the Jerusalem Post for the Land Rover features five recommended mountain sites in Israel where the Land Rover can take you to help you appreciate beauty of Eretz Yisrael.

I put my Uggs on for the first time this season so I could sit more comfortably in the sukkah. Feels Shehecheyanu worthy.

In my dream last night, I ordered a cab to take two women from our apartment to the local mall - in grammatically correct Hebrew.

I am not naive. I know how complex and untenable the options were. I understand the perspective of those who think we made a deal with the devil. But in the end, I feel proud - proud of the values of my country, proud of my Prime Minister and so, so grateful to Gd that I got to experience this day as an Israeli.

Today, as we were leaving the pharmacy, a young clerk handed us a box of Trident Tropical Pineapple gum from her basket of goodies and wished us a Chag Sameach. This moment of integrated Jewish life was brought to you by aliyah.

Just started raining in Jerusalem! Is there a bracha for this?

Reason #86,367,851 that I'm grateful to live in Israel: The Baltimore Jewish Times cover story this week asks, "Is celebrating Halloween kosher?"

This morning, I told my Hebrew tutor a short dvar Torah in Hebrew. I didn't know she was going to ask me to do that, so I wasn't prepared, but I did it anyway. Amazingly, she seems to have understood what I think I said. Somedays, I think I might eventually tame this beast. Other days, not so much.

Getting a seat on a crowded bus - just one small pleasure of life in Jerusalem.

I just opened a box of Israeli-made sandwich bags. On the box, in plain English, it said, "Produced without fear of Desecration of the Sabbath."

Who Thought This Was A Good Idea?

2011-10-30T20:48:00.000+02:00

While out doing some errands, we stopped into a grocery store in a neighborhood in Jerusalem that we often pass on the way home.

This grocery is tucked away. The entrance is off the main road and it is, seemingly, always, always packed. It's known for low prices and they have a selection of American products that are hard to find elsewhere. People with large families shop here often and they buy household staples in truly majestic quantities. So the checkout lines, and the wait, are unusually long. It's not the kind of place a person would pop into for a loaf of bread or a liter of milk.

We've been to this grocery store a few times, but today I saw something there I've never noticed before. We were ready to check out and I noticed a very short line, with just a few men in it. I assumed it was an express line, perfect for us because we only had a few items. Pointing, I joked to my husband, "Hey, here's the guy line." Then I looked up and saw this sign:

The sign says:
CASHIER FOR MEN ONLY. The public is requested to guard this rule.

Since my husband was with me, I went outside and let him check out by himself. We got out in record time.

And I am nauseous over it.

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi - Noach 5772

2011-10-28T14:19:00.001+02:00

Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi Parshat Noach 5772

The Master of the World is speakingto the nation of Israel and all human beings by means of world events. Anynation that desires and tries to harm Am Yisarel – the Master of the World willharm that nation immediately, by means of forces of nature, conflicts, andcomplications within its midst, or general destruction.

The entireaccount of captive Gilad Shalit’s freedom was led by the Master of the worldfrom beginning to end. All those whoassisted were messengers and extensions of the Master of the World, in order toreveal His presence in the world in a natural way.

This is what happened in theEgyptian Embassy, when a moment before the Egyptians broke into the rooms wherethe Jews were, help came and saved them. This assistance was sent by the HolyOne personally! All who saw the broadcast thought the rescuers were humanbeings, but the truth is, they were not human beings but rather agents ofHashem! This was a miracle seen in the Holy Land and throughout the world, inorder to return Am Yisrael to our Father in heaven.

On the day Gilad Shalit wasreleased, most of the world, and all the Jews in the Land and throughout theworld stopped what they were doing and watched on various technologies, inorder to see the miraculous account brought about by the King of Kings. Neverhas there been such an occurrence, that all Am Yisrael was so united, in emotionand tears, and so totally amazed by this miraculous occurrence!

It is proper togive thanks to the Holy One for what He did to bring Gilad home to his familyand to all of Am Yisrael! The Holy Oneshowed all of Am Yisrael that if they wish, they can be united every day, as onthe day that Gilad was released. That day was like Yom Kippur, on whichall Am Yisrael joined together and prayed to the Holy One that all shouldunfold in peace, a unique day of the year. This day was also unique, HoshanaRabba of Chol Hamoed Sukkot. All Am Yisrael saw with their own eyes, every moveand step of the rescue and release of Gilad Shalit and his return to AmYisrael!

Gilad had amission of five and a half years on behalf of Am Yisrael. The day will comewhen we will understand this mission. Itis good to give thanks first to Hashem for what happened, and then to others.

All theprisoners released in this matter – their swords will enter their hearts! The thousand-plus prisoners were released in order to eliminatehundreds of thousands of Arabs and to complicate the relationship between Hamasand the Palestinians. The Creator will eliminate them, one against the other,and they will fight each other over leadership of the people.

Why wasn’tGilad Shalit released after a couple of years? After all, the deal that was signed was similar to the one fromthree years ago?

But if Gilad was released then, thereleased terrorists would have wreaked havoc on Am Yisrael. All the joy andcelebration in the Arab street – it’s all a big show!

The terrorists will fight in the warof terror, in order to gain the leadership. They will fight with each other andkill each other – their swords will end up in their own hearts!

Just as Am Yisrael experienced greatunity in the success of the eventual freedom of Gilad Shalit, so too they canbe united always, in order to merit special protection.

The terrible floods, earthquakes, hurricanes,fires and eruptions - will continue throughout the world with all kinds ofnatural disasters – Hashem will create complications between and among nations.The European economy will continue to collapse like a bottomless pit. TheHoly One has removed every blessing from around the world and placed it in HolyEretz Yisrael.

America will continue to fall andsink. Jews in America – flee from there quickly, don’t be “smart” and don’t“mess around” with Hashem. The Creator has decided exile is ending and it’sfinal! Whoever doesn’t understand in their mind (b’moach), will come tounderstand with power (b’koach) – and the power has only begun. StubbornJews – I beg of you, don’t oppose the Holy One, he is speaking to youthrough the medium of natural disasters.

Eretz Yisraelis like the ark of Noach. There continues to be a good and strong economy inEretz Yisrael. Real estate will strengthen and the infrastructure will furtherdevelop, new establishments will open, the Negev and Galilee will grow, and ahuge Jewish aliyah will come from all over the world!

The Holy One is eliminating all theevil from the world, in order to facilitate the good and pure foundation forKing Mashiach to come mercifully!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

Guest Post: Thumbs Up on Simchat Torah

2011-10-26T17:59:00.000+02:00

This year, Batzion BenDavid experienced a spiritual, involved and emotionally potent Simchat Torah. I received permission to share her account of it with you.

A year ago I wrote a frustrated note about my Simchat Torah experience. Since this year was so different, I felt the right thing to do is write about it again.

I had already decided weeks ago that I wouldn't accept a repeat of last year. This year I was going to Yerushalaim in search of a real simchat torah, and ended up bringing my family with me.

In the evening we went to daven with a wonderful kehila called "Ve'ani Tfila". Usually located in Nachlaot (and also known as "Rav Raz's shul"), the kehila rented out a larger space on Usishkin street, close to where we were staying in Rechavya. This is a good time to thank the kehila for providing a service and doing huge hachnasat orchim- they paid for a larger space because they knew so many guests would like to join their special community.

And "special" is really the only name for it. I've never seen so many different types of people in one place, singing together. All types of kippot and mitpachot and skirts (and lack thereof)- it was a wonderful lesson in Ahavat Yisrael.

The announcements before davening were made at the end of the mechitza in a way that both men and women could hear and see the speaker. the "rules" were set- one song nigun per hakafa, and every hakafa was 15-20 minutes.

The dancing was incredible- so much energy from so many people in a relatively crowded place. Those who know me know that it's definitely out of character for me to dance with people I didn't know at all, but thats exactly what I did on Simchat Torah. At that time and place, t seemed like the most natural thing to do.

and then, there is the matter of the Sefer Torah.

The Sfarim were brought out and the women started dancing with them. It was as simple as that. When it was my turn I was overcome by emotion, and something in me was surprised by the simplicity of it- yes, I am allowed to hold the Sefer Torah. Just like that. This whole thing brought tears to my eyes and had my tearing well after I had past the Torah on to someone else. When I thought about it, it almost felt wrong to get so emotional. I mean- my little brother, age 11, held a Sefer Torah. my husband and father and grandfather all did it without it being so emotional. Im not saying emotions are bad- I hope to have such a powerful experience in every future contact I have with a Sefer- but I have a feeling I won't, just as my male family members didn't. because ordinary things aren't emotional. and for men, this is ordinary. for me, for all the women- it wasn't. which was wonderful and upsetting at once- because it made it special, but it highlighted how unfair things are all year around, and more importantly- on simchat torah in most shuls in the country.

so the evening was an incredible experience. but we had a feeling that we weren't prepared for such "Hardcore" Karlibach in the day as well.

So for the day the family split up, and I went with my mother to Yakar.

After a beautiful Shacharit we were told that before kidush and hakafot there will be 15 minutes of learning-

because one must prepare for the mitzva of simchat torah, which includes learning torah. A shiur was held, and for those who prefered otherwise source sheets were passed around on different topics (including "women and sifrei torah"- for all those who doubted that women can hold a Sefer at all times). after learning and a modest kiddush the hakafot began.

And again- the Rabanit of the shul walks over to the mechitza (the most comfortable one I've ever seen, by the way), and takes two sifrei torah.

And again- so many women, of all ages and backgrounds, are dancing with a lot of energy and yet pretty slowly since the shul can hardly contain all the guests.

Last year I claimed that the dancing isn't as vigorous because there is no Torah in the womens section- no Kallah, so to speak, for us to be "Mesame'ach" and to celebrate. I don't know if I can claim to know what started the chicken-egg issue here: is the dancing more energized because of the sefer torah, or are energetic women drawn to shuls where the opportunity to hold a Sefer is offered? Either way, I think the case for giving women a sefer is made- because these aren't women out to change the orthodox way, they are just women who want to celebrate the wonderful gift of the torah.

after hakafot, a version of aliyot was available for women who were so inclined (a woman read the Parsha and girls were called up to say a יהי רצון, without a bracha) and then the people recommuned for the reading of Zot Habracha and Bereshit and- with the shul completely full with guests- continued to daven musaf and tefilat geshem.

Overall, absolutely the most meaningful Simchat Torah I ever had. not only because I got to reach out and touch the Sefer Torah, but because I experienced the beauty of a diverse, colorful, accepting Judaism. because I danced with absolute strangers, without knowing anybody. Because the communities of Yerushalaim, the holy city, have a message for the rest of the country- don't be afraid to accept more than one type of person. don't be afraid to move forward- cautiously, wisely- but move forward nonetheless.

כי מציון תצא תורה, ודבר ה' מירושלים.

Feeling Something I Cannot Name

2011-10-25T19:00:00.000+02:00

Today was a fine day - relatively quiet at work - a good day to learn new things and plan for the future. My mind was active, exploring new resources and researching new information.

On the way home, the weather was noticeably cooler. I caught a bus that doesn't take me quite as close as my usual bus, but it was a good day to walk a little, so I didn't mind. During the ride, I thought about how I often feel the most Israeli when I'm on the bus.

Through the window, I looked around at the somewhat unfamiliar route and thought, for about the bajillionith time, how astonishing it is that I live in Israel now.

With both earbuds in and the volume pretty high, I listened to unfamiliar music by a familiar singer and, I can't say why, I started focusing on her voice. Just her voice. It was so breathtakingly beautiful.

As I walked the path home, the sun was setting and Wynonna Judd was singing a sentimental song in my ear about saying goodbye to people we love. And I felt a bit weepy. Blessed, despite its undeniable frustrations, by the opportunity to live here. Blessed by the ability to carry myself home on my own two feet. Blessed by the ability to hear and appreciate music. Blessed by the astonishing scenery that is part of my daily life. Blessed by the weather, which suits me. Blessed by the fact that I have lived long enough to have said goodbye to people I love, but that I was not likely to be asked to do so tonight.

It was completely dark when I arrived home. No one else was home yet, so I sat on the mirpeset, felt the Jerusalem breeze on my neck, felt my tears well up, concentrated on a few more songs and tried to name what I was feeling.

Focus on the Light

2011-10-24T20:45:00.001+02:00

On Tuesday, I sat glued to the Internet, along with most of Israel and many Jews and others from around the world, as I watched what I feared, deep down, might never happen - Gilad Shalit walking away from his Hamas captors, alive and in reasonably good condition after 5 years and 4 months in captivity. More than 99% of Gaza, an area controlled by Hamas, is Muslim.

On Thursday, Muammar Gaddafi, the former dictator who ruled Libya with a deadly fist since 1969, was killed by opposition forces in Libya. Libya is 97% Muslim.

And on Sunday, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey, killing hundreds and injuring over 1000. So far. The death toll is expected to rise much higher. Turkey is 99.8% Muslim.

When I heard about the quake in Turkey, I was reminded of two rabbinic voices that warned us to expect such a thing.

In mid-September, 2011, Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi asserted that, "The leader of Turkey said what he said - and will receive a mighty blow from the Creator!"

The same week, just 6 weeks ago, Rabbi Nachman Kahana wrote these words: "I am waiting to hear a news bulletin that an earthquake of unprecedented force has swallowed up half of Turkey..."

History is speeding up. Three major events in our region in a single week.

So what do I make of all this?

In his book The Ishmaelite Exile (which gets more potent each time I read it), Rabbi Yechiel Weitzman writes:

"Bil'am revealed in his final prophecy that the last stage in the process of Israel's perfection will be characterized by the alliance between Ishmael and Esav, an alliance aimed at tormenting the entire world and the Jewish people in particular. This will be followed by the downfall of Ishmael and Esav, a downfall that will usher in the redemption." (p. 143)

Who are Ishmael and Esav today? Ishmael today are the Muslims. Esav today are the Western, Christian countries. Muslims are very busy lately killing each other. Western countries are suffering from significant economic woes. And both are being hit by earthquakes and other extreme forms of weather-related disasters.

We live in a time of extreme darkness, but also of extreme light. I'm not suggesting that there are no innocent people who are getting caught up in what I believe is Gd's vengeance against the enemies of Israel. Nor am I suggesting that there are not dark times ahead for all of us.

These may both be so. Nevertheless, I'm choosing to stay focused on the light.

Simchat Torah Redux

2011-10-20T22:59:00.000+02:00

Over Sukkot, my husband and I went to the private home of a venerable rabbinic couple for a meeting. The wife, whose name I can't reveal because I don't have her permission, is around 80 years old. She was raised in the US and came to Israel as a very young woman, many years before I was born.

I was startled to discover, in her, a worldly, open-minded rebbetzin who, when her husband referred to her an Orthodox feminist responded, "There's nothing wrong with that."

While our husbands talked about rabbi business, she and I spoke about many things - becoming religious as an adult, life in Israel, learning and teaching Torah, the status of women in Judaism and the place of women in shul.

A day or two after we met, she forwarded me a Torah article she thought I would enjoy and offered this private comment on my recent blog post about how difficult Yom Kippur had been for me.

I have long ago come to the conclusion that by and large, Synagogue is not the best place to commune with G-d. But it’s wonderful for socializing. After all it is called a Beth-Knesset, a house of gathering, coming together, which is also the literal meaning of the Greek word Synagogue. And one of the important aspects of Judaism is togetherness – so there you are.

I love how refreshingly unapologetic she is. It's like she's giving me permission to daven at home and go to shul for the kiddush if that makes me more contented.

Interesting to have had this discussion with her just a few days before Simchat Torah, a day about which so many Orthodox women, myself included, feel conflicted. Last year at this time, I wrote about my complicated relationship with the day.

Even though men sometimes tell me it doesn't actually feel that way, Simchat Torah always looks like an enormous spiritual opportunity to me. So, rather than opt out completely, this year, I tried something different. Very different.

In our neighborhood, there is a women's Simchat Torah celebration. It's explicitly not a minyan, so it's not a full davening, but it includes many of the traditional elements of Simchat Torah - Hallel, hakafot (circle dances with the Sefer Torah), aliyot and reading from the Sefer Torah, honoring two people with special aliyot, a group aliyah for those too young to get an actual aliyah, prayers for the sick, for those serving in the Israeli army, for the State of Israel and for agunot, the Yiskor prayer for victims of the Holocaust and deceased family members, the prayer for rain, a festive kiddush and more.

Although I don't know how long this group has been getting together, I did know about this option last year. Three main circumstances pushed me to attend this year. First, I knew I wasn't going back to our regular shul for Simchat Torah. Second, the group moved to a location much, much closer to me. And third, since making aliyah, I opt, as often as possible, to try new things rather than decline them. In Israel, I often feel rewarded with singular experiences just for showing up.

Since I'm so outspoken about my shul-related angst, a lot of people seemed curious about what I thought of the women's Simchat Torah service. Here are some of my impressions.

I marveled at the depth and breadth of synagogue skills this group of 75+ women possesses. I came in just after Hallel, as the hakafot were beginning. I saw women reading the preamble to each hakafah aloud from a machzor and singing songs that were largely unfamiliar to me. I saw gabbaot, one even wearing pearls, calling women to the Torah, women making brachot and reading Torah verses, chanting from a Torah scroll, chanting the Haftarah and reading and singing lengthy Hebrew prayers aloud.

Not from today, but you get the idea...

Although I have worked hard to fill the gaps over the years, today was one of those times when I most acutely felt my lack of a proper Jewish education. Like most of these women, my daughters have been taught tefillah from the time they could walk and talk. My deficit in this area, coupled with the fact that, for so many years, decades even, shul attendance has been an irregular and largely passive experience for me, I felt particularly liturgically inadequate today. I acknowledge, and am not particularly threatened by, the superior synagogue skills of most men. But when women do liturgical things I cannot do, the feeling that I will always be a bush-league shul Jew comes into sharp relief.

It was fascinating to be so close to the action, to see people rotating on- and off-duty to stand with the Torah, to watch the Sefer Torah being covered and uncovered with reverence, to watch the reader point out the exact place in the scroll from where she would read and to have women touch that place with the Torah's gartle and kiss it.

I was nearly as passive today as I generally am in shul, though this time, it was by choice. I could have held the Torah while we were dancing. I could have had an aliyah and I could have decided whether or not to recite the brachot before and after. I could have taken the time, in advance of this morning, to learn to chant from the Sefer Torah. If 11 year-old girls and 12 year-old boys can do it, I'm sure it's not beyond my capability. I could have taken the time to memorize and then recite a prayer. I could have called out the names of the sick for whom I daven privately. In a women's service, all these options were open to me. In the end, I chose to do none of them, but knowing I had the option was, in its way, electrifying.

Truthfully, as I danced with the women who held the Sefer Torah, some of whom held it like a baby, I felt more faux than joy. Although the organizers did an amazing job coordinating, it was, unavoidably, a make-shift service. I knew about 30% of the women there, and I was acutely aware that this was something other than celebrating with my community. Did I feel Gd's presence there? Honestly, I didn't. Not because He wasn't there. I'm sure the lack is in me.

Having said all that, there were a few moments that touched me very much.

During hakafot, there were lots of little girls around. Much later, when it was time for all the children to stand beneath the tallit, there were only two girls, both pre-Bat Mitzvah age, left in the crowd. When the women began singing Hamalach Hagoel, I started to cry, remembering the hundreds of nights I put my young daughters to bed with this song. It's been so many years since I've heard it, but the memory of the funny way we used to pronounce the name Yitzchak made my eyes fill with sentimental tears. Definitely a highlight. And an unanticipated one, because, as a result of the trauma of my very first Simchat Torah, when the gabbai announced, in Yiddish, that little girls were forbidden from standing under the tallit for Kol HaNe'arim, I have never actually been in shul for it.

Another highlight were the tears of some of the women who took an aliyah, perhaps for the first time in their lives. During the years I was deeply involved with issues of women and Judaism, I remember hearing a well-known older woman report that, after being called to the Torah for an aliyah in a women's service, she was startled to realize that, after a lifetime of being religious, that was the first time she had ever seen the inside of a Sefer Torah.

I know many women don't share this, but I always feel the need to kiss the Sefer Torah. I wasn't sure if the Sefer Torah was going to circulate among the women today. So after hagbah, after the Sefer Torah was dressed and being held by the magbi'ah, I walked over to where she sat, touched my prayer book to the Sefer Torah and kissed it. No one told me I wasn't allowed. No one said a word. And I reveled in having that kind of access.

Many years ago, an old friend told me that Gd requires men to gather in a minyan three times a day because, left to their own devices, they are not so good at making friends.

Watching, thinking, processing all that went on today, it's still not clear to me if this is the way Gd expects Jewish women to worship Him. I, myself, don't seem to have been built for communal prayer.

It was so worth it, in the end, to see and experience and admire the spiritual aspirations of committed, knowledgeable Jewish women who are reaching out to Gd in new ways.

Even if those ways are not my own.

The Invisible Jewish Woman

2011-10-14T15:05:00.001+02:00

Quick! Close your eyes and picture a Jew.

For close to 100% of us, the mental image we have will be of a Jewish man. This despite the dramatic historical advances Jewish women have made in Jewish education, community service and other roles outside the home in the past 100 years.

Back in the Old Country, when I had both discretionary income and wall space, I collected images of Jewish women doing Jewish things. It was an interesting hobby. I was able to afford to buy almost everything I saw, because the artwork was so rare. At the height of my collection, I had maybe a dozen pieces. They included women baking challah, an old woman with a heavily-lined face, deep in private prayer, women lighting Shabbat candles (the most iconic image of Jewish women) and an unusual painting of a woman, her young son and teenage daughter making havdalah.

I should have held on to more of them, because, if the current trend continues, it may become a crime to produce such works.

There is a trend, certainly in Israel, and possibly in other Jewish communities as well, to eradicate the presence of women, or images of women, from the public eye.

ITEM: Mea She'arim to ban women from certain Jerusalem streets during Sukkot
Out of a self-proclaimed desire to avoid mingling of the genders during public ceremonies related to Sukkot, the men of Mea She'arim have declared that certain streets in their neighborhood, most notably the main drag of Mea She'arim Street, will be off-limits to women. Though blatantly illegal, Shmuel Poppenheim, an unofficial spokesman for the community recently told the Jerusalem Post, "It's not an extreme measure, it's a moderate way of ensuring that the spiritual nature of the Simhat Bet Hashoeva is maintained. There is no need to make a big drama out of it."

ITEM: Last year, a mechitzah was constructed in a public street in Jerusalem to prevent men and women from walking near one another on public streets.

ITEM: The Jerusalem Light Rail produced print ads for certain neighborhoods that explicitly eliminated any images of women.
The Jerusalem Light Rail was trying to be sensitive to the values in certain neighborhoods which prohibit any images of women in ads and other printed materials, so they replaced the image of two women's faces in their safety ads with an image of two men's faces.

ITEM: A major Jewish book publisher had their graphic design team airbrush all the faces of women in their book catalog before it could be inserted in certain Jewish newspapers.

ITEM: Certain Jewish publications, as a matter of editorial policy, will not publish pictures of women, even to the point of digitally-editing news photos.

ITEM: I recently read an ad for a publication looking for a writer which explicitly said that a woman could write the article, but it had to be published in her husband's name.

ITEM: The issue of Israeli buses which require women to sit in the back of the bus rages on in the courts.

ITEM: Video and print images of Jews in Israel invariably include exclusively, or at least in the greatest preponderance, images of men - men at the Kotel, men building sukkot, men examining lulavim in the marketplace, men dancing in the streets, men lighting Chanukiot, male soliders, etc.

Of course I recognize that these things men do are captivating, iconic Jewish images. And yes, I am aware that some women would rather not be pictured, out of a sense of maintaining their own privacy or for fear that men might have a sexually inappropriate reaction to their image.

However, what I see on a regular basis convinces me that this has all gone way beyond reasonable and proceeded deep into extremism. I am a religious woman who dresses modestly and covers my hair AND it is my strong personal feeling that this trend of making Jewish women invisible has already reached a stage of pathological avoidance.

There is no way I will ever agree that this sort of behavior brings kedusha. One simply cannot attain holiness at the expense of kavod habriot (the requirement to treat all human beings with dignity).

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi - Sukkot 5772

2011-10-13T21:54:00.003+02:00

Rabbi Nir ben Artzi Sukkot message

A message to Am Yisrael in the Landand throughout the world

The New Year, 5772, should cometo us, with the help of Hashem, for good and for blessing, for unity and forprotection, for peace and for strong sustenance in the Holy Land.

In this year, the Holy One will showtremendous might and raise the bar on natural disasters – many times over theprevious year – in order to destroy the evil from the world and to prepare theworld to receive Mashiach.

The Holy Onedoes not play around, and will not play with anyone in this world! The Holy Oneis extremely serious – the world of evil is coming to and end!

Whoeverrepents, keeps the Ten Commandments and clings to Hashem, will live forever inthis world, and have the merit to see the revelation of Mashiach in thisgeneration and time!

In the past two years, the Creatorhas been speaking to Jews throughout the world at eye level. No Jew can protestand say they didn’t understand His signs.

In parshat Ha’azinu Moshe Rabaynu bringHeaven and Earth to witness regarding the Jewish people, for the activities ofheaven and earth are prominent and powerful, for through them, Am Yisrael canunderstand Hashem’s signs and return to Him.

The current conflicts in Arab stateswill continue and strengthen even more. They will continue to argue and fightwith each other to no end.

The hatred ofthe world for the Jews – will increase! Jews must beware and consider threetimes whether it is worth going out of the Land! The Master of the World is warning Jews everywhere to come to EretzYisrael immediately!

All those whoare afraid to come to Eretz Yisrael dueto the threats of the nations that surround us, should worry twice as much inthe Diaspora, for there – it will be more dangerous!

No nation in the world can harm theHoly Land! Though missiles fall on Eretz Yisrael, it is done under the watchfuleye of the Creator – in order to wake Am Yisrael from its slumber.

The great awakening regardingredemption has begun in Eretz Yisrael, and preparations to receive Mashiachhave begun. People may or not be aware. But the Holy One continues his planto reveal the Mashiach without pause.

Whoever has understood the signs ofthe Creator and has begun to believe – will merit and benefit and whoever hasnot – should be careful not to miss the train, there will be no other chances!There have been many opportunities from the creation of Man until today – thisis the last chance!

Jews in the Diaspora – money andmaterialism imprison you in the hands of the Other Side (sitra achra). If youdon’t wake up and throw away the vanities of the world and come to the HolyLand immediately – all your money and possessions – will cease and you willcome to Eretz Yisrael in an airlift with nothing!

Everywherewhere Jews live – will be most greatly affected, so that all Jews will come toEretz Yisrael! The Holy One will harm every place – except for the Holy Land. Theseare the signs being done by the Creator.

On RoshHashana, the Creator sealed the fates of the nations for the coming year. TheHoly One will do the same for the Jewish people after Sukkot. In the meritof the holy Yom HaKippurim, let there be positive developments for Am Yisrael.

GedolaiYisrael, leaders of Israel, Men of Spirit and Rabbis: You are messengers of theCreator, upon you is placed the responsibility of unifying and bringing closerevery Jewish man and woman to our Father in heaven! Forego honor, pride andcontrol, and do what you can for the sake of heaven, and be blessed from Above!

The floods,volcanic eruptions, fires, hurricanes and storms, tsunamis and earthquakes,tremendous confusion and chaos in the world – will happen much moreintensely than last year, until the revelation of King Mashiach, whomGod will crown as King over the entire world!

Translation provided by Rabbi Elan Adler.

The Story of Yom Kippur and Me

2011-10-08T21:31:00.001+02:00

What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life?

The world would split open.

– Muriel Rukeyser

This is a story of a Jewish woman who loves God. This is the story of a Jewish woman who tries very hard, time after time, to pray in a synagogue and feel God's presence.

This is a true story of Yom Kippur and me.

Many years ago, I developed a discomfort with synagogue attendance. I rarely attend synagogue without pain. There are two primary sources of pain for me in the synagogue experience and both are, in essence, all about feeling left out.

Occasionally, but especially on Yom Kippur, when the prayers are so lengthy and unfamiliar, it pains me when I can't find my place in the machzor. Today, I was lost for at least 30 pages. When that happens, I am bereft. On Yom Kippur, I am trying so hard to feel God in the tefillot. Sometimes my machzor has a different nusach than what's being said. Sometimes things are skipped that I didn't anticipate. Sometimes I can't make out the words that are being said or sung or the tune is so unfamiliar that I can't participate. Whenever I don't know what's going on, I cry.

Sometimes my pain comes from the difference between what is accessible to me as a woman and what I sense is accessible to the men in the same shul. From where women sit, it's impossible to tell when the aron is open. I can't see the Torah, unless I walk up to the mechitzah during hagbah and lift the curtain. In the shul we attend most commonly, a man will carry the Torah to the mechitza, open the mechitza for a few seconds to give women a moment to kiss the Torah. Only a few do. Whether it's from personal preference, from early conditioning or from the inconvenience of trying to reach the Sefer Torah or something else altogether, I don't know. But it always pains me that I am barred from nearly all visual and physical contact with the Sefer Torah.

In the shul we attend most frequently, there is much lively singing. From over the mechitza, I hear and sense a potent energy. The men dance around the bima, often several times, in nearly every service. Where I sit, there is mostly quiet. Women fuss with their young children, or sing quietly to themselves. Even if they do sing, there aren't enough women's voices to blend as a kahal. So I sit, overwhelmed by the difference between the prayer experience for men and the one that is available to me as an un-man.

Today, at the height of feeling left out, I shouted and shook my fists at God. "Is this what You want?" I raged. "Is this how You want it to be?" I felt left out. I am hurt that I don't have the same range of spiritual expressions in shul. It seems a thousand times harder to connect because I can't rely on the energy of those around me to lift me.

This hurt is very, very old. Many women, even if they felt something like it in the long ago past, have developed a way to deal with it. My wound is still fresh. And I still bleed from it.

Sometimes I think I should have evolved past this stage already. I've been living this life for so long and, although synagogue architecture varies a bit, nothing essential has changed from the very first time I experienced a traditional prayer service, decades ago. In all this time, I have been unable to transcend this pain. It never stops wounding me. It never stops making me cry. Shouldn't I be past it already?

But the rest of the time I know that I will never evolve beyond it... because it is fundamentally unfair. It's unfair that men have visual and physical access to the Sefer Torah and I have none. It's unfair that men circle dance with one another around the bima as an expression of their bond with one another and with God and that pleasure is denied me. It's unfair that every single visual cue about what is going on in the service is hidden from me. It's unfair that, a good percentage of the time, I simply feel left out.

I try, truly I do, to transcend this pain and focus on God. I close my eyes sometimes. I consider the immediate area around me to be sacred space and I try to keep my eyes in my machzor and not look around, avoiding distractions. I coach myself that it's only about me and God. I remind myself that most women aren't bothered by these things, for if they are, then an awful lot of women are holding it very close to their chests.

I tell myself that this pain, this tension, is a gift from God. The very presence of my pain demonstrates how much I care, how much I long for experience of plugging in, connecting to the Divine. If I didn't care, it wouldn't matter. The absence of the ability to connect in shul certainly wouldn't make me cry. But it does, again and again.

At the very end of Neila, when I am all but drained from a 25-hour fast, from countless hours of physically taxing prayer, from being tossed about by conflicting emotions, from tears and fleeting joy, we shout seven times, in full voice, "Hashem Hu HaElokim" - God, He is God. I also shouted, as loud as I could, seven times in full voice, just like everyone else. And then we sing, "L'shana haba b'Yerushalayim," - next year in Jerusalem. "L'shana haba b'Yerushalyim habenuyah," - next year in the rebuilt Jerusalem. I close my eyes and imagine being at the airport, greeting the aliyah flights of everyone I love who still lives in America.

I cry again. But for the first time all of Yom Kippur, it's a good kind of crying.

In those final moments, something has been restored. My heart is open. I love God and God loves me.

Even if I almost never feel Him in shul.

Life-Affirming Courage

2011-10-02T21:31:00.002+02:00

This may be the first post I've written in a long while that doesn't have anything to do with Israel specifically, but as part of a Rosh Hashana message to family, our cousin sent a link to a powerful video. So far, over 4 million people have seen this video of a talented young man who has overcome extraordinary challenges. The story it tells makes the spiritual work of the 10 Days of Repentance come to life.

The 8-minute video entertains while illustrating life-affirming courage. The video is the audition of a young man named Emmanuel Kelly for The X Factor, the Australian version of "American Idol". Trust me, it's worth the few minutes to watch this one.

Hat tip: E. C. Adler

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No Turkey for Me, Thanks

Yes, I know I sound like a curmudgeon. But I seriously don't get the whole "religious Jews celebrating Thanksgiving" thing. I didn't get it in America and I really, really don't get it in Israel.

This was the Facebook status I posted 18 hours ago. So far, there are 38 comments on my status. My pro-Thanksgiving Facebook friends, a good percentage of whom are religious Jews living here or back in the US, variously argue that Thanksgiving is:

a holiday lacking religious significance and basically just an excuse to get together with family and friends, watch football and overeat.

the time to appreciate that America affords religious freedom to Jews.

an excuse to party with other American ex-pats.

a national holiday that all Americans can share.

a great time to get together with non-religious family because religious Jews can drive and cook and are off from work.

It's Thanksgiving in America and today, I went to work in Jerusalem and then came home and put up the challah dough to rise, pretty much like I do every Thursday. Personally, I have zero attachment to Thanksgiving. I stopped celebrating it a long time ago and I haven't once missed any aspect of it.

The Jewish calendar is so full of special celebrations, and a Jewish life lived well is so full of opportunities to express gratitude multiple times a day, that I personally feel absolutely no need for the ritual. And if I want turkey and stuffing, I'll make it for Shabbat.

As I said, in recent decades, I didn't celebrate Thanksgiving in America either,so for me, the two things are not connected. But since the point was raised, I'd like to address it.

And there is still no pumpkin pie in my oven today.

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