REACTING TO ACTS OF TERROR IN ISRAEL

25/11/2014 – ג׳ בכסלו ה׳תשע״ה – ג׳ בכסלו ה׳תשע״ה – 05:51

No cell phones-Turn it off!

From a school principal which is good for everyone to do:

Think about the importance of two letters: A & R. A representing “Awareness” and R representing “Responsibility”.

Awareness meaning being aware of what is happening around you when you are outside the home. We recommended that you don’t walk around the streets with your earphones in or talk on your phones because you would be less inclined to know what is happening around you.

Responsibility meaning letting your parents and school know where you are when necessary.

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”― Frank Herbert, Dune

REACTING TO ACTS OF TERROR IN ISRAEL Rabbi Elan Adler

Once again, we in Israel are thrown into a collective period of mourning, horrified at the pictures we’ve seen and utterly dumbstruck by the callous and depraved indifference for human life exhibited by our enemies. Many wonder, how do people of faith react to these acts of terror in Israel? How do we hold their enormity while professing an unstinting belief in a loving and compassionate God?

For many, these acts of terror on Jewish soil present a huge challenge to faith, and people ask themselves, ”Who needs a God like this?” while others collect each act of terror as evidence that there is no God at all. Yet others look for ways to remain steadfast in their emunah (faith) while not diminishing the horrific nature of what we experience much too often lately.

I’ve gathered some thoughts about faith in the face of calamity and share them with you. All or some may resonate with you, while it’s quite possible that none of them will be satisfying. Before I begin, we all join together in mourning for those who were murdered, ask God to heal those who were wounded, and pray for the comfort and consolation of the unfortunate widows, orphans, relatives and friends of those who died “al Kiddush Hashem,” whose lives in this world were brutally ended yet whose souls we feel are guaranteed immediate eternity.

We continue saying Tehillim, Psalms, and dedicating our prayers and learning and good deeds to support the souls of the deceased, the healing of the wounded, and to reinforce our faith that all of God’s actions have a purpose, even while their intentions remain mysterious.
The buzz among our great Rabbis and teachers is that today, we are very close to Messianic days, one sign of which is acute chutzpah in the world. When we see the new kinds of terror leveled against Israelis – murders of teens, tractor killings, light rail murders, traffic terror, screwdriver slayings, synagogue pogroms – we may be seeing, right in front of our eyes, an acceleration of God’s plan. Further, when we see how the world’s media defame us and lie about our intentions and get away with it, this chutzpah takes on another dimension. So, as we mourn and pray and are aghast at what continues to happen, there may be a parallel spiritual agenda that is being hastened at this time.
There is a teaching that the closer we get to Messianic days, the more God will test our faith and see whose emunah will remain steadfast and who will fall off the bucking bronco (my imagery). These are called “Chevlei Mashiach,” the birth pangs leading to Mashiach, the hard labor before the birth of a new epoch in Jewish history and existence. One image is God shaking the huge blanket over and over again to see who will cling to it (having faith even during crisis) and who will fall from it (convinced that the horrors of life indicate chaos and no God). So, says the teaching, as we are on the brink of Mashiach, God will test us to see who is with Him and who isn’t. We can be saddened, perhaps scared, that this winnowing involves the taking of precious lives, while, as above, there may be a parallel spiritual agenda that God is accelerating at this time in Jewish history.
It is valuable for us to let the effects of terror impact us more deeply. One neighbor wrote a Facebook post and asked people to STOP! what they were doing and think about the families, saying if we continued reading the rest of her post, we haven’t STOPPED! It doesn’t mean to wallow in misery and depression for the next several days; rather, to stop and think about the lives that were cut short, to think of the unimaginable panic and shock in that synagogue in Har Nof, to think of the wives and children and grandchildren and relatives and neighbors and friends and students and all those whose lives will have a huge missing piece due to terror. Think of the teachings, the good deeds, the voices of Torah and ethics that came into this world because of the ennobled lives of those mercilessly massacred. Stop and ponder, meditate and turn over in your mind what their lives, and deaths, mean.
With these increased acts of terror, horrific and calculated, God is perhaps giving us a gift: clarity. It is becoming clearer by the day, and act, that we cannot afford any more fantasies about appeasing our enemies. Their design and intent only gets clearer with each gross act of murder, while our enemies revel and cheer and pass out candies to celebrate yet another Jew eliminated. This clarity, if absorbed, can urgently move us to effectively keep us safer with God’s help. This clarity can bring us to effective measures to keep ourselves more secure in our homeland.
While there are some whose faith in God tends to falter in the face of terror, and I suspect deep in many hearts, including mine, there are screams of “How can God allow this to happen?” I know I’m only sitting in the bleacher seats while the suffering families are directly on the field of battling with their spiritual bearings. Perhaps we can look at the families themselves, and hear what they are saying about God and how He runs the world, and let them lead. Many of the statements of the mothers of the three boys murdered during the summer were impeccable statements of faith and trust in God, affirming their confidence that God has a purpose and a plan with often mysterious ways, and that He remains at the very core of their lives even in the face of tragedy. We can take our cues about God coming from the mouths of the faithful who are tested in ways none of us would welcome.
This recent terror was perpetrated in a synagogue filled with worshippers whose purpose in being there was to praise God and honor Him with gratitude and appreciation. While it’s impossible to know of God’s purpose, perhaps we can draw a renewed commitment to prayer in general and to worship in a synagogue more often. I don’t dare make the connection that if we prayed more often in a synagogue as a Jewish people that lives would have been spared. I do suggest, however, that given the location and activity in the synagogue, we may draw some message for enhancing our Jewish lives in some way.
Scream for God’s help. I was once in a public pool when the wave machine was turned on to make it more fun. It may have been so for others, but the waves it created were over my head and I couldn’t get my bearings and I began to gag and choke. I begged for others to help but they didn’t hear me. In frustration, in the loudest voice I have ever used, I screamed “HELP!!!” Immediately the wave machine was disengaged, all was calm, and the panic was over. If not for that primordial scream, I doubt I would be writing this. You may feel uncomfortable to scream in the synagogue or in public for God to save us, rescue us, stop the slaughter, bring Messianic days, and eliminate our enemies. Or you may feel more comfortable to scream in your car, when you’re alone, in the shower when no one is home, in the woods. Perhaps when we contemplate that even with all of His messengers there is no one but God to rescue us, and we scream and beg for his liberation like I did while nearly drowning, the wave machine will be turned off, and calm waters will bless our daily lives.
Continue to live life, not as if nothing happened, but in spite of it. Be careful and aware, and keep doing what you were doing. Our enemies have two goals: to eliminate us, and if they can’t do that, to intimidate us and break our spirit and “simchat ha-chaim,” our joy and enthusiasm for life and appreciation of God’s blessings. Just as the worshippers in Har Nof have gone back to their synagogue for services, perhaps we can draw strength from them and get back into our routines, living life as normally as we can. More cautious and vigilant as a gift of our clarity, but uncowered, dignified, and confident.
Living in Israel is a huge blessing and privilege, and even though there are occasional thorns that cause discomfort, pain and even blood, the roses of living life in Israel and being on the center stage of Jewish history at this time can help keep things in perspective. With all the venom our enemies can muster, with any and every evil deed at their disposal, even with gross acts of violence that shock us and bring us unbearable grief and suffering, we live in a proud, productive, and blessed Jewish homeland with nearly seven million Jews. God continue to bless this country, and accelerate Messianic days in our lifetime. God grant strength to His people, and bless us with peace.

After every terrorist attack we need to return to our regular routines

The Cats are watching Jerusalem Mayor Barkat on TV.
Jerusalem Mayor Barkat: “This was an act of a coward!”
The Porcupines are watching Jerusalem Mayor Barkat on TV.
Jerusalem Mayor Barkat: “It’s important to return to our regular routines as quickly as possible.”
A Cat talking on his cell phone while eating a sandwich: “Hey… 9:00 tonight.’
Child Porcupine to Mother: “Mon, Can I stay home tomorrow?”
Mother sighs.
Bird on Cell phone: “Dan… 9:00 at Yossi’s place tonight.”
Poker Game: ” Oy..Doris!!!.. Do we have any more beer?!”

What Starts Online, Doesn’t Stay There

This is what you will get when you give land away

After Creating A ‘Palestinian state’ Now

On the right, is the missile alert map that was issued last summer in connection with Operation Protective Edge. The map shows how much time you would have to reach a shelter in the event that you are in a given area when a rocket is fired. The top time is ‘immediate,’ the next three times are 15, 30 and 45 seconds, and the last three times are a minute, a minute and a half and three minutes. The map on the left is what our warning times would look like in the event that a ‘Palestinian state’ is established in Judea and Samaria. Notice how much of the country goes from a minute and a half to 45 seconds or less….

Tzeva Adom Missile Alert Siren-צבע-אדום

As the Mideast Descends into Chaos, Israel Must Have Defensible Borders

Abu Mazen embarrassed

Israel needs to give a “Knock on the roof” to the terrorist, their supporters and the EU funded Non Governmental Organizations the fund the terrorist.

By Staff | Posted in Positive Thinking | Tagged terror, terror prevention and protection | Comments Off

I Am Israel

21/11/2014 – כ״ח במרחשוון ה׳תשע״ה – כ״ח במרחשוון ה׳תשע״ה – 15:37

This is Israel. (HD)

rainbow at IDF Nevatim Air Force base-Negev

Through the desire to come to Eretz Yisrael, this brings about great parnassa (livelihood)

The Volunteers: Answering the Call of History

Nefesh B’Nefesh: Live the Dream US & CAN 1-866-4-ALIYAH | UK 020-8150-6690 or 0800-085-2105 | Israel 02-659-5800 https://www.nbn.org.il/ info@nbn.org.il

Mark Twain in the Holy Land, 1867, and the Innocents Abroad

http://ameicainpalestine.blogspot.co.il/2013/11/mark-twain-in-holy-land-1867-and.html

Quotations from The Innocents Abroad

Mark Twain’s Palestine

On Jerusalem
It seems to me that all the races and colors and tongues of the earth must be represented among the fourteen thousand souls that dwell in Jerusalem. Rags, wretchedness, poverty and dirt, those signs and symbols that indicate the presence of Moslem rule more surely than the crescent-flag itself, abound.

Close by is the Golden Gate, in the Temple wall–a gate that was an elegant piece of sculpture in the time of the Temple, and is even so yet. From it, in ancient times, the Jewish High Priest turned loose the scapegoat and let him flee to the wilderness and bear away his twelve-month load of the sins of the people. If they were to turn one loose now, he would not get as far as the Garden of Gethsemane, till these miserable vagabonds here would gobble him up,–[Favorite pilgrim expression.]–sins and all. They wouldn’t care. Mutton-chops and sin is good enough living for them. The Moslems watch the Golden Gate with a jealous eye, and an anxious one, for they have an honored tradition that when it falls, Islamism will fall and with it the Ottoman Empire. It did not grieve me any to notice that the old gate was getting a little shaky.A fast walker could go outside the walls of Jerusalem and walk entirely around the city in an hour. I do not know how else to make one understand how small it is. The appearance of the city is peculiar. It is as knobby with countless little domes as a prison door is with bolt-heads. Every house has from one to half a dozen of these white plastered domes of stone, broad and low, sitting in the centre of, or in a cluster upon, the flat .The population of Jerusalem is composed of Moslems, Jews, Greeks, Latins, Armenians, Syrians, Copts, Abyssinians, Greek Catholics, and a handful of Protestants. One hundred of the latter sect are all that dwell now in this birthplace of Christianity. The nice shades of nationality comprised in the above list, and the languages spoken by them, are altogether too numerous to mention. It seems to me that all the races and colors and tongues of the earth must be represented among the fourteen thousand souls.

On the land of Palestine

Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren, they are dull of color, they are unpicturesque in shape. The valleys are unsightly deserts fringed with a feeble vegetation that has an expression about it of being sorrowful and despondent. The Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee sleep in the midst of a vast stretch of hill and plain wherein the eye rests upon no pleasant tint, no striking object, no soft picture dreaming in a purple haze or mottled with the shadows of the clouds. Every outline is harsh, every feature is distinct, there is no perspective–distance works no enchantment here. It is a hopeless, dreary, heart-broken land.

Small shreds and patches of it must be very beautiful in the full flush of spring, however, and all the more beautiful by contrast with the far-reaching desolation that surrounds them on every side. I would like much to see the fringes of the Jordan in spring-time, and Shechem, Esdraelon, Ajalon and the borders of Galilee–but even then these spots would seem mere toy gardens set at wide intervals in the waste of a limitless desolation.

Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies. Where Sodom and Gomorrah reared their domes and towers, that solemn sea now floods the plain, in whose bitter waters no living thing exists–over whose waveless surface the blistering air hangs motionless and dead– about whose borders nothing grows but weeds, and scattering tufts of cane, and that treacherous fruit that promises refreshment to parching lips, but turns to ashes at the touch. Nazareth is forlorn; about that ford of Jordan where the hosts of Israel entered the Promised Land with songs of rejoicing, one finds only a squalid camp of fantastic Bedouins of the desert; Jericho the accursed, lies a moldering ruin, to-day, even as Joshua’s miracle left it more than three thousand years ago; Bethlehem and Bethany, in their poverty and their humiliation, have nothing about them now to remind one that they once knew the high honor of the Saviour’s presence; the hallowed spot where the shepherds watched their flocks by night, and where the angels sang Peace on earth, good will to men, is untenanted by any living creature, and unblessed by any feature that is pleasant to the eye. …. The noted Sea of Galilee, where Roman fleets once rode at anchor and the disciples of the Saviour sailed in their ships, was long ago deserted by the devotees of war and commerce, and its borders are a silent wilderness; Capernaum is a shapeless ruin; Magdala is the home of beggared Arabs; Bethsaida and Chorazin have vanished from the earth, and the “desert places” round about them where thousands of men once listened to the Saviour’s voice and ate the miraculous bread, sleep in the hush of a solitude that is inhabited only by birds of prey and skulking foxes.Palestine is desolate and unlovely. And why should it be otherwise? Can the curse of the Deity beautify a land? Palestine is no more of this work-day world. It is sacred to poetry and tradition–it is dream-land.

Elder of Ziyon logo http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/

Israel’s Supreme Court rejects Bedouin have land right claims in Negev “Al Arakib”

Jerusalem-80-percent- Jewish-British-1864-Census

An important piece of evidence: The British Palestine Exploration Fund survey map – 1871-1877 – The PEF people delineated every wadi, every settlement, tree, and home. They crisscrossed the territory, and an examination of the map shows how empty and barren the land was, and how few people lived there.

26May2015 http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.il/2015/05/israels-supreme-court-rejects-bedouin.html#.VYYddaH7tC0

From Israel Hayom: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=12671

Something happened in the legal world this week. The High Court of Justice rejected out of hand a petition filed by the Bedouin, backed by leftist organizations, about the village of Al-Arakib in the Negev desert. The place has become a symbol and a flashpoint for everything having to do with state lands. The Bedouin claim ownership of land in the northern Negev on the basis of “ancient rights.” The petitioners spoke of “historical land” from which they had been banished, and argued that the Aloukabi clan had worked those lands at the beginning of the 19th century.

Professor Oren Yiftachel lent his assistance to the plaintiffs by serving as an expert witness, arguing that there had been an ancient Bedouin settlement in the area of Al-Arakib, but all his arguments were rejected. Both the district and the High Court of Justice criticized him severely. Judge Sarah Dovrat wrote: “It became clear that he [Yiftachel] was relying on sources and quoting them without having taken the trouble to read them.” In the High Court ruling, Justice Esther Hayut wrote: “An analysis of the evidence reveals that Professor Yiftachel’s argument is not supported by objective perspective.” A Bedouin tribe might have stopped at the place in question during its peregrinations, but this does not prove that there was ever a pre-existing settlement there.

The interesting thing was the discussion about the desolation of the Negev in the 19th century. The expert witness for the prosecution, Professor Ruth Kark, argued that the plots of land at Al-Arakib were not settled and farmed with any regularity until the start of the British Mandate. She made her case using land surveys, historical maps, official documents, and travel logs. The importance of the legal debate goes beyond the individual story of Al-Arakib and pertains to the historic claim to the land of Israel as a whole, which was mostly wilderness, both in terms of agriculture and population.

An important piece of evidence was the British Palestine Exploration Fund survey map, a thorough mapping survey conducted from 1871-1877 and published in seven volumes.

The map was so detailed that it was printed in 26 issues (which are available today online.) The PEF people delineated every wadi, every settlement, tree, and home. They crisscrossed the territory, and an examination of the map shows how empty and barren the land was, and how few people lived there.

The Bedouin plaintiffs claimed a right to the lands in question because they were “native sons,” but the court cast doubt on that argument, because according to their own version of events the clan had arrived in the Negev after it was already under the control of the Ottoman Empire, and therefore were not a native minority that had been conquered by a foreign regime. The verdict makes it clear that the Bedouin who filed the suit testified that their tribe, the Aloukabi clan, had fought alongside Arab armies against Israel in the War of Independence. After they lost, some of the tribe were dispersed to the Gaza Strip and Jordan. At no stage was a deed of ownership presented — not even a record that the land had been registered to the tribe under the Ottomans. Nor was any evidence presented that either the Ottomans or the British Mandate government had acknowledged that the Bedouin had any native rights. The High Court struck down in principle the attempt to “generate rights out of nothing.”

This is a ruling of unparalleled importance and it should serve as a basis for settling the matter of Bedouin lawsuits over Negev land. This is a powder keg that has ramifications for our linkage to the land of this country. This issue can’t be left hanging. The new government should take note.

Comment:

Important:: One of the 3 supreme court judges who wrote this verdict is the Arab judge Salim Joubran.

Map of Palestine, Oslo II Accord (1995). Administrative Divisions: Areas A, B and C.

West Bank Areas in the Oslo II Accord

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bank_Areas_in_the_Oslo_II_Accord

The Oslo II Accord divided the West Bank into three administrative divisions: Areas A, B and C. The distinct areas were given different statuses, according to their governance pending a final status accord: Area A is exclusively administered by the Palestinian Authority; Area B is administered by both the Palestinian Authority and Israel; and Area C, which contains the Israeli settlements, is administered by Israel. Areas A and B were chosen in such a way as to just contain Palestinians, by drawing lines around Palestinian population centers at the time the Agreement was signed; all areas surrounding Areas A and B were defined as Area C.^[1]

Come Back – Nefesh B’Nefesh

The much acclaimed NBN video that brought so many people back home. Made by veteran filmmaker Daniel Remer founder of Remervision Video Productions. The simultainious arrival of three flights of new immigrants arriving in Israel on August 16th 2008. This video required a crew of 5 camermen; one on each of the three flights and two at the airport as the flights arrived.

Nefesh B’Nefesh: Live the Dream US & CAN 1-866-4-ALIYAH | UK 020-8150-6690 or 0800-085-2105 | Israel 02-659-5800 https://www.nbn.org.il/ info@nbn.org.il

It’s time to come home! Nefesh B’Nefesh: Live the Dream 1-866-4-ALIYAH UK 0800 075 7200 Come home to the Land of Emuna

You Have Reached Your Destination

Part of a new campaign of the Jewish Agency in Britain to encourage Aliyah. The video was produced in London and Israel with a real family actually making Aliyah this coming July, and dozens of volunteers. Enjoy, and come to Israel!
Lead music track Lead Track ‘Summer Hi’ by www.groovalicious.co.uk

Heaven & Earth – BBC 1 – Aliyah

Many people consider emigrating to start a new life in a new country. Sometimes it’s for the weather, sometimes to be with family, but for one group of people, it’s for more spiritual reasons. Since it’s formation in 1948, Israel has had an open door policy for Jews from all over the world who want to settle in the land. The name for this act of returning is Aliyah. Lately there has been a worldwide decline in people taking up the offer, but immigrants from the UK have increased by 45%. Part of the reason for this is because an agency which helps cut through the red tape of immigration has started operating in the UK. Mark and Miriam Kaye are one young couple who have chosen to move from their home in London, to start a new life in Jerusalem.

2014 Mega Event Presentation Video

Aliyah to Israel (music by The Maccabeats)

About The Nefesh B’Nefesh Post Aliyah Department

Israel an economic miracle!

	1984	2014
1. Population	4.1 million	8.2 million
2. Annual Inflation	447%	1.5%
3. Bank Interest (p.a.)	771%	5%
4. Government Debt (% of GNP)	17%	2.5%
5. Defense Spending (% of GNP)	20%	5.5%
6. Foreign Currency Reserves	$3.3 billion	$90 billion
7. Exports	$10 billion	$90 billion
8. Information Technology Exports	$0	$28 billion
9. Female Employment	30%	53%
10. Exported Goods and Services	$30 billion	$320 billion
11. Per Capita GNP	$7,000	$39,000

By Staff | Posted in Aliyah: Jewish immigration to Israel | Tagged Mark Twain, Nefesh B'Nefesh, The British Palestine Exploration Fund survey map - 1871-1877, Volunteers 1948, West Bank Areas in the Oslo II Accord | Comments Off

A Rosh Hashanah Message 5775 תשע״ה

24/09/2014 – כ״ט באלול ה׳תשע״ד – כ״ט באלול ה׳תשע״ד – 15:10

Mother of Murdered Israeli Teen: A Rosh Hashanah Message

Happy Rosh Hashanah

A Rosh Hashana Song from Latma

For Rosh Hashanah Dream it. Do it. Technion New Year Message

We gather as a nation for the ימים נוראים to proclaim HaShem King and to ask for מחילה. An individual asking for forgiveness from The King of Kings may feel they are so small to ask for anything. “Who am I, so lowly with all my sins to have the chutzpah to show myself before Him feeling I deserve anything at all?” Here is a story that may help give us the strength to speak with הקדוש ברוך הוא.Leopold Stokowski, a world famous conducter, was in New York City staying at a hotel. A newspaper reporter was able to acquire an interview with the maestro. The journalist was told he may come to the hotel room at 9pm but could not speak to Mr. Stokowsi for about an hour because a radio broadcast of a symphony was to air on the radio live and he wanted to hear it uninterrupted to have a feel for that conductor’s interpretation of the music. When the production was over Stowkowsi said “That was delivered beautifully and would have been perfect if one of the 12 violins was missing making a flaw in the work.” The journalist was flabbergasted, wondering how can you tell one violin in a orchestra was absent as he himself thought the music was beautifully performed. He was doubtful of the the lack of the violins so he called the radio network director and said how he enjoyed the beautiful production. The director said he was so happy to hear this because they thought the show was a disaster waiting to happen as one of the violinists could not show up because of a sudden illness. The journalist said to Stokowski that he was right about the number of violins. Stokowski explained that if one is a master one knows when something is missing. So too, HaShem wants to hear from all of us as He is the Master. We are all important to Him no matter what we think of our worthiness. If He does not hear from us all then it renders a lack of perfection from his orchestra.

No matter where you hold you are important to HaShem.