TU B'Shvat, A Real Holiday?

One of the most enigmatic Jewish "holidays" is TU B'Shvat, the 15th of the Jewish Month of Shevat which takes place towards the end of winter. It's more a day to be "noted" than celebrated. There are no mitzvot, commandments to be observed. And there's nothing forbidden. Torah observant Jews don't need to take a day off from work, either. Nor are special prayers said. This essay by Batsheva Haber on the Matan site gives a lot of background.

TU B'Shvat is celebrated most by Jewish preschools and elementary schools, most pragmatically because the Jewish curriculum is rather paltry over a month after Chanukah and a month before Purim. Talking and teaching about fruit grown in the Land of Israel, when it's often too cold to play outside, can be lots of fun.

Whenever my friends and I get together to compare notes on what we all did for TU B'Shvat as children, whether in my Conservative Jewish after school program, the best Jewish school in Paris or even in religious schools here in Israel we have similar stories. We ate raisins, dried figs and buksa, hard teeth-breaking carob pods. This was to symbolize the Shivat Haminim,  the Seven Botanical Species grown in the Holy Land.

With the advent of political zionism and the establishment of the Keren Kayemet, Jewish National Fund, JNF, TU B'Shvat became a major marketing, programming and fundraising tool. TU B'Shvat became THE DAY to plant trees in the Holyland. It didn't really bother anyone that it was really a month or two past the optimal time to plant trees. Most of the very limited rainfall had already fallen, and without expensive and sometimes logistically difficult supplementary watering an outrageous amount of the trees so lovingly photographed would soon be dead. But planting trees on TU B'Shvat has become a major activity for schools and youth movements here in Israel.

To be honest, I too planted a tree the very first time I came to Shiloh. It was TU B'Shvat thirty-seven 37 years ago, and the small community was on a promotional drive to bring more families to live here. Friends, who have daughters the same ages as our daughters, told us about it, and the girls and I piled into their car to drive out to Shiloh. We planted trees and met the pioneering families. I fell in love with Shiloh and then just had to convince my husband that it would be our new home. Yes, obviously I succeeded, because we're here in Shiloh.

Davka, yesterday I planted a tree. I didn't do it because of the date. I planted it since after it had been sitting on my window sill for a year, it looked rather ill and lonely. Last year when I was teaching in Yeshiva Tichonit Ahavat Chaim, the yeshiva high school in Kochav Hashachar, the little "tree" had been sitting in the Teachers Room and offered to anyone who wanted. So, I took it home. I tried to care for it, but after a year it looked awfully sick. Either it will thrive outside or die.

Some of you may be waiting for me to mention a Seder TU B'Shvat. That's the ceremony more and more people are observing to celebrate TU B'Shevat. The only thing it has in common with the Passover Seder is wine. That can be a subject for another post, Gd willing.

Memories of Salute to Israel Parade, NY, 1970

We've been pulling out old albums of late, and found these irreplaceable photos.

They are from the Salute to Israel Parade. Marching are members of the NCSY Dance Group which had performed in Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden that year. I was group leader. It was the first time the Israeli Folk Dance Festival had performed there.

Previously it had been in Carnegie Hall, which has, or had, an ambience all its own. But festival director, Fred Berk had been itching for a more genuine folk dance festival feeling. He hated the stage and curtains in the illustrious concert hall. When I took his Leadership and Choreography course in 1967-68, he always stressed that true folk dance required dancing onto the performance area and dancing off of it. NO CURTAINS raised and lowered.

At the 1970 festival we all sat around the performance area, getting up to dance on and off when it was our group's turn. Then at the very end of the show, all of the groups and dancers danced together in separate circles.

A couple of months later, at the parade, my dancers and I donned our costumes and danced up Fifth Avenue. We had sewn the skirts the year before for the 1969 festival, but then we added white trim on the bottom plus the "belts" in 1970. And we wore our own white blouses. For the festivals, we danced barefoot, but of course that wouldn't work on the NYC streets.

In 1970, NCSY was given a spot near the beginning of the parade, and Betar was towards the end. So, after dancing the entire way to the end, I quickly, literally ran back down Fifth Avenue to join Betar and march again. Being just a spectator was not for me.

Who else was at that parade?

Book Review: The Essential List by Miron C. Izakson

The Essential List - A Letter to the Teacher by Miron C. Izakson, Gefen Publishing House, is a fictional diary. It was originally published in Hebrew and translated very effectively by Leanne Raday. This fictional diary of just twenty-five 25 entries is supposedly written by a lonely and precocious twelve year old boy as a school assignment.

Sixth-grader Avi has an assignment: write a letter to the teacher like the interesting letters of “days gone by.” Taking the missive as a starting point, the bright and inquisitive youngster delves into his own psyche and tackles philosophical issues such as the search for identity, family relationships, the meaning of time, the role numbers play in the world, and more... 

I don't know about you, but when I think of a diary written by a precocious preteen or teenager, I think of Anna Frank. The nameless boy, davka, doesn't mention the famous and iconic Holocaust victim, Anna Frank as the impetus for the school assignment. Actually, unless I missed something, there's nothing Jewish about Izakson's book. I don't think he mentions Israel either. Does he think that makes his book more universal? For me it doesn't.

The narrator seems dangerously isolated, and that may be because neither religion nor nationality is part of his identity. He's a very lonely only child, who doesn't seem to have many friends. The only one mentioned is Nili, whose father seems to be more interested in him than his own parents are.

The Essential List is a short and easy read. I read most of it when I was home sick with the flu. For me it helped that there weren't many characters to keep track of nor plot lines to remember. Sometimes short books like this one are the perfect medicine. I'm going to try to talk my book club  into reading it, because as short and simple as it is, it can be the springboard for some good discussions. And after that, I'll pass it on to my grandchildren to read for school book reports. It would be interesting to know what real children think of it.

Product details Age Range: 8 - 12 years Grade Level: 2 - 3 Hardcover: 64 pages Publisher: Gefen Publishing House (April 1, 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 9652299197 ISBN-13: 978-9652299192

Me? Do I Have a Story?

I'm the neighbor many come to when they want to know the history of the yishuv, the return to Shiloh and early life here as a mother, the backstory of the schooling in our county Mateh Binyamin and more. But when it comes to a personal story, I'm stumped.

Unlike many of my peers, there's no heroic family Holocaust saga. My grandparents made it to America before World War One in steerage like so many similar dreamers, real dreamers. They played by the rules, paid the fees, passed the medical tests of the time, eventually learning enough English, American History and Law to pass the citizenship tests etc. They suffered discrimination, antisemitism and poverty. My paternal grandfather, like most of his relatives, began a successful business in America; they had businesses in Nasielsk, Poland, too. And everyone of them, some more some less, reduced their Jewish observance to what they considered most important, ranging from speaking Yiddish at home to not working on Shabbat even when their wasn't money for food.

A century later, here I am in Shiloh living a full Jewish Life, observing the Mitzvot my grandparents had set aside. And even more unexpected, I left America!

Do I have a story?

There's no real drama to my story. It feels so boring and trite to me.

Part of the senior citizen program I take part in includes telling our individual or family story to a couple of high school students who will write it up for the oral history project of the Diaspora Museum, Museum of the Jewish People - Beit Hatfutsot.

I don't see anything very dramatic or unique about my life. My teenage years was during the 1960's when many of us searched for a "truth." I found it in the religion I was born in, Judaism. The NCSY activities and YU-Seminars I participated in facilitated and encouraged my return to the Judaism my grandparents had abandoned. And I abandoned their refuge; I moved to Israel and live in the Biblical city of Shiloh. To me I was part of a "wave." My decisions came easily. My story is so boring.

This was taken a few years ago. I am holding my GNN67 graduation picture.

Shiloh Celebrating 40

It's the Jewish Month of Shevat, the middle of the winter, when mud is deepest, and it's hard to thaw out toes and fingers. So, we really must give a lot of credit to those seven hardy pioneering families who came davka on TU B'Shvat to live in Shiloh and re-estblish it as a vibrant Jewish city. Most had babies and toddlers, so water, electricity and gas were necessities for daily life. Even when we came to Shiloh three years later, you couldn't take it for granted that you'd have both water and electricity when you needed to turn on the washing machine.

Shabbat lunch we had, what is now an annual event, an "oldtimers meal." Way back when, community events had high attendance levels. Now, it's rare to see our old friends from those early years, so we make a point of eating together once a year and exchanging news and memories. And every year I learn something new about those early years and days in Shiloh.

Here are a few of my old pictures from decades ago:

History Lesson: Thanks, President Ruby Rivlin

I'm not the only one who has been disappointed in the actions and words of Israel's President Ruby Rivlin, but yesterday he redeemed himself:

PRESIDENT RIVLIN TO FOREIGN ENVOYS: ISRAEL ‘NOT COMPENSATION FOR HOLOCAUST’
Rivlin noted that his own family came to the Land of Israel well over a century before the Holocaust and said other Jewish families were already living here long before the arrival of his own ancestors. “The State of Israel is not a colonial project, and not compensation for the Holocaust,” he declared. “The State of Israel came into being from the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in its own homeland.”

The Jewish struggle for a state, self-government isn't something modern. It didn't begin in the 20th century or even the 19th century. It began two thousand years ago as we lost our independence to foreign invaders who toppled our king, tried to ban the Jewish religion and destroyed our Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Yes, really. That is what the Great Revolt by Simon Bar-Kosiba aka Bar-Kochba was about.

The war began as a guerrilla struggle against Rome in 132 C.E. Within a short time it had spread throughout the country, and the rebels took Jerusalem, which had not been heavily fortified by the Romans. It is possible that sacrifices were now reinstituted and that work was begun on rebuilding the sanctuary. From the coins Bar Kochba struck we know of his high priest, Eleazar, who must have taken the lead in efforts to reestablish sacrificial worship. Here we see a reflection of the ancient concept of two messiahs, a lay and a priestly figure, prominent in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and in certain Qumran scrolls.
We know from the documents that the country was organized into administrative districts, that taxes were collected, and that governmental operations were carried out by Bar Kochba’s supporters. Bar Kochba observed Jewish law, and it may be stated that the documents confirm the close relationship be­tween this “messiah” and tannaitic Judaism. Parenthetically, the texts also show that Hebrew was very much a living lan­guage at this time, and that, along with Aramaic and Greek, it served a large segment of the population. (read complete article by Lawrence Schiffman)

After Bar-Kochba's failure, no national leader or movement managed to inspire the Jewish People until Herzl's Political Zionism in the 19th Century.

Yes, that same defeated Jewish People were not destroyed. We survived those two thousand years, because Jewish religious leaders managed to codify Jewish Law into a "doable" lasting religion that is observed until this very day. That codified Jewish religion, based on the Bible is the key to our survival, when all of our ancient enemies are long gone.  There is no historical comparison with any other people/religion. And there is no other land-based people religion like the Jewish one.

The Jewish Calendar and Holidays are totally geared to the Land of Israel and agriculture here. The Modern Zionists of the 19th and 20th centuries embraced agriculture to celebrate this unique connection. Within a few decades, the barren wasteland began to bloom, and today Israel's agriculture and modern technological innovations have revolutionized agriculture all over the world.

The United Nations, European Union and other anti-Israel, anti-Jewish bodies will not succeed in doing what the Ancient Greeks and Romans failed to do. They will join the growing list of Jewish enemies buried in history books.

Celebrate Rosh Chodesh Adar! Marbim b'Simcha!

The joyous Purim in just over a month, the middle of the Jewish Month of Adar. That means that Rosh Chodesh Adar, when our joy increases, is rapidly approaching. Adar ends winter, and we are so grateful to Gd for the nourishing life saving rain that has been falling here and the Holy Land.

Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the Jewish Month is traditionally the women's holiday. So, take off a bit of time and enjoy the opportunity to pray with us. We meet every Rosh Chodesh at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh for a very special prayer experience. Remember that it was here in Shiloh where the Biblical Hannah prayed for a son she wanted not for herself, but to dedicate to the Jewish People as a leader. The Jewish Laws of Prayer are modeled after how she prayed.

Our dovening is individual except that we sing Hallel out loud together. If you'd like more information, then please email me with "Rosh Chodesh" as subject, shilohmuse@gmail.com.

Women's Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh
Rosh Chodesh Adar 5778
Friday, February 16, 2018
1st of Adar, 5778, 8:30am
Hallel and Musaf for Rosh Chodesh
Tour of Tel Shiloh
Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson
Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors.

תפילת נשים ראש חודש אדר בשילה הקדומה, תל שילה

יום ו' 16-02-2018

א' אדר, תשע"ח 8:30

הלל ומוסף לראש חודש

יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל

כדאי לבוא ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות

The religious and archeological site of Shiloh Hakeduma is open to the public six days a week, Sunday-Friday. For more information, email visit@telshilo.org.il  or art@telshilo.org.il. See you Rosh Chodesh!

Collateral Damage not "Dreamers"

There are too many misleading modern "idioms," or more accurately euphemisms branded by clever marketers who creatively distort the truth with fancy words.

"Dreamers" is the latest of these distortions. Officially, they are those who are illegally in the United States, but it can't be proven that they intentionally came illegally. That's because they were brought with their parents when too young to understand that they were breaking the law. This issue has absolutely nothing to do with the Trump administration, since I've been reading stories about the issue for many years.

Basically these illegals are more accurately Collateral Damage, which can be defined as those unintended victims in wars, police chases etc. They were brought or sent to the United States by their parents despite the known fact that these children would end up suffering because of their lack of legal, proper visas, paperwork etc. Didn't the parents understand that they were setting their kids up for these horrendous difficulties?

Now on the news we hear those "kids" blaming the Republicans for their difficult situation, but they are wrong. Their parents set their kids up for this awful problem. People in foreign countries who think that life would be easy if they sneak into the USA are wrong. These kids are victims of their parents' decisions. Sorry. And no country is required to accept anyone who sneaks in or overstays a visa.

I do feel sorry for them, but the solutions should not be too easy or it will just encourage more lawbreaking.

Trump -Pence Presidency The Most Pro-Israel Ever!

Finally, the United States elected a presidential team that didn't throw their pro-Israel promises in the trash before Inauguration Day. Most nominees and wannabes for the White House sound as pro-Israel as Donald Trump did while campaigning.

Claiming to care about Israel's security, moving the embassy to Jerusalem etc are common applause lines when campaigning. Apparently it gets them votes, too. But once elected their tunes change. That's the routine we'd all been used to. But everything changed when Donald Trump was elected President of the United States.

Suddenly and for the very first time, The State of Israel found itself with a friend and ally in the United Nations.

It took almost a year, but President Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel. That speech wasn't even here in Israel, where many American Presidents make very pro-Israel speeches, which are filled with empty promises. And now Vice President Pence is here visiting and continuing to show that this American Administration is like no other when it comes to the State of Israel. Apparently the timetable for "moving" the embassy to Jerusalem, or transferring staff in order to make the consulate building the embassy and visa versa is to be before the 2020 presidential elections.

May the Trump-Pence administration be blessed with good health in order to complete their terms and more.

Book Review: The Orchard by Yochi Brandes

When I was offered a review copy of the English translation of Yochi Brandes's The Orchard, which is her fictionalized version of the life and contributions to Judaism of the revered Rabbi Akiva, I wasn't sure if I should accept it.

From what I could gather, Brandes's approach to Judaism isn't what I call "mainstream," aka Orthodox. Her degree is from Machon Schechter, which is the Israeli academic institute of Conservative Judaism in Jerusalem. Her teaching of Bible and Judaism has been in Conservative and Reform schools and institutes. It's also important to note that the book is marketed as fiction, not history nor theology. That's why I decided to read The Orchard. It provides a "maybe this is what happened."

I'm not at all an expert in that period of time, the Sanhedrin and Rabbi Akiva. But since I've annoyed my neighbors over the years, when we learn about Lag B'Omer, the Period of Sefira and the Plague which killed thousands of Rabbi Akiva's students, because of my unconventional opinions, I hoped that Brandes's book would cast light. Ironically, that very famous story about Rabbi Akiva doesn't make it into Brandes's novel. Nor does the story of Rachel's coming to visit her husband and then turning back after seeing how joyfully he learned and taught.

Instead we see the very human side of the sages of the time and the political and personal intrigues. How much is true or fantasy? We will never know. I've been studying Bible for years, and I'm used to the idea that Judaism and the Jewish People were founded by humans with frailties. I don't feel threatened by the possibility, not at all.

The Orchard is written in first person as if Akiva's wife Rachel is speaking. This makes sense, since even the most conventional and fawning stories of Rabbi Akiva show her as the main character, the power behind the scene. Before I go any further, I must say that the translation by Daniel Libenson is fantastic. I have no idea how the book flows in Hebrew, but I was very impressed by Libenson's writing.

I definitely enjoyed reading The Orchard and recommend it. It's a fictionalized account of the times of Rabbi Akiva and Bar Kochba after Jerusalem was conquered by the Romans. My guess is that it's probably more realistic than the saccharine fairytale stories many other publishers offer. That's my opinion. You may agree or disagree. I suggest reading The Orchard before voicing yours.

The Orchard

Hapardes Shel Akiva in English
Authors: Yochi Brandes
Daniel Libenson (translator from Hebrew)
Publisher: Gefen Publishing House
Format: Paperback
ISBN 10: 9652299308
ISBN 13: 9789652299307
Catalog Number: 930-7 
Number of Pages: 392
Year Published: 2017

PA's Abbas Slathered in Teflon

I headlined this post with "PA's Abbas slathered in Teflon," because too many people are being unrealistically optimistic that Mahmoud Abbas's recent rant will finally show the world how unsuited the Arab dictator is to "make peace" with Israel. I hate to rain on the parade, but most people who worship the "two state solution" as a utopian ideal, a "solution" to the violence between Israel and Arabs, are too enslaved by their ideology to open their mind to the facts.

The fact is that inventing another Arab country and putting it between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, in the heartland of Israel and Jewish History will only cause a terrible catastrophic war. At best, the State of Israel would survive, but if that doesn't happen-the worst case scenario, the Middle East will explode in horrendous violence affecting the entire world, Gd forbid.

It doesn't surprise me that international leaders, media and diplomats are addicted to the fiction that Israel has a "peace partner" in Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah. Less than a century ago, nobody took Hitler seriously either. The truth is because they didn't care. As long as Hitler concentrated on ridding his country of Jews, they didn't mind. You know that's the truth. And in the early days of Hitler, loyal German secular Jews were certain they would be immune. The Holocaust began with small, almost painless steps.

Besides rare brave idealistic individuals, the Jews of Europe had no help in escaping the Nazi's plans. Today things are worse.

The totalitarian Leftist media is making any pro-Israel and pro-truth about Abbas/Palestine, sic, into forbidden obscenities. Universities are refusing or disinviting speakers who represent the right for Jews to live in an independent and secure Jewish country. This takes place in the United States along with Britain, Europe etc.

It is of the utmost importance for us to recognize that logic and facts won't get through to most people. They are too attached to their dangerous unrealistic dreams. We have to try to make them see the truth and recognize that they are encouraging and supporting the destruction of the State of Israel and World War Three.

U.S. Embassy Move to Jerusalem, Just a Headline?

When American President Donald Trump announced his historic recognition of Jerusalem as Capital of the State of Israel and Israel's right o choose its own capital city, he was very vague about the moving of the embassy.  Blunt-talking Trump was uncharacteristically politician-like in the matter.

American Jerusalem Consulate 

American Jerusalem Consulate

The other day, we heard from Bibi that the historic move would be this year. Technically, since the United States has a sparkling new large consulate in Jerusalem, the official status of that building with the Tel Aviv embassy can just be switched. Some staff would be reassigned, and the maintenance staff would switch signs. Israel is a tiny enough country for the workers to be able to commute easily.

Now, we hear from the news, that it will take three years for the move. And we all know that there's a big question about who will be the winner of the 2020 USA Presidential Elections. There's another question. Is the delay and tactic by the antisemitic, anti-Israel State Department to sabotage Trump's policy? That's very possible.

Stay tuned...

Thanks to Jewniverse, Dr. Seuss

Theodore Suess Geisel is best known for the 40-something children’s books he wrote and illustrated under his pen name, Dr. Seuss. But he had quite an interesting “adult” career, as well.

From 1941-1943, Seuss was the chief editorial cartoonist for the New York newspaper PM, and during his reign, he drew more than 400 political cartoons. With World War II on his mind, Seuss’ cartoons often took on Hitler, the Nazi Party, and anti-Semitism at home and abroad.

In Dr. Seuss Goes to War, historian Richard H. Minear collects 200 of Seuss’ political cartoons from PM. In one  titled “Spreading the Lovely Goebbel’s Stuff” (September 18, 1941), a creature labeled as “Lindbergh” is shoveling out trash from the “Nazi Anti-Semite Stink Wagon.” (continued)

I highly recommend signing up for the daily Jewniverse updates and tidbits.

Truth About American Politics and History, Prager University

This isn't what most media and politicians want you to know:





Listen, think about it and share.

Middle East Peace Farce

I just wish the world would stop focusing on "making Peace" between Israel and its sworn vicious enemies. Such a "deal" can only be deadly. Everybody willing to open their eyes and see what's going on and what has been forever can easily see that the Arab/Muslim culture is violent. It doesn't matter if it's in Libya, France, Syria or Israel.

Our enemies have adopted terrorism as their means of acting against us, and it isn't something new. It didn't begin with the 1967 Six Days War or the 1948 Israeli War for Independence. There was Arab terrorism long before Europe's nationalism evolved into the countries people today take for granted, like France, Germany and Spain.

There was always Arab terror against Jews. That's why hundreds of years ago Jews in the Holy Land lived in walled cities. Actually, that's why pretty much everyone lived in walled cities. There weren't many farmers. There wasn't an independent country here. There were poor people, some in villages, some in small walled cities and there were Christians in walled monasteries. Yes, in case you're wondering, there was also Muslim terror against the Christians.

In the more recent prestate time, first the Turks ruled totalitarian style and then the British were mandated by the League of Nations to prepare the Land, which was labeled on some maps Palestine, as a state for Jews. The British didn't like the idea and gave more than 50% of it to the Hashemite Tribe which they moved to the area east of the Jordan River. And that was the invention of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a country of nomads who had no common history ruled by a tribe that had no connection to them.

At the same time, Jewish Zionist began moving to the Holy Land and for the first time farming and started businesses. Those economic opportunities attracted more and more Arabs, mostly from the north, what is today called Syria and Lebanon.

Europe and Britain, instead of encouraging the Zionist enterprises and telling the Arabs how lucky they were, sabotaged the nascent Jewish state. It wasn't enough for them that Britain had invented Jordan, they decided to invent another Arab country which would be called Palestine. The United Nations, which succeeded the League of Nations as an international body, proposed and division of the remaining Mandate between the Jews and what they called "Palestinians." In order to make it easier for this additional new Arab state to survive, they gave it most of the land. There was no logical way the Jewish State could survive, but they left out one fact.  Gd wanted a Jewish State. After two thousand years of punishing exile, it was time for the State of Israel. Finally the Jewish People were ready to return.

The State of Israel is about to celebrate seventy 70 years of independence and the world isn't happy. it accepts and encourages Arab terrorism by blaming us for the violence. It has been "mentoring" the Arabs into making a new country, but it's not going to happen.

This Land is our Land and nobody else's!

What's New in The Jewish Blogging World?

Blogging is still alive. I'm not the only one who blogs. So, I'm going to list a few titles of blog posts, and I hope you visit, comment. share, etc. This time I'm not counting. Whatever suits my fancy at the moment. Enjoy:

Blind but Beautiful
The Murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, z’l
Second-Generation
Dealing with Your Disability with Class!
1872 Baltic Porter launched: An Israeli-German collaboration
Perfect Vegetable Soup
Israelis and Their Opinions in Polls
A "Joke" of a Party- Politics!
Surprise Sandwich Discount
Celebrating Murder: Welcome to the Palestinian Terror Party - by Bassam Tawil
Latest Social Justice Outrage Undone by the Facts
Rosh Chodesh Shevat Next Week!
Would Zola Write J’Accuse…! About Today’s Democratic Party?
Jerusalem: Wet, Windy and Wonderful
God’s Finger (Vaera)

Please read, comment and share, thanks.

PS If you want to recommend blogs, please mention in the comment, thanks.

A "Joke" of a Party- Politics!

You need a sense of humor and imagination at times to follow Israeli politics. Many times, pretty much before every Knesset election, some backer comes up with a "tasters menu" of losers and wannabes to run together as a "great white hope" political party.

Even if these new parties make it into the Knesset, they are a disaster, as they have nothing but ambition and failures in common. The latest such Frankenstein being touted, still nameless of course, though backed by a group of reform-minded sic activists called “Beshvil (For) Yisrael,” would include Adina Bar-Shalom, the daughter of the late Chief Rabbi of Israel and cofounder of the Shas party Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Yeruham Mayor Michael Biton and breakaway MK Orly Levy-Abekasis daughter of  popular former MK and Minister David Levy.

After following Israeli politics almost half a century, nothing is really new to me. I've seen and heard it all before. None of these politicians, and you don't have to be an MK to be one, show real leadership and trustworthiness. I can easily see how many polls asking Israelis who's best for Prime Minister show "none of the above" as first choice.

Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach

Have a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat Everyone

Arab Terrorism versus "Two State Solution"

There can never be a "Two State Solution" here in the Middle East, unless you're in favor of Hitler's "Final Solution." It's that simple. Both "solutions" are deadly for Jews.

Yes, it's that simple.

We Jews and the State of Israel do not have "peace partners." The aim of the Arabs and their enablers is the destruction of the State of Israel, Gd forbid, and the death of us, too.

Our cemeteries are full of innocent Jewish victims murdered by local Arabs. And our history is full of invaders and attempts at our annihilation and holocausts.

Deja vu, been there, done that. We've cried for our victims of terrorism and fought for our independence over and over. Each generation has its enemies. The Jewish People are a small people, but we've outlasted them all. And today's enemies will join all of those others in history books.

We will overcome in ways that no other people have survived, Gd willing. 

Gd willing we will soon have brave visionary leaders and we'll build our Holy Temple on the The Temple Mount, Har Habayit. Like when Nachshon stepped into the water causing it to part so the Jewish People could safely escape slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt, once we begin to build the Third Temple, it will miraculously be completed by Gd.

May it be speedily in our days, bimhaira biyameinu... Gd willing...

Rosh Chodesh Shevat Next Week!

Time flies as the saying goes. Winter is almost over. The Jewish Month of Shevat is almost here. Come to our Women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh to pray for more rain and whatever personal needs you have.

The direct "line to Gd" is right here, where it has been for thousands of years. This is where the Biblical Mishkan, Tabernacle stood open for prayers from the time Joshua declared Shiloh the religious and spiritual Capital of the Jewish People until the time of Eli the High Priest.

Archeological digs and research are going on here all the time, and more has been revealed about Jewish life thousands of years ago. The archaeological site of Shiloh Hakeduma is open to visitors six days a week. Contact them for more information, visit@telshilo.org.il.

Women's Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh
Rosh Chodesh Shevat 5778
Wednesday, January 17, 2017
1st of Shevat, 5778, 8:30am
Hallel and Musaf for Rosh Chodesh
Tour of Tel Shiloh
Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson
Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors.

תפילת נשים ראש חודש שבט בשילה הקדומה, תל שילה

יום ד' 17-1-2018

א' שבט, תשע"ח 8:30

הלל ומוסף לראש חודש

יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל

כדאי לבוא ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות

For more information about our monthly Rosh Chodesh Prayers , contact me at shilohmuse@gmail.com.

American Presidential Campaigns New Reality TV, Opra? Gevalt!

Ever since the main party presidential nominees in the United States began being selected by primaries, television has begun playing a very big part in the campaign. This is even more than the true story of how Richard Nixon lost a very close race to John F. Kennedy because of his lack of sweat shields/guards and not bothering to shave off his 5 o'clock shadow. Today's candidates have professional stylists, under various titles, just to make sure the candidate will look fresh, clean and attractive at all times of the day or night. But even Hillary's expensive wigs and makeup didn't cover her character blemishes.

It's no secret that Donald Trump's popularity with the public was a result of his reality tv shows. So the Left/Democrats have been searching for a celebrity to run in 2020. Administrative and political experience aren't necessary. They are looking for someone who has a big smile and can generate applause. Being black, female and able to learn lines is another priority, since their pet Obama was addicted to his teleprompter and other memory "aids."  National polictics is a media popularity contest, because nowadays twitter, whatsapp and facebook are where people fact check.

This is so pathetic and frightening too. Just a couple of decades ago, countries like India were mocked for electing movie stars. And even though Ronnie Reagan left movies for politics and had actual government experience, serving as the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975 before running for president, he was put down by the Left for his movie background.

Now the Democrats and Left are kvelling, because Oprah Winfrey made a speech that got applause and sounded like a campaign speech. Gevalt. Is a good diet and speech enough to be POTUS?

Strange Terror Statistics for 2017

MORE ROCKETS FIRED AT ISRAEL IN 2017 THAN PREVIOUS TWO YEARS
Significant decrease in number of terror attacks

Does it make sense to you?

I guess you must define what is meant by "terror attacks." Whoever put these statistics together doesn't consider the rockets/weapons fired at Israel as terror. If that's so, what are they?

Your opinion in the comments is very welcome, thanks.

Women of Iran: Where are The International Feminists?

It seems that Feminism isn't just about gender roles and anti-female discrimination and cruelty. Their silence in reaction to the women's protest in Iran echos very loudly.

Dry Bones
A brave Iranian woman protests the sexist, anti-woman, and abusive rule of the Iranian dictatorship. It is an embarrassment that feminist and women's groups across the West are not marching in solidarity in the streets of our cities.

There's an agenda to everything Feminist, and they add generous coatings of teflon to those on the Left and Muslims. That's why they haven't given proper support to the #metoo from Iran.

The Feminists also supported the lech's enabler Hillary in the 2016 USA Presidential Election. She should have been shut out of the primaries completely, but they inexplicable love her. It just proves that if you're on the Left you're safe from justice.

Worth Repeating

The so-called "palestinians" sic don't have a history. It's all some newfangled thing made up by Europeans who didn't want to give land to Jews. The land in question is the very land that is in the Biblical narrative, the Jewish Bible.

Have you ever read the Bible?

What is it about?

It's about Judaism, Jews, the Land and what Gd wants of us.

Please listen to this talk by Dennis Prager. He is much more eloquent than I am.

Dennis Prager IAC Los Angeles Israeli American Council

True Peace Only With Full Israeli Sovereignty in Jerusalem

It's no surprise that almost all countries are having fits about Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Capital of the State of Israel. They really wouldn't mind if there wasn't a State of Israel. Of course, they won't admit it. Many countries, and that includes the USA State Department hope that placating the international Arab terrorists with Jerusalem and all the Land held by Israel would make them safer. But the truth is that it would just empower them.

The cancer of international terrorism has turned pretty much every place into a "game" of Russian Roulette. Terror can strike wherever you are, Paris, London, New York etc. Claiming that Israel is the most dangerous spot is totally incorrect.

We have to counteract the terrorism in two basic ways.

• One is zero tolerance which includes immediate execution without trial of any Arab terrorist. Do not give them a platform to preach or defend themselves. Certainly, when caught in the act, even in trying to transport/carry a weapon, only execution/death is the judicial answer. 
• Two is for the State of Israel to make it 100% clear that Jerusalem is the Capital City of Israel and only Israel. It cannot and will not be shared or split. 

No international body or foreign meddler has any right to interfere or even voice a contrary opinion. The Jewish People, Religion and Kingdom have existed longer than any other. Have some respect.

Modern Jews Descended from Biblical Jews* (Completed)

Apparently, I either erased the ending of this post or never finished writing it before originally posting. Now, it's complete. Sorry for the mess.

One of the simplest proofs that today's Jews are the direct descendants of Biblical Jews can be found in the language of the Bible, the text, narrative and lettering.

Even at the peak of the great two thousand 2,000 year exile, Jewish People and communities were discovered all over the world, India, Europe, Africa all reading from the same scrolls, following the same holidays and rituals, telling the same historic narrative and yearning to return to the very same Jerusalem.

It's that simple to say and easy to prove.

Yesterday I was in the Israel Museum and its Shrine of the Book for the umpteenth time, this time with visitors from afar. At the Shrine of the Book, it was explained to them that the text on these very ancient Dead Sea Scrolls only found in 1947 is identical to the Bible, the Torah Scrolls read by Jews all over the world even today.

Not only are Torah Scrolls exhibited in museums, but they are read from and copied by Jews all over the world. They are the source of the Jewish Religion and also studied by Jews of all ages all over the world. There never was a time in our history when we didn't study the Bible, the first five books, which are the Torah and the rest of the books with make up the Tanach, Torah, Navi (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings.)

The very same texts were found studied by Jewish People in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. We Jews are the same People who observe the same religion. There are slight differences in customs and interpretations of the Torah Law, but the similarities are extraordinary. No other religion or people have a longer history. We Jews are the People of the Bible in every sense of the word. Of course, since we had been exiled thousands of years before the modern return, we do look a bit different from each other. When in exile, there were converts to joined us, and two to three thousands of years do have an affect as many people joined us in the belief that Judaism is the only true religion. But we worship the same Gd in the same language and celebrate the same Holidays.

Just to remind you that both Christianity and Islam were invented/established long after Judaism, and their primary aim is to replace us, Gd forbid.

Politics, Can We Trust The Polls?

LIkud Primaries, Electing the Leader of the Likud Party

Even though weather forecasts have become much more accurate in recent years, those of us who follow politics can reel off lists of elections that had been called totally wrong. There's no way that a few thousand people, even chosen by chance,  can accurately represent millions of voters. We've all seen how many mistakes there have been, especially in national elections, here in Israel and the United States.

The other day I saw Jeremy's headlines saying:

Maagar Mochot Poll: Yesh Atid 25, Likud 24, Bayit Yehudi 14, Zionist Union 12

And today they say:

Geocartography Poll: Likud 31, Yesh Atid 26, Zionist Union 13, Bayit Yehudi 12

How could there be such a difference? They were posted only one day apart. What do you think?

Crazy Dangerous World, Appeasement Won't Help

This is how the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, is welcoming 2018:

North Korean leader: The launch button is on my desk

I'm not the one to make predictions, but I do read/know history. It takes many years to develop and build bombs. So, don't blame Trump. North Korea has been a dangerous totalitarian regime for many years. So, don't blame Trump.

If anything could have been done to get Kim out, it had to have been done under Obama or even earlier. So, don't blame Trump. Appeasement never helps.

And the anti-Vietnam War Movement made such a move by America impossible.