Hamas/Gaza War Musings #59: Commemorate According to Jewish Calendar, Simchat Torah, Not October 7th

 

Jewish Calendar, this year, the one that just began on Rosh Hashannah 5786

I follow the Jewish Calendar*. We were brutally and viciously attacked on Simchat Torah, 5784 two years ago, which fell on the 7th of October, 2023.

We must respect and follow our calendar; it's an extremely important part of Judaism. It davka shows/proves our permanent and indisputable connection to the Land of Israel. It gets adjusted to coincide with the seasons of the Land by adding days and months.

That's the exact opposite of the nomadic Muslim calendar in which holidays wander among all the seasons, proving that they have no connection to land. The Muslim calendar is strictly lunar and always only twelve months. That doesn't jive with the solar calendar; it's short a few days, which adds up. It also means that their year number is inaccurate. Their year has fewer days, so every few years, they've added a year. Also if they count ages by their calendar, people are younger than they claim to be. Just think... you don't need to be a mathematician.

While I'm talking about calendars, did you notice that the Jewish one and the Christian one are up to different years? 5786 vs 2025... Yes, Judaism is a lot older than Christianity. And Islam only began in the 7th century, 610. Judaism is much older than both. Neither religion is a contemporary of Judaism, so Abraham, Isaac and Jacob weren't at all involved in those two religions. Those two religions adopted/stole Jewish History; call it identity theft... More food for thought.

*This link is really clear about how the Jewish Calendar gets adjusted to stay connected to seasons, the solar calendar and make sure certain holidays don't end up on certain days of the week.

The Truth About Purim, Via Facebook Live

Reflecting on Purim, Corona virus, Jewish History and Jewish Life today.

Just to warn you, I generally come up with unique opinions.

I'd like to know what you think, even if you don't agree with me. Let's agree to disagree, but please listen first.

Have a wonderful week. Stay healthy best you can and keep your sense of humor.

Nebi Samuel and Questions

Nebi Samuel photo by Batya Medad

Last week I went on a tour which included Nebi Samuel. Our guide, who's a Bible teacher, explained why she went against her usual practice and called Nebi Samuel by that non-Hebrew term. She said that there are serious doubts as to its being the burial spot of Samuel the Prophet.

In the Bible it's written that Samuel the Prophet retreated retired to Ramah, where he lived, died and was buried. Most experts believe that Ramah is north of Jerusalem, south of Shiloh. That's not the location of Nebi Samuel.

In the 6th century, some Christian explorers, who didn't get very far from Jerusalem, came across that hilltop and decided that it must be the Ramah of Samuel the Prophet. They built a church there and publicized their "discovery." That was the beginning of Nebi Samuel. Later on the Muslims adopted it and the Jewish prophet as their own. They even renovated the church into a mosque.

Here we are fifteen hundred 1,500 years later, and most people take for granted that Samuel the Prophet must be buried in Nebi Samuel, even though there's no real proof. Before Israel's victory in the 1967 Six Days War, few Jews knew the Land and the Bible in order to discover true locations of biblical sites. Now is the time to examine more carefully. We live here in the Biblical Land and study the Bible, Tanach.

It's a great privilege to be a Jew alive today and living in the Holy Land, which Gd gave us and our religion, Judaism, was established.

 All photos by Batya Medad, yes, me

Holocaust Remembering Day

I usually "ignore" official Holocaust Memorial or "Remembering" events. To be honest, they make me feel rather "left out." Speakers, whether first generation survivors themselves or those my age who are called "second generation"  use too much of the "we" and "our" presuming that we all have the same sort of family history. No, I'm not from one of the Jewish communities from "Arab countries" that hadn't been affected by the the Holocaust. I'm just as Ashkenazic as your typical Holocaust survivor, but all my grandparents had moved to New York in the early twentieth century. Apparently, all of their relatives who had remained in Europe were killed in the Holocaust, but I never heard anything of it while growing up.

Bell Park Gardens, Bayside, NY, was a new neighborhood built for American military veterans after World War Two. All the other parents were raised and mostly born in America, just like mine. We grew up hearing of Anna Frank's Diary and then the legendary capture of  Adolf Eichmann and his trial in real time.

Mayor Moshe Leon and two "survivors"

But last night I found myself at a Holocaust Memorial event, davka, at the home of the Mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Leon. We heard amazing stories from these two men.

I've always wondered how people could find the strength to go on with living after experiencing the hell and cruelty of the Holocaust. The one on the right didn't want to talk about how he had suffered, only how he started a new life in Israel. The one in the middle had a truly amazing story. Two neighbors helped hide him and seven relatives for four years. First they had been crowded into a specially built "double wall." They couldn't stand, walk or speak during that time. Afterwards they were moved to the basement of a preschool, where they stayed until it was safe to leave. All but one of that group made aliyah, moved to the Land of Israel, which was under British rule at the time. The British tried to keep them out.

I'm glad to have had the opportunity to hear these brave men speak.

I recorded some of the talk, and posted it to youtube. If you understand Hebrew you can listen.

שתי גדות לירדן Shtay Gadot LaYarden, From Shiloh

Last Sunday we attended a gala Betar reunion in the Jerusalem Theater, and part of the program was singing the old Betar songs. Of course, שתי גדות לירדן Shtay Gadot LaYarden, Both/Two Sides of the Jordan was included.

I always get a kick out of that song. I always wonder if there's anyone besides us whose house faces that very view. Our house faces east. That's why I can take pictures of the sunrise. East of Shiloh is the Jordan Valley, and east of that is the Jordan River. And on the other side of the Jordan River is the British invented Hashemite "Kingdom" of Jordan, which is on the eastern bank of the river.

Yes, on a clear day or night, we can see both sides of the Jordan from our house, including lights at night. Sorry for illustrating this post with a morning photo, which doesn't the eastern mountains.

The Lion's Roar, 3rd of Tzvi Fishman's Tevye Series

I finished reading The Lion's Roar by Tzvi Fishman, and now I have to wait almost a year to read the next installment, Anonymous Soldiers. #1 Tevye in The Promised Land was reviewed here, as was #2 Arise and Shine.

Before I go any further, I'll get straight to the point. Buy the series for yourself, friends and family. The books suit all ages, and if you're careful about what your kids read, no problems. There's nothing to censor.

Fishman's series is also a fantastic way to learn and teach Jewish and Israeli History. The Tevye series can also be used to teach Jewish History in Jewish Schools or English in Israeli ones.

The Tevye series should be turned into movies or television shows. The plots are actual history, though characters are a combination of real historical figures with fictional ones. And as I've said before, consider Tevye of the Forrest Gump genre. The big difference is that Tevye is highly intelligent and ideologically motivated, unlike the also fictional Gump, who finds himself in real historic events by chance.

The Lion's Roar gives us an excellent view of the controversy and then break in the Zionist Revisionist movement that Zeev Jabotinsky had established. In addition, we read of the tension, competition and inside story between all of the Zionist groups, from Left to Right.

For those who are familiar with the history of the time, when Jews in the Promised Land had to decide between supporting Britain against Germany or attacking British police, because they supported Arab rights over Jewish ones, Fishman's characters and plot are well-written. It's also an enjoyable challenge for us to pick out which of his fictional characters are based on real people.

I'm anxiously awaiting further installments about Tevye and his family in the Promised Land.

Product details

• Series: Tevye in the Promised Land Series
• Paperback: 526 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 14, 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1726116107
• ISBN-13: 978-1726116107
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds

Alternative News Sources, Blog Roundup, January, 2019, Shevat, 5779

Enjoy, these tasty morsels of journalism

A blog roundup is like an internet magazine. I'm offering a variety of topics from various blogs. I hope you enjoy them; read, share and comment. I'm not responsible for opinions/statements on blogs which aren't mine, and posts written by others. Enjoy, and if you have any blogs you'd like to recommend, please list their names and links in the comments, thanks.

I just offer the titles of the posts and not the names of the blogs. And they're in no special order. Enjoy!

Moshe (Misha) Arens 1925-2019
The Israeli "Queen of Beer"
3 Suggestions to Enjoy Jerusalem in Stormy Weather
American Football in Israel, Lions in The Lead
Two Pro-Israel Arab Politicians The Mainstream Media Aren’t Talking About
Ben-Gurion, Zionism, and democracy
Jews are Thinking of Leaving Scotland. Good!
Why Do they Refuse?
Rosh Chodesh Shevat, Wet, Cold and Sunny, Onward to Adar
Last 2 Radio 103 FM Polls
"Arise and Shine," More Adventures with Tevye by Tzvi Fishman
The Brigade
Blessed Rain Water at Jewish Legion Memorial, Shiloh Junction
Thanks for the rain
All Shuk Up: Mujadra Basmati Rice Recipe, Vegetarian Jerusalem Mixed Grill, and More!
Wikipedia, We Have a Problem
Tech in the Shomer Shabbat Home
Books Read in 2018 #MyYearInBooks
100 + Books from 2018
CAN WE SAY GOODBYE ?

Which is your favorite post, and why?
Favorite blog, and why?

What Really is The Light of Chanukah?

One of the big misconceptions about the lights on the chanukiya, Chanukah Menorah is that they are to compensate for the shortness of winter days.

True, the Chanuka holiday occurs when daylight is shortest, and here in the Holy-Land it may rain, though very rarely snow. But we are forbidden to use the light for anything practical. It is not supposed to be the light for the room, or the street, or for reading, cooking or anything else one needs light.

The light of the chanukiya, Chanukah Menorah is to publicize the miracles that Gd performs for us, even more often than we may notice. Yes, specifically, on Chanukah, we celebrate the fact that time and time again, Gd is on our side. When the odds and the experts say that we're about to be defeated, such as when the powerful Ancient Greeks invaded our Holy land and forbade us to observe Judaism, we defeated them and returned Jewish worship to the Holy Temple.

Over the millennia, this has happened time and time, again.  Also, please remember that the Modern Greeks aren't ruling and occupying the Holy Land any more. None of our ancient enemies exist today. They may have won many battles, but we, with the help of Gd, the One True Gd, have won the war.

עם ישראל חי

Am Yisrael Chai

The People of Israel Live

That is what the lights of the chanukiya, Chanukah Menorah shine and broadcast to the world.

Shiloh at Forty 40, The Dream Keeps Growing

As I blogged earlier, we in Shiloh are still celebrating forty 40 years since the return of Jewish Life to one of the holiest cities for Jews.  As Yehoram Gaon mentioned during his performance, Shiloh as the most important city for the Jewish People predates Jerusalem.

The anniversary events from Thursday night until and including Shabbat are supposed to be the end of about a year of celebrations. It has been a very thrilling time. In all honesty, I feel very privileged  to have taken part and be part of such a miracle, the revival of Jewish Life in the Land of Israel. And  no doubt this will be considered an extremely important event in Jewish History, like Ezra and Nechemia.








On Shabbat there were two get-togethers during which now-adults who grew up in Shiloh, some who were born when their parents had already moved to Shiloh while others came as children, spoke about what they've made of their lives. A few live in Shiloh, raising third a third generation of Shiloh residents, while others live in cities, other yishuvim and some of our locally grown kids have even founded/established new communities far and wide in the Land of Israel.

It was interesting to hear how their childhoods in Shiloh have influenced their lives and decisions as adults. The community life and chesed, helping neighbors taught them a lot, and they have all integrated that into their present lives.

One thing mentioned was so deja vu for me. I remember at a Bnai Akiva youth movement ceremony about twenty-five 25 years ago, a neighbor of my generation told the youth that she grew up trying to emulate her parents, chalutzim, who built a new community in the early days of the State of Israel. For that reason, she and her husband were among those to establish Shiloh. On Shabbat, one of the children raised in Shiloh said that she felt it important to emulate her parents and establish a new community.

We consider ourselves and our younger generations as the continuation of the early Zionist pioneers. This isn't a matter of political Right or Left; it is just pure Zionism, the return of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel. 

I thank Gd for the privilege to live in such a holy and historic location, Shiloh. And even more than that I thank Gd for giving me life in the generation which has seen such great miracles as the 1967 Six Days War and the opportunity to help bring Jewish Life to Our Holy Land.

The Lost Artist, Book Review

The Lost Artist LOVE PASSION WAR (PART 1) by Eric Hausman-Houston is a totally amazing book about an extraordinary person. It's the story of one of Israel's and the Jewish People's unsung heroes. According to the author, Eric Hausman-Houston, it's only slightly fictionalized. It's the story of his father, Fritz Chaim Fred Hausman.

Fritz Hausmann was sent to Mandate Palestine at the age of thirteen 13 by his parents who insisted on staying in Germany. He found himself at Ben Shem, an agricultural high school, where boys lived and studied. At that point the war hadn't yet begun in Europe, and he kept hoping that his parents would join him in what was then called Palestine. But like many successful Jewish German businessmen and German army veterans, his father refused to believe that there would be actual danger to Jews in Germany. Also, even as things became difficult for Jews there, he still thought it better than living in primitive, poverty-stricken Palestine.

The Lost Artist begins as a mystery of sorts. A young Israeli mother goes on a quest to discover who was the illustrator of her favorite children's book, "And There Was Evening." In the first part of the book, chapters alternate between her search for the illustrator and the story of a little Jewish boy in Germany named Fritz. It becomes a book just about Fritz at one point, and we never find out how they connect. I asked the author, Eric Hausman-Houston, and he said that mystery will be solved in Part 2.

Fritz, renamed Chaim to help him fit in, proved to be a good student, hard worker on the farm and learned Hebrew. Hebrew wasn't his first foreign language. While still a child in Germany, he picked up a number of other languages whenever traveling with his family to other countries for vacations.

Even though Chaim was Jewish, his being German set him apart from most other students. He hadn't grown up surrounded by children, which was probably part of his social problem. One day he came upon a beautiful black horse. The person in charge of the stable insisted that the horse was dangerous, but not with Chaim. That horse became his "best friend."

Due to Chaim's intelligence and hard work he was admired and appreciated, and from a very young age he became part of the illegal Jewish self-defence and pro-immigrant group, the Haganah. He seemed fearless and was secretly trying to establish a peaceful, tolerant state in which his father would be willing to live. For that he even met with Arabs. Since Chaim was tall, confident and very cosmopolitan, people didn't realize how young he was.

I found it hard to put The Lost Artist down. It's very well written. It's a real adventure story, especially as Eric Hausman-Houston writes about his father's World War Two army service in the British Army for which he was awarded Britain's highest medals for bravery. That's one of the reasons that Houston wrote the books. His father was listed as a recipient of the honor but never received the actual medals. When Houston tried to get them, he discovered that someone had apparently stolen them, figuring that the  family would never make a request for them.

The family wants the medals back and hope that the book will put pressure on whoever is now holding them and make the British Government take responsibility for the loss.

I highly recommend The Lost Artist whether buying it for yourself or as a gift for teens and adults alike.

Product details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (April 19, 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1545569886
• ISBN-13: 978-1545569887

Israel was Established to Be The Jewish State

Honestly, I don't understand what the hullabaloo is all about concerning the Jewish Nation-State Law. The State of Israel was established for one reason only, to be a Jewish State, THE JEWISH STATE.

The State of Israel is the modern revival of ancient kingdoms, which are documented in the Bible. That is the very same Bible which not only is the basis for Judaism, but it is also recognized as accurate and holy for Christians. That is the very same Bible which which is used by western countries for swearing honesty, in court and important ceremonies.

The Jewish Religion and Prayers repeat over and over that Jerusalem is the holiest city and we pray to return to it in all its glory.

Jews from all over the diaspora have followed the same religion for two thousand years.

Jews have always made an effort to return to or visit the Land of Israel, the Holyland. This is all very well documented.

During the over two thousand years since the destruction of our Second Holy Temple, discrimination, banning of Judaism and killing of Jews took place all over the world. The Spanish Inquisition and the Nazi Holocaust are well-known examples of that. But actually it continues today in almost all Arab countries. They are judenrein, cleansed of Jews, even in those countries that once had vibrant Jewish communities.

Modern Zionism is just the political version of the religious return to the Land of Israel. The foundations of the State of Israel, political and economic began with that movement, which coincided with the rise of European nationalism in the nineteenth 19th century.

There is nothing actually new or revolutionary in the Jewish Nation-State Law. It just restates the obvious. Israel is the Jewish State and was established in the Biblical Land of Israel for that very purpose. I, like many others, left the Christian United States of America, because I wanted to live in the Jewish State, no other. If someone here in Israel doesn't want to live in the Jewish State, they can just look for a country that fits their national and religious identity. I with them luck in their new life.

Nothing's New, All in the Bible/Tanach

I didn't get much of a Jewish education growing up. My parents weren't religious, so besides occasionally remembering to light the Chanukah Menorah and having the traditional, though shortened Passover Seder and a rare Friday night when my mother lit Shabbat candles, we did know we were Jewish...

We were always shul (synagogue) members. When we lived in Bayside, NY, we were founding members of the Conservative Oakland Jewish Center, which has since closed for business. Then when we moved to Great Neck, NY, we joined the Orthodox Great Neck Synagogue, though the choice of Orthodox wasn't for theological reasons. Even though I'm a graduate of the OJC Hebrew School, I didn't learn much, certainly not much  Bible/Tanach. And then later as an active member of NCSY I learned living Judaism, not Bible/Tanach.

All the Bible/Tanach I know has been learned as an adult, and not when I was younger. Sometimes when I'm in a class, whether with hundreds of others in Matan, or the small senior citizens class in Ofra, I see so many parallels and similarities between what happened to the Jewish People thousands of years ago and today. It's really mind-boggling to think about it.

As in Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon, it has all happened before. Human nature, our intelligence and foibles haven't changed at all. In recent years I've been studying Ezra-Nehemiah, the time between the First and Second Temples, when the Jewish People returned in part from exile. The controversies, debates and problems of that time were so similar to today's among the Jewish People. That includes the controversy over "Who's a Jew?"

I have no doubt that we are in an era of Biblical significance, and Gd willing we will do what must be done to truly bring the Moshiach. We need leadership to fully build and develop the Jewish State of Israel. Build for Jews and BUILD THE HOLY TEMPLE!

From Jerusalem to Jerusalem, Great Kotel Tunnel Activity

Last week, as part of the senior citizens program I attend in Ulpanat Ofra Girls High School we were taken to Jerusalem Old City for the Tunnel Tour. OK, well, to be honest I wondered if I'd be bored, since I had once taken the tour, but as I mentioned in A Jewish Grandmother, Kotel Tunnel Tour, we were treated to a complexity new activity.

From Jerusalem to Jerusalem is an amazing personalized, computerized interactive activity which can be enjoyed by everyone, with Jewish family history, of almost all ages. The only requirement is basic reading comprehension.

First you choose your language, and then you indicated where your family was during the various eras on the screen. It's a real adventure for sure.

Some people will need to participate in the activity more than once if, like my grandchildren, their great-grandparents and/or grandparents have very different histories.

That's what inspired me when I wrote last night about the beauty of the prayer that announces the upcoming Rosh Chodesh, beginning of the Jewish Month. Today there are so many Jews whose ethnic history is unification of Jewish communities from all over the world. To me that's a definite reminder that the Moshiach is very, very close. I can smell it in the mixed menus of Jewish Food when we eat Eastern European favorites together with North African ones. The Jewish World is uniting, and the differences are blurring very quickly, thank Gd.

Among our friends and neighbors here in Israel, most of us have children of "mixed" Jewish ethnic histories. We pray for the day, when we all follow a united Land of Israel Jewish Ritual. I see the day as coming soon, Gd willing.

Two State "Solution," Dead or Hibernating?

Note that in the title and here, I put the word "solution" in quotation marks. That's because I don't see that "two states" would be a "solution" to the "conflict in the Middle East." The use of quotation marks indicates that I'm "distancing myself" from the words, because I consider it inaccurate. For added emphasis "solution" also is italicized.

Just a little history...

• There is absolutely no history of a group of people called Palestine.
• Only one people/nation ever had an independent country kingdom in this part of the world, the Jewish People.
• Many invaders occupied this part of the middle east, and other times it was leaderless, stateless.
• In its two thousand years of exile from The Land, the Jewish People still focused on returning. Jewish Prayers, Holidays, theology and Bible are all centered on The Land of Israel.

The Arabs who have been named as Palestinian have no unified history. They are just united in their support for terrorism against Jews and Israel. They also don't really want to be responsible for their own independent state, or they would have been happy to negotiate with Israel and come to some sort of agreement. Over the decades, they've been offered fantastic conditions, including plenty of land and financial backing, but they've always refused.

An independent country requires taking responsibility for one's population, and the terrorists prefer to continue their corrupt ways.

And now, finally even some international leaders, media, etc. are finally seeing the turth, though they've come to it in rather confused and peculiar ways:

Donald Trump has ruined any chance of a two-state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict – and the American public knows it
Labor Party Lawmaker Draws Fire Over Call to Annex Major Israeli Settlement Blocs

Hat tip West Bank Jewish Population Stats Report

New Plugat Hakotel Exhibit, Museum, Movie

It's hard to categorize the newest venue in Jerusalem's Old City, the Plugat Hakotel. It's called a "museum," but there aren't really any exhibits. And unlike most every other museum, there's no walking around, so it's very good for those who find standard museums difficult to handle.

The Plugat Hakotel Museum is in the building of the historic Plugat Hakotel, on Rechov Hayehudim near the corner of Plugat Hakotel Street, where the patrols that protected Jewish worshipers at the Kotel almost a hundred years ago were quartered. The street level rooms have been set up to show a very good historic reenactment movie, which tells the basic story, fictionalized of course.

Yesterday I went to the Plugat Hakotel Museum with a group of friends from all over the country. It's best to call in advance to book a time slot.

We saw the English dubbed version of the movie which had Hebrew subtitles. It is very well written and acted and tells how members of the Betar Zionist youth movement, inspired by Zeev Jabotinsky worked together to not only guard Jewish worshipers but risk jail time by blowing the shofar at the end of the Yom Kippur fast. Yes, the British forbade shofar blowing.

For me this building has special meaning, because it was our first home in Israel, Maon Betar. We knew the history of it, but at that time, the Old City was undergoing major repairs to make it more habitable and modern. Just now, a half a century after being liberated from illegal Jordanian occupation has the museum been opened.

Shofar in the Plugat Hakotel Museum, Old City Jerusalem

Two Pictures that Meant Most to Me at Beit Hatfutsot

Last week I visited Museum of the Jewish People - Beit Hatfutsot as part of the senior citizens program in the Ofra Girls High School, Ulpanat Ofra, with the students who worked with us on our oral histories. As we were all taken from exhibit to exhibit, we were told to look with our student and choose what means the most to us.

Here are two things that meant a lot to me:

This Life Magazine article was tucked away among other things, which is a shame. This article tells of the illegal Jordanian Occupation from 1949-1967, when Jews were forbidden to go to their Holy Places in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and more. There was a border, and the Jordanians also shot at Jewish neighborhoods. The world didn't care.

I took a selfie of myself next to this picture of children leaving a boat docked in an Israeli port, making aliyah. We made aliyah by boat, but as a young married couple, almost twenty years after the photo had been taken.

It's such a strange feeling to know that my life is considered part of Jewish History. I really don't feel that old, but in my head, I know that what others learn as history I experienced and/or remember being part of.

My Story on Beit Hatfutsot, Diaspora Museum Site

As part of the Senior Citizen program in the Ofra Girls High School, I told "my story" to the "harav dori," multi-generation site of The Museum of the Jewish People, Beit Hatfutsot, formerly called The Diaspora Museum.

ממחול בניו יורק לתפילה בתל שילה From Dancing in New York to Praying in Tel Shiloh

It's in Hebrew, as you can see if you click above. I know that they also have an English version of the site, and I have to find out how to redo my story in English.

There are two basic aims to this oral history program. Besides having the stories of thousands of Jews from all over the world on their site, the museum also wanted the younger generation to hear about the lives of us older ones. That's why we were matched up with high school students, who asked us questions and typed up the stories on the computer.

Since our program began last fall, we've participated in many activities in which we "veteran Israelis" got to tell the teens about ourselves. I went from feeling that I had either no story worth telling or too many to choose from. This isn't meant to be a full biography, just one small but important aspect of my life.

When I found a couple of pictures of my marching/dancing, while holding an Israeli flag, at the 1970 Salute to Israel Parade in New York, it seemed like the perfect example of my "old life" to contrast with my present one. In the mid-late 1960s I was one of the prominent Jewish student "activists" in New York, SSSJ, NCSY, Betar and more. Today we live in Shiloh, and over a decade ago I initiated women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh.

Yesterday, as part of the program with The Museum of the Jewish People, Beit Hatfutsot, we went to the museum for a special tour. I hadn't been there since it had first opened forty years ago. They've changed it so much, not just the name.

To continue to build our connection with the students, we were told to walk around various exhibits with them and choose the items that we both felt connected to. By doing this we shared experiences and backgrounds. The students are the ages of our grandchildren, so they know very little about us. It was a very interesting exercise.

I definitely recommend visiting The Museum of the Jewish People, Beit Hatfutsot, and hope to go again, soon.

I couldn't resist a selfie next to this photo of olim chadashim, new immigrants leaving a ship, since we, too, made aliyah by boat, though about fifteen 15 years after this photo was taken.

The Land of Israel is Central to Judaism, Not a "Yetzer Haraa"

I got some very peculiar reactions to my blog post about Israel's Eurovision win. Someone even called me on my home phone to tell me how objectionable he found that article. He kept referring to Netta Barzalai as "an abomination." I honestly don't understand how he can say that.

As female performers go, Netta was rather covered up. She used a costume, rather than her skin to get people's attention. This caller and some of them who commented on my blog had the gall to insist that as a religious person, I should condemn her and the song. Also they suggested that I have nothing to do with Eurovision. You can check the comments on the post if you're curious.

All I can say is that they are not my rabbi, and I didn't ask their opinion. I mentioned how Rav Kook had even seen the good in the chalutzim, pioneers who worked the Land, even if they considered themselves secular. The caller was horrified when I said that, claiming that Rav Kook would side with today's chareidim, which I consider rather unlikely.

One of those who commented said something I consider awful:

"...I'm not "condemning" anyone, I'm criticizing. Not Neta B and other non-observant Israelis, but members of the religious public that have made love of the land into a form of avoda zara."  Emphasis mine. 

Honestly, it goes against the very basic principles of Judaism to remove/ignore the Land of Israel. First of all I don't see us as "worshiping it." What we do is recognize the centrality of the Land of Israel to Judaism.

Judaism is not like any other religion. Judaism is Land-based. Christianity, for instance, isn't; it has no diaspora. The moslem calendar is a simple lunar one which makes the holidays float from season to season. Those religions can be observed equally anywhere.

The Jewish Calendar is the only which is both lunar and solar. This guarantees that our holidays will fall in the correct season. Jews all over the world pray for rain and dew when they are best needed in the Holyland, in ארץ ישראל the Land of Israel. There are many mitzvot that can only be performed the Land of Israel. We are supposed to live here in the Holyland.

Remember that the baal teshuva phenomenon began after the Establishment of the State of Israel, especially after the phenomenally miraculous 1967 Six Days War victory. Before then, the trend was to reduce religious observance, not to increase it. Our return to the Land and sovereignty, even as imperfect as it presently is, has rejuvenated Torah living.

We must keep looking for the good in what is being done and do our best to make things better, not to criticize and look for the faults.

Thank Gd for the miracles and wonders He performs for us. And we mustn't forget that it is our responsibility to do our best for Judaism, The Jewish People and the Land of Israel.

When I look back on the half a century I've lived here in the Land of Israel, I see such phenomenal improvement in so many aspects of Jewish Life and Nationhood, Baruch Hashem!

Israel's Very Long War of Independence

During last night's discussion among neighbors about the 1967 Six Days War, read 60+ is Fun," Getting Together Talking About Wars, we got into some very interesting topics. A couple of the women stated that the 1973 Yom Kippur War was a continuation/conclusion of the 1967 Six Days War, and there were also discussion and questions about the post-1967 aliyah boom from the more affluent Jewish communities.

About half the women in our group were raised in Israel in kibbutzim and cities. The other half came from different countries, France, the United States and Canada. Some of us are already retired, while others still work. At least half of us were in high school in 1967, while the youngest was in the lower grades of elementary school I'm the eldest, but not by much.

We talked about the differences between the "before and after" 1967 Six Days War Israel, both Israel itself and how it was perceived abroad. The miraculous 1967 war was a watershed event for sure. Nothing was the same afterwards. Before the war, Israel was weak, poor and with a draining population. The standing joke was to request that "the last one to leave should turn off the lights in Lod* Airport."

During the tense and frightening time, those weeks leading up to the Six Days War, not a single solitary foreign country or international body came to Israel's defense in any way. They were all lined up either supporting Egypt's Nasser, or just silently watching and waiting to witness the final collapse, destruction of the State of Israel. That is what intelligent and knowledgeable people expected to happen.

Not a single military expert in the world expected/predicted Israel's great victory or even Israel's survival if war was really to breakout between Israel and her Arab neighbors.

When the "dust settled," there was collective shock all over the world, including the Government of the State of Israel. It was so clear that the dynamics of the war were conducted by Gd Almighty.

Just as we were about to get up to leave, I found myself summarizing that period of time, the first two decades of the State of Israel. I realized that the 1967 Six Days War was really the conclusion of Israel's 1948 War for Independence. During those twenty years, Israeli leaders had discouraged western Jews from coming here and begged for their money instead. There was serious insecurity, both in terms of the fear that the country with its crazy zigzagging borders couldn't defend itself and an emotional insecurity that only Jews who had no other choice should risk living here.

Pre-1967 Israel was like a helpless baby, unable to walk, but after the war, we were up on our feet, straight, tall, strong and proud. Only then were we ready to cheerfully welcome, absorb and invite all Jews, even from the wealthiest countries to make aliyah, live in Israel.

Salute to Israel Parade, New York, 1970
NCSY Dance Group
That's me holding the flag. (photographer unknown)

*Israel's international airport was called Lod, after the nearby city. The name changed to Ben-Gurion International Airport after the death of David Ben-Gurion who had been one of the country's founders and the first Prime Minister.

Jerusalem, Jewish and Israeli For Sure

Last night my husband and I attended an enjoyable and informative event hosted by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs at the Israel Museum. The main speaker was Ambassador  Dore Gold. Gold, a former ambassador and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a leading independent research institute specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy. Founded in 1976, the Center has produced hundreds of studies and initiatives by leading experts on a wide range of strategic topics. Dr. Dore Gold, Israel’s former ambassador to the UN, has headed the Jerusalem Center since 2000.

Gold's lecture centered on debunking six false claims about Jerusalem.

As a quick summary, two important points:

Ambassador Gold proved that according to international law and precedent, there is absolutely no reason to accuse Israel of illegally occupying sic Jerusalem. Gold easily showed how even the Muslims, until very recently, had recognized Jewish ties to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem.

Gold's lecture was extremely clear, informative and entertaining. The illustrations were excellent, and I certainly hope that it will be available online/youtube.