Hamas/Gaza War Musings #68: Trump's Deals, Deja Vu 1960s "Give Peace a Chance"

 

I'm going to be very blunt. US President Donald Trump's "deals" with perverse, vicious, violent countries and especially terrorists remind me of the totally unrealistic, wacky 1960's slogan and Lennon-Ono song/philosophy Give Peace A Chance. 

I thought it was stupid when all the rage in the time of the "hippies," and life in the past close to six decades has only reinforced my doubts. 

Trump, Bibi Netanyahu and I are all about the same age. We came to age in the 1960s. I rejected the philosophic fads of the time adopting a Torah Observant life and Zionism. None of the popular philosophies attracted me. It didn't bother me that my fellow students in Great Neck North thought I was really strange. I thought they were. I'm not a follower, but most people are-- including the popular ones like Trump and Bibi... obviously. That's how it seems to me.

This post is short. I'm not wasting words. Vicious terrorist enemies must be defeated, destroyed. They won't change if you're nice to them; they'll just think you're a sucker.

What do you think, really think? Do you think that Trump's deals can bring peace?

The Political Me and Bibi's Congress Speech

 

Some of my favorite "buttons" from the past

I don't like it when people think they can label me or presume they know my opinions. I'm not that easy to label. I don't take orders from anyone. I make my own decisions. And sometimes my opinions are like no one else's. 

Here's something I wrote recently on facebook.

I have never been loyal to a particular political party in any country. I look only at policies, even more than leaders.

Over the decades I've seen too many politicians and political parties desert principles.

I'm a purist. I don't trust anyone. If something stinks, then it goes... that includes politicians and political parties.

Speeches and oratory aren't policies and facts on the ground. Promises are promises...

I know that not everyone understands this. Too many people say that they only, or have always vote for a particular party; they're loyal to it. They make their decisions, decide their opinions according to party leaders. They trust their party and its leaders. I'm not like that. Sorry.

When I started demonstrating for Soviet Jewry, demanding that the leaders of the USSR release Soviet Jews from their prison-like country. One of the signs we held up showed the number of synagogues that had been in various cities that became part of the Soviet Union in 1917. Those numbers were compared with the number of synagogues in the same cities in 1965. Yes, there were far fewer. The message was very clear. Communism doesn't allow people religious freedom in addition to not allowing them to leave the country. 

"Enlightened" sic Americans were still enthralled with the idea of communism and socialism. Not me. I didn't go to the same demonstrations my peers attended "religiously." You could say that I chose a "different religion." My determined observance of Torah Laws certainly separated me from fellow Jewish students. Then I discovered Zionism, the mitzvah, religious requirement, to live in our Holy Land. That's why I live here in the holy city of Shiloh, the same place written about in the Bible, where the Ancient Tabernacle had stood for almost four hundred 400 years. 

I go straight to the source and I abhor double-talk, which is a reason I don't trust Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu. I've been listening to him and observing his policies for many years. He has been conning the Israeli public and people all over the world pretending to be a strong Right patriot, but his policies are something else entirely. So are his speeches. The important thing is to listen to the end. I caught onto that many, many years ago. 

Netanyahu's recent Congress speech was the same pattern/structure as what I heard in August, 2008. He hypnotizes people in the first part of his speeches, and then when most people are no longer listening to the details he tells the truth. By then most people aren't paying attention to the details; he has captured them. When I heard Bibi at the First International Jewish Bloggers Convention he announced that he'd return to office as Prime Minister as a "centrist." I heard him clearly, but it doesn't seem like others had paid attention.

The first three quarters 3/4 or so of Netanyahu's Congress address was wonderful. Yes, of course, Binyamin Netanyahu is certainly one of the world's greatest orators. He's responsible for his speeches, not hired writers. You can see it clearly when it's off the cuff. His knowledge of world and Jewish history qualifies him to teach in universities like his father had. But that doesn't mean that his policies, especially military/security are what the State of Israel needs.

Soon after Netanyahu voiced the slogan #neveragainisNOW which is one even I use on X, Instagram and Facebook, he took a different turn. He pledged that Israelis wouldn't return to live in Gaza, and from there it went downhill. That was a slap in the face to our brave soldiers who had fought so hard to destroy the terrorists and return to Gush Katif. It's so obvious to many of us that there can never be true peace if we're just policing Gaza and not living there.

After that Bibi sounded like 1960's druggy Leftist when he said that he "envisioned" peaceful Gazans ruling themselves. Duh? There's nothing pragmatic, realistic, intelligent about that...

If that wasn't enough, Netanyahu began bragging about Israel having "the most moral army" ever. Honestly, I don't think it's moral to endanger your own soldiers to protect the enemy. Over twenty years ago, local Shiloh soldier Avihu Keinan, HaY"D was killed in such an army action. Instead of destroying a building, which was believed to be in enemy hands, Avihu was sent in the inspect it, and then he was killed. His father organized various marches and demonstrations against the policy, and I attended and wrote about them. I remember Moshe Keinan asking "Why is Ahmad's life more important than my son's?" That's why I get very upset every time the Prime Minister and other government officials claim this policy is so wonderful, worth bragging about. It's so obvious that the Hamas terrorists will never surrender when we feed them and provide medicines. 

I call it suicidal. I'm a realist. And remember that terrorists don't wear uniforms. Photos publicized by the terrorists of October 7th, show clearly that CIVILIANS of ALL AGES were the rapists, murderers and arsonists. So why are we protecting Gazans as if they hadn't been involved? There's that famous recording of a phone call between a young Gazan terrorist and his parents bragging about murdering ten Israelis. His parents praised him.

Why is Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu bragging to the world about protecting, feeding and and sending medical care to terrorists?

Think about it...

Goyishe Chutzpah!

I've always opposed the celebration of the 29th of November, 1947, when the infant, newly established, United Nations voted "approval" of a Jewish State. This "state" they approved of was to have such absurd borders that its days were numbered, since it wouldn't be viable. 

A short few decades before the Balfour Declaration had declared that the British Mandate would establish a Jewish State in what they called Palestine, which was then an undeveloped piece of Land on both sides of the Jordan River. At that point there was trickle of Jews trying to establish agricultural settlements and bring the barren land back to life. 

There had always been a Jewish presence in various cities, even after the destruction of the Second Holy Temple. Zionist pioneers began changing the Jewish attitude towards Jewish sovereignty. The Arab communities were mostly in a few Arab cities and villages, plus some nomads. There was no history of local Arab nationalism.

Great Britain went against its mandate to establish a Jewish State in the land by bringing in a foreign clan, the Hashemites, and invented the kingdom of Jordan sic on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. And then to make matters even worse for the Jewish People, the members of the United Nations decided to invent a second Arab to share the western side of the Jordan River with Israel. But as I stated earlier, nobody expected the Jewish State to survive. That made it easy for countries to vote on the 29th of November, 1947, for a Jewish State. Because the truth is that those countries didn't really want a Jewish State to exist. Maybe a few did think a Jewish State should exist, but that nascent state wasn't given a fighting chance. Britain armed the Arabs and trained them in warfare, and no country gave the State of Israel any help.

Here we are seventy-five 75 years later, and things haven't changed much. The United Nations condemns Israel more than it condemns any other country, and our so-called allies are having fits because Israel hasn't returned land to the Jordanian aggressor from the 1967 Six Day War. They call Israel an apartheid country, but insist that Judea/Samaria be free of Jews. The latest is that they're condemning Israel for giving recognition to a few Jewish communities. They act like they're our bosses, and that they have approval rights for what we do. 

Goyishe Chutzpah for Sure!

A new building project in Shvut Rachel, just east of Shiloh

Shmitta 5782 Berry Picking at Bikurei Shilo

Moriah Rapaport Shapiro is seen here talking
to our group about Shmitta and the story of the 
picking farm Bikurei Shilo.

Shmitta, The Sabbatical of the Land comes every seven years, parallel or similar to our Holy Shabbat Sabbath which is every seven days. The big difference is that while Shabbat is required for all Jews in all parts of the world, and even universe, shmitta is only for those fruits and vegetables grown in the Land of Israel on Jewish owned Land.

During our two thousand years of exile, when Jews weren't working or owning the Land, shmitta became an unobserved and unknown mitzvah, even more so than the Mitzvot only observed in the Holy Temple. 

Shmitta only became relevant again when Zionist pioneers began farming in the Land of Israel. Rabbis, Jewish landowners and farmers-- many who weren't Torah observant have been struggling for well over a century to find ways to faithfully observe the mitzvah without damaging the economy. A few years ago, I reviewed a fascinating book about how the pioneers of Mazkeret Batya struggled for the rights to strictly observe shmitta, Rebels in the Holy Land, The Story of Mazkeret Batya.

Before we were allowed to pick the fruit, blueberries and raspberries, Moriah explained to us the history of the "farm" and psak, Torah decisions it's basing its shmitta practice. The fruit which is now ripening is the holy seventh 7th year fruit, so it can be eaten but not wasted. Any which must be thrown out is put in special receptacles, which they will handle later.

After the talk, we were each given a small container and set off to pick the fruit. The blueberries are delicious, a real treat. We got a lot of exercising while picking, since the ripe ones were low down on the bushes. There were very few raspberries ripe for the picking when we were there. Later in the season there will also be blackberries, Gd willing.

For more information on when to visit, open Sunday-Friday except for Jewish holidays, contact 0527966630. Bikurei Shilo is at the western side of the Shilo Junction and can be reached by car or bus. Individuals, families and groups are welcome. Their facebook page is in Hebrew, but you can message them in English. 

You can arrange tours and shmitta explanations in Hebrew and/or English for families and groups. Other activities are "tractoron" tours among the vineyards, bows & arrows, blow up playground activities, pitta baking, arts & crafts and more. Give them a call.

Besides the picking fruit, they sell all sorts of snacks including an "ice pop" made of their own fruit, which is absolutely delicious. There's also a playground for children.

We had a wonderful time, highly recommended for all ages.

Celebrating Fifty 50 Years in Israel, Part 1

I've chosen this photo to head my celebratory post, because it's "dreamy," and for me life in Israel, the Holy Land is definitely living a dream.     

next to the ship

                                                                                          

Some of you may have read my husband's post about our aliyah, move to Israel,  Fifty Years to Our Aliyah.   I promised friends and family my version of the story. My "version" isn't to disparage my husband's. It's just that everyone knows that we all remember things slightly, or sometimes not quite "slightly," differently. Each perspective adds to the richness and accuracy.

Neither my husband nor I come from  a Zionist family. Not only wasn't the idea of moving to Israel an ideal we were raised with, but the idea was never even mentioned. My Uncle Izzy had been one of the American volunteers on the pre-state ships defying the British bringing Holocaust survivors to the Holy Land, but he didn't talk about it at all. 

It was only after a few years of my being a member and office holder in NCSY-National Conference of Synagogue Youth and a prominent activist in SSSJ-Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry that a high school friend, Dennis Avi Lipkin, introduced me to the concept/ideology of "aliyah-moving to Israel, the Holy Land, the Land of Israel." Dennis brought me to a Betar Zionist Youth Movement meeting, and I was hooked. 

The more I had learned about American History, the more I was convinced that the United States was a Christian country. I wanted to live as a true Jew in the Jewish State. Aliyah was the perfect solution. My time during my final high school year was split between becoming more Torah Observant, campaigning to rescue Soviet Jewry from the communists and preparing myself for life in Israel. As you may well imagine, that left little time for studies. I even skipped my GNN'67 graduation, because it was interfered with NCSY National Convention. Priorities!

Betar prides itself on being welcoming to all Jewish youth, regardless of their religious observance or not. I quickly imagined that a religious Betari would be just perfect for me, although during that first year as a member, nobody seemed to fit the bill. The following summer, between high school graduation and the beginning of my studies in YU's Stern College for Women, I attended SSSJ's "Fast-In for Soviet Jewry" on the Tisha B'Av fast. That's where I met  "Winkie" who is today known officially as Yisrael Medad and is now my husband. He had just returned from a year in Israel.

Just under three years after we had met for the first time, we got married and two months later we boarded the Greek Lines Anna Maria along with over five hundred others making aliyah to Israel, the Jewish Holy Land. We were all set to live the dream.

our bon voyage party, with family

Family and friends accompanied us onto the ship for a rousing bon voyage party. We were full of smiles, though not all the family felt the same. We had made the arrangements, and even had a job lined up. It was a fait accompli for sure. Fifty years down the road we are still in Israel, as are our children and grandchildren.

We weren't the only ones traveling on the Anna Marie to begin new lives as Israelis in Israel. Over five hundred other Jews were with us. Besides friends and family wishing all of us a bon voyage, there were news crews. I was interviewed for a television news show. I remember explaining that as a Jew I needed to live in a Jewish country not a Christian one. Our families reported that they featured me and my answer on TV.

For close to two weeks we enjoyed the vacation facilities, three meals a day, movies and entertainment on the ship. They provided lots of kosher food. Not only was there a separate kosher dining room, but a sizable section of the main dining room had been roped off for kosher food only. We were assigned to a table in the main dining room which we shared with a family moving to Jerusalem. 

There were a few other newlywed couples, pre-children, like ourselves, and we enjoyed their company. Towards the end of the "cruise" there were two stops, Lisbon and Piraeus, so we got to tour a bit. Finally we docked in Haifa Port after Shabbat, September 5, 1970.

Jewish Agency and government Aliyah clerks boarded the ship to register us as "Israelis." There were also journalists excited to write write up the historical unprecedentedly large aliyah from the USA. In addition we were greeted by a young New York Betari, Barry Liben, who was on the program my husband had been on four years earlier. Barry had been entrusted with the responsibility of finding us accommodations for our first night together in Israel. He joined us on the special bus to Jerusalem and then snuck us into the dormitories of Machon Limadrechei Chutz L'Aretz, where he was studying. Barry had convinced one the of the girls to give me a bed and my husband was in his room. A few years later, Barry married my husband's cousin and built a thriving travel business. 

hanging laundry in Maon Betar

The job we had was actually in my husband's name. He was the dorm counselor/director of the Maon Betar in the Old City of Jerusalem. Residents were university students, singles and special cases... 

We were given a one bedroom apartment with minimal kitchen and furnishings. It didn't have a washing machine, and I'd fill the bathtub with laundry, which I washed by hand. Then I'd hang it on the unfinished terrace. After a few months the terrace was closed off and roofed. So my husband began hanging it on the domed roof of the building, which puzzled the Arab women who hung their wet laundry on the neighboring roof tops. 

I think this post is long enough as an "introduction" or part 1. Gd willing, I'll write more in the future about our first year in Israel as Israelis.

Parshat Shavua Bahar, The Connection of Shmitta to Mt Sinai

I'm certainly not competing with the venerable and respected Rashi, but a half a century after making aliyah, moving to Israel, I definitely see a strong connection between Shmitta and Mt Sinai.

The connection between Shmitta and Mt Sinai is very simple. It's the paramount centrality of the Land of Israel to the foundation of Torah and Mitzvot. Since there are mitzvot that can only be observed in the Land of Israel, all Jews should be living here.

Vayikra - Leviticus - Chapter 25 1And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying,		אוַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־משֶׁ֔ה בְּהַ֥ר סִינַ֖י לֵאמֹֽר:
on Mount Sinai: What [special relevance] does the subject of Shemittah [the “release” of fields in the seventh year] have with Mount Sinai? Were not all the commandments stated from Sinai? However, [this teaches us that] just as with Shemittah, its general principles and its finer details were all stated from Sinai, likewise, all of them were stated-their general principles [together with] their finer details-from Sinai. This is what is taught in Torath Kohanim (25:1). [And why is Shemittah used as the example to prove this rule, especially since the very fine details are not even specified here (Sefer Hazikkaron)?] It appears to me that its explanation is as follows: [At the plains of Moab, Moses reiterated the majority of the laws of the Torah to the Israelites before their entry into the land of Israel, this reiteration comprising most of the Book of Deuteronomy. Now,] since we do not find the laws of Shemittah [“release”] of land reiterated on the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy, we learn that its general principles, finer details, and explanations were all stated at Sinai. Scripture states this [phrase] here to teach us that [just as in the case of Shemittah,] every statement [i.e., every commandment] that was conveyed to Moses came from Sinai, [including] their general principles and finer details [and that the commandments delineated in Deuteronomy were merely] repeated and reviewed on the plains of Moab [not originally given there].		בהר סיני: מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני, והלא כל המצות נאמרו מסיני, אלא מה שמיטה נאמרו כללותיה ופרטותיה ודקדוקיה מסיני, אף כולן נאמרו כללותיהן ודקדוקיהן מסיני, כך שנויה בתורת כהנים. ונראה לי שכך פירושה לפי שלא מצינו שמיטת קרקעות שנשנית בערבות מואב במשנה תורה, למדנו שכללותיה ופרטותיה כולן נאמרו מסיני, ובא הכתוב ולמד כאן על כל דבור שנדבר למשה שמסיני היו כולם כללותיהן ודקדוקיהן, וחזרו ונשנו בערבות מואב:
2Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them: When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to the Lord.		בדַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם כִּ֤י תָבֹ֨אוּ֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י נֹתֵ֣ן לָכֶ֑ם וְשָֽׁבְתָ֣ה הָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַֽיהֹוָֽה:
a Sabbath to the Lord: For the sake of the Lord, just as is stated of the Sabbath of Creation (see Exod. 20:10) [i.e., just as every seventh day is a holy Sabbath day, acclaiming that God Himself rested on the seventh day and thus acclaiming that God is the Supreme Creator of all existence, likewise, man must rest from working the land on the seventh year, for the sake of God, not for the sake of the land, so that it should gain fertility by lying fallow for a year]. — [Sifthei Chachamim ; Torath Kohanim 25:7]		שבת לה': לשם ה', כשם שנאמר בשבת בראשית:
3You may sow your field for six years, and for six years you may prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce,		גשֵׁ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ תִּזְרַ֣ע שָׂדֶ֔ךָ וְשֵׁ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים תִּזְמֹ֣ר כַּרְמֶ֑ךָ וְאָֽסַפְתָּ֖ אֶת־תְּבֽוּאָתָֽהּ:
4But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field, nor shall you prune your vineyard.		דוּבַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗ת שַׁבַּ֤ת שַׁבָּתוֹן֙ יִֽהְיֶ֣ה לָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַֽיהֹוָ֑ה שָֽׂדְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִזְרָ֔ע וְכַרְמְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִזְמֹֽר:

Yes, I understand that for even the most Torah observant and learned Jew living out of the Land of Israel, the Laws of Shmitta appear theoretical and even irrelevant. This was certainly even more so a thousand years ago, the time of Rashi, when nobody could seriously envision fruitful Jewish agriculture and a Jewish State in the Holy Land, Land of Israel. Christian crusaders had been invading and destroying much of the Land of Israel in the name of their god. Jewish Life was under attack all over the world, especially in the Holy Land. Christian and Muslim theologians needed to prove that Judaism was dead and they were the god appointed replacements. Of course, they would then have to fight each other for the ultimate title.

A hundred and fifty years ago the Zionist Movement brought a new relevance to Shmitta and all other Torah Commandments, mitzvot that can only be observed in the Land of Israel. Close to three years ago I reviewed Rebels in the Holy Land - Mazkeret Batya - An Early Battleground for the Soul of Israel, which tells of how the pioneers who established Mazkeret Batya risked everything to revive the mitzvah of Shmitta.

Poskim, rabbis who are considered as qualified/learned to make decisions based on the Torah, must look seriously at the new realities of today and not base their decisions on Jewish Life of a thousand years ago, a hundred years ago, before the Establishment of the State of Israel and even before Israel's miraculously victory in the Six Days War. The Establishment of the State of Israel and the post-Six Day War were major game-changers for the Jewish People. Gd gave us the Torah to be lived in our world, not to be rooted to the past. We are now sovereign in the Land of Israel, and it's time for all Jews to come home. Otherwise, you may miss the boat.

Trump, Trash Your Peace Plan

The only thing that really disappoints me about US President Trump is his so-called "Peace Plan."

Since he had originally campaigned against imposing any plan and insisting that you can't impose peace.

I hate to break it to Trump, Kushner etc but the Arabs all want us dead and gone, and this predates the establishment of the State of Israel. That's the truth, plain and simple. The hate of all things Jewish predates Zionism too.That's one big thing that Muslims and Christians have in common. Think about the Crusaders, Inquisition and Nazisim.

I'm not going to waste any more time. I feel like a broken record.

Bury it, Trump, and take care of your own country.

Redemption, Exodus: Would You have been One of the One Fifth 1/5?

In the simplistic rendition, narrative of the Exodus from Egypt, when the Jewish "slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt" managed to flee with the help of Gd, multiple miracles, one gets the impression that all the Jews left together. But a more exact reading of the Bible and Hagaddah and commentaries tells a different story. Only one fifth 1/5 20% of the Jewish slaves to Pharaoh followed Moses and Aaron out of Egypt and through the for forty years of wandering and transformation into the Jewish People who entered the Holy Promised Land with Joshua.

That's a better percentage than Gd got a few hundred years before when He sent out the לך לך Lech lecha, "Go, yes, you" message, and only Abram and Sarai, later renamed Abraham and Sarah responded by voting with their feet.

I'm pretty sure that my husband and I, plus many of our friends would have been among those to have followed Moses and Joshua throughout all the challenges they had faced. Not only are we here now in the Holy Promised Land, but we've been here ever since we were old enough to make our own life decisions, marry and have children. Our children and grandchildren, bli eyin haraa, not to tempt the Evil Eye, are here, too.

What happened to the 4/5 four fifths 80% of the Jewish slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt? They're gone, wiped out. There's no trace of them anymore, unlike the descendants of the Hidden Jews of the Spanish Inquisition, who even after over five hundred years have been returning to Judaism.

Yesterday we returned to our first home in Israel, Maon Betar, in what is now called the Jewish Quarter of the Old Walled City of Jerusalem. Maon Betar has long closed down, but the building is in use. The section where we had lived is now a dormitory for the Netiv Aryeh yeshiva, and downstairs is the Plugat Hakotel Museum.

In my life experience and decisions, I see the beginnings of Zionism to build vibrant Jewish Life in the Land of Israel as the call from Gd, echoing  לך לך Lech lecha, "Go, yes, you." Then it got louder in 1948 with Israel's Declaration of Independence and even louder in 1967 when the State of Israel so miraculously defeated the Arab armies who aimed to totally destroy the State of Israel. Three years later we docked in Haifa Port and began our new lives as a married couple here in the Holy Land.

Contrary to the many negative predictions and warnings we received as we packed up our few possessions before boarding the Greek Lines Queen Anna Maria, our move to Israel in 1970 proved a wise move. The State of Israel has miraculously developed into one of the most advanced modern countries in the world. I can say the same for our 1981 decision to move to Shiloh, which then was a small isolated community, dependent on an unreliable generator for electricity and trucks bearing water. Today Shiloh is the main community in a large vibrant bloc of Jewish towns, home to a couple of thousand families. Nearby Eli is even larger than Shiloh. The Gush Shiloh Bloc extends from west of Highway 60 to the Alon Road way to the east. Just a ten minute drive north west of Shiloh is the City of Ariel, which not only has government offices and lots of stores but also the Ariel University. Today it's hard to imagine, but the Shiloh we first visited in early 1981 had barely thirty families.

As crazy as it had seemed to our family and some of our friends when we made aliyah as a young married couple in 1970, it was the right move. If you're still stuck in the Diaspora, join us. Don't risk disappearing like 4/5 80% of the Jews who had been slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt.

"Arise and Shine," More Adventures with Tevye by Tzvi Fishman

I'm truly enjoying the adventurous Tevye in the Promised Land series by Tzvi Fishman. I've coined them the Forrest Gump genre of literature, a subgroup in historical novels. Now for the second in the series, which tells what happens to Tevye the Milkman and his growing family, once they're well settled in the Promised Land, Arise and Shine.

Life isn't simple and calm for Tevye and his clan. Like the fictional Forrest Gump, Tevye and his family not only participated in the most important and game-changing events in post World War One Mandate/Palestine, but they knew and interacted with all of the main historic figures. For me, personally, it's a sign of Fishman's writing skill that he created very realistic younger versions of some people I actually knew. The young and idealistic Moshe Segal in Fishman's books could very well be what our elderly neighbor in Jerusalem's Old City had been like a half a century before we knew him.

You can see in the cover of Arise and Shine, the fictional Tevye is flanked Zeev Jabotinsky, David Ben-Gurion, Yair Avraham Stern and Yosef Trumpeldor. That simple illustration summarizes this entire series by Tzvi Fishman. Tevye was much more than a simple milkman.

Even more than that, Fishman doesn't sweeten the story, making Tevye and his family immune from the violence and dangers of the time. In Volume #1 Tevye in the Promised Land, illness and Arab terrorists were the killers of Tevye's daughters and friends. But in Arise and Shine, Arab terror becomes the biggest danger. And to make matters worse, the British, who are supposed to be keeping the peace and facilitating the establishment of a Jewish State favor the Arabs and restrict Jews, even from self-defense.

Tevye and his family gave up on their rural, agricultural life and are living in Jerusalem, where Tevye the milkman has a milk route. Chief Rabbi Kook is the rabbi Tevye looks up to, as he has since his earliest days in the Promised Land. In the struggle for a Jewish State, most of Tevye's family find themselves firmly in the Revisionist camp. David Raziel, Uri Tzvi Greenberg, Moshe Segal and Avraham Stern are among those who visit Tevye's home.

The mix of true history and fiction Tvi Fishman cooked up in this series is a perfect blend. For those readers who aren't familiar with the history and historic characters, I highly recommend reading the books slowly and supplementing with a bit of quick research if necessary.

Again, I must say that the book could be made into a riveting television series. It's also a great book to read to children, instead of letting them watch the "screen." The book is a lot "cleaner" than what you'll find on television or in the movies.

I highly recommend Tzvi Fishman's Arise and Shine as a book for all ages. I'm now almost half way through the third volume, and I understand that there's a fourth in production, which Gd willing will be published in under a year.

Series: Tevye in the Promised Land Paperback: 458 pages Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (October 15, 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 1724652672 ISBN-13: 978-1724652676

Tevye in The Promised Land, Great Adventure

Last night I finally finished the first volume of Tzvi Fishman's Tevye trilogy, Tevye in The Promised Land, and I loved it! I have the following two volumes waiting for me to read, but I'm taking off time in between each one to write reviews.

Fishman's jam-packed historical novel is superb. Tevye in The Promised Land is an extremely well-written example of a very difficult literary genre. He manages to create both believable characters and place them in accurate and factual historical context. Tevye in The Promised Land is full of surprises and actual historical figures. And if you were wondering, Fishman's Tevye is based on the character invented by the famous Yiddish author Shalom Aleichem, which can be seen on stage and screen.

Especially since I had read and reviewed Rebels in the Holy Land, which is about the early history of Mazkeret Batya, I can really believe that so many things could happen to one family and the awful things about Baron de Rothschild's administrators. The early Zionist pioneers, even the least religiously observant, were true tzaddikim, holy Jews. They had to put up with and overcome difficulties that dwarf everything that modern olim, immigrants to Israel must deal with. And in modern olim, I include people like myself who made aliyah almost a half a century ago.

The early Zionist pioneers had to cope with and conquer difficulties that rival the greatest fictional adventure stories. First of all, traveling in those days was extremely dangerous and difficult. Today you can safely and routinely fly to Israel from places in less than a day. Over a hundred years ago, lovers of Zion had to trek by foot, horse-drawn carts, unreliable boats and more. The trip could take months or longer.

When the immigrant arrived, he/she wasn't always allowed in to the Holyland. Whether the ruling occupier was a Turk or British, they had the same agenda, STOP JEWS FROM ENTERING. Their sympathy was with the Arabs, who had no national aspirations, which was what the occupying powers liked.

Even when Jews, like Tevye and his family, managed to get permits to enter the Promised Land, that didn't promise them an easy time. Besides the utter poverty, there were illnesses, locusts, Arab terrorism, impossible regulations by the Baron's staff, land unfit for agriculture, continued antagonism from the occupiers, tension/competition between the religious and secular Jews and even more challenges. Fishman has Tevye and his family encounter and cope with them all. They also get to know and work with some of the greatest real life historical giants of the times, such as Rabbi Kook, Zeev Jabotinsky, Yosef Trumpeldor among others.

Before Tzvi Fishman's aliyah, move to Israel, he was a Hollywood screenwriter. And I must say that his Tevya saga is just perfect, not for a two hour movie, but for a long-running television series.

I highly recommend Tevye in The Promised Land. It's a book that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Children will love it, too. If they are too young to read it themselves, it's the perfect book to read to your children or students. As you read it, you can supplement it with history of the time, if clarification is necessary. I've already started on volume 2 and the third is waiting for me.

• Paperback: 580 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 11, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1466220872
• ISBN-13: 978-1466220874

Planning The Third Temple

Tonight, as a Succot celebration here in Shiloh, I heard a talk about the Third Temple.

It took place in a neighbor's large succah.

Considering that even today, after seventy 70 years of the State of Israel, which bli eyin haraa, seems stronger and more stable and successful than ever, many Jews still have trouble accepting this reality, talk of the measurements of the Third Temple may seem a bit "premature." But as I listened I thought of how just barely a hundred and fifty years ago, the vast majority of Jews couldn't fathom the idea that there would be a Jewish State. They thought that Theodor Herzl and other early Zionists were totally daft.

I kept thinking of this famous quotation from Theodor Herzl as I listened to a very detailed explanation of dimensions of the yet unbuilt Holy Temple. Gd willing we won't need to wait much longer to liberate the Temple Mount and build the Third Temple.

If you will it, it is no dream
Theodor Herzl

Herzl

Chag Succot Sameach

ושמחת בחגך

Celebrating 37 Years in Shiloh, Memories of Day 1

On the Jewish Calendar yesterday was our "move to Shiloh" anniversary, the 2nd of Ellul. On the goyish calendar we moved on September 1, 1981. Our daughters came by bus the day before, so they'd be here for the opening of the school year.

When the girls, then aged ten 10, eight 8 and five 5, were sent on the bus alone by my husband, we didn't think it a strange thing to do. Never having owned a car, the girls were used to traveling by bus. In those days, private cars were rare, and the other passengers were mostly commuters going home to Beit El and Shiloh. I don't think there were any other stops on the route. The bus went through Ramalla; this predated today's Route 60. Most men, and a few women, had pistols for self-defense.

The girls slept at the neighbors who had been assigned as our "mishpacha ma'ametzet," adoptive family, who were responsible for helping us settle into our new life in Shiloh. I had packed the girls up with what they needed for the first day of school, 5th Grade, 3rd Grade and Kindergarten. They were all going to study in different places.

It was easiest for our youngest daughter, whose pre-school was located near where they were staying, though she didn't know any of the other children. Our eldest had to travel to Ofra for school. There was a van that took her and the other children 4th Grade and up every morning and then back to Shiloh at the end of the school day. She never missed it; there was no other way to get to and from school. Our second daughter was privileged to be able to study in Shiloh. The community had decided to open an elementary school to make Shiloh a more attractive and easier place to live in. Luckily, it had been decided to have a 3rd Grade class, and there were six children in it on September 1st, boys and girls together. She was the oldest girl. There were four children in the 2th Grade and eight in the 1st Grade. Over the next couple of months, one family left, a few moved to Shiloh, and the number of children in the school rose to about twenty.

The new school was in three empty prefabricated houses in the new neighborhood where we live to this day. Then it was brand new without a paved road, sidewalks etc. Forty small cement houses had been placed on the barren hilltop, over a mile from Tel Shiloh, where everyone else lived. I don't think there were a dozen families when our moving van, with my husband in it, pulled up that day. I came with our newborn baby son by bus a few hours later. Of course, the bus didn't come up the hill; Egged only travels on paved roads. I had to go up in a ride.

Not all of the houses had been hooked up to the electric generator, water and sewer. That had limited our choice of which to choose. During the first few days in our house, even though the toilets worked, we had to wash our hands in the kitchen sink.

Despite the obvious difficulties, I really enjoyed being part of the great Zionist experience/adventure. Our neighborhood/community became very close, and we were helped a lot by the more veteran families "down the hill."  Even for a writer like myself, it's hard to clearly verbalize what attracted me to Shiloh, but I've never had a doubt that Shiloh is the right place for us. I'd say that the best decision I/we ever made was to make aliyah and the second best was to move to Shiloh.

Ohel Shiloh Elementary School 3rd Grade girls, spring 1982

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.

Where's The International Condemnation of Arab Terrorism?

Just a couple of days ago, a young Jewish father was murdered by an Arab terrorist in Adam, a town north of Jerusalem. But the international media cares for for Arab terrorists. Arab terrorism is constantly being excused by world leaders.

Chalk that up to the persistent antisemitism which prevails in the world. And to be honest, I don't see any chance of stopping it. It doesn't matter what Israel does or how we try to explain things. It's not ignorance that causes people to hate us, it's an intrinsic part of their theology and rationale.

The two dominant religions in the world are Christianity and Islam. Both Christianity and Islam are based on Jewish narratives and texts, and both Christianity and Islam attempt from their earliest days to supplant/replace Judaism. The fact that Jews on the whole refused their gods and theology have angered them to this very day.

Antisemitism is not found among the Buddhists and Hindus, because their theologies have no theological connections to Judaism.

The continued existence of the Jewish People and our successful return to Zion, to the Biblical Land of Israel has increased the anger against us. That is because it is proof that Gd loves us. We are the only true religion.

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.

GUEST POST: Analyzing Hitler

Analyzing Hitler
(a guest post by Mr. Cohen)

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According to one author, Adolph Hitler and his Nazi followers

seemed to have an amazing willingness to believe outlandish

myths and very dubious theories. Even more amazing was their

willingness to act, based on those outlandish myths and theories.

 

Some examples:

 

{1} “In the Nazi period, there was an idea, derived from ancient

underworld myths, that various things might be buried deep

within the Earth, such as: kingdoms, planets, phantom universes,

super humans, or aliens. Some of Hitler’s top advisors—and

possibly the man himself—believed that the Earth was hollow.

The [Nazi] military launched various expeditions in an attempt

to confirm the notion and acquire the strategic advantage this

knowledge would entail. There are further theories surrounding

the annual expeditions to Tibet between 1926 and 1943,

claiming that the German mission was to find and maintain

contact with their Aryan forefathers in Shambhala and Agharti,

cities which supposedly existed beneath the Himalayas.”

 

{2} “Hitler presumed that the [Holy] Grail would confer immortality

on all Aryans, and he gave credence to the idea that the Christians

had stolen the artifact from ancient pagans. He maintained that

the Grail should be restored to its rightful place in Germany. 

Himmler designated [Otto] Rahn to search for the object.

He traveled through Europe, the Middle East, and Iran,

but by the end of the war, the artifact still eluded him,

and he was forced to commit suicide.”

 

{3} “The Holy Lance, or Spear of Destiny, is said to be

the lance that pierced J____’s side as he hung on the cross. 

Hitler reportedly first saw the lance in [year] 1908,

and from that moment on he did everything he could

to get his hands on it. Once owned by Roman Emperor

Constantine the Great and more than 40 other great men,

emperors and leaders managed to possess it at one point

or another, including Frederick the Great.

In 1938, as Hitler oversaw the annexation of Austria,

he transferred the lance to Nuremberg.”

 

{4} “The Nazis claimed that Hitler’s rise to power

had been predicted by Nostradamus.”

 

{5} “Hitler also reportedly believed in the mystical

cosmology of Hanns Hörbiger” (born 1860, died 1931). 

Hanns Hörbiger and his Welteislehre ("World Ice") Theory

claimed that “various moons and other stellar bodies once

circled our world, gradually falling and dying as time went on.

The last moon that fell caused the Great Flood and the ruin

of Atlantis, the supposed homeland of the Aryans.”

 

SOURCE: This essay was based on:
Top 10 Myths Involving the Nazis

by Hestie Barnard Gerber, pages 223 to 226, from:

Listverse.com's epic book of (mind-boggling) top 10 lists:

by Jamie Frater, Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California, year 2014,

ISBN   9781612432977 ISBN 1612432972

 

CONCLUSION: Adolph Hitler and his Nazi followers

were amazingly willing to believe outlandish myths,

and base their actions on those unproven myths.

This may help to explain why they chose to believe

outlandish accusations against Jews, and base

their actions on those outlandish accusations.

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Please also read: If Daniel Were Alive Today
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-daniel-were-alive-today.html

Please also read: If Isaiah Were Alive Today:

https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-isaiah-were-alive-today.html

Please also read: If Ezekiel Were Alive Today:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-ezekiel-were-alive-today.html

Please also read: If Jeremiah Were Alive Today:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-jeremiah-were-alive-today.html

Please also read: If Ezra Were Alive Today:

https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-ezra-were-alive-today.html

Please also read: If Nehemiah Were Alive Today:

https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/04/if-nehemiah-were-alive-today.html

Please also read: If Joshua Were Alive Today:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/05/if-joshua-were-alive-today.html

Please also read: Refuting the Fans of Vashti:

https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/02/refuting-fans-of-vashti.html
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