Israeli Elections Musings #11, War Musings #83: What Now After BenGvir's Groveling to Bibi?

As you know, I'm terribly undecided about which party to vote for in next week's Israeli Elections. After a couple of years of war, which is only on an elections vacation break*, as far as I can see, the risk of making the wrong choice is greater than ever. And please don't forget that I made aliyah in 1970, so this is far from being my first time voting in Israel. 

After lots of thought, and experience in sorting through Israeli truth, history and legends, I had finally admitted that not a single political party fulfills my minimal requirements, which are demanding a complete, absolute total victory, meaning defeating our enemies so they surrender and cannot have been part of Israel's military and government establishment during the decade leading to October 7, 2023.  I came up with a desperate and disparate "short list" of two political parties I had been debating between. Neither had ever gotten my vote or support before. Start the drum roll... they are Avigdor Liberman's, Yisrael Beitenu, Israel's Our Home, and Itamar BenGvir's, Otzma Yehudit, Jewish Strength. 

Then Liberman came out with a doozy... saying he'd give Jordan responsibility for Arabs in Judea & Samaria aka PA... It's easy to guess that I quickly eliminated him from my short list. Not that the Jordanians could control them at all or would dare want to try. 

So I was left with BenGvir... that is until he began groveling to Bibi when various sources said that weak woke Netanyahu had promised various foreign leaders that BenGvir would be personal non grata in his new coalition. 

Once I realized that the choice was between someone so weak that he was terrified of losing Bibi's favor, Itamar BenGvir, versus someone whom Bibi fears,  Avigdor Liberman who broke with him in 2018, destroying a large, stable coalition. 

Obviously, there are still six days to go before elections, and I have absolutely now idea of what surprises await us. I can only take into account what I know now. Most probably, more to come. It's never dull in Israel, and the political situation is volatile. 

In case you're wondering why I'm not seriously thinking about any of the newer political parties, I think that we don't have time for people to learn their way around the power bureaucracy. 

What do you think? I'm interested in your opinions; don't be shy. That's why there are comments allowed here.

*It's clear to me that we're still at war, even though the government keeps pretending that we're back to peace mode, as if we've had true peace the past decade plus under Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu's rule. Every year or two, our enemies have attacked, and not just a border skirmish, not just the terrorism that most of the country tries to pretend is in "isolated" areas. Tel Aviv suburbs, close to the airport have been bombed on a regular basis, and the enemies who do it don't warn our innocent civilians like Bibi loves to brag about. Sometimes they target the south and sometimes the north. Bibi bombs a bit in response until they stop, and then he claims that "they won't try that again; we stopped them." The October 7th war has "ended" in the same sort of way. I hope you're prepared for the next round of attacks, because they will come. And I'm not even starting about Bibi's pathetic dependence on US President Donald Trump's approval. 

Aliyah to Har Habayit-- Temple Mount Today

Yes, today was a big celebration for me... I ascended Har Habayit-- Temple Mount today for the third time. As with the first time, I joined my neighbor Rachel Sela and a variety of women from Shiloh and further afield. It has been a few years since

Actually I was involved in an attempt to ascend Har Habayit which failed due to anti-Jewish government orders. I had forgotten about it completely until searching my blog for the links of my successful aliyot.

My second aliyah to Har Habayit was with my husband, one of our sons and his son, yes, three generations. It was very thrilling.

This week, the beginning of the Jewish Month of Elul, is a double anniversary for us, aliyah to Israel, 56 years, and aliyah to Shiloh, 45 years. So when I saw that Rachel was saying that she's going up today, I decided that I'd join.

Rachel ascends Har Habayit relatively frequently and invites women to join her. This time there were a few young ones who brought their children, even nursing babies. This was amazing to me, who took decades to make my way there, because it wasn't all that suitable aka safe at first for a young mother. Also, conditions for Jews were awful and dangerous. And then... it took me a long time.

Regulations have changed, even over the few years since my first visit.

Even though siddurim (prayer books) and Tehilim (Psalm) books are still officially forbidden, they offered us printed papers with prayers. And nobody stops anyone from praying from their phone.

We sang and danced to religious texts we knew by heart. We also got down on the holy ground facing the holiest spot praying our own private prayers silently.

There were also men in the group "supervised" by the same police officers. Yes, that's Yehuda Glick, well-known for his ascents to the Temple Mount and his miraculous recovery from an assassination attempt a number of years ago. 

This visit was more relaxed than my previous ones. At one point, the men who were assigned to our group had had enough, but we hadn't. We were allowed to stay with a newer one. The police were very accommodating. That began only in recent years, since Itamar Ben-Gvir became Minister of National Security, which includes the police on Har Habayit.  

Just to make things very clear. All of the Land of Israel, including Jerusalem and the Temple Mount have a long documented history as Jewish. Islam was invented thousands of years after Judaism, and Jerusalem isn't even in its early narrative and books. But on Har Habayit-- Temple Mount all the signs are in Arabic. Israel has failed to protect its most precious place, where both the Jewish Holy Temples were located. Thank Gd there is a bit of improvement, though we have a long, long, very long way to go.

Our group today on Har Habayit (with permission from Rachel Sela)

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #65: I'm Terrified of The Next Round of The War

 

I guess this is a continuation of the previous Hamas/Gaza War Musings post, #64: Nu? Where's The Victory? Has It Flown Away?

The "ceasefire" is endangering Israel. All it's doing is giving more time and opportunities for our enemies, all over, to rearm and train to attack even more of Israel. Here's a recent headline In One Day: Hamas Terrorists Violate Ceasefire Three Times.

Please remember:

CEASEFIRE ISN'T PEACE

Any study of world history will make it clear, that a total, absolute undeniable VICTORY, meaning that the enemy has surrendered, there won't be peace. The aim of Hamas, Fatah, Hizbolla and their international backers is the total destruction, Gd forbid, of the State of Israel. If you think that I'm exaggerating, then what do you think they mean by "from the river to the sea..." They've fantasized and invented a totally false perverse history and narrative of this part of the world. 

Unfortunately, most Israelis, including the government, are plagued with what's called "Ghetto Mentality." They fear complete Jewish sovereignty here in Israel. Close to sixty, yes 60, years ago when we miraculously defeated three neighboring countries, Egypt, Syria and Jordan, in the 1967 Six Days War, we didn't react as strong proud, sovereign victors. 

Instead of happily and proudly expanding our borders to the very defensive ceasefire lines, as any normal country would do, the government of the time sent messages to the defeated enemies that we'd be willing to return the vast majority of the Land for peace. Immediately after the Six Days War, the Arabs recognized us as strong victors, but those messages made Egypt and Syria think they had a chance to destroy us and attacked on Yom Kippur, 1973. The United States was involved, knew about it and lied to Israel about suspicious activity on the Egyptian border. Read Bruce Brill's Deceit of an Ally. It was only because Arik Sharon refused to obey government orders that we were victorious in 1973. Yes, he saved the State of Israel. 

When Menachem Begin of the Cherut Party, of the pre-state Etzel, became Prime Minister they feared a stronger Israel. After Begin's enthusiastic embrace of American leadership and the Camp David Accords. Yup. Menachem Begin made a deal with Egypt's Sadat, destroyed the nascent Jewish communities in the Sinai and handed it over to Egypt. The Arabs saw how weak aka Ghetto Mentality, we are, and things have just gotten progressively worse. Long time serving Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu is even weaker than any other prime minister. He likes talking tough, but he has never won a war. There have been many attacks on Israel since he took office, and all he does is get things to quiet down a bit, until the next attack. I don't understand how people can trust him.

Also, Israel still hasn't declared full Israeli Sovereignty on the Land liberated in that very just, defensive war, the 1967 Six Days War.

I'm disgusted and frightened. To me this isn't history. I remember all of this happening. I graduated high school in June, 1967. I was already and Zionist and mentally packing my bags. We made aliyah only three years later.

In recent years, especially since retiring, I've been studying Tanach/Bible. One thing repeated many times is that we're not to trust foreign leaders. Only trust Gd. 

Gd gave us Free Will, and we're not puppets. When we do the right thing, Gd helps.

Elul and the Truth About this War, Guest Post by Netivot Girl

It is Elul. For religious Jews this is a time for contemplation and trying to better ourselves. I made Aliya in 1977 and have never regretted that decision. Friends from abroad ask me if I feel safe. Well, given the rampant anti-Semitism against Jews the world over, I can honestly say yes. However, there are so many things that trouble me. I am incredibly disappointed that many of our politicians and IDF heads have refused to take upon themselves responsibility for the massacre of October 7th. It galls me that our Chief of Staff Herzl Ha'Levi not only has refused to do so; he is continuing to promote his buddies to important IDF posts.

It is unforgivable that the UN and many nations have labeled us with words that FB won't allow me to post!! Where were their voices when many hundreds of our women were gang-raped? The 'Me Too Movement' is for every woman who is not Israeli or Jewish? The barbarians who raped our women had their friends photograph them on their phones. The same with the burning of babies in their cribs; where was the outcry? The perpetrators of these barbaric actions used their phones to document their actions. Yes, the war goes on. But it could have ended months ago had Hamas fighters laid down their arms and returned our hostages. I believe that the hypocrisy of the world is sickening. The UN has yet to denounce Hamas' horrific behavior. The Red Cross never went to investigate the conditions of our hostages, very few of whom are still alive IMHO. Has the world lost its moral compass? I believe it has indeed. Colonel Richard Kemp was a commander of British troops in Afghanistan; he has repeatedly commented that our IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is the most moral army in the world. Sadly, we have lost far too many of our IDF personnel because of that. Our troops have dropped leaflets and even phoned Gazans recommending that they leave any area that will be bombed in the near future. Unlike the USA, we do NOT carpet bomb. If Israel is conducting genocide, then how is it that the number of Gazans has greatly risen during the past few years????

Many thousands of my fellow Israelis have been living in hotels for many months as Hezbollah continues to destroy homes, farmland and other buildings up north. Where is the outcry? We are America's most important ally in the Middle East. Many Muslim Arabs are policemen and even sit in our Knesset. We are NOT an apartheid state; you can see women wearing veils in nearby Beer Sheva; I see them all the time. Moreover many Arabs sit as judges in our courts. Samer Haj Yehia was named the chairman of the board of directors of Bank Leumi, one of Israel's largest banks in 2019. Unlike every single Arab country in our area, gays are allowed to be open about their sexual orientation. In fact, the Speaker of our Knesset is gay; married and has a few children. (He is among the very few Likud politicians for whom I still hold respect.) Douglas Murray is an author of many bestselling books. HE has been in Gaza numerous times during the years. A British gay non-Jew, he remains one of Israel's staunchest defenders. He 'gets it;' he knows what's going on. He visited the site where volunteers spent MONTHS using DNA and other information to discover the identity of the thousands of bodies that were left to rot.

So, if you are Jewish, please be a proud Jew. Stand up against the numerous anti-Israel protests. And most importantly, check the facts before you attack us verbally or otherwise. May He above have mercy on us in our tiny country. I write this as a resident of Netivot which has been rocketed by Hamas since Israel pulled out all of its citizens from Gaza in 2005. We left millions of dollars worth of agricultural equipment which could have aided Gaza's Muslim population turn that strip of land into a modern-day Singapore. Instead, those idiots burned all of that equipment down! Gaza WAS a free entity from 2005 until the October 7th massacre of 2023. Do I expect anyone to change their opinions because of this post? No I do not; anti-Zionism is the newest nomenclature for anti-Semitism. You are either with us or against us. To my fellow Israelis I say, "Stand tough and be unified." To other people I say, when we said the words, "Never Again" we sure as he*l meant them!! Stay safe and please feel free to share this post.

Israel's Memorial Day Isn't Just About Dead Soldiers

My husband and I made aliyah in 1970 to a very different Israel. The State of Israel was just twenty-two 22 years old. It had recovered from the early days of rationed food and finally, post 1967 Six Days War, had defensible borders and a Capital City that wasn't jaggedly ripped and threatened daily by enemy snipers. New neighborhoods, like a regal crown, were under construction in recently liberated Jerusalem, and a new road safely and relatively quickly connected it with the more affluent coastal plain, including Tel Aviv. 

In those days, Israel's Memorial Day only commemorated, remembered soldiers who had been killed during army service. It took almost fifty years, 1997, to broaden it officially and rename it Yom HaZikaron LeHalelei Ma'arkhot Yisrael ul'Nifge'ei Pe'ulot HaEivah יוֹם הזִּכָּרוֹן לְחַלְלֵי מַעַרְכוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל וּלְנִפְגְעֵי פְּעֻלּוֹת הָאֵיבָה‎,  'Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of the Wars of Israel and Victims of Actions of Terrorism.' That means that victims of terrorism are included, too. Not only are terror victims included in the ceremonies, but the families get more help from the government than previously.

Please don't think that there's always that much difference between the heroism of the dead soldiers and dead civilians. Some of the dead soldiers had spent their army service at very safe desk jobs, or were killed in civilian-type accidents, and some of the civilians died trying to save others in a terror attack. And we must all remember that Arab terrorists don't distinguish between soldiers and civilians. For them there's no difference between a toddler, bus driver and sniper, as long as there's a chance that they are Jewish/Israeli.

Unfortunately, as part of the antigovernment campaign, the opposition has demanded that no minister who hadn't done active army service represent the government in memorial ceremonies. By making such a distinction, the antigovernment activists are going back a quarter of a century and removing victims of terror from Israel's Memorial Day.

Unfortunately, many people who should know better have joined them. I'm rather surprised at Miriam Peretz among others. Peretz has joined the antigovernment campaign to marginalize/boycott the democratically elected government. 

There are all sorts of opposition groups campaigning hard against the government, and one of their "weapons" is that many of the prominent government ministers had never served in the IDF (not that they ever protested about Shimon Peres) and therefore have no right to publicly mourn/speak at Memorial Day ceremonies/events. 

This opposition totally ignores that Memorial Day also mourns victims of Arab terror. Arab terrorists don't distinguish between soldiers and civilians, men and women, adults and children, Jews and non-Jews nor Israelis and tourists. 

Why is the opposition making two or more classes of victims? Where's the unity? According to Jewish Law and custom, the dead are buried wrapped in simple cloth, preferably without even a coffin, because there shouldn't be distinctions between rich and poor, prominent citizens and ordinary people. IDF dead are buried in the simplest wooden coffin to constructed to disintegrate quickly into the earth, because not all the dead bodies can be neatly wrapped up in the traditional shrouds. 

All dead are equally dead; don't distinguish. 

Israelis mourn on Memorial Day, each in their own ways. Some of those we mourn were killed as Israeli soldiers, while others were civilians, random victims of Arab terrorism, and other stories are much more complex. 

There's something else, which is very important to me:

I have been saying for a long time that the present coalition should publicly apologize for their horrendous behavior when they were in the opposition last year. That would be a good step in unifying the citizens of the State of Israel.

Celebrating Fifty 50 Years in Israel, Part 2

Yes, I was pregnant that first year in Israel, and before the
year was up, we became parents.

Many of you have been asking for more of my stories about our early days in Israel, fifty 50 years ago. So here goes...

If you've walked to the Kotel from Jaffa Gate, or reverse direction, by following the inside of the city walls, you'll recognize where I'm standing.

Living in the Old City of Jerusalem, which wasn't referred to as the Rova Yehudi, Jewish Quarter, in those days was thrilling. It was both a tourist site and building site.

Some days we'd open the door of  our home the Maon Betar, corner of Rechov Plugat Hakotel and Rechov Hayehudim and discover it blocked off by swarms of tourists. Once some tourists got all excited to see us, because they were friends of my parents and had promised to look for us.

Another day, when I was already close to my due date with our first child, I discovered that the pathway had been dug up, and it was a deep drop to the planks of wood that had replaced it. I closed the door and turned around. That was the end of my shopping, or I had thought. One of the guys living in Maon Betar insisted it was safe and helped me down. Later that day when he stepped down, the wooden plank broke. I'm so grateful I hadn't fallen; I would have needed the Emergency Room.

The photo on the left is from a few weeks after we had docked. If you look carefully you'll notice that my jaw is a bit swollen. No I wasn't hit.

About half way through our voyage to Israel, I began feeling what I suspected was an impacted wisdom tooth. I was in terrible pain. Our table mates in the dining area gave me a bottle of strong booze and instructed me in simple pain control. I'd dampen some cotton with the booze and keep it where the pain was. It got me through the rest of the boat ride.

Soon after we docked, we began inquiring about top notch dental care. While today's Israeli dentists are on a high level, fifty years ago, the situation wasn't as good, to put it mildly. A friend possibly Emanuel "Adam" Hanegbi, the father of Tzachi Hanegbi ,or David Federman, the father of Noam Federman, recommended that I go to Hadassa Hospital in Ein Kerem which had a dental clinic considered the most modern in the country.  They agreed with my guess; it was an impacted wisdom tooth. That's where I had it operated on. When the surgery was over, I was told to keep ice on my jaw. The only problem was that I didn't have any ice. So when we got off the bus we asked for some in a restaurant. And when we got back to the Old City, we got more from our neighbor Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Segal.

These two photos are from our first Chanuka. The guys in the Maon Betar took the mitzvah of pirsum haness, publicizing the miracle very seriously. With the help of cans and kerosene thy lit up an "impromptu" Chanukiya (menorah) using the rooftop domes of our building.

Further installments will get harder, because I don't have too many photographs.

I'd love to hear your reactions to these stories.

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.

Memories, Soviet Aliyah to Shiloh

Way back when almost everything done in Shiloh was done by volunteers, I spent some amazing years on the Vaadat Klita, the committee that accepted and rejected and recruited new residents for Shiloh. I was truly privileged to have been on that committee when Soviet Aliyah was at its peak, and the masses of olim chadashim from the USSR were looking for new homes and lives in Israel.

This week I was reminded of those exciting days; I was very moved to hear how some of those now veteran immigrants remember me.

When I realized that I'd be home at the time of an Azkara, memorial ceremony at the grave of a neighbor who died a couple of years ago, it was obvious to me that I had to attend. The first of that clan came to Shiloh as a young married expectant couple looking for a clean, unpolluted healthy Jewish environment to raise their family. I was on the committee at the time, and we welcomed them joyfully. Soon they were joined by a newborn plus two more older generations and siblings.

As time went on, the young families left, and the older ones stayed on in Shiloh. At the cemetery, surrounded by young children, they talked about how much Shiloh means to their family and how glad and grateful they are to have been welcomed here.

We reminisced about the time when they first came to Shiloh. According to the normative criteria aka our standard instructions, almost none of the Soviet olim, immigrants "fit in," but we just couldn't turn them away. It felt wrong. So we consulted with the community rabbi who gave the perfect psak, answer according to Jewish Law and human nature:

"Accept all who want to live in Shiloh. Those who should be here will stay, and the others will leave when they're ready. It's important to show them full acceptance in their difficult adjustment period."

And that's what happened. Some stayed and some left. And quite a few of the elderly will be here until Redemption, since they are buried in our cemetery.

Later that evening I paid a shiva call to the family of another family of Soviet olim. Here too the first to come to Shiloh was a young family, followed by the older generation who have been the only ones living here for years already. The mourner was very happy to see me and told the now adult children that if it hadn't been for my support they most probably would never have been accepted to live in Shiloh. Again I told the story of what the rabbi had instructed us.

I was so touched. It had never occured to me that anyone found my efforts unforgettable and worthy of praise and thanks.

In my teenage years I had been very active in SSJ Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, and my helping the olim settle in Shiloh was a miraculous way to continue the dream. In the 1960s if someone had told me that hundreds of thousands Soviet Jews would be in Israel, and I'd be helping them in Shiloh, I'd have trouble believing it possible. But miracles happen.

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.

The Unthinkable is Happening in The USA

This is a sad post. What I must write is not something I had ever imagined could happen in the United States of America, the USA. It's no longer Jew friendly.

Read carefully, please. I'm not saying that the USA is like Nazi Germany in the mid-late 1930's, but today unabashed antisemites* and those who support the destruction of the State of Israel have now been easily elected to the United States Congress as Democrats. The media is publishing and broadcasting even their most antisemitic statements and policies.

 all Photos all by me, Batya Medad when accompanying a Nefesh B'Nefesh flight from JFK International Airport to Israel over a decade ago

Photo by Batya Medad

I find it most frightening that as smart as Jews are supposed to be, too many can't connect the dots.  The Democratic Party has gone far Left and supports a Palestinian State over the State of Israel. This has not stopped the majority of American Jews from supporting the Democratic party and its candidates. American Jewry still professes support for Israel, but they refuse to see that their support for a "State of Palestine" means the destruction of the Jewish State.

The Arabs who would govern "Palestine" are unabashedly pro terror against Jews and Israelis. Their envisioned country would be  Judenrein, cleansed of Jews. These policies won't change one iota if those Arabs had a state. 

At present, convicted and jailed Arab terrorists and their families get payments from the PA-Palestinian Authority. They are also lauded as brave heroes to be idolized. Children are taught in their schools to follow those terrorists, even if it leads to death. 

So, honestly, how can anyone claim to support Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian State?

In the past, American public officials would claim support for Israel at the same time that they promoted "Palestine." In the newly elected Congress, there are members who don't even bother with that carefully worded preface. They accuse Israel of being immoral and propose reducing or totally stopping all support and aid to Israel. They said this while campaigning and beforehand.

You can check it in all the news sites. I can't bear to quote them on my blog.

I have two requests:

1. Americans, please connect the dots. Recognize that support for Palestine means the destruction of the State of Israel. There can never be a Two State Solution, sic. Palestine=terror and instability for the region and the world. 
2. American Jews, your welcome mat in the USA is badly ripped and won't be replaced or repaired all that soon. It's time to move again. I suggest moving to Israel for many reasons. Contact Nefesh B'Nefesh to consult with them.

Photo by Batya Medad

*And please don't give me the double-talk about Arabs being semites, so an Arab or pro-Arab can't be anti semitic. I specifically wrote the term antisemite as one word which means "The hatred of Jews; an antisemite is one who promotes policies discriminating and/or endangering Jews and Jewish life."

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

Celebrating Yom Aliyah Day

Last year I celebrated Yom Aliyah Day by officially performing stand up for the first time, something I could cross of my "bucket list." This year my husband and I attended a Betar-Likud event to which immigrants/olim from all over the world were invited.

photo taken by Yisrael Medad, from Betar blog

It was in a Netanya hotel, and I found us places to sit at a table that had a sign saying "English" on it. Other tables had Spanish and French signs. We ended up sitting with some old friends from American Betar and our shlichut, youth work job in London.

We enjoyed the rendition of Betar songs by the young band that performed. And, of course, it was nice to get together with old friends. Not everyone at our table knew enough Hebrew to understand the speeches, which was a shame. There should have been some multilingual greetings to make them feel truly welcome.

Many of my closest friends here in Israel are olim, immigrants. We come from wide and varied backgrounds. Everyone contributes to the flavor of life in Israel, like the holy Biblical ketoret, which was a combination of a wide variety of "fragrances," some ingredients being very bitter on their own. But mixed in the recipe that Gd instructed, they combined into something exquisite. That is our life here in Israel, Israeli society.

We feel very privileged to be in this wonderful time, when we see the fulfilment of Gd's promises to the Jewish People. I have no doubt that things will get even better. Jews, join us for your own sake, לך לך, Come to the Holy Land to live with us.

All except one, photos by me, Batya Medad