As of late I have been thinking about the interrelationship of media as extensions of the senses vis a vis Torah. The problem is that the rav or talmid chacham, a person wise in Torah, is limited in his perception of the sensorium of the modern world. A person who teaches in a yeshiva or any other rabbi seriously steeped in the study of holy books is quite out of sync with his young students who live in a world of internet, DVD and MP3 music. That is the case if the community is modern orthodox and does not have a blanket prohibition on such things. Otherwise, the young person encounters all of the above as forbidden fruit, which is much more dangerous. The all or nothing rule applies.
The Torah scholar operates with a very narrow window on the world, consisting of text alone. He uses a computer primarily for e-mail and word processing of text only without graphics. He does use text searches heavily in software such as the Bar-Ilan Responsa Retrieval Project. But the effect of the textual emphasis is to pull away from the tactile "feel" of the graphic world. Print means uniformity, limiting what I deal with to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The literate world de-emphasizes the other senses. The oral Torah, on the other hand develops the sense of hearing. Music is linear, sung or listened to, whether in song with words or in the Hasidic nigun. The electronic generation of youth, on the other hand, is bathed in music, walks around with earphones or has music recorded on his/her cellphone. The sense of hearing is in the form of a diffuse field which permeates the environment. The combination of written and oral Torah seems to seek a sensory balance between the visual and the auditory. The problem is that at a certain point the oral Torah, which was originally forbidden to be written down, was permitted to be written in order to avoid being completely lost. As a result, the post written-Talmudic world has a strong visual, anti-auditory bias.
For the talmid chacham being involved with the graphic world presents two serious problems. One is bitul Torah, being involved with something non-Torah in time that could be used for learning Torah. This is somewhat of a theoretical consideration, since involvement in any activity necessary for either livelihood or furthering the learning or teaching of Torah will be considered the fulfillment rather than the violation of Torah.
The other problem is more serious, that of shmirat einayim, protection of the eyes. This means avoiding seeing things which one ought not to see. On Shabbat I was on the hilltop known as Giv'at Ronen, off the road leading up the mountain to Har Bracha in the Shomron, attending the brit (circumcision) of my grandson, born to my daughter Esther and son-in-law Yehoyariv. One of the speakers in the course of the Shabbat spoke about his personal experience of growth in protecting the eyes.
When one becomes selective about what one sees, one gives up as an act of will the possibility of knowing everything possible about what is going on. One makes choices. One looks here and not there. The reason for this is mentioned in Parshat Shlah, Bamidbar (Numbers) 15:39. A male Jew is obligated to put tzitzit (fringes) on the four corners of his garment to remind him to keep the mitzvot and not be led astray by his eyes and heart. One especially chooses to fix one's gaze on the text of the written or printed word of Torah. That creates a purposeful narrowing of vision. That is a voluntary act of saying to the world, I choose not to be with it, I choose not to attempt to know everything that is going on.
Believe me, I am not up to that yet. I think we need people who know what is going on to keep an eye out for the problems and provide insights into the visual, graphic world. If we don't know what is going on, we will get hit over the head with it. I think the brainwashing and plotting from above that led to the expulsion from Gush Katif was an example. The paradox is that as long as we keep our eyes out in the world we are vulnerable to the corruption which can attack us through our senses. The eyes are one thing. The sense of touch is even worse. What about "being in touch"? What about the sound mind in the sound body? It goes on.
Please comment. I can only go so far without the stimulation of the thought and criticism of others. These questions are a struggle and the answers seem very far away.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Mad Dogs, Englishmen and...
...Me!
It was pretty dumb of me to walk from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station to the Israel Museum at high noon yesterday. Especially since I lengthened the walk by stopping every few minutes to take a picture. Some of the pictures don't show Jerusalem in "the best light."
If the sun hadn't been high in the sky, I could have done it in twenty minutes, but between the weight of the sun and my camera, it took over half an hour. Not too bright, I admit.
Hopefully, you'll enjoy the pictures.
They're mostly of government offices and the site, pretty much empty, of the Handicapped Demonstration. They're protesting that it's impossible to live on the stipend the government gives them.
It was pretty dumb of me to walk from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station to the Israel Museum at high noon yesterday. Especially since I lengthened the walk by stopping every few minutes to take a picture. Some of the pictures don't show Jerusalem in "the best light."
If the sun hadn't been high in the sky, I could have done it in twenty minutes, but between the weight of the sun and my camera, it took over half an hour. Not too bright, I admit.
Hopefully, you'll enjoy the pictures.
They're mostly of government offices and the site, pretty much empty, of the Handicapped Demonstration. They're protesting that it's impossible to live on the stipend the government gives them.
Touring the Past
More pictures to come, once they're on a CD.
Yesterday I went to the Israel Museum. I used to go there all the time. When we lived in Jerusalem, our older daughters went art classes there, and I'll wheel around #3 and knew the museum so well. It has changed, grown and is under major construction.
The Second Temple Model, which used to be in the Holyland Hotel, has been refurbished and is on display. It's amazing.
Yesterday I went to the Israel Museum. I used to go there all the time. When we lived in Jerusalem, our older daughters went art classes there, and I'll wheel around #3 and knew the museum so well. It has changed, grown and is under major construction.
The Second Temple Model, which used to be in the Holyland Hotel, has been refurbished and is on display. It's amazing.
There's lots more to see, though the main building is closed.
Bli neder (don't hold me to an oath), I'll post more pictures, especially of the children's wing.
Now, I'm going to a genuine Biblical site, just a mile from my house, Tel Shiloh.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
A Badge To Remind You
I was given a sidebar badge to signify that I'm planning on attending the First International JBloggers Convention. Nefesh B'Nefesh is hosting.
Now wouldn't it be nice if the jbloggers were making aliyah, rather than just being flown over for the event?
Gush Katif -- Not an Isolated Incident
Gush Katif is part of a general phenomenon which cannot be shrugged off. National suicide by the ruling powers and a general "get the Jews" policy continues. The general maliciousness in Israeli society is frightening. The bullying police, who hit first and ask questions later, are symptoms picked up by the lowest common denominator without awareness of where they are getting it. It is our job to think and understand.
The elites have tried time and time again to stop us. The Rabin govt. tried to freeze settlement, the Jewish (?) Agency does everything it can to increase non-Jewish aliya and discourage religious Jews from immigrating. Back in the days of Ben-Gurion people were blacklisted from employment if they belonged to the wrong party or instisted on religious education for their kids.We also know what they did to Rav Uzi Meshulam for investigating and protesting what was done to the Yemenites. Gush Katif is part of the tradition of the powers that be playing hardball with those who dare to compete with the establishment economically.
The Gush was a powerhouse in agriculture. The kibbutzim, even as they fail, cannot be allowed to have serious competition. Back in 1974 Yehoshua Ben-Zion z"l, a religious, right wing Jew, ran a bank, the Israel-British Bank, which dared to compete with the banking elite. Trumped up charges were laid against him and he went to prison. The branches of the bank were given to Bank Hapoalim.
When the elite's offspring are numbered zero, one or two, when they avoid army service or leave the country, the handwriting is on the wall. We the Jews are a danger to their power. That is to say, we would be if we would only get our act together in terms of leadership, but that is another shmooze entirely. They see that there is nothing that will stop the transfer of power to Torah nationalist Jews in Eretz Yisrael in the long run. There are clearly those in the establishment who would rather there be no state of Israel than to allow this to happen Not every power-broker or leftist thinks this way. Some are more decent. But the people who sank the Altalena, applied the scissors to the peyot of Yemenite children and stole and stole again are still around.
We can't afford to live in a land of make-believe and continue second-rate religious-sector politics as usual. Dreaming is not enough. Concrete planning is necessary in the economic sector, the political sector, the media sector, the information systems sector. Hashem helps those who help themselves. Otherwise the sideshow of police chasing kids on the hills will stay a sideshow until it is too late.
The elites have tried time and time again to stop us. The Rabin govt. tried to freeze settlement, the Jewish (?) Agency does everything it can to increase non-Jewish aliya and discourage religious Jews from immigrating. Back in the days of Ben-Gurion people were blacklisted from employment if they belonged to the wrong party or instisted on religious education for their kids.We also know what they did to Rav Uzi Meshulam for investigating and protesting what was done to the Yemenites. Gush Katif is part of the tradition of the powers that be playing hardball with those who dare to compete with the establishment economically.
The Gush was a powerhouse in agriculture. The kibbutzim, even as they fail, cannot be allowed to have serious competition. Back in 1974 Yehoshua Ben-Zion z"l, a religious, right wing Jew, ran a bank, the Israel-British Bank, which dared to compete with the banking elite. Trumped up charges were laid against him and he went to prison. The branches of the bank were given to Bank Hapoalim.
When the elite's offspring are numbered zero, one or two, when they avoid army service or leave the country, the handwriting is on the wall. We the Jews are a danger to their power. That is to say, we would be if we would only get our act together in terms of leadership, but that is another shmooze entirely. They see that there is nothing that will stop the transfer of power to Torah nationalist Jews in Eretz Yisrael in the long run. There are clearly those in the establishment who would rather there be no state of Israel than to allow this to happen Not every power-broker or leftist thinks this way. Some are more decent. But the people who sank the Altalena, applied the scissors to the peyot of Yemenite children and stole and stole again are still around.
We can't afford to live in a land of make-believe and continue second-rate religious-sector politics as usual. Dreaming is not enough. Concrete planning is necessary in the economic sector, the political sector, the media sector, the information systems sector. Hashem helps those who help themselves. Otherwise the sideshow of police chasing kids on the hills will stay a sideshow until it is too late.
The "Pintele Yid"
Jewish Tradition tells of the "Pintele Yid," some spark of Yiddishkeit, Judaism, which is somehow carried in the spiritual gene pool of those descended from Jews.
Of course this conflicts with the rampant assimilation and intermarriage seen in virtually every Jewish family in the world. Many converts to Judaism have known or possible Jewish roots. The Spanish world, in Spain and north and south America, is filled with such stories. One of my neighbors, Rabbi Nissan Ben Avraham, from an old Majorca family, discovered his Jewish background as a child. Having had a strict Torah conversion, he is more than just an ordinary Jew.
Here in Shiloh there are quite a few converts, all strictly Orthodox, and of all different ethnic and racial backgrounds. There's no such thing as "you don't look Jewish," since the community is all different colors, features and accents.
There are Jewish communities abroad, which superficially resemble ours, at least the kids, but the Jewish status, according to strict Jewish Law is totally different. It upsets me that these kids are being raised to believe that they're Jewish, when according to strict Halacha, Jewish Law, they aren't. It has happened that some people raised like that and really feel Jewish go on to a strict Orthodox conversion, but in other cases, the bitterness causes anti-Jewish feelings.
Of course this conflicts with the rampant assimilation and intermarriage seen in virtually every Jewish family in the world. Many converts to Judaism have known or possible Jewish roots. The Spanish world, in Spain and north and south America, is filled with such stories. One of my neighbors, Rabbi Nissan Ben Avraham, from an old Majorca family, discovered his Jewish background as a child. Having had a strict Torah conversion, he is more than just an ordinary Jew.
Here in Shiloh there are quite a few converts, all strictly Orthodox, and of all different ethnic and racial backgrounds. There's no such thing as "you don't look Jewish," since the community is all different colors, features and accents.
There are Jewish communities abroad, which superficially resemble ours, at least the kids, but the Jewish status, according to strict Jewish Law is totally different. It upsets me that these kids are being raised to believe that they're Jewish, when according to strict Halacha, Jewish Law, they aren't. It has happened that some people raised like that and really feel Jewish go on to a strict Orthodox conversion, but in other cases, the bitterness causes anti-Jewish feelings.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Kever Rachel, Routine Visit
Over the years I've had some very nightmarish visits to Kever Rachel, so near but so far from Jerusalem.
For a number of months, for various reason, I didn't go on the monthly trip. Suffering from summer boredom, I went this past Thursday. First of all, we didn't have to wait near the main road for a soldier to get into the bus. We drove straight to the gate. Other people asked to join us, saying that they had been waiting "an hour" to get in. Then the gate was opened, and we traveled the couple of feet to the main entrance.
For a number of months, for various reason, I didn't go on the monthly trip. Suffering from summer boredom, I went this past Thursday. First of all, we didn't have to wait near the main road for a soldier to get into the bus. We drove straight to the gate. Other people asked to join us, saying that they had been waiting "an hour" to get in. Then the gate was opened, and we traveled the couple of feet to the main entrance.
It wasn't terribly crowded. I found a comfortable place to sit. I said my prayers and Psalms.
And then we went home.
Not Quite "Jerusalem of Gold"
Here's some up-to-date views of that Jerusalem Bridge of Strings.
Jerusalem's roads are all messed up. Bus routes have been changed. It's harder to get to all sorts of places.
Jerusalem's roads are all messed up. Bus routes have been changed. It's harder to get to all sorts of places.
But property values are still climbing. It'll take years until the new rail system is completed. The bridge is part of it.
I'm glad I live in Shiloh, far from the dust and mess.
Bittersweet; The Third Memorial of the Destruction of Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron communities
Bittersweet; The Third Memorial of the Destruction of Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron communities
By Sara Layah Shomron
Nitzan caravilla
With our third memorial of the destruction of our Gush Katif and northern Shomron communities quickly approaching I find myself thinking of my cousins' aliya on the exact same date, same time, same year.
My cousins made aliya from the USA with the Nefesh b' Nefesh organization. For them it surely was a time filled with mixed emotions teetering between excitement, hope, and apprehension as they approached their new life chapter in Israel.
My world in Gush Katif was falling apart before my eyes and I so desperately needed to welcome these relatives with whom I had only recently become familiar, this plane, hear the Zionist speeches, and witness this in-gathering - but it wasn't to be.
Our nation had lost a national treasure but simultaneously had gained strength in Jewish families making aliya. I felt we stood together with new challenges ahead.
I am happy to write of my cousins' positive attitudes and efforts in acclimating and integrating into their new life. They're off to a running start and pacing themselves nicely – children and parents alike. They are actively involved with their community, and are making their aliya work.
Here at the temporary Nitzan caravilla where the largest concentration of former Gush Katif residents reside, we find those people that are doing well are doing so in spite of the government and not because of it.
According to the recently published Maagar Mohot Institute comprehensive study of the Gush Katif population measuring attitude and perception towards the Israeli government as well as emotional, financial, and medical situations three years after the Israeli unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, (Ynet, 07.23.08 "Gush Katif evacuees suffering financial, medical problems"), the former Gush Katif residents feel the government failed miserably in fulfilling its slogan "There is a solution for every settler."
Approximately 70% of the Maagar Mohot study participants claim their financial situation is far worse than it was prior to the evacuation while 37% consider their over-all situation “bad” or “very bad.” Gush Katif residents were productive, employed members of society prior to Disengagement whereas today 50% remain unemployed with the former farmers 31% unemployment rate especially high. Moreover, while the overwhelming majority chose to stay with their Gush Katif community, 67% are dissatisfied with their temporary prefab caravilla structures. Lastly, 61% of the study participants claim the grossly inadequate compensation monies allocated for housing are being spent on daily expenses with little left for housing.
The combination of high unemployment, financial difficulties, inadequate temporary housing and tight, limited budgets for permanent housing all conspire to make an increase in acute medical diagnoses including depression, heart disease, and cancer. These ailments were unknown among the former Gush Katif residents prior to Disengagement.
Yet we will continue with our struggle.
We will build new communities based on the foundations and goals of our destroyed Gush Katif. The infrastructure for the permanent Neve Dekalim site here at Nitzan continue at a snail pace, yet many families have met and continue to meet with architects and contractors. As of this writing, 72 families, including mine, await the required building permits while about 15 houses have already begun to be built.
May we all continue to go from strength to strength!
By Sara Layah Shomron
Nitzan caravilla
With our third memorial of the destruction of our Gush Katif and northern Shomron communities quickly approaching I find myself thinking of my cousins' aliya on the exact same date, same time, same year.
My cousins made aliya from the USA with the Nefesh b' Nefesh organization. For them it surely was a time filled with mixed emotions teetering between excitement, hope, and apprehension as they approached their new life chapter in Israel.
My world in Gush Katif was falling apart before my eyes and I so desperately needed to welcome these relatives with whom I had only recently become familiar, this plane, hear the Zionist speeches, and witness this in-gathering - but it wasn't to be.
Our nation had lost a national treasure but simultaneously had gained strength in Jewish families making aliya. I felt we stood together with new challenges ahead.
I am happy to write of my cousins' positive attitudes and efforts in acclimating and integrating into their new life. They're off to a running start and pacing themselves nicely – children and parents alike. They are actively involved with their community, and are making their aliya work.
Here at the temporary Nitzan caravilla where the largest concentration of former Gush Katif residents reside, we find those people that are doing well are doing so in spite of the government and not because of it.
According to the recently published Maagar Mohot Institute comprehensive study of the Gush Katif population measuring attitude and perception towards the Israeli government as well as emotional, financial, and medical situations three years after the Israeli unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, (Ynet, 07.23.08 "Gush Katif evacuees suffering financial, medical problems"), the former Gush Katif residents feel the government failed miserably in fulfilling its slogan "There is a solution for every settler."
Approximately 70% of the Maagar Mohot study participants claim their financial situation is far worse than it was prior to the evacuation while 37% consider their over-all situation “bad” or “very bad.” Gush Katif residents were productive, employed members of society prior to Disengagement whereas today 50% remain unemployed with the former farmers 31% unemployment rate especially high. Moreover, while the overwhelming majority chose to stay with their Gush Katif community, 67% are dissatisfied with their temporary prefab caravilla structures. Lastly, 61% of the study participants claim the grossly inadequate compensation monies allocated for housing are being spent on daily expenses with little left for housing.
The combination of high unemployment, financial difficulties, inadequate temporary housing and tight, limited budgets for permanent housing all conspire to make an increase in acute medical diagnoses including depression, heart disease, and cancer. These ailments were unknown among the former Gush Katif residents prior to Disengagement.
Yet we will continue with our struggle.
We will build new communities based on the foundations and goals of our destroyed Gush Katif. The infrastructure for the permanent Neve Dekalim site here at Nitzan continue at a snail pace, yet many families have met and continue to meet with architects and contractors. As of this writing, 72 families, including mine, await the required building permits while about 15 houses have already begun to be built.
May we all continue to go from strength to strength!
Friday, August 1, 2008
We Need A Samuel The Prophet NOW!
In Biblical Days, Shiloh was the central city, because the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, rested there, here. It was the time of the Judges, when everyone did what they thought was right in their own eyes, or like what kids say today:
So we've been going to Tel Shiloh to pray, just like Chana did.
We'll be there this Monday, the 3rd of Av, August 4, 9:45am. Women's prayers, mothers' prayers, just like Chana. And G-d willing, we'll be successful. Join us.
There is, also, a Coffee Shop--Gallery. Snacks, photos, art work and souvenirs are for sale. Meals for groups can be arranged.
מה שבא לי
Ma shebah li
What I feel like doing
It took a strong, righteous woman, Chana, to pray to G-d in Shiloh, for a son who would bring some order to the Hebrew Nation. She didn't want a child for her own maternal urges. G-d gave her the son she had prayed for, and when that son was old enough, she brought him back to Shiloh to be trained by Eli, the Priest.
It was Shmuel (Samuel) who anointed Saul, the first king. And when Saul proved unfit for the job, Shmuel searched the nation for David, of the tribe of Judah. We needed a Judah, fearless before the Egyptian officer when protecting his youngest brother.
So we've been going to Tel Shiloh to pray, just like Chana did.
We'll be there this Monday, the 3rd of Av, August 4, 9:45am. Women's prayers, mothers' prayers, just like Chana. And G-d willing, we'll be successful. Join us.
There is, also, a Coffee Shop--Gallery. Snacks, photos, art work and souvenirs are for sale. Meals for groups can be arranged.
Whom Can We Believe?
Mixed news about what Olmert's planning as the most powerful "lame duck" in history. The Jerusalem Post claims here that due to the US elections and Olmert's "status."
But Olmert has made it clear that he will continue negotiating with the aim of creating an agreement.
It has been calculated that he can remain in office until January, depending on the Kadima election results and whether or not the coalition holds.
But Olmert has made it clear that he will continue negotiating with the aim of creating an agreement.
Olmert wants peace agreement with PA before he leaves office
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will try to reach an agreement in peace talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas before a new Israeli government ...
Full Story
It has been calculated that he can remain in office until January, depending on the Kadima election results and whether or not the coalition holds.
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