You'd Think It Was An American Barbeque

No, I'm talking about the menu, or even the fact that we were all speaking English. It was the topic of conversation:

Obama!

McCain!

Weren't there more important things for us to discuss in that Shiloh, Israel yard?

• Is Obama a loyal American or will the Muslims use him?


• Was McCain an incompetent American soldier, wrecking planes and working for the enemy as POW?


• Did Obama get his Harvard University position and acceptance only because of "affirmative action?" Why hasn't Obama's thesis and transcript been published? What is he hiding?

The real irony for us is that few of us are even using our legal right to vote in the American Elections.

Carl of Israel Matzav writes about how ridiculous it is for Jews to be supporting Obama. He posts a film for support:

Very Impressive

One of the aims of Disengagement was to demoralize the "settlers," the dati leumi, national patriotic religious segment of the Israeli population. It did for a bit, but I see great strength among us.

Yes, there's more cynicism, but that's the opposite of naivete, and being too naive and trusting is a problem.

Thank G-d the kids are amazing. I get a real kick out of seeing the much younger generation. Today and the Succot Fair in Shiloh, kids were offered the chance to blow enormous shofrot.

Watch and listen.

Yes, Succot is a Real Holiday

Robert, of Seraphic Secret, has a great piece of dialogue about Succot:

I was asked to attend a script conference tomorrow, Tuesday morning. I told the producer that it was a Jewish holiday and I couldn't attend.
“Wait, the holidays are over, your Yom Kee-pur just ended, right?”
“Uh, yeah, but now we have Succot, Shemini Atzeret and then Simchat Torah.”
“No disrespect, but you are kidding, tell me you're kidding.”
“Sorry.”
“Let me get back to you.”
An hour later the producer, not Jewish, truly bright, creative and decent, calls back.
“I asked all the Jews in the company and they're drawing a blank.”
“Right. Well, I'm not surprised. Look, lemme send you a few links and then get back to me.”
“Hey, I believe you. Just tell me when we can have our sit-down?”
I suggest a day and time.
“Robert?”
“Yeah?”
“I respect your commitment. I really do. But tell me, how come none of the Jews in the company know what I'm talking about?”

It brings me back to the days when I didn't really know about the holiday. In OJC Hebrew School, they took us to see the funny hut decorated with hanging fruit, and I think I visited the rabbi's home with my aunt who was their friend, but it wasn't a holiday we actually celebrated.

We didn't celebrate Simchat Torah either.

In New York City, at least in my school district in Bayside, the schools were closed for Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur, but after that it was business as usual, except in Hebrew School. But since it was the beginning of the school year, it didn't feel like a school vacation.

Shavuot from my childhood is a total blank. We must have learned something about it, but I don't remember anything, not even cheesecake. At least for Purim I have vague memories of hamantashen and a grogger. No, I don't remember hearing the Megillah. And no mishloach manot either.

At least in Israel, even for the non-religious, the Jewish Calendar is the calendar of the country.

Succot are all over. My kids put up ours.

They even hung a picture of their favorite rabbi, "HaRav Tzimmerman."

Celebrating Succot in Shiloh!

In Biblical Times, Shiloh was the place of pilgrimage, for 369 years, from when Joshua brought the Jewish People there and set up the Tabernacle, until Eli's death.

During the thousands of years since, the occasional pilgrim came here, and connected to its permanent holiness.

We've been back since January, 1978. There's a vibrant Jewish community in Shiloh of hundreds of families. One of our modern customs is a Succot March in memory of Avihu Keinan, who was killed in a badly planned army action. For the first five years, we marched to Jerusalem as a protest against the perverse, distorted morality of the government and army which values the lives of our enemies more than the lives of our soldiers.

This year, it was decided to do it differently. Instead of marching in protest to Jerusalem, we hiked through the nearby mountains around Shiloh to celebrate our living in Eretz Yisrael.

During our earlier years in Shiloh, we hiked the holy hills frequently. My children remember walking all over the nearby hillsides. For many of the children with us this morning, it was the first time they had wandered so freely in the nearby countryside.

As you can see, there is so much empty, uncultivated land, just waiting for us.

We started off at the cemetery, so Avihu's father could visit his grave, and then we were bussed part way to Maale Levona, southwest of Shiloh. There Rafi Fisher gave some historic background. From there we walked to one of the hilltop communities from where we could see Givat Harel. It was there where our rabbi, Rav Elchanan BenNun, Harel's father, explained the history and special signicance of the location his older sons chose to establish a community in Harel's memory.

The hike continued and ended up at Tel Shiloh, where there are great celebrations and activities today and tomorrow.

There are tours, arts and crafts workshops, music, and street theater.

And for those who wanted food, there's the Tabernacle Gallery Cafe.

A very large succah has been set up outside.

The US Media Conspires For Obama

This may sound very convincing:

Obama extends lead in CBS-NYT national poll

Four of five of each candidate's supporters say their minds are made up and won't change before the election. About a fifth of voters, 21 percent, say their opinion of McCain has grown worse in the last few weeks, citing his negative attacks and choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. (complete article here)

There's a major flaw. The actual election results aren't computed nationally. The US has what it calls the Electoral College, a district system which can totally distort the results. But the media is hyping the various polls to undermine McCain support and beef up Obama.

Why Obama? Good question.

There are some real questions about Obama that the media is purposely ignoring.

There's a good chance that a little white collar fraud over forty years ago has snow-balled into something much bigger.

Does this short video tell the truth? It may be that Obama barely knows himself?

But actually, there are bigger questions, which concern his relationship with his former fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko.

One of the major questions is who's backing Obama? What's his, or their, real agenda? He has no track record. Connecting the Dots: Obama, Rezko, Auchi, Alsammarae, and the Iraq kleptocracy

I have no doubt that if he wasn't black, he wouldn't have been nominated. There's a novelty, and knee-jerk liberals have made it very pc to support him.

Good luck America! Good luck World!

Busy Jerusalem Street

Please excuse the bad photography; I'm new at it.
*At the moment there's something wrong with the video, so I'm trying again.



Here's the street near the "CBS," Jerusalem Central Bus Station, the day before the Eve of the Succot Holiday. Maybe you know someone who was hurrying and scurrying at the time and can recognize the person, or people, in the scene. If you send around this, maybe we'll discover who the people are.

My friend and I had just had a very exhausting time and were on our way home.

We take buses, and sometimes cabs. Of course there are Israelis who never do. They only travel in cars. It's sort of like, but not the same as the computer/internet have and have nots.

I'm always annoyed when people use the word "everyone," because there is no such thing.

Please Remind Me Not To Watch TV

Last night, the night before the Succot holiday, just a couple of days after Yom Kippur, what type of program did Israeli TV decided to broadcast?

The focus was on how nice and sympathetic Israeli Arabs are. I couldn't stay in the same room.

The Israeli Media is nothing more than a propaganda weapon, and it's used against us. They no longer even attempt to give a "balance." You almost never see the Right wing opposition giving their opinions on things. You have the government, vs the Extreme Left and the Loony Left. Yes, that's what they call a "variety" of views.

I must buy some more DVD movies. At least that way I can crochet and fold/sort laundry.

Jewish Mourning

In general, nothing is more suited to the human psyche than the Jewish Laws of Mourning.

• The ripping of the mourners' clothing to remind us that what's important is the human being and not the superficial fashion.
• The seven day mourning period, shiva, interrupted only by Shabbat.
• Mourners are supposed to stay in the same clothing the entire week, not dealing with their external look.
• People are supposed to provide the mourners with food and take care of those who come to comfort.
• The mourner is removed from mundane worries.
• Until thirty days after the funeral, the mourner doesn't buy new clothes, listen to music, cut his hair and other restrictions.
• After the death of a parent, some of these restrictions continue for a year.

Those are the Halachot, Jewish Laws, for most of the time. It's different when the burial is right before a Jewish Holiday. The holiday, unlike Shabbat which provides a break from the mourning, cancels the shiva and shloshim (30 day restrictions.)

This is the day which Hashem has made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it

זה היום עשה ה'; נגילה ונשמחה בו

Many mourners praise the shiva and shloshim, saying that the Halachot and rituals perfectly suit their emotional state. So how can a mourner be deprived of it?

According to Jewish Law, just like the mourner must bathe, change clothes and celebrate Shabbat during the shiva, he must "rejoice" in the Jewish Holidays and allow it to cancel shiva and shloshim.

This takes a very high level of emotional and spiritual "intelligence."

Tomorrow morning my neighbor Yehudit will be buried, and tomorrow night her husband and children will join the rest of Am Yisrael, the Jewish Nation and celebrate Succot. May these words "elevate her soul," l'illui nishmata.

Rough Times

There won't be a 90th birthday on January 1, 2009. Uncle George died.

Baruch Dayan Emet

Battling For Akko

Peaceful coexistance isn't in the Arab lexicon.

Sorry, if such a statement isn't pc. But the truth isn't always pretty. Since Yom Kippur there have been attacks on the Jews of Akko.

The Arab agenda is the destruction of the State of Israel. One of their tactics is driving Jews out of mixed cities and neighborhoods, and the Akko attack/pogrom is one of their battles.

Sadly True

A couple of weeks ago, Frum Satire started a post with what seemed like a joke:

Two friends of mine spent Rosh Hashanah last year by this girls house in "Long Island. These guys aren’t really the shul going type, so they got up at 12 and went to shul for about an hour. About two weeks later, the girls parents got a bill in the mail for their attendance at shul without having bought tickets. Apparently the shul had some spies of some sort to rat out the cheaters. Thats Long Island for ya."

Then I spoke to a friend who lives in an upper-class US suburb:

"No, I didn't plan on having any guests for Yom Kippur. I can't afford to buy extra tickets. Then a university student called and begged me, since he has no family to go to, and there's nothing where he's studying. I finally got my synagogue to agree to give him a seat."

And I thought it was just one of Heshy's jokes.

Yes, I know that it cost a lot of money to maintain synagogues, and the dues-paying members should be expected to give their seats to those who can't be bothered paying, but there must be a way to allow everyone in.

A couple of years ago I was in New York for Tisha B'Av and the OU synagogues had programs about "kiruv," bringing Jews closer to Judaism. Nu, so why isn't there something, even a non-reserved row of folding chairs?

Yes, I understand that Hesh's story and mine concern young guests, singles, university students, not people from the neighborhood. But kiruv should start with those, making them feel welcome. In a few years they could be married and looking for a place to live, and if they have good experiences in those communities the communities will benefit.

Kiruv shouldn't be a series of isolated programs. It must the ongoing and a characteristic of the shul and community.

Chag Sameach