Children of Israel - Part 1

I found one of my favourite places in Israel today: a beautiful, massive, well-tended park. The park is liberally gifted with fruit trees, including some of the Shiv'at HaMinim, the Seven Species of produce with which the Land of Israel is notably blessed.* But besides the trees, the grass, the tranquility and the rolling masses of space dedicated to peaceful recreation and relaxation, I was most enthralled with the children.

Children are special. Or at least, children are people whose specialness easily shines outwards, whose specialness is not yet clouded by the deadening habits and ways of a society of norms, convenient character-boxing, and dismally low self-image. Children don't care what the world thinks of them. Children see the world without self-deception; they believe what they see, and they engage in it with totality. If a child is sad, he cries. If a child is happy, he dances and sings and smiles. Contrast with the world of 'grown-ups': if an adult cries, we assume there is some mortifying tragedy whose grief has caused this person to lose control. If an adult would start singing and dancing and smiling and laughing, most people would assume that he had lost his mind.

Why must it only be the children who taste life undiluted? Why must it only be the children who see things as they truly are? Why do we have to paint masks over our faces, cramp and constrict our ways, thoughts, ideas: our very souls? Why must we deaden and dull ourselves, to live emotionally constricted, experientially choked existences? We need to do some serious lightening up; we need to live with freshness, eagerness, innocent curiosity, and deep, honest passion. The child within us is still alive. Let it play! And sing and dance and cry and love and smile...

Of course, our experience and life lessons learned teach us things that children don't know, such as considering other people with more profundity and broadness, such as the necessity for rules and order and systems ('Why can't I have chocolate before I go to bed?!'), such as becoming more in touch with ourselves, with those people around us, and with G-d, such as understanding that our actions bear consequences in the world... But even so, such life's lessons don't need to weigh heavily upon us. We often get lost in the rules and systems and norms, and forget that they're only there to create order, and not to determine the very essence of who and what we are...

I love children. And when I see them, living life with no instructions or rules or restrictions on how they should feel, experience, live, I am inspired and refreshed. The children remind me to live in reality. The children inspire me to live passionately. The children remind me to throw away worry of what anyone else will think of me, but to listen to my soul, and to live, real life, like I once knew how...

So, what's special about the park; why is it now one of my favourite places? And what's special about the children of Israel? Look out for my next article in this series: Children of Israel - Part 2

Picture from here.

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* 'For HASHEM [G-d] your G-d is bringing you into a good land: a land of rivers of water; springs and depths coming forth in the valley and in the mountain. A land of wheat and barley, and grape and fig and pomegranate; a land of olive oil and [date] honey' - Devarim 8:7-8

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NBN Jewish Bloggers' Conference in Yerushalayim

On 20 Aug 2008, I represented Tzipiyah at the first-ever international Jewish Bloggers' Conference, organized by Nefesh B'Nefesh. NBN flew in some prominent Jewish bloggers from USA, and provided a light deli buffet, drinks and snacks (free!), and an altogether entertaining and informative evening. In truth, I expected about 20 people to show up. Over 200 people attended the conference in Yerushalayim -- Israelis and visitors with NBN -- and I'm told over 1000 people watched the live webcast over the internet. Wow!

Although I'm not a 'big macher' in the Jewish blogosphere, I did recognize some names, and it was great to see the people behind the blogs in many cases, and to meet people involved in similar or common concerns: Torah, blogging, Israel, Aliyah, computer geekery, etc.

I was proud to represent Tzipiyah at the conference, and to rub shoulders with bloggers from better known and lesser known blogs than ours. I heard about some other interesting blogs, such as Treppenwitz, Jewlicious, and WhatWarZone.

Thank you to Nefesh B'nefesh for all their effort and money spent on this wonderful event, and to the event's other sponsors, Sun Microsystems, Office Depot, IsraelMall, and WebAds.

I hope that more of our contributors will be able to participate in future events, and that blogs with positive Torah and Israel related content and messages will continue to flourish and to shine light into the face of the darkness.

Friends, as always, we need to spread as much light as possible. Today, the fight for Jewish identity is urgent; the cause is crucial. On Monday, 25 Aug (yesterday), Israel released from its jails 198 Arab terrorists, for no reason whatsoever (besides currying favour with Rice). The madness continues; in the face of it all, we need to do what we can to strengthen Jewish pride, Jewish knowledge, Jewish identity. Proud Jews stand tall, stand firm, and know without a doubt that the only One to trust, the only One to ask for support from, is the Creator Himself. Not America, not Britain, not anybody else. Only G-d.

(picture from here)

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'Be Comforted, My People'

Shabbat shalom to Am Yisrael!

May this Shabbat be one of consolation, spiritual nurturing, and great light for the Nation of Israel; may this Shabbat be another step towards the final redemption, very soon, in our time.

Shabbat shalom

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The Rising Call

From the weathered stones and time-trod clumps of earth
rises a call, call of a soul.
From the bustling channels of light and souls,
from the veins of pumping life,
rises a call, the call of a nation.
From the crevasses between the bricks, buildings and towers and houses and streets,
comes the call of a land, a land aching for her People.

From the wreckage of a bus, from the fresh mounds in a tranquil garden
the call has the ragged voice of agony, of hot-edged pain, of turbulent tumbles of crashed expectations and hopes.

From the ancient stones of a wall that's bigger than it seems
the call of the people arrives, profound in its aching, its searching, its yearning.

From the parks and playgrounds,
the call is comfortable in its bliss and safe jubilant exultation,
in the growth and sprouting of the fresh life, open doors of young opportunity.

From the south comes the sound
of blasting and a never-stopping juddering vibration,
a buzzing of terror fills their minds, clutches at their souls.

From the deepest loneliest parts of the souls of the people
comes a call, a quietened, desperate call,
a call to something beyond their beings, beyond what they are prepared to believe,
a call to connect to fill the empty watery womb
that surrounds them in its disquieting quiet.

From the heavens, or from the echoes of years passed by
comes the call of a woman, a mother, a sister:
soul-wrenching sobs, fresh in their bitter burning, today as always.
The heart-shuddering tears of anguished love,
of longing for the peace of her children, her dear beloved children.
And no-one can comfort her, no-one can dry her face from its rivers of salty tears:
not until her children come back, not until her land will rejoice in its celebrated filling,
not until her prisoners return home, until the people is complete,
until the land bears the treads of its long-beloved nation,
until our mouths will be filled with laughter,
until we gather in our tear-sown harvest
with the joy of coming home.

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Zemer's Aliyah Files #2: Music in the 'Three Weeks'

The 'Three Weeks' is one of the most difficult times in the year for me. Ashkenazi custom is not to listen to music, among other joyous activities, during the days between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av. This is because these three weeks are a period of mourning; the Talmud describes many national tragedies that happened on both of these days, which are designated as fast days, including critical stages of the destruction of the Temple, the Beit HaMikdash. The entire period is one of sadness, and one that has been reincarnated again and again over the generations as a time of Jewish tragedy -- may there be no more! I, as a musician, find it very hard to leave my instrument aside and to minimize my music listening during these weeks.

I'm now living in Israel, and I must say that the Land is alive; there is a feeling of aliveness that is tangible in everything, and that pervades everything and every person. This sadness of mourning, too, is definitely tangible to me. While there are not many more things as joyful to me as to walk down Ben Yehuda street in central Yerushalayim, and to see Jewish men and women, boys and girls, rejoicing and celebrating life in Israel with Jewish music, my joy and pride is overshadowed with sadness and discomfort during these three weeks.

Have we forgotten that we need to be sad in this time? Have we forgotten what we need to be sad about, what we need to remember? Is the fact that the Beit HaMikdash is still in ruins, more than 2000 years after its destruction, a fact of life to be accepted as a given? What is a healthy balance between rejoicing in life, especially life as a Jew in Israel, and grieving for the destruction of G-d's House on earth, and for our continued distancing from Him?

A living contradiction; a junction of opposites. How can you laugh and cry at the same time? How can you pray for the rebuilding of Yerushalayim, while thanking G-d for its continual rebuilding in our days? And... must we resolve these existential difficulties, or is it okay to live with them?

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Zemer's Aliyah Files: #1

I made aliyah not very long ago. What a complex mix of feelings. Such a rush of exhilaration and deep joy, such an overwhelming confusion and feeling of being lost. I am oozing with emotion of all kinds. Not all things have turned out as I expected them to; I haven't always felt as I expected I would.
Flying over Israel on my way in, I had the words of some of the most deeply inspirational parts of Tehillim on my lips. And yet, in all the ecstasy of the concrete fulfillment of such profound dreams as those of me and my people these many many years, there is also heartache. There is a sense of disconnection, as I struggle to get a hold on the new and sometimes bewildering social, cultural, and structural differences. And there is a sense of lacking; lacking in this fulfillment of the dream.

The Kotel is greatly inspiring, but even in my emotional return to its holy stones, I am conscious of the fact that it's just an external part, a minor remnant, of the great Temple which once stood, and which should stand, beyond it, in spiritual glory and physical splendour. When I say, 'boneh Yerushalayim' in my prayers, I'm in two minds: on the one hand, G-d has blessed us with the rebuilding of so much of this special city. On the other hand, there's so much still missing, so much that we're still lacking. When I thank the government for its generous help and active encouragement of my Aliyah, I also remember how hurtful and damaging some of its policies are, how selfish and morally perverted some of its leaders are. When I celebrate my own Aliyah, I am also greatly upset about the many people who should also be allowed to return to this land, but who are unable to. I rejoice in my return home, while I am broken down in grief at the tragic form of the return of two of our nation's beautiful children to her borders so recently.

Excited friends and family welcomed me to Israel with joy and celebration when I arrived. And an Arab Israeli welcomed me to Israel with his premeditated attempt at murder on the streets of Yerushalayim. This tragedy (whose total potential devastation was thankfully avoided) I was shocked, angry; and the complexities of the political, social, and spiritual reality here in Israel smacked me around the face. Life in two dimensions would be so simple, yes, but it would also be terribly boring. Life in its real form is incredibly complex, and to me it increasingly seems true here in Israel. I strive to be open-minded and to find a path of truth, but the sea is a choppy and a tempestuous one to surf.

I'm still engulfed in the excitement and the dramatic impact of being planted once more in the streets of the Holy Land; I realize, as I stand here at the beginning of a profound and life-changing, life-enriching process, that life is full of surprises; that Israel is indeed a deep and complex place, that life here is beautiful, difficult, exhilarating, confusing, wonderful. I look forward to intertwining my branches with those of the magnificence of this land; I look forward to adjusting my pulse and rhythm to that of this special place. I look forward to becoming, more and more, a part of my holy home land.

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Mazal Tov Zemer on Your Aliyah!

Yes, another one of our talented bloggers did it! After inspiring hundreds of people with his powerful words, Zemer is now also inspiring Klal Israel with his inspirational actions. It is with great pride that I want to announce his Aliyah this past week!

Zemer, everyone here at Tzipiyah.com is inpired by your actions. Last week was a tough week for Klal Israel and to know that you brought such incredible light to this world in such a tough time is incredibly inspiring.

We have all followed your writings religiously! The story is told of many rabbanim who, after arriving to the holy land, burned all of their previous writings since they were not at the level of their current understanding, now that they got to the land of Israel. We all know that Avira De-Eretz Israel Mahkima- The air of the land of Israel makes one wiser.

With the incredible quality of all of your writing up until now, we, your readers, can only wait impatiently for your upgraded, even better, version. However, we won't let you remove all of your previous posts even if you ask ;-), they were just too good!

As we weeped last week the words "Veshavu Banim Ligvulam - The sons will return home" in the most tragic circumstances, we are glad, proud and inspired to now sing joyously "Veshavu Banim Ligvulam" in the meaning for which it was originally meant, a meaning which espressed the longing and yearning - the tzipiyah- of two thousand years of Jews trying to get back to the land of Israel, a yearning which is finally being realized by people just like you.

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The Sons Have Come Home (A Poem)

Silent boxes, grimly borne.
Underground torrents of tears suddenly burst up outwards
Heart-wrenching sobs tear through the air:
The sons have come home.

Clustering support, rallying comfort,
rays of light in an overwhelming darkness;
the pain of the excruciating unknown
has changed to embody their worst fear, and their secret silent hope:
The sons have come home.

Betrayed by murderers who cheer in excitement
as we give them back their men of evil to return to their wickedness;
in jubilation and celebrated hatred,
their monsters have gone home.
In two deathly silent coffins,
our sons have come home.

Their cruelly silenced soon deaths meant
no pain, no suffering, for these two gruelling long years;
but the moment-by-moment hair-whitening torture
that their close ones suffered
is only ended today,
when the sons have come home.

Ease your hearts, o Israel,
for the sons have come home;
cry, o Israel,
for how the sons have come home.

Seats are empty, places silent,
but spaces in hearts cannot be re-filled.
G-d, spare the mourners more suffering;
comfort them in their silent finality,
now that their sons have come home.

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Our Stories Are Not Their Stories

Our stories are not their stories;
ours are true, theirs are rooted in falsehood.
Ours are stories of decency, morality,
a drive to do good, to build peace,
to better the world and those who fill it;
theirs are stories of hatred, of evil,
of destruction and bombing and explosions and
death, death to their enemies, death to themselves,
death for death's sake,
because life, in their eyes, has no value.

Ours are stories of truth,
of the pain and destruction of innocents,
babies, pregnant women, boys and girls, elderly people;
people who cared only to live their lives,
to have weddings, go to school, go to work, eat, sleep;
theirs are stories
staged for the camera,
gleefully riotously falsified,
a play, a charade,
again and again.

Nobody cares to see our real stories of pain,
stories of truth;
but when they fling out another of their
staged stories of evil, of falsehood,
the world sits up, and bays loudly,
making a great noise.

Listen, sisters and brothers:
let us not please anyone but G-d and ourselves;
let us not rely on anyone but G-d and ourselves;
for who will fight for us,
but G-d and ourselves?
who will believe us -- who will want to believe us --
though the truth comes from our mouths and not from theirs --
but G-d and ourselves?

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Dedicated to the memory of those murdered by the Arab Israeli man who carried out a murderous attack with a bulldozer on tens of Jews in the heart of Yerushalayim today, and to the speedy healing of the injured and grieving.
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For in-depth and wide ranging analysis on the falsehood in Arab media reports, see Palestinian Media Watch.
To see how biased the world's media is against Israel, see HonestReporting.com
Image from Arutz 7 - here.

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The Wrong Kind of People

The chase was on! In a rash challenge to my friends, I had chosen to take the lift (elevator) up to the cinema level of the shopping centre, while they had taken the escalator. Who would get there first? Time was crucial; everything was at stake!

I waited impatiently, as the seconds ticked by, for a lift to arrive: things were not looking good for my chances at winning. Suddenly, a lift stopped on my floor, and its doors opened. I rushed inside, to find a couple and their child, with dark skin of Indian or Muslim origin. I hurriedly asked them whether the lift was on its way up or down, and explained to them the urgency of the situation. They reassured me that they were also on their way up to the next floor, and the husband smilingly suggested to me that I tell my friends that I'd been delayed by the 'wrong kind of people.' As the lift's doors opened, just before I rushed out, I smiled at him and said, 'I don't think so.'

Unfortunately, I lost the race; my friends were waiting for me when I arrived. But the incident came back to me later, and on reflection, I see that it teaches a profound point. I heard Rabbi Mordechai Machlis say once in the name of Rav Shlomo Carlebach: "A person is never in the wrong place." In its simplicity, this statement carries great profundity. Nothing is for nothing; nothing is by chance. Our smallest interactions and experiences have purpose, relevance, and, if we can discover it, meaning. As Jews, we understand that there is a Master, who crafts and forms His plan: nothing is for nothing, nothing is by chance. We, and our lives and experiences, are woven into the plan, although our understanding of the context and relevance of the parts we play are at most dim and vague.

When I told the pleasant stranger in the lift in a brief phrase that I didn't think that he and his family were 'the wrong type of people,' I really meant it. They had been kind, had seen the humour, had been sympathetic to my situation. They were, as far as I'm concerned, the right kind of people, and, although our interaction was very brief, it was a pleasure to have to do with them. How many of our family, friends and acquaintances are the 'right kind of people'? How many people are we indeed privileged to know or to interact with; how many do we take for granted?

Shavua tov

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(Image from here)

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'Definitely, Maybe' & Hidden Treasure

I recently watched the movie, 'Definitely, Maybe' (PG13)*. It's a romantic film, with elements of comedy in it, set mostly in New York. Most of the other moviegoers in the cinema enjoyed the movie but I was positively disturbed by it. Here's why.

The movie is the story, mostly told as a kind of bedtime story to his daughter, of a man's convoluted and troubled love life. He finds himself bouncing back and forth, over the years, between three women, finding great attraction and infatuation with each of them, at different stages almost marrying two of them, finally marrying one, and divorcing one, years after having his daughter with her. It's a quirky and intelligent movie, but the comfort and identification that I imagine most viewers felt when seeing this movie were not present in me. Instead, I felt shock, sadness, and great despair.


First, understand where I'm coming from. I was brought up in a Torah home, and I've lived as a Torah Jew all my life. All the messing around between boys and girls (inluding dating 'just because', something I still cannot grasp) has never been a part of my life. Most of the relationships I see in my circles are wholesome and stable, with virtually no externally visible intimacy; it's kept very private. In the context of today's world, I am blessed and substantially sheltered. Despite my upbringing, I am certainly not naive, and I know what relationships are like today. But the social norms and contexts that this movie illustrates still hit me hard. It shocks me that so many thousands of people, so many thousands of people who are not stupid, deal in some of the most powerful, potent, and sensitive areas of the human experience with such nonchalance, indifference, and stupidity. Why do so many people, who can do so many other things efficiently and in balanced, clever ways, utterly fail to use any intelligence when it comes to matters that are so close to the heart, matters so powerful and yet so delicate?

The free and easy touching, physical intimacy, and sex that are so prevalent in society today are a sweet poison, a glamourised bomb. They look so tantalizing, they're so appealing, they awaken and satisfy the most powerful desires known to man (and woman). And yet, especially in contexts of looseness and casualness, they are perhaps the most destructive forces in the world (besides Facebook ;))

How are these things destructive? What happens is that the growing young man or woman becomes filled with a desire for connection, connection with the opposite sex. Well, that's great, but what do we do with it? The short way is to dive right in, like everybody else does; to get a boy/girlfriend, and to get busy. That's perfectly acceptable in today's Western society (I remember, though, when there was just a little more dignity and morality than there is today.... but things have changed). When the sparkle and the excitement wears thin, as will almost inevitably happen in such cases, the couple 'breaks up', and moves on. It was fun, it was fulfilling for a while, but now I feel the emptiness again, and you're not doing it for me any more... So I look for someone new, and the cycle continues... At some point, we may marry, because it's convenient, it seems right, but after a while, the same old ghosts come to haunt us again: we're still empty, this isn't working; let's 'break up' -- in this instance, divorce.

At a game we were playing on a Shabbaton once, a 6th grade kid remarked in context, 'oh, marriage and divorce are pretty much the same thing.' I was rattled. I understood that this was not just a telling comment of a kid, but also a symptom of a generation: a generation that cannot love, a generation with hearts torn to shreds because it just can't go about love the right way. The problem with the short way to intersexual (between the sexes) fulfilment described above is that it almost never works. A young person, whose heart is full, hooks up with someone nice, someone beautiful, for the physicality of it: he's a hunk, she's gorgeous, s/he makes me feel so good. And when it's over, all of the 'me' that s/he invested in the relationship crashes to the ground. It's gone, it's over. Thinking about this picture objectively, we can come to no conclusion other than it's just plain crazy. We are taking sweet poison: it feels so good, but it breaks me up inside, tears me to shreds. Who can recover from something like that?

Not many people. So, the victims (and almost everyone is a victim) somehow pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and limp along their paths. But once burned, twice shy, and they will hesitate a lot before 'making the same mistake' as before, before committing themselves to intimacy and deep closeness with someone of the opposite sex. Why? Because it hurts so much! But the hurt is only because it failed; why not try again? Because who needs hurt like that! It might just happen again. So we build up high brick walls, and any relationships we may get into will lack the full-heartedness of our first innocent love, will be pumped with blood from a still-wounded heart. The very saddest thing about this is that it's a cycle; it happens again and again, and we rip our hearts to shreds again and again. The saddest part is also that it happens to almost everyone. What is so tragic in the movie is that the poor man lives unhappily for years, unable to find content and fulfilment. His youthful "plan" of a good, idealistic life fades into a painful game of imperfect, bittersweet relationships. Who, in a society with complete openness and explicitness of the most intimate things, can escape unharmed? Who can possibly be immune?

"Can't buy me love!", sing the Beatles and it's very true. Well, if we can't buy it, how can we get love? How can we approach love with more intelligence and less heartache? Getting back to our young, single man or woman, our first step is that s/he wants to connect with someone of the opposite sex. This is the most natural thing, and is a very positive feeling. So, once again, what do we do with it? Diving in to free, casual intimacy has proven to bring disastrous results. What is our alternative?

I'll answer with a story:

There was once a poor peasant, who earned enough to survive by peddling trinkets. One day, he had a strange and disturbing dream: he was instructed to travel to a distant city, and to dig under a bridge. There, he would find a great treasure. The peddler disregarded the dream, but it came back, night after night, until he could no longer ignore it. He packed up a little bundle of food, and set off for the faraway city. After many days he arrived at the city, and made his way to the bridge. He began to dig, but was soon stopped by a patrolling policeman. 'What are you doing?' screamed the guard. The poor peddler told the guard his story, and of his journey to come to find the treasure he had dreamt about. The guard laughed uproariously. 'Hah! Well, what do you know, I had a dream too! I dreamt that, in a faraway village, there lives a poor peddler, just like you, in a little stone hut. And hidden in the wall behind his stove is a great treasure. Dreams! What a waste of time! Hah!" The peddler said nothing, but turned himself around and set out for his village. As soon as he arrived home, he began to take apart the stone wall behind his stove. And, to his joy, he did indeed find a great treasure. He was a rich man for the rest of his life.

The story is usually rounded off by a 'moral' message that sometimes the greatest treasures are right under our noses, and that sometimes is takes a journey to discover what lay so close by. But in our case, we can learn more from this simple story: we can learn about treasure. That which is precious must be guarded and concealed, but first, it must be recognized and valued. If we don't value something, what prevents us from throwing it away, even if it is really valuable?

Physical intimacy between man and woman is a treasure; it's valuable, precious and powerful. It allows the single, incomplete man to join with the single, incomplete woman, and to bring deepest intimacy and connection between them. In fact, G-d Himself joins in their union, if it is one of morality and love. Used correctly, coupled with deep spiritual connection and responsible commitment and trust, it dispels the feelings of loneliness and emptiness in the single human being, and fills him and her with love, unity and connection. If we realize that physical intimacy is a precious tool, we will certainly not be nonchalant in our use of it. We will use it sparingly; we'll keep it in storage until we're sure the time is right for its use. We will treasure it, and keep it safe and out of the public eye. We will share it only with our closest and most trusted, with our most beloved.

This is the key that so many people are missing. In their search for real, deep fulfilment, they grab hold of the physical side of the connection gateway, because it's easy and available, and completely disregard the spiritual side, because it requires patience and restraint. But when the physical is disconnected from the spiritual, it cannot stand for very long. Time passes, lines show, bodies age. Without a solid spiritual connection, and without a solid grounding of commitment and trust, lovers, partners, and spouses drift apart; they're still empty, still haven't found what they're looking for...

So how does this relate to us? If we want to have a good shot at life without having to break our hearts many times over, let's try to recognize the sanctity and preciousness of connection between man and woman, and to preserve it as something special and private. If you have a girlfriend or boyfriend, try to minimize physical contact in public. After you've done that for a while, try only to kiss or hug people you are truly very close to; not just any acquaintance or friend. Then, go on to reserving kisses and hugs even with your boy/girlfriend for very special occasions. Ideally, work towards what G-d, in His wisdom, prescribes: don't touch anyone of the opposite sex until you're married!** All this may sound difficult, and, in the context of today's Western society's values, backward and foolish. However, if you progress slowly along, keeping in mind what we've discussed above, you will definitely see that your physical interactions become more valued and special, and less commonplace and casual. Touching will become exciting again, like it was the first few times. And all the hands-off time will allow you both to work on connecting on the spiritual side, and on the commitment to each other as human beings, without getting clouded up by the excitement and distortions of casual, free touch.

And if you haven't gotten into the world of touch with the opposite sex, hold on! You can work towards the harmony and love in your marriage even before you've met your spouse! Difficult though it may be, your restraint in these areas translates to working to minimize your own broken-heartedness and pain for the future, saving other people the same heartache too, and to maximize the depth and intimacy of your connection with your future spouse.

May we use our relationships with intelligence, love, passion and holiness. May G-d bring about the meetings and unions of His children with their soulmates.

• If you're interested in reading more about these issues, read The Magic Touch and Outside/Inside by Gila Manolson, and Doesn't Anyone Blush Anymore? by Rabbi Manis Friedman
• For an article by Gila Manolson on this topic, click here.
• The image used above is from here.
  

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* Rated PG13. Please see here for a breakdown on the 'non-kosher' elements of the movie.
** This excludes immediate family

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Jewish Women, Arab Men

Assimilation. Intermarriage. We've heard the statistics, the unsettling and the shocking. We've seen the charts and figures. 'Will your grandchildren be Jewish?' Our minds wander on to other occupations; we watch a movie, and conscientiously, if absent-mindedly, we notice all the Jewish names: actors, producers, directors... everywhere we look, Jewish names... Jewish people? What does assimilation look like? The iconic picture that springs up in our mind is sweet; a cute couple, in blissful love: they hardly know of the sternly forbidding lines they're crossing. What does it matter to them? They're in love - Just like any other story-line in a good romantic movie. So... is it another soul lost? Another broken link in the chain? What happens after intermarriage? And whoever heard of Jews intermarrying with Arabs?

Her real name is a dim, quiet shadow, in the mists of her almost-forgotten past. She carries a new name. She has learnt new customs, and has learnt to bear so much from a world she never before dreamt of. The sparkle in her eye, the pride in her posture, have faded with the name of her youth. She sometimes feels she wears a mask; or maybe she has become her mask. The beatings, yes, they came as a shock at first, but now she can suffer them almost silently; she has learnt, she has progressed. Her children's names, good Arab names, strike, in some deep recesses of her masked soul, at a still-tender nerve; something's not right; something, even after all these years, is foreign and bitter. But she tries to ignore that voice... until one day, suddenly, it becomes too much to suffer...

This woman, this Jewish woman's story, is true, many times over. It's a story that's happening today, right now, with hundreds of Jewish women, mostly in Israel. How bitter the difference between the first blissful infatuation when she and Ahmed had first met, and her life today, years down the road; she remembers her attraction: what a handsome man, what grace, what charm. A man like any other, surely? Her embittered life taught her differently. She learned to wear clothes of servitude, took the beatings of the cheaply valued woman, learnt the language of harshness, raised her children on teachings and values so very far from those she knew, deep down, to be her own. It all started with an innocent flirt, with a date or two, with a man who wasn't really so different, it seemed, from all the Jewish guys around her.

Intermarriage is when a Jew marries someone who is not a Jew. If it's the man who is the Jew, his children, by Torah law, are not Jews: tragically, he is the last, broken, link in a millenia-long chain of generations. He may love his wife and children, but they are not Jews, and they are only family until a certain point. If it's the woman who is the Jew, her children are Jews, too. But this may be more tragic than the first scenario: her children, and she herself, will very likely be so distanced from anything Jewish, and certainly from the wellsprings of Jewish identity such as Shabbat, Jewish Festivals, Synagogue, and Israel, that they will quickly forget they were ever Jewish. True, there are many amazing stories of Jews raised as non-Jews, sometimes coming from generations of non-Jews, whose inexplicable deeply inspired quest for meaning led them on the strange path back to their forgotten roots. However, there are many more silent stories; stories that begin and end in loss; souls cut off from their roots, princes and princesses so very far from the palace...

Unfortunately, hundreds of Jewish girls fall into the trap of serious relationships, and then marriages, with Arab men. So many of them end up like the woman I described above: shadows of their real selves, broken, embittered, and truly captive to their Arab husbands and their families: emotionally, and often physically. They have no escape; if they try to run away, they will be caught and cruelly punished. But it's their hearts, minds, souls that are truly captive; these Jewish women, like most Arab women, are treated with cruelty, barbarism, and deep inferiority by the men, and the women's spirits and self-images are utterly shattered. They can barely muster up the courage to think about escaping, never mind to get out and run for their lives.

How do these trapped Jewish women find help? How can they escape? There is a wonderful organization called 'Yad leAchim' ('A Hand to Brethren') that is committed to saving Jews from assimilation, missionaries, and other tragedies whose root is in weak or non-existent Jewish identity. Yad leAchim has a hotline and other services which are available for anyone to use, and they have a section that deals specially with the trapped Jewish women which I've been discussing. Their work and dedication is legendary.

It's noble work, and unfortunately very necessary, but it would be so much better if we didn't need Yad leAchim's services. How do you prevent intermarriage? How do you stop assimilation? I believe that these issues, as well as the current leadership crisis in Israel, are all rooted in the same source: Jewish identity. If I don't know who I am, then how can I value myself and my kind? And if I cannot see any value in myself and my kind, what stops me from attaching myself to people who are so basically and fundamentally different from me? If she doesn't have a pride and interest in being a Jew, what stops a trusting, beautiful Jewish girl from being led from misguided love to captivity and brokenness in the space of a short time?

Of course, assimilation has all forms and shapes, and it's mostly not accompanied by such violence and brutality as the cases of Jewish girls marrying Arab men. Sure, we don't want anyone innocent to suffer; we want to save them from cruelty and pain. But it's crucial for us to understand that the root of assimilation, in whatever form it takes, is the weakness of our Jewish identity; our failure to feel deeply connected to the Torah way of life. We need to re-define what Jewish identity really means. What is Judaism? What is Torah?

It must surely mean more than bagels and lax, more than just living in Israel, and more than just a set of laws, do's and don't's. Our generation is desparately thirsty for meaning. Torah holds that meaning, although so many dimensions of its depth has been almost lost, hidden over the years... Today, we are returning to our Land; G-d has opened His arms to take us back to Him. And as we return to the Land, we also need to bring out the full depth and spirituality of Torah that has lain dormant for so many years, to re-ignite ourselves and those around us with the awesome light of Torah. Rav Kook speaks about the power to fight against Nature, and then the awesome power within Nature itself, with which, when the time is ready, when we are connected to our source, we can engage once again, like we did so many years ago. Torah is so much deeper, so much broader, than we can imagine. In its true, full form, it speaks to every single soul; it tells every person what he or she needs to hear, what his or her soul is so hungry to hear. Let's bring it out, and shine its light on ourselves and all of our brothers and sisters of the House of Israel. May it be very soon.

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• Yad leAchim's Hebrew site is at http://www.yadleachim.co.il/
• Their English site is at http://www.yadlachimusa.org.il/
• A recent article on the Yad leAchim site, with answers to frequently asked questions by a Yad leAchim social worker, a story like the one above, and advice to mothers, can be found here.
• For an incredible story about children and grandchildren of a Jewish woman who married an Arab man, and their return to Judaism with the help of Yad lAchim, see part 1 and part 2.

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Chosen: Better? Different? Human?

A deep-thinking friend recently asked me the following:

Elie Wiesel said: "I am not willing to give up being a Jew in order to achieve universality, however, I believe that the Jew in me embraces something universal."

What do you make of this, and how do you see your process of maintaining an identity, while at the same time realizing that we are all human and all unified? I'm having a hard time finding the balance.

Here are some thoughts from my reply:

----------------------------------------------

In effect, I think that most people have the following associations:

Jew:

• Special
• Chosen
• Different
• Separate
• Maintaining an identity by limiting contact with the rest of humanity

Humanity/Universality:

• Same
• Equality
• Together
• United
• Religion does not affect one's humanity

So really, what I think we're grappling with is at what point do I stop being a Jew, and become a human being? Or, to put it another way, at what point do I stop being a human being, and become a Jew?

I think it all boils down to the definition of 'chosen.' We are told by G-d, many times, that we are His chosen Nation. What does that mean? Does it mean that I'm chosen, and you're not? That G-d loves me more than you? Or him, or her?

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach explains that 'chosen' doesn't mean chosen over everybody else. It means chosen for uniqueness, individuality, and special worth, for a specific purpose or task. Everyone is chosen; I have been chosen to live my life, and you have been chosen to live yours. And Peter, who lives down the road, has been chosen to be Peter. The Jewish Nation has been chosen to fulfil the role of Jewish Nation, and each nation has been chosen to fulfil its own unique role in the world, too. But even so, why are the Jews different? Why are they called 'mamlechet kohanim vegoy kadosh', 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation'?

Within the Jewish nation, we have 3 types of Jew: Kohein, Levi, Yisrael. Kohanim and Leviyim come from the tribe of Levi; Yisre'elim come from the other 12 tribes. Let's translate our problem into the confines of the Jewish nation: why is he a Kohein, and I'm not? Why does he get to serve in the Temple, and I can't? Why does he get all the honour and respect of being a Kohein, whereas I can never get the same?

Because we serve different roles. And the Kohein, the priest, has an elevated status because he is the teacher, the living example of a real-life Jewish lifestlye, lived out in reality. This is the fundamental role of a Kohein. The Kohanim and Leviyim have no portion in the Land of Israel, like the other tribes; rather, they are given cities, scattered around Israel, where their prime role is to teach Torah and to demonstrate how one can live a holy life. To a humble farmer, who arrives at the Temple to bring his sin-offering, the sight of the Kohein, dressed all in white, exuding an aura of purity, holiness and devotion, is an awe-inspiring sight. And when the Kohein helps the farmer to say his confessional prayer before the sacrifice, the experience must be profound.

We, the Jews, are the Kohanim of the world. Our Divine role is to demonstrate to the world what a holy nation is, on personal, communal, and national planes. We, as descendents of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'akov, have been chosen by G-d to show the world how it's done. He picked our forefathers in their time, recognizing that the world needed role models, and seeing that they weren't getting it right without them.

What does it mean to be a Kohein? Firstly, you have to get out there and be with the people. If you don't connect with the rest of the people in some way, you are not fulfilling your role. Let's translate that to the Jew-non-Jew level. For some Jews, this is done on a personal level, simply be living as a decent, honest, upright human being. The righteous Jew is a shining example of morality and G-dliness, and shows those he interacts with, by his example, that it can be done. For others, their influence is more communal/national, and their contributions to structures and processes within Jewish society can be seen in the finished products. These processes and systems also shine as examples to the world of how to build, communally and nationally, in a G-dly, moral manner.

The second important aspect of being a Kohein is to be holy. If you're not living according to the rules and guidelines, you are also not fulfilling your role. A Kohein has a more restricted choice of wife; he cannot eat his special food (tithes of the crops of the Yisre'elim) in a state of impurity; and he cannot become impure by touching a corpse, except for those of immediate family. The Kohein has more rules and guidelines than the regular Yisrael does, because his role is different, and, perhaps, in order to shine as an example of morality, higher standards are required of him. The Jew's lifestyle is entirely filled with the ways of the Torah. His holy example is defined and parametized by all the laws and ways of being a Jew. If he isn't living as a Jew, he loses touch with his role.

A very interesting concept is that even Jews who are not living as Torah Jews very often manage to shine in a given field: science, art, music, film, finance... seems we can't get away from being great examples and leaders!

How does a Kohein maintain his identity? How does he draw the line between Kohein and Yisrael? I think the answer is (deceivingly) simple: he needs to live as a true Kohein. If he keeps his mitzvot, and understands the depth of his role in the world, and is deeply connected to his essence and and understanding of himself, he will know what to do, how to live, and where to draw the boundaries. He also needs to know that, as much as he loves his brother the Yisrael, he cannot bring him into the inner sanctuary of the Temple, cannot share his holy food with him, and cannot treat him as an equal in other laws of Kohanim. Similarly, I believe that a Jew who is deeply connected to himself and his Jewish identity will generally know where to draw the line between Jew and non-Jew. (Often easier said than done) He will also understand that, as much as he may love his brother, the non-Jew, he cannot always deal with him as a Jew; he must keep a distance in certain aspects, because in essence the Jew and the non-Jew play different roles, which do not always overlap.

The Kohein must also understand that he needs to focus on himself and his role, as well as on looking after his fellow Jews, the Yisre'elim. He needs to find a balance between these areas, because each of them is important. He also understands that, when it comes to the crunch, in areas that are very close to the heart, he cannot overlook his heritage and destiny, and he must look after himself and his role. Similarly, the Jew needs to find a balance between shining his light of positive influence of morality to the rest of the world, and ensuring that that light stays fueled and lit. When it comes to the crunch, he needs to look after himself, and to look close to home. (Our prayers throughout the year, while almost totally in the plural, speak almost exclusively about the Jews. We have to be looked after before we can look after the needs of others. However, at certain times of the year, like Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, we pray for the welfare of the entire world in our communal prayers. (This is something I still have trouble with)) This, again, is an issue of balance, which I believe comes down to personal judgement. Again, easier said than done.

I think the most important perspective to gain is that Kohein and Yisrael are meant to co-exist. They aren't competing or trying to outdo each other. Ideally, they understand deeply that they have differing roles, which have been given them with reason and purpose. The Yisrael understands that the Kohein is not better than him, nor is he better than the Kohein. They are apples and oranges, meant to be part of the same fruit basket. They complement each other. This is the same way that, ideally, the Jew and non-Jew are supposed to relate to each other. We are each chosen for different tasks and roles, but ideally we should all be directed towards a unified goal and purpose.
This unity and harmony (not monotony or monophony) has not yet come to its fulfilment, unfortunately. The world hasn't got there yet. I do believe that we are well on our way towards the perfection of the world, but it can only come to its fullness with the coming of Mashiach. May it be very soon!

The bottom line is that this is something that needs deep self-awareness, and a deep connection to one's roots and purpose in life. It's something that we hopefully grapple with and work with as we grow. But I hope I've shown that Judaism sees humanity as one, and the 'difference' between Jew and non-Jew is merely a difference of roles. The ultimate goal of humanity and the world is, as we say in the 'Aleinu' prayer, "והיה ה' למלך על כל הארץ, ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד" - '[then] G-d will become the King of the entire world; on that day, G-d will be one, and His name one.'

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Yom Yerushalayim Sameach! יום ירושלים שמח!

Dear readers, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all, and all of Am Yisrael, a most festive and joyful Yom (Shichrur) Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Liberation Day! As we commemorate the miraculous events that led to our capture of our holiest city from the hands of our enemies, let's renew our connection to the holiest city! Put Israel on your next trip itinerary, look at the Kotel Cams, talk about Jerusalem, pray for Jerusalem.

May next year be in the finally rebuilt Jerusalem, with all of Israel united!

(Picture from here)

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Xenophobia

What is xenophobia? Xenos means a stranger, and phobia means fear. So we have the fear of strangers and foreigners.* (Dictionary help from this site) The word 'xenophobia' has been thrown around a lot in South Africa lately, as the press's favourite buzzword in relating to the motive for the rampant gang attacks on thousands of South Africans who originate from other African countries, many of them illegal immigrants.

It's an incredible and horrifying story: a few weeks ago, gangs of people started viciously attacking these immigrants, destroying their houses and possessions, brutally attacking them bodily, and sometimes killing them. Thousands of people have had to flee for their lives, mostly with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing. Desperate to find a place where they can be safe, they have taken refuge in local police stations and other municipal buildings, under the protection of the South African Police Forces. While the government initially said that these attacks came from "criminal elements," time and logic have proven that the motivations behind these attacks are more than criminal, and the attacks have certainly not only been executed by criminals; they are deeper reaching, and need to be understood. So, what is this 'xenophobia' all about?


The mobs have given reasons for their active hatred: apparently, the immigrants threaten the locals by flooding the work market; also, the mostly destitute immigrants, who crossed the South African border to flee the terrible conditions of their countries of origin (largely Zimbabwe), are happy to work for less than the general going rate, because for them, any work is good work, and any pay is good pay. Their becoming the lowest common denominator in the work market has, apparently, unsettled many of the local-born South Africans from potential job opportunities.

From one point of view, to give this as a reason for pillaging these people's possessions and pursuing them with crazed blood-lust, driving thousands from their homes to run for their lives, is preposterous. The anger, rage, and venomous spite does not match up to a fear of being unemployed. I grant that they may be frustrated and disappointed, but to come to such a point stretches the limits of rational and civil behaviour.

However, by examining the severity of the violence and its wide spread, we can see that this resentment and anger has not just been turned on in a short period of time. Clearly, these people's frustrations and disappointments, whatever they may be, including the apparent fear for unemployment, have been mounting over the last months and years. I don't know enough about the people of the mob, but I gather that they are mostly also very poor, living in 'squatter camps', living on the edge. Life in such conditions is not usually comfortable or enjoyable (to say the least), and we can assume that they had a much greater background resentment and frustration than comfortable suburban dwellers.

But all the same, as Jews -- despite our unfortunate internal divisiveness -- we know all too well what it must feel like to have to run for your life from a blood-crazed mob. Our naional history is drenched in blood. We know this too well, and when we see it happening to someone else, we are deeply obliged, and hopefully internally deeply driven and motivated, to roll up our sleeves and help. Why is Israel often the first country on the scene with rescue workers in the event of catastrophes in other countries around the world? Do you think Israel has something to prove? I doubt it. I think that the Jews in Israel understand all too well what it's like to be in such dark and difficult times, and they rush to send aid because, as a people that's gone through so much suffering, we can really empathize with those who suffer.

G-d tells us many times in the Torah to be especially careful with the feelings and well-being of a stranger and a convert, as well as widows and orphans. "Remember what you went through in Egypt!" He reminds us. You know all too well what it's like to be hunted, persecuted, victimized, bullied and downtrodden. Be very, very sure that you never allow such things to happen again, to anyone else.

The Jewish community here in South Africa has been overwhelmingly generous with donations and organizing aid and facilities for the refugees, as have other sectors of the South African public. But we can't lose sight of the fact that for this thing to have happened in the first place is something tragic and deeply worrying. How can we make sure something like this never happens again? What do you think?

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Pictures: Girl crying, mob
* Harry Potter fans: contrast to Xenophilius Lovegood: xen- = strange, philius = related to love; Xenophilius is the one who loves strange things.

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Put On Your Yarmulke (Wear My Shoes)

The rabbi's little four-year-old boy sat on a chair in the shul, facing a few of his father's guests. One older man noticed that the small boy was bare-headed. 'Where's your yarmulke?' he asked. 'Put on your yarmulke. You have to have a yarmulke on your head. Go on, go find it, and put it on. You have to put on your yarmulke.' The child refused. 'No!' he said, smiling precociously.

I sat nearby, observing and thinking. What motivated the man? Why was it so important to him that the little boy have his head covered? Why did the child refuse? And what a vast gap exists between the two people, the child and the man...

The man insisted on the child's wearing of a kippa, or yarmulke, in a stubborn and inflexible way. Why? Why was it so important to the man that the boy wear a kippa? The man is not learned, and his connection to Judaism seems to me to be mostly based on the basic halacha, or Jewish law system, with not much philosophical or ideological depth of thought and personal, emotional connection beneath the surface. I believe that his motivation in his insistence here was "because that's what must be done": Torah law says that men must cover their heads, and here was a young Jewish boy, whose father is a rabbi, sitting in the shul with an uncovered head. This is completely wrong, and the situation must be rectified immediately. In terms of relating personally to the boy, the man had a bare minimum of real contact with him: sure, he spoke to him, in simple English that he would understand, but he completely failed to understand the boy and where he was coming from, and how he would relate to the situation and the issues at play.

What about the boy? His father is a rabbi, and he goes to a very 'religious' nursery school. He is completely surrounded by Judaism and its comprehensive laws and lifestlye everywhere he goes. Believe me, he knows that he's supposed to wear a kippa. But, thank G-d, his parents are easy-going, and impressively in-touch with their kids and their needs. So, while they are always reminding their children of the way to live as Jews, they understand where the kids are at, and they are patient and tolerant with them. They understand that pedantically insisting on complete compliance with the Halacha will do much, much more damage to their kids and their Judaism than a more patient, understanding, incremental, positive approach. This is clear from the boy's negative, rebellious response to the inflexible insistence of the man in our scenario. But the boy's parents understand that, right now, the little boy doesn't want to put on his kippa. That's okay, he's taking a break. But later, at the supper table, he will have to have it on, and, as he gets older, he will learn to wear it more regularly. The mitzvot are taught in a gradual, human, understanding way.

So, what's behind the large cultural and religious gap between the young boy and the older man? Firstly, the older man's connection to Judaism is concerning, because although he is clearly passionate about Judaism, his perspective is very limited and shallow. He seems, like so many Jews in our generation, to know a lot of the laws, but to have very little connection to the deeper meanings of Judaism, ie. "What It's All About." Torah is not just a system of laws; the technical rules are merely the basis of the system; the system in its entirety is one that cultivates ethics, morals, sensitivity, refinement of action, speech and thought, and a dedication to spiritual truth and a connection to the Master of the universe. The most concrete and most basic way that we go about 'being Jews' is by keeping to the solid, physically based laws. Hopefully we eventually progress to understanding more of what is behind the laws, becoming sensitive to other people, and becoming more ethically and morally refined.

The second issue in the gap is one of empathy, all the more difficult because this gap spans generations. The old generation and the new generation: historical, human cliche, perhaps. But nevertheless, in interacting with those whose world is rooted largely in years, trends, and ideas conceived before we were around, we need to remind ourselves to respect them for their knowledge and worldly wisdom, and not to scorn them for being 'out of date'. The Torah says: "מפני שיבה תקום, והדרת פני זקן" - "Rise before an elderly person, and honour the presence of an elder (wise, old person)." (ויקרא יט:לב) (Leviticus 19:32) And of course, for all their wisdom, older people need to remember that the world of the young people is different to their own, and that today there may be new factors, challenges, issues, phenomena.

But there's more to the gap. "Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes. You'll be a mile away, and you'll have their shoes." A funny saying, that nonetheless has a kernel of truth in it. How can I judge you if I have not walked in your shoes, if I don't know what it's really like to be you? In truth, it is never possible to have a complete feeling of what it must be like to be somebody else. But we have to try, to the best of our abilities. A beautiful thing about the human experience is that nobody ever has the same experience as another person. Every human being, and his/her life, is unique. Before we try to give someone advice, or to judge them in some way, we need to try to understand them as holistically as possible. Where are they coming from? Where are they going? How do those shoes feel on his/her feet, anyway?

So, we need to deepen our Torah experience to beyond the basics, beyond the technicalities and rules; we need to become G-dly people, and that takes thought, sensitivity, and deep personal connection to Torah and to G-d. And of course, before you tell me to put on my kippa, won't you please take a walk in my shoes?

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Aliyah and 'Exodus': Reflections

Yesterday, I sat down in a comfortable armchair in my local Aliyah Office, and began to fill out a form. "I declare... that I request citizenship of Israel... I intend to attain Immigrant status upon my arrival in the country" (paraphrased). As I read these words and filled out my details, I marveled at the profundity of what I was doing: Here I was, attaching myself to the State of Israel, and advancing the process of becoming a citizen of Israel, and even, perhaps, an Israeli :) ...

I've been reading Exodus, by Leon Uris. From a historical perspective, I've found it incredibly enlightening, broad in its settings, vivid in its descriptions. From an emotional perspective, I've found it to be moving, gripping, and deeply intense... From a Jewish-historical perspective, I've gained a much broader view of the beginnings of the epic drama of the final return of the Jews to their Homeland, after millenia of wanderings and exiles in many forms and reincarnations. And this has shed a new light onto my forthcoming Aliyah... Here are a couple of things I've personally gained through reading and digesting this book:

1. A deep admiration for the Jews who gave so much to build the State, including Herzl for all his tremendous efforts on the part of Klal Yisrael (this despite his Torah-disconnected vision and point of view; despite his faults, he really had great mesirut nefesh (dedication and self-sacrifice) for the sake of the Jewish Nation)
2. An appreciation for the State itself, our sovereignty over Israel, and the systems that are in place to allow easy and convenient Aliyah... to think of shiploads of Holocaust refugees turned back to perish by the British in the waters of then-Palestine leaves me feeling greatly privileged....
   
3. As Dan has said recently, (it's a concept that Rav Kook deals with) the Jews who turned their backs on the traditional Torah lifestyle as practiced by the Jews of the ghettos in Eastern Europe, and were drawn into the Enlightenment, and specifically the socialist and Zionist movements, were not simply rebelling: they were seeking very deep and essential aspects of Judaism that did not -- and could not -- find real expression in the crushed, downtrodden Jewish existence in the bitter exile in Eastern Europe. They were searching -- consciously or subconsciously -- for a connection to Eretz Yisrael, and for the social and communal expression of Jewish life, as a nation, in the Land of Israel. Unfortunately, because they did not find this in religious Torah life in Eastern Europe, they turned their backs on Torah to a large degree. (We still feel the ramifications of this process today.) I have learnt how these Jews were answering deep spiritual yearnings, callings from within, which led them to undergo so much work, toil, sweat and blood, for the sake of the Jews in the Land of Israel. Without their efforts, wars, swamp drainages, and developments, we would almost certainly not have a State of Israel today.
4. Perspective: I have a clearer understanding of Israeli politics today from a deeper understanding of the origins of the State. And, in line with insights I have gained over the Yom Ha'atzma'ut period, I more deeply realize that this Redemption that we are privileged to be part of is a process. A dramatic, incredible process. This time is called Chevlei Mashiach - the Birthpangs of Mashiach. When a baby is born, the mother goes through excruciating pain, and indeed, her life is in danger. Of course, this is an essential part of the creation of new life; the process is traumatic, difficult, painful, but the results are rewarding and the greatest blessing. It happens in stages, and we have to be patient: the end result is not yet here, but we're getting there.
5. We have to take action. This is perhaps one of the most defining aspects of the Religious-National outlook: we know that G-d is running the world and orchestrating His plan, but we understand that a great part of the 'responsibility' for its success rests squarely on our shoulders. We are not privy to His plans, and we must look at the world through the only eyes we have: our own. We need to be practical, pragmatic, and also idealistic, hopeful, and faithful; just like Ya'akov's ladder, which stood firmly on the ground, while its top reached the Heavens.

Coming back to my Aliyah, I'm filled with more inspiration, more hope, and a deeper feeling of personal and National destiny. We're still trying to turn a hodge-podge of many different returned and returning exiles and wanderers back into ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש, a kingdom of priests (teachers and exemplifiers) and a holy nation, and I do believe it's happening, slowly but definitively.

We're still trying to reconnect with our Holy Land, our G-d, and ourselves -- personally and nationally. And, slowly but surely, we are getting there; whether we see it today or not.

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61 Reasons to Love Israel!

This past Yom Ha'atzma'ut, and related events, have really made me think about Israel. A theme I've heard from a few people, which resonates a lot within me, is that while Israel is certainly not perfect, it is also so beautiful, so wonderful, and the greatest blessing for us, the Jewish People. Through my passion for Israel, I've tended towards cynicism and a more negative outlook over the past few months, a mindset mostly fueled by some unfortunate events and trends specifically within the more politically related contexts. (Then again, what isn't politically related in Israel?!) But lately, especially since Yom Ha'atzma'ut, I've been heading back towards the side of positivity, joy, and pride in the abundant good in Israel, despite the very real 'bad' things that are there too.


Jacob Richman (check out his site) sent out a wonderful email to his subscribers. It's an article written by Barbara Sofer on the Jerusalem Post: a list of 61 reasons, in no particular order, why she loves Israel. I'm sure that a lot of us have read similar lists, and are probably familiar with some of the facts, but I learnt a lot, and was inspired and moved by some of her facts. It adds fuel to my personal passion of making Aliyah, which is happening in a few months! And it makes me really proud of Israel, of the Jews living in Israel, and of Jews in general. This is great stuff. Here it is:

Top 60 plus one reasons I love Israel

by Barbara Sofer
May 8, 2008

Why do I love Israel? Let me count the whys. Here, in no particular
order, is an updated list, with new additions and highlights of recent
years.

1. Jerusalem is so quiet on Shabbat that you can hear birds singing
even on the main streets.

2. We change our calendars on Rosh Hashana, not January 1,
because that's the real new year

3. Just hours after leading his Chelsea team to its first Champions
League final, Petah Tikva-born coach Avram Grant joined the March
of the Living in Auschwitz, and told all of Europe that his pride at
Israel's emergence from the horrors of the Holocaust surpassed
any football achievement.

4. We serve kosher food in the trendiest malls.

5. Streets bear the names of prophets and medieval poets.
Our communications satellite is called "Amos."

6. Land of milk and honey: Big news when Israeli archeologists
recently discovered evidence of the beekeeping industry - even
beeswax - that goes back 3,000 years.

7. Land of milk and honey: We're so successful at making milk
products that we have hundreds of choices of cheese and advise
New Zealand about making sheep cheese.

8. The Nahariya-based Strauss company, started by dairy farmer
immigrants from Germany in 1936, together with the Elite company
started by a candy-maker immigrant from Riga in 1934, are the
largest coffee manufacturers in Central and Eastern Europe, and
second biggest in Brazil. Aviv Matza exports its unleavened bread
to Egypt.

9. We have laboratories to check for the biblically prohibited mix of
linen and wool, shatnes, and we're the first country to make men's
suits from recycled plastic bottles, for sale soon at Sears.

10. At Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo, the loudspeaker announces
"afternoon prayers (minha) are now being held near the elephants."

11. The Biblical Zoo is kosher for Pessah. The primates eat matza;
the parrots get rice.

12. Every kindergartner knows that frogs are the second plague in
the Haggada, but our "save the frogs" campaign was launched at
the Biblical Zoo on Passover.

13. Mega investor Warren Buffet's first investment outside the US
($4 billion) was in Israel's Iscar company. He got so much positive
publicity that he told Iscar's CEO: "I was nobody before I bought
your company."

14. Sixty years after statehood, even young people refer to something
old-fashioned as "from the days of the (British) Mandate."

15. Theodor Herzl's bearded image welcomes visitors to hi-tech
Herzliya, and we celebrate Herzl Day.

16. My five-year-old grandson can tell you all about Theodor Herzl.
Also about Spiderman.

17. Combat soldiers aren't embarrassed to phone their moms and
grandmothers.

18. While Intel Haifa workers were working in an underground shelter
because of the missile attacks in the Second Lebanon War,
Intel announced the new multi-core processor developed there.

19. Entire families show up for military graduations, and bring
enough food to feed an army.

20. Name droppers. The poet Chaim Nachman Bialik named the
Egged bus company and also the Tishbi winery

21. Youngsters travel far to visit the Kibbutz Kinneret cemetery
where poet Rahel and national song laureate Naomi Shemer are
buried.

22. First graders read the Bible in the original Hebrew, and celebrate
with a party.

23. We follow the level of the Kinneret more faithfully than we do our
stock portfolios.

24. We have only one Pessah Seder but Purim, our dress-up holiday,
lasts three days. In Jerusalem on Purim, it's hard to tell who's in
costume and who isn't.

25. We have the highest concentration of hi-tech companies outside
Silicon Valley, and also the most yeshivot anywhere.

26. After a calamity, police have trouble keeping away bystanders
who want to help.

27. Thousands of free-loan societies flourish. You can borrow wedding
dresses and pacifiers.

28. Despite the tensions and political dissension, Israel has the
highest Jewish birthrate in the world.

29. Despite the tensions and political dissension, Israel is the
fastest growing Western country in the world.

30. "Jerusalem of Gold" is still voted the favorite national song.

31. We have timeless cuisine: You can order Israeli breakfast,
business lunch and dinner simultaneously at Israeli cafes.

32. Our pilots fought over the honor of taking part in a fly-by over
Auschwitz 60 years after liberation.

33. Israeli fighter jets accompanied tourists safely home from
Mombasa after they were threatened.

34. We have 120 members of the Knesset because that's how many
were in the ancient Great Assembly.

35. We first developed candy-sweet cherry tomatoes as a
TV-watching nosh.

36. On Remembrance Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day,
the act of remembering halts traffic. Even kindergartners stand
silently, and understand why.

37. While dining rooms are shrinking in Western homes, Israeli
dining room tables are getting longer.

38. We invite strangers for a home-cooked Shabbat meal.

39. An Israeli artichoke farmer with a sore back developed the
sophisticated Hollandia beds and exports them from Sderot to
many countries, including Holland.

40. Strangers feel free to tell a parent to put a hat on the baby in
a country where we wear scarves, snoods, spodiks, streimels,
wimples, fedoras, berets, tarbushes, homburgs, kippot and keffiyot.

41. While other Western nations debate immigration, we absorb
more immigrants per capita than any other country in the world.
Almost immediately all learn the Hebrew word for patience, savlanut.

42. Our street musicians can play in symphony orchestras;
our supermarket clerks know calculus.

43. Our biggest shopping seasons precede Rosh Hashana and
Pessah.

44. Municipalities' decorating contests feature succot, not trees.
The Succot holiday is high season in Israel; book hotel rooms
a year in advance.

45. Even politicians from anti-religious parties say "Baruch Hashem."

46. "Where were your grandparents from?" is a common question.
Where else would anyone care about my grandparents?

47. We celebrate Mother's Day, now Family Day, on the yahrzeit of
Henrietta Szold who, with Recha Freier, organized Youth Aliya but
who had no children of her own.

48. For all the talk about the greening of the planet, we're the only
country in the world that started the 21st century with a net gain of
trees. (Thank you, Jewish National Fund)

49. During the Second Lebanon War, JNF rangers stayed in the
forests during Katyusha attacks to save the trees

50. We're among the most Internet-connected people on the planet.
We invented the cellphone, instant messaging, the chat room and
the silent prayer, but still talk best with our hands.

51. Before Purim, the TV weather forecast relates specially to the
day the kids go to school in their costumes. For a week before
Yom Kippur, the weather report focuses on the upcoming fast.

52. We love children, and have more IVF per capita than any other
country. It's free up to the first two children.

53. We celebrate Independence Day with a Bible Contest.

54. Israelis developed both the system to see photos from Mars and
cameras to monitor crime on buses in Brazil.

55. Despite our soul connection to chicken soup, per capita we're
the world's biggest eaters of healthier turkey, bigger even than
America. Go figure!

56. We're among the first to help countries that experience
disasters, and the first to have our field hospitals up. When Israel
helped Turkey after an earthquake, an Israeli doctor made an
incubator from a matza box.

57. Jewish soccer players for Bnei Sakhnin compete against
Arab players for Maccabi Tel Aviv.

58. Childbirth and burial are free. Even the homeless have health
insurance.

59. On Saturday night, the radio summarizes the news for all those
who don't listen on Shabbat.

60. We're agricultural high achievers, producing seven times the
output with the same water we used 25 years ago. Our date trees
average 182 kilos - 10 times more than the average in the Middle
East. One date tree is growing from 2,000-year-old seeds found in
Masada.

And, as on a birthday cake, one for next year:

61. We come from more than 100 countries and dream in Hebrew.

The original article on JPost can be found here.
Image of the bumper sticker from here.

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Remember, today: Yom HaSho'ah, Yom HaZikaron, Yom Ha'Atzma'utּ

Sadness and joy,
drizzling sunbeams,
remember, remember,
and fill your soul with memories you never witnessed;





Remember, remember,
join yourself up again to the
massive Whole.










Grieve, shed tears,
make room for the darkness
of the families, children destroyed forever,
though they were never your children.







Remember the blood-stained uniforms,
the smell of explosions and darkness and death,
though it was not your nose
that smelled them.





And remember the joy,
fireworks and flags,
elation and trepidation,
fighting fiercely, joyfully for your lives -
though it was not you
who fought, whose heart rejoiced.




To be one of the Nation,
to be one with the Nation,
my mind must remember,
my soul must remember.






To be a soul holding hands
with those before and those after,
with those beside me and those far away,
I must remember.
We must remember.





Taste the joy,
the fear, the darkness,
the light, the death,
the throngs of jubilant rejoicers and
the full, silent cemeteries
in the moments of silence.
Remember the stories.
Remember today.

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* Pictures 1, 2, 6 & 7 are of the Gush Katif Human Chain, and are from this site. There are more wonderful pictures there; go and look!
* Picture 3 comes from this page.
* Picture 4 comes from this page.
* I'm not sure where I got Picture 5 from.

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Israel: the Great Stuff - Part 2

Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
Part 2 of 2 -- for part 1, click here.

3. Easy to live as a Torah Jew
There's a famous saying, hilariously corrupted in the movie Anchorman, that goes, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' I'm proud of how Israel has built a society where keeping the Mitzvot is very easy and very convenient. When we consider the secular and sometimes anti-religious tendencies of a significant part of the founders of the secular Zionist movement, and those who breathed real life into their ideas in building up the state in the days of the Chalutzim, we realize that the strong influence of Torah on the State is not something we should take for granted.*

It's Israeli law, I understand, that every government building has to have a Mezuza on its doors. That's fantastic! That's amazing! And until very recently, it has been completely forbidden to buy or sell Chametz on Pesach! Incredible! Understand that it's not just the Torah-observant Jews who are keeping Pesach in Israel: even the shops, retailers, and industrial suppliers do not deal in chametz on Pesach, whether they want to or not!

And the Jewish holidays are all national public holidays too. You don't have to ask your boss for yet another leave period from work, and earn yourself the jealous envy of your co-workers, who think you're just using religion as a weak excuse to get off work. In Israel, it's all part of how the society works.

Another incredible part of this, something that I really love, is how Israelis work on the Jewish calendar, in years, months, and days of the week. Why use the idol-based names of the week and month, and of course year count, when you can use those that the Torah uses: names, dates, and concepts that are deeply rooted in Torah and Torah concepts. These, and many other similar institutions, bring the very fabric of Israeli society a bit closer to Torah, and allow Torah-true Jews to live their lives in the ways of the Torah, which is amazing and, as I said above, not to be taken for granted.

4. A close society: one big family
Lastly, I'm proud of the wonderfully open and alive society and culture in Israel. You can get on a bus and have the deepest, most personal conversation with a total stranger. And when you get off the bus, it doesn't feel at all weird. It feels right, and normal, and something in your heart says, Wow! That was incredible. And in Israel, as is almost a cliché to say, the children belong to everyone. If your child is crying, strangers will stop to find out why, and will have no reserve in telling you what you should or should not be doing. I've done this myself, on a crowded bus! (I offered to take a crying child, whose cries seemed to be ignored by its mother, and to comfort it and feed it) And this is not weird, or abnormal. It's part of the fabric of society. Sure, there is often a lot of tension, and lots of energy to steam off, but at its core, it is a society of brotherliness, closeness, and a connection to one's fellow citizen that is incredibly special. Sure, there are feuds between sectors of the society, and, sure, there are problems. But deep down, there are bonds of friendship, love, and trust that I am so fiercely proud of, and that I can't wait to become part of.

Conclusion
I end with the proud and excited announcement that I will be making aliyah in the next few months; packing up and starting a wonderful, exciting new chapter of my life in Israel. I know very well of the issues and problems, and even of the dangers that loom overhead in Israel. But while they disturb me, they don't affect my desire, and decision, to make Israel my real home; or to look at it another way, to finally come home, to where I really belong.

Because, while it's so easy to focus on the negative (I often find myself doing this), it's so much more empowering, inspiring, and rewarding (and often challenging!) to focus on the positive. One thing I have personally gained from this special Tzipiyah.com Yom Ha'atzma'ut project, and which I hope many of you have, too, is the reminder that there is so much positive in Israel: so many good things that happen every day, and so many good processes that are being played out from day to day, mingled in with the negatives that we see. The negatives are real, but our focus on them, or off them, is our choice. To see the good, you just need to open your eyes!

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* In fact, most of this is the fruits of the hard efforts of great people like Rav Kook, Rav Goren, the Chazon Ish, and others, who worked immensely at planting, and fostering, a Jewish nature and spirit in the Yishuv in Palestine and in the young State of Israel.

Read More......