The State and Holocaust Survivors

In the past few weeks there has been a recent reports on how well or poorly Israel treats its Holocaust survivors. This is a recent JPost article on the matter. Its been reported that the government will give each survivor 85NIS per month. I've never been able to figure out how they came up with that figure coming to about $20/month. It's a ridiculously low number.

It seems to me that Israel has an obligation to provide for these people. The Nazi's brought them to the lowest of the low, a government dehumanized them; here in Israel, the Jewish state, we should re-humanize them. We should pay them whatever it should take just to survive. If it's 1500NIS/month then they should get it without any qualifications.

It occurred to me that we should also ask them to help Yad Vashem - tell their stories, whatever they can do to keep the historical account up to date and accurate. Write letters to convince others to tell their stories or speak to tourists. Do this and we'll give you another 500NIS/month. It's not a job, its a right that they get just for being who they are.

Anything less than giving them full support is tantamount to do what the Nazis did, dehumanized them.

So I've been in Israel for a Week

Now that I'm posting from Israel I guess that makes me an Israeli blogger - but since I'm not an Oleh, oh well, maybe not.

Anyway, the past week has been full of crazy adventures. Somethings don't sound so crazy, but with out lack of comfort with Hebrew they turn out to be. We bought an oven from this guy in Mea Shearim and had it delivered to Efrat. We bought some furniture from a couple leaving the Kollel, however, it was so heavy four Kollel guys couldn't move the lightest piece. We hired two Arab workers to move the three pieces for 100 shekels total. Insane.

My wife had interviews - for this year and next - at Midreshet Rachel and Pardes. I was impressed with both places but for very different reasons. I hope it all goes well for her there.

Israel's been really great, the adjustments are sometimes hard. We had no furniture in our apartment when we arrived and our lift is still tw0-weeks out so we've had to buy things one at a time. Dealing with Bezeq setting up DSL and then finding an internet provider. Next thing is to find bookshelves and start reading blogs again and then in two weeks class starts.

It's stress, but good stress. And I love the breeze here in Efrat.

Tisha B'Av and Moving to Israel

Tonight is erev Tisha B'Av. It's always been a very hard day for me; to understand the imagery that we find in Eicha. Two years ago I sat at the Kotel all day trying to feel the destruction - but I can't - it's so much easier for me to feel the destruction of the nation through the Holocaust, the descriptions provided in the megillah of what the populace went through during the siege. This is why most shuls watch Holocaust movies - because we cannot connect to the Temple - despite our best efforts most of us cannot do it.

XGH says that this phenomenon is proof that we don't really want the Temple back; I don't think so, it's been 2,000 hard years and we - today's Jews - don't really get it. So we take other aspects of Tisha B'Av the other calamities that have befallen us on this day and connect to those.

Is it bad to do so? No, I don't think so, since it's also an integral part of the day. But this year I'm going to make a concerted effort - like I've done in the past - to think about the Avoda in the Beit HaMikdash and what the Churban really was.

I found RWAC's post to be truly moving, because I feel that I will come out of Tisha B'Av feeling very like that. Today I will accept God's judgment, but I'm moving to Israel in a week. I have the pain of packing and moving boxes in my arms and legs; I can't forget that. There is a day after Tisha B'Av and on Tu B'Av I will move to Israel.

This year's Tisha B'Av promises to not be the average Tisha B'Av. It will be hard and special in it's own way.

Alan Dershowitz on Jimmy Carter

As I start Rabbinical School in less than a month I'm writing a number of posts on American politics so that I can exhaust that section for a while. Torah will become the focus of this blog soon.

This post is copied from The Huffington Post's blog:

When Jimmy Carter used the word "apartheid" in the title of his book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, he knew it would deeply offend many Israelis, Jews and other supporters of Israel's efforts to make peace with its Arab neighbors. Yet he deliberately chose that deeply offensive word precisely in order to provoke. As Jeffrey Goldberg of The Washington Post said, it was a case of "bait and switch," since in the text of the book, the word apartheid appears only three times and Carter goes out of his way to explain that what he believe Israel is doing "is unlike in South Africa -- not racism...."

Carter was cautioned by friends not to use the inaccurate and provocative word apartheid, but he insisted on putting it in his title, knowing full well how deeply offensive it would be to so many.

Contrast Carter's insensitivity toward his Jewish readers with his extraordinary oversensitivity toward Muslim readers of Salmon Rushdie's controversial book, The Satanic Verses. When Rushdie was sentenced to death in absentia by the Ayatollah Khomeini, and when Khomeini offered "paradise" to anyone who would murder Rushdie, Carter did not leap to the defense of the threatened author. Instead, he condemned him for his "direct insult to the millions of Muslims whose sacred beliefs have been violated and are suffering in restrained silence..." To be sure, Carter recited the obligatory defense of freedom of speech ("while Rushdie's First Amendment freedoms are important ...), and the obligatory criticism of Khomeini ("it is our duty to condemn the threat of murder....), it is clear that his true sympathies lie with the offended Muslims. This is what he wrote in his article entitled "Rushdie's Book Is An Insult:"

"This is the kind of intercultural wound that is difficult to heal. Western leaders should make it clear that in protecting Rushdie's life and civil rights, there is no endorsement of an insult to the sacred beliefs of our Moslem friends.

We must remember that Iranian and other fundamentalists are not the only Moslems involved. Around the world there are millions of others who are waiting for a thoughtful and constructive response to their concerns."

Carter was relatively silent when millions of Muslims were on a rampage against the Danish cartoons that depicted Mohammed (some positively, others negatively).

His sensitivity seems limited to Muslims and Christians. This is what he said about the film, The Last Temptation of Christ:

...the sacreligious scenes were still distressing to me and many others who share my faith. There is little doubt that the movie producers and Scorsese, a professed Christian, anticipated adverse public reactions and capitalized on them.

Yet Carter fully "anticipated" and "capitalized" on the deliberately offensive title of his best-selling book. Nor do I recall any condemnation by him of Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, that was deeply offensive to many Jews.

Jimmy Carter's sensitivities seem to have a gaping hole when it comes to Jews. There is a term for that.

It's a little late; okay, a lot late, but I think his observations are right on the money. It's errors of obmission that have plagued Carter's policies since he took the oath of office. Presidents and other politicians, however, are no super-humans they are allowed to make mistakes; but every so often they need to admit to them.

Carter - and I wrote my thesis on his public speeches regarding the Camp David Accords - has never tried to put Israel's interests first. It was always what would Israel give up to get Peace - as if peace was only desired on one side. During the Accords there was a lot of rhetoric tossed around trying to get Sadat to come to the table without looking weak, very little desire to court Begin. Carter never cared about what was good for Israel or the Jews; should we be surprised then that his book only cared for one side and not an honest look for the truth?

Al Gore: Soothsayer of Truth...

Al Gore: Soothsayer of Truth...
by Michelle Kraus

The debacle of the Scooter Libby conviction and sentence commutation further "assaults" our Democracy

The popularity of Barack Obama finally makes sense after this week's Scooter Libby events. Al Gore is right again. There is an "assault on reason." We are living in a country starved for a vision: one of democracy and hope.

The stage is set for Barack Obama: Speaker for the Gospel of Hope. He speaks the words that call the discouraged and disheartened to contribute to him empowered to hope one more time. His voice has truly become the Voice of Hope, as Al Gore's is the Voice of Reason. It is in this context that his broad popularity finally makes sense. His words nourish those starving for these words.

As we listen to these two great men, a possible and hopeful future takes shape in stark contrast to the bleak and amoral present -- an America whose people are reeling from the daily "assaults" on our morality from the war on the Constitution and, in particular, our Constitutional rights, or the insane war on terror with its huge daily costs in green dollars and spilled red blood.

Democrats and Republicans alike, now is the time for you to stand up and speak the Truth from your hearts and minds. The only candidate to talk about the loss of the Constitution in the last series of debates was Senator Chris Dodd.

Where were you all before this week?

Inspire. Give voice to those who hunger for it.

Bring power back to the American people. Let them believe again!

It is time to hear all the voices of the Democratic candidates for President and for the media to encourage them to be heard.

It time for our candidates to stop politicking and posturing, and talk to the American people. Give them a vision. Give them hope. Show them the roadmap back to prosperity. Return their dignity.

Why is Obama the only one who has figured out how to give voice to the thirst of the American people for what is truly "right"?

Why is Ann Coulter still on the air? She's a purposeful and inflammatory distraction.

Are we missing the basics or being so distracted that the people are not really hearing the voices of Senator Hillary Clinton, former Senator John Edwards, Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Joe Biden, Senator Chris Dodd and all of the others?

Alas, why is Gore still the only soothsayer of the truth?

That's really it for me; America has lost it's vision. We've been lead astray - unpurposefully IMO - by Presidents, unmotivated Congressman, and even political commentators. I don't necessarily think that Obama is the hope that America needs, but that's only one small facet of her column. The crazy thing is that a first term Senator from Illinois is one of the two frontrunner's for the Democratic ticket.

All I know is this, with the current state of affairs in the US, it's time for a change. I don't care if you like Hillary or not, but if she's elected it will be 28 years of Bush-Clinton rule. America doesn't need that.

Alan Johnston is Free

Alan Johnston, the BBC reporter who was taken hostage in Gaza, has been freed by Hamas forces. I truly believe, and CNN speaks of it, that the only reason Hamas decided to do something was that they sorely need some good publicity.

The captors - the Army of Islam - have been connected to Fatah; which is curious since Abbas was not able to do anything about it.

Either way, I'm glad he's safe and unharmed.

Michael Moore's new film SiCKO

Visual Vendetta has Michael Moore's new film online so you can view it here.

It boggles my mind why we can't have Socialized Health care. I think Moore's point is long overdue. Al Gore after you're done with The Assault on Reason do you think you can take on American and give us real democracy - a democratic health care?

I'm moving to Israel and as a non-citizen I have to pay for health care - $1 a day. That's insane. My wife and I pay over $200 a month. Do that math. I pay nearly $4 a day in the US and still have deductibles and co-pays; all in a country that I'm a taxpaying citizen of.

I'm not some crazy socialist, in fact I have arguments with my Marxist kibbutznik cousins all the time, but democratic health care seems like a basic human right to me.

No health care system is going to be perfect; it can't be. But after needing an emergency room visit on the second day of Shavuot for an infection I shouldn't have to pay hundreds of dollars after I pay my monthly bill.

Watch the movie. It's well worth your time.

What to do with Hamas? Part IV

Charles Krauthammer wrote a very interesting OpEd in Friday's Washington Post. Instead of crying about the situation in Gaza he provides, what seems to be, a good solution.

With Hamas now clearly in charge, Israel should declare that it will tolerate no more rocket fire -- that the next Qassam will be answered with a cutoff of gasoline shipments. This should bring road traffic in Gaza to a halt within days and make it increasingly difficult to ferry around missiles and launchers.

If that fails to concentrate the mind, the next step should be to cut off electricity. When the world wails, Israel should ask, what other country on Earth is expected to supply the very means for a declared enemy to attack it?

What do do with Hamas? Show them who's boss. If they really are there to provide leadership for the Palestinians, then now that they've consolidated power there, let them do something. If the attacks continue, cut off gas and then electricity.

What Krauthammer fails to mention - though I'm sure he knows - is that no matter what Israel does they're always blamed. But at least it's a plan that deserves thought.

I also found this interesting: "Historian Michael Oren points out that the Palestinian Authority has received more per capita aid than did Europe under the Marshall Plan." If true, than that's pretty telling of the political situation in Gaza. If there are still Hamas supporters out there, I think it's time for them to wake up.

Nathan's Kosher HotDogs

There's been a lot of activity on a certain e-mail list attached to a shul regarding the Kosher status of Nathan's Kosher Hot Dogs. While I certainly do not mind people talking about items with a hechsher they are unfamiliar with it seems that what has created a hoopla is that the has the chutzpah to give a hechsher to a piece of meat that is not glatt.

The e-mailer then went on to say that he is very happy that he did not eat it and will from now on only shop at kosher certified supermarkets because his trust in hechsherim has disappeared.

On a Halachic level only Sephardim are required to eat Glatt Kosher. And Secondly it is quite possible that our Glatt kosher standards don't even fulfill the requirements for Glatt. This is why products are labeld Glatt Beit Yosef.

Secondly, this Hechsher - a reliable one - has every right to certify non-Glatt meat.

What really ticks me off about all of this is that the guy had no idea that kosher meat wasn't always Glatt. And "oh my gosh" if it's not Glatt it's not Kosher enough for me. Listen, don't buy the meat again if you don't want to, but don't go getting people in a frenzy over a respectable and reliable Hechsher because of your Chumrah.

On the Libby Verdict

Scooter Libby has been sentenced to 30 months in jail and fined $250,000 for lying under oath to a Grand Jury. I've been reading the newspaper and listening to the radio and I've heard some really disturbing notions. One, the verdict is not harsh enough. Two, that Bush should pardon him.

The case revolves around the leaking of a CIA operatives name to the press and a cover up of the leak. Some commentators would like Libby to serve a life sentence or to be hung for treason. I don't understand what people can't get their heads around - he was not charged nor convicted of treason. He lied to FBI Investigators and the Grand Jury. 30 Months is a lot of jail time - a lot more time than other similar cases that have happened in the past.

My disdain for Bush would grow tremendously if the President pardoned Libby. Presidential pardons can happen for any number of reasons, usually for some failing of the judicial system or other external factors. Libby was trying to protect the Vice President and lied to do so. It would reek of partisan corruption for Bush to pardon or otherwise commute the sentence. For the health of the nation and our ability to re-instill trust in our Government I truly hope Bush will ignore the Libby's pleads for a pardon.

Al Gore and Why I'd Vote for Him

I was too young to vote in the 2000 Presidential Election but I do remember liking Gore much more than Bush, I don't remember why. What I do remember is thinking that Bush was acting like a whiny 7 year old in contesting the election. That is the past - and I haven't really checked up on Al Gore's actually politics but my initial reaction is that America needs a President who is
1. Presidential
2. Articulate
3. Well Read
4. Trustworthy

For the most part American Politicians have been sorely lacking in these fields for some time. We have a few in the past 40 years that hit on most of these but not all. My gut reaction when I think of Al Gore and the image he's presented himself in the past eight years is all of these things.

I'd almost vote for him on that basis alone. I never expect to find a faultless politician and attempts at mudslinging are just foolish. We are human, not perfect, why do we expect that our leaders are faultless? What we do/should expect from our leaders is that they exemplify what we try to be. We deserve a President who tries his best to do the difficult job a head of him with the most common sense. It isn't a Republican vs. Democrat issue here for me, I'd be just as likely to vote for a Republican fulfilling all of these criteria as a Democrat.

On a side note, I have a relative who has started a "Write in Al Gore" blog.

Dairy during Shavuot

For the past two years when Shavuot comes up my wife and I have a whole argument about eating only dairy on Shavuot. She inevitably wins due to either a. "I'm cooking" or b. "We're going to my parents and they only eat dairy". I've tried to convince her that the custom doesn't meant only dairy during the holiday, but to no avail.

I'll show her this post by Harry, but I really don't think that it will have any effect. The next objection will be "But it's my family's minhag and I'm cooking". What can I do?

Well for the next few years we'll be in Israel and there'll only be two dairy meals but I'm lactose intolerant though that doesn't seem to be a reason to stop a minhag. If Harry's post is accurate (I'm assuming it is) most Jews I know are following a mistaken minhag of only having milhig meals and not having both.

I still wont win.

Halacha vs. Kabbala

I found a shiur given by R' David Fink rather enlightening and decided to share it hear. Nothing that follows is my own idea, only Rav Fink's. The original shiur can be heard here. As I only heard the shiur online I do not have any source notes unless Rav Fink said them.

What happens when Kabbala and Halacha tell you to do two different things?

The Tur: Put on Teffilin shel Yad and Barech (l'haniach tefillin), then shel Rosh and make a second Beracha (al mitzvat tefillin).

R' Yosef Karo not only wrote the Beit Yosef and the Shulchan Aruch but was also a noted Kabbalist. He lived in Sfat during the time of the AriZal - in fact, he was his neighbor - and is the author of the Magid Meisharim. This work is a compilation of statements made by R' Karo while in a trance and a Magid spoke through R' Karo. There are times that the Magid and the R' Karo disagreed with each other. Of couse, R' Karo poskens in the Beit Yosef against the Magid. R' Yaakov Emden assumes this because R' Karo was a greater talmid chacham than the magid.

Rav Fink has heard of authors of fiction expressing similar methods. They go into a trance and the characters in the book speak to them and they authors write down the dialogue as they hear it in their minds. Unfortunately this gift is never given to writers of non-fiction. These authors have to work out their solutions rationally unlike the fiction authors that just let it flow.

The halachic R' Karo depended on his reason when writing the Shulchan Aruch, the mystical R' Karo reported his mystical periods in the Magid Meisharim. Whenever there is tension for R' Karo halacha is in accord with the rational reasoning in the Beit Yosef as poskened in the Shulchan Aruch.

Back to the Berachot of Tefillin:
Sefer HaAgur: I found in the Zohar from a saying of Rashbi - a single beracha is to be said on both tefillin together. The teffilin shel rosh on the head correspond to Zachor and teffilin shel yad next to the heart correspond to Shamor. Just as we say Shamor and Zachor were said together at Matan Torah a single beracha covers both tefillin. One should not wait between the two tefillin, one should do both without a hefshek. I am amazed that these great Rabbanim disagree with Rashbi in the Zohar, if the Poskim knew what was said in the Zohar, why did they disagree with it? In any case, the minhag is to make two beracha, but the right thing to do is to make one beracha.

R' Karo: I don't know why the Sefer HaAgur was mystified on this question. There are plenty of other examples between the gemara and the zohar, why is it this one that he's so interested in? In every case the poskim follow the gemara and never the zohar. Even if the poskim knew the zohar they wouldn't care - the reason the poskim say to make two berachot is because that's what it says in the Gemara. All the more so, in the days of the Reshonim the Sefer HaZohar was not yet known. It was transmitted it Rebbe to Talmid for generations and only surfaced published much later. Furthermore, the passage in the Zohar (quoted by the Sefer HaAgur) does not necessarily mean only to make one beracha for both tefillin. What it might mean is that the first beracha applies to both teffilin and therefore one should not interrupt between them, the teffilin shel rosh needs its own beracha. Bottom line - two berachot on Tefillin regardless of what the Zohar says.

We see here one clear example where we follow the Gemara and the Poskim regardless of the Zohar.

The Magen Avraham was the first of the great poskim to systematically apply kabbalistic sources in his halachic discussion. Previous to him people related to the Zohar as a body of matterial that explained to us the inner workings of Torah, the world, and the universe we live him. A philosophical insight into the world. He was therefore bothered between the tension between the Zohar and the Halachic material. He quoted the the Kenesset HaGedola: wherever theres a conflict between the kabbala and the halacha - the halacha is always in accordance with the poskim. He seems to be referring to a situation where all the poskim are on one side and the zohar is on the other side. If the kabbalists are stricter than what is required by the poskim we can be machmir like the kabbalists. any issue that is not mentioned in the poskim - no source in the gemara but does in the zohar - we have no authority to impose the practice upon the people. Only halacha can be forced upon the people, we can try to convince people to follow the kabbalistic method but that's it.

Sometimes people asked R' Moshe Feinstein what is the meaning or reason why so and so poskend this way found in other places. Someone asked R' Feinstein (found in the Iggrot Moshe) why did the Mishna Berurah posken that one who stays awake all night without sleep that he does not make the berachot Bircat haTorah etc.. Whenever there is a machloket amongst poskim and the weight of the Zohar and Kabbalists determine the outcome. In this case the Mishna Berurah should have followed the AriZal to make the beracha. So why did he reject this position? Answer: It's obvious that the idea that the Kabbalists always prevail wherever there is a machloket amongst the poskim that idea only pertains to material in the zohar itself - that prevails. Why? That material comes from the time of the Mishnah. But the works of the later Kabbalists - the AriZal and others - does not have the same weight of the Zoharic literature. Therefore one can poskin the AriZal just like one can poskin against one other posek.

Rav Fink finds it mysterious: The Iggrot Moshe speaks with a very clear voice. He never applies this above rule not even once.

The Chacham Zvi (who was a great Kabbalist in addition to being a noted Posek) when speaking about the Machloket about how one should position his bed (Kabbalists Head West / Feet East vs. Poskim Head North / Feet South) says in a situation where the Zohar is opposed to the Gemara and Poskim - we never abandon the poskim in favor of the position of the Zohar. When in comes to Halacha we ignore the Zohar and rely on the Poskim. However, in a situation where the Poskim are divided it is correct (note: he does say must) to follow the Kabbala.

His son, R' Yaakov Emden, even though he denied the antiquity of the zohar in Mitpachat Sefarim, was a major Kabbalist. I remember that my father zt"l lived across the street from the non-Jewish orphanage; his bed was oriented like the mekubalim say and not like the poskim. He himself wrote one should follow the poskim and not the kabbalah, but I saw in practice he did the opposite from what he wrote. In order for there to be a machloket people need to be in each others presence, it is improper to say two people who are unaware of each others opinion it is not proper to call this a machloket. Did the poskim know the words of the Zohar becasue it was being transmitted secretly and these poskim are outside of the chain of tradition. Perhaps they would have changed their mind had they known. We should not be concerned that we reject mystical ideas in Halacha - elu v'elu divrei elokim chaim. [R' Emden rejected its antiquity not its significance]. The purpose of the Zohar is not to tell us what to do or not to do, but to explain to us the inner workings of the universe. In a case where the words of the Talmud can be understood many different ways the commentaries have their back to the wall and cannot explain the words of the Talmud - in these cases they didn't know the words of the Zohar - we see a different understanding of things. It's not that the Zohar has a different idea it's that the Zohar can be used to explain the gemara and if the two can be brought into accord with each other then we should do it. In the end we are poskining like the Gemara.

How does this come down in the more recent poskim?

The Munkatcher Rav (R' Elazar Shapira) - a noted posek and mekubal - it's important to bear in mind the difference between nigleh and nistar (revealed and secret wisdom). When I study the Zohar and words of the great Kabbalists I think of myself as learning nigleh - revealed wisdom. When I study Gemara, the Rambam, the Tur, and the Shulchan Aruch I think of myself as learning nistar - the secret wisdom of Torah. The works of the kabbalists talk about Olam HaSefirot they say they talk about the mystical reality of Sefirot and they are. The Halchic literature does not say they are talking about the mystical reality but indeed they are this is why I call them Nistar - hidden.

The Shulchan Aruch HaRav - whenever there is a disagreement between the kabbalits and the poskim - you should posken like the gemara and the poskim. Make two berachot on tefillin. The Baal HaTanya accepts the position of the Magen Avraham , we can require people to follow the gemara and no the Zohar. Halacha and Halachic sources always prevail over the Zohar and Kabbalistic sources.

Rav Fink notes that Chabad Chassidim do not follow this position. In every conflict between the Gemara and the Zohar they follow the Zohar instead of the ruling of the Baal HaTanya and make one beracha on tefilin. The Shaar HaKollel - R' Avram David Livat - I heard from a Chasid before he died that the Baal HaTanya had been asked about this question. Our minhag is to follow the Mekubalim instead of the poskim. Why then did you write in Shulchan Aruch HaRav to follow the poskim? I only wrote that because the poskim write to follow the poskim, but the mekubalim all write to follow the Zohar. It cannot be that the mekubalim would not follow the gemara and therefore the question doesn't make sense. This is what I heard from that Chasid before he died.

This is a tradition starting three generations after the Baal HaTanya. This is the reason the Baal HaTanya started to write a second edition of the Shulchan Aruch HaRav but only got a few pages in where he surely would have poskened like the mekubalim against the poskim.

Rav Fink: We find many stories (folk literature) that a major posek changed his mind on their deathbed. These stories are possibly true and it surely does happen and I doubt that it happens every time it is reported.

The traditions of the Gra weigh heavily on the Aruch HaShulchan and writes: When there is a machloket between the Zohar and the Poskim we of course follow the Poskim. It is correct to be machmir like the Zohar when they are machmir. One cannot require one to follow the Zohar. I have a tradition (from the Gra) that is impossible that there is a true conflict between the Gemara and the Zohar unless of course there are multiple opinions in the Gemara and the Zohar is holding like one opinion there. People have an incorrect understanding of the Zohar if they think there is a machloket between them

I'm Back (with a few musings)

Well I'm back, I didn't go anywhere, I just needed a break from Blogging. It's a very weird thing not blogging - I'll have these thoughts: "Gee, that'd be a great topic to blog about" - but by not doing it I actually think I'm doing a disservice to myself.

As ADDeRabbi once said to me: blogging forces you to boil down your thoughts into a rational idea. Its rather therapeutic and since I've taken nearly two months off I've done myself a disservice.

I'm moving to Israel soon and we've got a lot to do still, no place to live yet, though that's hopefully coming soon. My wife is very nervous about things - she's very used to everything just working normal here in America and gets frustrated just from hearing stories about how inefficient banks are in Israel. Most people just laugh and say "Well that's Israel" - Naomi can't seem to do that - probably because she's never spent any serious time there.

I just finished reading Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. What an eye opener. The book was fantastic - though I feel a little left out since I don't do computer programing or live and breathe Wall Street. I highly recommend people to read it.

Well that's it for now, I'll likely write a few more posts now that my job's done and I have some more free time during the day. So stay tuned.

U'Shmuel B'korei Sh'mo

This review is long overdue.

As much as I love music in general, Jewish music usually comes up in the "What were you thinking?" department similar to Milli Vanilli and Vanilla Ice. Since the late 90's we've started to see a new trend in Jewish music and this past year was a landmark year. I purchased four albums this past year that blew me away, in their musicianship, the song writing, the producing (something that has been sorely lacking) - but it really just comes down to this: They cared.

MOChassid published U'Shmuel B'korei Sh'mo in honor of his late father Shmuel. If I were him I'd be truly honored by this - there is not one thing about this album that is not done well. Some things are done better than others, but all done well.

Even though I have tons of music on the computer - mp3's, Shn's, and FLACs - I love being able to hold the CD in my hand and read the linear notes while listening to the CD [as I'm doing now]. The CD is visually stunning - the artwork is respectful and tasteful though not sad in anyway. After reading the dedication on the inside cover I cannot help but be reminded of a celebration of life instead of a mourning of death. Truly a fitting memory

The music is beautiful. The musicians - most of whom I've met and own CD's of - are world class. I particularly like the fact that none of these songs appear on other albums. The list of musicians that appear is enough to make my jaw drop: Chaim David, Shlomo Katz, Eitan Katz, Nochi Krohn, Avraham Rosenblum, Yosef Karduner, Ben Zion Solomon, and Aron Razel. I started off this review by listing the change in the past decade - these are the artists that have been at the forefront of this change. Except for Avraham Rosenblum and Ben Zion Solomon (if you don't know both of these guys were in Diaspora Yeshiva Band). This is truly a collection of the gedolim of Jewish music.

I'm tempted to list my favorite tracks, but that would be very time consuming since they really are all fantastic. Only one song I don't think fits and that's Chaim Dovid's "Brach Dodi". Listen, it's good but not great and the placement is not great. "Brach Dodi" is the segue between Shlomo Katz's "Shuvi Nafshi" and Aron Razel's "Yom Shaboson" which are both up tempo sing-a-long's.

The only real criticism that I have is the number of times each artist appears on the album. Shlomo Katz appears 3 times, Chaim David Nochi Krohn and Aron Razel each appear twice. Yet Ben Zion Solomon, Yosef Karduner, and Avraham Rosenblum only appear once. There will aparently be a follow up album and I look forward to it's release - hopefully many of these same artists will reappear.

The Haggadah, Rosh Chodesh, and Denzel Washington

Since it's Rosh Chodesh I thought this was appropriate:

The Hagaddah Reads:

It could be from Rosh Chodesh, but the verse says, "On that day." If on that day then it may be during the day, the verse says, "Because of this." Because of this I only said at the hour when matzah and maror are before you.

Light of Redemption: A Passover Haggadah Based on the Writings of Rav Kook:

The Midrash Mechilta (Bo 17) from which this passage is taken suggests that we should be able to fulfill the mitzvah of relating the story of coming out of Egypt from the beginning of the month of Nisan. This is due to an interpretation of the verse in the Torah that commands us to relate the story of the exodus from Egypt to our children. This verse is a crucial source for the entire mitzvah of the Seder night.

"You shall tell your son on that day, 'Because of this God did this to me when I left Egypt' " (Shemot 13:8). The midrash suggests that theoretically we could perform this mitzvah starting from Rosh Chodesh Nisan.

This is because the redemption from Egypt actually started on the 1st of Nisan. On this day the Jewish people recieved the first mitzvah, that of establishing a lunar calendar (see Shemot 12:2 adn Rashi on the Torah, BeReishit 1:1). At this point the Jewish people introduced their own way of counting time and had control of their time; they started to be free from the slavery of Egyptians.
p.28

Rav Kook continues to go on and explain why Rosh Chodesh could not be the time, but the point here is beautiful. We became free when we were given the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, we were no longer slaves. We looked like slaves, we acted like slaves, but in our minds we were not. We made our own time.

This reminds me very clearly of a scene in The Hurricane where Denzel Washington's character Hurrican Carter refuses to act like an inmate.

I will bend time to my own clock.
When the prison is awake, I will sleep.
When they sleep, I will wake.
I will live neither in their cell...
nor in my own heart,
only in my mind...
and my spirit.

It works, when we control our own time we are no longer their slaves.

We're Moving to Israel

Well now it's official. Naomi and I are moving to Israel on July 30th. We bought our plane ticket today; they're one way. It's a very strange feeling, I've never gone to Israel before without known when I'd be leaving.

It's not "Aliyah" - she's only been there for a total of 20 days, so right now it's for one year to see how it goes likely it'll last about 4-5 years before we move back to the States. I'd like to stay in Israel and I'm hoping that after 4 years so will she.

We're going to a new program run by Darche Noam / Midreshet Rachel - their Married Couples Program. 12 Couples coming together and learning for the year. We know 3 other couples planning to do it and their mostly UMD graduates too, so watching the NCAAs next year should not be a problem.

After that year I'm planning to continue for Smicha, while Naomi's not quite sure just yet. She's got ideas of going to grad school there or continuing to learn someplace else (Nishmat?). We'll see, but July 30th is only 133 days away but who's counting?

Kosher for Passover Gasoline

There is a certain e-mail circulating around the Jewish e-mail world right now that is supposedly an article written in the Bergen County Jewish Times suggesting that ethanol-free gasoline will be made available for people who do not wish to use a derivative of corn on Pesach.

My wife is subscribed to a community based list-serve where she was sent a copy of this e-mail. This list-serve has dozens of e-mails going back and forth discussing the various halachic reasons why such a product would be good to use on pesach. Only a few people have realized that this is a joke.

Here is the text of the e-mail:

Bergen County Jewish Times
By Danielle Wolfberg and Henry Lorman
Teaneck, New Jersey
March 1,2007

Yaniv Ban-Zaken, a local gas station owner, will be selling Kosher for Passover gasoline during the holiday this year. The move, Ben-Zaken says, has become necessary due to the increased ethanol content in gasoline required by the government. The ethanol is typically derived from corn, which is a forbidden food for Jews on Passover. And, according to Ben-Zaken, underJewish law, it is also forbidden to derive any benefit from corn.

"We will be providing a number of services to anyone interested in making their motor vehicle Kosher for Passover," Ben-Zaken says. Services will include siphoning off the non-Kosher gasoline and replacing it with the Kosher gasoline. The entire process will be supervised by Rabbi Yitzchok Mendelbaum. A special exemption to the EPA rule regarding the plant ethanol content of gasoline had to be obtained from the government to allow for the use of this gasoline.

The move has created some controversy among local community leaders. Rabbi Shalom Silver, of Congregation Ohel Emeth in Teaneck, has recommended to his congregants that they not buy the gasoline. "Although Jews of Ashkenazi descent are not permitted to eat corn on Pesach, they are permitted to derive benefit from corn byproducts, such as gasoline with ethanol additives," he said.

However, Rabbi Mordechai Silver (no relation to Shalom Silver), of Yeshivas Torah Ohr in nearby Englewood, disagrees, and maintains that while it might technically be acceptable to use mass-produced gasoline, those who can afford to purchase the new alternative should. "In Jewish law, we have a principle of lifnim mshuras hadin--going above and beyond the basic requirements of the law," he explained in an email. "Thank G-d, many people in the area can afford to do so in this case."

Some local Jewish leaders have also complained about the high price of the ethanol-free gas, which Ben-Zaken estimates will be $9.69 per gallon, but Ben-Zaken insists that it is necessary. "The Kosher gas is made in small quantities and not mass produced, so the costs are high." In fact, Ben-Zaken, an immigrant from Israel who is not himself religious, claims that he will not be making any profit on the sale of the Kosher gas. "I'm doing this more as a community service. My hope is that people will be more likely to patronize my station the rest of the year." Julio Sanchez, one of Ben-Zakens employees, also expressed some concern over the high price, explaining that it might drive away customers and reduce his income from tips. Co-worker Naveen Samhari disagreed, because, as he says, "Orthodox Jews are among the best tippers in the area."

Ben-Zaken also says he will be contracting with a local car rental agency to provide customers with a Kosher for Passover car if they would prefer not to use their own. This will also save the time of having to clean chametz from the car before Pesach--time that many local two-income families do not have. "Jews use different dishes for Passover. They ought to be able to use a different car, as well." Ben-Zaken says.

There is no such newspaper as the "Bergen County Jewish Times" and the people named in the article only show up (in a Google search) as being linked to this article.

What bothers me is not that someone is still having some Adar fun, but that people are actually believing this. Some of the people responding to the original e-mail are suggesting that this is some sort of Government plot to lift the embargo on Cuba, as well as discussing the halachic problems of eating peanuts on Pesach - since they might be Kitnyot. And even if they are we shouldn't be using derivatives of Kitnyot on Pesach.

[No one seems to remember that until a few years ago only Peanut Oil was Kosher L
L'Pesach when finally other Pesachdik oils came out.]

The discussion came to new hights when raui la achilat kelev was brought up and someone suggesting that we take a bowl of gasoline and give it to a dog.

Well someone has certainly had their fun, but I seriously hope that no one takes this too seriously and next year we actually see this type of nonsense.

Another Historic Cover-up: The Ben Ish Chai

In the recent issue of Hakirah, Dan Rabinowitz wrote a very interesting essay regarding the Halachot of wearing a Yarmulke. He goes on to discuss the trend within the past 50 years that completely removes any discussion regarding the obligation to keep one's head covered at all times.

Rabinowitz printed three photographs to help prove his point (two where the subject's head is uncovered and one where one of the previous photos has mysteriously grown a kippah). He also spoke about - though unfortunately did not provide the picture - that a common photograph of the Lubavitcher Rebbe that originally had him without a kippah.

I find it interesting that we try to re-write history to remove any of that evil "C" word (change). I noticed two months ago a similar revising of history.


This is the Ben Ish Chai, R'Yosef Chaim Baghdadi (1832-1909):
This is the only picture of him that ever existed. As the story goes he refused to have his picture taken, until the rich supporter of his Yeshiva requested one, and he relented. If you notice there is a black stripe on the right side - yes, he wore Tefillin all day long.

This is the cover of Peninei HaBen Ish Chai published by Feldheim.

If you notice he has suddenly grown a Peyah on his left side. I'm pretty sure that he did in fact have peyot, but this is clearly an addition to the photograph. I'm stumped as to why someone would want to add this, the man wore Tefillin all day long, it isn't like there are no signs that he is frum. A friend of mine suggested that the artist who colored the picture may have thought he saw one and drew it in, but until I bought this book I never thought there was a peyah there, if anything the beard in the original just needed to be combed.

This is nowhere near the "scandal" that Rabinowitz speaks about, but peyot are not even Halachikly mandated which is why is seems so strange to me that, of all things, it would be added.

Fine Line: Criticizing Israel Without Anti-Semitism

[I'm in the middle of writing down my thoughts on the diaspora community - especially the frum community - stifling debate on Israel. This seems to be part one of a series (not sure how long) on this topic.]

Adin Steinsaltz

Fine Line: Criticizing Israel Without Anti-Semitism

The term “anti-Semitism” is itself a euphemism for "anti-Jewishness," and it is therefore easy to replace it with other words that may have a similar meaning. In many places, to be “anti-Semitic” has become unacceptable and has thus been replaced with “anti-Zionism” or anti-Israel stances, which are easier to condone.

In my view, anyone, Jew and non-Jew alike, may criticize the State of Israel without being anti-Semitic, but it is walking a fine line. One’s criticism of Israel should be of a certain nature.

The critique must be honest and without other agendas. The first step in making such a critique, as in any other criticism, is to verify the facts. Misinformation and negative propaganda are in abundance today, particularly in this day and age of the Internet. Furthermore, anti-Semitism is not confined only to non-Jews; Jews can be - and sometimes actually become - quite anti-Semitic. Therefore, Jewish, and even Israeli, sources may be as unreliable as Iranian or Syrian sources. When criticizing Israel, one must be careful about truth vs. misinformation, reality vs. prejudice.

In addition to the issue of factuality, there are other, more subtle elements involved here. Anti-Zionism and anti-Israel positions may be a covert expression of a desire to eradicate any concentrated Jewish existence. This desire may not manifest itself in killing Jews physically, but merely as a wish that, somehow, the Jewish people should disappear. A critique of Israel with this intent is, by its very nature, an expression of anti-Semitism.

In a certain way, there is a widespread belief, even sometimes reluctant, in Jewish “superiority,” not only in mundane matters, but also in morality. This results in an attitude that holds Jews, and by extension, the Jewish state, to standards that are not expected of any other nation. One must be aware of this tendency when making a critique of Israel.

Within these limits, anyone – including a faithful Jew – has the right to criticize Israel, even if sometimes the criticism may not be completely right.

On Faith: Washington Post Online February 24, 2007